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diff --git a/old/55186-0.txt b/old/55186-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 3f34494..0000000 --- a/old/55186-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,42518 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Cassell's History of England, Vol IV (of 8), by Anonymous - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Cassell's History of England, Vol IV (of 8) - From the Fall of Marlborough to the Peninsular War - -Author: Anonymous - -Release Date: July 25, 2017 [EBook #55186] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CASSELL'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND, VOL 4 *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Jane Robins and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - +----------------------------------------------+ - | Note: | - | | - | _ around word indicated italics _concluded_ | - +----------------------------------------------+ - - - - - -CASSELL'S ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF ENGLAND - - - - - CASSELL'S - - HISTORY OF ENGLAND - - FROM THE FALL OF MARLBOROUGH - TO THE PENINSULAR WAR - - WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS, - INCLUDING COLOURED - AND REMBRANDT PLATES - - VOL IV - - _THE KING'S EDITION_ - - CASSELL AND COMPANY, LIMITED - LONDON, NEW YORK, TORONTO AND MELBOURNE - MCMIX - - - - -ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - - - - -CONTENTS - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE (_concluded_). PAGE - - Meeting of Parliament--Eugene's Visit to England--Ministerial - Attacks on the Dutch--Meeting of the Negotiators at Utrecht--The - Question of the Spanish Throne--Sham Fighting against the - French--Debates on the Peace in Parliament--Withdrawal of the - English Troops--Consequent Triumph of the French--Bolingbroke's - Visit to Paris--Break-up of the Grand Alliance--More Negotiations - with the Pretender--Death of Godolphin--Marlborough retires - to the Continent--Signature of the Peace--The Treaty of - Commerce--Its Rejection by the Commons--The Whereabouts - of the Pretender--Dissolution of Parliament--The General - Election--Intrigues with St. Germains--Bolingbroke's Activity--His - Friends in Office--The Empire and Spain make Peace--The Pretender - declines Overtures to Change his Religion--Illness of the - Queen--Tax on Newspapers--Attack upon the "Public Spirit of the - Whigs"--Steele expelled the House--Proposals against the Pretender - and for bringing over the Electoral Prince--Counter-scheme for - bringing over the Pretender--Obstacles to the Scheme--The Queen's - Letter to the Elector--Death of the Electress Sophia--The Schism - Bill--Its Progress through the Houses--Reward for the Apprehension - of the Pretender--Fall of Oxford--Bolingbroke's Jacobite - Cabinet--Illness of the Queen--The Whig _Coup d'État_--Ruin and - Desperation of the Jacobites--Death of Anne--Proclamation of George - I. 1 - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE REIGN OF GEORGE I. - - Peaceful Accession of George I.--His Arrival--Triumph of the - Whigs--Dissolution and General Election--The Address--Determination - to impeach the late Ministers--Flight of Bolingbroke and - Ormonde--Impeachment of Oxford--The Riot Act--The Rebellion - of 1715--Policy of the Regent Orleans--Surrender of the - Pretender's Ships--The Adventures of Ormonde and Mar--The - Highlands declare for the Pretender--Mar and Argyll--Advance - of Mackintosh's Detachment--Its Surrender at Preston--Battle - of Sheriffmuir--Arrival of the Pretender--Mutual - Disappointment--Advance of Argyll--Flight of the Pretender to - France--Punishment of the Rebels--Impeachment of the Rebel - Lords--The Septennial Act--The King goes to Hanover--Impossibility - of Reconstructing the Grand Alliance--Negotiations with - France--Danger of Hanover from Charles XII.--And from Russia--Alarm - from Townshend--Termination of the Dispute--Fresh Differences - between Stanhope and Townshend--Dismissal of the Latter--The - Triple Alliance--Project for the Invasion of Scotland--Detection - of the Plot--Dismissal of Townshend and Walpole--They go into - Opposition--Walpole's Financial Scheme--Attack on Cadogan--Trial of - Oxford--Cardinal Alberoni--Outbreak of Hostilities between Austria - and Spain--Occupation of Sardinia--Alberoni's Diplomacy--The - Quadruple Alliance--Byng in the Mediterranean--Alberoni deserted by - Savoy--Death of Charles XII.--Declaration of War with Spain--Repeal - of the Schism Act--Rejection of the Peerage Bill--Attempted - Invasion of Britain--Dismissal of Alberoni--Spain makes - Peace--Pacification of Northern Europe--Final Rejection of the - Peerage Bill--The South Sea Company--The South Sea Bill--Opposition - of Walpole--Rise of South Sea Stock--Rival Companies--Death - of Stanhope--Punishment of Ministry and Directors--Supremacy - of Walpole--Atterbury's Plot--His Banishment and the Return - of Bolingbroke--Rejection of Bolingbroke's Services--A Palace - Intrigue--Fall of Carteret--Wood's Halfpence--Disturbances in - Scotland--Punishment of the Lord Chancellor Macclesfield--The - Patriot Party--Complications Abroad--Treaty of Vienna--Treaty - of Hanover--Activity of the Jacobites--Falls of Ripperda and of - Bourbon--English Preparations--Folly of the Emperor--Attack on - Gibraltar--Preliminaries of Peace--Intrigues against Walpole--Death - of George I. 24 - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE REIGN OF GEORGE II. - - Accession of George II.--Characters of the King and Queen--Adroit - Tactics of Walpole--Rise and Fall of Compton--Attitude of - the Opposition--Congress of Soissons--Causes of Dispute - with Spain--Stanhope's successful Negotiations with King - Philip--Retirement of Townshend--Walpole Supreme--Peace - Abroad and at Home--Walpole's System of Wholesale Bribery - and Corruption--The Public Prisons--Duel between Pulteney - and Lord Hervey--The Excise Scheme--Great Outcry--Withdrawal - of the Bill--Walpole's Vengeance--Attack on the Septennial - Act--Wyndham's Speech--Depression of the Opposition--Definitive - Peace of Vienna--Gin Act--The Porteous Riots--The Prince of - Wales and the Opposition--Application for an Increase of his - Allowance--Birth of George III.--Death of Queen Caroline--Attempt - to Reduce the Army--Disputes with Spain--"Jenkins' Ear"--Walpole's - Negotiations--Secession of the Opposition--Further - Difficulties with Spain--Declaration of War--Privateers and - Reprisals--Vernon's Victory--Frederick invades Silesia--Assistance - of England--Parliament meets--Sandys' Motion--Walpole's - Defence--Disasters of Maria Theresa--She throws herself on the - Magyars--Misfortunes of the English Fleets--Vernon repulsed from - Carthagena--Power slips from the Hands of Walpole--His last - Battles--The Chippenham Election Petition--His Fall 57 - - -CHAPTER IV. - -REIGN OF GEORGE II. (_continued_). - - Effects of Walpole's Administration--Formation of the new - Ministry--Attitude of the Malcontents--Committee of Inquiry into - Walpole's Administration--Walpole's Protectors--Ministerial - Measures--Prorogation of Parliament--Disasters of the - French--British Diversion in the Netherlands--Opening of - Parliament--The German Mercenaries--Amendment of the Gin - Act--George goes to Germany--Stair and De Noailles in - Franconia--Stair in a Trap--Bold Resolution of King George--The - Battle of Dettingen--Resignation of Stair--Retreat of the - French--Negotiations for Peace--Treaty of Worms--Pelham becomes - Prime Minister--The Attacks of Pitt on Carteret--Attempted - Invasion of England--Its Failure--Progress of the French - Arms--Frederick II. invades Bohemia--His Retirement--Resignation - of Carteret--Pelham strengthens his Ministry--Death of the - Emperor--Campaign in Flanders--Battle of Fontenoy--Campaign of - Frederick II.--The Young Pretender's Preparations--Loss of the - _Elizabeth_--Landing in the Hebrides--The Highland Clans join - him--The first Brush--Raising of the Standard--Cope's Mistake--He - turns aside at Dalwhinnie--Charles makes a Dash for Edinburgh--The - March to Stirling--Flight of the Dragoons--The "Canter of - Coltbridge"--Edinburgh surprised by the Highlanders--Charles - marching against Cope--Battle of Prestonpans--Delay in marching - South--Discontent of the Highland Chiefs--The Start--Preparations - in England--Apathy of the Aristocracy--Arrival of the Duke of - Cumberland--Charles crosses the Border--Capture of Carlisle--The - March to Derby--Resolution to retreat--"Black Friday"--The - Retreat--Recapture of Carlisle--Siege of Stirling--Battle of - Falkirk--Retreat to the Highlands--Cumberland's Pursuit--Gradual - Collapse of the Highlanders--Battle of Culloden--Termination of the - Rebellion--Cruelty of the Duke of Cumberland--Adventures of the - Young Pretender--Trials and Executions--Ministerial Crisis 79 - - -CHAPTER V. - -REIGN OF GEORGE II. (_concluded_). - - Progress of the War on the Continent--Lethargic Condition of - Politics--Battle of Laufeldt--Capture of Bergen-op-Zoom--Disasters - of the French on the Sea and in Italy--Negotiations for - Peace--Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle--Conditions of Peace--Peace - at Home--Commercial Treaty with Spain--Death of the Prince - of Wales--Popular feeling against the Bill for Naturalising - the Jews--Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act--Foundation - of the British Museum--Death of Pelham--Newcastle's - Difficulties--Failure of Robinson--Approaching Danger from - America--A State of Undeclared War--The Battles of Boscawen - and Braddock--George's Anxiety for Hanover--Subsidiary - Treaties against Prussia--Pitt's Opposition--Debate in the - House of Commons--Danger of England--French Expedition against - Minorca--The Failure of Byng--Newcastle resigns--Attempts - to form a Ministry--Devonshire succeeds--Weakness of - the Ministry--Coalition against Prussia--Alliance with - England--Commencement of the Seven Years' War--Frederick - conquers Saxony--Gloominess of Affairs--Court-Martial on Byng, - and his Death--Dismissal of Pitt--The Pitt and Newcastle - Coalition--Failure of the Attack on Rochefort and of that on - Louisburg--Convention of Closter-Seven--Frederick's Campaign; - Kolin, Rossbach, and Lissa--Successes elsewhere--Wolfe and - Clive--Battle of Plassey--Capture of Louisburg--Ticonderoga - and Fort Duquesne--Attacks on St. Malo and Cherbourg--Victory - of Crefeld--Frederick's Campaign--Commencement of 1759; - Blockade of the French Coast--Pitt's Plans for the Conquest - of Canada--Amherst's and Prideaux's Columns--Wolfe before - Quebec--Position of the City--Wolfe fails to draw Montcalm from his - Position--Apparent Hopelessness of the Expedition--Wolfe scales - the Heights of Abraham--The Battle--Successes in India--Battle - of Quibéron--Frederick's Fortunes--Campaign of Ferdinand of - Brunswick--Battle of Minden--Glorious Termination of the - Year--French Descent on Carrickfergus--Attempt of the French to - Recover Quebec--Their Expulsion from North America--Frederick's - Fourth Campaign--Successes of Ferdinand of Brunswick--Death of - George II. 111 - - -CHAPTER VI. - -PROGRESS OF THE NATION FROM THE REVOLUTION TO 1760. - - The Church after the Revolution--The Non-Jurors--The Act of - Toleration--Comprehension Bill--Laxity of Religion--The Wesleys - and Whitefield--Foundation of Methodism--Extension of the - Movement--Literature--Survivors of the Stuart Period--Prose - Writers: Bishop Burnet--Philosophers: Locke--Bishop - Berkeley, etc.--Novelists: Fielding, Richardson, Smollett, - and Sterne--Dr. Davenant--Bentley--Swift--Addison--Addison - and Steele--Bolingbroke--Daniel Defoe--Lady Mary - Wortley Montagu--Poets: Pope--His Prose Writings--Gay, - Prior, Young, etc.--James Thomson, Allan Ramsay, - Gray, and Minor Lights--Dramatists--Physical Science: - Astronomers--Mathematicians--Electricians--Chemists--Medical - Discoverers--Music: Purcell--Italian Music--Handel--Church - Music--The Academy of Ancient Music and other - Societies--Architecture--Wren and his Buildings--St. Paul's--His - Churches and Palaces--Vanbrugh--Gibbs--Hawksmoor--Minor - Architects--Painting and Sculpture: Lely and Kneller--Other Foreign - Painters and Decorators--Thornhill--Other English Artists--Hogarth - and his Works--Exhibition of British Artists--Sculptors--Shipping, - Colonies, Commerce, and Manufactures--Increase of Canals--Woollen - and Silk Trades--Irish Linens--Lace--Iron, Copper, and other - Industries--Increase of the large Towns 141 - - -CHAPTER VII. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. - - Accession of George III.--His Conduct--Ascendency of Bute--Meeting - of Parliament--Enthusiastic Reception of the King's Speech--Bute's - Cabals--Hostility to Pitt--Ministerial Changes--Marriage of the - King--Queen Charlotte--Misfortunes of Frederick--Ferdinand of - Brunswick's Campaign--Defeat of the French in the East and West - Indies--Negotiations for Peace--Pitt's large Demands--Obstinacy of - Choiseul--The Family Compact suspected--Resignation of Pitt--Bute's - Ministry--War with Spain--Abandonment of Frederick--Policy of - the new Czar--Resignation of Newcastle--Bute at the Head of the - Treasury--Successes in the West Indies--Capture of Manila--Bute's - Eagerness for Peace--The Terms--Bute's Unpopularity--Close of - the Seven Years' War--Successes of Clive--Defeat of the Dutch in - India--Final Overthrow of the French in India--Fate of the Count - de Lally--Bute and the Princess of Wales--The Cider Tax--Bute's - Vengeance--His Resignation--George Grenville in Office--No. 45 of - the _North Briton_--Arrest of Wilkes--His Acquittal--Vengeance - against him--The King negotiates with Pitt--Wilkes's Affairs in - Parliament--The Wilkes Riots--The Question of Privilege--The - Illegality of General Warrants declared--Wilkes expelled the - House--Debates on General Warrants--Rejoicing in the City of London - 168 - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - The American Colonies and their Trade--Growing Irritation in - America--The Stamp Act--The American Protest--The Stamp Act - passed--Its Reception in America--The King's Illness--The - Regency Bill--The Princess Dowager omitted--Her Name inserted - in the Commons--Negotiations for a Change of Ministry--The - old Ministry returns--Fresh Negotiations with Pitt--The first - Rockingham Ministry--Riots in America--The Stamped Paper - destroyed--Pitt's Speech--The Stamp Act repealed--Weakness - of the Government--Pitt and Temple disagree--Pitt forms - a Ministry--And becomes Lord Chatham--His Comprehensive - Policy--The Embargo on Wheat--Illness of Chatham--Townshend's - Financial Schemes--Corruption of Parliament--Wilkes elected for - Middlesex--Arrest of Wilkes--Dangerous Riots--Dissolution of - the Boston Assembly--Seizure of the _Liberty_ Sloop--Debates in - Parliament--Continued Persecution of Wilkes--His Letter to Lord - Weymouth--Again expelled the House--His Re-election--The Letters - of Junius--Luttrell declared elected for Middlesex--Incapacity of - the Ministry--Partial Concessions to the Americans--Bernard leaves - Boston--He is made a Baronet--"The Horned Cattle Session"--Lord - Chatham attacks the Ministry--Resignations of Granby and - Camden--Yorke's Suicide--Dissolution of the Ministry 183 - - -CHAPTER IX. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Lord North--He forms a Ministry--Chatham declaims against - Secret Influence--Grenville's Election Committee--Lord North's - Conciliatory Measures--Determination of the Bostonians--The - Boston Massacre--Trial of the Soldiers--Apparent Success of - North's Measures--Affair of the Falkland Islands--Promptitude - of the Ministry--The Quarrel composed--Trials of Woodfall and - Almon--The Right of Parliamentary Reporting--Strengthening of the - Ministry--Quarrels in the City--The Royal Marriage Act--Fate of - the Queen of Denmark--Anarchical Condition of Poland--Interference - of Russia--Deposition of Poniatowski--Frederick's Scheme of - Partition--It is ratified--Inquiry into Indian Affairs--Lord - North's Tea Bill--Lord Dartmouth and Hutchinson--The Hutchinson - Letters--Dishonourable Conduct of Franklin--Establishment of - Corresponding Committees--Burning of the _Gaspee_--Destruction - of the Tea--Franklin avows the Publication of the - Letters--Wedderburn's Speech--The Boston Port Bill--The - Massachusetts Government Bill--The Coils of Coercion--Virginia - joins Massachusetts--Gage dissolves the Boston Assembly--He - fortifies Boston Neck--The General Congress--A Declaration of - Rights--The Assembly at Concord--They enrol Militia--Seizure of - Ammunition and Arms--Meeting of Parliament--Chatham's conciliatory - Speech--His Bill for the Pacification of the Colonies--Its - Fate--Lord North's Proposal--Burke's Resolutions--Prorogation of - Parliament--Beginning of the War 199 - - -CHAPTER X. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Gage attempts to seize American Arms--Skirmish at - Lexington--Blockade of Boston--The Second Congress at - Philadelphia--Washington chosen Commander-in-Chief--Fall of - Ticonderoga and Crown Point--Washington at Boston--Battle - of Bunker's Hill--The Olive Branch Petition--Condition - of the American Army--Expedition against Canada--Capture - of Montreal--Arnold's Expedition--His Junction with - Montgomery--Failure of the Attack on Quebec--The Employment - of German Mercenaries--Washington seizes Dorchester - Heights--Evacuation of Boston--Howe retires to Halifax--The War - in Canada--Thomas's Retreat--Sullivan evacuates Canada--The War - in the South--Attack on Charleston--Paine's Pamphlet, "Common - Sense"--New York and Virginia decide for Independence--Debate in - Congress--Report of the Committee--Arbitrary Proceedings--The - Declaration--Overtures to France--Arrival of Lord Howe--Position - of Washington--Howe's Overtures--Battle of Brooklyn--Washington's - Retreat--His Desperate Position--Howe receives a Deputation - from Congress--Washington retires Step by Step--Cornwallis's - Pursuit--Close of the Campaign--The Articles of Confederation - published by Congress--Fresh Overtures to France--Parliament - votes large Sums of Money--John the Painter--Chatham - demands a Cessation of Hostilities--Washington's Change - of Tactics--Surprise of Trenton--Washington outmanœuvres - Cornwallis--He recovers New Jersey--Difficulties of Congress--Howe - advances against Washington--Alteration of Howe's Plans--Battle - of the Brandywine--Howe crosses the Schuylkill--Cornwallis - enters Philadelphia--Battle of Germantown--Washington at - Valley Forge--Burgoyne's Plan of Campaign--His Advance--St. - Clair's Defeat--Burgoyne on the Hudson--The Beginning of his - Misfortunes--Battle of Bemus's Heights--Burgoyne's Message to - Clinton--He is surrounded--He attempts to cut his Way through--The - Surrender of Saratoga--Clinton's Failure to relieve Burgoyne--Close - of the Campaign 217 - - -CHAPTER XI. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Meeting of Parliament--Lord Chatham's Amendment to the Address--The - News of Saratoga--Treaty between France and America--Washington - in Valley Forge--Intrigues against him--Violation of Burgoyne's - Convention--Debates in Parliament--Attempt to bring Chatham - into the Ministry--Lord North's Conciliation Bills--The French - Note--Patriotism of the Nation--The King refuses to send for - Chatham--His last Speech and Death--Honours to his Memory--Burke's - Measure of Irish Relief--Repeal of Laws against Roman - Catholics--Explosion of Scottish Bigotry--Turgot's Warnings--Naval - Engagement off Ushant--Failure of Lafayette's Canadian - Expedition--Clinton compelled to evacuate Philadelphia--Failure - of Lord North's Commissioners--D'Estaing and Sullivan attempt to - take Rhode Island--Subsequent Proceedings of D'Estaing--Courts - martial of Keppel and Palliser--The Irish Volunteers--Spain - declares War--Military Preparations--Junction of the French - and Spanish Fleets--They retire from the Channel--D'Estaing - in the West Indies--His Attempt on Savannah--Weakness of Lord - North's Ministry--Meeting of Parliament--Lord North's Irish - Bill--Richmond, Shelburne, and Burke attempt Economic Reforms--The - Meeting at York petitions for Reform of Parliament--Burke's - Economic Scheme--North's Manœuvre--Further Attempts at Reform--The - Westminster Meeting--Dunning's Motion--Defeat of his later - Resolutions--"No Popery" in Scotland--Lord George Gordon's - Agitation--The Riots and their Progress--Their Suppression--Trial - of the Prisoners--Rodney relieves Gibraltar--Destruction of English - Merchantmen--Disputes with Holland--The Armed Neutrality of the - North--Capture of Charleston--Declaration of South Carolina--Battle - of Camden--Expedition into North Carolina--Arrival of the French - Squadron--Rodney in the West Indies--Arnold's Treachery--Trial - and Death of André--Breach with Holland--Attacks on Jersey and - Gibraltar--Mutiny in the Army of Washington--Arnold's Raids - in Virginia--Cornwallis in North Canada--His Engagements with - Greene--His March into Virginia--Rawdon and Greene--Battle of - Eutaw Springs--Siege of York Town--The American Armies close round - him--Cornwallis compelled to Surrender 246 - - -CHAPTER XII. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Rodney takes St. Eustatia--Destruction of Dutch Commerce--Loss - of Minorca--Naval Actions--Meeting of Parliament--Vehemence - of the Opposition--Losses in the West Indies--Breaking up of - the Ministry--Their Defeat on Conway's Motion--Lord North's - Resignation--Shelburne refuses the Premiership--New Whig - Government--Agitation in Ireland--Grattan's Motion for Legislative - Independence--The Volunteer Meeting at Dungannon--Grattan's Motion - carried--Demands of the Irish Parliament conceded--Flood's - Agitation--Economic Reforms--Pitt's Motion for Parliamentary - Reform--Unsuccessful Negotiations for Peace--Rodney's Victory - over De Grasse--Lord Howe's Exploits--The Siege and Relief of - Gibraltar--Negotiations for Peace--Folly of Oswald and Duplicity - of Shelburne--The Negotiations continued--Franklin throws over - Vergennes--Conclusion of a Secret Treaty between England and - America--Fate of the American Royalists--Announcement of the - Peace in Parliament--Terms of Peace with France, Spain, and - Holland--Opposition to the Peace--Coalition of Fox and North--Fall - of Shelburne--Pitt's Attempt to form a Ministry--The Coalition - in Office--Reform and the Prince of Wales--Fox's India Bill--Its - Introduction--Progress of the Measure--The King's Letter to - Temple--Reception of the News in the Commons--Dismissal of the - Ministry--Pitt forms a Cabinet--Factious Opposition of Fox--Pitt's - India Bill--He refuses to divulge his Intentions--The Tide - begins to Turn--Attempt at a Coalition--Increasing Popularity of - Pitt--Fox's Resolution--The Dissolution--"Fox's Martyrs" 284 - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Victory of Pitt--The King's delight--Pitt's Finance--The India - Bill--Pitt's Budget--The Westminster Election--The Scrutiny--Fox - is returned--The Volunteers in Ireland--Flood's Reform Bill--Riots - in Ireland--Pitt's Commercial Policy for Ireland--Opposition - of the English Merchants--Abandonment of the Measure--Pitt's - Reform Bill--His Administrative Reforms--Bill for fortifying - Portsmouth and Plymouth--Pitt's Sinking Fund--Favourable - Reception of the Bill--Pitt's Excise Bill--Commercial Treaty - with France--Impeachment of Warren Hastings--Retrospect of - Indian Affairs: Deposition of Meer Jaffier--Resistance of Meer - Cossim--Massacre of Patna--Battle of Buxar and Capture of - Allahabad--Clive's Return to India--Settlement of Bengal and - Oude--Domestic Reforms--Rise of Hyder Ali--His Treaty with the - English--He is defeated by the Mahrattas--Deposition of the - Rajah of Tanjore--Failure of Lord Pigot to reinstate him--Lord - North's Regulating Bill--Death of Clive--Warren Hastings becomes - Governor-General--His dealings with the Famine--Treatment of - Reza Khan and the Nabob of Bengal--Resumption of Allahabad and - Corah--Massacre of the Rohillas--Arrival of the New Members of - Council--Struggle for Supremacy--Robbery of Cheyte Sing--Nuncomar's - Charges--His Trial and Execution--Hastings' Constitutional - Resignation--His Final Victory--Wars against the Mahrattas--Hyder - Ali's Advance--Defeat of Baillie--Energy of Hastings--Victories of - Sir Eyre Coote--Capture of Dutch Settlements--Naval Engagements - between the British and French--Death of Hyder Ali--Tippoo - continues the War--He invokes Peace--Hastings' Extortions - from Cheyte Sing--Hastings' visit to Benares--Rising of the - People--Rescue of Hastings and Deposition of Cheyte Sing--Extortion - from the Begums of Oude--Parliamentary Inquiries--Hastings' - Reception in England--Burke's Motion of Impeachment--Pitt's - Change of Front--The Prince of Wales and the Whigs--Inquiry into - his Debts--Alderman Newnham's Motion--Denial of the Marriage - with Mrs. Fitzherbert--Sheridan's Begum Speech--Impeachment of - Hastings--Growth of the Opposition to the Slave Trade--The Question - brought before Parliament--Evidence produced--Sir W. Dolben's - Bill--Trial of Warren Hastings--Speeches of Burke, Fox, and - Sheridan--Illness of the King--Debates on the Regency Bill--The - King's Recovery--Address of the Irish Parliament to the Prince of - Wales 307 - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Unsettled Condition of Europe--Machinations of Russia and - Austria against Turkey--Disasters of the Austrians--Capture - of Oczakoff--Further Designs of Catherine--Intervention - of Pitt--Gustavus of Sweden invades Russia--His temporary - Check--He remodels the Diet and pursues the War--Joseph renews - the War--Disaffection in Hungary--Revolution in the Austrian - Netherlands--Abolition of the _Joyeuse Entrée_--The Emperor - declared to have forfeited the Crown--The Austrian Troops - retired to Luxembourg--Death of Joseph--Outbreak of the French - Revolution--Efforts of Turgot and his Successors to introduce - Reforms--Loménie de Brienne--Recall of Necker--Assembly of the - States General--The Third Estate becomes the National Assembly--The - Meeting in the Tennis Court--Contemplated _Coup d'État_--Project - of a City Guard--Dismissal of Necker--Insurrection in Paris--The - City Guard--Capture of the Bastille--The Noblesse renounce their - Privileges--Bankruptcy and Famine--"_O Richard, O Mon Roi!_"--The - Women and the National Guard march on Versailles--The King brought - to Paris--Effect of the Revolution in England--Different Views - of Burke and Fox--Rejection of Flood's Reform Bill--The Nootka - Sound Affair--Satisfaction obtained from Spain--Motions of Reform - in the Irish Parliament--Convention of Reichenbach--Continuance - of the War between Sweden and Russia--Renewal of the War with - Tippoo Sahib--Debates in Parliament--Discussions on the Eastern - Question--The Canada Bill--It is made the occasion of Speeches - on the French Revolution--Breach between Fox and Burke--Abuse - of Burke by the Whigs--Wilberforce's Notice for immediate - Emancipation--Colonisation of Sierra Leone--Bill for the Relief - of Roman Catholics--Fox's Libel Bill--Burke's "Reflections on the - French Revolution"--Replies of Mackintosh and Paine--Dr. Price--Dr. - Priestley--The Anniversary of the taking of the Bastille--The - Birmingham Riots--Destruction of Priestley's Library--Suppression - of the Riots--Mildness of the Sentences 349 - - -CHAPTER XV. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Progress of the French Revolution--Death of Mirabeau--Attempted - Flight of the King from Paris--Attitude of the Sovereigns - of Europe--The Parties of the Right and of the Left--The - Girondists--Decrees against the Emigrants--Negotiations - between Marie Antoinette and Pitt--Condition of the French - Army--Session of 1792; Debates on Foreign Affairs--Marriage - of the Duke of York--The Prince of Wales's Allowance--The - Budget--The Anti-Slavery Movement--Magistracy Bill--Attempts at - Reform--The Society of the Friends of the People--Proclamation - against Seditious Writings--Fox's Nonconformist Relief - Bill--Prorogation of Parliament--Associations and - Counter-Associations--Lord Cornwallis's War against Tippoo - Sahib--Capture of Seringapatam--Peace with Tippoo--Embassy to - China--Designs of the Powers against Poland--Catherine resolves - to strike--Invasion of Poland--Neutrality of England--Conquest - of Poland--Imminence of War between France and Austria--It is - declared--Failure of the French Troops--The Duke of Brunswick's - Proclamation--Insurrection of the 10th of August--Massacre of the - Swiss--Suspension of the King--Ascendency of Jacobinism--Dumouriez - in the Passes of the Argonne--Battle of Valmy--Retreat of - the Prussians--Occupation of the Netherlands by the French - Troops--Custine in Germany--Occupation of Nice and Savoy--Edict - of Fraternity--Abolition of Royalty--Trial and Death of the - King--Effect of the Deed on the Continent--The Militia called - out in England--Debates in Parliament on War with France--The - Alien Bill--Rupture of Diplomatic Relations with France--War - declared against Britain--Efforts to preserve the Peace--They are - Ineffectual 386 - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Invasion of Holland by Dumouriez--He is defeated at Neerwinden - and goes over to the Enemy--Second Partition of Poland--The - Campaign in the Netherlands--And on the Rhine--The English - Fleets in the Channel and West Indies--Siege of Toulon--First - appearance of Napoleon Buonaparte--Fall of Lyons--The Reign of - Terror--Insurrection in La Vendée--Its brutal Suppression--Worship - of the Goddess of Reason--Opposition to the War in - England--Prosecutions for Sedition--Trials in Scotland--Discussions - on the subject in Parliament--Arrests of Horne Tooke, Thelwall, - Hardy, and others--Battle of the First of June--The War in the - West Indies--Annexation of Corsica--The Campaign of 1794--The - Prussian Subsidy--Successes of Pichegru against the Austrians--The - Struggle for the Sambre--Loss of Belgium--Danger of Holland--The - War in the South--The Reign of Terror continues--The Festival of - the Supreme Being--Death of Robespierre and his Associates--The - Thermidorians--Final extinction of Poland--The Portland Whigs - join the Ministry--Trials of Hardy, Horne Tooke, and their - Associates--Opening of Parliament--The Budget--Attempts at - Reform--Marriage of the Prince of Wales--His Allowance--The - French occupy Holland--It becomes a Republic--Prussia and Spain - leave the Coalition, but the War continues--Campaigns on the - Rhine and in Italy--The War in La Vendée and in Brittany--The - Expedition from England planned--Destruction of the Expedition - at Quibéron--Extinction of the War in La Vendée--Establishment - of the Directory--Attack on George the Third--The Budget--Pitt's - first Negotiations for Peace--Failure of Lord Malmesbury's - Mission--Successes in the West Indies and Africa--Expedition to - Bantry Bay--The Campaign of 1796--Retreat of the French--Napoleon's - Italian Campaign--The Battles of Arcole--A new British - Loan--Suspension of Cash Payments--Grievances of the Seamen--Mutiny - at Portsmouth--Its Pacification--Mutiny at the Nore--Descent on the - Welsh Coast--Campaign of 1797--Preliminaries of Leoben--Treaty of - Campo Formio--Lord Malmesbury's Mission to Lille 418 - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Sympathy in Ireland for the French Revolution--Intrigues with the - French--Attitude of the Roman Catholics--Failure of Fitzwilliam's - Efforts at Reform--Open Rebellion begins--The Mission of Fitzgerald - and O'Connor to France--Disclosure of the Conspiracy--Arrest of - Fitzgerald and his Confederates--Outbreak of the Rebellion--Battle - of Vinegar Hill--Arrival of Humbert's Expedition--Its brief Success - and Surrender--Suicide of Wolfe Tone--Desire of France to invade - England--Napoleon advises the Expedition to Egypt--He gives Nelson - the slip--His gigantic Projects--Surrender of Malta--Nelson's - Pursuit--Napoleon's Campaign--Battle of the Pyramids--Surrender - of Cairo--Battle of the Nile (or Aboukir Bay)--Pitt's second - Coalition--The Income Tax--Projected Union of Great Britain and - Ireland--Proclamation of the Parthenopean Republic--Italy regained - by the Coalition--Suppression of the Revolution in Naples--The - Allies in Holland--Napoleon's March into Syria--His Defeat at - Acre--Battle of Aboukir--Napoleon returns to France--_Coup - d'État_ of the 18th Brumaire--Death of Tippoo Sahib--Napoleon's - Letter to the King--The Union with Ireland--Means by which it - was carried--Its Reception in England--Napoleon crosses the - Alps--Battle of Marengo--The French recover Lombardy--Battle - of Hohenlinden--Treaty of Lunéville--Corn Riots--Breach - with Russia--Pitt's Resignation--The King's Illness--The - Addington Ministry--Revival of the Armed Neutrality--Battle of - Copenhagen--Peace between Britain and the Northern Powers--The - Expedition to Egypt--Battle of Alexandria--Evacuation of Egypt by - the French--Negotiations for Peace--Treaty of Amiens 460 - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Napoleon's Plans of Conquest--Sebastiani's Report--Napoleon's - Complaints against the British Press--Espionage and - Confiscation--He continues his Continental Aggressions--Napoleon's - Interview with Lord Whitworth--Imminence of War--Negotiations for - Pitt's Return to Office--War Declared--Napoleon arrests British - Subjects in France--Seizure of Hanover--Emmett's Rebellion--Naval - Attacks on the French Coast--The Mahratta War--Battle of - Assaye--Successes of General Lake--Battle of Laswaree--Battle - of Argaum--Conclusion of the War--Renewed Illness of George - III.--Increasing Opposition of Pitt--He offers to undertake the - Government--He forms a Tory Ministry--Wilberforce's Abolition - Motion--The Additional Force Bill--Scheme for blowing up the - French Fleet--War with Spain--The Georges Conspiracy--Murder - of the Duke D'Enghien--Napoleon becomes Emperor--His - Letter to the British King--The Condition of Europe--Lord - Mulgrave's Reply to the Letter--Ministerial Changes--Weakness - of the Ministry--Attack on Lord Melville--Whitbread's - Motion--Melville's Defence--His Impeachment voted--Secession of - Lord Sidmouth--The European Coalition--Hastened by Napoleon's - Aggressions--Rashness of Austria--Invasion of Bavaria--Napoleon - marches on the Rhine--Capitulation of the Austrian Army at - Ulm--Occupation of Vienna--Battle of Austerlitz--Treaties of - Schönbrunn and Pressburg--The Baltic Expedition--Expedition to - Naples--Naval Affairs--Nelson's Pursuit of Villeneuve--Calder's - Engagement--Battle of Trafalgar--Death of Nelson--Continuation - of the Mahratta War--Lord Lake's Engagements with Holkar--Siege - of Bhurtpore--Defeat of Meer Khan--The Rajah of Bhurtpore makes - Peace--Treaties with Scindiah and Holkar--Death of Pitt--Payment of - his Debts by the Nation 485 - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - The Ministry of "All the Talents"--Fox informs Napoleon of a - supposed Scheme for his Assassination--Futile Negotiations for - Peace--Windham's Army Bills--Resolutions against the Slave Trade - passed--Inquiry into the Conduct of the Princess of Wales--British - Expeditions: Stuart in Calabria--Battle of Maida--Continued - Resistance of the Neapolitans--Recapture of the Cape of Good - Hope--Expedition to Buenos Ayres--Naval Successes: Victories of - Duckworth, Warren, and Hood--Cochrane's Daredevilry--Napoleon's - subject Kingdoms--Prussia makes Complaints--Napoleon prepares - for War--Murder of Palm--Isolation of Prussia--Imbecility of - their Plan of Campaign--Battle of Jena--Napoleon in Berlin--He - seizes Brunswick--Complete Subjugation of Germany--Settlement of - Germany--The Berlin Decrees--Napoleon rouses the Poles--Campaign - against Benningsen--Death of Fox--Ministerial Changes--Votes - in Supply--An Administrative Scandal--Abolition of the Slave - Trade--Measures of Roman Catholic Relief--Dismissal of the - Grenville Ministry--The Duke of Portland's Cabinet--Hostile Motions - in Parliament--The General Election--Irish Coercion Bills--Failure - of the Expeditions planned by the late Ministry: Buenos Ayres--The - Expedition to the Dardanelles--Expedition to Alexandria--Attack - on Rosetta--Withdrawal of the Expedition--War between Russia - and Turkey--Secret Articles of the Treaty of Tilsit--Bombardment - of Copenhagen and Capture of the Danish Fleet--Seizure of - Heligoland--The Campaign in Europe--Battle of Eylau--Benningsen's - Retreat--Napoleon on the Vistula--Fall of Dantzic--Battle of - Friedland--Alexander resolves to make Peace--The Meeting on the - Niemen--Treaty of Tilsit. 516 - - -CHAPTER XX. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Napoleon's Designs on Spain--The Continental System--Treaty - of Fontainebleau--Junot marches on Portugal--Flight of the - Royal Family--The Milan Decree--The Pope imprisoned in the - Quirinal--Imbecility of the Spanish Government--Quarrels of the - Spanish Royal Family--Occupation of the Spanish Fortresses--The - King's Preparations for Flight--Rests at Madrid--Abdication of - Charles IV.--Murat occupies Madrid--The Meeting at Bayonne--Joseph - becomes King of Spain--Insurrection in Spain--The Junta - communicates with England--Ferocity of the War--Operations - of Bessières, Duchesne, and Moncey--Dupont surrenders to - Castanos--Joseph evacuates Madrid--Siege of Saragossa--Napoleon's - Designs on Portugal--Insurrection throughout the Country--Sir - A. Wellesley touches at Corunna--He lands at Figueras--Battle - of Roliça--Wellesley is superseded by Burrard--Battle of - Vimiera--Arrival of Dalrymple--Convention of Cintra--Inquiry into - the Convention--Occupation of Lisbon--Napoleon's preparations - against Spain--Wellington is passed over in Favour of - Moore--Moore's Advance--Difficulties of the March--Incompetency - of Hookham Frere--Napoleon's Position in Europe--The Meeting - at Erfurth--Napoleon at Vittoria--Destruction of the Spanish - Armies--Napoleon enters Madrid--Moore is at last undeceived--The - Retreat--Napoleon leaves Spain--Moore retires before Soult--Arrival - at Corunna--The Battle--Death of Sir John Moore--The Ministry - determine to continue the War--Scandal of the Duke of York--His - Resignation--Charges against Lord Castlereagh--Wellesley arrives in - Portugal--He drives Soult from Portugal into Spain--His Junction - with Cuesta--Position of the French Armies--Folly of Cuesta--Battle - of Talavera--State of the Commissariat--Wellesley's Retreat--French - Victories--The Lines of Torres Vedras--The Walcheren - Expedition--Flushing taken--The Troops die from Malaria--Disastrous - Termination of the Expedition--Sir John Stuart in Italy and the - Ionian Islands--War between Russia and Turkey--Collingwood's last - Exploits--Attempt of Gambier and Cochrane on La Rochelle. 546 - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Austria gets ready for War--Napoleon's Preparations--Invasion - of Bavaria by Austria--The Archduke Charles driven from - Bavaria--Occupation of Vienna--Battle of Aspern--The Spirit - of Revolt in Germany: Schill and Brunswick--Battle of - Wagram--Peace of Vienna--Victories of the Tyrolese--Death - of Hofer--The Betrayal of Poland and Italy--Deposition of - the Pope--Ministerial Dissensions--Death of Portland, and - Reconstruction of the Ministry--Inquiry into the Walcheren - Expedition--Imprisonment of Gale Jones--Burdett committed to the - Tower--The Piccadilly Riots--Arrest of Burdett--Debates in the - House of Commons--Agitation for Parliamentary Reform--Liberation - of Burdett--Remaining Events of the Session--Condition of - Spain--Soult's victorious Progress--He fails at Cadiz--The - Guerilla War--Massena sent against Wellington--Capture of - Ciudad Rodrigo--Capitulation of Almeida--Battle of Busaco--The - Lines of Torres Vedras--Massena baffled--Condition of the rival - Armies--Victories in the East and West Indies--The War in Sicily. - 586 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - PAGE - - St. James's Palace, in the Time of Anne 1 - - Dean Swift 5 - - The English Plenipotentiaries insulted in the Streets of Utrecht 9 - - Sir Richard Steele 13 - - Welfen Castle, Hanover 17 - - Anne making the Duke of Shrewsbury Lord Treasurer 21 - - Great Seal of George I. 25 - - The Earl of Mar raising the Pretender's Standard 29 - - Retreat of the Highlanders from Perth 33 - - James Edward Stuart, the "Old Pretender" 37 - - Sea Fight off Cape Passaro 41 - - The South Sea Bubble 45 - - George I. 49 - - Bartholomew Fair, London, in 1721 53 - - Five-Shilling Piece of the South Sea Company 56 - - Five-Guinea Piece of George II. 56 - - Walpole's Quarrel with Townshend 61 - - Sir Robert Walpole 65 - - The Porteous Mob 69 - - Great Seal of George II. 73 - - Maria Theresa and the Hungarian Parliament 77 - - George II. 85 - - Interior of the House of Commons in 1742 89 - - The Landing of Prince Charlie 93 - - Prince Charles Edward Stuart (the "Young Pretender") 97 - - Prince Charlie's Vanguard at Manchester 101 - - Culloden House 105 - - The Standard of Prince Charlie's Bodyguard, taken at Culloden 108 - - The End of the '45 109 - - Flora Macdonald 113 - - Wedding in the Fleet 117 - - Defeat of General Braddock in the Indian Ambush 121 - - London Bridge in 1760 125 - - Lord Clive 129 - - Surprise of Frederick at Hochkirch 132 - - Admiral Rodney bombarding Le Hâvre 133 - - Death of Wolfe 137 - - Martello Tower on the Plains of Abraham, Quebec 140 - - George Whitefield preaching 141 - - John Wesley 144 - - Interior of the Jerusalem Chamber, Westminster Abbey 145 - - Henry Fielding 149 - - Costumes of the Period of George II. 153 - - Mrs. Arabella Hunt singing to Queen Mary 156 - - Handel 157 - - St. Paul's Cathedral, London, and Ludgate Hill, as it was 161 - - William Hogarth 165 - - Great Seal of George III. 169 - - George III. 173 - - Temple Bar in 1800 176 - - Lord Bute and the Londoners 177 - - John Wilkes 181 - - Revenue Cutters capturing an American Smuggling Vessel 185 - - Troops escorting the Stamped Paper to the City Hall, New York 189 - - The Mob releasing Mr. Wilkes on his Way to Prison 193 - - William Pitt, Earl of Chatham 197 - - Affray at Boston between the Soldiers and Rope-Makers 201 - - Spade Guinea of George III. 204 - - Five-Shilling Piece of George III. 204 - - Twopenny Piece of George III. 204 - - Press-Gang at Work 205 - - Boston "Boys" disguised as Indians throwing the Tea Chests - into the Harbour 209 - - Benjamin Franklin 213 - - American Twenty Dollars Bill (1775) 216 - - Montgomery's Assault on the Lower Town, Quebec 221 - - Signatures to the Declaration of Independence 225 - - Washington crossing the Delaware 229 - - American Bill of Credit (1775) 233 - - Washington and his Men at Valley Forge 237 - - George Washington 241 - - Surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga 245 - - Washington at Valley Forge: By the Camp Fire 249 - - Death of the Earl of Chatham 253 - - The Saucy "Arethusa" and the "Belle Poule" 257 - - Lord North 261 - - "No Popery" Rioters assaulting Lord Mansfield 265 - - Dr. Johnson viewing the Scene of some of the "No Popery" Riots 269 - - Old Newgate 273 - - Arrest of Major André 277 - - Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, York Town 281 - - Edmund Burke 285 - - Henry Grattan 289 - - The Attack on the "Ville de Paris" 293 - - Map of the United States at the Time when they gained - their Independence 297 - - The Mansion House, London, in 1760 301 - - Charles James Fox 305 - - General Election of 1784: Master Billy's Procession to - Grocer's Hall--Pitt presented with the Freedom of - the City of London 308 - - General Election of 1784: The Hustings, Covent Garden; - The Westminster Deserter drummed out of the - Regiment--Defeat of Sir Cecil Wray 309 - - View of London from the Tower to London Bridge in the - latter Part of the 18th Century 313 - - Deposition of Meer Jaffier 317 - - The Great Mogul entering the English Camp 320 - - Warren Hastings 321 - - Benares 325 - - Surrender of Baillie to Hyder Ali 329 - - Arrest of the Rajah of Benares 333 - - Richard Brinsley Sheridan 337 - - The Trial of Warren Hastings 341 - - Carlton House, London (1780) 345 - - William Pitt 348 - - Expulsion of the Professors from the University of Antwerp 353 - - Notre Dame, Paris 357 - - The French Revolution: Costume of Lady of the Period 360 - - The French Revolution: Costume of 1790 360 - - The French Revolution: Costume "à la Robespierre" 361 - - Tricoteuse, or knitting Woman, of the National Convention 361 - - The Conquerors of the Bastille 365 - - The Bastille 369 - - Captain Cook 373 - - Scene in the House of Commons: Breach between Burke and Fox 377 - - William Wilberforce 381 - - The Priestley Riots at Birmingham 385 - - The Count de Mirabeau 389 - - Government House, Calcutta 393 - - View in Old Paris: Rue de Pirouette, North Side of Les Halles 397 - - The Royal Family of France on their Way to the Assembly 401 - - Marie Antoinette (1783) 405 - - View in Old Paris: The Porte au Blé, from the End of - the Old Cattle Market to the Pont Notre Dame 409 - - Trial of Louis XVI. 413 - - Robespierre 417 - - View in the Old Town, Warsaw 420 - - Retreat of the Royalists from Toulon 421 - - Napoleon Buonaparte, Lieutenant of Artillery 425 - - The Tolbooth, Edinburgh 429 - - Calvi, Corsica 432 - - St. Just 433 - - Paris under the Reign of Terror: a Vain Appeal 437 - - The Palace of the Tuileries, Paris 441 - - La Roche-Jaquelein and the Republican Soldiers 445 - - Attack on the Royal Carriage 449 - - The Cathedral of Milan 453 - - The Mutiny at Spithead: Hauling down the Red Flag on - the "Royal George" 457 - - The Doge's Palace, Venice 459 - - Dublin Castle 461 - - Capture of Wolfe Tone 465 - - Lord Nelson 469 - - Napoleon's Coup de Main: Scene in the Hall of the Ancients 473 - - Genoa 477 - - Nelson at the Battle of Copenhagen 480 - - Copenhagen 481 - - Sir Ralph Abercromby 484 - - Napoleon and his Suite at Boulogne 489 - - The Jumma Musjid, Delhi 492 - - The Chase at Argaum 493 - - Kidnapping of the Duke d'Enghien 497 - - The Coronation of Napoleon in Notre Dame 501 - - Herrenhausen Castle, Hanover 505 - - Lord Collingwood 509 - - Sailing into Action at Trafalgar 512 - - The "Victory" at Portsmouth 513 - - Talleyrand 517 - - The Queen of Prussia reviewing the Army 525 - - Napoleon at Rossbach 528 - - Murat (King of Naples) 529 - - Charing Cross, London, in 1795 533 - - The British Fleet passing through the Dardanelles 537 - - Departure of the British Troops from Alexandria 540 - - Heligoland 541 - - The Treaty of Tilsit 545 - - Flight of the Royal Family of Portugal 548 - - Capture of Godoy 552 - - Heroism of the Maid of Saragossa 557 - - Sir John Moore 561 - - The Royal Palace, Madrid 564 - - Burial of Sir John Moore 569 - - Sir David Baird 573 - - Map of Spain and Portugal to illustrate the Peninsular War 576 - - The Bayonet Charge at Talavera 577 - - The Duke of Wellington 581 - - The "Mediator" breaking the Boom at La Rochelle 585 - - Marshal Lannes at Ratisbon 588 - - The Duke of Brunswick and his Hussars (the Black Brunswickers) 592 - - Andrew Hofer appointed Governor of the Tyrol 593 - - George Canning 597 - - Cadiz 600 - - Arrest of Sir Francis Burdett 601 - - Wellington's Retreat from Coimbra 605 - - - - -LIST OF PLATES. - - - PRINCE CHARLIE'S FAREWELL TO FLORA MACDONALD, 1746. (_By - George W. Joy_) _Frontispiece_ - - GREENWICH HOSPITAL. (_By T. B. Hardy_) _To face p._ 65 - - GEORGE II. AT DETTINGEN, 1743. (_By Robert Hillingford_) " 82 - - "GOD SAVE KING JAMES." (_By Andrew C. Gow, R.A._) " 94 - - MAP OF ENGLAND DURING THE CIVIL WAR, 1642-1649 " 100 - - AFTER CULLODEN: REBEL HUNTING. (_By Seymour Lucas, R.A._) " 107 - - DR. JOHNSON IN THE ANTE-ROOM OF LORD CHESTERFIELD, WAITING - FOR AN AUDIENCE, 1748. (_By E. M. Ward, R.A._) " 145 - - MAP OF THE AMERICAN PROVINCES IN 1763 " 184 - - "THE POLLING." (_By W. Hogarth_) " 192 - - THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE OF THE UNITED STATES OF - AMERICA, JULY 4TH, 1776. (_By J. Trumbull_) " 226 - - GIBRALTAR. (_By Birket Foster, R.W.S._) " 257 - - THE GORDON RIOTS. (_By Seymour Lucas, R.A._) " 266 - - THE DEFENCE OF GIBRALTAR BY LORD HEATHFIELD, 1782. - (_By J. S. Copley, R.A._) " 294 - - LOUIS XVI. AND MARIE ANTOINETTE IN THE PRISON OF THE - TEMPLE. (_By E. M. Ward, R.A._) " 404 - - LADY HAMILTON WELCOMING THE VICTORS OF THE NILE. (_By R. - Hillingford_) " 468 - - NELSON'S CHASE AFTER THE FRENCH FLEET, 1805. (_By Thomas - Davidson_) " 497 - - THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR AND THE VICTORY OF LORD NELSON - OVER THE COMBINED FRENCH AND SPANISH FLEETS, OCTOBER - 21ST, 1805. (_By Clarkson Stanfield, R.A._) " 505 - - THE "VICTORY" TOWED INTO GIBRALTAR AFTER TRAFALGAR. (_By - Clarkson Stanfield, R.A._) " 510 - - THE DEATH OF NELSON. (_By Daniel Maclise, R.A._) " 521 - - "CRIPPLED BUT UNCONQUERED." (_By W. L. Wyllie, R.A._) " 529 - - NAPLES, FROM THE MERGELLINA. (_By Birket Foster, R.W.S._) " 550 - -[Illustration: PRINCE CHARLIE'S FAREWELL TO FLORA MACDONALD, 1746 - -FROM THE PAINTING BY GEORGE W. JOY.] - - - - -[Illustration: ST. JAMES'S PALACE, IN THE TIME OF ANNE.] - - - - -CASSELL'S - -ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF ENGLAND - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE REIGN OF ANNE (_concluded_). - - Meeting of Parliament--Eugene's Visit to England--Ministerial - Attacks on the Dutch--Meeting of the Negotiators at Utrecht--The - Question of the Spanish Throne--Sham Fighting against the - French--Debates on the Peace in Parliament--Withdrawal of the - English Troops--Consequent Triumph of the French--Bolingbroke's - Visit to Paris--Break-up of the Grand Alliance--More Negotiations - with the Pretender--Death of Godolphin--Marlborough retires - to the Continent--Signature of the Peace--The Treaty of - Commerce--Its Rejection by the Commons--The Whereabouts - of the Pretender--Dissolution of Parliament--The General - Election--Intrigues with St. Germains--Bolingbroke's Activity--His - Friends in Office--The Empire and Spain make Peace--The Pretender - declines Overtures to Change his Religion--Illness of the - Queen--Tax on Newspapers--Attack upon the "Public Spirit of the - Whigs"--Steele expelled the House--Proposals against the Pretender - and for bringing over the Electoral Prince--Counter-scheme for - bringing over the Pretender--Obstacles to the Scheme--The Queen's - Letter to the Elector--Death of the Electress Sophia--The Schism - Bill--Its Progress through the Houses--Reward for the Apprehension - of the Pretender--Fall of Oxford--Bolingbroke's Jacobite - Cabinet--Illness of the Queen--The Whig _Coup d'État_--Ruin and - Desperation of the Jacobites--Death of Anne--Proclamation of George - I. - - -The Houses of Parliament reassembled on the 17th of January, 1712, and -Anne sent word that she was not able to attend in person, not having -recovered sufficiently from her attack of the gout. She announced that -the plenipotentiaries were now assembled at Utrecht, and were already -engaged in endeavouring to procure just satisfaction to all the Allies -according to their several treaties, and especially with relation to -Spain and the Indies. This was a delusion, for, by our treaty with the -Emperor, we had engaged to secure Spain and the Indies for his son; -and it was now, notwithstanding the assurance in her message regarding -them, fully determined to give them up to Philip. There was a strong -protest in the message against the evil declarations that there had -been an intention to make a separate peace, though nothing was more -notorious than that the Ministers were resolved, if the Allies did -not come to their terms, to go on without them. The message ended by -recommending a measure for the restriction of the liberty of the press. -Much alarm was expressed at the great licence in the publishing of -false and scandalous libels, though the Ministers themselves did not -scruple to employ the terrible pen of Swift. - -On the 6th of January there landed at Greenwich an illustrious visitor -to the Court on an unwelcome errand--namely, Prince Eugene. The Allies, -justly alarmed at the Ministerial revolution which had taken place in -England, and at the obvious design of the Tories to render abortive -all the efforts of the Whigs and the Allies through the war, from mere -party envy and malice, sent over Eugene to convince the queen and -the Government of the fatal consequences of such policy. Harley paid -obsequious court to the prince as long as he hoped to win him over. He -gave a magnificent dinner in his honour, and declared that he looked on -that day as the happiest of his life, since he had the honour to see in -his house the greatest captain of the age. The prince, who felt that -this was a mean blow at Marlborough, replied with a polite but cutting -sarcasm, which must have sunk deep in the bosom of the Lord Treasurer, -"My lord, if I am the greatest captain of the age, I owe it to your -lordship." That was to say, because he had deprived the really greatest -captain of his command. The queen, though she was compelled to treat -Eugene graciously, and to order the preparation of costly gifts to him -as the representative of the Allies, regarded him as a most unwelcome -guest, and in her private circle took no pains to conceal it. The whole -Tory party soon found that he was not a man to be seduced from his -integrity, or brought to acquiesce in a course of policy which he felt -and knew to be most disgraceful and disastrous to the peace of Europe; -and being fully convinced of this, they let loose on the illustrious -stranger all the virulence of the press. Eugene returned to the -Continent, his mission being unaccomplished, on the 13th of March. - -Whilst Prince Eugene had been labouring in vain to recall the English -Government from its fatal determination to make a disgraceful peace, -the Dutch envoy Van Buys had been equally active, and with as little -success. The Ministers incited the House of Commons to pass some severe -censures on the Dutch. They alleged that the States General had not -furnished their stipulated number of troops both for the campaigns -in the Netherlands and in Spain; that the queen had paid above three -millions of crowns more than her contingent. They attacked the Barrier -Treaty, concluded by Lord Townshend with them in 1709, and declared -that it contained several Articles destructive to the trade and -interests of Great Britain; that Lord Townshend was not authorised to -make that treaty; and that both he and all those who advised it were -enemies to the queen and kingdom. They addressed a memorial to the -queen, averring that England, during the war, had been overcharged -nineteen millions sterling--which was an awful charge of mismanagement -or fraud on the part of the Whig Ministers. They further asserted that -the Dutch had made great acquisitions; had extended their trade as well -as their dominion, whilst England had only suffered loss. Anne gave -her sanction to this address by telling the House that she regarded -their address as an additional proof of their affection for her person -and their attention to the interests of the nation; and she ordered -her ambassador at the Hague, the new Earl of Strafford, to inform the -States of these complaints of her Parliament, and to assure them that -they must increase their forces in Flanders, or she must decrease hers. - -This naturally roused the States, who made a very different statement; -contending that, by the treaties, every ally was bound to do all in -its power to bring the common enemy to terms; that England, being more -powerful than Holland, ought to bear a larger share of the burden of -the war; yet that the forces of Holland had been in the Netherlands -often upwards of a hundred thousand, whilst those of England had not -amounted to seventy thousand; that this had prevented the Dutch from -sending more soldiers to Spain; and that, whilst England had been at -peace in her own territory, they (the Dutch) had suffered severely in -the struggle. To this a sharp answer was drawn up by St. John, and -despatched on the 8th of March, of which the real gist was that, -according to the Dutch, England could never give too much, or the -United Provinces too little. Nothing could exceed the bitterness of -tone which existed between England and the Allies, with whom it had -so long manfully contended against encroaching France; for the whole -world felt how unworthily the English generally were acting under the -Tory Ministry, and this did not tend to forward the negotiations, -which had been going on at Utrecht since the 29th of January. To this -conference had been appointed as the British plenipotentiaries, the new -Earl of Strafford--whom Swift, a great partisan of the Tory Ministry, -pronounced a poor creature--and Robinson, Bishop of Bristol, Lord Privy -Seal. On the part of France appeared the Marshal d'Uxelles, the Abbé -de Polignac, and Mesnager, who had lately been in England settling the -preliminaries. On the part of the Dutch were Buys and Vanderdussen; -and, besides these, the Emperor, the Duke of Savoy, and the lesser -German princes had their representatives. - -France and England being already agreed, independently of the consent -of the rest of the Allies, the conference began on a basis which -was sure to lead to immediate confusion and contention. The Dutch -plenipotentiaries were astonished to see the different tone displayed -by the French ambassadors. They were no longer the humble personages -that they had been at Gertruydenberg. The Abbé Polignac, who was the -chief speaker, assumed a high and confident manner. The French envoys, -therefore, when the Dutch deputies demanded that the treaty should -be carried out on the basis of the terms offered at Gertruydenberg, -told them plainly that matters were now quite altered, and that the -conditions offered at Gertruydenberg could not be entertained by France -at all, but those to which the Queen of England had agreed in London; -that unless the Dutch were willing to treat on these conditions, -they would find their allies concluding peace without them, and that -on the spot. The chief article to which the Allies objected was the -concession of Spain to Philip; and they were the more resolute because -it had become imminently necessary from changes that had now taken -place in France. The Dauphin had died of the smallpox during the last -year. The title had been conferred on his son, the Duke of Burgundy; -but the Duke of Burgundy had just expired, too, in the sixth year of -his age; and of the Dauphin's children there only now remained the -Duke of Anjou, a sickly child of two years old. This child was the -only remaining obstacle to Philip, the King of Spain, mounting the -throne of France. The danger was so obvious of the union of France and -Spain in a very few years--to prevent which had been the object of the -war--that the English Government was compelled to demand from Philip -a distinct renunciation of all claims on the French Crown, and from -France as distinct a one in the treaty that any such claim should be -resisted. St. John entered into a correspondence with De Torcy, the -French minister, on this point; and the answers of De Torcy must have -shown the English Government how useless it was to attempt to bind -Frenchmen on such matters. He replied that any renunciation on the part -of Philip or any French prince would be utterly null and void according -to the laws; that on the king's death the next heir male of the royal -blood succeeded, independently of any disposition or restriction of -the late king, or any will of the people, or of himself, even; that -he was, by the laws of France, sovereign by right of succession, and -must be so, in spite of any circumstances to the contrary; that neither -himself, the throne, nor the people had anything to do with it, but -to obey the constitution. Therefore, even if Philip did bind himself -to renounce the Crown of France, should the present Dauphin die, he -would be king, independently of any circumstances whatever. Another -expedient, however, was proposed by the English ministry, who must have -seen clearly enough the folly of their treating on such hollow ground. -That was, if Philip did not like to renounce the Crown of France, he -should at once quit the throne of Spain, and agree that the Duke of -Savoy should take it and the Indies, surrendering his own territories -to Philip, to which should be added Naples, Sicily, Montserrat, and -Mantua, all of which, whenever Philip succeeded to the French Crown, -should be annexed to France, with the exception of Sicily, which should -be made over to Austria. Louis XIV. professed to be delighted with this -arrangement, but Philip would not listen to it, showing plainly that he -meant, notwithstanding any renunciation, to retain his claim to both -France and Spain. - -On such utterly unsubstantial ground did the English ministers continue -this negotiation. They assured De Torcy that the Queen of England -insisted on Philip's renunciation of one throne or the other, and he -at length renounced that of France, everybody seeing that the sense in -which he renounced it was no renunciation at all, but a pretence to -get the peace effected; and thus the English ministers, with their -eyes open to the fraud, went on urging the Allies to come into these -most delusive and unsatisfactory terms. But as the renunciation of -Philip did not arrive till after midsummer, the negotiators at Utrecht -continued to talk without advancing, and the armies in the field -continued to look at each other without fighting. - -Marshal Villars, like the French plenipotentiaries, had made a great -display of forces, pretty certain, from private information, that -there was little fear of being attacked. The Allies had a fine army of -one hundred and twenty thousand men opposed to him; but so far as the -English were concerned, their commander had his hands tied. The Duke -of Ormonde was sent to take the place of the Duke of Marlborough--a -certain indication that he was meant only for a mere show general. He -was a staunch Jacobite, but no general of talents or experience fit to -succeed a man like Marlborough. On arriving at the Hague he assured the -States General that his instructions were to act zealously with the -Allies, and especially the Dutch, and from his letters it would appear -that such were his orders. But before his arrival, Mr. Thomas Harley, a -relative of Oxford's, and the Abbé Gualtier, had reached the Hague, and -had assured the plenipotentiaries that the Government had determined on -peace, and would not allow the army to fight. They also brought over -with them the scheme of the Treaty, which was not yet to be made known -to the Dutch. But the States General were too well aware of the hollow -proceedings of the English Court, and, disgusted at the withdrawal of -Marlborough and the substitution of Ormonde, they would not entrust -their troops to him, but appointed Eugene as their own general. Thus, -instead of one generalissimo of consummate genius, the army was divided -under two chiefs, the abler chief, the Prince Eugene, having the -utmost contempt for the martial talents of his colleague. All on the -part of England, both in the conference and in the army, was hollow, -treacherous, and disgraceful. Yet, though there was to be no fighting, -the pretence of it was kept up. The Earl of Albemarle marched with a -detachment of the army to Arras, where he burnt and destroyed some -magazines of the French. Ormonde, too, joined Prince Eugene on the 26th -of May, and the united army passed the Scheldt, and encamped between -Haspres and Solennes. Eugene proposed to attack Villars in his lines, -and Ormonde consented to it, but he immediately received a peremptory -order from Mr. Secretary St. John against engaging in any siege or -battle, and he was directed to keep this order profoundly secret from -the Allies. Ormonde was also instructed that if Villars should intimate -that he was aware of these secret proceedings, he was to take no notice -of them; nor was Villars long in letting him know that they might now -consider each other as friends. The situation of Ormonde thus became -one of extreme embarrassment. On the one hand, Eugene urged him to -prepare for an engagement; on the other, the Dutch were impatient to -see some stroke which should humble the French and make negotiation -more easy; but Ormonde was as unable to move, notwithstanding previous -assurances, as if he had been a mere image of wood. He wrote to St. -John, expressing in strong terms the embarrassing nature of his -situation, assuring him that the Dutch were exclaiming that they were -betrayed; but St. John encouraged him to hold out as well as he could, -and Ormonde condescended to play this false and degrading part, equally -disgraceful to him as a general and a man of any pretences to honour. -The prince urged forward the necessity of laying siege to Quesnoy, -and Ormonde was allowed, for the sake of keeping up appearances, to -furnish a considerable detachment for the purpose. But there was so -evident a backwardness in the duke's movements, that the Dutch deputies -complained vehemently to the English plenipotentiaries at Utrecht of -his refusal to act in earnest against the enemy. Thereupon Robinson, -the bishop, took high ground, and retorted that the States General had -met the queen's proposals for peace so strangely, that her Majesty -now felt herself released from any further obligation to maintain the -treaties and engagements between herself and them. This roused the -States to great and indignant activity. They entered into communication -with the Electors of Hanover, of Hesse-Cassel, and other princes of -the Empire, regarding the effective service of their troops in the -pay of Great Britain. They sent off warm remonstrances to the Queen -of England, and Anne was obliged to summon a council, in which it was -agreed that Ormonde should appear as much as possible to concur with -Eugene in the siege. - -Accordingly, on the 5th of June, the queen proceeded to the House -of Lords, and stated in a long speech the terms on which it was -proposed to make the peace with France--namely, that Louis XIV. should -acknowledge the Protestant succession and remove the Pretender out of -France; that Philip should renounce the Crown of Spain, should that -of France devolve on him; and that the kings of both France and Spain -should make solemn engagements for themselves and their heirs that the -two kingdoms should never be united under one crown; that Newfoundland, -with Placentia, Hudson's Bay, Nova Scotia, or Acadia, as it was then -termed by the French, as well as Gibraltar, Port Mahon, and the whole -island of Minorca, should be ceded to England; that the Spanish -Netherlands, Naples, Sardinia, the Duchy of Milan, and the places on -the Tuscan coast, formerly belonging to Spain, should be yielded to -Austria, the appropriation of Sicily being not so far determined; -that France would make the Rhine the barrier of the Empire, yielding -up all places beyond it, and razing the fortresses on the German side -as well as in the river; that the barriers of Savoy, the Netherlands, -and Prussia, should be made satisfactory to the Allies. The Electoral -dignity was to be acknowledged in the House of Hanover. - -[Illustration: DEAN SWIFT.] - -The House of Commons received the speech with enthusiasm, and carried -up an address of thanks in a body. Very different, however, was the -reception of the speech in the House of Lords. Lord Wharton proposed -that in the address they should declare themselves against a separate -peace, and the Duke of Marlborough supported that view. He said that -for a year past the measures pursued were directly opposed to her -Majesty's engagement with the Allies, had sullied the glories of her -reign, and would render our name odious to all nations. Lord Strafford, -who had come over from the Hague purposely to defend the Government -policy, and his own share in it at Utrecht, asserted that the -opposition of the Allies would not have been so obstinate had they not -been encouraged by a certain member of that House who corresponded with -them, and stimulated them by assurances that they would be supported -by a large party in England. This blow aimed at Marlborough called up -Lord Cowper, who directed his sarcasm against Strafford on the ground -of his well-known illiterate character, observing that the noble lord -had been so long abroad that he had forgotten not only the language but -the constitution of his country; that according to our laws it could -never be a crime in an individual to correspond with its allies, but -that it was a crime to correspond, as certain persons did, with the -common enemy, unknown to the allies, and to their manifest prejudice. -The amendment of Lord Wharton, however, was rejected, and the protest, -entered against its rejection by twenty peers and bishops, was voted -violent and indecorous, and erased from the journal. - -Notwithstanding these addresses and the confident tone of the Queen's -Speech, the Funds fell, and there was general dissatisfaction at the -conditions of the proposed pacification. In order to stimulate the -proceedings and excite a jealousy of the Dutch, St. John professed to -discover that they were themselves secretly negotiating with France, -and urged that, if we did not take care, they would have the management -of the negotiations and not her Majesty. Lord Strafford hastened back -to the Hague, and from thence to Utrecht, where he proposed a cessation -of arms, which was rejected by the Allies. He then went on to the army, -where the Duke of Ormonde was in a situation of the utmost difficulty. -He had received orders from Government, in consequence of the clamour -in Parliament, to support Prince Eugene at the siege of Quesnoy, which -he had invested on the 8th of June, and accordingly he had appeared -before the place with such forces as threatened speedily to reduce it. -At the same time he had received from the Marquis de Torcy a copy of -the articles of peace signed by him, and from the Marquis of Villars -the most bitter remonstrances on his conduct, which he did not hesitate -to declare most perfidious and disgraceful. On the other hand, Prince -Eugene, who did not find the English forces, notwithstanding their -presence, rendering any active service, was equally irritated by his -proceedings. Ormonde could but reply to each party that such were -his orders, and leave the Government to bear the ignominy of it. To -extricate themselves from the just censures on this dishonourable -policy, St. John instructed Ormonde to demand from Villars the -surrender of Dunkirk, which, it was asserted, must be put into the -hands of the queen's troops, as a pledge that France would perform all -that she had promised, before there could be a cessation of hostilities. - -The French hastened to comply with this condition, on the understanding -that Ormonde would immediately draw off his troops from Quesnoy; and -the duke was obliged to announce to Prince Eugene that he was under -this necessity, in consequence of the terms agreed upon between France -and England; in fact, that he must cease all opposition to the French. -Ormonde, therefore, not only gave the command for the retirement of -the English troops, but also of all those belonging to the German -princes which were in British pay. Eugene and the Dutch field deputies -protested most indignantly against this proceeding, and the mercenary -troops themselves refused to follow Ormonde. In vain did he endeavour -to move the officers of those troops; they despised the conduct of -England in abandoning the advantageous position at which they had -arrived for terminating the war gloriously, and releasing the common -enemy of Europe from his just punishment to gratify party spirit in -England. - -When the French saw that Ormonde could not induce the mercenary -troops to move, they refused to surrender Dunkirk, and an English -detachment which arrived there to take possession found the gates -shut in their faces. At this insult the British troops burst out into -a fury of indignation. The officers as well as the men were beside -themselves with shame, and shed tears of mortification, remembering -the glorious times under Marlborough. Ormonde himself, thus disgraced, -thus helpless--for he had not the satisfaction, even, of being able to -avenge himself on the French,--thus deserted by the auxiliaries, and -made a laughing-stock to all Europe by the crooked and base policy of -his Government, retired from before the walls of Dunkirk, and directed -his course towards Douay. The Dutch shut their gates against him, and -he finally retired in ignominy to England. - -Eugene, during these affairs, had been actively prosecuting the -fortunes of the Allies with his remnant of an army. He pushed on the -siege of Quesnoy, and took it. He sent a flying detachment of one -thousand five hundred cavalry, under Major-General Grovestein, to make -an incursion into France. This force made a rapid raid in Champagne, -passed the Noire, the Meuse, the Moselle, and the Saar, ravaged the -country, reduced a great number of villages and towns to ashes, rode -up to the very gate of Metz, and then retired to Traerbach with a -load of rich booty. This was a proof of what might have been done in -France at this period with the whole army united under a commander like -Marlborough, in place of miserably giving up everything to that country -in the moment of power. As it was, it created the utmost consternation -in Paris, the people of which already saw the English at their gate; -whilst Louis did not think himself safe at Versailles, but gathered -all the troops in the neighbourhood of the capital around his palace, -leaving the city to take care of itself. - -But Harley and St. John had deprived the nation of its triumph, and -left the way open to fresh insults and humiliations. No sooner did -Villars see the English forces withdrawn from the Allies, than he -seized the opportunity to snatch fresh advantages for France, and thus -make all their demands on the Allies certain. He crossed the Scheldt on -the 24th of July, and, with an overwhelming force, attacked the Earl -of Albemarle, who commanded a division of the Allied army at Denain. -Eugene, who, from the reduction of Quesnoy, had proceeded to lay siege -to Landrey, instantly hastened to the support of Albemarle; but, to his -grief, found himself, when in sight of him, cut off from rendering him -any assistance by the breaking down of the bridge over the Scheldt; and -he had the pain to see Albemarle beaten under his very eyes. Seventeen -battalions of Albemarle's force were killed or taken. He himself and -all the surviving officers were made prisoners. Five hundred wagons -loaded with bread, twelve pieces of brass cannon, a large quantity of -ammunition and provisions, horses and baggage, fell into the hands of -the French. Villars then marched on to Marchiennes, where the stores -of the Allies were deposited, and took it on the 31st of July, the -garrison of five thousand being sent to Valenciennes prisoners. He next -advanced to Douay, where Eugene would have given him battle, but was -forbidden to do so by the States, and thus Douay fell into Villars' -hands. Then came the fall of Quesnoy and Bouchain, which had cost -Marlborough and Eugene so much to win. - -It was now the turn of the French to triumph, and of the Allies to -suffer consternation. Louis, once more elate, ordered _Te Deum_ to be -sung in Notre Dame, and all Paris was full of rejoicing. He declared -that God had given a direct and striking proof of the justice of his -cause and of the guilty obstinacy of the Allies. His plenipotentiaries -assumed at Utrecht such arrogance that their very lacqueys imitated -them; and those of Mesnager insulted one of the plenipotentiaries, -Count von Richteren, and Louis justified them against all complaints. -In such circumstances, all rational hope of obtaining peace except on -the disgraceful terms accepted by England vanished. - -In fact, though the Allies still held out, it was useless. -Bolingbroke--for St. John had been called in this year to the Upper -House as Viscount Bolingbroke--accompanied by Matthew Prior, had been -in Paris since the beginning of August, where they were assisted also -by the Abbé Gualtier, determined to close the negotiations for England, -whether the Allies objected or not. To make this result obvious to the -whole world, the troops which Ormonde had brought home were disbanded -with all practicable speed. The ostensible cause of Bolingbroke's and -Prior's visit to Paris was to settle the interests of the Duke of -Savoy and the Elector of Bavaria; but the real one was to remove any -remaining impediment to the conclusion of the Treaty of Peace. France -and England were quite agreed; Bolingbroke returned to London, and -Prior remained as resident at the Court of France, as if the Articles -of Peace were, in fact, already signed. A truce, indeed, for four -months longer by land and sea was proclaimed in Paris. It was agreed -that the Pretender should return to Lorraine; that all hostilities -should cease in Italy in consequence of the arrangement of the affairs -of the Duke of Savoy; and that the Austrian troops should be allowed to -quit Spain and return to Naples. - -The secession of the Duke of Savoy only the more roused the indignation -of the Allies. The Dutch breathed a hotter spirit of war just as their -power of carrying it on failed; and even the experienced Heinsius -made an energetic oration in the States General, declaring that -all the fruits of the war would be lost if they consented to the -peace proposed. But to avoid it was no longer possible. The English -plenipotentiaries pressed the Allies more and more zealously to come -in, so much so that they were scarcely safe from the fury of the Dutch -populace, who insulted the Earl of Strafford and the Marquis del -Borgo, the Minister of the Duke of Savoy, when the news came that the -duke had consented to the peace. Every endeavour was made to detach -the different Allies one by one. Mr. Thomas Harley was sent to the -Elector of Hanover to persuade him to co-operate with her Majesty; but, -notwithstanding all risk of injuring his succession to the English -Crown, he declined. Similar attempts were made on the King of Prussia -and other princes, and with similar results. The English Ministers -now began to see the obstacles they had created to the conclusion of -a general peace by their base desertion of the Allies. The French, -rendered more than ever haughty in their demands by the successes of -Villars, raised their terms as fast as any of the Allies appeared -disposed to close with those already offered. The Dutch, convinced at -length that England would make peace without them, and was bending -every energy to draw away their confederates, in October expressed -themselves ready to treat, and to yield all pretensions to Douay, -Valenciennes, and Mauberg, on condition that Condé and Tournay were -included in their barrier; that the commercial tariffs with France -should be restored to what they were in 1664; that Sicily should be -yielded to Austria, and Strasburg to the Empire. But the French treated -these concessions with contempt, and Bolingbroke was forced to admit -to Prior that they treated like pedlars, or, what was worse, like -attorneys. He conjured Prior "to hide the nakedness of his country" in -his intercourse with the French Ministers, and to make the best of the -blunders of his countrymen, admitting that they were not much better -politicians than the French were poets. But the fault of Bolingbroke -and his colleagues was not want of talent, it was want of honesty; and, -by their selfish desire to damage their political rivals, they had -brought their country into this deplorable dilemma of sacrificing all -faith with their allies, of encouraging the unprincipled disposition of -the French, who were certain to profit by the division of the Allies, -and of abandoning the glory and position of England, or confessing that -the Whigs, however much they had erred in entering on such enormous -wars, had in truth brought them to the near prospect of a far more -satisfactory conclusion than what they were taking up with. - -Whilst matters were in this discouraging condition, Lord Lexington -was sent to Spain to receive the solemn renunciation of the Crown of -France for Philip and his successors, in the presence of the Cortes, -which accordingly took place on the 5th of November. Portugal, also, -on the 7th of November, signed, at Utrecht, the suspension of arms, at -the same time admitting to the Allies that she did it only as a matter -of absolute necessity. The Portuguese had held out firmly till the -English refused to give them any assistance, when the Marquis de Bay -invaded the kingdom at the head of twenty thousand men, and laid siege -to Campo-Major. The English troops in Spain were ordered to separate -from those of the Allies under Count Stahremberg, and were marched into -Catalonia to embark at Barcelona. The people of that province beheld -the English depart with sentiments of indignant contempt. England had -first incited them to take up arms and declare for King Charles under -the most solemn engagements never to make peace without them. But now -they had broken their faith in the most shameless manner, and left them -to the vengeance of the French triumphant in Spain. Such on all sides -were the facts which forced on the world the conviction of the perfidy -of England, which had hitherto borne so fair a reputation. - -Another dishonourable characteristic of the Ministers of Queen Anne -at this period was that they were in secret zealous partisans of the -Pretender, and whilst openly professing a sacred maintenance of the -Protestant succession, were doing all in their power to undermine -it. They had given mortal offence to the Elector George of Hanover, -the heir to the Throne, by their treachery to the Allies; and, as -the health of the queen was most precarious from her excessive -corpulence and gout, which was continually menacing a retreat to her -stomach, this was equally a cause for their hastening the peace, -however disgracefully, and for paving the way, if possible, for the -return of the Pretender at the queen's death. Bolingbroke was the -great correspondent with St. Germains, as his letters in the Stuart -Papers abundantly show. But Oxford, although always more cunning and -mysterious, was equally concerned in it; nor was the queen, if we -may believe these remarkable papers, by any means averse from the -succession of the Pretender, in spite of his stubborn adhesion to -Popery. The Jacobite party was numerous, powerful, and indefatigable. -They were in the Ministry and in both Houses of Parliament. At this -moment a public appointment was made which filled the Whigs with -consternation and rage. This was no other than that of the Duke of -Hamilton--a supposed partisan of the Pretender--to be Ambassador to the -Court of Versailles. Prior was still there, and had all the requisites -of a clever and painstaking Envoy; but, being only a commoner and a -poet, it did not suit the aristocratic notions of England that he -should be accredited Ambassador. Hamilton was appointed, and would -thus have had the amplest opportunity of concerting the return of the -Stuarts with the base ministers at home. But he was not destined to see -Versailles, for, as readers of Thackeray's "Esmond" will remember, he -was killed in a duel by Lord Mohun. - -[Illustration: THE ENGLISH PLENIPOTENTIARIES INSULTED IN THE STREETS OF -UTRECHT. (_See p._ 7.)] - -Instead of Hamilton, the Duke of Shrewsbury was sent to Versailles, -where Matthew Prior remained to lend his superior knowledge of French -affairs and superior address to the negotiations. The weight of Tory -vengeance now fell on the Duke of Marlborough, whom the ministers -justly regarded as the most dangerous man amongst the Whigs by his -abilities and the splendour of his renown. The Earl of Godolphin died -in September of this year. He had always been a staunch friend of the -Marlboroughs. His son, Lord Rialton, was married to Marlborough's -eldest daughter, and during Godolphin's later years he was nearly -a constant resident with the Marlboroughs, and died at their lodge -in Windsor Park. Godolphin was one of the best of the Whigs; of a -clear, strong judgment, and calm temper. He had rendered the most -essential services during the conflict against France, by ably and -faithfully conducting affairs at home, whilst Marlborough was winning -his victories abroad; and that great general knew that he should be -supported against all his enemies and detractors so long as Godolphin -remained in power. The highest eulogium on Godolphin's honesty lies in -the fact that he died poor. But at Godolphin's death Marlborough stood -a more exposed object to the malice of his foes. They did not hesitate -to assert that he had had a deep concern in the plot for Hamilton's -death. He was also harassed by debt. He therefore resolved to retire -to the Continent, where he continued to keep up a correspondence with -the Elector of Hanover and the Pretender to the last, so that whichever -came in he might stand well with him. He wrote to St. Germains, showing -that though he had appeared to fight against the King of England, as he -styled the Pretender, it was not so. He had fought to reduce the power -of France, which would be as much to the advantage of the king when he -came to the throne as it was to the present queen. He gave his advice -to the Pretender for his security and success. "The French king and his -ministers," he says, "will sacrifice everything to their own views of -peace. The Earl of Oxford and his associates in office will probably -insist upon the king's retiring to Italy; but he must never consent. -He must neither yield to the French king, nor to the fallacious -insinuations of the British Ministry, on a point which must inevitably -ruin his cause. To retire to Italy, by the living God! is the same -thing as to stab himself to the heart. Let him take refuge in Germany, -or in some country on this side of the Alps. He wants no security for -his person; no one will touch a hair of his head. I perceive such -a change in his favour, that I think it is impossible but that he -must succeed. But when he shall succeed, let there be no retrospect -towards the past. All that has been done since the Revolution must be -confirmed." He added that Queen Anne had no real aversion from her -brother's interests, but that she must not be alarmed, as she was very -timid. - -At length it was announced that peace was signed with France at -Utrecht, and it was laid before the Council (March 31, 1713). -Bolingbroke had made another journey to the Continent to hasten the -event, but it did not receive the adhesion of the Emperor at last. -Holland, Prussia, Portugal, and Savoy had signed, but the Emperor, both -as king of Austria and head of the Empire, stood out, and he was to be -allowed till the 1st of June to accept or finally reject participation -in it. This conclusion had not been come to except after two years' -negotiation, and the most obstinate resistance on the part of all the -others except England. Even in the English Cabinet it did not receive -its ratification without some dissent. The Lord Cholmondeley refused -to sign it, and was dismissed from his office of Treasurer of the -Household. On the 9th of April the queen opened Parliament, though she -was obliged to be carried thither and back in a chair in consequence of -her corpulence and gout. She congratulated the country on this great -treaty, declared her firm adherence to the Protestant succession, -advised them to take measures to reduce the scandalous licentiousness -of the Press, and to prevent duelling, in allusion to the tragic -issue of that between Hamilton and Mohun. She finally exhorted them -to cultivate peace amongst themselves, to endeavour to allay party -rage; and as to what forces should be necessary by land and the sea, -she added, "Make yourselves safe; I shall be satisfied. Next to the -protection of Divine Providence, I depend on the loyalty and affection -of my people; I want no other guarantee." On the 4th of May the -proclamation of peace took place. It was exactly eleven years since the -commencement of the war. The conditions finally arrived at were those -that have been stated, except that it was concluded to confer Sicily -on the Duke of Savoy for his services in the war; on the Elector of -Bavaria, as some equivalent for the loss of Bavaria itself, Sardinia, -with the title of king; and that, should Philip of Spain leave no -issue, the Crown of Spain should also pass to him. - -The Treaty of Peace received the sanction of the Parliament; not so the -Treaty of Commerce. By this treaty it was provided that a free trade -should be established according to the tariff of 1664, except as it -related to certain commodities which were subjected to new regulations -in 1669. This went to abolish all the restrictions on the importation -of goods from France since that period, and within two months a law -was also to be passed that no higher duties should be levied on goods -brought from France than on the like goods from any other country in -Europe. Commissioners were appointed to meet in London to carry these -propositions into effect; but there immediately appeared a violent -opposition to these regulations, which were contained in the eighth and -ninth articles of the Treaty of Commerce. It was declared that these -articles violated the Treaty of Methuen, according to which the duties -on Portuguese wines were always to be lower by one-third than the -duties on the French wines. - -On the 9th of June, when the House of Commons went into committee on -the Bill, a large number of merchants desired to be heard against -it. For several days their statements were heard, and the Portuguese -Ambassador also presented a memorial declaring that should the duties -on French wines be lowered to those of Portugal, his master would -renew the woollen and other duties on the products of Great Britain. -This seemed to enforce the mercantile opinions; the sense of the -whole country was against the treaty, and the speech of Sir Thomas -Hanmer, a Tory, made a deep impression. There was, however, a growing -rumour, during the latter days of the debate, that Oxford had given -the treaty up--a rumour probably not without foundation, for Oxford -and Bolingbroke were no longer in unity. The latter, ambitious and -unprincipled, was intriguing to oust his more slow and dilatory -colleague; and, as the Bill was ostensibly the work of Bolingbroke, -probably Oxford was by no means unwilling that it should be thrown -out to damage him. When the question, therefore, was put on the 18th -of June, that the Bill be engrossed, it was negatived by a majority -of one hundred and ninety-four to one hundred and eighty-five. Thus -the commercial treaty was lost, much to the joy of the nation, and -certainly to its immediate benefit. - -The defeated party, however, did not give up the idea of the Treaty of -Commerce. Another Bill was introduced to modify, or, as it was called, -to render the commercial treaty more effectual; but such a host of -petitions was presented against it, that it was abandoned. Sir Thomas -Hanmer, however, proposed and carried an address to the queen, which -was intended to cover, in some degree, the defeat of the Ministers; -and, as he had got rid of the Bill itself, he did not hesitate to -move for what appeared inconsistent with his proceedings, namely, -thanks to her Majesty for the care she had taken of the security and -honour of the kingdom by the Treaty of Peace, and also by her anxiety -for a Treaty of Commerce; and, further, recommending her to appoint -Commissioners to meet those of France, and endeavour to arrange such -terms of commerce as should be for the good and welfare of her people. -This was laid hold of, as was no doubt intended, in the queen's reply, -which assumed this to be a declaration of a full approbation of the -Treaty of Commerce, as well as that of Peace; and she thanked them in -the warmest terms for their address. - -Encouraged by their success against the commercial treaty, the Whigs -demanded that the Pretender, according to the Treaty of Peace, should -be requested to quit France. It had been proposed by the French Court, -and privately acceded to by Anne, that he should take up his residence -at Bar-le-duc or Lorraine. The Duke of Lorraine had taken care to -inquire whether this would be agreeable to the queen, and was assured -by her Minister that it would be quite so. As his territory--though -really a portion of France--was nominally an independent territory, it -seemed to comply with the terms of the Treaty; but the Whigs knew that -this was a weak point, and on the 29th of June Lord Wharton, without -any previous notice, moved in the Peers that the Pretender should -remove from the Duke of Lorraine's dominions. The Court party was -completely taken by surprise, and there was an awkward pause. At length -Lord North ventured to suggest that such a request would show distrust -of her Majesty; and he asked where was the Pretender to retire to, -seeing that most, if not all, the Powers of Europe were on as friendly -terms with the king as the Duke of Lorraine. Lord Peterborough -sarcastically remarked that as the Pretender had begun his studies at -Paris, he might very fitly go and finish them at Rome. No one, however, -dared to oppose the motion, which was accordingly carried unanimously. -On the 1st of July, only two days afterwards, General Stanhope made a -similar motion in the House of Commons, which was equally afraid to -oppose it, seeing that the House was still under the Triennial Act, and -this was its last session. The slightest expression in favour of the -Pretender would have to be answered on the hustings, and there was a -long silence. Sir William Whitelock, however, was bold enough to throw -out a significant remark, that he remembered the like address being -formerly made to the Protector to have King Charles Stuart removed out -of France, "leaving to every member's mind to suggest how soon after -he returned to the throne of England notwithstanding." The addresses -carried up from both Houses were received by the queen with an air of -acquiescence, and with promises to do her best to have the Pretender -removed. Prior, in Paris, was directed to make the wishes of the public -known to the French Government. But this was merely _pro formâ_; it -was understood that there was no real earnestness on the part of the -English queen or ministry. Prior, writing to Bolingbroke, said that De -Torcy asked him questions, which for the best reason in the world he -did not answer; as, for instance, "How can we oblige a man to go from -one place when we forbid all others to receive him?" In fact, the Abbé -Gualtier, in his private correspondence, assures us that Bolingbroke -himself suggested to the Duke of Lorraine the pretexts for eluding the -very commands that he publicly sent him. - -Anne prorogued Parliament on the 16th of July in a speech, in which she -felicitated herself on having closed a long and bloody war, which she -had inherited, and not occasioned. She trusted also that before the -meeting of the next Parliament the commercial interests of France and -England would be better understood, so that there would be no longer -any obstacle to a good commercial treaty. She said not a word regarding -the Pretender, so that it was felt by the Whigs that she had followed -the dictates of nature rather than of party in regard to him. On the -8th of August she dissolved Parliament by proclamation, its triennial -term having expired. Burnet says it had acquired the name of the -Pacific Parliament; and he winds up his own history with the remark -that "no assembly but one composed as this was could have sat quiet -under such a peace." There was every effort made, however, to impress -on the constituencies the high merit of the Parliament in making an -advantageous and glorious peace, medals being cast for that purpose -bearing the effigy of the queen and a Latin motto laudatory of peace. - -The elections were now carried on with all the fire and zeal of the -two parties. The Tories boasted of their successful efforts to stem -the tide of expenditure for the war, to staunch the flow of blood, and -restore all the blessings of peace. The Whigs, on the contrary, made -the most of their opposition to the Treaty of Commerce, which they -represented as designed to sacrifice our trade to the insane regard now -shown to the French. To show their interest in trade, they wore locks -of wool in their hats; and the Tories, to show their attachment to the -Restoration and the Crown, wore green twigs of oak. Never was shown -more completely the want of logical reason in the populace, for whilst -they were declaring their zeal for the Protestant succession, and -whilst burning in effigy on the 18th of November--Queen Bess's day--the -Pope, the Devil, and the Pretender, they sent up a powerful majority -of the men who were secretly growing more and more favourable to the -Pretender's return. Never, indeed, had the chances of his restoration -appeared so great. General Stanhope, on the close of the elections, -told the Hanoverian minister that the majority was against them, and -that if things continued ever so short a time on the present footing, -the Elector would not come to the Crown unless he came with an army. - -In the Macpherson and Lockhart Papers we have now the fullest evidence -of what was going on to this end. The agents of both Hanover and St. -Germains were active; but those of Hanover were depressed, those of St. -Germains never in such hope. The Jesuit Plunkett wrote: "The changes go -on by degrees to the king's advantage; none but his friends advanced or -employed in order to serve the great project. Bolingbroke and Oxford do -not set their horses together, because Oxford is so dilatory, and dozes -over things, which is the occasion there are so many Whigs chosen this -Parliament. Though there are four Tories to one, they think it little. -The ministry must now swim or sink with France." In fact, Oxford's -over-caution, and his laziness, at the same time that he was impatient -to allow any power out of his own hands, and yet did not exert it when -he had it, had disgusted the Tories, and favoured the ambitious views -which Bolingbroke was cherishing. The latter had now managed to win -the confidence of Lady Masham from the Lord Treasurer to himself; and, -aware that he had made a mortal enemy of the Elector of Hanover by his -conduct in compelling a peace and deserting the Allies, he determined -to make a bold effort to bring in the Pretender on the queen's decease, -which every one, from the nature of her complaint, felt could not be -far off. To such a pitch of openness did the queen carry her dislike, -that she seemed to take a pleasure in speaking in the most derogatory -terms of both the old Electress Sophia and her son. Oxford's close and -mysterious conduct disgusted the agents of Hanover, without assuring -those of the Pretender, and threw the advantage with the latter -party more and more into the hands of Bolingbroke. Baron Schutz, the -Hanoverian agent, wrote home that he could make nothing of Oxford, but -that there was a design against his master; and when Lord Newcastle -observed to the agent of the Pretender that, the queen's life being so -precarious, it would be good policy in Harley to strike up with the -king and make a fair bargain, the agent replied, "If the king were -master of his three kingdoms to-morrow, he would not be able to do for -Mr. Harley what the Elector of Hanover had done for him already." Thus -Oxford's closeness made him suspected of being secured by the Elector -at the very moment that the Elector deemed that he was leaning towards -the Pretender. - -Meanwhile the changes made in the Government offices betrayed the -rising influence of Bolingbroke. The Duke of Shrewsbury was made Lord -Lieutenant of Ireland; the Duke of Ormonde, a noted Jacobite, was -appointed Warden of the Cinque Ports and Governor of Dover Castle, as -if for the avowed purpose of facilitating the landing of the Pretender; -Lord Lansdowne was made Treasurer of the Household; Lord Dartmouth, -Privy Seal; Mr. Bromley, the Tory leader of the Commons, joint -secretary with Bolingbroke; Benson, Chancellor of the Exchequer, was -created Lord Bingley, and sent as ambassador to Spain; and Sir William -Wyndham, till now a friend of Bolingbroke's, succeeded Benson as -Chancellor. Thus Bolingbroke was surrounded by his friends in office, -and became more daring in his rivalry with Oxford, and in his schemes -to supplant the House of Hanover and introduce the Pretender to the -British throne. - -[Illustration: SIR RICHARD STEELE.] - -Whilst the English Court was distracted by these dissensions, the -Emperor was endeavouring to carry on the war against France by himself. -He trusted that the death of Queen Anne would throw out the Tories, and -that the Whigs coming in would again support his claims, or that the -death of Louis himself might produce a change as favourable to him in -France; he trusted to the genius of Eugene to at least enable him to -maintain the war till some such change took place. But he was deceived. -The French, having him alone to deal with, made very light of it. -They knew that he could neither bring into the field soldiers enough -to cope with their arms, nor find means to maintain them. They soon -overpowered Eugene on the Rhine, and the Emperor being glad to make -peace, Eugene and Villars met at Rastadt to concert terms. They did not -succeed, and separated till February; but met again at the latter end -of the month, and, on the 3rd of March, 1714, the treaty was signed. -By it the Emperor retained Freiburg, Old Briesach, Kehl, and the forts -in the Breisgau and Black Forest; but the King of France kept Landau, -Strasburg, and all Alsace. The Electors of Bavaria and Cologne were -readmitted to their territories and dignities as princes of the Empire. -The Emperor was put in possession of the Spanish Netherlands, and the -King of Prussia was permitted to retain the high quarters of Guelders. - -The peace with Spain was also ratified in London on the 1st of March. -By this, Spain, so far as diplomatic contracts could effect it, was -for ever separated from France. Philip acknowledged the Protestant -succession, and renounced the Pretender. He confirmed the Assiento, or -exclusive privilege of the English supplying the Spanish West Indies -and South American colonies with slaves, one-fourth of the profit of -which the queen reserved to herself--a strange proof of the small -idea of the infamy of this traffic which prevailed then in England, -whilst so truly benevolent a woman could calmly appropriate money -so earned to her own use. Gibraltar and Minorca were also confirmed -to England, on condition that the Spanish inhabitants should enjoy -their own property and their religion. There was a guarantee given by -Philip for the pardon and security of the Catalans. They were to be -left in possession of their lives, estates, and honours, with certain -exceptions, and even these were at liberty to quit the country and -remove to Italy with their effects. But the Catalans, who had taken up -arms for Charles of Austria at our suggestion, were greatly incensed -at the dishonourable manner in which we had abandoned them and the -cause, and, putting no faith in the word of Philip, they still remained -in arms, and soon found themselves overrun with French troops, which -deluged their country with blood, and compelled them to submit. Amid -all the disgraceful circumstances which attended the peace of Utrecht, -none reflected more infamy on England than its treatment of the people -of Catalonia. - -During these transactions the activity of the Pretender and his agents -was encouraged by the growing influence of Bolingbroke in the English -Court. Bolingbroke proposed to Oxford that they should pay the dowry -of the Pretender's mother, the widow of James II.; but to this Oxford -objected, saying that the widow of James had not contented herself -with the title of queen-dowager of England, but had assumed that of -queen mother, which, he observed, could not be lawfully admitted after -the attainder of her son. This strengthened the hands of Bolingbroke -with Lady Masham, who was violently in favour of the Pretender. Lady -Masham's disgust with Oxford was wonderfully increased. In writing to -Mesnager, she did not hesitate to say that if the Court of St. Germains -trusted to Oxford, they would be deceived; that he was "famous for -loving a secret, and making intricacies where there needed none, and -no less renowned for causing everything of such a nature to miscarry." -The Pretender, having every day increased encouragement from Lady -Masham and Bolingbroke, demanded of the Emperor of Germany one of -his nieces in marriage; and it was reported that the Emperor was -agreeable to it, and ready to espouse his cause. It was well known -that distinct propositions had been made to the Pretender through the -Duke of Berwick, at the instance of Lady Masham, before her breach -with Oxford, by which his restoration on the demise of Anne was agreed -to on condition that he should guarantee the security of the Church -and Constitution of England, and that not even his mother should -be admitted to the knowledge of this agreement. At the last point, -however, Oxford failed to conclude this secret treaty. The Duke of -Berwick, in his Memoirs, says that, in consequence of this conduct of -Oxford's, the friends of the Pretender turned their attention to other -parties about the Court--to Lord Ormonde, the Duke of Buckingham, -and many other persons. Buckingham--who was married to the Lady -Catherine Darnley, a daughter of James II. by Catherine Sedley, and -was, therefore, brother-in-law to the Pretender--wrote to the Earl of -Middleton, the Pretender's Minister, how earnestly he desired to see -the king back on the English throne; that nothing but his religion -stood in the way; that this was the only thing which prevented the -queen from acknowledging him; and he urged him to follow the example of -Henry IV. of France, who gave up the Protestant religion when he saw -that he could not securely hold the Crown without doing so. But the -Pretender was, much to his credit--being firmly persuaded of the truth -of his religion--much too honest to renounce it, even for the Crown of -such a kingdom as Great Britain; and he argued that the English people -ought to see in his sincerity a guarantee for his faithful dealing -with them in all other matters. But, unfortunately, the example of his -father had barred the way to any such plea. No man was more positive -in the adherence to his religion, or in his sacrifices on its account; -but no man had at the same time so thoroughly demonstrated that he had -no such honourable feeling as to breaking his word where any political -matter was concerned. - -In the midst of these secret correspondences the queen was seized at -Windsor with a serious illness, and, considering the general state -of her health, it was most threatening. The hopes of the Jacobites -rose wonderfully; the Funds went rapidly down; there was a great run -upon the Bank, and the Directors were filled with consternation by -a report of an armament being ready in the ports of France to bring -over the Pretender at the first news of Anne's decease. They sent -to the Lord Treasurer to inform him of the danger which menaced the -public credit. The whole of London was in excitement, from a report -that the queen was actually dead. The Whigs did not conceal their joy, -but were hurrying to and fro, and meeting in large numbers at the -Earl of Wharton's. The Lord Treasurer, to keep down the public alarm, -remained in town, and contented himself with sending expresses to -obtain constant news of the queen's state, for his hurrying to Windsor -would have had an inconceivable effect. He, therefore, let himself be -seen publicly where he could be questioned regarding the condition -of the queen, and gave assurances that she was better. To allay the -panic, Anne was induced to sign a letter prepared for her, announcing -to Sir Samuel Stancer, the Lord Mayor, that she was now recovering, -and would be in town and open Parliament on the 16th of February. This -news being confirmed, those who had been too hasty in pulling off their -masks found some awkwardness in fitting them on again. The Press was -active. Steele published a pamphlet called "The Crisis," in advocacy -of the Revolution, and on the danger of a Popish succession; whilst -on the other hand came out a reply, supposed to be written by Swift, -not without a few touches from Bolingbroke; it was styled "The Public -Spirit of the Whigs," and was distinguished by all the sarcasm of the -authors. The queen's recovery, and the fact that the French armament -was a fiction, quieted the storm and again restored the Funds. - -The Parliament was punctually opened on the 16th of February, 1714, by -the queen, as she had promised at Windsor, though she was obliged to -be carried there; for during last autumn she had been obliged, by her -gout and obesity, to be raised into her chamber by pulleys, and so let -down again, like Henry VIII. After congratulating the two Houses on -the peace with Spain, she turned to the subject of the Press, and the -rumours spread by it regarding the danger of the Protestant succession. -Bolingbroke had been active enough in prosecuting the Press because it -was dangerous to the designs which he was cherishing, notwithstanding -the affected warmth which he and Oxford had put into the queen's -mouth. They had taxed the penny sheets and pamphlets which agitated -these questions; but this, according to Swift, had only done their own -side mischief. Bolingbroke had, further, arrested eleven printers and -publishers in one day. But now the war was opened in Parliament, Lord -Wharton, in the House of Peers, called for the prosecution of "The -Public Spirit of the Whigs," and the printer and publisher were brought -to the bar. These were John Morphew, the publisher, and one John Bache, -the printer. But Lord Wharton, who was aiming at higher quarry, said, -"We have nothing to do with the printer and publisher, but it highly -concerns the honour of this august assembly to find out the villain who -is the author of that false and scandalous libel." Oxford denied all -knowledge of the author, yet, on retiring from the debate, he sent one -hundred pounds to Swift, and promised to do more. Lord Wharton then -turned upon the printer, whom he had first affected to disregard, and -demanded that he should be closely examined; but the next day the Earl -of Mar, one of the secretaries of State, declared that her Majesty had -ordered his prosecution. This was to shield him from the Parliamentary -inquiry. Here the matter dropped, for Swift was too well screened by -his patrons, who had lately rewarded him by Church preferment, and -shortly afterwards made him Dean of St. Patrick's, in Dublin. - -The attempt of the Whigs in the Lords to unearth the vituperative -dean, though it had failed, stimulated the Tories in the Commons to -retaliation. Richard Steele, author of "The Tatler," an eloquent and -able writer, had not sought to screen himself from the responsibility -of the honest truths in "The Crisis," as Swift had screened himself -from the consequences of his untruths, and a whole host of Tories -assailed him in the Commons, of which he was a member. Amongst these -were Thomas Harley, the brother of Oxford, Foley, the auditor, a -relative of Oxford's, and Sir William Wyndham, the Chancellor of the -Exchequer. They flattered themselves with an easy triumph over him, for -Steele, though popular as a writer, was new to the House of Commons, -and had broken down in his first essay at speaking there; but he now -astonished them by the vigour, wit, and sarcasm of his defence. He was -ably supported, too, by Robert Walpole, who had obtained a seat in -this new Parliament. Nothing, however, could shield Steele, as Swift's -being anonymous had shielded him. Steele was pronounced by the votes of -a majority of two hundred and forty-five to one hundred and fifty-two -to be guilty of a scandalous libel, and was expelled the House. During -the debate Addison had sat by the side of Steele, and, though he was -no orator to champion him in person, had suggested continual telling -arguments. - -The war of faction still went on furiously. In the Lords there was a -violent debate on an address, recommended by Wharton, Cowper, Halifax, -and others, on the old subject of removing the Pretender from Lorraine; -and they went so far as to recommend that a reward should be offered -to any person who should bring the Pretender, dead or alive, to her -Majesty. This was so atrocious, considering the relation of the -Pretender to the queen, that it was negatived, and another clause, -substituting a reward for bringing him to justice should he attempt -to land in Great Britain or Ireland. Though in the Commons, as well -as in the Lords, it was decided that the Protestant succession was in -no danger, an address insisting on the removal of the Pretender from -Lorraine was carried. Anne received these addresses in anything but -a gratified humour. She observed, in reply, that "it really would be -a strengthening to the succession of the House of Hanover, if an end -were put to these groundless fears and jealousies which had been so -industriously promoted. I do not," she said, "at this time see any -necessity for such a proclamation. Whenever I judge it necessary, I -shall give my orders to have it issued." - -The Whigs were as active to bring over the Electoral Prince of Hanover -as they were to drive the Pretender farther off. With the Prince in -England, a great party would be gathered about him; and all those who -did not pay court to him and promote the interests of his House would -be marked men in the next reign. Nothing could be more hateful than -such a movement to both the queen and her ministers. Anne had a perfect -horror of the House of Hanover; and of the Ministers, Bolingbroke, at -least, was staking his whole future on paving the way of the Pretender -to the throne. When the Whigs, therefore, instigated Baron Schutz, the -Hanoverian envoy, to apply to the Lord Chancellor Harcourt for a writ -of summons for the Electoral Prince, who had been created a British -peer by the title of the Duke of Cambridge, Harcourt was thrown into -the utmost embarrassment. He pleaded that he must first consult the -queen, who, on her part, was seized with similar consternation. The -Court was equally afraid of granting the writ and of refusing it. If it -granted it, the prince would soon be in England, and the queen would -see her courtiers running to salute the rising sun; the Jacobites, with -Bolingbroke at their head, would commit suicide on their own plans now -in active agitation for bringing in the Pretender. If they refused it, -it would rouse the whole Whig party, and the cry that the Protestant -succession was betrayed would spread like lightning through the nation. -Schutz was counselled by the leading Whigs--Devonshire, Somerset, -Nottingham, Somers, Argyll, Cowper, Halifax, Wharton, and Townshend--to -press the Lord Chancellor for the writ. He did so, and was answered -that the writ was ready sealed, and was lying for him whenever he chose -to call for it; but at the same time he was informed that her Majesty -was greatly incensed at the manner in which the writ had been asked -for; that she conceived that it should have first been mentioned to -her, and that she would have given the necessary orders. But every one -knew that it was not the manner, but the fact of desiring the delivery -of the writ which was the offence. - -Every engine of the English Court was put in motion to prevent the -Electoral Prince from coming. Oxford had an interview with Schutz, in -which he repeated that it was his applying for the writ to the Lord -Chancellor instead of to the queen that had done all the mischief; -that her Majesty, had it not been for this untoward incident, -would have invited the Prince to come over and spend the summer in -England--forgetting, as Schutz observed, that the minute before he had -assured him that the queen was too much afraid of seeing any of that -family here. He advised Schutz--who could not be convinced that he had -done anything irregular in his application, quoting numerous proofs to -show that it was the accustomed mode of applying for writs--to avoid -appearing again at Court; but Schutz, not seeming disposed to follow -that advice, immediately received a positive order to the same effect -from the queen through another channel. Schutz, therefore, lost no -time in returning to Hanover to justify himself. At the same time, -Lord Strafford was instructed to write from the Hague, blaming the -conduct of Schutz in applying for the writ in the manner he did, as -disrespectful to the queen; for, though strictly legal for an absent -peer to make such application, the etiquette was that he should defer -it till he could do it personally. Strafford ridiculed the idea of any -movement being afoot in favour of the Pretender, and observed that, -as to sending him out of the Duke of Lorraine's territory, it was not -practicable, because the French king maintained that he had fulfilled -the treaty, Lorraine not being any part of France. On the other hand, -there were striking signs that the cause of Hanover was in the -ascendant. Men who watched the course of events decided accordingly. -Marlborough, who so lately had been making court to the Pretender, now -wrote from Antwerp, urging the House of Hanover to send over the prince -without delay to England; that the state of the queen's health made -prompt action necessary; and that the presence of the prince in London -would secure the succession without risk, without expense, and without -war, and was the likeliest measure of inducing France to abandon its -design of assisting the Pretender. - -[Illustration: WELFEN CASTLE, HANOVER.] - -The real fact was, that exertions equally strenuous were all this time -being made on the part of the Pretender. As the state of Anne's health -became more and more precarious, both parties increased their efforts -to secure their ground, and there was a most active and incessant -struggle going on round the throne to enable the head of either -party to step into it the moment it became vacant. It was considered -essential for the claimant to be on the spot, and, therefore, every -means was used to induce the queen to admit the Pretender as well as -a member of the Electoral House to Court. It was a scheme of the Duke -of Berwick, which he communicated to Oxford through the Abbé Gualtier, -that the queen should be induced to consent to do her brother justice; -that he should go to St. James's, and that on the understanding that he -consented to allow liberty of the subject and of religion, the queen -should pass such Acts as were necessary for the public security on -these heads, and that then she should suddenly introduce him in full -Parliament. - -But there was a circumstance taken for granted in such a scheme which -would never have been realised--the consent of the queen. Anne, like -most other sovereigns, abhorred the idea of a successor. She never -liked the contemplation of the occupation of her throne after death, -much less did she relish the presence of a competitor during her -lifetime. Besides in her days of disease and weakness she had enough to -do to manage her Ministry, without adding to her anxieties by a rival -authority either from Hanover or St. Germains. There was still another -obstacle--the unsatisfactory conduct of Oxford, who had professed -great zeal for the Pretender till he got the Peace of Utrecht signed, -because this secured him the vote of the Jacobites, but who since then -had trifled with them, and never could be brought to any positive -decision. Berwick had sent over the Abbé Gualtier to endeavour to bring -Oxford to a point. Gualtier soon informed his employer that Oxford was -actively corresponding with the House of Hanover and therefore Berwick -and De Torcy wrote a joint letter to him, putting the plain question, -what measures he had taken to secure the interests of the Pretender in -case of the death of the queen, which no one could now suppose to be -far off. Oxford, with unwonted candour this time, replied that, if the -queen died soon, the affairs of the Prince and of the Cabinet too were -ruined without resource. This satisfied them that he had never really -been in earnest in the Pretender's cause, or he would long ago have -taken measures for his advantage, or would have told them that he found -it impossible. They determined, therefore, to throw the interests of -the Jacobites into the party of Bolingbroke; and this was another step -in Oxford's fall. They managed to set Lady Masham warmly against him, -and this undermined him more than ever with the queen. - -The scene grew every day more busy as the queen became more obviously -failing. Harley, at Hanover, was plying the Elector and his family -with reasons why the prince ought not to go to England. The Elector -himself appeared quite of the same opinion; but not so the Electress -or her son. The Electress, who was now nearly eighty-four, and who -was undoubtedly a woman of a very superior character, still had that -trace of earthly ambition in her, that she used frequently to say -she should die contented if she could only once for a little while -feel the crown of England on her head. She was the youngest daughter -of Elizabeth of Bohemia, who had ruined her husband by a similar -longing after a far less resplendent diadem. When pressed by Harley, -the Electress and her son presented him with a memorial, which he was -desired to forward to the queen. Anne, in indignation, addressed a -letter to the Electress, but without effect; and on the 30th of May -she indited a more determined epistle to the Elector himself:--"As the -rumour increases that my cousin, the Electoral Prince, has resolved to -come over to settle in my lifetime in my dominions, I do not choose to -delay a moment to write to you about this, and to communicate to you -my sentiments upon a subject of this importance. I then freely own to -you that I cannot imagine that a prince who possesses the knowledge -and penetration of your Electoral Highness can ever contribute to such -an attempt, and that I believe you are too just to allow that any -infringement shall be made on my sovereignty which you would not choose -should be made on your own. I am firmly persuaded that you would not -suffer the smallest diminution of your authority. I am no less delicate -in that respect; and I am determined to oppose a project so contrary to -my royal authority, however fatal the consequences may be." - -This put matters beyond all chance of mistake. The menace had such an -effect on the aged Electress that she was taken ill and died suddenly -in the arms of the Electoral Princess, afterwards Queen Caroline (May -28, 1714). Sophia was a very accomplished as well as amiable woman. She -was perfect mistress of the German, Dutch, French, English, and Italian -languages; and, notwithstanding the endeavours of the Jacobite party in -England to render her ridiculous, had always maintained an elevated and -honourable character. She was more of an Englishwoman than a German, -and, had she lived a few weeks longer, would have had--according to her -often avowed wish--"Here lies Sophia, Queen of England," engraven on -her coffin. The journey of the prince was wholly abandoned; not that -the inclination of the prince for the journey was abated, nor that the -Whigs ceased to urge it. Townshend, Sunderland, Halifax, and others -pressed it as of the utmost importance; and both the Elector and his -son wrote to the queen, assuring her that, had the prince been allowed -to come, he would soon have convinced her Majesty of his desire to -increase the peace and strength of her reign rather than to diminish -them. - -The two rival Ministers of England became every day more embittered -against each other; and Bolingbroke grew more daring in his advances -towards the Pretender, and towards measures only befitting a Stuart's -reign. In order to please the High Church, whilst he was taking the -surest measures to ruin it by introducing a popish prince, he consulted -with Atterbury, and they agreed to bring in a Bill which should prevent -Dissenters from educating their own children. This measure was sure to -please the Hanoverian Tories, who were as averse from the Dissenters as -the Whigs. Thus it would conciliate them and obtain their support at -the very moment that the chief authors of it were planning the ruin of -their party. This Bill was called the Schism Bill, and enjoined that -no person in Great Britain should keep any school, or act as tutor, -who had not first subscribed the declaration to conform to the Church -of England, and obtained a licence of the diocesan. Upon failure of -so doing, the party might be committed to prison without bail; and no -such licence was to be granted before the party produced a certificate -of his having received the Sacrament according to the communion of the -English Church within the last year, and of his having also subscribed -the oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy. - -This Act, as disgraceful as any which ever dishonoured the statute-book -in the reigns of the Tudors or Stuarts, was introduced into the -Commons, on the 12th of May, by Sir William Wyndham, and was resolutely -opposed by the Whigs, amongst whom Sir Peter King, Sir Joseph Jekyll, -Mr. Hampden, Robert Walpole, and General Stanhope distinguished -themselves. They did not convince the majority, which amounted to no -less than two hundred and thirty-seven to one hundred and twenty-six. -In the Lords, Bolingbroke himself moved the second reading, and it -was ably opposed by the Lords Cowper, Wharton, Halifax, Townshend, -Nottingham, and others. The greatest curiosity was displayed regarding -the part which Oxford would take, as it was known that in the Council -he had endeavoured to soften the rigorous clauses; but in the House -he followed his usual shuffling habit, declaring that he had not yet -considered the question; and, having induced the Opposition to let the -second reading pass without a division, he absented himself from the -final voting, and thus disgusted both parties and hastened his own fall. - -In committee the Opposition endeavoured to introduce some modifying -clause. They proposed that the Dissenters should have schools for their -own persuasion; and, had the object of the Bill been to prevent them -from endangering the Church by educating the children of Churchmen, -this would have served the purpose. But this was not the real object; -the motive of the Bill was the old tyrannic spirit of the Church, and -this most reasonable clause was rejected. They allowed, however, dames -or schoolmistresses to teach the children to read; and they removed -the conviction of offenders from the justices of peace to the courts -of law, and granted a right of appeal to a higher court. Finally, -they exempted tutors in noblemen's families, noblemen being supposed -incapable of countenancing any other than teachers of Court principles. -Stanhope seized on this to extend the privilege to the members of the -House of Commons, arguing that, as many members of the Commons were -connected with noble families, they must have an equal claim for the -education of their children in sound principles. This was an exquisite -bit of satire, but it was unavailing. The Hanoverian Tories, headed -by Lord Anglesey, moved that the Act should extend to Ireland, where, -as the native population was almost wholly Catholic, and therefore -schismatic in the eye of the Established Church, the Bill would have -almost entirely extinguished education. The Bill was carried on the -10th of June by a majority only of seventy-seven against seventy-two, -and would not have been carried at all except for the late creation of -Tory peers. - -The Hanoverian Tories now again joined the Whigs, and their demands -compelled the Government to issue a proclamation offering a reward of -five thousand pounds for the apprehension of the Pretender should he -attempt to land anywhere in Great Britain. Wharton proposed that the -words "Alive or Dead" should be inserted in the proclamation, but the -queen rejected them with horror. The House of Lords passed a resolution -increasing the reward to one hundred thousand pounds. It was made high -treason, too, to enlist or be enlisted for the Pretender. Bolingbroke, -however, assured Iberville, a French agent, that "it would make no -difference;" and that the queen regarded the whole as a mere sop to -the public was evinced by her immediately afterwards receiving the -Earl of Mar, a most determined Jacobite, at Court on his marriage with -Lady Francis Pierrepoint, sister of the celebrated Lady Mary Wortley -Montagu, and soon after making this man one of her Ministers of State, -who, in the very next year, headed the Jacobite rebellion. - -The queen closed the session on the 9th of July, assuring the -Parliament that her chief concern was for the preservation of our holy -religion and the liberty of the subject--this liberty having been most -grievously invaded by her through the Schism Bill. But the dissolution -of her Ministry was also fast approaching. The hostility of Oxford and -Bolingbroke was becoming intolerable, and paralysed all the proceedings -of Government. As for Oxford, he felt himself going, and had not the -boldness and resolution to do what would ruin his rival. He coquetted -with the Whigs--Cowper, Halifax, and others; he wrote to Marlborough, -and did all but throw himself into the arms of the Opposition. Had he -had the spirit to do that he might have been saved; but it was not in -his nature. He might then have uncovered to the day the whole monstrous -treason of Bolingbroke; but he had himself so far and so often, though -never heartily or boldly, tampered with treason, that he dreaded -Bolingbroke's retaliation. Bothmar, the Hanoverian envoy, saw clearly -that Oxford was lost. He wrote home that there were numbers who would -have assisted him to bring down his rival, but that he could not be -assisted, because, according to the English maxim, he did not choose to -assist himself. Swift endeavoured, but in vain, to reconcile his two -jarring friends; and Oxford finally utterly lost himself by offending -the great favourite, Lady Masham. He had been imprudent enough to -oppose her wishes, and refuse her some matter of interest. He now was -treated by her with such marked indignity, that Dr. Arbuthnot declared -that he would no more have suffered what he had done than he would have -sold himself to the galleys. Still, with his singular insensibility to -insult, he used to dine at the same table with her frequently, and also -in company with Bolingbroke, too. - -Anne demanded Oxford's resignation. The "dragon," as Arbuthnot styled -him, held the White Staff with a deadly grip; but, on the 27th of July, -he was compelled to relinquish it, and that afternoon her Majesty -stated to the Council her reasons for dismissing him. His confidant and -creature, Erasmus Lewis, himself thus records them:--"The queen has -told all the Lords the reasons of her parting with him, namely, that -he neglected all business; that he was seldom to be understood; that -when he did explain himself she could not depend upon the truth of what -he said; that he never came to her at the time she appointed; that he -often came drunk; lastly, to crown all, that he behaved himself towards -her with bad manners, indecency, and disrespect." - -Bolingbroke was now Prime Minister, and he hastened to arrange his -Cabinet entirely on Jacobite principles. So far as he was concerned, -the country was to be handed over to the Pretender and popery on the -queen's death. He would not run the risk of a new antagonist in the -shape of a Lord Treasurer, but put the Treasury in commission, with Sir -William Wyndham at its head. The Privy Seal was given to Atterbury; -Bromley was continued as the other Secretary of State; and the Earl -of Mar, the rankest of Jacobites, was made Secretary of State for -Scotland. Ormonde, long engaged in the Pretender's plot, was made -Commander-in-Chief--a most significant appointment; Buckingham was -made Lord President, and Harcourt Lord Chancellor. As for the inferior -posts, he found great difficulty in filling them up. "The sterility -of good men," wrote Erasmus Lewis to Swift, "is incredible." Good -men, according to the unprincipled Bolingbroke's notions, were not to -be found in a hurry. There were plenty of candidates ready, but it -may give an impressive notion of the state of that party, that there -was scarcely a man beyond those already appointed whom Bolingbroke -could trust. The Cabinet never was completed. What his own notions of -moral or political honesty were, may be imagined from the fact that -he did not hesitate to attempt a coalition with the Whigs. He gave -a dinner-party at his house in Golden Square to Stanhope, Walpole, -Craggs, General Cadogan, and other leaders; but though Walpole, when -Minister himself, boasted that every man had his price, Bolingbroke had -not yet discovered Walpole's price nor that of his colleagues. They -to a man demanded, as a _sine quâ non_, that the Pretender should be -compelled to remove to Rome, or to some place much farther off than -Lorraine, and Bolingbroke assured them that the queen would never -consent to such a banishment of her brother. Nothing but the lowest -opinion of men's principles could have led Bolingbroke to expect any -other result from these Whig leaders. Perhaps he only meant to sound -their real views; perhaps only to divert public attention from his -real designs, which the very names of his coadjutors in the Ministry -must have made patent enough to all men of any penetration. The very -same day that he thus gave this Whig dinner he assured Gualtier that -his sentiments towards "the king" were just the same as ever, provided -his Majesty took such measures as would suit the people of England. -Time only was wanting for this traitor-Minister to betray the country -to its old despotisms and troubles; but such time was not in the -plans of Providence. The end of Anne was approaching faster than was -visible to human eyes; but the shrewd and selfish Marlborough had a -pretty strong instinct of it, and was drawing nearer and nearer to the -scene of action, ready to secure himself whichever way the balance -inclined. He was at Ostend, prepared to pass over at an hour's notice, -and to the last moment keeping up his correspondence with the two -Courts of Hanover and Bar-le-duc. Both despised and suspected him, but -feared him at the same time. Such was still his influence, especially -with the army, that whichever party he adopted was considered pretty -sure to succeed. That it was likely to succeed was equally certain -before Marlborough did adopt it. Lockhart of Carnwath, one of the most -active and sagacious Jacobites, and likely to be in the secrets of -the Jacobite party, says that the Pretender, to test the sincerity of -Marlborough, asked the loan of one hundred thousand pounds from him, as -a proof of his fidelity. He did not abide the test, but soon afterwards -offered twenty thousand pounds to the Electoral Prince, to enable him -to come over to England. The moment that Marlborough was prepared, -with his deep-rooted love of money, to do that, it might be certainly -pronounced that he was confident of the success of the Hanoverians. - -[Illustration: ANNE MAKING THE DUKE OF SHREWSBURY LORD TREASURER. (_See -p._ 22)] - -The agitation which the queen underwent on the night of the 27th, when -she dismissed Oxford after a long and fierce altercation, produced a -marked change in her health. The Council was only terminated, having -sat to consider who should be admitted into the new Ministry, by the -queen falling into a swoon. Being got to bed, she passed the night, -not in sleep, but in weeping. The next day another Council was held, -but was again broken up by the illness of the queen, and was prorogued -to the 29th of July. To Dr. Arbuthnot, her physician, Anne declared -that the disputes of her Ministers had killed her; that she should -never survive it. Lady Masham, struck by the queen's heavy and silent -manner, apprehended the worst. Bolingbroke and his Jacobite colleagues -were thunderstruck by this sudden crisis. They assembled in council at -Kensington, in a room not far from that of the dying queen, but they -were so stupefied by the blow that they could do nothing. On the other -hand, the Whigs had been quite alert. Stanhope had made preparations -to seize the Tower; to secure the persons of the Ministers and the -leading Jacobites, if necessary, on the demise of the queen; to obtain -possession of the outports, and proclaim the king. A proof of this -concert was immediately given by the Dukes of Argyll and Somerset, who -belonged to the Privy Council, but, of course, had not been summoned, -suddenly entering the Council chamber, stating that, hearing of the -queen's critical position, they had hastened, though not summoned, to -offer their assistance. No sooner had they said this, than the Duke of -Shrewsbury rose and thanked them for their courtesy. The Whig dukes -immediately demanded that the queen's physicians should be called and -examined as to her probable continuance. The physicians in general -were of opinion that her Majesty might linger some time; but Dr. Mead -declared that she could not live many days, perhaps not many hours; -from the apoplectic symptoms she might be gone in one. Argyll and -Somerset thereupon declared it absolutely necessary that the post of -Lord Treasurer should be filled up, as it was requisite that, at such a -moment, there should be a recognised Prime Minister, and proposed that -the Duke of Shrewsbury should be nominated to that office. Bolingbroke -felt that his power and his plans were at an end, and sat like one -in a dream. The members of the Council then proceeded to the queen's -apartment, and Bolingbroke followed them, as it were, mechanically. -The queen was sensible enough to be made aware of their errand, and -expressed her approval of it. Shrewsbury, however, with that singular -hesitation which always characterised him, refused to take the White -Staff, except from her Majesty's own hand. It was, therefore, handed to -her, and she extended it towards Shrewsbury, saying, "For God's sake, -use it for the good of my people!" Shrewsbury was already Chamberlain, -and he presented the staff of that office in resignation of it; but the -queen bade him retain both; and thus he was at once Lord Treasurer, -Lord Chamberlain, and Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. - -Oxford had sent round a circular to every Whig lord in or near London -who had ever belonged to the Privy Council, warning them to come and -make a struggle for the Protestant succession. This was one of the -most decided actions of that vibratory statesman, and was, no doubt, -prompted by his desire to avenge his recent defeat by Bolingbroke, -and to stand well at the last moment with the House of Hanover. In -consequence of this, the Jacobite Ministers found themselves completely -prostrate and helpless in the midst of the strong muster of Whigs. Even -the aged and infirm Somers made his appearance, and threw the weight -of his great name into the scale. Prompt measures were taken to secure -the advent of the new king. Four regiments were ordered to London; -seven battalions were sent for from Ostend, where Marlborough was said -to have secured their zealous fidelity to the Elector; a fleet was -ordered to put to sea to prevent any interruption of his transit, and -to receive him in Holland. An embargo was laid on all ports, and Anne -the next morning having sunk again into lethargy, the Council ordered -the Heralds-at-Arms and a troop of the Life Guards to be in readiness -to proclaim her successor. Mr. Craggs was sent express to Hanover to -desire the Elector to hasten to Holland, where the fleet would be -ready to receive him. The Council also sent a dispatch to the States -General, to remind them of the fact--which for a long time and to this -moment the English Government appeared itself to have forgotten--that -there was such a thing as a treaty, and that by it they were bound to -guarantee the Protestant succession. Lord Berkeley was appointed to the -command of the fleet, and a reinforcement was ordered for Portsmouth. -A general officer was hastened to Scotland, where much apprehension -of a movement in favour of the Pretender existed; and, in short, -every conceivable arrangement was made for the safe accession of the -Protestant king. - -Still, during all this time, though the Tory Ministers in the Council -appeared paralysed, the Jacobite lords assembled in secret junto in the -very palace where the Council was sitting and the queen dying. Lady -Masham's apartments were the scene of the last convulsive agitation of -Jacobitism. From her the distracted leaders of that faction received -the accounts of the progress of the queen's illness. Amongst these -were Buckingham, Ormonde, Atterbury, and, when he was not at Anne's -bedside, Robinson, Bishop of London. This prelate, when he attended -to administer the Sacrament to the dying woman, received a message -from her, which he was bound by the Duchess of Ormonde to promise -to deliver, though it cost him his head. Probably it was some last -remembrance to her brother, the Pretender; though it was supposed by -some to be an order to the Duke of Ormonde, the Commander-in-Chief, -to hold the army for the Stuart. Nothing, however, of the nature of -this message ever transpired; but the Duke of Buckingham, on the -separation of the Council, which had just obtained the affixing of the -Great Seal to a patent providing for the government of the country by -four-and-twenty regents till the arrival of the successor, clapped his -hand on Ormonde's shoulder, saying, "My lord, you have four-and-twenty -hours to do our business in, and make yourself master of the country." -It was a forlorn hope. That evening Lady Masham entered her apartments -in great agitation, saying, "Oh, my lords, we are all undone--entirely -ruined! The queen is a dead woman; all the world cannot save her!" -Upon which one of the lords asked if the queen had her senses, and if -Lady Masham thought she could speak to them. She replied, "Impossible; -her pain deprives her of all sense, and in the interval she dozes and -speaks to nobody." "That is hard indeed," said one of the lords. "If -she could but speak to us, and give us orders, and sign them, we might -do the business for all that." "Alas!" replied another lord, "who would -act on such orders? We are all undone!" "Then we cannot be worse," -said a third. "I assure you," remarked another of these conspirators, -probably Ormonde, "that if her Majesty would give orders to proclaim -her successor in her lifetime, I would do it at the head of the -army. I'll answer for the soldiers." "Do it, then!" swore the Bishop -Atterbury, for he did not stick at an oath. "Let us go out and proclaim -the Chevalier at Charing Cross. Do you not see that we have no time to -lose?" Lady Masham told them they might waive debate; there was nothing -to be done; her Majesty was no longer capable of directing anything. On -which the Duke of Ormonde exclaimed, "Lord, what an unhappy thing this -is! What a cause is here lost at one blow!" - -The queen expired at seven o'clock on Sunday morning, the 1st of -August, 1714, not having recovered sufficient consciousness to receive -the Sacrament, or to sign her will. During her intervals of sense she -is reported to have repeatedly exclaimed, "Oh, my brother, my dear -brother, what will become of you!" She was still only in her fiftieth -year, and the thirteenth of her reign. Bolingbroke wrote to Swift--"The -Earl of Oxford was removed on Tuesday, and the queen died on Sunday. -What a world is this, and how does fortune banter us!" - -Bolingbroke had assured Iberville, the French agent, that, had the -queen only lived six weeks longer, his measures were so well taken that -he should have brought in the Pretender in spite of everything. On the -very day of the queen's death Marlborough landed at Dover, so exactly -had he timed his return. He found George I. proclaimed in London, in -York, and in other large towns, not only without disorder, but with an -acclamation of joy from the populace which plainly showed where the -heart lay. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE REIGN OF GEORGE I. - - Peaceful Accession of George I.--His Arrival--Triumph of the - Whigs--Dissolution and General Election--The Address--Determination - to Impeach the late Ministers--Flight of Bolingbroke and - Ormonde--Impeachment of Oxford--The Riot Act--The Rebellion - of 1715--Policy of the Regent Orleans--Surrender of the - Pretender's Ships--The Adventures of Ormonde and Mar--The - Highlands declare for the Pretender--Mar and Argyll--Advance - of Mackintosh's Detachment--Its Surrender at Preston--Battle - of Sheriffmuir--Arrival of the Pretender--Mutual - Disappointment--Advance of Argyll--Flight of the Pretender to - France--Punishment of the Rebels--Impeachment of the Rebel - Lords--The Septennial Act--The King goes to Hanover--Impossibility - of Reconstructing the Grand Alliance--Negotiations with - France--Danger of Hanover from Charles XII.--And from Russia--Alarm - from Townshend--Termination of the Dispute--Fresh Differences - between Stanhope and Townshend--Dismissal of the Latter--The - Triple Alliance--Project for the Invasion of Scotland--Detection - of the Plot--Dismissal of Townshend and Walpole--They go into - Opposition--Walpole's Financial Scheme--Attack on Cadogan--Trial of - Oxford--Cardinal Alberoni--Outbreak of Hostilities between Austria - and Spain--Occupation of Sardinia--Alberoni's Diplomacy--The - Quadruple Alliance--Byng in the Mediterranean--Alberoni deserted by - Savoy--Death of Charles XII.--Declaration of War with Spain--Repeal - of the Schism Act--Rejection of the Peerage Bill--Attempted - Invasion of Britain--Dismissal of Alberoni--Spain makes - Peace--Pacification of Northern Europe--Final Rejection of the - Peerage Bill--The South Sea Company--The South Sea Bill--Opposition - of Walpole--Rise of South Sea Stock--Rival Companies--Death - of Stanhope--Punishment of Ministry and Directors--Supremacy - of Walpole--Atterbury's Plot--His Banishment and the Return - of Bolingbroke--Rejection of Bolingbroke's Services--A Palace - Intrigue--Fall of Carteret--Wood's Halfpence--Disturbances in - Scotland--Punishment of the Lord Chancellor Macclesfield--The - Patriot Party--Complications Abroad--Treaty of Vienna--Treaty - of Hanover--Activity of the Jacobites--Falls of Ripperda and of - Bourbon--English Preparations--Folly of the Emperor--Attack on - Gibraltar--Preliminaries of Peace--Intrigues against Walpole--Death - of George I. - - -The calculations of no political party had ever been more completely -falsified than those of the Jacobites and their congeners the Tories -on the death of the queen. They had relied on the fact that the House -of Hanover was regarded with dislike as successors to the throne of -England by all the Catholic Powers of Europe, on account of their -Protestantism, and many of the Protestant Powers from jealousy; and -reckoned that, whilst France would be disposed to support the claims of -the Pretender, there were no Continental countries which would support -those of Hanover, except Holland and the new kingdom of Prussia, -neither of which gave them much alarm. Prussia was but a minor Power, -not capable of furnishing much aid to a contest in England. Holland -had been too much exhausted by a long war to be willing to engage -in another, except for a cause which vitally concerned itself. In -England, the Tories being in power, and Bolingbroke earnest in the -interest of the Pretender, the Duke of Ormonde at the head of the -army, there appeared to the minds of the Jacobites nothing to fear but -the too early demise of the queen, which might find their plans yet -unmatured. To this they, in fact, attributed their failure; but we -may very confidently assert that, even had Anne lived as long as they -desired her, there was one element omitted in their calculations which -would have overthrown all their attempts--the invincible antipathy -to Popery in the heart of the nation, which the steadfast temper of -the Pretender showed must inevitably come back with him to renew all -the old struggles. The event of the queen's death discovered, too, the -comparative weakness of the Tory faction, the strength and activity of -the Whigs. The king showing no haste to arrive, gave ample opportunity -to the Jacobites--had they been in any degree prepared, as they ought -to have been, after so many years, for this great crisis--to introduce -the Pretender and rally round his standard. But whilst George I. -lingered, no Stuart appeared; and the Whigs had taken such careful and -energetic precautions, that without him every attempt must only have -brought destruction on the movers. The measures of Shrewsbury were -complete. The way by sea was secured for the Protestant king, and the -Regency Act provided for the security of every department of Government -at home. - -Before the proclamation of the new king the Council had met, and, -according to the Regency Act, and an instrument signed by the king and -produced by Herr Kreyenberg, the Hanoverian resident, nominated the -persons who were to act till the king's arrival. They consisted of the -seven great officers of State and a number of the peers. The whole was -found to include eighteen of the principal noblemen, nearly all of the -Whig party, as the Dukes of Shrewsbury, Somerset, and Argyll; the Lords -Cowper, Halifax, and Townshend. It was noticed, however, that neither -Marlborough, Sunderland, nor Somers was of the number; nor ought this -to have excited any surprise, when it was recollected that the list was -drawn out in 1705, though only signed just before the queen's death. -These noblemen belonged to that junto under whose thraldom Anne had so -long groaned. The omission, however, greatly incensed Marlborough and -Sunderland. - -[Illustration: GREAT SEAL OF GEORGE I.] - -Marlborough landed at Dover on the day of the queen's death, where he -was received with the warmest acclamations and tokens of the highest -popularity. He was met on his approach to London by a procession of two -hundred gentlemen, headed by Sir Charles Coxe, member for Southwark. As -he drew nearer this procession was joined by a long train of carriages. -It was like a triumph; and Bothmar, the Hanoverian Minister, wrote home -that it was as if he had gained another battle at Höchstädt (Blenheim) -that he would be of great service in case the Pretender should make any -attempt, but that he was displeased that he was not in the regency, or -that any man except the king should be higher in the country than he. -He went straight to the House of Lords to take the oaths to the king; -but at Temple Bar his carriage broke down, to the great delight of the -people, because it compelled him to come out and enter another, by -which they got a good view of him. Having taken the oaths, he retired -into the country till the arrival of the king, disgusted at his not -being in the regency. - -The Lords Justices having met, appointed Joseph Addison, afterwards so -celebrated as a writer, and even now very popular, as their secretary, -and ordered all despatches addressed to Bolingbroke to be brought to -him. This was an intimation that Bolingbroke would be dismissed; and -that proud Minister, instead of giving orders, was obliged to receive -them, and to wait at the door of the Council-chamber with his bags and -papers. As the Lords Justices were apprehending that there might be -some disturbances in Ireland, they were about to send over Sunderland -as Lord-Lieutenant, and General Stanhope as Commander-in-Chief; but -they were speedily relieved of their fears by the intelligence that -all had passed off quietly there; that the Lords Justices of Ireland, -the Archbishop of Armagh, and Sir Constantine Phipps, who had been -more than suspected of Jacobitism, had proclaimed the king on the -6th of August, and, to give evidence of their new zeal, had issued -a proclamation for disarming Papists and seizing their horses. The -proclamation of George passed with the same quietness in Scotland, and -no king, had he been born a native, in the quietest times, could have -succeeded to the throne more smoothly. Eighteen lords, chiefly Whigs, -were nominated by the new king to act as a Council of Regency, pending -his arrival, and the Civil List was voted by Parliament. - -During these transactions there was naturally an earnestly-inquiring -eye kept open towards Hanover, whence the king appeared in no hurry -to issue forth and assume the throne of these three fair kingdoms. -The coolness with which George of Hanover appeared to contemplate the -splendid prize which had fallen to him, seemed to the English little -less than unnatural. Thrones and crowns are generally seized upon -with avidity; but the new king seemed to feel more regret in quitting -his petty Electorate than eagerness to enter on his splendid kingdom. -But George was a man of phlegmatic disposition, and of the most exact -habits, and went through his duties like an automaton or a piece of -machinery. He took, therefore, much time in settling his affairs in -Hanover before he turned his face towards England, and it was not till -the 18th of September, or nearly seven weeks after the decease of the -late queen, that he landed at Greenwich with his son George. "His views -and affections were," as Lord Chesterfield properly observed, "singly -confined to the narrow compass of his Electorate. England was too big -for him." - -The triumph of the Whigs was complete. Whilst Oxford, who had been -making great efforts at the last to retrieve himself with his party -by assisting them to seize the reins of power on the queen's illness, -was admitted in absolute silence to kiss the king's hand, and that not -without many difficulties, Marlborough, Somers, Halifax, and the rest -were received with the most cordial welcome. Yet, on appointing the -new cabinet, the king showed that he did not forget the double-dealing -of Marlborough. He smiled on him, but did not place him where he hoped -to be, at the head of affairs. He made Lord Townshend Secretary of -State and Prime Minister; Stanhope, the second Secretary; the Earl of -Mar was removed from the Secretaryship of Scotland to make way for -the Duke of Montrose; Lord Halifax was made First Lord Commissioner -of the Treasury, and was raised to an earldom, and was allowed to -confer on his nephew the sinecure of Auditor of the Exchequer; Lord -Cowper became Lord Chancellor; Lord Wharton was made Privy Seal, -and created a marquis; the Earl of Nottingham became President -of the Council; Mr. Pulteney was appointed Secretary-at-War; the -Duke of Argyll, Commander-in-Chief for Scotland; Shrewsbury, Lord -Chamberlain and Groom of the Stole; the Duke of Devonshire became Lord -Steward of the Household; the Duke of Somerset, Master of the Horse; -Sunderland, Lord-lieutenant of Ireland; Walpole was at first made -simply Paymaster of the Forces, without a place in the cabinet, but -his ability in debate and as a financier soon raised him to higher -employment; Lord Orford was made First Lord of the Admiralty; and -Marlborough, Commander-in-Chief and Master of the Ordnance. His power, -however, was gone. In the whole new cabinet Nottingham was the only -member who belonged to the Tory party, and of late he had been acting -more in common with the Whigs. The Tories complained vehemently of -their exclusion, as if their dealings with the Pretender had been a -recommendation to the House of Hanover. They contended that the king -should have shown himself the king of the whole people, and aimed at a -junction of the two parties. - -The Ministerial arrangements being completed, the coronation took place -on the 31st of October, and was fully attended by the chief nobles and -statesmen, even by Oxford and Bolingbroke, and was celebrated in most -parts of the kingdom with many demonstrations of joy. Parliament was -then dissolved, and the elections went vastly in favour of the Whigs, -though there were serious riots at Manchester, and throughout the -Midlands. The hopes of advantage from a new monarch made their usual -conversions. In the House of Commons of 1710 there was a very large -majority of Whigs; in that of 1713 as great a one of Tories; and now -again there was as large a one of Whigs. In the Lords the spectacle was -the same. Bolingbroke says, "I saw several Lords concur to condemn, in -one general vote, all that they had approved of in a former Parliament -by many particular resolutions." - -In the Commons, Mr. Spencer Compton, the Ministerial nominee, was -elected Speaker. The king opened his first Parliament in person, but, -being unable to speak English, he handed his speech to Lord Chancellor -Cowper to read. In the Commons the Address condemned in strong language -the shameful peace which had been made after a war carried on at such -vast expense, and attended with such unparalleled successes; but -expressed a hope that, as this dishonour could not with justice be -imputed to the nation, through his Majesty's wisdom and the faithful -endeavours of the Commons the reputation of the kingdom might in due -time be vindicated and restored. This was the first announcement -of the Ministers' intention to call their predecessors to account, -and Secretary Stanhope, in the course of the debate, confirmed it, -observing that it had been industriously circulated that the present -Ministers never designed to bring the late Ministers to trial, but -only to pass a general censure on them; but he assured the House that, -though active efforts had been used to prevent a discovery of the late -treasonable proceedings, by conveying away papers from the Secretaries' -offices, yet Government had sufficient evidence to enable them to bring -to justice the most corrupt Ministry that ever sat at the helm. Before -three weeks were over a secret committee was appointed to consider the -Treaty of Utrecht. - -Bolingbroke promptly fled and took service with the Pretender; Ormonde, -after putting himself ostentatiously forward as leader of the Jacobite -Opposition, followed his example. Both were proceeded against by Act of -Attainder. - -The impeachment of Oxford followed. On the 9th of July, 1715, Lord -Coningsby, attended by many of the Commons, carried up to the Lords -the articles against him, sixteen in number, to which afterwards six -more were added. The first fifteen related to the Peace of Utrecht; -the sixteenth to the sudden creation of twelve peers in 1711, in order -to create a Tory majority, by which it charged him with highly abusing -the constitution of Parliament and the laws of the kingdom. When the -Articles had been read, it was doubted whether any of the charges -amounted to high treason. To decide this as a legal point, it was moved -that the judges should be consulted; but this motion was rejected, and -another was made to commit Oxford to the Tower; and, though reprieved a -few days on account of an indisposition, he was committed accordingly, -having made a very solemn plea of his innocence, and of having only -obeyed the orders of the queen, without at all convincing the House. -He continued to lie in the Tower for two years before he was brought -to trial, matters of higher public interest intervening. Eventually -the impeachment was dropped, the documentary evidence being considered -insufficient. - -Whilst these proceedings were in agitation, the Tory and Jacobite -party, which had at the king's accession appeared stunned, now -recovering spirit, began to foment discontent and sedition in the -public mind. They got the pulpits to work, and the High Church clergy -lent themselves heartily to it. The mobs were soon set to pull down the -meeting-houses of the Dissenters. Many buildings were destroyed, and -many Dissenters insulted. They did not pause there, but they blackened -the character of the king, and denied his right to the Crown, whilst -the most fascinating pictures were drawn of the youth, and grace, and -graciousness of the rightful English prince, who was wandering in -exile to make way for the usurper. To such a length did matters go, -that the Riot Act, which had been passed in the reign of Mary, and -limited to her own reign, which was again revived by Elizabeth, and -had never since been called into action, was now made perpetual, and -armed with increased power. It provided that if twelve persons should -unlawfully assemble to disturb the peace, and any one Justice should -think proper to command them by proclamation to disperse, and should -they, in contempt of his orders, continue together for one hour, their -assembling should be felony without benefit of clergy. A subsequent -clause was added, by which pulling down chapels or houses, even before -proclamation, was made subject to the same penalties. Such is the Act -in force at this day. - -We come now to the rebellion of 1715. The succession of the House of -Hanover had raised the Pretender and his Jacobite faction in England -to a pitch of excitement which made them ready to rush upon the most -desperate measures. In England the destruction of the Tory Ministry, -the welcome given to the new Protestant king, and the vigour with which -the Whigs and all the supporters of the principles of the Revolution -had shown the majority which they were able to return to the new -Parliament, were all indications that the spirit of the nation was more -firmly than ever rooted in Protestantism and the love of constitutional -liberty, and that any endeavours to overturn the new dynasty must be -supported by an overwhelming power from without. Without such force -the event was certain failure; yet, under existing auspices, it was -determined to try the venture. Bolingbroke, on his arrival in France, -saw that all was rashness, impatience, and want of preparation in the -party on both sides of the Channel. The Highlanders were all eagerness -for the Chevalier's arrival, lest he should land in England, and the -English should snatch the glory of the restoration from them. From -England came the letters of Ormonde, who was down in the West, and sent -most glowing representations of the spirit of the people there; that -out of every ten persons nine were against King George, and that he -had distributed money amongst the disbanded officers, to engage them -in the cause of King James. But all these fine words terminated with -the damping intelligence that nobody would stir until they saw the -Chevalier with a good army at his back. Such an army there was not the -smallest hope of obtaining from France. All that Louis would or could -do, without engaging in a new war with England, was to prevail on his -grandson, Philip of Spain, to advance four hundred thousand crowns for -the expedition, and besides this, the Pretender had been able privately -to borrow another hundred thousand, and purchase ten thousand stand of -arms. At this juncture came two fatal events--the flight of Ormonde and -the death of Louis XIV. on September 1st. - -Louis was succeeded for the time by the Duke of Orleans as Regent, who -had other views, and was surrounded by other influences than the old -king. He had secured the Regency in opposition to Madame Maintenon and -the royal bastards. He changed all the ministers, and was not inclined -to risk his government by making enemies of the English abroad, having -sufficient of these at home. He had been for some time cultivating the -good offices of the present English Government, which had offered to -assist him with troops and money, if necessary, to secure the Regency. -He had seen a good deal of the new Secretary of State, Stanhope, in -Spain, and still maintained a correspondence with him. Lord Stair, -the British Ambassador, therefore, was placed in a more influential -position with the Regent, and the Pretender and his ministers were but -coldly looked on. - -Vigilant Stair had discovered the ships that had been prepared at -Havre, by the connivance and aid of the late king, and he insisted that -they should be stopped. Admiral Byng also appeared off Havre with a -squadron, and Lord Stair demanded that the ships should be given up to -him. With this the Regent declined to comply, but he ordered them to be -unloaded, and the arms to be deposited in the royal arsenal. One ship, -however, escaped the search, containing, according to Bolingbroke, one -thousand three hundred arms, and four thousand pounds of powder, which -he proposed to send to Lord Mar, in Scotland. - -This succession of adverse circumstances induced Bolingbroke to -dispatch a messenger to London to inform the Earl of Mar of them, -and to state that, as the English Jacobites would not stir without -assistance from abroad, and as no such help could be had, he would see -that nothing as yet could be attempted. But when the messenger arrived -in London, he learnt from Erasmus Lewis, Oxford's late secretary, and -a very active partisan of the Jacobites, that Mar was already gone to -raise the Highlands, if we are to believe the Duke of Berwick, at the -especial suggestion of the Pretender himself, though he had, on the -23rd of September, in writing to Bolingbroke, expressed the necessity -of the Scots waiting till they heard further from him. If that was so, -it was at once traitorous towards his supporters and very ill-advised, -and was another proof to Bolingbroke of the unsafe parties with whom he -was embarked in this hopeless enterprise. - -As soon as this news reached France the Pretender hastened to St. -Malo in order to embark for Scotland, and Ormonde hastened over from -Normandy to Devonshire to join the insurgents, whom he now expected -to meet in arms. He took with him only twenty officers and as many -troopers from Nugent's regiment. This was the force with which Ormonde -landed in England to conquer it for the Pretender. There was, however, -no need of even these forty men. The English Government had been -beforehand with him; they had arrested all his chief coadjutors, and -when he reached the appointed rendezvous there was not a man to meet -him. On reaching St. Malo, Ormonde there found the Pretender not yet -embarked. After some conference together, Ormonde once more went on -board ship to reach the English coast and make one more attempt in -the hopeless expedition, but he was soon driven back by a tempest. By -this time the port of St. Malo was blockaded by the English, and the -Pretender was compelled to travel on land to Dunkirk, where, in the -middle of December, he sailed with only a single ship for the conquest -of Scotland, and attended only by half a dozen gentlemen, disguised, -like himself, as French naval officers. - -Mar had left London on the 2nd of August to raise the Highlands. In -order to blind the agents of Government he ordered a royal levée on -the 1st, and on the following night got on board a collier bound for -Newcastle, attended by Major-General Hamilton and Colonel Hay. From -Newcastle they got to the coast of Fife in another vessel. On the 6th -of September he raised the standard of the Chevalier at Kirkmichael, -a village of Braemar. He was then attended by only sixty men, and the -Highland chiefs, extremely alive to omens, were startled by the gilt -ball falling from the summit of the pole as it was planted in the -ground. The standard was consecrated by prayers, and he was in a few -days joined by about five hundred of his own vassals. The gentlemen -who came on horseback, only about twenty at first, soon became several -hundreds, and were named the Royal Squadron. The white cockade was -assumed as the badge of the insurgent army, and clan after clan came -in; first the Mackintoshes, five hundred in number, who seized on -Inverness. James was proclaimed by Panmure at Brechin, by the Earl -Marshal at Aberdeen, by Lord Huntly at Gordon, and by Graham, the -brother of Claverhouse, at Dundee. Colonel Hay, brother of the Earl of -Kinnaird, seized Perth, and in a very short time the country north of -the Tay was in the hands of the insurgents. - -[Illustration: THE EARL OF MAR RAISING THE PRETENDER'S STANDARD.] (_See -p._ 28.) - -By the 28th of September Mar had mustered at Perth about five thousand -men. He was cheered by the arrival of one or two ships from France -with stores, arms, and ammunition. He had also managed to surprise a -Government ship driven to take shelter at Burntisland, on its way to -carry arms to the Earl of Sutherland, who was raising his clan for King -George in the north. The arms were seized by Mar's party, and carried -off to the army. Argyll, commander of the king's forces, arrived about -the same time in Scotland, and marched to Stirling, where he encamped -with only about one thousand foot and five hundred cavalry. This was -the time for Mar to advance and surround him, or drive him before him; -but Mar was a most incompetent general, and remained inactive at Perth, -awaiting the movement of the Jacobites in England. Thanks, however, to -the energy of the Government, that movement never took place. - -At length Mar, who was kept back by the absence of the Pretender, -determined to outwit Argyll by sending a detachment under Brigadier -Mackintosh across the Firth of Forth below Stirling, whilst another -body, under General Gordon, was despatched to seize on Inverary, and -keep the clan Campbell in check. Mackintosh had about two thousand -men under his command, chiefly from his own clans, but supported by -the regiments of the Lords Nairn, Strathmore, and Charles Murray. To -prevent these forces from crossing, three English ships of war ascended -the Forth to near Burntisland; but whilst a detachment of five hundred -men held the attention of the ships at that point, the main body were -embarking on the right in small boats lower down, and the greater part -of them got across the Firth, and landed at Aberlady and North Berwick. -The city of Edinburgh was in consternation at this daring manœuvre, -and at the proximity of such a force; and Mackintosh, hearing of this -panic, and of the miserable state of defence there, determined to -attempt to surprise it. He stayed one night at Haddington to rest -his men, and on the 14th appeared at Jock's Lodge, within a mile of -Edinburgh. But on the very first appearance of Mackintosh's troops, Sir -George Warrender, the Provost of Edinburgh, had despatched a messenger -to summon the Duke of Argyll from Stirling to the aid of the capital. -The duke was already approaching Edinburgh, and therefore Mackintosh, -perceiving that he had no chance of surprising the town, turned aside -to Leith. - -Continuing southwards, Mackintosh joined the English insurgents at -Kelso on the 22nd. This united force now amounted altogether to -about two thousand men--one thousand four hundred foot commanded by -Mackintosh, and six hundred horse under Lord Kenmure and Mr. Forster. -This force might, in the paucity of troops in the service of the king, -have produced a great effect had they marched unitedly southward and -engaged General Carpenter, who was advancing from Newcastle, with -only about nine hundred cavalry, to attack them; or had they gone at -once north, taken Argyll in the rear, and then combined with Mar. But -after marching to Jedburgh and then to Hawick, the Scots and English -formed two different opinions. The Scots would not enter England, being -persuaded by the Earl of Wintoun that, if they went into England, they -would be all cut to pieces, or be sold for slaves. Mackintosh was -willing to enter England, but they would listen to no one but Wintoun. -Several hundred Highlanders deserted, and the remainder of the army, -under the inefficient command of Forster, marched into England and -reached Preston without molestation. - -But here their career was doomed to end. Preston had witnessed the -rout of the Royalists by Cromwell, and it was now to witness the -rout of the rebels by the Royalists. Carpenter, on finding that the -insurgents had taken the way through Cumberland, also hastened back -to Newcastle and Durham, where he was joined by General Wills. Wills -was in advance with six regiments of cavalry, mostly newly-raised -troops, but full of spirit, and well-officered. He came near Preston -on the 12th of November, whilst Carpenter was approaching in another -direction, so as to take the enemy in the flank. Forster quickly showed -that he was an incompetent commander. He was at first greatly elated -by the junction of the Lancashire men, but, on hearing that the royal -troops were upon them, he was instantly panic-stricken, and, instead -of issuing orders, or summoning a council, he betook himself to bed. -Lord Kenmure roused him from his ignominious repose, but it was too -late; no means were taken to secure the natural advantages of the -place. The bridge over the Ribble, which might have kept the enemy -at bay, was left undefended; so that when Wills rode up to it on the -morning of the 13th, he imagined that the rebels had evacuated the -place. Besides the bridge over the river, there was a deep and hollow -way of half a mile from the bridge to the town, with high and steep -banks, from which an army might have been annihilated; but all was -left undefended. It was only when Wills advanced into the town that -he became aware that the rebels were still there, and found his path -obstructed by barricades raised in the streets. His soldiers gallantly -attacked these barricades, but were met by a murderous fire both from -behind them and from the houses on each side. But luckily for the -royal forces the least ability was wanting in the rebel commander. -With all the advantages on his side, Forster secretly sent Colonel -Oxburgh to propose a capitulation. Wills at first refused to listen -to it, declaring that he could not treat with rebels who had murdered -many of the king's subjects; but at length he said, if they would lay -down their arms, he would defend them from being cut to pieces by the -soldiers till he received further orders from Government. One thousand -five hundred men surrendered, including eight noblemen, but a good many -escaped. - -This branch of the rebel force was thus completely removed from the -field, and on the same day a far more sanguinary conflict had taken -place between the chief commanders on the two sides, Argyll and Mar, at -Sheriffmuir. - -It was the 10th of November when Mar, aware that Argyll was advancing -against him, at length marched out of Perth with all his baggage and -provisions for twelve days. On the 12th, when they arrived at Ardoch, -Argyll was posted at Dunblane, and he advanced to give them battle. -The wild, uneven ground of Sheriffmuir lay between them, and it was on -this spot that Argyll on quitting Stirling had hoped to meet them. He -therefore drew up his men on this moorland in battle array, and did -not wait long for the coming of the Highland army. It was on a Sunday -morning, the 13th of November, that the battle of Sheriffmuir was -fought. Argyll commanded the right wing of his army, General Whitham -the left, and General Wightman the centre. He calculated much on this -open ground for the operations of his cavalry. On the other hand, Mar -took the right wing of his army, and was thus opposed, not to Argyll, -but to Whitham. The Highlanders, though called on to form in a moment, -as it were, did so with a rapidity which astonished the enemy. They -opened fire on Argyll so instantly and well, that it took the duke's -forces by surprise. The left army retired on Stirling pursued by Mar. -Argyll was compelled to be on the alert. He observed that Mar had drawn -out his forces so as to outflank him; but, casting his eye on a morass -on his right, he discovered that the frost had made it passable, and -he ordered Major Cathcart to lead a squadron of horse across it, while -with the rest of his cavalry he galloped round, and thus attacked -the left wing of Mar both in front and flank. The Highlanders, thus -taken by surprise, were thrown into confusion, but still fought with -their wonted bravery. They were driven, however, by the momentum of -the English horse, backwards; and between the spot whence the attack -commenced and the river Allan, three miles distant, they rallied ten -times, and fairly contested the field. Argyll, however, bore down upon -them with all the force of his right wing, offering quarter to all who -would surrender, and even parrying blows from his own dragoons which -went to exterminate those already wounded. After an obstinate fight of -three hours, he drove the Highlanders over the Allan, a great number of -them being drowned in it. Mar at this crisis returned to learn the fate -of the rest of his army. He found that he had been taking the office -of a General of Division instead of that of the Commander-in-Chief, -whose duty is to watch the movements of the whole field, and send aid -to quarters which are giving way. Like Prince Rupert, in his ardour for -victory over his enemies in front of him, he had totally forgotten the -centre and left wing, and discovered now that the left wing was totally -defeated. He was contented to draw off, and yet boast of victory. - -At this juncture, while daily desertions thinned Mar's army at Perth, -arrived the Pretender. He landed at Peterhead on the 22nd of December. -On the 6th of January, 1716, he made his public entry into Dundee, at -the head of his cavalcade, the Earl of Mar riding on his right hand, -and the Earl Marshal on his left, and about three hundred gentlemen -following. His reception was enthusiastic. The people flocked round him -to kiss his hands; and to gratify this loyal desire he remained an -hour in the market-place. On the 8th he arrived at Scone, and took up -his residence in the ancient palace of his ancestors. There he was only -two miles from the army, and having established a council, and issued -six proclamations, ordering a public thanksgiving for the "miraculous -providence" of his safe arrival, for prayers in the church, for the -currency of foreign coin, for a meeting of the Convention of Estates, -for all fencible men from sixteen to sixty to repair to his standard, -and for his coronation on the 23rd of January, he presented himself -before the army. But here the scene was changed. Instead of enthusiasm -there was disappointment--disappointment on both sides. The soldiers, -who expected to see a royal-looking, active-looking man, likely to -encourage them and lead them on their career, beheld a tall, thin, -pale, and dejected sort of person, who evidently took no great interest -in them. That the Pretender should not exhibit much vivacity was no -wonder. He had been assured by Mar that his army had swelled to sixteen -thousand men; that the whole North was in his favour; and that he had -only to appear to carry everything before him. On inquiring into the -force, it turned out to be so miserably small, that the only desire was -to keep it out of sight. The spirits of the Pretender fell, and though -not destitute of ability, as is manifest by his letters, he had by no -means that strength of resolution demanded by such an enterprise. - -At length Argyll, whose movements had been hastened by the arrival -of General Cadogan, prepared to march northwards through deep snow -and villages burnt by the Pretender's order. On the 30th of January -the rebel army retreated from Perth, the Highland soldiers, some -in sullen silence, others in loud curses, expressing their anger -and mortification at this proceeding. The inhabitants looked on in -terror, and bade adieu to the troops in tears, expecting only a heavy -visitation for having so long harboured them. Early the next morning -they crossed the deep and rapid Tay, now, however, a sheet of solid -ice, and directed their march along the Carse of Gowrie towards Dundee. - -Argyll, who received the news of the retreat about four in the -afternoon of that day, occupied Perth with Dutch and English troops by -ten o'clock the next morning. They had quitted Stirling on the 29th, -and that night they encamped on the snow amid the burnt remains of -the village of Auchterarder. Argyll and Cadogan followed the advanced -guard and entered Perth on the evening of the 1st of February; but the -remainder of the troops did not arrive till late at night, owing to the -state of the roads and the weather. Some few of the rebels, who had -got drunk and were left behind, were secured. The next day Argyll and -Cadogan, with eight hundred light foot and six squadrons of dragoons, -followed along the Carse of Gowrie to Dundee. Cadogan, in a letter to -Marlborough, complained of the evident reluctance of Argyll to press on -the rebels. When he arrived at Dundee on the 3rd, the rebel army was -already gone. He and Cadogan then separated, taking different routes -towards Montrose. Cadogan, whose heart was in the business, pushed on -ahead, and on the 5th, at noon, reached Arbroath, where he received the -news that the Pretender had embarked at Montrose and gone to France. In -this manner did the descendant of a race of kings and the claimant of -the Crown of Great Britain steal away and leave his unhappy followers -to a sense of his perfidious and cruel desertion. His flight, no doubt, -was necessary, but the manner of it was at once most humiliating and -unfeeling. The consternation and wrath of the army on the discovery -were indescribable. They were wholly broken up when Argyll reached -Aberdeen on the 8th of February. - -Gloomy as was the Pretender's fortune, it was, nevertheless, infinitely -better than that of thousands who had ventured their lives and fortunes -in his cause. There were not many prisoners in Scotland, but the clans -which had sided with the English Government were hounded on to hunt -down those who had been out with the Pretender amongst their hills, -and they were hunted about by the English troops under the guidance of -these hostile clans; and where they themselves were not to be found, -their estates suffered by troops being quartered in their houses and -on their lands. In England the prisons of Chester, Liverpool, and -other northern towns were crowded by the inferior class of prisoners -from the surrender of Preston. Some half-pay officers were singled out -as deserters, and shot by order of a court-martial; but the common -soldiers were eventually acquitted or let off with light sentences. - -On the 9th of January, a month after their arrival, Lord Derwentwater -was impeached of high treason by Mr. Lechmere in a bitter speech in the -Commons. Other members, with equal acrimony, followed with impeachments -against the Lords Widdrington, Nithsdale, Wintoun, Carnwath, Kenmure, -and Nairn. The impeachments were carried up to the House of Lords on -the same day, and on the 19th the accused noblemen were brought before -the Peers, where they knelt at the bar until they were desired to rise -by the Lord Chancellor, when, with the exception of Lord Wintoun, they -confessed their guilt, and threw themselves on the mercy of the king. -Sentence of death was immediately pronounced on those who had pleaded -guilty; and Lord Wintoun was condemned after trial, but several months -later he effected his escape from the Tower. Every effort was made to -save the prisoners, and they were all reprieved, with the exception -of Derwentwater, Kenmure, and Nithsdale. The first two were executed; -but the Countess of Nithsdale, being about to take her leave of her -husband, contrived, by introducing some friends, to secure his escape -in female attire. - -In April the inferior prisoners were tried in the Common Pleas. -Forster, brigadier Mackintosh, and twenty of their accomplices were -condemned; but Forster, Mackintosh, and some of the others, managed, -like Wintoun, to escape; so that, of all the crowds of prisoners, only -twenty-two in Lancashire and four in London were hanged. Bills of -attainder were passed against the Lords Tullibardine, Mar, and many -others who were at large. Above a thousand submitted to the king's -mercy, and petitioned to be transported to America. - -Meanwhile the Whigs were anxious to add fresh security to their own -lease of office. At the last election they had procured the return -of a powerful majority; but two years out of the triennial term had -expired, and they looked with apprehension to the end of the next year, -when a dissolution must take place. They were aware that there were -still strong plottings and secret agitations for the restoration of the -banished dynasty. By both the king and his Ministers all Tories were -regarded as Jacobites, and it was resolved to keep them out of office, -and, as much as possible, out of Parliament. They had the power in -their own hands in this Parliament, and, in order to keep it, they did -not hesitate to destroy that Triennial Act for which their own party -had claimed so much credit in 1694, and substitute a Septennial Act in -its place. They would thereby give to their own party in Parliament -more than a double term of the present legal possession of their seats. -Instead of one year, they would be able to look forward four years -without any fear of Tory increase of power through a new election. On -the 10th of April, Devonshire, Lord Steward of the Household, moved -the repeal of the Triennial Act, long lauded as one of the bulwarks -of our liberties, under the now convenient plea that it had been -"found very grievous and burthensome, by occasioning much greater and -more continued expenses in order to elections of members to serve in -Parliament, and more lasting heats and animosities amongst the subjects -of this realm than ever were known before the said clause was enacted." - -In the preamble to the new Bill the object of that extended Bill was -candidly avowed, namely, that when "a restless and popish faction are -designing and endeavouring to renew the rebellion in this kingdom and -an invasion from abroad, it might be destructive to the peace and -security of the Government." The Septennial Bill was, in fact, intended -as a purely temporary measure, and, though originated by party spirit, -it was really of great advantage in days when every general election -meant a fresh exercise of the influence of the Crown and the Lords. - -[Illustration: RETREAT OF THE HIGHLANDERS FROM PERTH. (_See p._ 31.)] - -Whilst Parliament was busy with the Septennial Bill, George I. was -very impatient to get away to Hanover. Like William III., he was but a -foreigner in England; a dull, well-meaning man, whose heart was in his -native country, and who had been transplanted too late ever to take -to the alien earth. The Act of Settlement provided that, after the -Hanoverian accession, no reigning sovereign should quit the kingdom -without permission of Parliament. George was not content to ask this -permission, but insisted that the restraining clause itself should be -repealed, and it was accordingly repealed without any opposition. There -was one difficulty connected with George's absence from his kingdom -which Council or Parliament could not so easily deal with: this was his -excessive jealousy of his son. The king could not take his departure -in peace if the Prince of Wales was to be made regent, according to -custom, in his absence. He proposed, therefore, through his favourite, -Bothmar, that the powers of the prince should be limited by rigorous -provisions, and that some other persons should be joined with him in -commission. Lord Townshend did not hesitate to express his sense of the -impolicy of the king's leaving his dominions at all at such a crisis; -but he also added that to put any other persons in commission with -the Prince of Wales was contrary to the whole practice and spirit of -England. Driven from this, the king insisted that, instead of regent, -the prince should be named "Guardian and Lieutenant of the Realm"--an -office which had never existed since the time of the Black Prince. - -The retreat of George to Hanover was not merely to enjoy his native -scenes and old associations; he felt himself insecure even on the -throne of England, and the rebellion for the present quelled; he was -anxious to form or renew alliances on the Continent to give strength to -his position. The part which England had taken at the end of the war -seemed to have alienated all her confederates of the Grand Alliance, -and transferred their resentment to himself with his accession to the -British Crown. Holland was, perhaps, the least sensible of the past -discords; she had kept the treaty, and lent her aid on the landing of -the Pretender; but she was at daggers drawn with Austria, who was much -irritated by the Barrier Treaty, by which the Dutch secured a line of -fortresses on the Austrian Netherlands. As for the Emperor, he was -more feeble and sluggish than he had shown himself as the aspirant to -the throne of Spain. He was a bigoted Catholic, little disposed to -trouble himself for securing a Protestant succession, although it had -expended much money and blood in defence of his own. On the contrary, -he felt a strong jealousy of George, the Elector of Hanover, as King of -England, and therefore capable of introducing, through his augmented -resources, aggressive disturbances in Germany. The King of Prussia, his -son-in-law, was rather a troublesome and wrangling ally than one to be -depended upon. - -Taking this view of his Continental neighbours, George was driven to -the conclusion that his only safety lay in firmly engaging France to -relinquish the Pretender. The means of the attainment of this desirable -object lay in the peculiar position of the Regent, who was intent on -his personal aims. So long as the chances of the Pretender appeared -tolerable, the Regent had avoided the overtures on this subject; but -the failure of the expedition to the Highlands had inclined him to give -up the Pretender, and he now sent the Abbé Dubois to Hanover to treat -upon the subject. He was willing also to destroy the works at Mardyk -as the price of peace with England. The preliminaries were concluded, -and the Dutch included in them; but the Treaty was not ratified till -January, 1717. - -But though this difficulty was tided over, there remained a still -greater one with Sweden. Charles XII., overthrown by the Czar Peter at -the battle of Pultowa, had fled into Turkey, and obstinately remained -at Bender, though the Czar and his allies were all the time overrunning -and taking possession of the Swedish territories on the eastern side -of the Baltic. Russians, Norwegians, Danes, Saxons, and Prussians were -all busy gorging the spoil. The King of Denmark, amongst the invasions -of Swedish territory, had seized on the rich bishoprics of Bremen and -Verden, which had been ceded to Sweden at the Peace of Westphalia. -These bishoprics, which lay contiguous to Hanover, had always been an -object of desire to that State. And now Charles of Sweden, suddenly -ruined by the proceedings of his neighbours, who thus rent his kingdom -limb from limb, galloped away from Bender, and in November, 1714, -startled all his enemies by appearing at Stralsund. The Danish king, -seeing a tempest about to burst over his head, immediately tempted -the English king to enter into alliance with him, by offering him the -stolen bishoprics of Bremen and Verden on condition that he should -pay a hundred and fifty thousand pounds and join the alliance against -Sweden. Without waiting for any consent of Parliament, Sir John Norris -was sent with a fleet to the Baltic, under the pretence of protecting -our trade there, but with the real object of compelling Sweden to cede -the bishoprics, and to accept a compensation in money for them. - -At the same time that we were thus dragged into hostilities with -Sweden, we were brought into hostilities with the Czar too in defence -of Hanover. Peter had married his niece to the Duke of Mecklenburg, -who was on bad terms with his subjects, and the Czar was only too glad -to get a footing in Germany by sending a large body of troops into -the Duchy. Denmark became immediately alarmed at such a dangerous and -unscrupulous neighbour, and remonstrated; whereupon the Czar informed -the Danish king that if he murmured he would enter Denmark with his -army too. Of course the King of Denmark called on his ally, George -of Hanover, for the stipulated aid; and George, who hated the Czar -mortally, and was hated by the Czar as intensely in return, at once -sent his favourite, Bernsdorff, to Stanhope, who had accompanied him to -Hanover, with a demand that "the Czar should be instantly crushed, his -ships secured, his person seized, and kept till he should have caused -his troops to evacuate both Denmark and Germany." - -The receipt of such proposals in England produced the utmost -consternation in the Cabinet. Townshend, in an "absolutely secret" -answer to Stanhope, expressed the concern both of himself and the -Prince of Wales at the prospect of a rupture with the Czar, who would -seize the British ships and subjects in Russia, and prohibit the supply -of naval stores from his kingdom, and that especially at a crisis when -England was threatened with an invasion from Sweden and a rising of the -Jacobites. He did not deny that there was a great risk of both these -kingdoms and the German empire being exposed to imminent danger by the -designs of the Czar on the whole coast of the Baltic, a danger which -he might, had he dared, truly have attributed to George's own deeds -by offending Sweden, instead of uniting with it to counterbalance the -Czar's plan of aggrandisement. Fortunately, the Czar was induced, by -the combined remonstrances of Austria, Denmark, and Sir John Norris, -to abandon his projects for the moment, at least in Germany, and to -withdraw his troops from Mecklenburg. - -The fear of the Russians being removed, the king was impatient to get -the Treaty with France ratified both by England and Holland. As there -was some delay on the part of Holland, Stanhope proposed to comply with -the king's desire, that the Treaty should be signed, without further -waiting for the Dutch, but with the agreement on both sides that they -should be admitted to sign as soon as they were ready. Dubois was -to proceed to the Hague, and there sign the Treaty in form with our -plenipotentiaries at that place, Lord Cadogan and Horace Walpole. But -these ministers had repeatedly assured the States that England would -never sign without them, and Horace Walpole now refused to consent to -any such breach of faith. He declared he would rather starve, die, do -anything than thus wound his honour and conscience; that he should -regard it as declaring himself villain under his own hand. He said he -would rather lay his patent of reversion in the West Indies, or even -his life, at his Majesty's feet, than be guilty of such an action, -and he begged leave to be allowed to return home. Townshend, for a -moment, gave in to the proposition for not waiting for the Dutch, -but immediately recalled that opinion; and he drew the powers of the -plenipotentiaries for signing so loosely, that Dubois declined signing -upon them. As we have said, the ratification did not take place till -January, 1717, and after great causes of difference had arisen between -Townshend and Stanhope. So greatly did Stanhope resent the difference -of opinion in Townshend, that he offered his resignation to the king, -who refused to accept it, being himself by this time much out of humour -with both Townshend and Robert Walpole, the Paymaster of the Forces. - -Various causes, in fact, were operating to produce a great schism -in the Ministry of George I. Townshend, as we have seen, had very -unguardedly expressed his disgust with the measures of the king at and -concerning Hanover. George's dislike was, of course, fomented by his -courtiers and mistresses, and they found a powerful ally in Sunderland, -who, tired of his subordinate position in the Ministry, had joined -the king in Hanover. A letter from Townshend, in which, in order to -allow the longer absence of the king, he recommended that additional -powers should be conferred on the Prince of Wales, brought George's -indignation to a head. This letter, which arrived about the middle of -December, seemed to cause his anger to burst all bounds, and he vowed -that he would dismiss Townshend at once from his service. - -Stanhope appears to have done his best to break Townshend's fall. He -represented to the king the high character of that minister, his real -services, and the injustice and impolicy of disgracing him; that he -might remove him to another office, and thus answer every purpose. -He could take the chief direction of affairs out of his hands, even -while appearing to promote him. He therefore advised that Townshend -should, without a word of dismissal or disapprobation, be offered the -Lord-Lieutenancy of Ireland, instead of the Secretaryship of State, -and to this the king consented. Accordingly Stanhope was directed to -write to Townshend, and also to Secretary Methuen, and he did so on -the 14th of December, conveying in most courteous terms the king's -desire that he should accept the Lord-Lieutenancy, and this without -a syllable of discontent on the part of his Majesty. Townshend at -first refused, but on the arrival of George in London he received -Townshend very cordially, and so softened him as to induce him to -accept the Lord-Lieutenancy, and to do the very thing he had declared -it was not common honesty to do--accept the post and still remain in -London, acting with the rest of the Cabinet. His political adherents, -including Methuen, Pulteney, the Walpoles, Lord Orford, and the Duke -of Devonshire, were contented to remain in office. The only change was -that Methuen was made one of the two Secretaries along with Stanhope. -It was thus imagined that the great schism in the Whig party was -closed; but this was far from being the case: the healing was only on -the surface. It was during this brief reconciliation that the great -Triple Alliance between England, France, and Holland, was concluded. - -Thus entered the year 1717. It had been intended to open Parliament -immediately on the king's return, but the discovery of a new and -singular phase of the Jacobite conspiracy compelled its postponement. -We have seen that the trafficking of George with Denmark for the -bishoprics of Bremen and Verden, reft in the king of Sweden's absence -from his possession, had incensed that monarch, and made him vow that -he would support the Pretender and march into Scotland with twelve -thousand men. Such a menace on the part of a general like Charles XII. -was not likely to pass unnoticed by the Jacobites. The Duke of Berwick -had taken up the idea very eagerly. He had held several conferences -upon it with Baron Spaar, the Swedish Minister at Paris, and he had -sent a trusty minister to Charles at Stralsund, with the proposal -that a body of seven or eight thousand Swedes, then encamped near -Gothenburg, should embark at that port, whence, with a favourable wind, -they could land in Scotland in eight-and-forty hours. The Pretender -agreed to furnish one hundred and fifty thousand livres for their -expenses. At that time, however, Charles was closely besieged by the -Danes, Prussians, and their new ally, George of Hanover, purchased by -the bribe of Bremen and Verden. Charles was compelled by this coalition -to retire from Stralsund, but only in a mood of deeper indignation -against the King of England, and therefore more favourable to his -enemies. - -The invasion of Scotland was again brought under his notice, and -strongly recommended by his chief confidant and minister, Baron Gortz. -Charles now listened with all his native spirit of resentment, and -Gortz immediately set out on a tour of instigation and arrangement of -the invasion. He hastened to Holland, where he corresponded with Count -Gyllenborg, the Swedish Ambassador at London, and Baron Spaar, the -Swedish Minister at Paris. He put himself also into communication with -the Pretender and the Duke of Ormonde. The scheme of Gortz was able -and comprehensive. A peace was to be established between Charles and -his great enemy and rival, Peter of Russia. They both hated George -of Hanover and England, and by this union might inflict the severest -injuries on him. Next a conspiracy was to be excited against the -Regent of France, so as to prevent him aiding England according to the -recent Treaty, and all being thus prepared, Charles XII. was himself -to conduct the army of twelve thousand veterans destined to invade -Scotland, and, if supported by the Jacobites, England. - -The Jacobites were in ecstasies at this new phase of their old -enterprise. By Charles's adhesion, their scheme was stripped of all -those prejudices which had insured its ruin with the English. It had -no longer the unpopular aspect of a French invasion; it was no longer -headed by a Popish but a Protestant leader; it was no longer consigned -to an untried or doubtful general, but to one of the most victorious -monarchs living, who came as a Protestant to call on a Protestant -nation to receive their rightful king. Money was not wanting. Spain -remitted to Baron Spaar a million of livres for the expedition, and the -Court of the Pretender offered sixty thousand pounds. - -But unfortunately for the Pretender, at the moment that the Swedish -hero should prepare his armament for the earliest spring, the -conspiracy exploded. Whilst the leaders of it had been flattering -themselves that it was conducted with the profoundest secrecy, the -English Ministry were in possession of its clue. As early as October -they had found reason to induce them to intercept the correspondence -of Gyllenborg, and had come at once on the letters of Gortz. The -matter was kept close, and as nothing was apprehended in winter, -Ministers used the time to improve their knowledge of the scheme from -the inspected letters passing between Gortz and Gyllenborg. On the -king's return it was resolved to act, and accordingly Stanhope laid the -information regarding this formidable conspiracy before the Council, -and proposed that the Swedish Minister, who had clearly, by conspiring -against the Government to which he was accredited, violated the law of -nations, and deprived himself of its protection, should be arrested. -The Cabinet at once assented to the proposal, and General Wade, a man -of firm and resolute military habits, was ordered to make the arrest of -the Ambassador. The general found Count Gyllenborg busy making up his -despatches, which, after announcing laconically his errand, Wade took -possession of, and then demanded the contents of his escritoire. The -Dutch Government acted in the same manner to Gortz, and the evidence -thus obtained was most conclusive. - -[Illustration: JAMES EDWARD STUART, THE "OLD PRETENDER."] - -When Parliament met on the 20th of February, this conspiracy was laid -before it and excited great indignation. The two Houses voted cordial -addresses to his Majesty, and for a while there was an air of harmony. -But the fires of discontent were smouldering beneath the surface, and, -on a motion being made in April, in consequence of a royal message, to -grant the king an extraordinary Supply in order to enable his Majesty -to contract alliances with foreign powers, that he might be prepared -to meet any attempts at invasion which the Swedes might, after all, -be disposed to make, the heat broke forth. The Supply moved for was -fixed at two hundred and fifty thousand pounds. It was expected that -Walpole, having had his name suspiciously mentioned in Gyllenborg's -correspondence, would take this opportunity to wipe off all doubt -by his zeal and co-operation. On the contrary, he never appeared so -lukewarm. Both he and his brother Horace, indeed, spoke in favour of -the Supply, but coldly; and Townshend and all their common friends -openly joined the Tories and Jacobites in voting against it; so that -it was carried only by a majority of four. This could not pass; and -the same evening Stanhope, by the king's order, wrote to Townshend, -acknowledging his past services, but informing him that he was no -longer Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. - -Walpole did not wait for a like humiliation. The next morning he -waited on the king, and tendered his resignation of his places as -First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer. The king, -if he could be judged by his conduct, had formed no resolution of -parting with Walpole. He handed again to him the seals, cordially -entreating him to take them back, speaking to him in the kindest -manner, and appearing as though he would take no refusal. But Walpole -remained steady to his purpose, and, accordingly, his friends Methuen, -Pulteney, Lord Orford, and the Duke of Devonshire, resigned a few days -afterwards. Stanhope was then appointed First Lord of the Treasury and -Chancellor of the Exchequer; Sunderland and Joseph Addison were made -Secretaries of State; Craggs, Secretary at War; Lord Berkeley, First -Lord of the Admiralty; the Duke of Newcastle, Lord Chamberlain; the -Duke of Bolton, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland; Lord Cowper and the Duke of -Kingston retaining their old places. - -The retired Ministers showed for the most part a very hostile attitude, -and Pulteney denounced the new Ministry as a "German Ministry." -Walpole, for a little time, affected a liberal conduct, declaring, -when the Supply of two hundred and fifty thousand pounds was voted, -that, as he had before spoken in its favour, he should now vote in its -favour, and would show by his proceedings that he had never intended -to make the king uneasy, or to embarrass his affairs. But it was not -in Walpole's nature to maintain this air of temperance long. He was as -violent in opposition as he was able and zealous in office. Whether in -or out of office, he was, in fact, equally unscrupulous. He very soon -joined himself to Shippen, Wyndham, Bromley, and the other violent -opponents of the reigning family; so that Shippen himself ere long said -exultingly that he was glad to see that Walpole was no longer afraid of -being styled a Jacobite. - -Before Walpole thus threw off the mask of moderation--indeed, on the -very day of his resignation--he introduced a well-matured scheme for -the reduction of the National Debt, which was, in fact, the earliest -germ of the National Sinking Fund. Though the ordinary rate of interest -had been reduced, by the statute of the 12th of Queen Anne, to five per -cent., the interest on the funded debt remained upwards of seven. The -Long and Short Annuities were unredeemable, and could not be touched -without the consent of the proprietors; but Walpole proposed to borrow -six hundred thousand pounds at only four per cent., and to apply all -savings to the discharge of the debts contracted before December, 1716. -He proposed, also, to make some arrangement with the Bank and the South -Sea Company, by which the Bank should lend two millions and a half, and -the Company two millions, at five per cent., to pay off such holders of -redeemable debts as should refuse to accept an equal reduction. - -The new Administration took measures to render themselves popular. -They advised the king to go down to the House on the 6th of May, and -propose a reduction of the army to the extent of ten thousand men, as -well as an Act of Grace to include many persons concerned in the late -rebellion. Walpole and his friends, on the contrary, did all in their -power to embarrass the Government. Lord Oxford was not included in -the Act of Indemnity, and it was resolved now by his friends to have -his trial brought on. Before this was effected, however, a violent -attack was made on Lord Cadogan. As Ambassador at the Hague, he had -superintended the embarkation of the Dutch troops sent to aid in -putting down the rebellion. He was now charged with having committed -gross peculations on that occasion. Shippen led the way in this -attack, but Walpole and Pulteney pursued their former colleague with -the greatest rancour, and Walpole declaimed against him so furiously -that, after a speech of nearly two hours in length, he was compelled -to stop by a sudden bleeding at the nose. Stanhope, Craggs, Lechmere, -and others defended him; but such was the combination of enemies -against him, or rather, against the Ministers, that the motion was only -negatived by a majority of ten. - -Lord Oxford's case was brought at length to a termination also in his -favour. His friends having complained of the hardship of keeping him -without a hearing for nearly two years, the 24th of June was appointed -for the trial to take place in Westminster Hall. The Commons again met -in committee to complete the evidence against him; but it was now found -that Walpole, who was the chairman, and who had formerly pursued the -inquiry with all eagerness, had suddenly cooled, and seldom came near -the Committee; and they therefore appointed a new one. In fact, he and -Townshend, out of opposition, were doing that secretly which they could -not do openly without loss of character--they were exerting themselves -in favour of their old antagonist, and they soon hit on a scheme for -bringing him off without any trial at all. The Lords were persuaded -to listen to any evidence in support of the charge of misdemeanour -before they heard that on the grave charge of treason, and the result -foreseen by the Opposition took place when the resolution was reported -to the Commons. They immediately determined that it was an infringement -of their privileges, and declined compliance with it. This was what -Walpole and the then partisans, secret or open, of Lord Oxford, had -foreseen. The Commons refusing to attend in Westminster Hall on the day -fixed, the Lords returned to their own House, and passed a resolution -declaring the Earl of Oxford acquitted, an announcement received by -the people with acclamation. The Commons then demanded that Oxford -should be excepted from the Act of Grace; but, notwithstanding, he was -released from the Tower, and the Commons never renewed the impeachment. - -It might have been supposed that Europe, or at least the southern -portion of it, was likely to enjoy a considerable term of peace. -France, under a minor and a Regent, appeared to require rest to recruit -its population and finances more than any part of the Continent. The -King of Spain was too imbecile to have any martial ambition; and though -his wife was anxious to secure the succession to the French throne in -case of the death of the infant Louis XV., yet Alberoni, the Prime -Minister, was desirous to remain at peace. This able Churchman, who had -risen from the lowest position, being the son of a working gardener, -and had made his way to his present eminence partly by his abilities -and partly by his readiness to forget the gravity of the clerical -character for the pleasure of his patrons, was now zealously exerting -himself to restore the condition of Spain. He was thus brought into -collision with Austria and France, and eventually with this country -to which at first he was well disposed. England was under engagement -both to France and the Empire, which must, on the first rupture with -either of those Powers and Spain, precipitate her into war. The treaty -with the Emperor--as it guaranteed the retention of the Italian -provinces, which Spain beheld with unappeasable jealousy, in Austrian -hands--was the first thing to change the policy of Alberoni towards -Britain. This change was still further accelerated by the news of the -Triple Alliance, which equally guaranteed the _status quo_ of France. -The Spanish Minister displayed his anger by suspending the Treaty of -Commerce, and by conniving at the petty vexations practised by the -Spaniards on the English merchants in Spain, and by decidedly rejecting -a proposal of the King of England to bring about an accommodation -between the Emperor and the Court of Spain. - -In this uneasy state of things Austria very unnecessarily put the match -to the political train, and threw the whole of the south of Europe -again into war. Don Joseph Molina, the Spanish Ambassador at Rome, -being appointed Inquisitor-General at Spain, commenced his journey -homewards, furnished with a passport from the Pope, and an assurance of -safety from the Imperial Minister. Yet, notwithstanding this, he was -perfidiously arrested by the Austrian authorities and secured in the -citadel of Milan. The gross insult to Spain, and equally gross breach -of faith, so exasperated the King and Queen of Spain that they would -listen to nothing but war. The earnest expostulations of Alberoni, -delivered in the form of a powerful memorial, were rejected, and he was -compelled to abandon the cherished hopes of peaceful improvement and -make the most active preparations for war. - -Alberoni despatched Don Joseph Patiño to Barcelona to hasten the -military preparations. Twelve ships of war and eight thousand six -hundred men were speedily assembled there, and an instant alarm was -excited throughout Europe as to the destination of this not very -formidable force. The Emperor, whose treacherous conduct justly -rendered him suspicious, imagined the blow destined for his Italian -territories; the English anticipated a fresh movement in favour of -the Pretender; but Alberoni, an astute Italian, who was on the point -of receiving the cardinal's hat from the Pope led Charles (VI.) to -believe that the armament was directed against the Infidels in the -Levant. The Pope, therefore, hastened the favour of the Roman purple, -and then Alberoni no longer concealed the real destination of his -troops. The Marquis de Lede was ordered to set out with the squadron -for the Italian shores; but when Naples was trembling in apprehension -of a visit, the fleet drew up, on the 20th of August, in the bay of -Cagliari, the capital of the island of Sardinia. That a force which -might have taken Naples should content itself with an attack on the -barren, rocky, and swampy Sardinia, surprised many; but Alberoni knew -very well that, though he could take, he had not yet an army sufficient -to hold Naples, and he was satisfied to strike a blow which should -alarm Europe, whilst it gratified the impatience of the Spanish monarch -for revenge. There was, moreover, an ulterior object. It had lately -been proposed by England and Holland to the Emperor, in order to induce -him to come into the Triple Alliance and convert it into a quadruple -one, to obtain an exchange of this island for Sicily with the Duke of -Savoy. It was, therefore, an object to prevent this arrangement by -first seizing Sardinia. The Spanish general summoned the governor of -Cagliari to surrender; but he stood out, and the Spaniards had to wait -for the complete arrival of their ships before they could land and -invest the place. The governor was ere long compelled to capitulate; -but the Aragonese and the Catalans, who had followed the Austrians -from the embittered contest in their own country, defended the island -with furious tenacity, and it was not till November, and after -severe losses through fighting and malaria, that the Spaniards made -themselves masters of the island. The Powers of the Triple Alliance -then intervened with the proposal that Austria should renounce all -claim on the Spanish monarchy, and Spain all claim on Italy. Enraged at -this proposal, Alberoni embarked on extensive military preparations, -and put in practice the most extensive diplomatic schemes to paralyse -his enemies abroad. He won the goodwill of Victor Amadeus by holding -out the promise of the Milanese in exchange for Sicily; he encouraged -the Turks to continue the war against the Emperor, and entered into -negotiations with Ragotsky to renew the insurrection in Hungary; he -adopted the views of Gortz for uniting the Czar and Charles of Sweden -in peace, so that he might be able to turn their united power against -the Emperor, and still more against the Electorate of Hanover, thus -diverting the attention and the energies of George of England. Still -further to occupy England, which he dreaded more than all the rest, he -opened a direct correspondence with the Pretender, who was now driven -across the Alps by the Triple Alliance, and promised him aid in a new -expedition against Britain under the direction of the Duke of Ormonde, -or of James himself. In France the same skilful pressure was directed -against all the tender places of the body politic. He endeavoured to -rouse anew the insurrection of the Cevennes and the discontents of -Brittany. The Jesuits, the Protestants, the Duke and Duchess of Maine, -were all called into action, and the demands for the assembling of the -States-General, for the instant reformation of abuses, for reduction of -the national debts, and for other reforms, were the cries by which the -Government was attempted to be embarrassed. - -These preparations on the part of Spain were in one particular -favourable to the King of England--they rendered the Emperor much -more conceding. The English envoy at that Court--rather singularly a -Swiss of the canton of Bern--the General de St. Saphorin, had found -Stahremberg, the Emperor's Minister, very high, and disinclined to -listen to the proposals of the King of England regarding Bremen and -Verden; but the news of the Spanish armament, and still more of its -having sailed from Cadiz to Barcelona, produced a wonderful change. -The Imperial Court not only consented to the demands of England, but -accepted its mediation with the Turks, by which a considerable force -was liberated for the service in Italy. The Emperor acceded to the -alliance proposed between England, France, and Germany in order to -drive Spain to terms, and which afterwards, when joined by the Dutch, -was called the Quadruple Alliance. In France, however, all obstacles to -this Treaty were not yet overcome. There was a strong party, headed by -the Marshal d'Huxelles, chief of the Council for Foreign Affairs, which -strongly opposed this plan of coercing the grandson of Louis XIV. To -overcome these obstacles Stanhope went over to Paris, and had several -conferences with King Philip; and, supported by Lord Stair and Nancré, -all difficulties were removed, and the Alliance was signed in the -succeeding August. - -By this treaty Parma and Tuscany were ceded in reversion to the -infant Don Carlos; Sicily was to be made over to the Emperor, and, in -exchange for it, Sardinia was to be given to Victor Amadeus of Savoy. -As Sardinia was an island of so much less extent and value than Sicily, -the succession to the Crown of Spain was guaranteed to the House of -Savoy should Philip of Spain leave no issue. Three months were allowed -for the King of Spain and the Duke of Savoy to come in, and after that, -in case of their non-compliance, force was to be used to effect it. -It was to avert such a result that Stanhope (now Secretary for the -Southern Department, which included Foreign Affairs) made a journey to -Spain, where he failed to make the slightest impression on Alberoni. -Before setting out, however, Admiral Byng had been despatched to the -Mediterranean with twenty-one ships of the line, and peremptory orders -to attack the Spanish fleet whenever he should find it engaged in any -hostile attempt against Sicily, Naples, or any other of the Emperor's -possessions in the Mediterranean. - -Byng went in pursuit of the Spanish fleet, which was assisting in the -conquest of Sicily, and came in sight of twenty-seven sail of the -line, with fire-ships, ketches, bombs, and seven galleys, drawn up in -line of battle between him and Cape Passaro. So soon as they were clear -of the straits, a council was held to determine whether they should -fight or retreat. They came to no resolution, but continued to linger -about in indecision till Byng was down upon them. Whereupon he utterly -destroyed them (August 11, 1718). - -Alberoni, though defeated at sea, was more successful in Sicily, and he -continued his cabals against England in nearly every Court of Europe -with only the more assiduity. He was zealously at work in France, -England itself, Holland, Piedmont, and Sweden. By his ambassador at the -Hague he endeavoured to keep the Dutch out of the Quadruple Alliance -by exciting their commercial jealousy; but he was ably opposed by our -minister there, the Earl of Cadogan. In Piedmont he endeavoured to -deter Victor Amadeus from entering into this alliance by assuring him -that he was only endeavouring to secure Sicily to keep it out of the -hands of the Austrians, and reserve it for him; while, on the other -hand, he threatened him with thirty thousand bayonets if he dared to -accede to the Quadruple Treaty. The Allies, however, threatened still -greater dangers, and the Duke at last consented to accept Sardinia in -lieu of Sicily, and that island remains attached to the kingdom of -Italy to the present time. - -[Illustration: SEA FIGHT OFF CAPE PASSARO. (_See p._ 41.)] - -Foiled in these quarters, Alberoni appeared more successful in the -North. A negotiation had been opened between the two potentates, so -long at bitter variance, the Czar and Charles XII. of Sweden. They were -induced to meet in the island of Åland, and to agree that the Czar -should retain Livonia, and other Swedish territories south of Finland -which he had torn from Sweden, but, in compensation, Charles was to -be allowed to reconquer Bremen and Verden from George of Hanover and -England, and Norway from Denmark; and the two monarchs were to unite -their arms for the restoration of Stanislaus to the throne of Poland, -and of the Pretender to that of Great Britain. The success of these -arrangements appeared to Alberoni so certain that he boasted that the -Northern tempest would burst ere long over England with annihilating -fury; but even here he was doomed to disappointment. Charles XII. -delighted in nothing so much as in wild and romantic enterprise. Such -was that of the conquest of Norway; and he was led by his imagination -to commence it without delay. With his characteristic madness, he -divided his army into two parts, with one of which he took the way by -the coast of Norway, and the other he sent over the mountains at the -very beginning of winter. There that division perished in the snow amid -the most incredible horrors; and he himself, whilst carrying on the -siege of Frederickshall, was killed on the 11th of December, as appears -probable, by the treacherous shot of a French engineer in his service. -Almost simultaneously the Duke of Maine's conspiracy against the French -Government was detected, and he and his wife, together with the Spanish -Ambassador, were apprehended. There was nothing for it on the part of -the Regent but to proclaim war against Spain--a measure which England -had long been urging on him. The English declaration appeared on the -28th of December, 1718, and the French on the 9th of January, 1719. - -In the session of 1719 Stanhope and his colleagues tried to undo the -arbitrary measures of 1711 and 1714--the Occasional Conformity Bill -and the Schism Bill. Stanhope would have made a strenuous effort to -abolish not only these laws, but the Test Act itself; but Sunderland, -though equally liberal, was more prudent, and showed that, to attempt -too much was to ruin all; and when they came to introduce their greatly -modified measure--that of annulling only some of the less prominent -clauses of the Test Act under the name of a Bill for strengthening the -Protestant interest--they found so much opposition that Sunderland's -discernment was fully justified. Not only the two archbishops and some -of the bishops opposed the measure, but the great Whigs, the Duke -of Devonshire and Earl Cowper. Cowper, though he expressed himself -willing to abolish the Schism Bill, stood stoutly for the Test and -Corporation Acts as the very bulwarks of our constitution in Church -and State; whilst the Earl of Islay declared even this moderate -measure a violation of the union with Scotland. On the other hand, -the Bishops Hoadley, Willis, Gibson, and Kennett supported the Bill, -which, however, was not carried without considerable mutilation; and -had Stanhope introduced such a measure as he proposed, including even -considerable relief to Catholics, the whole would have been lost. - -Parliament was prorogued on the 18th of April, and the king soon after -set out for his German dominions, taking Stanhope along with him, -and his mistress, the Duchess of Kendal. In appointing the Regency -to administer affairs in the king's absence, the Prince of Wales was -entirely passed over, to his great indignation; nor were he and the -Princess allowed to hold levees, that duty being assigned to the young -princesses, to the great scandal of the public, and further exposure -of the discord raging in the Royal family. Even during the session -the ministers had brought in a Bill to "settle and limit the Peerage -in such a manner that the number of English peers should not be -enlarged beyond six of the present number (178), which, upon failure -of male issue, might be supplied by new creations; that, instead of -the sixteen elective peers of Scotland, twenty-five should be made -hereditary on the part of that kingdom; and that this number, upon -failure of heirs male, should be supplied from the other members of the -Scottish Peerage." Both the king and ministers flattered themselves -that they should carry this Bill, and thus fetter the Prince of -Wales when he came to the throne. The king was desirous to do this -out of sheer jealousy and hatred of his own son, and the ministers, -Sunderland in particular, out of dread of his vengeance in that case; -for, if he created a dozen peers at a time, as Anne had done, he -could easily swamp the Whigs and put the present ministers in peril -of impeachment. But though the Whigs had been clamorous against the -act of Anne, some of them now, Cowper and Townshend at their head, as -vehemently denounced this measure as a gross infringement of the royal -prerogative. The debate became very bitter, and many friendships were -broken up by it, amongst others that of Addison and Steele, who took -different sides; but the Bill was finally dropped, through the vigorous -opposition offered to it by Walpole. - -Scarcely had Parliament ceased to sit, and the king was gone to spend -the summer months in Germany, when the vigilance of the Ministry was -demanded to ward off a fresh invasion. Alberoni, defeated in his -schemes on France, and his hopes of the invasion of England by Charles -XII. crushed by that monarch's death, determined now to make a grand -effort to support the Pretender himself. For this purpose, he invited -him to Spain, and at the same time began the equipment of a formidable -fleet to carry over a Spanish force, under the command of the Duke -of Ormonde, to the shores of Britain. The Pretender was not intended -to accompany the expedition, but to be in readiness to follow on the -first news of its successful landing. But it was no more destined to -reach these shores than the Grand Armada. It has always been the fate -of invading squadrons to encounter providential tempests in coming -hitherward, and the usual hurricane was ready to burst. Scarcely, -indeed, had the fleet lost sight of Cape Finisterre before the storm -swooped down upon it. For twelve days the terrible Bay of Biscay was -swept by a frightful wind, which drove the vessels in all directions, -and rendered it impossible to manage them. Fortunate would it have -been if every vessel had failed to reach the shores at which they -aimed; but two vessels, on board of which were the Earls Marshal and -Seaforth, and the Marquis of Tullibardine, accompanied by about three -hundred Spanish soldiers, reached Scotland, and landed, on the 16th of -April, at Kintail, in Ross-shire. In the hope that Ormonde would still -reach England, this small force lay quiet for some time, and so little -did they excite notice, that the Government imagined that they had -re-embarked. Their presence there, however, had the mischievous effect -of exciting some few of the Highlanders to join them. They seized Donan -Castle, and thus attracted the attention of the English. Some vessels -of war arrived upon the coast. The castle was speedily retaken, and -Lord Carpenter, the commander of the forces in Scotland, sent some -troops from Inverness against them. General Wightman, the officer -thus despatched, was attended by about a thousand men, and found the -enemy, now swollen to about two thousand, strongly posted at Glenshiel. -He immediately attacked them, and the miscellaneous force speedily -dispersed. The Highlanders, who knew the country, rapidly disappeared -amongst the hills, and the Spaniards had no other resource than to lay -down their arms. - -Alberoni now found himself in turn attacked by France. Whilst busying -himself to repair a few of the shattered ships which had escaped from -the tempest, in order to harass the coast of Brittany in conjunction -with the malcontents there, he beheld an army of thirty thousand French -menacing the Pyrenean frontier. War having begun, the Spaniards were -utterly defeated by the French in Spain and by the Austrians in Sicily, -thanks to the zealous co-operation of the British fleet under Admiral -Byng. At length Philip was compelled to dismiss Alberoni. - -The King of Spain hoped, by the dismissal of Alberoni, to obtain more -advantageous terms of peace from France and England; but they still -stood firmly to the conditions of the Quadruple Alliance. On the 19th -of January, 1720, the plenipotentiaries of England, France, and Holland -signed an engagement at Paris not to admit of any conditions of peace -from Spain contrary to those of the alliance. Stanhope despatched his -secretary, Schaub, to Madrid, to endeavour to bring over the queen to -this agreement, and Dubois sent instructions to the Marquis Scotti, -Father d'Aubenton, and others in the French interest to press the same -point. She stood out firmly for some time, but eventually gave way, -and the mind of the king was soon influenced by her. Some difficulties -which could not be overcome were referred to a congress to be held -at Cambray. On the 26th of January Philip announced his accession -to the Quadruple Alliance, declaring that he gave up his rights and -possessions to secure the peace of Europe. He renewed his renunciation -of the French Crown, and promised to evacuate Sicily and Sardinia -within six months, which he faithfully performed. - -By the firmness of the Allies a peace which continued twelve years was -given to Europe, and the storm which Alberoni had so fondly expected -out of the North was as completely dissipated. The new Queen of Sweden -had consented to yield absolutely to George I., as King of Hanover, -the disputed possession of Bremen and Verden. Poland was induced to -acknowledge Augustus of Saxony as king, and Prussia to be satisfied -with the acquisition of Stettin and some other Swedish territory. -But the Czar and the King of Denmark, seeing Sweden deprived of its -military monarch, and exhausted by his wild campaigns, contemplated the -actual dismemberment of Sweden. The Queen of Sweden threw herself for -protection on the good offices of the King of England, and both England -and France agreed to compel the Czar and the King of Denmark to desist -from their attacks on Sweden if they would not listen to friendly -mediation. Lord Carteret, a promising young statesman, was sent as -ambassador to Stockholm, and Sir John Norris, with eleven sail of the -line, was ordered to the Baltic. Russia and Denmark, however, continued -to disregard the pacific overtures of England, trusting to there being -no war with that Power. They ravaged the whole coast of Sweden, burning -above a thousand villages, and the town of Nyköping, the third place in -the kingdom. Seeing this, Lord Stanhope, who was still at Hanover with -the king, sent orders to Admiral Norris to pay no regard to the fact of -there being no declaration of war, but to treat the Russian and Danish -fleet as Byng had treated the Spanish one. Norris accordingly joined -his squadron to the Swedish fleet at Carlscrona, and went in pursuit -of the fleet of the Czar. Peter, seeing that the English were now in -earnest, recalled his fleet with precipitation, and thereby, no doubt, -saved it from complete destruction; but he still continued to refuse to -make peace, and determined on the first opportunity to have a further -slice of Swedish territory. Denmark, which was extremely poor, agreed -to accept a sum of money in lieu of Marstrand, which it had seized; and -thus all Europe, except the Czar, was brought to a condition of peace. - -George had arrived in England from his German States on the 11th of -November of the preceding year, 1719, and opened Parliament on the -23rd. In his speech he laid stress on the success of his Government -in promoting the evacuation of Sicily and Sardinia by Spain, in -protecting Sweden, and laying the foundation of a union amongst the -great Protestant Powers of Europe. He then recurred to the subject -of the Bill for limiting the peerage, which had been rejected in the -previous Session. George was animated by the vehement desire to curtail -the prerogative of his son, and said that the Bill was necessary to -secure that part of the Constitution which was most liable to abuse. -Lord Cowper declared, on the other hand, that besides the reasons which -had induced him to oppose the measure before, another was now added -in the earnestness with which it was recommended. But Cowper was not -supported with any zeal by the rest of the House, and the Bill passed -on the 30th of November, and was sent down to the House of Commons -on the 1st of December. There it was destined to meet with a very -different reception. During the recess Walpole had endeavoured to rouse -a resistance to it in both Houses. He had convened a meeting of the -Opposition Whigs at Devonshire House, and called upon them to oppose -the measure; but he found that some of the Whig peers were favourable -to it, from the perception that it would increase the importance of -their order; others declared that it would be inconsistent in them to -oppose a principle which they had so strenuously maintained against a -Tory Ministry--that of discountenancing the sudden creation of peers -for party purposes; and others, though hostile to the Bill, declared -that they should only expose themselves to defeat by resisting it. But -Walpole persisted in his opposition, and declared that, if his party -deserted him, he would contend against the Bill single-handed. He -asserted that it would meet with strong resistance from the country -gentlemen who hoped some time or other to reach the peerage--a hope -which the Bill, if carried, would extinguish for ever. - -By these endeavours Walpole managed to array a considerable body of the -Commons against it. It was introduced on the 8th of December, and Sir -John Pakington, Sir Richard Steele, Smith, Methuen, and others joined -him in attacking it. Steele made a very powerful speech against it, but -the grand assault was that of Walpole. He put out all his strength, -and delivered a harangue such as he had never achieved till that day. -He did not spare the motives of the king, though handling them with -much tact, and was unsparingly severe on the Scottish clauses, and -on the notorious subserviency of the Scottish representative peers. -He declared that the sixteen elective Scottish peers were already a -dead weight on the country; and he asked what they would be when made -twenty-five, and hereditary? He declared that such a Bill would make -the lords masters of the king, and shut up the door of honour to the -rest of the nation. Amongst the Romans, he said, the way to the Temple -of Fame was through the Temple of Virtue; but if this Bill passed, such -would never be the case in this country. There would be no arriving at -honours but through the winding-sheet of an old, decrepit lord, or the -tomb of an extinct noble family. Craggs, Lechmere, Aislabie, Hampton, -and other Ministerial Whigs supported the Bill; but, in the words of -Speaker Onslow, the declamation of Walpole had borne down everything -before it, and the measure was defeated by a majority of two hundred -and sixty-nine to one hundred and seventy-seven. - -In our time this defeat would, as a matter of course, have turned out -the Ministry, but in that day it had no such effect. They continued to -hold office, and to command undiminished majorities on other questions. -Still more singular was its effect, for it induced them to offer -office to their triumphant opponent Walpole, who not only accepted -a subordinate post amongst them--the Paymaster of the Forces--but -consented to support the very clauses regarding the Scottish peers -which he had so firmly denounced, should they be inclined to bring -forward the Bill a third time. - -[Illustration: THE SOUTH SEA BUBBLE. (_After the Picture by E. M. Ward, -R.A., in the National Gallery, London._)] - -The spring of 1720 was a period of remarkable national prosperity. -But "the grand money schemes projected of late," which appeared to -the Jacobite Atterbury and others calculated to cement the royal -peace and strengthen the foundation of the Government and nation, were -destined to produce a very different effect. For the South Sea Bubble -was about to burst. In 1711, Harley, being at his wits' end to maintain -the public credit, established a fund to provide for the National Debt, -which amounted to ten millions of pounds. To defray the interest he -made permanent the duties on wine, vinegar, and tobacco, etc. To induce -the purchase of the Government stock, he gave to the shareholders -the exclusive privilege of trading to the Spanish settlements in -South America, and procured them an Act of Parliament and a royal -charter, under the name of the South Sea Company. The idea, hollow and -groundless as it was, seized on the imagination of the most staid and -experienced traders. All the dreams of boundless gold which haunted the -heads of the followers of Drake and Raleigh were revived. The mania -spread through the nation, and was industriously encouraged by the -partisans of Harley. But this stupendous dream of wealth was based on -the promises of Ministers, who at the Peace of Utrecht were to secure -from the Government of Spain this right to trade to its colonies. The -right was never granted by that haughty and jealous Power, further than -for the settlement of some few factories, and the sending of one small -ship annually of less than five hundred tons. This, and the Assiento, -or privilege of supplying those colonies with African slaves, were the -sole advantages obtained, and these were soon disturbed by the war with -Spain, which broke out under Alberoni. The South Sea Company, however, -from its general resources, remained a flourishing corporation, and was -deemed the rival of the Bank of England. - -It was at the close of 1719, when George I. returned from Hanover, that -this Company proposed to Ministers to consolidate all the funds into -one. It was strange that both Ministers and merchants could be deluded -by the hope of enriching themselves by a share of the trade with the -Spanish South American provinces, when Spain herself, in full enjoyment -of them, was sunk into indigence and weakness, and presented the most -determined resistance to the unfettered intercourse of any other nation -with them. Yet Sir John Blunt, a leading director of the South Sea -Company, persuaded the Ministers that by granting the Company power to -deal with the public funds, and especially to buy up the unredeemable -annuities which had been granted in the two preceding reigns, chiefly -on terms of ninety-nine years, and which now amounted to about eight -hundred thousand pounds a year, they could, in twenty-six years, pay -off the entire National Debt. But, to enable them to do this, they -must be empowered to reduce all the different public securities to -one aggregate fund in their hands, to convert both redeemable and -unredeemable debts into stock by such arrangements as they could make -with the holders, and to have certain commercial privileges vested in -them. Ministers accepted the proposals with great alacrity. Aislabie -introduced the scheme to Parliament in the month of February, 1720, -declaring that, if it was accepted by the House, the prosperity of -the nation would be amazingly enhanced, and all its debts liquidated -in a very few years. Craggs seconded the proposal in most sanguine -terms, expressing his conviction that every member of the House must be -ready to adopt so advantageous an offer. Ministers had already closed -with the proposals of the Company, and they were themselves greatly -disconcerted by the suggestion of Mr. Thomas Brodrick, the member for -Stockbridge, who expressed his entire accordance with Ministers, but -thought that the nation should endeavour to obtain the best terms for -itself by opening the competition to every other company or association -of men as well as that in question. Ministers were confounded by this -proposal, and Aislabie endeavoured to get out of it by declaring -that to do this would be like putting the nation up to auction, and -that such things should be done with spirit. But Jekyll interposed, -saying it was this spirit which had ruined the nation, and it was -now requisite to consider seriously what was best for the public. A -violent debate ensued, in which Walpole eloquently recommended open -competition, and was sharply replied to by Lechmere. The question -was carried in favour of competition; and then the Bank of England, -which before had coolly declined to enter into the proposals, suddenly -appeared in a new temper, and made liberal offers for the privilege of -thus farming the public debts. But the South Sea Company was not to be -outdone; it offered seven millions and a half, and the Bank gave way in -despair. - -Walpole, however, continued to oppose the South Sea Bill in the -Commons, declaring that the terms were too extravagant ever to be -fulfilled; that the experiment could result in nothing but a fearful -increase of the costs of stockjobbing, and final confusion and ruin. -He insisted that, before the proposals of the Company were accepted, -the rise of their stock should be limited, and every means taken to -prevent the fever of infatuation that would ensue from the promise of -dividends out of funds which could never be realised. He proposed for -this purpose the introduction of a clause fixing the number of years' -purchase to be granted to the annuitants of the South Sea Company; but -to this it was objected that it was the interest of the Company to take -up the annuities; and, as the annuitants had the power of coming in or -not, as they pleased, the Company would, of course, offer advantageous -terms, and, therefore, the whole affair might be safely left to private -adjustment. Aislabie added that the South Sea Company would not submit -to be controlled in an undertaking they were to pay so dear for. The -Bill passed both Houses. - -The South Sea Company had immediately on the passing of the Bill -proposed a subscription of one million, and this was so eagerly seized -on that, instead of one, two millions were subscribed. To stimulate -this already too feverish spirit in the public, the Company adopted -the most false and unjustifiable means. They had eight millions and a -half to pay over to Government as a _douceur_ for granting them the -management of the Funds; and, therefore, to bring this in rapidly, they -propagated the most lying rumours. It was industriously circulated that -Lord Stanhope had received overtures at Paris to exchange Gibraltar and -Port Mahon for invaluable gold lands in Peru! The South Sea trade was -vaunted as a source of boundless wealth in itself. In August the stock -had risen from the one hundred and thirty of the last winter to one -thousand! Men sold houses and land to become shareholders; merchants of -eminence neglected their affairs and crippled their resources to reap -imaginary profits. The Company flattered the delusion to the utmost. -They opened a third, and even a fourth subscription, larger than the -former, and passed a resolution that from next Christmas their yearly -dividend should not be less than fifty per cent.! In labouring to -increase the public delusion they seem to have caught the contagion -themselves, for they began to act, not like men who were blowing a -bubble which they knew must speedily burst, but like persons who had -mounted permanently into the very highest seat of prosperous power. -They assumed the most arrogant and overbearing manner, even towards men -of the highest station and influence. "We have made them kings," said a -member of Parliament, "and they deal with everybody as such." - -The spirit of gambling thus set going by Government itself soon -surpassed all bounds, and burst forth in a thousand shapes. It was -well known that the king, his mistresses, his courtiers, his son and -heir apparent, were all dabbling busily in the muddy waters of this -huge pool of trickery and corruption. A thousand other schemes were -invented and made public to draw in fresh gudgeons, and the Prince -of Wales allowed his name to stand as governor of a Welsh Copper -Company. All ranks and classes rushed to Change Alley--dukes, lords, -country squires, bishops, clergy (both Established and Dissenting), -were mixed up with stockjobbers and brokers in eager traffic. Ladies -of all ranks mingled in the throng, struggling through the press and -straining their voices to be heard amid the hubbub. There and all over -the kingdom were advertised and hawked about the following and other -schemes:--Wrecks to be fished for on the Irish coast; plans for making -of oil from sunflower seeds; for extracting of silver from lead; for -the transmuting of quicksilver into a malleable and fine metal; for -importing a number of large jackasses from Spain; for a wheel for -perpetual motion; and, finally, for an undertaking which shall in due -time be revealed! - -The South Sea Company, with a folly of which extreme greed only is -capable, endeavoured to put down these rival schemes and obtained an -order from the Lords Justices and writs of _scire facias_ against -several of these new bubbles. It was like raising a wind to blow away -the bubbles, forgetting that their own was a bubble too, and would -go with them. The moment that the people began to distrust one they -distrusted all. The panic became as great as the mania had been. The -South Sea stock dropped in less than a month from one thousand to -below six hundred. There was a simultaneous rush to sell out, and -the shares must have sunk instantly to _nil_ but for the gigantic -exertions of the Company to raise money and buy in. The relief, -however, was but temporary. The bankers and pawnbrokers who had -advanced money on scrip broke and fled; merchants, goldsmiths, and -speculators rushed away after them. Walpole was summoned in haste from -Haughton to devise some means of staying the panic. He endeavoured -to get the Bank of England to circulate three millions of South Sea -bonds for a year; but the Bank, seeing that the case was desperate, -declined it. This was decisive. The rage and despair of the swarming -dupes were indescribable. They heaped execrations not only on the -South Sea Company, but on Ministers, the king, his mistresses, and -the Royal Family, who had all been deep in the affair, and who had -taken good care of themselves. George landed at Margate on the 9th of -November, soon after which the South Sea stock fell to one hundred and -thirty-five. On the 8th of December Parliament met, and promptly began -to investigate the scandal. - -In the House of Lords on the 24th of January, 1721, five directors who -had been called before them were arrested and their papers seized. By -what had been drawn from them, it appeared that large sums had been -given to people in high places to procure the passing of the South -Sea Bill. Lord Stanhope rose and expressed his indignation at such -practices, and moved that any transfer of stock for the use of any -person in the Administration without a proper consideration was a -notorious and dangerous corruption. The motion was seconded by Lord -Townshend, and carried unanimously. The examination being continued on -the 4th of February, Sir John Blunt refused to answer their lordships, -on the plea that he had already given his evidence before the Secret -Committee. A vehement debate arose out of this difficulty, during which -the Duke of Wharton, a most profligate young nobleman, and president of -the Hell-fire Club, made a fierce attack on Stanhope, accused him of -fomenting the dissensions between the king and his son, and compared -him to Sejanus, who had sown animosities in the family of Tiberius, -and rendered his reign hateful to the Romans. Stanhope, in replying to -this philippic, was so transported by his rage, that the blood gushed -from his nostrils. He was carried from the House, and soon afterwards -expired. - -Lord Townshend succeeded Stanhope as Secretary of State. Aislabie, who -had been deep in the iniquities of the South Sea affair, was compelled -to resign his post as Chancellor of the Exchequer, to which Walpole -succeeded. Meanwhile the Secret Committee appointed by the Commons -continued its labours indefatigably. They sat nearly every day from -nine in the morning till eleven at night, and on the 16th of February, -1721, they presented their first report to the House. This revealed a -vast amount of Ministerial corruption. - -On the very day that this report was being read in the House died -one of the accused, James Craggs, Secretary of State. His complaint -was smallpox; but the state of mind induced by this exposure is -supposed to have rendered the malady fatal. His father, who was -Postmaster-General, was so shamefully involved in the same dishonest -proceedings, that he took poison. - -Charles Stanhope, though clearly guilty, escaped, after examination -in the House, by a majority of three, out of respect for the memory -of his deceased relative, the upright Lord Stanhope. Aislabie's case -came next, and was so palpably bad that he was committed to the Tower -and expelled the House, amid the ringing of bells, bonfires, and other -signs of rejoicing in the City of London. The bulk of his property, -moreover, was seized. This was some compensation to the public, -which had murmured loudly at the acquittal of Stanhope. Sunderland's -case was the next, and he escaped by the evidence against him being -chiefly second-hand. He was acquitted by a majority of two hundred and -thirty-three against one hundred and seventy-two. As to the king's -mistresses, their sins were passed over out of a too conceding loyalty; -but no favour was shown to the directors, though some of them were -found to be much poorer when the scheme broke up than they were when it -began. Amongst them was Mr. Gibbon, the grandfather of the historian, -who afterwards exposed the injustice of many of these proceedings, -though at the time they were considered as only too merited. The -directors were disabled from ever again holding any place, or sitting -in Parliament; and their estates, amounting to upwards of two millions, -were confiscated for the relief of the sufferers by the scheme. - -On the death of Stanhope, Sir Robert Walpole was left without a rival, -and he received his commission of First Lord of the Treasury on the 2nd -of April, and from this period down to 1742 he continued to direct the -government of Great Britain. His chief anxiety now was to restore the -public credit. He drew up, as Chairman of the Committee of the Commons, -a report of all that had been lost in the late excitements, and of the -measures that had been adopted to remedy the costs incurred. Amongst -these were the resolutions of the House respecting the seven and a half -millions the directors of the South Sea Company had agreed to pay to -Government; more than five had been remitted, and we may add that on -the clamorous complaints of the Company the remainder was afterwards -remitted too. The forfeited estates had been made to clear off a large -amount of encumbrance, the credit of the Company's bonds had been -maintained, and thirty-three per cent. of the capital paid to the -proprietors. Such were the measures adopted by the Commons, and these -being stated in the report to the king, a Bill was brought in embodying -them all. Many of the proprietors, however, were not satisfied. They -were very willing to forget their own folly and greediness, and charge -the blame on the Government. On the second reading of Walpole's Bill -they thronged the lobby of the House of Commons. The next day the Bill -was carried, and gradually produced quiet; but Walpole himself did not -escape without severe animadversions. He was accused of having framed -his measures in collusion with the Bank, and with a clear eye to his -own interest; but he had been strenuously vindicated from the charge, -and on the whole the vigour and boldness with which he encountered the -storm and quelled it deserve the highest praise, and may well cover a -certain amount of self-interest, from which few Ministers are free. - -[Illustration: GEORGE I.] - -The discontents occasioned by the South Sea scheme and its issue -had caused the Jacobites to conceive fresh hopes of success, and -their spirits were still more elevated by the birth of a son to the -Pretender. The business of this faction was conducted in England -by a junto or council, amongst the chief members of which were the -Earls of Arran and Orrery, Lords North and Gower, and the Bishop of -Rochester. Lord Oxford had been invited to put himself at the head -of this council of five, but everything of a decided nature was out -of his character. He continued to correspond with the leaders of the -faction, but he declined putting himself too forward. In fact, his -habitual irresolution was now doubled by advancing infirmities, and -he died three years afterwards. Though several of the junto were men -of parliamentary, and North of military experience, Atterbury was the -undoubted head of it. The period of confusion created by the South Sea -agitation was first pitched on for a new attempt, then that of the -general election, which had taken place in March, and, finally, it was -deferred till the king should have gone to Hanover, according to his -custom, in the summer. - -In preparation for this movement James the Pretender was to sail -secretly to Spain, in readiness to cross to England; and he had already -quitted his house in Rome and removed to a villa, the more unobserved -to steal away at the appointed moment. Ormonde also had left Madrid -and gone to a country seat half way to Bilbao, when the secret of the -impending expedition was suddenly revealed by the French Government to -that of England. The conspirators had been mad enough to apply to the -Regent for five thousand troops, trusting that, notwithstanding his -peaceful relations with Britain, he would secretly enjoy creating it -some embarrassment. But in this, as in all other views, they proved -more sanguine than profound. Sir Luke Schaub, the British Ambassador, -was immediately informed of it on condition, it was said, that no one -should die for it. - -Walpole was instantly on the alert on this startling discovery. He -prevailed on the king to put off his journey to Germany. Troops were -drawn round London and a camp was formed in Hyde Park. The king took -up his residence at Kensington, in the midst of the soldiers, and the -Prince of Wales retired to Richmond. General Macartney was dispatched -for still more troops from Ireland; some suspected persons were -arrested in Scotland; the States of Holland were solicited to have -ships and soldiers in readiness; an order was obtained from the Court -of Madrid to forbid the embarkation of Ormonde; and General Churchill -was dispatched to Paris to make all secure with the Regent. Atterbury -was arrested on the 24th of August. - -Parliament opened its first sitting on the 9th of October. The rumour -of invasion, of course, gave the tone to the king's speech. He recited -the leading facts of the conspiracy, and observed that he should the -less wonder at them had he in any one instance, since his accession to -the throne of his ancestors, invaded the liberty or property of his -subjects. - -The very first act was to suspend the Habeas Corpus Act for a year. -To punish the Catholics and Non-jurors, who were all regarded as -implicated in this conspiracy, Walpole proposed to raise one hundred -thousand pounds by a tax on their estates. A Bill of Pains and -Penalties was passed against Atterbury, and he was compelled to go -into banishment. On the 18th of June Atterbury was put on board a -man-of-war and conducted to Calais. As he landed there, he was told -that Bolingbroke had received the king's pardon, and was just quitting -Calais for England; and the Bishop said, with a smile, "Then I am -exchanged." - -This Act, however, merely gave Bolingbroke the right to come back and -live in security in England. His ambition could only be satisfied by -the restoration of his estates and honours. Unfortunately for him, when -he arrived in England, the king had sailed for Hanover, attended by -Townshend and Carteret, and his great patroness, the Duchess of Kendal. -He waited, therefore, on Walpole, who promptly rejected his offers. -Mortified at this repulse, Bolingbroke returned to Paris, where a field -of action had opened in which he was well calculated to figure. - -The restless Englishman, much more like a Frenchman in temperament and -character than a native of England, had married Madame de Villette, -a niece of Louis XIV.'s last mistress, Madame de Maintenon, a lady -rich and well-trained in all the Court life of Paris. By this means -Bolingbroke was brought into close connection with that Court. The -notorious Cardinal Dubois had died in August, 1723, and in less than -four months died also the Duke of Orleans, the Regent. Louis XV. being -nominally of age, no other Regent was appointed; but the Duke of -Bourbon, a man of better character but of less ability than the Regent, -Orleans, was Prime Minister. He was greatly under the influence of his -bold and ambitious mistress Madame de Prie; and Bolingbroke, who was -high in the favour of both Minister and mistress, flattered himself -that, with the aid of his courtier wife, he could govern both them and -France. - -Bolingbroke was well aware that a violent strife for power was going on -in the British Cabinet. Lord Carteret, the new Secretary of State, and -afterwards Earl Granville, was labouring hard to undermine both Walpole -and Townshend. He was a very accomplished man and a great linguist, -familiar with nearly all the Continental languages, including German, -which, strangely enough, the English courtiers neglected, though they -had a German monarch on the throne who could not speak English. German -then was regarded as a language rude and even vulgar--a tongue, as -Voltaire afterwards said, "only fit for horses." But Carteret, by being -master of it, could converse freely with the king, whilst Walpole, -ignorant, too, of French, could hold communication with him only in -Latin, which, from the wide difference between the English and foreign -pronunciation of it, could not have been a very favourable medium. -Carteret had ingratiated himself so much with the king by conversing -in German, and flattering George's German tastes and politics, that he -had succeeded to the influence which Stanhope had formerly possessed. -He had also secured the same influence in the Court of Paris. He had -by that means confirmed the appointment of Sir Luke Schaub at that -Court, and thus kept open the most favourable communication with the -Abbé Dubois. The Courts of England and France continued during Dubois' -life in close connection, and through the influence of George and his -Ministers, Dubois obtained first the Archbishop's mitre, and then the -Cardinal's hat. - -The struggle for ascendency proceeding, Walpole and his party secured -the interest of the Duchess of Kendal, who always took care to side -with that which she thought the stronger. Carteret and his party, -on the other hand, secured the interest of the other mistress, the -Countess of Darlington, and her sister, Madame de Platen. Whilst -affairs were in this position, the two Secretaries of State, Townshend -and Carteret, accompanied the king to Hanover. There came upon the -_tapis_ the question of a marriage between the Count St. Florentin, -the son of La Vrillière, the Secretary of State for France, and a -daughter of Madame de Platen. Madame de Platen, however, demanded -that La Vrillière should be made a duke, so that in due course of -time her daughter would be a duchess. George I. warmly seconded this -demand; and, had Bolingbroke used his influence, there was little -doubt that it would have been accomplished. But the French nobility -raised a huge outcry against this honour being conferred on the family -of La Vrillière, which they deemed too obscure for such a dignity. -Bolingbroke, however, was seeking his own objects through the other -mistress, the Duchess of Kendal; and, notwithstanding the repulse -which he had received from Walpole, he still calculated that his power -would prevail, and he therefore smothered his personal vexation, and -remained on the side of the Duchess of Kendal and Walpole, leaving -Carteret and his allies, the Platens, to fight their own battle. - -In the midst of these cabals died the Regent, and Townshend, acting -with Walpole, sent over Walpole's brother Horace to watch their -interests at Paris. Carteret, on the other hand, ordered Sir Luke -Schaub to make every exertion for the grant of the dukedom. On the -arrival of Horace Walpole, Bolingbroke, obeying the impulses of the -courtier and not of the man, immediately waited on him, and placed all -his influence at the French Court at his service; but Walpole, who had -an invincible repugnance to Bolingbroke, whilst he availed himself of -the advantages offered by Bolingbroke, still kept him at a great and -stately distance. Undeterred by this conduct, however, Bolingbroke -swallowed his mortification, and continued to keep his eye and his hope -on the Walpole Ministry. Unassisted by Bolingbroke, the dukedom could -not be obtained; but George reconciled Madame Platen to the match by -giving her daughter a portion of ten thousand pounds. Horace Walpole, -at the same time, succeeded in getting Schaub recalled, and himself -installed in his office of Ambassador at Paris--a decided victory -over Carteret; indeed, so decided, that Carteret was removed from the -Secretaryship to the Lord-Lieutenancy of Ireland. - -The domestic serenity of the realm was, however, greatly disturbed -at this moment by Dean Swift, who seized on the occasion to avenge -himself on the Whig Ministry for the defeat and punishment of his -party, and especially of his particular friends and patrons, Oxford -and Bolingbroke. There had long been a great deficiency of copper coin -in Ireland. The Government undertook to remove this pressing want of -so useful a medium, and they set about it in an honest and honourable -manner as regarded the quality of the coin. Tenders were issued, and -various offers received for the coining of farthings and halfpence -to the value of a hundred and eight thousand pounds. The proposal of -Mr. William Wood, an iron and copper founder, of Wolverhampton, was -accepted; but the quality of the coin, both as to weight and fineness, -was determined by the advice of Sir Isaac Newton, then Master of the -Mint, and Wood was bound under heavy penalties to furnish it according -to this stipulation. Every care was used by the Ministers and the -Solicitor- and Attorney-General to insure the supply of a much better -copper coinage than Ireland had ever possessed before. - -There were some circumstances, however, which came out that created -considerable suspicion and displeasure in Ireland. Wood had given a -bribe to the king's mistress, the Duchess of Kendal, to procure him -the contract, and the Government had ordered the coinage without -paying the Irish Privy Council and Lord-Lieutenant the compliment of -consulting them on this occasion. Swift saw these errors, and seized -on them for his own purposes. He did not stop to inquire whether, -after all, the proposed coinage would not, in any circumstances, be -much better than the present distressing scarcity of copper money, and -whether the farthings and halfpence might not turn out as good, though -they were contracted for. It was enough for him that there was a cause -of discontent which he could fan into a flame against the British -Government. He threw all his spiteful soul into it, and his "Drapier's -Letters" inflamed the public mind to such a degree that Walpole was -compelled to cancel the patent. - -The tumult in Ireland was succeeded by one in Scotland. The people -of that country, though they were, by the provisions of the Act of -Union, to bear their proportion of the malt tax, had always refused -compliance, and in 1713 had issued a violent resolution against it. -They had never yet complied with the law, and Walpole, seeing the -sturdy nature of the opposition, was willing to give up the point -quietly. But during the Parliamentary Session of this year, Mr. -Brodrick proposed that a duty of sixpence on every barrel of ale should -be paid in lieu of it. Walpole was reluctant to go into the question, -but the House was bent on it, and he therefore complied so far as to -consent to a duty of threepence per barrel, or half the amount. There -were promptly riots in Glasgow, and at Edinburgh the brewers refused -to brew. Walpole sent down the Earl of Islay, the brother of the Duke -of Argyll, and a zealous adherent of his own, to pacify the country. -Islay behaved with equal prudence and firmness. He found the powerful -combination of brewers essaying to make a stand against and then -attempting to make terms with him. But he let them know that nothing -but unconditional surrender to the laws would be accepted, and they at -length held a meeting, where the chairman put the question, "To brew, -or not to brew?" The members were to vote _seriatim_; but neither the -man on his right nor the one on his left would venture to begin. In -the long pause that ensued, one Gray declared that he thought there -was nothing for them to do but to return to their trades; that he -would not be bound by the majority, but would vote independently, and -he voted to brew. The meeting broke up, and that night a number of -breweries were set to work, and the next day, at noon, about forty -brew-houses were in full action in Edinburgh, and ten in Leith. - -One of the first acts of the Parliament, which met on November 12th, -was to punish the peculations and abuses of the Lord Chancellor, -Parker, Earl of Macclesfield. The Court of Chancery, in former ages -a sink of corruption, was at this time in its worst condition. The -offices of Masters were regularly sold, and the Masters as regularly -took care to recoup themselves by all manner of peculation. The estates -of widows and orphans and the money of suitors were unscrupulously -plundered. There was a loud outcry against these robberies, and -especially against the Lord Chancellor, for his not only tolerating -but partaking in them. He endeavoured to escape the storm of public -indignation by resigning in January, but this did not avail him. He -was impeached by Sir George Oxenden in the Commons, and tried in the -Lords, and fined thirty thousand pounds. A motion for disabling him -from ever again sitting in Parliament or holding any office was lost -only by a very few votes. The king struck his name out of the list of -Privy Councillors, and in 1725 Sir Peter King was made Chancellor in -his stead, with the title of baron. - -Bolingbroke, now restored to his estates, though the attainder still -deprived him of his seat in the House of Lords, endeavoured to create -a new species of opposition in Parliament. He retained his influence -with the Duchess of Kendal, and cultivated that of the ultra-Tories. -Still more, he soon discovered that William Pulteney, the most eloquent -man in the House, had grown disgusted with Walpole, who could never -bear any man of pre-eminent ability near the throne except himself. -Pulteney had been one of the steadiest friends of the late queen's -Government, and of the Protestant succession. Under George he had been -made Secretary at War. He had adhered to Walpole when he was sent to -the Tower for corruption, and in the great schism of 1717. Yet Walpole -had carefully excluded him from any high post in the Cabinet, and had -endeavoured to veil his jealousy of him by offering to procure him a -peerage, by which he would have removed him from the active sphere -of the House of Commons. Pulteney saw the object, and rejected the -specious favour. Instead of conferring on Pulteney some office worthy -of his talents, Walpole then put him into that of Cofferer of the -Household. In the state of indignation which this paltry appointment -raised in him Bolingbroke soon induced Pulteney to put himself at the -head of a large body of Oppositionists, under the title of "Patriots." -In this character he made some smart attacks on Walpole and his heavy -drafts on the Civil List for his friends, for which he was dismissed, -and joined Bolingbroke in a bold attempt to write down the Minister. -Between them the celebrated paper _The Craftsman_ was planned and -established, and they became the bitterest and most persevering -assailants of Walpole. - -[Illustration: BARTHOLOMEW FAIR, LONDON, IN 1721. (_From a Painting on -a Fan._)] - -Soon after the close of the Session in June, the king proceeded to -Hanover, accompanied, as usual, by Townshend and the Duchess of Kendal. -The state of his foreign relations demanded the utmost attention, -and very soon underwent the most extraordinary changes. These were -precipitated by the Duke of Bourbon, and were caused by the state of -the French succession. The young king might have children, and the -only reason why he might not have legitimate issue soon was that he -was affianced to the Infanta, Mary Ann, Philip's daughter, then a mere -child. Should he not have children, the young Duke of Orleans, the son -of the late Regent, would succeed him. To prevent this contingency, -the Duke of Bourbon, who had a violent hatred of Orleans, prevailed -on Louis to dismiss the Infanta, and choose as queen some princess of -mature age. He turned his eye for this purpose on the Princess Anne of -England, but George declined the alliance, because the Queen of France -was bound to become Catholic. The Princess Mary Leczinska was next -fixed upon, daughter of the exiled Stanislaus of Poland, and the Duke -of Bourbon then sent the Infanta back to Spain. - -This insult roused the fiery blood of Spain. The king and queen were -excited to paroxysms of rage. They told Mr. William Stanhope that, -in future, they would put confidence in no prince except his master, -nor admit any one else to mediate for them in their negotiations. But -George refused to break with France on their account, and ventured to -remind Philip that he himself stood greatly in need of the alliance -with France. Blinded, however, by their wounded pride, the King and -Queen of Spain now turned their anger against England. They recalled -their plenipotentiaries from the Congress of Cambray, which was sitting -to settle the affairs of Europe, and professed their readiness to -abandon all their hostility to the Emperor of Germany, and to concede -all that they had so long demanded from him, on condition that he -entered into a close alliance with them against France and England. -They sent back to France the widow of the late Don Louis, and also -Mademoiselle Beaujolais, another daughter of the late Regent Orleans, -who had been contracted to Don Carlos. - -The Emperor of Germany was delighted at the Spanish offer. He had -always felt himself aggrieved by the conditions of the Quadruple -Alliance. He was afraid of France, and hated George of England for his -German policy. He had, moreover, embroiled himself with both England -and Holland, by establishing at Ostend an East India Company, which -was declared to be in violation of the Treaty of Westphalia, and was, -at all events, regarded with particular jealousy by both England and -Holland. This being the case, Ripperda, the envoy of Spain, a Dutch -adventurer, who had been the tool of Alberoni, completed with ease a -treaty with the Emperor at Vienna, which was signed on the 30th of -April, 1725. - -By this treaty almost everything was given up which had kept Spain -and Austria in war and conflict for many years, and by themselves -and their allies had steeped Europe in blood. The King of Spain -agreed to sanction the Ostend Company, to yield the long-contested -point regarding the exclusive mastership of the Golden Fleece. He -surrendered the right to garrison with Spanish troops the fortresses -of Tuscany. He acknowledged the Emperor's right to Naples, Sicily, the -Milanese, and Netherlands, and guaranteed what was termed the Pragmatic -Sanction; that is, the succession of the hereditary states of Austria -in the female line. This was a concession of immense importance to -the Emperor, who had only daughters, and whose claim to the Flemish -and Italian dominions might thus have been contested by Philip on the -Emperor's death. Thus, before the emotions of a family quarrel, fell -at once all the mighty questions which had rent and desolated Europe -for a quarter of a century! Both the sovereigns engaged to afford -mutual support should either be attacked. Charles agreed to bring into -the field twenty thousand foot and ten thousand horse, Philip twenty -thousand troops and fifteen ships of war. - -The world looked on in astonishment--diplomatists in dread of more -secret and momentous compacts, and that not without cause. In the -heat of this hastily-formed alliance, it was proposed to marry the -young Archduchess, the heiress of the Austrian States, to one of the -Infants of Spain--a contract, if carried out, which would probably have -overthrown all that had been done at such cost of life and wealth for -the establishment of the balance of power. This dangerous project was -frustrated by other events, but serious engagements were entered into -for compelling England to surrender Gibraltar and Minorca to Spain, and -for placing the Pretender on the throne of Great Britain. - -But during these transactions France and England had not been idle. -A new alliance had been signed at Hanover between England, France, -and Prussia, to which soon after were added Denmark and Holland. The -real objects of this treaty were to counterbalance that between Spain, -Austria, and Russia, to compel the dissolution of the Ostend Company, -and to prevent the menaced assistance to the Pretender. This was the -celebrated Treaty of Hanover. - -The confederacy of Spain, Austria, and Sweden against England greatly -encouraged the Pretender and his party. His agents were active on -almost every coast in Europe, under the able direction of Atterbury. -But there were two new allies whom James acquired at this time who did -him little service; these were Lord North and the Duke of Wharton. -They went over to the Continent, and not only openly avowed themselves -as friends of the Pretender, but renounced Protestantism and embraced -Popery. Lord North, however, found himself so little trusted at the -Pretender's Court, notwithstanding his apostasy, that he went to Spain, -entered its service, and there continued till his death, in 1734. -Wharton also arrived at Madrid, where he fell in with a congenial -spirit. This was Ripperda, the renegade Dutchman, now created a Duke -and made Prime Minister of Spain. He had lately returned from a mission -to Vienna, and was as full of foolish boastings as Wharton himself. -He told the officers of the garrison at Barcelona on landing, that -the Emperor would bring one hundred and fifty thousand men into the -field; that Prince Eugene had engaged for as many more within six -months of the commencement of a war; that in that case France would -be pillaged on all sides, the King of Prussia, whom he was pleased to -call the Grand Grenadier, would be chased from his country in a single -campaign, and King George out of both Hanover by the Emperor, and Great -Britain by the Pretender; that so long as he was in authority there -should never be peace between France and Spain. Yet to Mr. Stanhope he -declared that though he had talked both in Vienna and Spain in favour -of the Pretender, he was, nevertheless, as sincerely attached to the -interests of his Britannic Majesty as one of his own subjects; that -he would prove this on the first opportunity, and that he only talked -as he did to please their Catholic majesties, and to avoid being -suspected as a traitor, and falling into the hands of the Inquisition, -which he knew kept a sharp eye on him as a recent convert. - -The folly of Ripperda, however, had ruined his credit with his own -sovereigns and the nation even more than with foreign Powers. His -swaggering and inflated language, in which he imagined that he was -enacting Alberoni, had destroyed all faith in him. But his final -blow came from his own false representations to each other of the -preparations for war made by Austria and Spain. Count Königseck was -most indignant when he discovered the miserable resources of the -Spanish monarchy in comparison with the pompous descriptions made -of them by Ripperda at Vienna; and the Spanish Court was equally -disappointed by a discovery of the real military status of Austria. -Ripperda was suddenly and ignominiously dismissed on the 14th of May. - -A revolution of a similar character took place in France within a month -of the fall of Ripperda in Spain. The Duke of Bourbon had exhibited -a gross incapacity for governing France under the young king. He was -replaced by Cardinal Fleury, whose pacific designs harmonised with -those of Walpole. Thus Fleury's accession to power only strengthened -the English alliance with France. As for Spain, notwithstanding the -fall of Ripperda, Philip continued the same course of policy--clinging -firmly to the Emperor, and employing Palm, the envoy of the Emperor -in London, through bribery to the Duchess of Kendal and the king's -Hanoverian Ministers, Bothmar and the rest, who were averse from the -Treaty of Hanover, as in their estimation too exclusively calculated -for British interests. They even produced a strong feeling of this -kind in the mind of George, and they managed to detach the King of -Prussia from the British alliance. On the other hand, Sweden was won -over, by British gold and diplomacy, from Russian interests. The Dutch -also, with their usual slowness, came into the Hanover Treaty. Several -British fleets were at sea during the summer, watching the different -points of possible attack. One under Admiral Wager sailed to the Baltic -to overawe the Russians, which it did effectually. Admiral Jennings, -with another squadron, having on board some land troops, scoured the -coasts of Spain, kept the Spaniards in constant alarm, and returned -home safe before winter. A third fleet, under Admiral Hosier, was not -so fortunate. He was ordered to sail to the West Indies, and the -shores of the Spanish Main, to obstruct or capture the galleons; but -he was attacked off Porto Bello by the yellow fever, and lost a great -number of his men. - -Parliament met on the 17th of January, 1727. The Royal Speech breathed -a decidedly warlike tone. The king informed Parliament that he had -received information, on which he could rely, that a secret article of -the treaty between Spain and the Emperor bound those parties to place -the Pretender on the throne of Great Britain, and that the surrender -of Gibraltar and Port Mahon was the price to be paid for this service. -He asked whether the public would not regard with indignation the -imposition of a Popish Pretender on the nation at such a cost. He added -that the King of Spain had ordered his Ambassador to quit the kingdom, -leaving behind him a formal demand for the surrender of the above-named -places. There was a great ferment in the House. Palm, the Emperor's -envoy, wrote to his Imperial master, advising him to disavow any such -secret agreement in the treaty at Vienna, and thus allay the excitement -in England. But Charles, who owed his throne to the victories of -Marlborough, and whose claims on Spain had been prosecuted by Britain -at serious cost of men and money, performed this disavowal with as much -arrogance as stupidity. He was not contented to say that the King of -England was mistaken, but he declared that his speech was false. This -gross insult to the head of the nation roused the indignation of all -parties, even of the Opposition; and Wyndham, Pulteney, and Shippen -denounced it as loudly as any, and supported a motion of Walpole, -declaring it an insolent affront. Palm was ordered to quit the kingdom -immediately. - -With Spain the prospect of war became every day more imminent. Stanhope -quitted that country, and the Spanish Government ordered the seizure -of the _Prince Frederick_, a ship belonging to the South Sea Company. -Twenty thousand men were assembled and sent against Gibraltar. All -attempts on the great fortress were as useless as former ones had been. -The English regarded the attack with even an air of indifference, -whilst their guns, sickness, and desertion, were fast cutting off the -besiegers. In four months the investing army, being reduced to half its -number, drew off with this empty but destructive result. - -This and other events at length convinced the stupid and ungrateful -Emperor that the war was hopeless. Russia had as good as deserted him; -Prussia, so lately won over, was again wavering; Sweden and Holland -had joined the allies; and Spain, so far from helping him, could not -drive the enemy from a corner of its own territory. He therefore -listened to terms of peace which were offered by the allies through the -pacific medium of Fleury, and the preliminaries were signed at Paris -by the Austrian Ambassador on the 31st of May with England, France, -and Holland. The Emperor agreed to suspend for seven years the charter -of the Ostend Company; to confirm all treaties previous to 1725; and -to refer any other objects of dispute to a general congress. Several -articles were introduced regarding Spain. The English consented to -withdraw the fleet of Admiral Hosier from blockading Porto Bello, so -that the galleons could return home; the siege of Gibraltar was to be -discontinued, and the _Prince Frederick_ to be restored. These articles -were signed by the Spanish Ambassador at Paris, but Philip himself -never ratified them, and England and Spain continued in a dubious state -of neither peace nor war. - -[Illustration: FIVE-SHILLING PIECE OF THE SOUTH SEA COMPANY.] - -[Illustration: FIVE-GUINEA PIECE OF GEORGE I.] - -Whilst Walpole was thus labouring to secure the peace of Europe, -Bolingbroke was as industriously at work to undermine him. He had -cultivated his intimacy with the Duchess of Kendal still more -diligently, and by liberal bribes, and more liberal promises if he -succeeded in once more regaining power, he had brought her to exert her -influence with the king in his favour. This most sordid and rapacious -of mistresses, who looked on England only as a country to be managed -for her benefit, ventured at length to put into the king's hand a -memorial drawn up for her by Bolingbroke, demonstrating that the -country must be absolutely ruined if Walpole continued in office. The -stratagem was too palpable. Whilst she talked only, her suggestions -might pass for her own, but the style of the document must have at once -caused the king's suspicion of its true source. He put the paper into -Walpole's hand. Walpole, after interrogating the two Turks, who were -always in attendance on the king, and on their denying all knowledge of -the means by which the missive reached the royal person, went directly -to the Duchess and charged her with the fact. She did not deny it. -Walpole advised the king to admit Bolingbroke to the audience which -he solicited in the memorial, trusting that the king's dislike of him -would prevail in the interview. The result appeared to be of that kind; -nevertheless, Walpole was far from being secure in his own mind. He -knew that the mistress would be continually returning to the charge -in favour of her friend and paymaster, though she enjoyed a pension -from Government of seven thousand five hundred pounds; and he even -contemplated retiring with a peerage, but was dissuaded from this by -the Princess of Wales and the Duke of Devonshire. On the other hand, -Bolingbroke was in the highest expectation of his speedy restoration -not only to rank but to office. - -The deaths of monarchs, however, were peculiarly fatal to this -ambitious man; that of Queen Anne had precipitated him from power, -and rescued his country from the ruin he prepared for it; that of -George now came as opportunely to prevent the national calamity of his -ministry. George set out for Hanover on the 3rd of June, accompanied, -as usual, by Townshend and the Duchess of Kendal. Just before his -departure the youthful Horace Walpole saw him for the first and last -time. When the king was come down to supper, Lady Walsingham took -Walpole into the Duchess's ante-room, where George and his favourite -were alone. Walpole knelt and kissed the king's hand. George appeared -in his usual health. - -In his impatience to reach his beloved Hanover, the king had -out-travelled his Minister and the mistress, and reached Delden on -the 8th late at night. The next morning he proceeded again so early -as four o'clock, and was pressing onward, when in the forenoon he -was seized with a fit of apoplexy in his coach, and on arriving at -Ippenburen he was observed to be quite comatose--his eyes fixed, his -hands motionless, and his tongue hanging from his mouth. His attendants -wished to remain at Ippenburen to procure medical assistance; but -this seemed to rouse him, and he managed to articulate, "Osnabrück! -Osnabrück!" The only chance for his life, if there was any, depended -on instant surgical aid; they went in obedience to his command, and on -arriving at Osnabrück he was found quite dead on the 9th of June, 1727. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE REIGN OF GEORGE II. - - Accession of George II.--Characters of the King and Queen--Adroit - Tactics of Walpole--Rise and Fall of Compton--Attitude of - the Opposition--Congress of Soissons--Causes of Dispute - with Spain--Stanhope's successful Negotiations with King - Philip--Retirement of Townshend--Walpole Supreme--Peace - Abroad and at Home--Walpole's System of Wholesale Bribery - and Corruption--The Public Prisons--Duel between Pulteney - and Lord Hervey--The Excise Scheme--Great Outcry--Withdrawal - of the Bill--Walpole's Vengeance--Attack on the Septennial - Act--Wyndham's Speech--Depression of the Opposition--Definitive - Peace of Vienna--Gin Act--The Porteous Riots--The Prince of - Wales and the Opposition--Application for an Increase of his - Allowance--Birth of George III.--Death of Queen Caroline--Attempt - to Reduce the Army--Disputes with Spain--"Jenkins' Ear"--Walpole's - Negotiations--Secession of the Opposition--Further - Difficulties with Spain--Declaration of War--Privateers and - Reprisals--Vernon's Victory--Frederick invades Silesia--Assistance - of England--Parliament Meets--Sandys' Motion--Walpole's - Defence--Disasters of Maria Theresa--She throws herself on the - Magyars--Misfortunes of the English Fleets--Vernon Repulsed from - Carthagena--Power slips from the Hands of Walpole--His Last - Battles--The Chippenham Election Petition--His Fall. - - -George II. was born in 1683, and was, consequently, in his forty-fourth -year when he ascended the throne. In 1705 he married the Princess -Caroline Wilhelmina of Anspach, who was born in the year before -himself, by whom he had now four children--Frederick Prince of Wales, -born in 1707, William Duke of Cumberland, born in 1721, and two -daughters. - -George had, if anything, a narrower intellect than his father, but -spoke English fluently, though with a foreign accent--a great advantage -over his predecessor. He was small of stature, and subject to fits of -violent passion, neither of which qualities was conducive to royal -dignity. Nor did the attributes of his mind supply any gain calculated -to remedy these defects. He was possessed of courage, which he had -proved at the battle of Oudenarde, and displayed again at Dettingen, -and he was praised for justice. Perhaps it was a love of order and -etiquette rather than justice which distinguished him. For his sort of -military precision and love of soldiers he was nicknamed the "Little -Captain" by the Jacobites. But the worst trait of his disposition was -his avarice. He admitted, says Lord Chesterfield, that he was much -more affected by little things than great ones--the certain mark of a -little mind; he therefore troubled himself very little about religion, -but took it as he found it, without doubt, objection, or inquiry. He -hated and despised all literature and intellectual pursuit, arts and -sciences, and the professors of them. - -As for the queen, she was a far superior person. She had been well -brought up on the second marriage of her mother after the death of -her father, by the Queen of Prussia, Sophia Charlotte, the sister of -George I. She had been handsome till she grew corpulent and suffered -from the smallpox, and still she was much admired for her impressive -countenance, her fine voice, penetrating eye, and the grace and -sweetness of her manner. She was still more admired for the striking -contrast which she presented to her husband in her love of literature -and literary men, extending her interest and inquiries into philosophy, -theology, and metaphysics. Those who are disposed to ridicule her -pretence to such knowledge admit that she was equally distinguished by -prudence and good sense. She combined in her manners royal dignity -and unassuming grace, and was more popular with the nation than any -one of the Hanover family had ever yet been. She delighted to engage -theologians in discussing knotty points of doctrine, and in perplexing -them with questions on the various articles of faith in different -churches, and corresponded with them on these subjects through her -bedchamber woman, Mrs. Clayton, afterwards Lady Sundon. But the best -proofs of Queen Caroline's superiority were shown in her pure moral -character, which was free from the slightest stain, and in her quick -discernment and substantial promotion of the most able men in the -Church. - -For a moment Walpole appeared about to fall from his altitude, and -the Jacobite faction was in ecstasies. The dispatch of Townshend, -announcing the king's death in Germany, arrived in London on the 14th -of June, and was soon followed by himself. Walpole instantly hastened -to the palace of Richmond, where the Prince of Wales resided, and -was told that the prince was taking his usual afternoon _siesta_. -He desired that he might be awoke, in consequence of important -intelligence. George, suddenly aroused, rushed forth half dressed to -learn the urgent business, when Walpole knelt down and kissed his hand, -informing him of his father's decease, and that he was king. George -was at first incredulous, but Walpole produced Townshend's dispatch, -and inquired whom his majesty would be pleased to appoint to draw up -the necessary declaration to the Privy Council, trusting that it would -be himself. To his consternation and chagrin the king said abruptly, -"Compton;" and Walpole withdrew in deep vexation, imagining his own -reign was at an end. - -He waited on Sir Spencer Compton with the royal command. This gentleman -was confounded at the proposal to draw up the declaration to the -Privy Council, and begged Walpole to do it for him. Walpole instantly -recovered his spirits. He saw that such a man could never be his -rival, and he advised his colleagues, if they went out of office, not -to engage in any violent opposition, as they would soon be wanted -again. He knew, too, that he had the queen in his favour, who was too -clear-headed not to see that Walpole was alone the man for the time. -To complete his favour with her he offered to procure her a jointure -from Parliament of one hundred thousand pounds a year, whilst the -impolitic Compton had proposed only sixty thousand pounds. The queen -did not oppose the king's attempt to change the Ministry, but she -impressed him with the danger of disturbing an already powerful and -prosperous Cabinet, and she made him aware of the fact that Compton had -been compelled to get Walpole to draw up the Declaration. Besides the -liberal jointure which he promised she added that he intended to add -one hundred thousand pounds to the Civil List. Horace Walpole, arriving -from Paris, threw his whole weight into the scale, representing -difficulties which must beset foreign negotiations in new hands. -These combined circumstances told strongly on George; but the finish -was put to Compton's government by his feeling overwhelmed by his -own incompetence, and resigning the charge. The king had, therefore, -nothing for it but to reappoint the old Ministry again. Some slight -modifications took place. Lord Berkeley, who had joined the opposition -of Carteret and Roxburgh, was replaced by Lord Torrington, and Compton -received the title of Lord Wilmington, the Order of the Garter, and the -Presidency of the Council. The coronation took place on the 11th of -October, 1727. - -The Hanoverian dynasty and the Walpole Ministry made rapid strides in -popularity, and carried all before them. The new Parliament met in -January, 1728, and Walpole's party had in the House four hundred and -twenty-seven members, all staunch in his support. So strong was the -party in power, that several measures were carried which at other times -would have raised discontent. It was proposed by Horace Walpole that -two hundred and thirty thousand pounds should be voted for maintaining -twelve thousand Hessians in the king's service. The Duke of Brunswick -was, by treaty, to be paid twenty-five thousand pounds a year for four -years for the maintenance of five thousand more troops. - -These things did not pass without remark by the Opposition. Pulteney -and Bolingbroke discussed them with much vigour and acrimony in The -Craftsman. It was asserted in the House that the public burthens had -increased instead of diminished since 1716; but Walpole contended that -there had been a reduction of debt to the amount of two million five -hundred thousand pounds; and his statement was supported by a large -majority, and it was laid before the king. The Opposition then demanded -an explanation of the expenditure of two hundred and fifty thousand -pounds for secret service money. It was well understood that Walpole -had used the greater part of it in buying up that triumphant majority -which enabled him to carry the most obnoxious measures. The demands -of the Opposition were so vehement, and the abuse was so glaring, that -even Walpole was embarrassed how to get rid of the question. He could -only recur to the old plea, that the money had been spent on services -highly advantageous to the State, but which could not properly be made -public. Suddenly events lifted him out of his difficulty. News arrived -that the King of Spain, who declined to ratify the preliminaries of -peace entered into at Vienna, on hearing of the death of George I., -hoping for a revolution, had now given way, and had issued what was -called the Act of Pardo, ratifying the preliminaries, and referring -all remaining difficulties to be settled at a congress to be held at -Soissons. - -At the Congress, which began in June, William Stanhope, Horace Walpole, -and Poyntz represented England. At Paris Lord Waldegrave supplied the -place of Horace Walpole; and at the Hague the Earl of Chesterfield ably -managed the national interests. At the Congress there was a frequent -exchange of memorials and counter-memorials, but no real business was -done. The only things which grew apparent were that France and Spain -were becoming more reconciled, and that the league between Spain and -the Emperor was fast dissolving. - -The great difficulties of the Government at this time were the -settlement of the questions with Spain of the right to cut logwood in -the bay of Campeachy, and the retention of Gibraltar. The Spaniards -had frequently resisted the cutting of logwood in the Bay of Campeachy -by the English; and in 1717 the Marquis of Monteleone had presented a -memorial against it; but the Board of Trade contended that the practice -was of old standing, and amounted to a right. This representation -was now laid before the House of Commons, and was backed by many -petitions from the merchants of London and other places, complaining -of the interruptions to their trade to the South American and West -Indian colonies, which had been carried on by connivance rather than -by actual permission of Spain. There was a great fermentation in the -public mind on these subjects, and the Minister was accused of tamely -submitting to national injuries. The nation seemed ready to rush into -a war with Spain, and perhaps all the more so that the king, in his -opening speech, had observed that "an actual war was preferable to such -a doubtful peace, but that the exchange was very easy to be made at any -time." - -The point, however, which excited the most indignation was that -regarding Gibraltar. There was a strong feeling in the public mind -that the Government was willing to give up this fortress to Spain. -The Spanish Government was extremely urgent on the subject, declaring -that there could be no peace, no truce with England, until it was -surrendered. It was recollected by the English public that Stanhope -had actually offered to give it up, and it was not known whether any -equivalent except the signing of the Quadruple Alliance had been -demanded. The Opposition in the House of Lords moved, "That effectual -care be taken in any treaty that the King of Spain do renounce all -claims to Gibraltar and Minorca in plain and strong terms." The -Ministers, however, carried a more moderate resolution--"That the House -relies on his Majesty for preserving his undoubted right to Gibraltar -and Minorca." A similar discussion with a similar result took place in -the Commons. The Government saw plainly that nothing would induce the -British people to relinquish this important station. - -No sooner, therefore, had the Parliament closed and the king set out to -Hanover, than Ministers sent off William Stanhope to Madrid to procure -a treaty of peace without any mention of Gibraltar. On arriving at -Madrid he found that the Court had removed to Seville, in Andalusia. -This had been done by the influence of the queen, in order to draw -Philip from the Council of Castile, which was doing all it could to -prevail on him again to abdicate. Stanhope followed the Court to -Seville, and laboured with such effect that he obtained the signing of -a treaty of defensive alliance between England, Spain, and France, to -which Holland afterwards acceded (November 9, 1729). By this treaty -Spain revoked all the privileges granted to Austria by the treaties of -Vienna, and re-established the British trade with her American colonies -on its former footing, restored all captures, and made compensation -for losses. The Assiento was confirmed to the South Sea Company. -Commissioners were appointed to adjust all claims of Spaniards for -ships taken in 1718, and to settle the limits of the American trade. -The succession of Don Carlos to Parma and Tuscany was recognised, with -the right to garrison the ports of Leghorn, Porto Ferrajo, Parma, -and Placentia with six thousand Spanish troops. Not a word was said -of Gibraltar--a silence amounting to a renunciation of its demand -by Spain; and that Philip regarded it as such was evidenced by his -beginning to construct the strong lines of San Roque, and thus to cut -off all communication with the obnoxious fortress by land. - -William Stanhope was rewarded for his accomplishment of this treaty -with the title of Lord Harrington, and was soon after made Secretary -of State. But whilst the English were delighted by the completion of -the treaty, the Emperor was enraged by it, and his mortification was -doubled by the fact that, when he sought to raise four hundred thousand -pounds by a loan in London to supply the want of his Spanish subsidies, -the Ministry brought in and rapidly passed a Bill prohibiting loans to -foreign Powers, except by a licence from the king under the Privy Seal. -The Opposition raised a loud outcry, calling it "a Bill of Terrors," an -"eternal yoke on our fellow-subjects," and a "magnificent boon to the -Dutch." But Walpole very justly answered, "Shall British merchants be -permitted to lend their money against the British nation? Shall they -arm an enemy with strength and assist him with supplies?" - -In the midst of this prosperous career the two brothers-in-law, the -Ministers, began to differ in their views, and Lord Townshend was -soon driven by the overbearing conduct of Walpole to resign. Lady -Townshend, the sister of Walpole, and even Queen Caroline, exerted -their influence for some time to put an end to these feuds; but Lady -Townshend soon died, and the queen, finding the breach inevitable, took -the side of Walpole as the more indispensable servant of the Crown. -There were serious topics on which Townshend and Walpole differed, -both domestic and foreign. Townshend did not approve of the length -to which matters were carried against the Emperor, and he was weary -of the timid temper of the Duke of Newcastle, and strongly urged his -dismissal, and the employment of Lord Chesterfield in his place; but a -Pension Bill brought the quarrel to a crisis. The object of the Bill, -which was warmly supported by the Opposition, was to prevent any man -holding a pension, or who had any office held in trust for him, from -sitting in Parliament. The king privately styled it "a villainous Bill, -which ought to be torn to pieces in every particular." Both Walpole -and Townshend were of the same opinion; but Townshend was for openly -opposing it, Walpole for letting it pass the Commons, and be thrown -out in the Lords. Townshend, to whom the odium of rejecting it was -thus carried in the Lords, protested against this disingenuous conduct -on the part of Walpole, and assured him that the trick would soon be -fully observed, and bring more unpopularity on him in the end than a -manly, open opposition--which it did. - -The temper of Townshend was warm, though his nature was upright; and in -this mood, a discussion taking place on foreign affairs at the house of -Colonel Selwyn, the dispute became so heated that Walpole declared that -he did not believe what Townshend was saying. The indignant Townshend -seized Walpole by the collar, and they both grasped their swords. Mrs. -Selwyn shrieked for assistance, and the incensed relatives were parted; -but they never could be reconciled, and, after making another effort -to obtain the dismissal of Newcastle, and to maintain his own position -against the overbearing Walpole, Townshend resigned on the 16th of -May. He retired to Reynham, and passed the remainder of his life in -rural pursuits. One of the greatest benefits which he conferred on this -country he conferred after his retirement--that of introducing the -turnip from Germany. - -On the retirement of Townshend, Walpole reigned supreme and without a -rival in the Cabinet. Henry Pelham was made Secretary at War; Compton -Earl of Wilmington Privy Seal. He left foreign affairs chiefly to -Stanhope, now Lord Harrington, and to the Duke of Newcastle, impressing -on them by all means to avoid quarrels with foreign Powers, and -maintain the blessings of peace. With all the faults of Walpole, this -was the praise of his political system, which system, on the meeting -of Parliament in the spring of 1731, was violently attacked by Wyndham -and Pulteney, on the plea that we were making ruinous treaties, and -sacrificing British interests, in order to benefit Hanover, the eternal -millstone round the neck of England. Pulteney and Bolingbroke carried -the same attack into the pages of _The Craftsman_, but they failed to -move Walpole, or to shake his power. - -The cause of the Pretender sank in proportion to the peace throughout -Europe and the prosperity at home. From 1728 to 1740 it was at a very -low ebb, and lost the few marked men who had moved in it. Three of the -chief leaders died about this time--Mar, Wharton, and Atterbury. So -low was the Jacobite interest now fallen, that Sir Robert Walpole said -that, if ever the Stuarts came again, it must be through the lowest -people, for the chiefs were all dead or discouraged. - -[Illustration: WALPOLE'S QUARREL WITH TOWNSHEND. (_See p._ 60.)] - -Such was the peace abroad and the prosperity of the country at this -time, that there occur few events worthy of record. Of those which -took place in 1731, the most remarkable was an Act abolishing the use -of Latin in all proceedings of the Courts of Justice, and the next the -renewal of the charter of the East India Company. If the country was -peaceful and prosperous, however, it was neither free from corruption -nor from the need of extensive reform. The very system of Walpole which -produced such a show of prosperity that an old Scottish Secretary of -State asked the Minister what he had done to make the Almighty so much -his friend, was built on the most wholesale bribery and corruption. It -was, in fact, a purchased domestic peace. In social life the example -of the Government produced the like dishonesty. There was a fearful -revelation of the proceedings of a charitable corporation for lending -small sums of money to the industrious poor at legal interest; and -Sir Robert Sutton, the late Ambassador at Paris, was found so deeply -implicated in the frauds and extortions practised on those they were -employed to benefit, that he was expelled from the House. There was -also an inquiry into the state of the public prisons of London, which -opened up a most amazing scene of horrors. It was found to be a common -practice of the warders to connive at the escape of rich prisoners for -a sufficient bribe, and to inflict the most oppressive cruelties on -those who were too poor to pay heavy fees. - -The year 1732 was distinguished by little of importance. The -Opposition, led on by Pulteney, attacked the Treaty of Vienna, -concluded on March 16th, 1731, by which the Pragmatic Sanction had -been approved of, and which, they contended, might lead us into a -Continental war some day, or into a breach of the public faith, of -which, they asserted, this Ministry had perpetrated too many already. -They assailed the standing army, but were answered that there was yet a -Pretender, and many men capable of plotting and caballing against the -Crown. The King was so incensed at Pulteney for his strictures on the -army, that he struck his name out of the list of Privy Councillors, and -ordered that all commissions of the peace which he held in different -counties should be revoked. Amongst the staunchest supporters of the -Government was Lord Hervey, a young man of ability who is now best -remembered because, having offended Pope, he was, according to custom, -pilloried by the contentious poet, as Sporus in the Epistle to Dr. -Arbuthnot. Pope nicknamed him Lord Fanny, in derision of his dainty and -effeminate manners. Hervey contended that the writers who attacked -Government ought to be put down by force, and in his own person he -attempted to put this in practice; for Pulteney being suspected by him -of having written a scarifying article on him in _The Craftsman_, he -challenged him, and both combatants were wounded. Plumer very justly -contended that scribblers ought to be left to other scribblers. - -In the Parliamentary session of 1733 Walpole produced another scheme -for increasing the revenue and lessening the burdens upon land, which -was an extension of the Excise. The Excise duties were first levied -under the Commonwealth; they had now reached three millions two hundred -thousand pounds annually. It was whilst the public were feeling the -gradual increase of this item of taxation very sensibly, that they -were alarmed by the news, which the Opposition sounded abroad with -all diligence, that Ministers were about immediately to bring fresh -articles under the operation of this tax, which was levied on articles -of popular consumption. "A general crisis is coming!" was the cry. "A -tax on all articles of consumption! a burthen to grind the country to -powder! a plot to overthrow the Constitution and establish in its place -a baleful tyranny!" The Opposition had now got a most popular subject -of attack on the Ministry, and it prosecuted it vigorously. - -Sir Robert Walpole was not a man, with his huge standing majority, to -be readily frightened from his purpose. On the 14th of March, 1733, he -brought forward his project in a speech in which he put forth all his -ability, and that under a well-maintained air of moderation. He took -advantage of the alarm that the tax was to be general, by representing -the falsity of that declaration, and the very slight and limited nature -of his real proposal. Adverting to what he called the common slander of -his having intended to propose a general excise, he said: "I do most -unequivocally assert that no such scheme ever entered my head, or, for -what I know, the head of any man I am acquainted with. My thoughts have -been confined solely to the duties on wine and tobacco; and it was -the frequent advices I had of the shameful frauds committed in these -two branches that turned my attention to a remedy for this growing -evil. I shall for the present confine myself to the tobacco trade." -He then detailed the various frauds on the revenue in tobacco, which -he stated were of such extent and frequency, that the gross average -produce of the tax was seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds, but -the nett average only a hundred and sixty thousand pounds. The remedy -which he proposed was to transfer this revenue from the Customs to the -Excise. That the same might afterwards be applied to wine, a system of -warehousing for re-exportation or placing in bond was proposed, which, -he said, "would tend to make London a free port, and, by consequence, -the market of the world." He held out the expectation that the success -of this plan would render the land tax unnecessary, and thus enable the -Government to dispense with it entirely. - -Walpole ridiculed the notion which had gone abroad that the revenue -officers would be increased into quite a standing army, and would -endanger the common liberty by their being empowered to enter private -dwellings to search for concealed excisable articles. He said the -increase would be only a hundred and twenty-six persons and that the -Customs now possessed more searching power than he proposed to give to -the Excise. - -Whilst the debate was proceeding, great crowds gathered round the -House, and became even more numerous and more agitated. Walpole, -irritated by the persuasion that these throngs were collected by -the arts of the Opposition, threw out a remark which he afterwards -deeply repented. He said gentlemen might call themselves what they -liked, but he knew whom the law called "Sturdy Beggars." This phrase, -carried out of doors, highly incensed the crowd, who considered that -it was meant to cast contempt on the people at large. At two o'clock -in the morning, and after thirteen hours' debate, on division there -appeared two hundred and sixty-six for the measure, and two hundred and -five against. The great increase of the minority struck Walpole with -surprise and alarm. - -When the resolutions of the Committee were reported two days -afterwards, the debate was renewed with all its vehemence, and -Pulteney unveiled another view of the case, which had much real truth -and warning in it. "It is well known," he said, "that every one of -the public officers have already so many boroughs or corporations -which they look on as their properties. There are some boroughs which -are called Treasury boroughs; there are others which may be called -Admiralty boroughs; in short, it may be said that nearly all the towns -upon the sea-coast are already seized upon, and in a manner taken -prisoners by the officers of the Crown. In most of them they have -so great an influence that none can be chosen members of Parliament -but such as they are pleased to recommend. But, as the Customs are -confined to our seaports, as they cannot travel far from the coast, -therefore this scheme seems to be contrived in order to extend the laws -of Excise, and thereby to extend the influence of the Crown over all -the inland towns and corporations of England." - -Despite these representations, however, the resolutions were confirmed -by the same majority as before. Other debates succeeded on the second -reading of the Bill, but the majority on these gradually sank from -sixty to sixteen. As the storm grew instead of abated, the queen -demanded of Lord Scarborough what he thought of it, and he replied, -"The Bill must be relinquished. I will answer for my regiment against -the Pretender, but not against the opposers of the Excise." "Then," -said the queen, "we must drop it." Sir Robert summoned his majority, -and requested their opinion, and they proposed to go on, observing that -all taxes were obnoxious, and that it would not do to be daunted by a -mob. But Walpole felt that he must yield. He declared that he was not -disposed to enforce it at the point of the bayonet, and on the 11th of -April, on the order of the day for the second reading, he moved that -the measure should be postponed for two months. Thus the whole affair -dropped. The usually triumphant Minister found himself defeated by -popular opinion. The Opposition were hardly satisfied to allow this -obnoxious Bill thus to slip quietly away; but out-of-doors there was -rejoicing enough to satisfy them. - -The depth of Walpole's mortification, however, was shown by the -vengeance he took on those who had opposed him. This fell with peculiar -weight on Lord Chesterfield. Chesterfield had acquired a great -reputation by his able management of affairs at the Hague. Since his -return he had become Lord Steward of the Household, and a frequent and -much admired debater in the House. But Chesterfield was too ambitious -himself to stoop patiently to the domineering temper of Walpole. He was -said to have thrown out some keen sarcasms at Walpole's Excise Bill, -and his three brothers in the Commons voted against it. Only two days -after the abandonment of the Bill, as Chesterfield was ascending the -staircase at St. James's, he was stopped by an attendant, and summoned -home to surrender the White Staff. The same punishment was dealt out -to a number of noblemen who acted in concert with him. Lord Clinton, -a Lord of the Bedchamber, the Earl of Burlington, Captain of the Band -of Pensioners, were dismissed, as well as the Duke of Montrose, and -the Earls of Marchmont and Stair from offices held in Scotland. The -Duke of Bolton and Lord Cobham were, by a most unjustifiable stretch of -authority, deprived of their regiments. - -In 1734 England was the witness of war raging in different parts of -Europe without having any concern in it, generally known as the War -of the Polish Succession. A sharp Parliamentary campaign had been -conducted at home. The Opposition talked loudly of the lamentable and -calamitous situation of England, because she was wise enough to keep -out of the war. Their motions were all guided by the secret hand of -Bolingbroke, whose restless and rancorous mind could not brook that -partial obscurity to which he was doomed by the immovable spirit of -Walpole. But the grand attack was on the Septennial Act. This was a -delicate subject for the Whigs in Opposition, for they, and Pulteney -especially, had, in 1716, supported this Act with many specious -arguments. But Wyndham led the way again with amazing eloquence, and -discharged a philippic against Walpole of such ruthless and scathing -vigour, as must have annihilated a less adamantine man. - -"Let us suppose," said Wyndham, "a man abandoned to all notions of -virtue and honour; of no great family, and but of a mean fortune, -raised to be chief Minister of State by the concurrence of many -whimsical events; afraid or unwilling to trust any but creatures of -his own making, lost to all sense of shame and reputation, ignorant of -his country's true interest, pursuing no aim but that of aggrandising -himself and his favourites; in foreign affairs trusting none but -those who, from the nature of their education, cannot possibly be -qualified for the service of their country, or give weight and credit -to their negotiations; let us suppose the true interest of the nation -by such means neglected, or misunderstood, her honour tarnished, her -importance lost, her trade insulted, her merchants plundered, and -her sailors murdered; and all these circumstances overlooked, lest -his administration should be endangered. Suppose him next possessed -of immense wealth, the plunder of the nation, with a Parliament -chiefly composed of members whose seats are purchased, and whose votes -are bought at the expense of public treasure. In such a Parliament -suppose attempts made to inquire into his conduct, or to relieve -the nation from the distress which has been entailed upon it by his -administration. Suppose him screened by a corrupt majority of his -creatures, whom he retains in daily pay, or engages in his particular -interest by distributing among them those posts and places which -ought never to be bestowed upon any but for the good of the public. -Let him plume himself upon his scandalous victory because he has -obtained a Parliament like a packed jury, ready to acquit him at all -adventures. Let us suppose him domineering with insolence over all -the men of ancient families, over all the men of sense, figure, or -fortune in the nation; as he has no virtue of his own, ridiculing it -in others, and endeavouring to destroy or corrupt it in all. With such -a Minister and such a Parliament, let us suppose a case which I hope -will never happen--a prince upon the throne, uninformed, ignorant, and -unacquainted with the inclinations and true interests of his people; -weak, capricious, transported with unbounded ambition, and possessed -with insatiable avarice. I hope such a case will never occur; but, -as it possibly may, could any greater curse happen to a nation than -such a prince on the throne, advised, and solely advised, by such a -Minister, and that Minister supported by such a Parliament?" By those -who have considered the extent to which Walpole carried the system of -corrupting the representatives of the people, and thus ruling at his -own will, and not by the sanction of the public opinion and feeling, -this severe portrait of him can scarcely be considered as exaggerated. -Walpole, no doubt, felt it deeply, but feeling, too, whence the attack -really came--namely, from the armoury of Bolingbroke--he passed Wyndham -lightly over, and emptied the burning vial of his indignation on the -concealed foe, in a not less vigorous and graphic strain. - -On the 16th of April Parliament was dissolved and the elections were -conducted with immense party heat. Each side did all in its power, by -fair means and foul, to increase its adherents. Sir Robert used the -persuasives for which he became so famous, that he boasted "every man -had his price," and if we are to believe the journals of the day, the -Opposition were not at all behind him, as far as their ability went. -They made ample use, too, of the Septennial Act, the Riot Act, the -Excise scheme, and the unrecompensed commercial claims on Spain. They -declared the neutrality preserved under such circumstances disgraceful -to the country, though they would have been the first to have denounced -Ministers had they gone to war. They gained several seats, but when -the Parliament met in January, 1735, it was soon discovered that, -though less, the majority was as steady as ever, and the Opposition -having tried their strength against it for a few times, became greatly -depressed for a while. Bolingbroke quitted the country, and settled -himself at Chanteloup, in Lorraine. - -[Illustration: _By permission of Messrs. S. Hildesheimer & Co., Ltd._ - -GREENWICH HOSPITAL - -FROM THE PICTURE BY T. R. HARDY.] - -[Illustration: SIR ROBERT WALPOLE.] - -Whilst these affairs had been taking place in England, the Emperor had -been finding himself less and less able to contend against France and -Spain. He had in vain exerted himself to engage the Dutch and English -in his quarrel. He called upon them as bound by the faith of treaties; -he represented the balance of power for which both Holland and England -had made such sacrifices, as more in danger than ever; but none of -these pleas moving Walpole or the Dutch, he threatened to withdraw his -troops from the Netherlands, and make over that country to France. The -threat of the Emperor did not move Walpole; he knew too well that it -was but a threat. The Emperor, therefore, was now compelled to come -to terms. A treaty was to be entered into under the mediation of the -maritime Powers. As Fleury and Walpole, too, were bent on peace, they -submitted to all the delays and punctilios of the diplomatists, and -finally were rewarded by a peace being concluded between the different -parties on these terms:--Don Carlos was to retain Naples and Sicily, -but he was to resign the possession of Parma and the reversion of -Tuscany; of the claimants to the Polish Crown, Augustus was to remain -King of Poland, and Stanislaus was to receive, as an equivalent, the -Duchy of Lorraine, which, after his decease, was to devolve to the -Crown of France. This was an aim which France had had in view for -ages, but which neither the genius of Richelieu nor of Mazarin could -accomplish. It was rendered comparatively easy now, as the young Duke -of Lorraine was about to marry the Empress's only child, the Princess -Maria Theresa, and thus to succeed through her to the Empire. Yet -the Duke ceded his patrimonial territory with extreme regret, and -not till he had received in return the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and a -pension from France. The regnant Grand Duke of Tuscany, the last of -the Medicis, was on the verge of death, and his decease took place in -less than two years, when the Duke of Lorraine was put in possession. -France and Sardinia gave their guarantee to the Pragmatic Sanction, and -Sardinia obtained, in consequence, Novara, Tortona, and some adjoining -districts. England appears to have looked on with strange apathy at -this aggrandisement of France by the acquisition of Lorraine, but -it was impossible to prevent it, except by a great war, and Walpole -was not disposed for even a little one. This treaty is known as the -Definitive Peace of Vienna (Nov. 8, 1738). - -As harmony was restored on the Continent, so harmony characterised, to -a wonderful degree, the opening of the British Parliament in January, -1736. The king felicitated the country on the happy turn which affairs -had taken on the Continent, and said "that he trusted the same peace -and goodwill would manifest themselves in the domestic affairs of the -realm." All appeared likely to realise this wish. A congratulatory -address was carried without a division, and without a syllable of -dissent. But the peace was hollow--the calm only preceded a storm. - -The first debate arose on the subject of drunkenness and gin. -Drunkenness had of late years appeared to grow rapidly, and to assume -more horrible features from the increasing use of gin. Sir Joseph -Jekyll proposed in committee that a heavy tax should be laid on this -pernicious liquor, which should put it out of the reach of the working -classes--namely, a duty of twenty shillings per gallon on all sold -retail, and fifty pounds yearly for the licence to every retailer. -This benevolent man had not arrived at the truth, that to tax a crime -is only to stop up one vent of it, and to occasion its bursting out in -half a dozen other places. Sir Robert Walpole saw this clearly, and -though he would not oppose the Bill for this purpose, he predicted -that Parliament would soon be called upon to modify its provisions. -The small duties heretofore levied on this article had brought in -about seventy thousand pounds annually, and, as the Excise had been -made over to the Crown, this sum went to the Civil List. Walpole -demanded, therefore, that whatever deficiency of this sum should be -produced by the new regulations should be made up to the Civil List. -The whole measure excited great clamour out of doors. It was regarded -as an invidious attempt to abridge the comforts of the people, whilst -those of the wealthy remained untouched. The clause proposed by Walpole -to protect the revenue was assailed with much fury both in and out of -the House. It was said that the Minister was quite indifferent to the -morals of the people on the one hand, or to their enjoyment on the -other, so that the revenue did not suffer. - -The session of Parliament closing on the 26th of May, George took -his annual trip to Hanover, leaving, as usual, the queen to act as -Regent. She found her duties this year by no means light. Everyone -is acquainted with the Porteous Riots, as they are described by the -inimitable pen of Sir Walter Scott in "The Heart of Midlothian." The -simple historic facts are these:--Two noted smugglers from Fife, Wilson -and Robertson, were condemned to death for a robbery, and were confined -in the Tolbooth of Edinburgh. They made a determined effort to effect -their escape before the day of execution. Wilson, who would go first, -being a man of a corpulent though very powerful build, wedged himself -fast in the window, and could neither get out nor draw back again. -He was found thus in the morning, and the two prisoners were again -secured. Wilson lamented that by his own eagerness he had prevented -Robertson from going first, who, from his slenderer person, could -easily have escaped. Before execution it was the custom at that period -in Scotland to conduct the prisoners about to suffer, under a strong -guard, to church. This being done in the case of these two men, just as -the service was concluded, Wilson suddenly laid hold of two of the four -soldiers who guarded them, called out to Robertson to run for his life, -and detained the third soldier by seizing him by the collar with his -teeth. He escaped, and was never seen in Edinburgh again. This daring -scheme, so cleverly executed, raised the admiration of the bravery -and magnanimity of Wilson to the highest pitch. At his execution -the soldiers were attacked with stones. Porteous, who commanded the -guard, fired upon the mob. For this he was condemned to death, but was -reprieved by Queen Caroline after full inquiry. The people in fury -attacked the Tolbooth, the magistrates and the commander of the troops -were afraid to act, the prison was broken open, and Porteous hanged -on a barber's pole. All attempts to discover the perpetrators of the -outrage failed. - -But the more the mystery, the greater was the rage of the English -Government. On the opening of the Session of Parliament for 1737, -a Bill was brought in of a most frantic and unwise character:--"To -abolish the charter of the City of Edinburgh, to rase the city -gates, disband the City Guard, and declare Mr. Wilson, the Provost, -incapable of again holding any public office." Nothing so furious -and unstatesmanlike could ever have been imagined possible in the -eighteenth century. Witnesses were called to the bar of both Houses, -and amongst them three Scottish judges, in their robes, were subjected -to a sharp cross-examination. Nothing, however, could be elicited -except some degree of carelessness on the part of the city magistrates. -The Scottish nation, with its usual spirit, highly resented the menaces -of this impolitic Bill. The Duke of Argyll in the Lords, and various -members of the Commons, denounced it as equally insulting and unjust. -They were zealously supported by many English members, especially by -Wyndham and Sir John Barnard, and the Bill gradually shrank into an -Act disabling Mr. Provost Wilson from holding any office in future, -and fining the city two thousand pounds for the benefit of the widow -of Captain Porteous; and, alluding to her original station, it was -jocosely said, therefore, that all this terrible menace ended in making -the fortune of an old cookmaid. - -The attention of the public was now again drawn to those unnatural -feuds which disturbed the Royal Family. The exhibition of domestic -discord and hatred in the House of Hanover had, from its first -ascension of the throne, been most odious and revolting. The quarrels -of the king and his son, like those of the first two Georges, had -begun in Hanover, and had been imported along with them only to assume -greater malignancy in foreign and richer soil. The Prince of Wales, -whilst still in Germany, had formed a strong attachment to the Princess -Royal of Prussia. George forbade the connection. The prince was -instantly summoned to England, where he duly arrived in 1728. - -The prince found in the Opposition in England the most unfortunate -fosterers of his unfilial temper. Pulteney, Wyndham, Chesterfield, -Carteret, Cobham, and, worst of all, Bolingbroke, became his -associates, and the frequenters of his house. Fast ripening into a -pattern of unfilial popularity under such influences, possessing some -accomplishments, and a desire to stand well with the people, he married -in April, 1736, Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, a princess of so much beauty -and good sense, as might have reclaimed many a nature; who seems to -have at least won the heart of her husband from his former romantic -passion. It was an ominous circumstance, however, that the address -of congratulation on this occasion was moved, not by the king's own -Ministers, but by the king's own Opposition. Pulteney was the mover, -and it was supported by two young men who that evening made their first -speeches, and in them burst suddenly forth with that splendour which -was destined to grow transcendent through many years. They were Pitt, -afterwards Lord Chatham, and Lord Lyttelton. - -Scarcely was the Prince married, when he began to complain of his -limited income. His father, as Prince of Wales, had been allowed one -hundred thousand pounds from the Civil List, which then was only seven -hundred thousand pounds, but he now received only fifty thousand pounds -from a Civil List of eight hundred thousand pounds. Bolingbroke, two -years before, on leaving England, told the prince, as his parting -advice, to apply to Parliament, without any regard to the king, for a -permanent income of one hundred thousand pounds a year. Under these -circumstances, Walpole persuaded the king to send a message to the -prince, offering to settle a large jointure on the princess, and to -make the prince's own income independent of his father. Here the prince -ought to have yielded; if he had been either politic or well-disposed, -he would have done so. The king was at this time very ill, and his -physicians declared that if he did not alter soon, he could not live -a twelvemonth. This circumstance of itself would have touched any -young man of the least natural feeling, to say nothing of policy; for, -if the king died, there was an end of the question--the prince would -be king himself. But he was now in such a temper that he would not -listen to the royal proposal; and the next day, the 22nd of February, -1737, Pulteney made his motion in the House of Commons for an address -beseeching the king to settle upon the prince a hundred thousand pounds -a year, and promising that the House would enable him effectually to -do so. What was still stranger, it was seconded by Sir John Barnard. -The Commons were not willing to run counter to a prince apparently on -the point of ascending the throne, and Walpole would have found himself -in a minority had Wyndham, as he hoped, brought the Tories to vote for -the prince. But forty-five Jacobites, who could not bring themselves -to vote for an heir of the House of Hanover, though they would by -that have done a serious mischief to the Hanoverian usurper, as they -styled him, rose in a body and quitted the House. On the division, -the Ministerial party amounted to two hundred and thirty-four, the -Opposition to only two hundred and four--being a majority for Ministers -of exactly thirty. The next day the same motion was made in the Lords -by Carteret, but was rejected by a large majority--one hundred and -three to forty. - -This decided repulse ought to have shown the prince the violence that -he was doing to the public sense of decency, and the mischief to his -own character; but the disappointment only the more embittered him and -increased his miserable obstinacy. Time had no effect in abating his -unnatural resentment. Though this parliamentary decision took place -in February, he continued so much in the same temper, that the very -last day of the following May, his wife being seized with symptoms of -labour, he suddenly determined to remove her from Hampton Court, where -all the Royal Family then were, and hurry her off to London. - -Fortunately, the princess was safely delivered at St. James's (June -4), though the house was unprepared for such an emergency--the rooms -and beds being unaired, and there being no adequate suite of servants. -The moment that the king heard of this extraordinary conduct of the -prince, he despatched Walpole and Lord Harrington to attend the birth, -but they were too late. After that the king repulsed all the prince's -advances towards a reconciliation. Frederick betook himself to Norfolk -House, St. James's Square, and there all the opponents of his father's -Government collected around him. The prince was now the head and centre -of the Opposition himself. - -This open breach of the Royal Family was quickly followed by the death -of the queen. Besides the misery of seeing her son and husband so -awfully at variance, she had long been struggling with a complaint -which, out of false delicacy, she had carefully concealed. "The queen's -great secret," says Horace Walpole, "was her own rupture, which, till -her last illness, nobody knew but the king, her German nurse, Mrs. -Mailborne, and one other person, Lady Sundon." - -She continued till nearly the last to hide from the surgeons the real -cause of her sufferings, and was treated by the medical men for gout in -the stomach. When the secret was at length disclosed, it was too late; -though one of the surgeons declared that, if they had been informed two -days earlier, they could have saved her. - -Admirable as was the character of Caroline, she has been accused -of retaining her resentment against her son to the last. Pope and -Chesterfield affirm that she died refusing to see or forgive her -son; but Ford, though he says she would not see him, states that she -"heartily forgave him"; and Horace Walpole says she not only forgave -him, but would have seen him, but that she feared to irritate her -husband. To Sir Robert Walpole she expressed her earnest hope that he -would continue to serve the king as faithfully as he had done, and, -curiously enough, recommended the king to him, not him to the king. She -died on the 20th of November, perhaps more lamented by Walpole than by -her own husband (though, as Lord Hervey tells us, George was bitterly -affected), for Walpole well knew how much her strong sense and superior -feeling had tended to keep the king right, which he could not hope for -when she was gone. The king appeared to lament her loss considerably -for a time, that is, till consoled by his mistress, the Countess of -Walmoden, whom he had kept for a long time at Hanover, and now soon -brought over to England. He sent for her picture when she was dead, -shut himself up with it some hours, and declared, on reappearing, that -he never knew the woman worthy to buckle her shoe. - -On the opening of Parliament, in January, 1738, a desperate effort -was made by the Opposition at once to reduce the army and to kindle -a war with Spain. Walpole proposed to place the army on a footing of -seventeen thousand men. The "Patriots," as they were called, voted to -reduce the number to twelve thousand. Walpole, exasperated at their -factious conduct, launched an indignant sarcasm at them, which produced -so much effect that they did not venture to divide on the motion. "No -man of common sense," said Walpole, "will now profess himself openly a -Jacobite; by so doing he not only may injure his private fortune, but -must render himself less able to do any effectual service to the cause -he has embraced; therefore there are but few such men in the kingdom. -Your right Jacobite, sir, disguises his true sentiments. He roars -out for revolutionary principles; he pretends to be a great friend to -liberty and a great admirer of our ancient Constitution; and under this -pretence there are numbers who every day endeavour to sow discontent -among the people." - -[Illustration: THE PORTEOUS MOB. (_See p._ 67.) [_After the Painting by -James Drummond, R.S.A._]] - -Defeated in this object, the Patriots united all their force to embroil -us with Spain. There were many causes in our commercial relations with -Spain which led to violent discontent amongst our merchants. They -found the trade with the Spanish settlements in America exceedingly -profitable, but they had no right, beyond a very limited extent, to -trade there. The Spaniards, though they winked at many encroachments, -repressed others which exceeded these with considerable vigour. Their -Coastguard insisted on boarding and searching our vessels which -intruded into their waters, to discover whether they were bringing -merchandise or were prepared to carry away colonial produce. By the -treaty of 1670 Spain had recognised the British colonies in North -America, and England had agreed that her ships should not enter the -ports of the Spanish colonies except from stress of weather, or with an -especial licence from the Spanish Government to trade. By the treaty -of 1729 we had agreed to the old regulations regarding trading to -the Spanish Main, namely, that we should have the Assiento, or right -of supplying these colonies with slaves, and that, besides this, we -should only send one ship annually to the Spanish West Indies and South -America. As fast as that authorised ship discharged its cargo in a -Spanish port, she received fresh supplies of goods over her larboard -side from other vessels which had followed in her wake, and thus poured -unlimited quantities of English goods into the place. Other English -traders did not approach too near the Spanish coasts, but were met in -certain latitudes by South American smugglers, who there received their -goods and carried them into port. In short, such a system of contraband -trade was carried on in these waters by our merchants, that English -goods in abundance found their way all over the Spanish American -regions, and the great annual fair for goods imported from or by Spain -dwindled into insignificance. - -It was no wonder that Spain, feeling the serious effects of this -state of things, should resist it; and when she did so, and exerted -an unusual degree of vigilance, then the most terrible outcries were -raised, and wonderful stories were circulated of Spanish cruelties to -our people beyond the Atlantic. At this time the Opposition got hold -of one of these, and made the House of Commons and the nation resound -with it. It was, that one Captain Robert Jenkins, who had been master -of a sloop trading from Jamaica, had been boarded and searched by a -Coastguard, and treated in a most barbarous manner, though they could -detect no proof of smuggling in his vessel. He said that the Spanish -captain had cut off one of his ears, bidding him carry it to his king, -and tell his Majesty that if he were present he would treat him in the -same manner. This story was now seven years old, but it was not the -less warmly received on that account. It excited the utmost horror, and -Jenkins was ordered to appear at the bar of the House of Commons on the -16th of March, to give an account of the outrage himself; and it would -appear that both he and other witnesses were examined the same day. -Jenkins carried his ear about with him wrapped in cotton, to show to -those to whom he related the fact, and the indignation was intense. He -was asked by a member how he felt when he found himself in the hands -of such barbarians, and he replied, "I recommended my soul to God, and -my cause to my country." The worthy skipper had probably been crammed -with this dramatic sentiment by some of his clever Parliamentary -introducers; but its effect was all the same as if it had been a -genuine and involuntary expression of his own mind. Researches made at -the Admiralty in 1889 proved that he really had lost an ear. - -And, in truth, everything now seemed to run counter to Walpole, and to -tend towards war. His colleague, the Duke of Newcastle, who had been -one of the most obsequious of subordinates both under Stanhope and -Walpole, now thought he should serve himself decidedly by advocating -war. The king was naturally of a martial turn; he had won some military -repute in his youth, and he was no longer under the exceedingly -sensible guidance of the queen. Newcastle, therefore, probably in the -hope of supplanting Walpole, fostered this spirit in the king, and took -advantage of it to recommend warlike measures in the Cabinet, and to -send despatches to the British ambassadors in Spain, which but for the -energy and wisdom of Walpole might have done irreparable mischief, and -which rendered the negotiations extremely difficult. Lord Chancellor -Hardwicke and Lord Harrington arrayed themselves on the same side, and -blew the war-note in the House of Lords with unrestrained zeal. There -was a time when Walpole would have had these antagonistic colleagues -dismissed; but both he and they saw too well that there was such a -strong war spirit in both king and people, that no such thing was -possible. He therefore pursued his efforts with the Court of Spain for -peaceable conclusions, at the same time that he fell in so far with -the belligerent spirit as to make active preparations as if for an -encounter. This, however, was his last and most powerful argument for -peace--an argument meant to tell on the fears, as he could not reach a -spirit of conciliation in the Spaniards. - -He despatched a squadron of ten ships of the line to the Mediterranean, -under Admiral Haddock; another strong squadron sailed for the West -Indies; letters of marque and reprisal were issued to the merchants; -and troops and stores were forwarded to Georgia, which the Spaniards -had threatened to invade. He gave directions to all merchants in -Spanish ports to register their goods with a public notary in case of a -rupture. These measures produced a rapid change of tone at the Spanish -Court. On comparing the demands on both sides for damages sustained in -commerce, there appeared a balance in favour of England of two hundred -thousand pounds. Against this, the Spaniards demanded sixty thousand -pounds in compensation for the ships taken by Admiral Byng in 1718--a -claim which Stanhope would never allow, but which had been recognised -in the Treaty of Seville, and was now, therefore, acknowledged. This -reduced the sum to a hundred and forty thousand pounds, which the -Spanish Court proposed should be paid by assignments on the American -revenues. This, the Ministers were well aware, might involve the most -endless delays and uncertainties, and they certainly showed a most -conceding spirit by allowing a deduction of forty-five thousand pounds -for prompt payment at Madrid. The sum was now reduced to ninety-five -thousand pounds; and this being agreed to, a convention was signed on -the 14th of January, 1739. - -In this Convention no mention was made of the right of search, and -various other matters were reserved for the consideration of the -plenipotentiaries. When the Convention was announced to Parliament by -the king in his opening speech, there arose a general denunciation of -it both in and out of Parliament. The right of search was declared -to be purposely sacrificed; the limits of Georgia were undefined; -and the Spanish captains in the West Indies were unpunished for all -their cruelties. That sixty thousand pounds should be allowed for -compensation for ships taken by Admiral Byng in 1718 was very justly -declared taxing us for our victories. In fact, Walpole, in this treaty, -seemed ready to give up everything to Spain, knowing, probably, how -hopeless it was to extract money from that country, and glad of an -excuse of any set-off against our claims as to the easiest way of -settling them. But all did not avail him. The more conceding he was to -the Spaniards the more immovable they became, whilst the public at home -were enraged at the tameness displayed by Ministers. Ministers found -their majority continually on the wane. On the division in the Commons -it had dwindled to twenty-eight, namely, two hundred and sixty votes -against two hundred and thirty-two. - -But that there should be a majority at all on such a question brought -the Opposition to try an experiment which they had been for some -time planning. This was the absurd scheme of seceding in a body from -the House of Commons, on the plea that a paid and standing majority -rendered all reason and argument nugatory. In the course of his -farewell speech, Wyndham made use of such violent language, that Mr. -Pelham jumped up to move the commitment of the honourable member to -the Tower; but Walpole was too well aware that such a proceeding would -only have served the ends of the Opposition, rendering them martyrs to -their country's cause, and raising a vivid interest in their behalf. He -therefore stopped him, and said that the measures which that gentleman -and his friends might pursue gave him no uneasiness; on the contrary, -the House was much obliged to them for pulling off the mask. Relieved -of their presence, he now carried his measures in unopposed quiet. - -Parliament, having so smoothly transacted its business, was prorogued -on the 14th of June, and Walpole then addressed himself to the -settlement of the Spanish difference. But here he found a spirit of -resistance which had undoubtedly grown from the invectives of the -Opposition. The outcries against the Spanish captains, the right of -search, and the payment of compensation for the ships taken by Byng, -had given great offence to the proud Spaniards. They were encouraged, -also, by the earnest manner in which Walpole had argued for peace. -They now assumed a high tone. They complained of the continuance of -the British fleet in the Mediterranean. They demanded the payment of -the sixty-eight thousand pounds which they said was due from the South -Sea Company, though it had been stipulated in the Convention that it -should not come into consideration. - -Here all further progress became impossible. The Spaniards having -reduced their debt to less than one half the original sum, were -fighting stoutly to reduce it to nothing. There appeared no chance -but for arms to decide it. Cardinal Fleury, with his usual pacific -disposition, made an effort to avert the war by guaranteeing to -undertake the payment of the ninety-five thousand pounds by Spain, -provided that the British fleet was withdrawn from the Mediterranean. -But English spirit, even in Walpole, had now reached its limit of -patience. The king and the nation were equally in a mood for war. -Walpole, therefore, ceased to listen any longer to the Spanish -objections, but took his stand on the true British ground of resistance -to the right of search, and on that of an acknowledgment of all -British rights and claims in North America. Instead of withdrawing the -Mediterranean fleet, he ordered its reinforcement, sent Sir Chaloner -Ogle with fresh ships to the West Indies, and Sir John Norris was -ordered to put to sea with a third squadron. The above demands being -peremptorily made from the Court of Madrid, and being rejected, war -was proclaimed in London on the 19th of October. Walpole, who had -reluctantly resorted to this master evil, as he heard the rejoicings, -exclaimed, "They may ring the bells now, but they will soon be wringing -their hands!" The first symptoms of the consequences which the war was -likely to produce were seen in the new hopes which it awoke in the -ranks of the Jacobites. Large numbers of them met at Edinburgh, and -drew up a bond of association, pledging one another to take arms and -venture life and fortune for the restoration of the Stuart. On the -other hand, those nations on which England calculated for aid hung back -and remained neutral. The Dutch were bound to furnish certain troops -in case of war, and, before the declaration of it, Horace Walpole was -despatched by his brother to demand their production; but they pleaded -the menaces of France, which threatened them with invasion by fifty -thousand men if they assisted the English, and which held out to them -the prospect of their obtaining that trade to the Spanish colonies -which England had enjoyed. As for France herself, she assumed an air -rather ominous of war than of peace, and thus Britain was left alone in -the contest. - -The war was scarcely begun when it was discovered that we had -proclaimed hostilities much before we were prepared to carry them out. -Our ships were badly manned, and therefore slow to put to sea, and the -more alert Spaniards were busy picking up our merchant vessels. Not -they only, but the French, Dutch, and other nations who had hoisted -Spanish colours, were making wide devastation amongst our trading -vessels. Walpole was compelled to issue letters of marque and licences -to swarms of privateers, which issued forth to make reprisals. The -Lords of the Admiralty, on the 1st of February, 1740, had ordered an -embargo on all shipping except coasters, so as at once to keep them -out of reach of the enemy, and to induce seamen to enter the navy; but -on the 28th of March a petition from merchants and owners of shipping -was presented, complaining of the hardships and the destruction of -trade by it. The Lords of the Admiralty contended that such had been -the complaints of injuries done at sea to our traders, that they had -been compelled to impose the embargo in the absence of sufficient hands -for men-of-war. They now took the embargo off foreign ships, and gave -notice to English owners that they would take it off altogether, on -condition that the owners and masters of vessels would enter into an -engagement to furnish a certain number of men to the navy in proportion -to the number of hands in each trader. This also was denounced as a -most oppressive measure, and the Opposition represented it as intended -to make the mercantile community sick of the war. Driven, however, to -extremities, Ministers would not listen to these arguments; a motion -was carried sanctioning this plan, and then the merchants came into it. - -Such were the difficulties which Ministers had to contend with for -commencing the war at sea. In one particular, however, there was more -liberality; money was ungrudgingly voted; the land-tax was raised -from two to four shillings in the pound, and the Sinking Fund was so -freely resorted to, that the supplies altogether amounted to upwards -of four millions. During these discussions, news came on the 13th of -March, that on the 21st of November, 1739, Admiral Vernon had taken -Porto Bello from the Spaniards. This was good news for the Opposition, -for Vernon was one of their party, and a personal enemy of Walpole. -There were great rejoicings and the Lords sent down an address of -congratulation to the king, for the concurrence of the Commons. Yet -in this they could not avoid making a party matter of it, the address -stating that this glorious action had been performed with only six -ships, and thus to mark the contrast with the doings of Admiral Hosier -in those seas, and so to blacken his memory. The address was carried in -a thin House, but only by thirty-six against thirty-one, so that along -with the news went the comment to Vernon, that the Ministry begrudged -him his glory. Parliament was prorogued on the 29th of April, 1740, and -the king set off on his summer visit to Hanover. - -[Illustration: GREAT SEAL OF GEORGE II.] - -The turn of affairs on the Continent justified Walpole's gravest -apprehensions. France was discovered to have made a compact with -Spain, and once having taken this step, she displayed her usual -activity in every Court of Europe, to induce the allies to break -with England and prevent her from making new leagues. Walpole did -his best to counteract these French influences. He managed to secure -the Russian Court, before in connection with France, and subsidised -Sweden, Denmark, Hesse-Cassel, and some other of the German States. -But at this crisis (1740) died the savage old Frederick William of -Prussia, and his son Frederick now commenced that extraordinary -military career which obtained him the name of the Great. Temptingly -adjoining his own territory, the young king beheld that of an equally -young female sovereign, Maria Theresa of Austria, and he determined -to extend his kingdom at her expense. The mystery of Frederick's -movements was dissipated by his crossing, on the 23rd of December, the -Austrian frontiers into Silesia. It was seen that it was the favourable -opportunity of overpowering a weak neighbour which had tempted the -Prussian to break his engagement, and to endeavour to make himself -master of the domains of a defenceless young princess. But Frederick -brought out some antiquated claims on the province Of Silesia, and on -these he justified his breach of treaties. Maria Theresa applied, in -her alarm, to the Powers who had concurred in the Pragmatic Sanction, -but all except George II. fell away instantly from her. They believed -her incapable of defending her territories, and hoped to come in for a -share of the spoil. The Elector of Bavaria joined Prussia; Saxony did -the same; France was eager for the promised half of the winnings; and -Spain and Sardinia assured Frederick of their secret support. George -II., confounded by this universal defection, advised Maria Theresa to -compromise the affair with Prussia by giving up half Silesia, or the -whole, if necessary; but the high-spirited queen rejected the proposal -with scorn, and called on George to furnish the troops guaranteed by -England under the Pragmatic Sanction. George could, however, only -assemble some few soldiers on the Hanoverian frontier, but this obliged -Frederick to appropriate a considerable section of his army to guard -against any attack from Hanover. - -The king, in his speech on opening Parliament, mentioned the fleets -which we had dispatched to the West Indies and South America, and his -determination to continue those armaments so as to bring Spain to -reason. He professed to rely with confidence on our allies, although -we had scarcely one left, whilst in the same breath he admitted the -no longer doubtful hostility of France at the very moment that our -only ally--namely, Austria--was calling on us for assistance, instead -of being able to yield us any, should we need it. On the proposal of -the address, the Opposition proceeded to condemn the whole management -of the war. The Duke of Argyll led the way, and was followed by -Chesterfield, Carteret, Bathurst, and others, in a strain of extreme -virulence against Walpole, calling him a Minister who for almost twenty -years had been demonstrating that he had neither wisdom nor conduct. -In the Commons Wyndham was no longer living to carry on the Opposition -warfare, but Pitt and Lyttelton more than supplied his place. - -The storm grew every day more violent, and on the 11th of February, -1741, Sandys, who had acquired the name of "the Motion Maker," -announced that he intended to make a motion for a direct condemnation -of the Minister, and for his removal from office. On the following -Friday Sandys made his threatened motion of condemnation. The -surprise of the debate occurred when Shippen--"the thorough Shippen," -as he was called--said that he would not join in the ruin of the -assailed Minister. He declared that he never followed any dictates of -self-interest, and cared little who was in or out, unless he could see -a prospect of different measures; but that he regarded this movement -only as the attempt to turn out one Administration in order to bring -another in. He would therefore have no concern in it, and with that he -withdrew, followed by thirty-four of his party. All Prince Frederick's -servants and party also, except Lyttelton, Pitt, and Granville, left -the House; so that, though there were more than five hundred members -present at the commencement of the debate, when the question came to be -put there were not above four hundred. - -It is said that Sir Robert had, some time before, addressed a letter -to the Pretender with the object of softening the asperity of his -partisans in England, and that this had so raised the hopes of James, -that Walpole was actually intending to come round, that he had -ordered his followers to avoid anything which should shake his power. -Whatever the cause, the fact was striking, and the Opposition having -concluded its onslaught upon him, he rose to make his reply. It was an -occasion which demanded the utmost exertion of his powers, and he put -them forth. Walpole's speech on this day has justly been deemed his -masterpiece. It was four o'clock in the morning when he concluded his -masterly defence, and the motion was instantly rejected by two hundred -and ninety votes against one hundred and six. The immediate effect -of the attack appeared to be to strengthen the Minister, and that -considerably; his _levée_ the next morning was more crowded than had -ever been known, and he seemed to sway the Cabinet with uncontrolled -power. But thinking men predicted that the blow would tell in the end, -when the momentary enthusiasm had gone off; and Walpole himself seemed -to be of the same opinion. The attack, in truth, was but the first -outbreak of the storm which, kept up by the implacable spirit of a -powerful Opposition, was sure to bear him down at last. - -Whilst this powerful confederacy was putting forth all its strength -to drive from the seat of supremacy the man who had so long guided -the fortunes of England, another confederacy was knitting together -its selfish members to rend in pieces and share amongst them the -empire of the young Queen of Austria. Frederick was willing enough to -make a league with France, but he was cautious enough not to make it -too soon. He wanted to know whether he could keep England out of the -campaign, in which case he could deal easily with Austria himself. -Walpole's attempts to prevent the war from becoming European, however, -failed, and the treaty being signed with the Prussian king, Marshal -Maillebois marched an army across the Rhine, and Belleisle and Broglie -went with another. Maillebois pursued his course direct for Hanover, -where George was drilling and preparing a number of troops, but in -no degree capable of making head against the French. Panic-stricken -at their approach, he made haste to come to terms, and agreed to a -year's neutrality for Hanover, leaving Maria Theresa to her fate, and, -moreover, engaging not to vote for the election of her husband, the -Duke of Lorraine, to be Emperor. The news of this conduct of the King -of England in the person of the Elector of Hanover, was received in -Great Britain with the utmost indignation. Belleisle and De Broglie -had, during this time, joined their forces to those of the old Elector -of Bavaria, the constant enemy of Austria and the friend of France, and -had marched into Austria. He took Linz, on the Danube, and commenced -his march on Vienna. As this allied army approached Vienna, Maria -Theresa fled with her infant son, afterwards Joseph II., into Hungary, -her husband and his brother, Prince Charles of Lorraine, remaining to -defend the city. The Hungarians received their menaced queen with -enthusiasm. She had done much since the recent commencement of her -reign to win their affections. She had been crowned in the preceding -month of June in their ancient capital, and had sworn to maintain their -ancient constitution in all its force, and the people were fervent -in their loyalty. When, therefore, she appeared before the Hungarian -Parliament in Presburg with her son in her arms, and called upon that -high-spirited nation to defend her against her perfidious and selfish -enemies, the sensation was indescribable. All rose to their feet, and, -drawing their swords half-way from the scabbard, they exclaimed, "Our -lives and our blood for your majesty! We will die for our _king_, Maria -Theresa!" - -Whilst these transactions had been taking place on the Continent, our -fleets, which should have kept the French and Spaniards in check, had -done worse than nothing. France had subtly delayed to declare war -against us, so that, although she joined her fleets and armies to the -enemy, we could not attack her without being the first to declare war, -or to commence it by direct breach of the peace. Admiral Haddock, who -was on the watch in the Mediterranean to harass the Spaniards, was thus -baffled. The Spanish fleet was joined by twelve French men-of-war from -Toulon, the admiral of which declared that he had orders to defend -the Spaniards if they were attacked. As the combined fleet, moreover, -doubled his own, Haddock was compelled to fall off and leave them. - -Still more inglorious were the proceedings of our fleet on the coasts -of the Spanish-American colonies. Sir Chaloner Ogle joined Vernon in -Jamaica on the 9th of January, 1741, and no time was to be lost, for -the wet season set in at the end of April, which, besides the deluges -of rain, is attended by a most unhealthy state of the climate. Vernon, -however, did not move till towards the end of the month, and then, -instead of directing his course towards the Havannah, which lay to the -leeward, and could have been reached in three days, he beat up against -the wind to Hispaniola, in order to watch the motions of the French -fleet under D'Antin. It was the 15th of February before he learned -distinctly that the French had sailed for Europe in great distress -for men and provisions. Now was the time to make his way to Cuba; -but, instead of that, he called a council of war--the resource of a -weak commander,--which was followed by its almost invariable result, -a contrariety of advice. It was at length concluded that, as Admiral -Torres had now sailed for the Havannah, and thus closed the opportunity -for its attack, the fleet should take in wood and water at Hispaniola, -and make for the continent of New Spain. On the 4th of March the fleet -came to anchor in Playa Grande, to the windward of Carthagena. - -Carthagena was strongly fortified, and the garrison was reinforced -by the crews of a squadron lying there under Don Blas de Leon. If -the place was to be assaulted, it should have been done at once; but -Vernon lay perfectly inactive for five days, as if to allow the enemy -to make all his preparations for defence. Notwithstanding this, the -brave English erected a battery on shore, and played so effectually -on the principal fort, that they soon made a breach in it, whilst the -fleet fired into the harbour, thus dividing the attention of the enemy. -In spite of their advantages, the Spaniards abandoned their forts and -batteries, the English entered the breach, the vessels in the harbour -were destroyed, and the passage cleared so that the fleet could sail -in and support the army. There appeared nothing capable of preventing -the conquest of the town but the cabals of the two commanders. Lord -Cathcart had caught the endemic fever and died, and was succeeded by -General Wentworth in command of the land forces. Wentworth had a great -contempt of Vernon, and Vernon was by no means well disposed towards -Wentworth. The fleet having entered the harbour, the land forces were -all disembarked, and posted within a mile of Carthagena; but there the -success stopped. Vernon had written home his dispatches to the Duke of -Newcastle saying, "The wonderful success of this evening and night is -so astounding, that we cannot but cry out, 'It is the Lord's doing, and -it seems marvellous in our eyes!'" - -The news, when it reached England, produced a transport of exultation. -Bells were rung, cannon fired, and great rejoicings made, anticipatory -of fresh tidings of wonderful success. But very different was the -reality. Wentworth called on Vernon to bombard Carthagena from the -harbour, whilst he assailed it on land; but Vernon replied that -he could not get near enough to attack the town effectually, and -that Wentworth must attempt the reduction of the Fort San Lazaro, -which commanded the town, and might be taken by escalade. This was -attempted, and while our men were thus standing under a murderous fire, -they discovered, to their consternation, that their scaling ladders -were too short. But the escalade was persisted in: they remained -splicing their ladders, and a detachment of Grenadiers, under Colonel -Grant, reached the top of a rampart; but Grant was instantly killed, -and the Grenadiers hurled back over the wall. Still, the bull-dog -spirit of the English made them persist in this desperate attempt, till -six hundred--that is, half of them, lay dead, when they drew off. - -All this time "the great Admiral Vernon," as the Opposition delighted -to call him, in disparagement of all the commanders favourable to the -Government, lay still with his ships and afforded no assistance to the -land troops. When Wentworth bitterly complained of this, to show that -it was impossible to operate on the town from the harbour, Vernon sent -into the inner harbour the _Galicia_, a Spanish ship which had been -taken. This ship kept up a cannonade on the town for several hours, -producing little effect, and was fired on from the town with as little. -The men were then brought off in boats, the _Galicia's_ cable was cut, -and she was suffered to run upon a shoal, where she soon filled. The -troops were now hastily re-embarked; the unhealthy season was at its -height, and the men were swept away by fever more rapidly than they had -been mowed down on land. The heavy rains had set in, and the troops -in a few days were reduced to one half their number. Admiral Vernon -instead of undertaking any enterprise which might have retrieved the -honour of the British arms, set sail from Jamaica with the forces in -July, and anchored in the south part of Cuba in a bay, on which he -bestowed the appellation of Cumberland Harbour. Here the remains of -that fine fleet and army, capable of achieving the most brilliant -conquests under able commanders, were suffered to corrode away under -the influence of inactivity, the season, bad salted provisions, and -excess of rum. - -The conduct of Vernon, though he had been the Idol of the Opposition, -and not of the Ministry, as it became known, increased enormously the -unpopularity of Walpole. Though he had literally been forced into the -war by the Opposition, the whole of its disasters were charged, not on -them, but on him; and they did not hesitate to throw from themselves -upon him the odium of all its failures. The general election which now -came on was seized upon to load Walpole with all the weight of the -unsuccessful war. The Duchess of Marlborough, Pulteney, and the Prince -of Wales raised funds to outbribe the master of corruption himself. -They incurred heavy debts to complete his ruin, and as the news of -the miserable issue of the expedition to the Spanish settlements came -in, numbers of those who had been returned to Parliament as friends -of the Ministry turned round and joined the Opposition in violent -denunciations of the mismanagement of the war. Lord Chesterfield, -whilst these transactions had been progressing, had hastened on to -Avignon, and, taking up his quarters with the Duke of Ormonde, obtained -from the Pretender letters to nearly a hundred Jacobites in England -and Scotland, engaging them to put out all their power and influence -against Walpole. - -Whilst these combined efforts were being made to unseat him, Walpole -saw his Cabinet every day becoming more untrustworthy, more divided -against him. The Duke of Newcastle was eagerly pressing forward to -supplant him. He had entered into secret engagements with the Duke of -Argyll, and Lord Chancellor Hardwicke threw himself into that clique. -To these were added the Earl of Wilmington, formerly Sir Spencer -Compton, who, forgetting his alarm at the idea of succeeding Walpole -as Prime Minister, now was anxious for that honour. To add to these -depressing circumstances, the king arrived from Hanover in a humour -ready to lay his disgrace and failure at anybody's door. On the 4th -of December he opened the new Parliament, and, conscious of his own -contemptible figure after the submission to French dictation in -Hanover, he took care to remind it that he had commenced the war only -at the urgent desire and advice of both Houses, and that he had been -particularly counselled to direct our naval efforts towards Spanish -America. - -[Illustration: MARIA THERESA AND THE HUNGARIAN PARLIAMENT. - -(_After the Picture by Laslett J. Pott, by permission of Ephraim -Hallam, Esq._)] - -The Opposition made no objection to the re-election of Onslow as -Speaker of the Commons, but they made a determined attack on the -Address. Lord Noel Somerset moved that in the Address his Majesty -should be desired not to engage this kingdom in a war for the defence -of his Hanoverian dominions. This was seconded by Shippen, who declared -that he had grown old in the House of Commons only to see all the -predictions of his life realised in the management of the nation. -Pulteney seemed to be animated by a double portion of patriotic -indignation. He reviewed Walpole's whole administration, and accused -him, not merely of individual acts of erroneous policy, but of -deliberate treachery. The Whigs, elated by this fiery denunciation of -the Minister, called for a division; but Pulteney, aware that they had -not yet a majority, observed that dividing was not the way to multiply. -Walpole, on his part, offered to leave out the paragraph thanking his -Majesty for his royal care in prosecuting the war with Spain; but -this was only regarded as a proof of conscious weakness, and Pulteney -proceeded to charge Walpole with purposely ruining the nation to serve -the Pretender. This called Walpole up, and he defended himself with -all his accustomed self-command and ability. He retorted the charges -of serving the Pretender on his enemies, and these with real grounds. -He referred to Chesterfield's recent visit to the Pretender's Court at -Avignon. He asked, as he had done before more than once, whether he, -as Minister, had raised the war in Germany, or advised the war with -Spain? Whether he was amenable for the deaths of the late Emperor and -the King of Prussia, which opened up all these complications? Whether -the lawless ambition of Frederick, and the war between Sweden and -Russia, were chargeable on him? He offered to meet the Opposition on -the question of the state of the nation, if they would name a day. This -challenge was accepted, and the 21st of January, 1742, was fixed upon. -The clause respecting the Spanish war, as Walpole had suggested, was -also struck out, and the Address then was carried unanimously. - -But though the 21st of January was to be the day of the grand attack -on the Ministry, the battle was not deferred till then. Every day was -a field-day, and the sinking Minister was dogged step by step, his -influence weakened by repeated divisions, and his strength worn out by -the display of the inevitable approach of the catastrophe. The first -decided defeat that he suffered was in the election of the Chairman of -Committees. The Ministerial candidate, Giles Earle, was thrown out by a -majority of two hundred and forty-two to two hundred and thirty-eight, -and the Opposition candidate, Dr. Lee, was hailed by a shout that rent -the House. Other close divisions followed. The fall of Walpole was -now certain, and he would have consulted both his dignity and comfort -in resigning at once. This was the earnest advice of his friends, but -he had been too long accustomed to power to yield willingly. He was -oppressed with a sense of his defeats, and the insolence of enemies -whom he had so long calmly looked down upon without fear. He was -growing old and wanted repose, but he still clung convulsively to his -authority, though he had ceased to enjoy it. - -In these circumstances opened the year 1742. Fearing the consequences -of the debate on the state of the nation that was to take place on -the 21st of January, Walpole made a last grand effort to divide the -party in array against him: this was, to buy off the Prince of Wales -and his adherents. For this purpose he prevailed on the king to grant -an additional fifty thousand pounds a year and the payment of all his -debts, on condition that he should abandon the Opposition. Secker, -Bishop of Oxford, was selected as the bearer of this offer; but the -prince declined the proposal, declaring that he would listen to no -overtures so long as Walpole continued in office. This was a stunning -blow, but the tenacious Minister did not yet give in. He continued to -avail himself of the interval before the 21st to bribe and bring over -less distinguished men. The Opposition, however, were now every hour -receiving fresh accessions of strength, and men who had stood the brunt -of many years now went over to them. Lord Hervey joined Pulteney and -Chesterfield; and Bubb Doddington, now perceiving that one side really -preponderated, stepped out of his equivocal demeanour, and openly wrote -to Lord Wilmington to entreat him to persuade the king to dismiss the -obnoxious Minister. - -The 21st of January arrived, and Pulteney entered on his great -question. There was nothing new to bring forward, but the old charges -were dressed up with new force. Walpole defended himself with an -ability worthy of his best days. He boldly reminded the Opposition of -the long twenty years of defeats in their endeavours to turn him out; -he declared their accusations were just as false and groundless as -ever; and he proceeded to anatomise the characters of Bubb Doddington -and Pulteney in a manner which must have made men of any feeling wince. -He was ably supported by Sir William Yonge, by Pelham, and Winnington, -but the division showed a majority for the Minister of only three. - -The result of this division shook the last resistance of Walpole. When -the motion which had been rejected on the 18th of December--for copies -of the correspondence with the King of Prussia--was again put, he made -no opposition, and it passed without a division. He made, however, -one more attempt to carry his measures. In the disputed election of -Chippenham he stood his ground against the petition, and was defeated -by a majority of one. It was now clear to himself that he must give -way. His relatives and friends assured him that to defer longer was -only to court more decided discomfiture. On the 31st of January, he, -therefore, prepared to depart for his seat at Houghton, and the next -morning he demanded of the king, in a private audience, leave to -retire. George, on this occasion, evinced a degree of feeling that did -him honour. When the old Minister who had served him through so long a -course of years knelt to kiss hands, the king embraced him, shed tears, -and begged that he would often come to see him. On the 9th of February -Sir Robert was created Earl of Orford, and on the 11th he made a formal -resignation of all his places. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -Reign of George II. (_continued_). - - Effects of Walpole's Administration--Formation of the new - Ministry--Attitude of the Malcontents--Committee of Inquiry into - Walpole's Administration--Walpole's Protectors--Ministerial - Measures--Prorogation of Parliament--Disasters of the - French--British Division in the Netherlands--Opening of - Parliament--The German Mercenaries--Amendment of the Gin - Act--George goes to Germany--Stair and De Noailles in - Franconia--Stair in a Trap--Bold Resolution of King George--The - Battle of Dettingen--Resignation of Stair--Retreat of the - French--Negotiations for Peace--Treaty of Worms--Pelham becomes - Prime Minister--The Attacks of Pitt on Carteret--Attempted - Invasion of England--Its Failure--Progress of the French - Arms--Frederick II. invades Bohemia--His Retirement--Resignation - of Carteret--Pelham strengthens his Ministry--Death of the - Emperor--Campaign in Flanders--Battle of Fontenoy--Campaign of - Frederick II.--The Young Pretender's Preparations--Loss of the - _Elizabeth_--Landing in the Hebrides--The Highland Clans join - him--The First Brush--Raising of the Standard--Cope's Mistake--He - turns aside at Dalwhinnie--Charles makes a Dash for Edinburgh--The - March to Stirling--Right of the Dragoons--The "Canter of - Coltbridge"--Edinburgh surprised by the Highlanders--Charles - marching against Cope--Battle of Prestonpans--Delay in marching - South--Discontent of the Highland Chiefs--The Start--Preparations - in England--Apathy of the Aristocracy--Arrival of the Duke of - Cumberland--Charles crosses the Border--Capture of Carlisle--The - March to Derby--Resolution to retreat--"Black Friday"--The - Retreat--Recapture of Carlisle--Siege of Stirling--Battle of - Falkirk--Retreat to the Highlands--Cumberland's Pursuit--Gradual - Collapse of the Highlanders--Battle of Culloden--Termination of the - Rebellion--Cruelty of the Duke of Cumberland--Adventures of the - Young Pretender--Trials and Executions--Ministerial Crisis. - - -So passed from a long possession of power a Minister who inaugurated -a system of corruption, which was not so much abused by himself, as -made a ready instrument of immeasurable mischief in the hands of his -successors. Had Walpole used the power which he purchased with the -country's money more arbitrarily and perniciously, the system must have -come much sooner to an end. As it was, the evils which he introduced -fell rather on posterity than on his own time. - -Before he withdrew, the king, who retained his high opinion of his -political wisdom, consulted him on the constitution of the new Cabinet. -Walpole recommended that the post of First Lord of the Treasury, -including the Premiership, should be offered to Pulteney, as the man -of the most undoubted talent. If he should refuse it, then that it -should be given to Lord Wilmington, who, though by no means capable -of directing affairs by his own energy, was of a disposition which -might allow them to be conducted by the joint counsel of his abler -colleagues. The king consented that the Premiership should be offered -to Pulteney, though he hated the man, but only on this condition, -that he pledged himself to resist any prosecution of the ex-Minister. -Pulteney declined the overture on such a condition, for though he said -he had no desire to punish Walpole, he might not be able to defend him -from the attacks of his colleagues, for, he observed, "the heads of -parties, like those of snakes, are carried on by their tails." The king -then sent Newcastle to Pulteney, and it was agreed to allow Wilmington -to take the post of First Lord of the Treasury. Carteret thought -that this office was more due to him, but Pulteney declared that if -Wilmington were not permitted to take the Premiership he would occupy -it himself, and Carteret gave way, accepting the place of Secretary of -State, with the promise that he should manage in reality the foreign -affairs. In all these arrangements the king still took the advice -of Walpole, and Newcastle was instructed to again endeavour to draw -from Pulteney a promise that he would at least keep himself clear of -any prosecution of the late Minister. Pulteney evaded the question by -saying that he was not a bloody or revengeful man; that he had always -aimed at the destruction of the power of Walpole, and not of his -person, but that he still thought he ought not to escape without some -censure, and could not engage himself without his party. - -Newcastle, who wanted to retain his place in the new Cabinet, was -more successful on his own behalf. Pulteney said he had no objection -to himself or the Lord Chancellor, but that many changes must be made -in order to satisfy the late Opposition, and to give the Cabinet a -necessary majority. Pulteney then declared that, for himself, he -desired a peerage and a place in the Cabinet, and thus the new Ministry -was organised:--Wilmington, First Lord of the Treasury; Carteret, -Secretary of State; the Marquis of Tweeddale, Secretary for Scotland; -Sandys, the motion-maker, Chancellor of the Exchequer; the Prince of -Wales was to receive the additional fifty thousand pounds a year; and -his two friends, Lord Baltimore and Lord Archibald Hamilton, to have -seats at the new Board of Admiralty. - -When these arrangements became known, the Tory party grew dreadfully -exasperated. But not the Tories only--there were throngs of Whigs who -had battled zealously for the same object, and with the same hope -of personal benefit, and yet they were passed over, and Pulteney, -Carteret, and their immediate coterie had quietly taken care of -themselves, and thrown their coadjutors overboard. A meeting was -appointed between Pulteney and the rest already in office, and the Duke -of Argyll, Chesterfield, Cobham, Bathurst, and some others. The Prince -of Wales was present, and the different claims were discussed. Argyll -was satisfied by being made Master-General of the Ordnance, Colonel -of His Majesty's Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, Field-Marshal and -Commander-in-Chief of all the forces in South Britain. Chesterfield -got nothing, professing to wait to see a more thorough change of men -before he went amongst them; but Cobham was made a Field-Marshal, -and restored to the command of the Grenadier Guards, but he could -get nothing for his nephew, the fiery Oppositionist, Lyttelton. Lord -Harrington was made an Earl and President of the Council. But what -surprised the country most was that Pulteney, hitherto the head and -soul of the party, should have been content to sacrifice himself for -the sake of a title. He was made Earl of Bath and received a place in -the Cabinet; but by this change, although he seemed to have a brilliant -career before him, he forfeited the confidence of the country, which -had always looked up to him as the most determined and disinterested of -patriots. From this moment he sank into insignificance and contempt. -Some others of the old officials remained in as well as Newcastle. Sir -William Yonge and Pelham, brother of Newcastle, retained their posts, -Yonge as Secretary of War, and Pelham as Paymaster of the Forces. - -The new Ministry were now to find that it was very difficult to -perpetuate principles and measures which they had for a quarter of -a century been condemning simply because they furnished weapons of -annoyance to the party then in power. The public, still smarting under -the ruinous mismanagement of the war, returned to the charge, by -demanding an inquiry into the conduct of Walpole, whom they accused of -their sufferings. These petitions were introduced and recommended by -what were called the Boy Patriots--Pitt, Lyttelton, and the rest. - -As a means of popularity, they insisted on the standing army being -abolished in time of peace, on the strict limitation of placemen in -Parliament, and on the return to triennial Parliaments. These were hard -topics for the patriots now in power to digest. But the depression -of trade continued, and no one could suggest a remedy but that of -reducing taxation at the very time that all parties were zealous -for the prosecution of the war. Finding no other solution to their -difficulties, the public turned again to the demand of an inquiry into -the administration of Walpole, hoping to lay bare in that the causes of -their sufferings. Accordingly Lord Limerick, on the 23rd of March, rose -and proposed a committee to inquire into the administration of Walpole, -not for twenty, but for the last ten years. Pulteney not only voted, -but spoke in favour of this motion, and it was carried by a majority -of seven. Lord Limerick was chosen chairman, and such was the partial -and vindictive spirit in which they went to work in examining papers -and witnesses, that the honourable-minded Sir John Barnard, though so -staunch an opponent of Walpole when in power, declared that he would -no longer take part in the labours of a committee which displayed -so little regard to the general inquiry, but concentrated all their -efforts on the ruin of one individual. - -But the Committee found itself opposed in these objects in the highest -quarter. The king displayed the most firm disposition to protect -his late Minister, and was in constant communication with Walpole -and his friends for the purpose. Every means were used to protect -from the scrutiny of the Committee those who were possessed of the -most important information, and to induce them to remain obstinately -silent. Mr. Edgecumbe, who had managed the Cornish boroughs for -Walpole, and could have revealed things which would have filled the -Committee with exultation, was raised to the Upper House, and thus -removed from the power of the Commons. Paxton, the Solicitor to the -Treasury, a most important witness, remained unshakably silent, and -was committed to Newgate; nor was the Committee more successful with -Scrope, the Secretary to the Treasury. This officer, who, no doubt, -held most desirable knowledge in his bosom, firmly refused to make any -disclosures, though he was now a very feeble old man. Other officials -declined to make statements whose disclosure might incriminate -themselves, and which they were excused from doing by the great -principles of our judicature. To remove this obstacle Lord Limerick, -the Chairman of the Committee, then moved that a Bill of Indemnity -should be passed, to exempt witnesses from all penalties in consequence -of their disclosures. This passed the Commons by a majority of twelve, -but was rejected in the House of Lords by a large majority. - -After contending with such difficulties--for the Committee was, in -truth, combating with all the powers of the Crown--it was not likely -that it would produce a very effective report. In fact, desirable as it -was that a deep and searching inquiry should have been made, and the -mysteries of that long reign of corruption thrown open, the fact that -the Monarch and the Minister had gone hand in hand through the whole of -it was, on the very surface, fatal to any hope of a successful issue, -and what rendered this fatality greater was, that the Committee too -obviously went into the question hotly to crush an old antagonist who -had defeated and humiliated them for a long course of years, rather -than to serve the nation. When, therefore, on the 30th of June, they -presented their report, the feeling, on its perusal, was one of intense -disappointment. It alleged that, during an election at Weymouth, a -place had been promised to the Mayor if he would use his influence -in obtaining the nomination of a retiring officer, and that a church -living had been promised to the Mayor's brother-in-law for the same -purpose; that some revenue officers, who refused to vote for the -ministerial nominees, were dismissed; that a fraudulent contract had -been given to Peter Burrell and John Bristow, two members of the House -of Commons, for furnishing money in Jamaica for the payment of the -troops, by which they had pocketed upwards of fourteen per cent. But -what were these few trifling and isolated cases to that great system -of corruption which the public were satisfied had spread through all -Walpole's administration, and which abounded with far more wonderful -instances than these? The very mention of them, and them alone, was a -proclamation of defeat. - -The Committee of Inquiry, stimulated by the disappointment of the -public, began preparations for a fresh report; but their labours were -cut short by the termination of the Session. In order to conciliate in -some degree public opinion, Ministers hastened to allow the passing -of a Bill to exclude certain officers from the House of Commons; they -passed another to encourage the linen manufacture; a third, to regulate -the trade of the Colonies; and a fourth, to prevent the marriage of -lunatics. They voted forty thousand seamen and sixty-two thousand -landsmen for the service of the current year. The whole expenditure of -the year amounted to nearly six million pounds, which was raised by a -land-tax of four shillings in the pound; by a malt-tax; by a million -from the sinking fund; and by other resources. They provided for the -subsidies to Denmark and Hesse-Cassel, and voted another five hundred -thousand pounds to the Queen of Hungary. On the 15th of July the king -prorogued Parliament; at the same time assuring the two Houses that -a peace was concluded between the Queen of Hungary and the King of -Prussia, through his mediation; and that the late successes of the -Austrian arms were in a great measure owing to the generous assistance -of the British nation. - -Deserted by the Prussians, the French retired with precipitation to -Prague, where they were followed by the Austrian army under Prince -Charles of Lorraine and Prince Lobkowitz. Soon after the Grand Duke -of Tuscany took the principal command, and the French offered to -capitulate on condition that they might march away with their arms and -baggage. This was refused; but Marshal Belleisle stole out of Prague -in December, and, giving Lobkowitz the slip, made for the mountains -with fourteen thousand men and thirty pieces of artillery. Belleisle -displayed unwearied activity in protecting his men and baggage from -the harassing pursuit of Lobkowitz. Notwithstanding this his men -perished in great numbers from famine and the severity of the season. -They had been reduced to eat horseflesh before leaving Prague, and now -they fell exhausted in the deep snows, and were mercilessly butchered -by the Austrian irregulars and peasantry. On the 29th of December he -reached Eger, and from that point marched into Alsace without further -molestation; but he then found that of the thirty-five thousand troops -which he took into Germany, only eight thousand remained. Though this -retreat was celebrated as one of the most remarkable in history, the -Marshal, on reaching Versailles, was received with great coldness. - -Whilst these events had been passing in Austria and Bavaria, the -King of England had endeavoured to make a powerful diversion in the -Netherlands. Under the plea of this movement sixteen thousand British -troops were embarked in April for the Netherlands; but they were first -employed to overawe Prussia, which was in contention with Hanover -regarding the Duchy of Mecklenburg. There were other causes of dispute -between Prussia and the Elector of Hanover. George having now this -strong British force, besides sixteen thousand Hanoverian troops and -six thousand auxiliary Hessians, Frederick thought proper to come -to terms with him, and, in consequence of mutual arrangements, the -Hanoverian troops quitted Mecklenburg, and George, feeling Hanover -safe, marched this united force to the Netherlands to join the British -ones. He expected the Dutch to co-operate with him and the Austrians, -and strike a decided blow at France. But the Earl of Stair, who was -to command these forces, and who was at the same time ambassador to -the States, found it impossible to induce the Dutch to act. They had -increased their forces both by sea and land, but they were afraid of -the vicinity of the French, and were, with their usual jealousy, by no -means pleased to see the English assuming power in the Netherlands. -Therefore, after making a great demonstration of an attempt on the -French frontier with the united army, the project was suddenly -abandoned, and the troops retired into winter quarters. But little was -accomplished during this year by the British fleet. - -Parliament met on the 16th of November, when the king told them that -he had augmented the British forces in the Low Countries with sixteen -thousand Hanoverians and six thousand Hessians. In fact, it had been -his design, accompanied by his son, the Duke of Cumberland, to go over -and take the command of the combined army of English, Hanoverians, -Austrians, and Dutch; but the arrival of the Earl of Stair, who had -been the nominal commander of these troops, and the return of Lord -Carteret from the Hague, with the news that the Dutch could not be -moved, had caused him to give up the idea and order his baggage on -shore again. He assured Parliament, however, that the spirit and -magnanimity of the Queen of Hungary, and the resolute conduct of the -King of Sardinia in Italy, had produced the most beneficial effect. -The usual address, proposed by the Marquis of Tweeddale, met with -considerable opposition, especially in the Upper House, from the Earl -of Chesterfield. Lyttelton again introduced the Place Bill, but it -was rejected by the very men who had formerly advocated it. There was -another motion made for inquiry into the administration of Walpole, -on the plea that inquiry had been shamefully stifled on the former -occasion; but it met with the same fate. But on the 10th of December -the Opposition mustered all its strength on the motion of Sir William -Yonge, the new Secretary at War, that we should pay for the sixteen -thousand Hanoverians and the six thousand Hessians, and that a grant -of six hundred and fifty-seven thousand pounds should be made for -their maintenance from August, 1742, to December, 1743. It was the -hard task of Sandys, as the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, to defend -this monstrous grant and the interests of Hanover, after so many -years of attack on these topics in opposition. Pitt answered Sandys -in the most caustic style of his eloquence, and Sir John Aubyn and -others followed as indignantly; but the Ministers carried the motion -by two hundred and sixty votes against one hundred and ninety-three. -Their ablest supporter on this occasion was Murray, afterwards Lord -Mansfield, who made his first parliamentary speech on the occasion, and -showed the delighted Cabinet that the man whom they had just made their -Solicitor-General was capable of contending with that "terrible comet -of horse," Pitt. - -[Illustration: GEORGE II. AT DETTINGEN, 1743. - -FROM THE PAINTING BY ROBERT HILLINGFORD] - -The year 1743 opened with a mighty struggle on the subject of gin. In -1736, as we have seen, the awful increase of drunkenness, which was -attributed to the cheapness of gin, induced a majority of the House -of Commons to pass an Act levying twenty shillings a gallon duty upon -the liquor, and charging every vendor of it fifty pounds per annum for -a licence. Walpole at the time declared that such an attempt to place -gin beyond the reach of the poor consumers would fail; that it would -fail equally as a source of revenue, for it would lead to wholesale -smuggling and every possible evasion of the law. The event had proved -Walpole only too correct in his prognostications. So far from checking -the use of gin, the Act had stimulated it enormously. The licences, so -preposterously high, were wholly neglected; no duty was paid, yet the -destructive liquid was sold at every street corner. Ministers now saw -that, by attempting too much, every thing in this case had been lost. -They were sacrificing the revenues only to sacrifice the well-being of -the people. They determined, therefore, to reduce the licences from -fifty pounds to one pound per annum, and at the same time to retain a -moderate duty on the liquor. By this means the fatal compound would -remain much at the same price, but the vendors would be induced to take -out licences, and the revenues would be greatly improved, whilst the -whole sale of the article would be more under the restraints of law -and police. A Bill was framed on these principles, and passed rapidly -through the Commons; but in the Lords it encountered a determined -opposition. It was, however, carried entire, and, says Smollett, "we -cannot help averring that it has not been attended with those dismal -consequences which the Lords in the Opposition foretold." - -The business of the session now hastened to its close. Votes were given -for forty thousand seamen and eleven thousand marines; for sixteen -thousand British troops in Flanders, and twenty-three thousand for -guards and garrisons at home. For the year's supplies six millions of -pounds were voted, and then Parliament was prorogued on the 21st of -April. In doing this, George told the Houses that he had ordered his -army to pass the Rhine to support the Queen of Hungary. No sooner had -Parliament closed, than George, accompanied by his son, the Duke of -Cumberland, and Lord Carteret, hastened off to Germany. The British -army, which the king had ordered to march from Flanders to aid the -Austrians, had set out at the end of February. They were commanded -by Lord Stair, and on their route were joined by several Austrian -regiments under the Duke of Aremberg, and the sixteen thousand -Hanoverians in British pay, who had wintered at Liége. They marched -so slowly that they only crossed the Rhine in the middle of May. They -halted at Höchst, between Mayence and Frankfort, awaiting the six -thousand Hanoverians in Electoral pay, and an equal number of Hessians, -who had been garrisoning the fortresses of Flanders, but who were now -relieved by Dutch troops. Stair had now forty thousand men, and might -easily have seized the Emperor at Frankfort. All parties had respected, -however, the neutrality of Frankfort, and Stair did the same, probably -because the Emperor, having no subjects to ransom him, might have -proved rather a burden on his hands. De Noailles, on his part, had -sixty thousand men, independently of the twelve thousand furnished to -Broglie. He kept an active eye on the motions of the allied army, and -as Stair encamped on the northern bank of the Main, he also passed the -Rhine and encamped on the southern bank of the Main. The two camps lay -only four leagues from each other, presenting a most anomalous aspect. - -The genius of Lord Stair was anything but military, and soon led him -into a dilemma. Instead of waiting, as he had first determined, for the -reinforcements of Hessians and Hanoverians, he advanced up the river, -with the intention of drawing supplies from Franconia. He advanced to -Aschaffenberg, which he reached on the 16th of June; but Noailles had -rapidly followed him, and adroitly seized on the fords of both the -Upper and Lower Main, thus cutting off Stair both from his own stores -at Hanau, and from the expected supplies of Franconia. At this critical -moment King George arrived at the camp, and found Noailles lying in a -strong position, and Stair cooped up with his army in a narrow valley -between the wild and hilly forest of Spessart, which extends from -Aschaffenberg to Dettingen and the river Main. To render his case the -more desperate, he had quarrelled with Aremberg, who had let him pursue -his march alone; and Stair now lay, with only thirty-seven thousand -men, in the very grasp, as it were, of Noailles and his sixty thousand -men. - -In this awkward dilemma the king resolved to cut his way through the -French, superior as they were, and regain communication with their -magazines and their auxiliaries at Hanau. But Noailles was closely -watching their movements; and, being aware of what was intended, took -instant measures to prevent the retreat. He immediately advanced -from their front to their rear, threw two bridges over the Main at -Selingenstadt, and despatched his nephew, the Duke de Gramont, to -secure the defile of Dettingen, through which the English must pass in -their retreat. He also raised strong batteries on the opposite bank of -the Main, so as to play on the English as they marched along the river. -These preparations being unknown to the English, and still supposing -Noailles' principal force lay between them and Aschaffenberg, instead -of between them and Dettingen, on the 27th of June, at daybreak, the -king struck his tents, and the march on Dettingen began. George showed -a stout heart in the midst of these startling circumstances, and the -soldiers, having the presence of their king, were full of spirits. -George took up his position in the rear of his army, expecting the -grand attack to come from that quarter; but presently he beheld his -advanced posts repulsed from Dettingen, and the French troops pouring -over the bridge of the Main. He then perceived that Noailles had -anticipated their movements, and, galloping to the head of his column, -he reversed the order of his march, placing the infantry in front and -the cavalry in the rear. His right extended to the bosky hills of the -Spessart, and his left to the river. He saw at once the difficulty of -their situation. Gramont occupied a strong position in the village of -Dettingen, which was covered by a swamp and a ravine. There was no -escape but by cutting right through De Gramont's force--no easy matter; -and whilst they were preparing for the charge, the batteries of the -French on the opposite bank of the Main, of which they were previously -unaware, began to play murderously on their flank. With this unpleasant -discovery came at the same instant the intelligence that Noailles had -secured Aschaffenberg in their rear with twelve thousand men, and was -sending fresh reinforcements to De Gramont in front. Thus they were -completely hemmed in by the enemy, who were confidently calculating on -the complete surrender of the British army and the capture of the king. - -George and his soldiers, however, lost no atom of heart; they -determined to cut a way through the enemy or die on the ground; and -luckily at this moment the enemy committed almost as great an error -as Stair had done. Noailles quitted his post in front of the king's -army, and crossed the Main bridge to give some further orders on that -side; and no sooner did he depart than his nephew, De Gramont, eager -to seize the glory of defeating the English, and not aware that the -whole British army was at that moment about to bear down upon him, -ordered his troops to cross the ravine in their front, and assault the -English on their own side. The order was executed, and had instantly -the unforeseen effect of silencing their own batteries on the other -side of the river, for, by this movement, the French came directly -between their fire and the English, which it had been till that moment -mercilessly mowing down. - -At this moment the horse which George II. was riding, taking fright at -the noise made by the French in their advance, became unmanageable, -and plunged forward furiously, nearly carrying the king into the -midst of the French lines. Being, however, stopped just in time, the -king dismounted, and placing himself at the head of the British and -Hanoverian infantry on the right, he flourished his sword and said, -"Now, boys! now for the honour of England! Fire, and behave bravely, -and the French will soon run!" - -The first charge, however, was not so encouraging. The French made -an impetuous onset, and threw the advanced guard of the English into -confusion; but the king and his son, the Duke of Cumberland, who -commanded on the left, and, like his father, took his stand in the -front line, displayed the highest pluck, and inspired their troops -with wonderful courage. The tide of battle was quickly turned, and -Noailles, from the other side, saw with astonishment and alarm his -troops in action contrary to his plans. He returned in all haste to -give fresh support to his soldiers, but it was too late. Gallantly as -the French fought, the presence of the king and prince on the other -side made the English and Hanoverians irresistible. King, and prince, -and army all showed an enthusiastic courage and steadiness which bore -down everything before them. The dense column of infantry, led on by -the king, broke the French ranks, and cut through them with terrible -slaughter. Noailles, seeing the havoc, gave a command which completed -the disaster. To shield his men, he ordered them to repass the Main; -but a word of retreat, in all such cases, is a word of defeat. The -retrograde movement produced dismay and disorder; the whole became a -precipitate rout. The French were driven in confused masses against the -bridges, the bridges were choked up with the struggling throng, and -numbers were forced into the river, or jumped in for escape, and were -drowned. - -Such was the battle of Dettingen, equally remarkable for the blunders -of the generals and the valour of the men; still more so, as the last -battle in which a King of England has commanded in person. At Hanau, -the army not only refreshed itself, but was joined by reinforcements, -which rendered the Allies nearly equal in numbers to the French. Lord -Stair, therefore, proposed to pass the Main, and make a second attack -on the enemy. The king, however, would not consent. Stair, with all his -bravery, had shown that he was very incautious. He was, moreover, of a -most haughty temper, and had quarrelled violently with the Hanoverian -officers, and displayed much contempt for the petty German princes. -They were, therefore, by no means inclined to second his counsels, -though they had fought gallantly at Dettingen. Stair complained loudly -of the neglect to follow up the French, and resigned. - -[Illustration: GEORGE II.] - -The best excuse for George II.'s apparent sluggishness was, that the -French were now so closely pressed by concentrating armies. Prince -Charles of Lorraine and the Austrians were pressing De Broglie so -hotly that he was glad to escape over the Rhine near Mannheim; and -Noailles, thus finding himself between two hostile armies, followed his -example, crossed over the Rhine to Worms, where, uniting with Broglie, -they retreated to their own frontier at Lauter, and thus the Empire -was cleared of them. The Emperor Charles now suffered the fate which -he may be said to have richly deserved. He was immediately compelled -to solicit for peace from Austria through the mediation of George of -England and Prince William of Hesse. But Maria Theresa, now helped out -of all her difficulties by English money and English soldiers, was -not inclined to listen to any moderate terms, even when proposed by -her benefactor, the King of England. The Emperor was down, and she -proposed nothing less than that he should permanently cede Bavaria to -her, or give up the Imperial crown to her husband. Such terms were -not to be listened to; but the fallen Emperor finally did conclude a -treaty of neutrality with the Queen of Hungary, by which he consented -that Bavaria should remain in her hands till the conclusion of a peace. -This peace the King of England and William of Hesse did their best to -accomplish; and Carteret, who was agent for King George, had consented -that on this peace England should grant a subsidy of three hundred -thousand crowns to the Emperor. No sooner, however, did the English -Ministers receive the preliminaries of this contract, than they very -properly struck out this subsidy, and the whole treaty fell to the -ground. - -Before quitting Germany, however, George had signed a treaty between -himself, Austria, and Sardinia, in which Italian affairs were -determined. The Spaniards, under Count Gages and the Infant Don -Philip, had made some attempts against the Austrians in Italy, but -with little effect. By the present treaty, signed at Worms on the -13th of September, the King of Sardinia engaged to assist the Allies -with forty-five thousand men, and to renounce his pretensions to the -Milanese, on condition that he should command the Allied army in Italy -in person, should receive the cession of Vigevenasco and the other -districts from Austria, and a yearly subsidy of two hundred thousand -pounds from England. This was also negotiated by Lord Carteret on the -part of King George, and without much reference to the Ministers in -England, who, on receiving the treaty, expressed much dissatisfaction; -but, as it was signed, they let it pass. But there was another and -separate convention, by which George agreed to grant the Queen of -Hungary a subsidy of three hundred thousand pounds per annum, not only -during the war, but as long as the necessity of her affairs required -it. This not being signed, the British Ministers refused to assent to -it, and it remained unratified. - -In all these transactions Carteret showed the most facile disposition -to gratify all the Hanoverian tendencies of the king, in order to -ingratiate himself and secure the Premiership at home. But in this he -did not succeed; he was much trusted by George in foreign affairs, and -in them he remained. Lord Wilmington, Prime Minister, had died two -months before the signing of the treaty at Worms, and the competitors -for his office were Pelham, brother of the Duke of Newcastle, and -Pulteney. Pelham was supported by Newcastle, Lord Chancellor Hardwicke, -and still more powerfully by the old Minister under whom he had been -trained--Lord Orford, who, though out of office, was consulted in -everything relating to it. Pulteney and Pelham had both, according -to their friends, neglected the necessary steps for succeeding -Wilmington. Pulteney had declined any office, vainly hoping that his -great popularity would enable him to guide public affairs. His friends -reminded him that had he taken the Treasury on Walpole's resignation, -he would now have been still at the helm. Pelham's great adviser, -Lord Orford, said to him, "If you had taken my advice, and held the -Exchequer under Wilmington, the whole had dropped into your mouth." -Pelham, however, received the appointment from the king, and this was -communicated in a letter from Carteret, who candidly told him that, as -the old friend and colleague of Pulteney, Lord Bath, he had done all in -his power to secure the office for him, but now he would support Pelham -cordially, notwithstanding. Pelham was at this period forty-seven years -of age, of far inferior talent to Orford, but pursued his cautious -principles and acted under his advice. - -On the return of the king and Carteret, Parliament was opened on the -1st of December. The first trial of the Opposition was on the Address, -on which occasion its real strength was not called forth, and this was -carried by two hundred and seventy-eight votes against one hundred -and forty-nine. But the subject of Hanoverian troops and Hanoverian -measures soon displayed its extent and virulence. There was a vehement -feeling against everything relating to Hanover, and Pitt lost no time -in denouncing Carteret and his measures in the most bitter terms. -Pitt's thunder was echoed by others, and the scene in the Commons -was described by a spectator as like nothing but a tumultuous Polish -Diet. Such was the ferment amid which opened the year 1744, and it -soon became evident that the existence of the country was at stake. -Preparations had been making for the invasion of England for some time. -Cardinal Tencin, the new French Minister, sent Murray of Broughton to -James in Rome, to desire him to send his eldest son, Prince Charles, -to France to be in readiness for the campaign in England, and in due -course the Young Pretender arrived at Gravelines. - -The expedition against England was at this moment actually in motion. -The squadrons of Brest and Rochefort were already united under the -command of Admiral Roquefeuille, and sailing up the Channel to clear -the way for the transports containing the soldiers. Sir John Norris had -been appointed Admiral of our Channel fleet, consisting of twenty-one -ships of the line. He had lain at Spithead, but had quitted that -station and sailed into the Downs, where he was joined by other ships -from Chatham; and thus was not only superior in number to the French, -but had the advantage of being well acquainted with the coasts, he -having long been Captain of Deal Castle. Roquefeuille sailed right -up to the Isle of Wight, and, observing no vessels off Spithead, he, -in his French egotism, concluded that the fleet had sought shelter -in Portsmouth harbour. He therefore lost no time in despatching a -small vessel to Dunkirk to hasten on his armament. Seven thousand men -were instantly sent on board transports, and the prince and Marshal -Saxe, who was to take command of the land force, accompanied them. -Roquefeuille, meanwhile, proceeding on his voyage, came to anchor off -Dungeness, which he had no sooner done than he beheld the British fleet -bearing down upon him in much greater force than his own, for he had -only fifteen ships of the line and five frigates. The destruction of -the French fleet appeared inevitable, but Sir John Norris this time -justly incurred the censure of lingering. He thought, from the state of -the tide and the approach of night, it was better to defer the attack -till morning; and, when morning came, no Frenchmen were to be seen. The -French admiral, much more active than poor old Sir John, had slipped -his cables and made the best of his way homewards. - -The next day tempest scattered the approaching transports. Sir John -thought the storm sufficient excuse for not pursuing; but the winds -followed the invaders, and blowing directly from London towards -Dunkirk, dispersed the French transports, sank some of the largest -of them with all their men, wrecked others on the coast, and made -the rest glad to recover their port. Charles waited impatiently for -the cessation of the tempest to put to sea again, but the French -ministers were discouraged by the disaster, and by the discovery of so -powerful a British fleet in the Channel. The army was withdrawn from -Dunkirk, Marshal Saxe was appointed to the command in Flanders, and the -expedition for the present was relinquished. - -After these transactions there could no longer remain even the name of -peace between France and England. Mr. Thompson, the British Resident at -Paris, made the most indignant complaints of the hostile proceedings -of the French fleets and of the encouragement of the Young Pretender. -The reply to this was a formal declaration of war, couched in the most -offensive terms, in the month of March, to which George replied in a -counter-declaration equally strong. - -The French having now formally declared war with England, entered on -the campaign with Flanders in the middle of May with eighty thousand -men, the king taking the nominal command, in imitation of Louis XIV. -Marshal Saxe was the real commander, and with this able general Louis -went on for some time reaping fictitious laurels. The King of England -expected to see the Allies muster seventy-five thousand men--a force -nearly equal to that of the French; but the Dutch and Austrians had -grievously failed in their stipulated quotas, and the whole army did -not exceed fifty thousand. General Wade, the English commander, was -a general of considerable experience, but no Marlborough, either -in military genius or that self-command which enabled him to bear -up against tardy movements and antagonistic tempers of the foreign -officers. Consequently, whilst he had to contend with a very superior -force, he was hampered by his coadjutors, lost his temper, and, what -was worse, lost battles too. The French went on taking town after town -and fortress after fortress. But this career of victory was destined -to receive a check. Prince Charles of Lorraine, at the head of sixty -thousand men, burst into Alsace, and marched without any serious -obstacle to the very walls of Strasburg; while the French king was -stricken with fever at Metz. - -Whilst Louis lay ill at Metz, France received an unexpected relief. -Prince Charles was hastily recalled to cope with Frederick of Prussia, -who had now joined France in the counter-league of Frankfort, and burst -into the territories of Maria Theresa. He found in Prague a garrison of -fifteen thousand men, yet by the 15th of September he had reduced the -place, after a ten days' siege. At the same time Marshal Seckendorf, -the Imperial general, entered Bavaria, which was defended only by a -small force, and quickly reinstated Charles on the throne of Munich. -Vienna itself was in the greatest alarm, lest the enemies uniting -should pay it a visit. But this danger was averted by the rapid return -of Prince Charles of Lorraine from before Strasburg. He had to pass the -very front of the French army; nevertheless, he conducted his forces -safely and expeditiously to the frontiers of Bohemia, himself hastening -to Vienna to consult on the best plan of operations. Maria Theresa -again betook herself to her heroic Hungarians, who, at her appeal, once -more rushed to her standard; and Frederick, in his turn alarmed, called -loudly on the French for their promises of assistance, but called in -vain. The French had no desire for another campaign in the heart of -Austria. The Prussian invader, therefore, soon found himself menaced on -all sides by Austrians, Croatians, and Hungarian troops, who harassed -him day and night, cut off his supplies and his forages, and made him -glad to retrace his steps in haste. - -Carteret--or Granville, as we must now style him, for he succeeded to -the earldom in 1744--still retained the favour of the king precisely -in the same degree as he had forfeited that of the people and the -Parliament, by his unscrupulous support of George's Hanoverian -predilections. Elated with the favour of the king, Granville insisted -on exercising the same supreme power in the Cabinet which Walpole had -done. This drove Pelham and his brother, Newcastle, to inform the king -that they or Granville must resign. George, unwilling to part with -Granville, yet afraid of offending the Pelham party, and risking their -support of the large subsidies which he required for Germany, was in a -great strait. He sent for Lord Orford up from Houghton, who attended, -though in the extreme agonies of the stone, which, in a few months -later, brought him to his end. Walpole, notwithstanding the strong -desire of the king to retain Granville, and that also of the Prince -of Wales--who on this and all points connected with Hanover agreed -with the king, though no one else did--decided that it was absolutely -necessary that he should resign; and accordingly, on the 24th of -November, Granville sullenly resigned the seals, and they were returned -to his predecessor, the Earl of Harrington. - -The fall of Granville became the revolution of all parties. The -Pelhams, in order to prevent his return to the Ministry through the -partiality of the king, determined to construct a Cabinet on what was -called a broad bottom--that is, including some of both sections of the -Whigs, and even some of the Tories. They opened a communication with -Chesterfield, Gower, and Pitt, and these violent oppositionists were -ready enough to obtain place on condition of uniting against Granville -and Bath. The difficulty was to reconcile the king to them. George -was not well affected towards Chesterfield, and would not consent to -admit him to any post near his person, but permitted him, after much -reluctance, to be named Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. As for Pitt, he -was even more repugnant to the king than Chesterfield, and Pitt, on -his part, would accept nothing less than the post of Secretary at -War. The Pelhams advised him to have patience and they would overcome -the king's reluctance; but when they proposed that the Tory Sir John -Hynde Cotton should have a place, George, in his anger, exclaimed, -"Ministers are kings in this country!"--and so they are for the time. -After much negotiation and accommodating of interests and parties, the -Ministry was ultimately arranged as follows:--Lord Hardwicke remained -Lord Chancellor; Pelham was First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor -of the Exchequer; the Duke of Newcastle became one Secretary of State, -Lord Harrington the other; the Duke of Devonshire remained Steward of -the Household; the Duke of Bedford was appointed First Lord of the -Admiralty, with Lord Sandwich as Second Lord; Lord Gower was made -Privy Seal; Lord Lyttelton became a member of the Treasury Board; Mr. -Grenville was made a Junior Lord of the Admiralty; Sir John Hynde -Cotton received the office of Treasurer of the Chamber in the Royal -Household; and Bubb Doddington contrived to be included as Treasurer of -the Navy. Lords Cobham and Hobart had also appointments; and the Duke -of Dorset was made President of the Council. - -Granville being got rid of, and the Opposition bought up with place, -the only difference in the policy which had been pursued, and which -had been so bitterly denounced by the noblemen and gentlemen now in -office, was that it became more unequivocally Hanoverian and more -extravagant. "Those abominably Courtly measures" of Granville were -now the adopted measures of his denouncers. The king had expressed, -just before his fall, a desire to grant a subsidy to Saxony; but Lord -Chancellor Hardwicke had most seriously reminded his Majesty of the -increased subsidy to the Queen of Hungary, which made it impracticable: -now, both the increased subsidy to Maria Theresa and the subsidy to -Saxony were passed without an objection. A quadruple alliance was -entered into between Britain, Austria, Holland, and Saxony, by which -Saxony was to furnish thirty thousand men for the defence of Bohemia, -and to receive a hundred and fifty thousand pounds, two-thirds of which -were to be paid by England, and one-third by Holland. The Elector of -Cologne received twenty-four thousand pounds, the Elector of Mayence -eight thousand pounds. Nay, soon discovering that, as there was no -opposition, there was no clamour on the subject, Ministers the very -next year took the Hanoverians into their direct pay again, and in 1747 -increased the number of them from eighteen thousand to twenty thousand. - -[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS IN 1742. - -(_From a Drawing by Gravelot engraved by W. J. White._)] - -In January of 1745 died Charles VII., King of Bavaria and Emperor of -Germany. His life had been rendered miserable, and his kingdom made the -prey of war, by his unpatriotic mania of supporting the French in their -attacks on Germany. His son and successor showed himself a wiser and a -better man. He at once renounced all claims to the Austrian succession, -and to the Imperial crown. He agreed to vote for the Prince of Tuscany, -Maria Theresa's husband, at the next Diet, and never to support the -French or the Prussian arms. On these terms a treaty was concluded -between Austria and Bavaria at Füssen, and Austria therefore restored -to him his rightful inheritance of Bavaria. - -The campaign in Flanders opened in April. The British faithfully -furnished their stipulated number of men (twenty-eight thousand), but -both Austria and Holland had most disgracefully failed. Holland was to -send fifty thousand into the field, and keep the other ten thousand in -her garrisons; but she had sent less than half that number, and Austria -only eight squadrons. The French had a fine army of seventy-five -thousand men under the able general, Marshal Saxe; and the King of -France and the Dauphin had come to witness the conflict, which gave a -wonderful degree of spirit to their troops. On the part of the Allies, -the Duke of Cumberland was chief in command, but, from his youth, he -was not able to set himself free from the assumptions of the Austrian -general, old Marshal Königsegg, and the Dutch general, the Prince of -Waldeck. As it was, to march against the French before Tournay was -to rush into a certain contest with the whole French army of nearly -eighty thousand men, whilst the Allies could have only about fifty -thousand. Saxe made the ablest arrangements for the coming fight. He -left fifteen thousand infantry to blockade Tournay, drew up his army in -a very strong position a few miles in advance, and strengthened it by -various works. - -The Allies, on coming near, found Saxe encamped on some gentle heights, -with the river Scheldt and the village of Antoine on his right, and a -wood named Barré on his left. In front lay a narrow valley, and, as -at Dettingen, he had secured the passage of the river by the bridge -of Calonne in his rear, defended by a tête-de-pont, and a reserve -of the Household Troops. He had constructed abatis in the wood of -Barré, thrown up redoubts between Antoine and Fontenoy, and strongly -fortified those villages themselves. The narrow valley between Barré -and Fontenoy was formidably defended by cross batteries, and by the -natural ruggedness of the ground; and altogether the French officers -confidently regarded their position as unassailable. Yet, inferior -as they were in numbers, the Allies at once marched and attacked the -French pickets and outposts, drove them in, and stood under arms, as it -was growing dark, ready to renew the onset at daybreak. - -At four o'clock in the morning (the 11th of May) the cannonade began. -Prince Waldeck undertook to carry Fontenoy and Antoine with the Dutch, -and the Duke of Cumberland, at the head of the English and Hanoverians, -to bear down on the enemy's left. At the same time, the Duke sent -General Ingoldsby with a division to clear the wood of Barré, and -storm the redoubt beyond. When Ingoldsby reached the wood, he found -it occupied by a body of sharpshooters, and instead of attacking them -vigorously he paused and returned to the duke for fresh orders--a great -neglect of duty by which much time was lost, and the enemy enabled -to direct their undivided attention on that side to the main body of -English and Hanoverians advancing under the duke. On the other hand, -the Dutch, finding Fontenoy surrounded by a fosse, and the French -mounted with their batteries on the rubbish of houses, which they had -demolished for the purpose, were panic-struck, and instead of making a -resolute rush to storm the place, having suffered considerably from the -French batteries, fell back, and stood aloof, thus leaving the English -and Hanoverians exposed to the whole fire of the hostile army. - -Thus shamefully deserted on both hands, Cumberland still led forward -his British and Hanoverians against the main body of the French army. -The ruggedness of the ground in the narrow valley between the wood of -Barré and Fontenoy compelled them to leave the cavalry behind; but the -infantry pushed on, dragging with them several pieces of artillery. -Cumberland had the advantage of the advice and spirit of his military -tutor, General Ligonier, and, in face of a most murderous fire, the -young commander hastened on. The batteries right and left mowed them -down, and before this comparative handful of men stood massed the -vast French army, in a position pronounced by the French impregnable. -The dense column of the English, compressed between the wood of Barré -and Fontenoy, soon drove the French from their positions, and, still -pushing on towards the rear of Fontenoy, threatened to cut off the -bridge of Calonne, and with it the enemy's retreat across the river. -Both French and English conceived that the battle was decided for the -Allies. Marshal Königsegg congratulated Cumberland on their victory, -and, on the other hand, Saxe warned Louis XV. that it was necessary -to retreat. Louis, however, is said to have protested against giving -way, and both French and English soon became aware that the Dutch -had deserted their post, and that the right wing of the French army -remained wholly unengaged. The British and Hanoverian conquerors on -their right, when they mounted the French positions, looked out for -their left wing, the Dutch, and, to their dismay, beheld them hanging -with cowardly inactivity in the distance. The brave Marshal Saxe, at -the same moment making the same discovery, called forward the Household -Troops, which had been posted to receive the Dutch, and precipitated -them on the flank of the British. Foremost in this charge was the Irish -Brigade, in the pay of France, who fought like furies against their -countrymen. Overwhelmed by numbers, and numbers perfectly fresh, and -mowed down by additional artillery which the default of the Dutch had -set at liberty, and unsupported by their own cavalry from the confined -and rugged nature of the ground, the brave British and Hanoverians were -compelled to give way. But they did it in such order and steadiness, -disputing every inch of the ground, as excited the admiration of their -opponents. The Duke of Cumberland was the last in the retreat, still -regardless of his own danger, calling on his men to remember Blenheim -and Ramillies; and seeing one of his officers turning to flee, he -threatened to shoot him. Thus they gave way slowly, and still fighting, -till they reached their horse, which then made a front to cover them, -till they were out of the _mêlée_; their dastardly allies, the Dutch, -then joined them, and they marched away in a body to Ath. Tournay, for -which the battle was fought, might have detained the French a long -time; but here, again, Dutch treachery did its work. Hertsall, the -chief engineer in the Dutch service, betrayed the place to the French, -fled to their camp, and then assisted them by his advice. Tournay -surrendered in a fortnight, and the citadel the week after. Ghent, -Bruges, Oudenarde, and Dendermond fell in rapid succession. Whilst the -Allies were covering Antwerp and Brussels, the French attacked and took -Ostend, again by the treachery of the governor, who refused to inundate -the country. - -The affairs of England, menaced by invasion, were during this time -compelling George to draw part of his forces homeward; it was, -consequently, only the approach of winter which saved the towns of -Flanders from the French. At the same time, the wily Prussian was in -arms again, trusting to seize yet more of the Austrian territories, -whilst the powerful ally of Maria Theresa was at once pressed by -the fault of the Dutch and Austrians in Flanders, and at home by -the Pretender. George, who, in spite of all remonstrances, had -persisted, notwithstanding the domestic danger, in paying his annual -visit to Hanover, was earnestly engaged, through Lord Harrington, -in endeavouring to accomplish a peace between Prussia and Austria. -Neither Frederick nor Maria Theresa, however, was in any haste to -conclude peace. Frederick hoped to profit by the engagement of England -with the French, and Maria Theresa held out, with some vague hopes of -regaining Silesia through the money of England. But Frederick, on the -3rd of June, gained a decided victory over Prince Charles of Lorraine, -throwing himself between the Austrians and the Saxons, whom the English -subsidy had brought to their aid. In this battle of Hohen Friedberg -the Austrians lost nine thousand men in killed and wounded, and had as -many made prisoners. Prince Charles retreated into Bohemia, and was -soon followed by Frederick, who fixed his camp at Chlum. Whilst another -battle was impending, Maria Theresa, still undaunted, accompanied her -husband to the Diet at Frankfort, where she had the satisfaction of -seeing him elected Emperor of Germany on the 13th of September. The -same month, however, her troops were again defeated by Frederick at -Sohr, near the sources of the Elbe. The King of Prussia now offered -to make peace, and Maria Theresa rejected his overtures; but another -victory over her combined army of Austrians and Saxons, which put -Frederick in possession of Dresden, brought her to reason. A peace was -concluded at Dresden on Christmas Day, by which Silesia was confirmed -to Prussia, and Frederick, on his part, acknowledged the recent -election of the Emperor Francis. King George had also entered into a -secret treaty with Prussia; and Frederick, sending his army into winter -quarters in Silesia, returned to Berlin, thence to ponder fresh schemes -of aggrandisement. - -The time for the last grand conflict for the recovery of their -forfeited throne in Great Britain by the Stuarts was come. The -Pretender had grown old and cautious, but the young prince, Charles -Edward, who had been permitted by his father, and encouraged by France, -to attempt this great object in 1744, had not at all abated his -enthusiasm for it, though Providence had appeared to fight against him, -and France, after the failure of Dunkirk, had seemed to abandon the -design altogether. When he received the news of the battle of Fontenoy -he was at the Chateau de Navarre, near Evreux, the seat of his attached -friend, the young Duke de Bouillon. He wrote to Murray of Broughton to -announce his determination to attempt the enterprise at all hazards. -He had been assured by Murray himself that his friends in Scotland -discountenanced any rising unless six thousand men and ten thousand -stand of arms could be brought over; and that, without these, they -would not even engage to join him. The announcement, therefore, that -he was coming threw the friends of the old dynasty in Scotland into -the greatest alarm. All but the Duke of Perth condemned the enterprise -in the strongest terms, and wrote letters to induce him to postpone -his voyage. But these remonstrances arrived too late; if, indeed, they -would have had any effect had they reached him earlier. Charles Edward -had lost no time in making his preparations. - -He had been able to borrow a hundred and eighty thousand livres from -two of his adherents, had made serious exertions to raise arms, and -though he had kept his project profoundly secret from the French King -and Ministry, lest they might forcibly detain him, he had managed to -engage a French man-of-war called the _Elizabeth_, carrying sixty-seven -guns, and a brig of eighteen guns called the _Doutelle_, an excellent -sailer. On the 2nd of July the _Doutelle_ left St. Nazaire, at the -mouth of the Loire, and waited at Belleisle for the _Elizabeth_, when -they put forward to sea in good earnest. Unfortunately, only four days -after leaving Belleisle, they fell in with the British man-of-war the -_Lion_, of fifty-eight guns, commanded by the brave Captain Butt, -who in Anson's expedition had stormed Paita. There was no avoiding -an engagement, which continued warmly for five or six hours, when -both vessels were so disabled that they were compelled to put back -respectively to England and France. - -With the _Elizabeth_ the Young Pretender lost the greater part of -his arms and ammunition. Yet he would not return, but set out in -the _Doutelle_ towards Scotland. In two days more the little vessel -was pursued by another large English ship, but by dint of superior -sailing they escaped, and made the Western Isles. It was only after a -fortnight's voyage, however, that they came to anchor off the little -islet of Erisca, between Barra and South Uist. - -Charles landed in Lochnanuagh on the 25th of July, and was conducted -to a farm-house belonging to Clanranald. He then despatched letters to -the Highland chiefs who were in his interest. Principal amongst these -were Cameron of Lochiel, Sir Alexander Macdonald, and Macleod. Lochiel -was as much confounded at the proposal to commence a rebellion without -foreign support as the Macdonalds. For a long time Lochiel stood out, -and gave the strongest reasons for his decision; but Charles exclaimed, -"I am resolved to put all to the hazard. I will erect the Royal -Standard, and tell the people of Britain that Charles Stuart is come -over to claim the crown of his ancestors, or to perish in the attempt. -Lochiel, who, my father has always told me, was our firmest friend, may -stay at home, and learn from the newspapers the fate of his prince." -"Not so!" instantly replied the impulsive Highlander. "I will share -the fate of my prince, whatever it may be, and so shall every man over -whom nature or fortune has given me any power." The decision of Lochiel -determined the whole Highlands. The Macdonalds of Skye held back when -sent for, but numbers of others were immediately influenced by the -example of Lochiel. Macdonald of Keppoch, Macdonald of Glengarry, and -numbers of others, sent in their adhesion. Charles then removed to -Kinloch Moidart, the residence of the chief of that name, where he was -joined by Murray of Broughton, who brought with him from the south -the manifestoes of Charles ready printed. Charles appointed him his -secretary, which post he continued to hold during the expedition. - -On the 16th of August a party of English soldiers, sent by the Governor -of Fort Augustus to reinforce the garrison at Fort William, were -assailed by a number of Keppoch's Highlanders in the narrow pass of -High Bridge. They attempted to retreat when they found they could not -reach their antagonists in their ambush, but they were stopped by a -fresh detachment of the followers of Lochiel, and compelled to lay -down their arms. Five or six of them were killed, and their leader, -Captain Scott, was wounded. They received the kindest treatment from -the conquerors, and as the Governor of Fort Augustus refused to trust -a surgeon amongst them to dress the wounds of Captain Scott, Lochiel -immediately allowed Scott to return to the fort on his parole, and -received the rest of the wounded into his house at Auchnacarrie. - -[Illustration: THE LANDING OF PRINCE CHARLIE. (_See p._ 92.)] - -In the valley of Glen Tronian, on the 19th of August, they proceeded to -erect the standard. The Marquis of Tullibardine, as highest in rank, -though feeble and tottering with age, was appointed to unfurl the -banner, supported on each hand by a stout Highlander. The colours were -of blue and red silk, with a white centre, on which, some weeks later, -the words TANDEM TRIUMPHANS were embroidered. Tullibardine held the -staff till the manifesto of James, dated Rome, 1743, appointing his son -Regent, was read; and as the banner floated in the breeze the multitude -shouted lustily, and the hurrahs were boisterously renewed when Charles -made them a short address in English, which few of the common class -understood. - -The slowness with which the Government became aware of these -proceedings is something astonishing in these days of telegraphs and -railroads. Though Charles sailed on the 2nd of July, it was not till -the 30th of the same month that Lord Tweeddale, the Scottish Secretary -of State in London, was informed even that he had left Nantes. Sir John -Cope was the commander of the forces in Scotland, and he immediately -gave orders for drawing together such troops as he had to Stirling. -These were extraordinarily few. There were two regiments of dragoons, -Gardiner's and Hamilton's, but both recent in the service; and the -whole force at his disposal, exclusive of garrisons, did not amount to -three thousand men. Cope was eager enough to march into the Highlands, -even with such forces as he had, and crush the insurrection at once. -He proposed this apparently active and judicious scheme to the Lords -Justices in England, George II. himself being at Hanover, and they -warmly approved of it, and issued their positive orders for its -execution. It was, in truth, however, the most fatal scheme which could -be conceived. The spirit of rebellion was fermenting in every glen and -on every hill, and to march regular troops into these rugged fastnesses -was only to have them shot down by invisible marksmen on all hands, -and reduced to the extremity of the two companies already captured. -The plan was to have secured all the passes into the Lowlands, to have -drawn his forces to the foot of the mountains wherever a descent could -be made, and blockade the rebels in their own hills till they should be -reduced by gradual approaches and overwhelming numbers. Famine, indeed, -would soon have tamed any large body of men in those sterile regions. - -Sir John marched out of Edinburgh for the north on the very day that -the standard of the Stuarts was erected in Glenfinnan, the 19th of -August. On the following day he continued his route from Stirling, -accompanied by one thousand five hundred foot, leaving, very properly, -the dragoons behind him, as of no service in the mountains, nor capable -of finding forage there. He then continued his march towards Fort -Augustus, which he hoped to make the centre of his operations, and then -to strike a sudden and annihilating blow on the handful of rebels. At -Dalwhinnie he heard that the rebels now mustered six thousand, and -that they meant to dispute the pass of Corriarrick, lying directly -in the line of his march towards Fort Augustus. This Corriarrick had -been made passable by one of General Wade's roads, constructed after -the rebellion of 1715, to lay open the Highlands. The road wound up -the mountain by seventeen zig-zags or traverses, and down the other -side by others, called by the Highlanders the Devil's Staircase. Three -hundred men were capable, much more three thousand, of stopping an army -in such a situation, and Cope called a council of war. At length it -was agreed that they should take a side route, and endeavour to reach -Inverness and Fort George. The resolve was a fatal one, for it gave the -appearance of a flight to the army, and left the road open to Stirling -and the Lowlands. - -Charles, on his part, had determined to occupy Corriarrick. For that -purpose he had made a forced march, disencumbered himself of all -possible encumbrances by burning his own baggage, and encouraging his -followers to do the same. On the morning of the 27th he stood on the -north side of Corriarrick, and, as he put on his brogues, he is said to -have exclaimed, with exultation, "Before these are unloosed, I shall be -up with Mr. Cope." To his great astonishment, however, when he reached -the summit all was one wild solitude--not a man was visible. At length -they discerned some soldiers ascending, whom they set down for part of -Lord Loudon's regiment, forming the English vanguard. They turned out -to be only some deserters, who informed them of the change in Cope's -route. - -At this news the Highlanders were filled with exuberant joy. They -demanded permission to pursue and attack Cope's soldiers; but the -chiefs saw too clearly the grand advantage offered them of descending -suddenly into the Lowlands by the road thus left open. Whilst Sir John -was making a forced march to Inverness, which he reached on the 29th of -August, the Highlanders were descending like one of their own torrents -southwards. In two days they traversed the mountains of Badenoch; on -the third they reached the Vale of Athol. - -On the 30th of August they reached Blair Castle. The Duke of Athol, the -proprietor, fled at their approach, and old Tullibardine resumed his -ancestral mansion, and gave a splendid banquet there to Charles and his -officers. On the third day they resumed their march, and reached Perth -on the 4th of September, which the prince entered on horseback, amid -loud acclamations. Whilst at Perth he received two valuable accessions -to his party--the titular Duke of Perth, who brought with him two -hundred men, and Lord George Murray, the brother of the Duke of Athol, -and a man of considerable military experience. - -[Illustration: "GOD SAVE KING JAMES." - -FROM THE PAINTING BY ANDREW C. GOW, R.A.] - -Hearing that General Cope--who had seen his blunder in leaving open the -highway to the Scottish capital--after having reached Inverness, had -begun a rapid march on Aberdeen, trusting to embark his army there, -and reach Edinburgh in time to defend it from the rebel army, Charles -marched out of Perth on the 11th of September. He reached Dunblane -that evening, and on the 13th he passed the fords of Frew, about eight -miles above Stirling, knowing that several king's ships were lying -at the head of the Firth. On their approach, Gardiner retired with -his dragoons from the opposite bank. Stirling, being deserted by the -troops, was ready to open its gates; but Charles was in too much haste -to reach Edinburgh. Hearing that Gardiner, with his dragoons, intended -to dispute the passage of Linlithgow Bridge, Charles sent on one -thousand Highlanders, before break of day, under Lord George Murray, -in the hope of surprising them; but they found that they had decamped -the evening before, and they took peaceable possession of Falkirk and -the old palace. The prince himself came up on the evening of that -day, Sunday, the 15th, where the whole army passed the night, except -the vanguard, which pushed on to Kirkliston, only eight miles from -Edinburgh. - -The consternation of the city may be imagined. The inhabitants, who -had, at first, treated the rumour of the Young Pretender's landing -with ridicule, now passed to the extreme of terror. On Sunday night -the Highlanders lay between Linlithgow and the city, and on Monday -morning Charles sent forward a detachment, which, on coming in sight -of the pickets, discharged their pistols. The dragoon pickets did not -wait to return the fire, but rode off towards Coltbridge, nearer to -Edinburgh, where Gardiner lay with the main body of horse. No sooner, -however, did this commander perceive the advancing Highlanders, than -he also gave the order to retreat, and the order was so well obeyed, -that from a foot's-pace the march quickened into a trot and presently -into a gallop, and the inhabitants of Edinburgh saw the whole force -going helter-skelter towards Leith, where they drew bit. The valiant -troops mounted again, and galloped to Preston, six miles farther, some -of them, it was said, not stopping till they reached Dunbar. This -"Canter of Coltbridge," as it was called in derision, left the city at -the mercy of the Highlanders, except for about six or seven hundred -men mustered from the City Guard, the volunteer corps, and some armed -gentlemen from Dalkeith and Musselburgh, who took post at the gates. - -The magistrates, now summoned by the Lord Provost to a meeting in -the Goldsmiths' Hall, resolved to send a deputation to the prince, -desiring that he would cease hostilities till they had had time to -decide what they should do. Scarcely had the deputies set out, when -news came that the transports, with Cope's army on board, were seen -off Dunbar, the wind being unfavourable for making Leith, and that -his troops would soon be landed, and in full march for the city. It -was now determined to recall the deputation, but that was found to -be too late, and General Guest was applied to to return the muskets, -bayonets, and cartridge boxes which had been given up to him. Guest -very properly regarded men who had thrown up their arms in a panic as -unfit to be trusted with them again, and advised that the dragoons -should be ordered to unite with Cope's infantry, and advance on the -city with all possible speed. About ten o'clock at night the deputation -returned, having met the prince at Gray's Mill, only two miles from -the city, who gave them a letter to the authorities, declaring that -they had a sufficient security in his father's declarations and his own -manifesto; and he only gave them till two o'clock in the morning to -consider his terms. The deputation returned in the utmost dejection, -little deeming that the prince had taken such measures as should render -them the means of surrendering the city. But Charles had despatched -Lochiel and Murray of Broughton, with eight hundred Camerons, to watch -every opportunity of surprising the town, carrying with them a barrel -of gunpowder to blow up one of the gates. This detachment had arrived, -and hidden themselves in ambush near the Netherbow Port. The deputation -passed in with their coach by another gate, and the ambush lay still -till the coachman came out at the Netherbow Port to take his carriage -and horses to the stables in the suburbs. The ambush rushed upon the -gate before it could be closed, secured the sentinels, ran forward to -the other gate, and secured its keepers also. When the inhabitants rose -in the morning they were astonished to find the city in possession of -the Highlanders. On the 17th of September Charles occupied Holyrood. -Amidst wild enthusiasm, the Old Pretender was proclaimed as King James -VIII. at the Cross, Murray of Broughton's beautiful wife sitting on -horseback, with a drawn sword in her right hand, while with her left -she distributed white favours to the crowd. - -But there was no time for festivities. The English army was -approaching, and it was necessary for Charles to assert his right -by hard blows as well as by proclamations. The citizens stood aloof -from his standard; but Lord Nairn arrived most opportunely from the -Highlands with five hundred of the clan Maclachlan, headed by their -chief, and accompanied by a number of men from Athol. These swelled -his little army to upwards of two thousand five hundred, and Charles -declared that he would immediately lead them against Cope. The chiefs -applauded this resolution, and on the morning of the 19th he marched -out to Duddingston, where the troops lay upon their arms, and then he -summoned a council of war. He proposed to continue the march the next -morning, and meet Cope upon the way. In the highest spirits the clans -marched on through Musselburgh and over the heights at Carberry, where -Mary Queen of Scots made her last unfortunate fight, nor did they stop -till they came in sight of the English army. - -Cope had landed his force at Dunbar on the very day that the prince -entered Edinburgh. His disembarkation was not completed till the 18th. -Lord Loudon had joined him at Inverness with two hundred men, and now -he met the runaway dragoons, six hundred in number, so that his whole -force amounted to two thousand two hundred men--some few hundreds less -than the Highlanders. Sir John took the level road towards Edinburgh, -marching out of Dunbar on the 19th of September. Next day Lord Loudon, -who acted as adjutant-general, rode forward with a reconnoitring party, -and soon came back at a smart trot to announce that the rebels were not -approaching by the road and the open country to the west, but along -the heights to the south. Sir John, therefore, altered his route, and -pushed on to Prestonpans, where he formed his army in battle array. He -placed his foot in the centre, with a regiment of dragoons and three -pieces of artillery on each wing. His right was covered by Colonel -Gardiner's park wall and the village of Preston; his left extended -towards Seaton House, and in his rear lay the sea, with the villages of -Prestonpans and Cockenzie. Between him and the Highlanders was a deep -morass. - -The night was cold, and the two armies lay on the ground. In the middle -of the night Anderson of Whitburgh, a gentleman whose father had been -out in the 'Fifteen and who knew the country well, suddenly recollected -a way across the bog to the right. He communicated this to Hepburn -of Keith and Lord George Murray, who went to waken the prince, who, -sitting up in his heap of pea-straw, received the news with exultation. -He started up, a council was called, and as it drew towards morning -it was resolved to follow Anderson as their guide immediately. An -aide-de-camp was despatched to recall Lord Nairn and his five hundred, -and the army marched after Anderson in profound silence. It was not -without some difficulty that they crossed it, after all; some of the -soldiers sank knee-deep, and the prince himself stumbled and fell. -When they reached the firm ground the mounted pickets heard the sound -of their march, though they could not see them for the thick fog. The -dragoon sentinels demanded who went there, fired their pistols, and -galloped off to give the alarm. - -Cope maintained the order of battle arranged the day previous, except -that he turned the men's faces towards the east instead of the west, -to meet the new position of the enemy. His infantry was posted in the -centre; Hamilton's dragoons were on the left, and Gardiner's with -the artillery in front, on the right, leaning on the morass. The -Highlanders no sooner saw the enemy than, taking off their caps, they -uttered a short prayer, and pulling their bonnets over their brows, -they rushed forward in their separate clans with a yell that was -frightful. - -Colonel Gardiner endeavoured to charge the advancing enemy with his -dragoons; but it was in vain that he attempted to animate their craven -souls by word and example--at the first volley of the Highlanders they -wheeled and fled. The same disgraceful scene took place on the left, -at nearly the same moment. Hamilton's regiment of horse dispersed at -the first charge of the Macdonalds, leaving the centre exposed on -both its flanks. The infantry made a better stand than the cavalry; -it discharged a steady and well-directed volley on the advancing -Highlanders, and killed some of their best men, amongst others, a son -of the famous Rob Roy. But the Highlanders did not give them time for -a second volley; they were up with them, dashed aside their bayonets -with their targets, burst through their ranks in numerous places, so -that the whole, not being able to give way on account of the park wall -of Preston, were thrown into confusion, and at the mercy of the foe. -Never was a battle so instantly decided--it is said not to have lasted -more than five or six minutes; never was a defeat more absolute. Sir -John Cope, or Johnnie Cope, as he will be styled in Scotland to the end -of time, by the assistance of the Earls of Loudon and Home, collected -about four hundred and fifty of the recreant dragoons, and fled to -Coldstream that night. There not feeling secure, they continued their -flight till they reached Berwick, where Sir Mark Kerr received Cope -with the sarcastic but cruelly true remark that he believed that he -was the first general on record who had carried the news of his own -defeat. - -[Illustration: PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD STUART (THE "YOUNG PRETENDER"). -(_After the Portrait by Tocque_, 1748.)] - -Charles was anxious to follow up his victory by marching directly into -England, trusting to the effect of this signal triumph to bring all -inclined to the Stuart dynasty to his standard. He was confident that -if he met with anything like success on the way, a rapid march would -put London in his possession. And, in truth, such was the miserably -misgoverned condition of the country at the time, that, had he come -with a tolerable French army, nothing could have prevented him from -becoming master of the kingdom. Never was England so thoroughly exposed -to foreign danger, so utterly unarmed and unprotected, whilst it had -been sending such armaments to the Continent. Fortunately, the French -had not supported the Pretender on this occasion, as they had promised, -and fortunately, too, when Charles came to review the army with which -he proposed to enter England, there remained of it only one thousand -four hundred men. The rest had gone home with their booty; nay, some -had gone and were returning, not to fight, but to carry off more which -they had concealed. - -Accordingly, Charles could do nothing but maintain his position for the -present in Scotland, and send off a messenger to France to announce his -wonderful success, and to urge that now was the moment to hasten over -troops and supplies, and secure the Crown and friendship of England for -ever. He sent over Mr. Kelly to the French Court and to his father, and -for a moment there was a lively disposition at Versailles to strike -the blow. The king immediately despatched some supplies of money and -arms, some of which were seized by English cruisers, and some of -which arrived safely. There was also a talk of sending over Charles's -brother, Henry, Duke of York, at the head of the Irish regiments -and of others, and active preparations were made for the purpose at -Dunkirk. But again this flash of enthusiasm died out, and Charles, -three weeks after Kelly, sent over Sir James Stewart to aid him in his -solicitations. But all was in vain. The French again seemed to weigh -the peril of the expedition, and on their part complained that the -Jacobites showed no zeal in England, without which the invasion would -be madness. Thus the time went by, till the Dutch and English troops -landed in England, and the opportunity was lost. - -Meanwhile, Charles, compelled to wait the course of events in -Edinburgh, endeavoured to render himself popular by his moderation -and magnanimity. Volunteers began to flock to his standard, the chief -cause, however, being, no doubt, the _prestige_ of his victory. Fresh -reinforcements poured down from the Highlands. Altogether, Charles's -army now amounted to nearly six thousand men. It would have amounted -to ten thousand had the Macdonalds and Macleods of Skye and Lord -Lovat joined him. But though Charles sent a Macleod of Skye over to -the island chiefs, urging them now to join his standard as certain of -victory, they refused to move. He then went over from Skye to Castle -Dounie to stimulate Lord Lovat, but that deceitful old miscreant was -playing the double game, and waiting to see which side would be the -stronger. At length his army had received the last reinforcements that -he expected, by the arrival of Menzies of Sheen with a considerable -body of men, and he was impatient to march southwards. He was the more -ready to quit Scotland because Lord Lovat had now sent him word that -though he could not, from the state of his health, join the march into -England, both he and the Macdonalds and the Macleods of the Isles -were prepared to defend his interests in the Highlands. The greater -part of this intelligence was false, entirely so as regarded the -Islesmen, and it was now well known that the English Government had got -together twelve thousand veteran troops, besides thirteen regiments -of infantry and two of cavalry newly raised. The Highland chiefs, -therefore, strenuously opposed the march till they should receive the -reinforcements which he had promised them from France, as well as more -money. Others contended that he ought not to invade England at all, but -to remain in Scotland, make himself master of it, and reign there as -his ancestors had done. But it was not merely to secure the Crown of -Scotland that he had come; it was to recover the whole grand heritage -of his race, and he determined to march into England without further -delay. The Highland chiefs, however, resolutely resisted the proposal, -and at three successive councils he strove with them in vain to induce -them to cross the Border and fight the army of Marshal Wade, which -lay at Newcastle, consisting of Dutch and English troops. At length -Charles said indignantly, "Gentlemen, I see you are determined to stay -in Scotland; I am resolved to try my fate in England, and I go, if I go -alone." - -Lord George Murray then said that, as they needs must go, he proposed -that they should enter England on the Cumberland side, so as to harass -Wade's troops, if he marched across to meet them. The idea was adopted -as a great improvement; it was kept a profound secret. Still further -to mislead the English, Lord George proposed another plan, which was -also adopted--to divide the army into two columns, to march by two -different routes, but to unite at Carlisle. One of these was to be -led by the prince himself by Kelso, as if intending to march straight -into Northumberland; the other to take the direct road through Moffat. -It was resolved to leave Lord Strathallan to command in Scotland, to -take up his headquarters at Perth, receive the expected succours from -France, and all such reinforcements from the Highlands as should come -in. - -These arrangements being complete, Charles lay at Pinkie House on the -31st of October, and the next day, the 1st of November, he commenced -his march. Each of the two columns was preceded by a number of horsemen -to act as scouts. In the day of battle each company of a regiment -furnished two of its best men to form the bodyguard of the chief, who -usually took his post in the centre, and was surrounded by his brothers -and cousins, with whom it was a point of honour to defend the chief to -the death. So set forward the Highland army for England, and it is now -necessary to see what preparations England had made for the invasion. - -The news of the invasion brought George from Hanover. He arrived in -London on the last day of August, by which time the Young Pretender -had already been entertained by Lord Tullibardine at Blair Castle; -but he seemed to feel no great alarm. He thought the forces of Cope -were sufficient to compete with the insurgents, and Lord Granville and -his party did their best to confirm him in this opinion. On the 20th -of September three battalions of the expected Dutch forces landed, -and received orders to march north. But what contributed more than -anything to the security of the kingdom was the activity of the fleet. -The seamen all round the coasts showed as much spirit and life as the -soldiers had shown cowardice. Privateers as well as men-of-war vied -with one another in performing feats of bravery. A small ship off -Bristol took a large Spanish ship, bound for Scotland, with arms and -money. Another small ship took the _Soleil_, from Dunkirk, carrying -twenty French officers and sixty men, to Montrose; and a small squadron -of privateers, which volunteered to serve under a brave naval captain, -took a vast number of French vessels, and drove still more upon their -own shores. Charles's younger brother, Henry, was waiting to bring -over the Irish regiments to his aid, but Louis would not hazard their -appearance at sea in the face of such a dangerous fleet. Charles made -an attempt to corrupt Captain Beavor, of the _Fox_ man-of-war, by -offering him splendid rewards in case of his success, but the gallant -officer sent him word that he only treated with principals, and that, -if he would come on board, he would talk with him. - -In London, notwithstanding, there was considerable alarm, but rather -from fear of the Papists and Jacobites at home than of any danger -from abroad. Every endeavour had been used, in fact, to revive the -old Popery scare. There were rumours circulated that the Papists -meant to rise, cut everybody's throats, and burn the City. There -was fear of a run on the Bank of England, but the merchants met at -Garraway's Coffee-house, and entered into engagements to support the -Bank. They also opened a subscription to raise two hundred and fifty -thousand pounds to enlist troops, and many of them gave as much as two -thousand pounds apiece. A camp was formed in Hyde Park of the Household -Troops, horse and foot, a regiment of horse grenadiers, and some of -the battalions that came over from Flanders. In the provinces many of -the great nobility proposed to raise regiments at their own expense, -and this act of patriotism was loudly applauded. In some instances -the patriotism was real. But the main body of the Whig nobility and -some others cut a very different figure. No sooner did Parliament -meet on the 18th of October, and whilst the Jacobites were in the -highest spirits, and opposing both the Address and the suspension of -the Habeas Corpus, than the Dukes of Devonshire, Bedford, Rutland, -Montague, the Lords Herbert, Halifax, Cholmondeley, Falmouth, Malton, -Derby, and others, moved, contrary to their splendid promises, that -their regiments should be paid by the king, and should be put upon -the regular establishment. The king was as much disgusted as the most -independent of his subjects, but he found himself unable to prevent the -measure. - -At length the Duke of Cumberland arrived from Flanders, and foreign and -English troops were assembled in the Midland counties; Marshal Wade -had also ten thousand men collected at Newcastle-on-Tyne. The Duke of -Cumberland was appointed Commander-in-Chief, and the brave soldiers -who had fought under him at Fontenoy were ready to follow him, in the -highest confidence of making short work with the Highlanders. - -Those Highlanders commenced their march into England with no -predilection for the adventure. The warfare of Scotland was familiar -to them; in all ages they had been accustomed to descend from their -mountains and make raids in the Lowlands. But England was to them -an unknown region; they knew little of the dangers or the perils -before them; they knew that in the Whiggish clans of the West they -left powerful enemies behind them. No sooner did they lose sight of -Edinburgh than they began to desert. Charles led his division of the -army across the Tweed at Kelso, and sent on orders to Wooler to -prepare for his reception, thus keeping up the feint of marching -eastward; instead of which, he took his way down Liddesdale, and on the -8th of November crossed the Esk, and encamped that night at a place -called Reddings, on the Cumberland side. - -The next day, the other column, which had marched through Moffat, -came up, and the united army advanced towards Carlisle. They were -perceived as they were crossing a moor on the 9th, about two miles -from Carlisle, by the garrison, which began to fire their cannon upon -them, and kept it up actively for some time. On the 10th Charles -sent a letter summoning the garrison to surrender, but the garrison -returned no answer, except by its cannon. They expected that Marshal -Wade would soon march to their relief, whence their courage; and, -indeed, the prince heard that Wade was on the way by Hexham, and, -instead of waiting for him, he went to meet him at Brampton, in the -forest of Inglewood, seven miles from the town; but, finding he had -been deceived, he sent back part of the troops to commence the siege of -Carlisle in form. As the batteries began to rise, the courage of the -commanders in the town began to fail, and they offered to capitulate; -but the prince declined any terms but surrender of both town and -castle, the troops being allowed to retire without their arms on -engaging not to serve against Charles for twelve months. These terms -were accepted on the 15th, and the prince made a triumphant entry on -the 17th. - -The town, the castle, the arms, horses, and military stores being -surrendered to the prince, and the militia and invalids having marched -out, a council of war was called to determine future proceedings. Some -proposed to march against Wade and bring him to action, others to -return to Scotland, but Charles still insisted on marching forward. -Lord George Murray was the only one who at all seconded him, and he -did not recommend marching far into England without more encouragement -than there yet appeared; but as the prince was anxious to ascertain -that point, he said he was sure his army, small as it was, would follow -him. Charles expressed his conviction that his friends in Lancashire -waited only for their arrival; and the Marquis D'Eguilles declaring his -expectation of a speedy landing of a French army, under this assurance -the council consented to the advance. - -On the 20th of November this memorable march commenced. For the -convenience of quarters, the two divisions of the army were still -maintained, the first led by Lord George Murray, the second by the -prince himself. They left a garrison of two hundred men at Carlisle, -though, on a muster, it was discovered that above a thousand men had -deserted since they left Edinburgh, and that they had now only four -thousand five hundred to attempt the conquest of England with. At -Penrith the whole army halted for a day, hearing that Wade was coming -against them; but finding, on the contrary, that he was gone back, -they pursued their route by Shap, Kendal, and Lancaster, to Preston, -where they arrived on the 27th. On the way, so far from meeting with -any signs of adhesion, the farmers from whom they had taken horses -congregated and pursued them on other horses, dismounted some of their -cavalry, and carried their horses away again. Preston was a place -of ill omen to the Highlanders ever since the defeat of the Duke of -Hamilton in the Civil War there, and the surrender of Mackintosh in -1715. They had a fixed idea that no Scottish army could ever advance -farther. To break this spell, Lord George led his vanguard at once over -the bridge, and quartered them beyond it. The army halted there a day, -and then proceeded to Wigan, which they entered the next day. Till -he reached Preston, however, Charles received no tokens of sympathy. -At Preston, for the first time, he received three hearty cheers, and -a few men joined his standard. On the road from Wigan to Manchester -the expressions of goodwill increased; throngs of people collected -to see him pass, but none would consent to join them. At Manchester -the approach of the army had been heralded by a Scottish sergeant, a -drummer, and a woman, the men in plaids and bonnets exciting great -astonishment, and bringing together thousands of spectators. They -announced the prince for the morrow, and began recruiting for his -service. They offered a bounty of five guineas, to be paid when the -prince came. A considerable number enlisted, receiving a shilling in -token of engagement. - -On the 1st of December the army resumed its march. They immediately -found the effect of Cumberland's presence at Lichfield: they had to -ford the Mersey near Stockport, and to carry the baggage and artillery -over a rude wooden bridge, consisting of the trunks of trees thrown -across, at Chorlton. That evening they reached Macclesfield. Lord -George pushed on with his division to Congleton, whence he sent on -Colonel Kerr, who routed a small body of the Duke of Kingston's horse, -and drove them towards Newcastle-under-Lyme. Kerr seized Captain -Weir, well known as one of Cumberland's principal spies, and, by -threatening him with the gallows, drew from him the particulars of the -duke's numbers and position. It appeared that the duke was under the -impression that the prince was directing his march towards Wales to -join his partisans there, and having encouraged this notion by this -advance, and led the duke to proceed as far as Stone, Lord George -suddenly altered his route, and got to Ashbourne, and thence to Derby, -thus throwing the road to London quite open, and being two or three -days' march in advance of the duke. Charles entered Derby the same day, -the 4th of December, and took up his quarters at a house belonging to -the Earl of Exeter, at the bottom of Full Street. - -[Illustration: PRINCE CHARLIE'S VANGUARD AT MANCHESTER. (_See p. 100._)] - -They were now only one hundred and twenty-seven miles from the capital, -both Wade and Cumberland behind them, and Charles, notwithstanding -the conditions on which they had come on from Macclesfield, still -confidently and enthusiastically dwelt on the onward march to London, -and his certain success. In the morning a council was held, when Lord -George Murray appealed to the prince whether they had received the -least accession of strength, or the smallest sign of encouragement? -Such being the case, what hope was there for them in proceeding? They -had barely five thousand men to contend against three armies, amounting -at least altogether to thirty thousand. If they got to London before -Cumberland, and if they managed to elude the army at Finchley, they -had scarcely numbers to take quiet possession of London. But were -they forced to fight the king and his army under the walls of the -metropolis, they could not do it without loss; and then, supposing Wade -and Cumberland to unite behind them, as they certainly would do, how -could they hope to contend against them? Assistance from France, as -they had pointed out, was hopeless whilst the English had such a force -in the Channel. Charles listened to these arguments with undisguised -impatience, and the probability is that, had his officers been willing -to follow him, and live or die in the enterprise, he would have seized -London, and accomplished one of the most brilliant exploits in history. - -It is true that George II. was also a brave and staunch commander, -prepared to die on the spot rather than yield, as he had shown at -Dettingen. But the greater part of his forces at Finchley were raw -levies, and might not have stood better than the troops had done in -Scotland. There was a terror of the Highlanders, even in the army; and -as for London itself, the panic, when it was heard that they had got -between the duke's army and the capital, was, according to Fielding, -who was then in London, incredible. There was a frantic rush upon the -Bank of England, and it is said that it must have closed had it not -gained time by paying in sixpences. The shops were shut, business was -at a stand, the Ministers were in the utmost terror, and the Duke of -Newcastle was said to have shut himself up for a day, pondering whether -he should declare for the Pretender or not. The king himself was by -no means confident of the result. He is said to have sent most of his -precious effects on board a yacht at the Tower quay, ready to put off -at a minute's warning. The day on which the news of the rebels being at -Derby reached London was long renowned as Black Friday. In such a state -of terror, and the army at Finchley inferior in numbers, and infinitely -inferior in bravery, who can doubt that Charles would for a time have -made himself master of the metropolis? - -Charles, wrought up to the highest pitch of agony at the prospect of -being compelled to abandon the splendid design of entering London -in triumph, continued to expostulate and entreat the whole day. The -Duke of Perth and some of the Irish officers, moved by his distress, -gave way, and called on the other chiefs to yield; but they remained -immovable, and the prince, seeing the case hopeless, at length gave up -the contest, and, in deep dejection, assented to the retreat. But, as -if he deemed the relinquishment of the march on the metropolis the ruin -of the whole enterprise, he declared that henceforth he would summon no -more councils--being accountable only to God and his father, he would -not again either seek or accept their advice. - -The next morning, the 6th of December, the retreat commenced; but -the soldiers and the inferior officers little dreamed that it was a -retreat. They imagined that they were going to fight the Duke of -Cumberland, and marched out in high spirits. The morning was foggy, -and for some time the delusion was kept up; but when the fog cleared -away, and they perceived that they were retracing their former route, -their disappointment and rage became excessive. The retreat was rapidly -continued through Preston, and on to Lancaster, which they reached -on the 13th. On the 18th Oglethorpe and Cumberland, accompanied by -a mob of country squires and mounted farmers, attacked Lord George -Murray's rear near Penrith; but the countrymen were speedily put to -flight by a charge of the Glengarry clan, and Oglethorpe fell back to -the main body. They came up again, however, in the evening near the -village of Clifton, and Lord George perceived, by the fitful light of -the moon, the enemy forming behind the stone walls, and lining every -hedge, orchard, and outhouse. Just as the royal troops commenced their -charge they were stopped by a cross-fire of the concealed Highlanders, -and, whilst affected by this surprise, Lord George cried, "Claymore! -claymore!" and rushing down upon them with the Macphersons of Cluny, -attacked them sword in hand. Being supported by the Stuarts of Appin, -they compelled the English to retreat. - -Nevertheless, the whole army was dead beat and in the most deplorable -condition when they entered Carlisle on the morning of the 19th. As the -enemy did not appear, they rested that day and the following night, -when they set forward again, leaving a fresh garrison. Cumberland was -soon up before the walls, and they fired vigorously at him; but he sent -off to Whitehaven and brought up six eighteen-pounders, with which, to -their dismay, he began to play on their crumbling walls on the 29th. -Next morning they hung out a white flag, and offered to capitulate; -but Cumberland would hear of no terms except their surrendering on -condition that they should not be put to the sword. At three o'clock in -the afternoon both town and castle were surrendered, the garrison being -shut up in the cathedral, and a guard set upon them. On the 3rd of -January the Duke of Cumberland left the command to General Hawley, and -hastened back to London, being summoned to defend the southern coast -from a menaced landing of the French. - -Meanwhile, the Highland army was continuing its retreat. On the 20th -of December they left Carlisle, and crossed into Scotland by fording -the Esk. On the 26th Lord George entered Glasgow, and Charles, with -the other division, on the 27th. At Glasgow the prince and the army -lay for seven days to rest, and to levy contributions of all kinds of -articles of apparel for the soldiers. On the 3rd of January, 1746, the -same day that Cumberland left Carlisle for London, Charles marched his -army out of Glasgow, new clad and new shod, for Stirling. The next day -he took up his quarters at the house of Bannockburn, and distributed -his men through the neighbouring villages, Lord George Murray occupying -Falkirk. Lords Strathallan and Drummond soon arrived from Perth with -their united force, attended by both battering-guns and engines from -France. - -With this force, tempted by the battering train, Charles committed the -error of wasting his strength on a siege of Stirling Castle, instead of -preparing to annihilate the English troops, which were in rapid advance -upon him. - -The Duke of Cumberland, being called southward, had got General Hawley -appointed to the command of the army sent after the Young Pretender. -Wade was become too old and dilatory, but Hawley was much fitter for -a hangman than a general. Horace Walpole says he was called "the -Lord Chief Justice," because, like Jeffreys, he had a passion for -executions; that when the surgeons solicited the body of a deserter, -which was dangling before Hawley's windows, for dissection, he would -only consent on condition that he had the skeleton to ornament the -guard room. Hearing of his approach, Charles drew in his forces from -Falkirk under Lord George, left a few hundred men to blockade Stirling, -and concentrated his army on the renowned field of Bannockburn. On -the 16th of January Charles, expecting Hawley, drew up his forces, -but no enemy appeared. The next day, still perceiving no Hawley, he -advanced to Pleanmuir, two miles east of Bannockburn, and on the way -to Torwood. No enemy yet appearing, the prince determined to advance -and find him out. Hawley was so confident of dispersing the Highland -rabble at any moment that he chose, that he had neglected every -military precaution, had fixed no outposts, and was away at Callander -House, at some distance from the field, comfortably taking luncheon -with Lady Kilmarnock, whose husband was in the rebel army, and who -was exerting all her powers of pleasing to detain the foolish general -as long as possible. At length, when the rebels had come up so near -that there was only Falkirk Moor between the armies, Hawley, roused -by fresh messengers, came galloping up without his hat, and in the -utmost confusion. In the middle of this rugged and uneven moor, covered -with heath, rose a considerable ridge, and it appeared to be a race -between the two enemies which should gain the advantage of the summit. -On the one side galloped the English cavalry, on the other sped the -Highlanders, straining for this important height; but the fleet-footed -Gael won the ground from the English horse, and Hawley's horse halted -a little below them. Neither of the armies had any artillery, for -the Highlanders had left theirs behind in their rapid advance, and -Hawley's had stuck fast in the bog. So far they were equal; but the -prince, by taking a side route, had thrown the wind in the teeth of -the English, and a storm of rain began with confounding violence to -beat in their faces. The English cavalry remained, as it had galloped -up, in front, commanded, since the death of Gardiner, by Colonel -Ligonier, and the infantry formed, like the Highlanders, in two lines, -the right commanded by General Huske, and the left by Hawley. Behind, -as a reserve, stood the Glasgow regiment and the Argyll militia. The -order being given, the cavalry under Ligonier charged the Macdonalds, -who coolly waited till the English horse was within ten yards of -them, when they poured such a murderous volley into them as dropped -a frightful number from their saddles, and threw the whole line into -confusion. The Frasers immediately poured an equally galling cross-fire -into the startled line, and the two dragoon regiments which had fled -at Coltbridge and Prestonpans waited no longer, but wheeling round, -galloped from the field at their best speed. The Macdonalds, seeing -the effect of their fire, in spite of Lord George Murray's endeavours -to keep them in order, rushed forward, loading their pieces as they -ran, and fell upon Hawley's two columns of infantry. Having discharged -their pieces, they ran in upon the English with their targets and -broadswords. The left soon gave way, and Hawley, who had got involved -in the crowd of flying horse, had been swept with them down the -hill, and thus had no means of keeping them to their colours. On the -right of the royal army, however, the infantry stood firm, and as -the Highlanders could not cross the ravine to come to close quarters -with sword and target, they inflicted severe slaughter upon them; and -Cobham's cavalry rallying, soon came to their aid and protected their -flank, and increased the effect on the Highlanders, many of whom began -to run, imagining that the day was lost. Charles, from his elevated -position observing this extraordinary state of things, advanced at the -head of his second line, and checked the advance of the English right, -and, after some sharp fighting, compelled them to a retreat. But in -this case it was only a retreat, not a flight. These regiments retired, -with drums beating and colours flying, in perfect order. A pursuit of -cavalry might still have been made, but the retreat of the English was -so prompt, that the Highlanders suspected a stratagem; and it was only -when their scouts brought them word that they had evacuated Falkirk -that they understood their full success (January 18, 1746). - -The battle of Falkirk, which in itself appeared so brilliant an affair -for Prince Charles, was really one of his most serious disasters. -The Highlanders, according to their regular custom when loaded with -plunder, went off in great numbers to their homes with their booty. -His chief officers became furious against each other in discussing -their respective merits in the battle. Lord George Murray, who had -himself behaved most bravely in the field, complained that Lord John -Drummond had not exerted himself, or pursuit might have been made and -the royal army been utterly annihilated. This spirit of discontent -was greatly aggravated by the siege of the castle of Stirling. Old -General Blakeney, who commanded the garrison, declared he would hold -out to the last man, in spite of the terrible threats of Lord George -Murray if he did not surrender. The Highlanders grew disgusted with -work so contrary to their habits; and, indeed, the French engineer, -the so-called Marquis de Mirabelle, was so utterly ignorant of his -profession, that the batteries which he constructed were commanded by -the castle, and the men were so much exposed that they were in danger -of being destroyed before they took the fortress. Accordingly, on the -24th of January they struck to a man, and refused to go any more into -the trenches. - -This was followed by a memorial, signed by most of the chief officers, -including Lord George Murray, Lochiel, Keppoch, Clanranald, and Simon -Fraser, Master of Lovat. This was sent by Lord George to Charles, and -represented that so many men were gone home, and more still going, -in spite of all the endeavours of their chiefs, that if the siege -were continued they saw nothing but absolute destruction to the whole -army. The prince sent Sir Thomas Sheridan to remonstrate with the -chiefs, but they would not give way, and Charles, it is said, sullenly -acquiesced in the retreat. - -It was time, if they were to avoid a battle. Cumberland was already on -the march from Edinburgh. He quitted Holyrood on the 31st of January, -and the insurgents only commenced their retreat the next morning, the -1st of February, after spiking their guns. With this force the prince -continued his march towards Inverness, a fleet accompanying him along -the coast with supplies and ammunition. On nearing Inverness, he found -it rudely fortified by a ditch and palisade, and held by Lord Loudon -with two thousand men. Charles took up his residence at Moray Castle, -the seat of the chief of the Macintoshes. The chief was in the king's -army with Lord Loudon, but Lady Macintosh espoused the cause of the -prince zealously, raised the clan, and led them out as their commander, -riding at their head with a man's bonnet on her head, and pistols at -her saddle-bow. Charles, the next morning, the 17th of February, called -together his men, and on the 18th marched on Inverness. Lord Loudon -did not wait for his arrival, but got across the Moray Firth with his -soldiers, and accompanied by the Lord-President Forbes, into Cromarty. -He was hotly pursued by the Earl of Cromarty and several Highland -regiments, and was compelled to retreat into Sutherland. Charles -entered Inverness, and began to attack the British forts. Fort George -surrendered in a few days, and in it they obtained sixteen pieces of -cannon and a considerable stock of ammunition and provisions. - -But, notwithstanding these partial advantages, and though the duke and -his army were enduring all the severities of a Highland winter, exposed -to the cutting east winds on that inclement coast, and compelled to -keep quarters for some time, Cumberland was steadily seizing every -opportunity to enclose the Highlanders in his toils. His ships cut -off all supplies coming by sea. They captured two vessels sent from -France to their aid, on board of one of which they took the brother of -the Duke of Berwick. The _Hazard_, a sloop which the Highlanders had -seized and sent several times to France, was now pursued by an English -cruiser, and driven ashore on the coast of Sutherland: on board her -were a hundred and fifty men and officers, and ten thousand pounds in -gold, which the clan Mackay, headed by Lord Reay, got possession of. -This last blow, in addition to other vessels sent out to succour him -being compelled to return to France, reduced Charles to the utmost -extremities. He had only five hundred louis-d'ors left in his chest, -and he was obliged to pay his troops in meal, to their great suffering -and discontent. Cumberland was, in fact, already conquering them -by reducing them to mere feeble skeletons of men. The dry winds of -March rendered the rivers fordable, and, as soon as it grew milder, -he availed himself of this to coop the unhappy Highlanders up still -more narrowly in their barren wilds, and stop all the passes into -the Lowlands, by which they might obtain provisions. He himself lay -at Aberdeen with strong outposts in all directions; Mordaunt at Old -Meldrum, and Bland at Strathbogie. As soon as he received an abundance -of provisions by a fleet of transports, along with Bligh's regiment, -hearing that the Spey was fordable, on the 7th of April he issued -orders to march, and the next day set forward himself from Aberdeen -with Lord Kerr's dragoons and six regiments of foot, having the fleet -still following along the shore with a gentle and fair wind. On -reaching the Spey Lord John Drummond disputed their passage, having -raised a battery to sweep the ford, and ranged his best marksmen along -the shore. But the heavier artillery of the duke soon drove Lord John -from the ground; he set fire to his barracks and huts, and left the -ford open to the enemy, who soon got across. On Sunday, the 13th of -April, the English advanced to Alves, and on the 14th reached Nairn. -As the van, consisting of the Argyllshire men, some companies of -Grenadiers, and Kingston's Light Horse, entered Nairn, the rear of Lord -John Drummond had not quitted it, and there was skirmishing at the -bridge. The Highlanders still retreated to a place called the Lochs of -the Clans, about five miles beyond Nairn, where the prince came up with -reinforcements, and, turning the flight, pursued the English back again -to the main body of their army, which was encamped on the plain to the -west of Nairn. - -[Illustration: CULLODEN HOUSE. (_From a Photograph by G. W. Wilson and -Co., Aberdeen._)] - -That night Charles and his chief officers lay at Culloden House, the -seat of the able and patriotic Lord-President, Duncan Forbes; but the -troops were obliged to lie on the moor amid the heather, which served -them both for beds and fuel, the cold being very severe. They were up -early in the morning, and formed in order of battle on Drummossie -Muir, the part of the heath of Culloden near to Culloden House. No -enemy, however, appeared, and there the poor hungry men lay for most -of the day with no other food than a biscuit per man. A council of war -being called, Lochiel stated this fact as a plea for delay; Lord John -Drummond, the Duke of Perth, and others, were of the same opinion; but -Lord George Murray declared for making a night march, and surprising -the duke's army whilst it would lie, as they supposed, asleep in a -drunken debauch. Charles, who had the same idea, but had not yet -broached it, embraced Lord George with ardour, declaring it of all -things his own wish. The idea was adopted, yet the slightest military -wisdom would have shown them the futility of the scheme. The men were -in a general state, not only of famine, but of discontent, from the -non-payment of their arrears. The night was dark, and the men soon -began to stumble through bog and mire, making their march heavy, and -causing them to curse and swear. It was soon found that they were so -feeble and incapable of walking, even, to say nothing of fighting after -a fourteen or fifteen miles' march, on empty stomachs, that it was -impossible to make the rear keep up with the van. They had calculated -on being at Nairn at two o'clock, but it was that hour before they had -all passed Kilravock House, only four miles from the English camp. It -was clear that it would be daylight long before they reached Nairn, and -they could only get there to be slaughtered in helplessness, for they -would be too tired either to fight or run away. It was therefore agreed -to return. - -The retreat was made, and the men found themselves again in the morning -on the bleak, black heath of Drummossie, hungry and worn out, yet -in expectation of a battle. There was yet time to do the only wise -thing--retreat into the mountains, and depend upon a guerilla warfare, -in which they would have the decided advantage. Lord George Murray now -earnestly proposed this, but in vain. Sir Thomas Sheridan and other -officers from France grew outrageous at that proposal, contending that -they could easily beat the English, as they had done at Prestonpans and -Falkirk--forgetting that the Highlanders then were full of vigour and -spirit. Unfortunately, Charles listened to this foolish reasoning, and -the fatal die was cast. - -The English army was now in full march against them. About eight -o'clock in the morning of April 16 a man who had been left asleep in -the wood of Kilravock hastened to Culloden House, where Charles and -his chief officers were resting, to announce that Cumberland's troops -were coming. There was then a hurried running and riding to get the -army drawn up to receive them. Cumberland came on with his army, -divided into three columns of five battalions each. The artillery and -baggage followed the second column along the sea-coast on the right; -the cavalry covered the left wing, which stretched towards the hills. -The men were all in the highest spirits, and even the regiments of -horse, which had hitherto behaved so ill, seemed as though they meant -to retrieve their characters to-day. The Highlanders were drawn up -about half a mile from the part of the moor where they stood the day -before, forming a sad contrast to Cumberland's troops, looking thin, -and dreadfully fatigued. In placing them, also, a fatal mistake was -made. They were drawn up in two lines, with a body of reserve; but the -Clan Macdonald, which had always been accustomed to take their stand -on the right since Robert Bruce placed them there in the battle of -Bannockburn, were disgusted to find themselves now occupying the left. -Instead of the Macdonalds now stood the Athol Brigade. As the battle -began, a snow-storm began to blow in the faces of the Highlanders, -which greatly confounded them. - -Their cannon was both inferior and worse served than that of the -English; and when, at one o'clock, the duke began to play on their -ranks with his artillery, he made dreadful havoc amongst them. Several -times the Highlanders endeavoured to make one of their impetuous -rushes, running forward with loud cries, brandishing their swords -and firing their pistols; but the steady fire of the English cannon -mowed them down and beat them off. Seeing, however, a more determined -appearance of a rush, Colonel Belford began to charge with grape -shot. This repelled them for a time; but at length, after an hour's -cannonade, the Macintoshes succeeded in reaching the first line of -the English. Firing their muskets, and then flinging them down, they -burst, sword in hand, on Burrel's regiment, and cut their way through -it. The second line, however, consisting of Sempill's regiment, -received them with a murderous fire. Cumberland had ordered the first -rank to kneel down, the second to lean forward, and the third to fire -over their heads. By this means, such a terrible triple volley was -given them as destroyed them almost _en masse_. Those left alive, -however, with all their ancient fury, continued to hew at Sempill's -regiment; but Cumberland had ordered his men not to charge with their -bayonets straight before them, but each to thrust at the man fronting -his right-hand man. By this means his adversary's target covered him -where he was open to the left, and his adversary's right was open to -him. This new manœuvre greatly surprised the Highlanders, and made -fearful havoc of them. From four to five hundred of them fell between -the two lines of the English army. Whilst the Macintoshes were thus -immolating themselves on the English bayonets, the Macdonalds on their -left stood in sullen inaction, thus abandoning their duty and their -unfortunate countrymen from resentment at their post of honour on the -right having been denied them. At length, ashamed of their own conduct, -they discharged their muskets, and drew their broadswords for a rush; -but the Macintoshes were now flying, and the grape-shot and musket-shot -came so thickly in their faces, that they, too, turned and gave way. -Whilst Charles stood, watching the rout of his army to the right, he -called frantically to those who fled wildly by to stand and renew the -fight. At this moment Lord Elcho spurred up to him, and urged him to -put himself at the head of the yet unbroken left, and make a desperate -charge to retrieve the fortune of the day; but the officers around -him declared that such a charge was hopeless, and could only lead the -men to certain slaughter, and prevent the chance of collecting the -scattered troops for a future effort. Though he did not attempt to -resist the victorious enemy, which was now hopeless, he seems to have -lingered, as if confounded, on the spot, till O'Sullivan and Sheridan, -each seizing a rein of his bridle, forced him from the field. - -[Illustration: AFTER CULLODEN: REBEL HUNTING. - -AFTER THE PAINTING BY SEYMOUR LUCAS, R.A., IN THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF -BRITISH ART] - -Charles, accompanied by O'Sullivan, Sheridan, and other gentlemen, rode -away to a seat of Lord Lovat's. The wild gallop of horsemen startled -that wily old fox in his lair; and when he heard the news the Master -began to tremble for his own safety. There are different accounts of -his reception of the fugitive prince. One says that he was so occupied -with thinking of making his own escape, that he hardly showed common -courtesy to the prince and his companions, and that they parted in -mutual displeasure. Another states that Lovat urged the same advice -as Lord George Murray had done, still to get up into the mountains, -and make a bold face, by which time might be gained for fresh -reinforcements, or at least for making some terms for the unhappy -people. But it is clear that Charles had now lost all spirit, if he -had ever retained much after he had been forced to retreat from Derby. -He and his party rode away again at ten o'clock at night, and reached -Invergarry, the castle of Glengarry, about two hours before daybreak. -Lord George still entertained the idea of keeping together a large -body of Highlanders. He had already with him one thousand two hundred. -Charles had stolen away from Invergarry to Arkaig, in Lochaber, and -thence to Glenboisdale, where the messengers of Lord George found him, -accompanied only by O'Sullivan, O'Neil, and Burke, his servant, who -knew the country and acted as guide. All the rest of his train had -shifted for themselves. Lord George entreated the prince not to quit -the country, but to continue to gather a force in the mountains, and -thus resist and harass their enemies till they received reinforcements; -but Charles sent him word that the only chance was for himself to -hasten over to France, and use all his interest to bring over an -efficient force. He therefore sent Lord George a written plan of his -intentions, which was not, however, to be opened till he had sailed; -and he desired Lord George to request the different chiefs and their -men to seek their own safety as best they might. That act terminated -the Rebellion. - -Cumberland was now hunting down the fugitives on all sides. He posted -himself at Fort Augustus, which the insurgents had blown up before -leaving it, and from that centre he sent out his myrmidons in every -direction to hunt out the Highlanders, and shoot them down on the spot -or bring them in for execution. Everywhere the unhappy clans were -pursued by their hereditary enemies, the Whig clans, especially by the -men of Argyllshire, and massacred with the most atrocious cruelty. They -stripped their houses and then burned them down, drove away the cattle, -and tracking the miserable families into dens and caves, smothered -them with burning heather, or thus forced them to rush out upon their -bayonets. In all these diabolical proceedings, the Duke of Cumberland -and the brutal General Hawley were foremost. "After all," Cumberland -(whose wicked work earned him the name of "The Butcher") wrote to the -Duke of Newcastle from Fort Augustus, "I am sorry to leave this country -in the condition it is in, for all the good that we have done has been -_a little blood-letting, which has only weakened the madness, but not -at all cured it_; and I tremble for fear that this vile spot may still -be the ruin of this island and our family." - -[Illustration: THE STANDARD OF PRINCE CHARLIE'S BODYGUARD, TAKEN AT -CULLODEN. (_In the possession of Sir Archibald Lamb at Beauport, -Sussex._)] - -The Young Pretender, during this time, had been making a hard run for -his life, beset and hunted on all sides for the thirty thousand pounds -set upon his head. During the whole five months of his adventurous -wanderings and hidings, nothing could induce a single Highlander to -betray him, notwithstanding the temptation of the thirty thousand -pounds. The most familiar story is his escape from South Uist, where he -had been tracked and surrounded. At this moment Miss Flora Macdonald, a -near relative of Macdonald of Clanranald, with whom she was on a visit, -stepped forward to rescue him. She procured a pass from Hugh Macdonald, -her stepfather, who commanded part of the troops now searching the -island, for herself, her maid, Betty Burke, and her servant, Neil Mac -Eachan. She, moreover, induced Captain Macdonald to recommend the -maid, Betty Burke--which Betty Burke was to be Charles in disguise--to -his wife in Skye as very clever at spinning. At the moment that all -was ready, General Campbell, as if suspecting something, came with a -company of soldiers, and examined Clanranald's house. The prince, in -his female attire, however, was concealed in a farm-house, and the next -morning he and his deliverer embarked in a boat with six rowers and the -servant Neil. In passing the point of Vaternish, in Skye, they ran a -near chance of being all killed, for the militia rushed out and fired -upon them. Luckily the tide was out, so that they were at a tolerable -distance, were neither hurt, nor could be very quickly pursued. The -boatmen pulled stoutly, and landed them safely at Mougstot, the seat -of Sir Alexander Macdonald. Sir Alexander was on the mainland in -Cumberland's army; but the young heroine had the address to induce his -wife, Lady Margaret Macdonald, to receive him; and as the house was -full of soldiers, she sent him to her factor and kinsman, Macdonald of -Kingsburgh, in the interior of the island, who brought him to a place -of safety. At last, on the 20th of September, he got on board the -French vessel. Lochiel and Cluny, and about a hundred other refugees, -sailed with him, and they landed at the little port of Roscoff, near -Morlaix, in Finistère, on the 29th of September, whence Charles -hastened to Paris, was received in a very friendly manner by Louis XV., -and by the Parisians, when he appeared at the opera, with rapturous -acclamations. - -Charles was, both in Scotland--on which his wild adventure had -inflicted such miseries--and in France, a hero of romance; but his -captured adherents had far other scenes to face than the lights and -luxurious music of the opera. The prisons were crammed to such a degree -with the unfortunate Gaels, that Government was compelled to stow -numbers away on board of men-of-war and transports, till fever broke -out and swept them off by hundreds, sparing the labours of judges, -juries, and hangmen. In Carlisle prison alone four hundred Scots were -jammed in a space not properly sufficient for forty! The poor prisoners -had been brought out of Scotland in open defiance of the Act of Union -and of the recognised rights of the Scottish courts; and now they were -called on to cast lots for one in twenty to take their trials, with a -certainty of being hanged, and the rest shipped off to the Plantations -in America without any trial at all. - -[Illustration: THE END OF THE '45. (_After the Painting by John Pettie, -R.A., by permission of the late Captain Hill._)] - -Amongst the most distinguished persons captured were Lords Kilmarnock, -Cromarty, Balmerino, Mordington, and Lovat. Cromarty, Balmerino, and -Kilmarnock were brought to trial before the peers in Westminster Hall -on the 28th of July. "Cromarty," says Horace Walpole, "was a timid man, -and shed tears; and Kilmarnock, though behaving with more dignity, -pleaded guilty, both expressing remorse for their past conduct, and -their fervent good wishes for the person and government of the king." -But old Balmerino, the hero of the party, pleaded not guilty, and -took exceptions to the indictment. "He is," writes Walpole, "the most -natural, brave old fellow I ever saw; the highest intrepidity, even -to indifference." All these noblemen were pronounced guilty. Cromarty -pleaded piteously the condition of his wife and family: that he left -his wife _enceinte_, and eight innocent children to suffer for his -fault. His wife's entreaties and the interest of the Prince of Wales -saved him; Kilmarnock and Balmerino were beheaded. - -Lord Lovat was the last who was brought to the block for this -rebellion, and we will conclude our account of it with his trial and -execution, though they did not take place till March, 1747. Lovat had -not appeared in arms, nor committed any overt act, and therefore it was -difficult to convict him. The cunning old sycophant hoped to elude -the law, as he had done so often before, but Murray of Broughton, the -brother of Murray, afterwards Lord Mansfield, to save his own life, -turned king's evidence, and won eternal infamy by sacrificing his -own friends. He not only produced letters and other documents which -amply proved the guilt of Lovat, but threw broad daylight on the whole -plan and progress of the insurrection from 1740 onwards. The conduct -of Lovat on his trial was as extraordinary as his life had been. He -alternately endeavoured to excite compassion, especially that of -Cumberland--who attended this, though he avoided the trials of the -other insurgents--by representing how he had carried his Royal Highness -in his arms about Kensington and Hampton Court Parks as a child, and -then by the most amusing jests, laughter, execrations, and tricks, to -puzzle or confuse the witnesses. - -As he left the hall he turned and said, "Farewell, my lords; we shall -never meet again in the same place." And with this tragi-comedy -closed the strange, romantic, and melancholy rebellion of 1745 and -1746, for in a few weeks an act of indemnity was passed, disfigured, -however, with eighty omissions. It was followed by other measures for -subduing the spirit of the vanquished Highlanders--the disarming act, -the abolition of heritable jurisdiction, and the prohibition of the -Highland costume. - -Whilst the rebellion was raging in Scotland there had been an attempt -to change the ministry, and to place at the helm Lord Granville. That -nobleman had so engrossed the favour of the king, that Pelham and -his brother, Newcastle, found their measures greatly obstructed by -Granville's influence, and suspected that they would soon be called -on to give place to him. They determined, therefore, to bring matters -to a crisis, confident that Granville would never be able to secure a -majority in either House against them. To furnish a reason for their -tendering their resignation, they demanded the place which they had -promised to Pitt. - -Under the influence of Granville and of Lord Bath, the king refused -to admit Pitt, and they determined to resign, but got Lord Harrington -to take the first step. He tendered the resignation of the Seals on -the 10th of February, 1746, and the king accepted them, but never -forgave Harrington. The same day Newcastle and Pelham tendered theirs, -and their example was followed by others of their colleagues. The -king immediately sent the Seals to Granville, desiring him and Bath -to construct a new administration. They found the thing, however, -by no means so easy. It was in vain that they made overtures to men -of distinction to join them. Sir John Barnard declined the post -of Chancellor of the Exchequer; Chief Justice Willes that of Lord -Chancellor. After forty-eight hours of abortive endeavours, Lord Bath -announced to the king that they were unable to form a Cabinet. It -was with extreme chagrin that George was compelled to reinstate the -Pelhams. He expressed the most profound mortification that he should -have a man like Newcastle thus forced upon him--a man, he said, not -fit to be a petty chamberlain to a petty prince of Germany. What -made it the more galling, the Pelhams would not take back the Seals -without authority to name their own terms, and one of them was, that -such of the adherents of Bath and Granville as had been retained -in the Ministry should be dismissed. The Marquis of Tweeddale was, -accordingly, one of these, and his office of Secretary of State for -Scotland was abolished. Pitt was introduced to the Cabinet, not as -Secretary at War, as he had demanded, but as Vice-Treasurer of Ireland, -and subsequently, on the death of Winnington, as Paymaster of the -Forces. By this event the Opposition was still further weakened, and -the Pelhams for some time seemed to carry everything as they wished, -almost without a single ruffle of opposition. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -REIGN OF GEORGE II.--(_concluded_). - - Progress of the War on the Continent--Lethargic Condition of - Politics--Battle of Laufeldt--Capture of Bergen-op-Zoom--Disasters - of the French on the Sea and in Italy--Negotiations for - Peace--Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle--Conditions of Peace--Peace - at Home--Commercial Treaty with Spain--Death of the Prince - of Wales--Popular feeling against the Bill for Naturalising - the Jews--Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act--Foundation - of the British Museum--Death of Pelham--Newcastle's - Difficulties--Failure of Robinson--Approaching Danger from - America--A State of Undeclared War--The Battles of Boscawen - and Braddock--George's Anxiety for Hanover--Subsidiary - Treaties against Prussia--Pitt's Opposition--Debate in the - House of Commons--Danger of England--French Expedition against - Minorca--The Failure of Byng--Newcastle resigns--Attempts - to Form a Ministry--Devonshire Succeeds--Weakness of - the Ministry--Coalition against Prussia--Alliance with - England--Commencement of the Seven Years' War--Frederick - Conquers Saxony--Gloominess of Affairs--Court-Martial on Byng, - and his Death--Dismissal of Pitt--The Pitt and Newcastle - Coalition--Failure of the attack on Rochefort and of that on - Louisburg--Convention of Closter-Seven--Frederick's Campaign; - Kolin, Rosbach, and Lissa--Successes elsewhere--Wolfe and - Clive--Battle of Plassey--Capture of Louisburg--Ticonderoga - and Fort Duquesne--Attacks on St. Malo and Cherbourg--Victory - of Crefeld--Frederick's Campaign--Commencement of 1759; - Blockade of the French Coast--Pitt's Plans for the Conquest - of Canada--Amherst's and Prideaux's Columns--Wolfe before - Quebec--Position of the City--Wolfe fails to draw Montcalm from his - Position--Apparent Hopelessness of the Expedition--Wolfe Scales - the Heights of Abraham--The Battle--Successes in India--Battle - of Quiberon--Frederick's Fortunes--Campaign of Ferdinand of - Brunswick--Battle of Minden--Glorious Termination of the - Year--French Descent on Carrickfergus--Attempt of the French to - Recover Quebec--Their Expulsion from North America--Frederick's - Fourth Campaign--Successes of Ferdinand of Brunswick--Death of - George II. - - -The Scottish rebellion had been an auspicious circumstance for the arms -of France. Marshal Saxe had taken the field, to the surprise of the -Allies, in the very middle of winter, invested Brussels, and compelled -it to surrender on the 20th of February, 1746. One town fell after -another; Mons, Antwerp, Charleroi, and finally, Namur capitulated -on the 19th of September, after a siege of only six days. As soon -as Cumberland could leave Scotland after the battle of Culloden, he -returned to London, in the hope that he should be appointed, covered, -as he was, with his bloody laurels, to the supreme command of the -Allied forces in Flanders, where he flattered himself he could arrest -the progress of the French. But that command had been conferred on -Prince Charles of Lorraine, the Emperor's brother, much to the disgust -of both Cumberland and the king. On the 11th of October the Prince of -Lorraine engaged the French at Raucoux, on the Jaar, and was signally -defeated; the English cavalry, under General Ligonier, managing to -save his army from total destruction, but not being able to stem the -overthrow. At the close of the campaign the French remained almost -entire masters of the Austrian Netherlands. - -In Italy, on the contrary, France sustained severe losses. The -Austrians, liberated from their Prussian foe by the peace of Dresden, -threw strong forces into Italy, and soon made themselves masters of -Milan, Guastalla, Parma, and Piacenza. On the 17th of June they gave -the united French and Spaniards a heavy defeat near the last-named -city, entered Genoa in September, and made preparations to pursue them -into Provence. - -Philip V. of Spain died on the 9th of July, and his son and successor, -Ferdinand VI., showed himself far less anxious for the establishment -of Don Philip in Italy--a circumstance unfavourable to France. On -the contrary, he entered into separate negotiations with England. -A Congress was opened at Breda, but the backwardness of Prussia to -support the views of England, and the successes of the French in the -Netherlands, caused the Congress to prove abortive. - -The year 1747 was opened by measures of restriction. The House of -Lords, offended at the publication of the proceedings of the trial -of Lord Lovat, summoned the parties to their bar, committed them to -prison, and refused to liberate them till they had pledged themselves -not to repeat the offence, and had paid very heavy fees. The -consequence of this was that the transactions of the Peers were almost -entirely suppressed for nearly thirty years from this time, and we draw -our knowledge of them chiefly from notes taken by Horace Walpole and -Lord Chancellor Hardwicke. What is still more remarkable, the reports -of the House of Commons, being taken by stealth, and on the merest -sufferance, are of the most meagre kind, sometimes altogether wanting, -and the speeches are given uniformly under fictitious names; for to -have attributed to Pitt or Pelham their speeches by name would have -brought down on the printers the summary vengeance of the House. Many -of the members complained bitterly of this breach of the privileges of -Parliament, and of "being put into print by low fellows"; but Pelham -had the sense to tolerate them, saying, "Let them alone; they make -better speeches for us than we can make for ourselves." Altogether, -the House of Commons exhibited the most deplorable aspect that can -be conceived. The Ministry had pursued Walpole's system of buying up -opponents by place, or pension, or secret service money, till there -was no life left in the House. Ministers passed their measures without -troubling themselves to say much in their behalf; and the opposition -dwindled to Sir John Hinde Cotton, now dismissed from office, and -a feeble remnant of Jacobites raised but miserable resistance. In -vain the Prince of Wales and the secret instigations of Bolingbroke -and Doddington stimulated the spirit of discontent; both Houses -had degenerated into most silent and insignificant arenas of very -commonplace business. - -The campaign in Flanders commenced with the highest expectation on the -part of England. Cumberland had now obtained the great object of his -ambition--the command of the Allied army; and the conqueror of Culloden -was confidently expected to show himself the conqueror of Marshal Saxe -and of France. But Cumberland, who was no match for Marshal Saxe, found -the Dutch and Austrians, as usual, vastly deficient in their stipulated -quotas. The French, hoping to intimidate the sluggish and wavering -Dutch, threatened to send twenty thousand men into Dutch Flanders, -if the States did not choose to negotiate for a separate peace. The -menace, however, had the effect of rousing Holland to some degree -of action. When the vanguard of Saxe's army, under Count Löwendahl, -burst into Dutch Flanders, and reduced the frontier forts of Sluys, -Sas-van-Ghent, and Hulst, the Dutch rose against their dastardly -governors, and once more placed a prince of the House of Nassau in the -Stadtholdership. William of Nassau, who had married Anne, daughter -of George II. of England, was, unfortunately, not only nominated -Stadtholder, but Captain-General and Lord High Admiral; and, being -equally desirous of martial glory with his brother-in-law, the Duke of -Cumberland, he headed the Dutch army, and immediately began to contend -with Cumberland for dictation as to the movements of the army. In these -disastrous circumstances, the Allies came to blows with the French at -the village of Laufeldt, before Maestricht. The Dutch in the centre -gave way and fled; the Austrians on the right, under Marshal Batthyani, -would not advance out of their fortified position; the brunt of the -whole onset, therefore, fell upon the English. Cumberland found himself -engaged with the whole French army, directed by the masterly mind of -Saxe, and animated by the presence of Louis himself. The dispositions -of Cumberland were bad, but the bravery of the British troops was never -more remarkable. Though it was impossible for them to prevail against -such overwhelming numbers, they did not retreat before they had, -according to Saxe's own acknowledgment, killed or wounded nine thousand -of the French. - -Saxe followed up his advantage by despatching Löwendahl against -Bergen-op-Zoom, the key of Holland, and the masterpiece of the -celebrated engineer, Cohorn. This was not only amazingly strong in its -fortifications, but had a powerful garrison, and was covered by an -entrenched camp of twelve thousand men. The trenches were opened in the -middle of July, and might have defied all the efforts of the French, -had not Baron Cronstrom, the commander, a man of eighty, suffered them -to take it by surprise on the 15th of September. The French had led -a vast number of men before this place, and its surrender ended the -campaign. - -Most unexpectedly, however, the French were as desirous of peace as -the Allies ought to have been. At sea and in Italy they had not been -so successful as in Flanders. Admiral Anson had defeated them off Cape -Finisterre, and taken six ships of the line, several frigates, and a -great part of a numerous convoy; Admiral Hawke, off Belleisle, had -taken six other ships of the line; and Commodore Fox took forty French -merchantmen, richly laden, on their way from the West Indies. In fact, -in all quarters of the world our fleet had the advantage, and had made -such havoc with the French commerce as reduced the mercantile community -to great distress. - -In Italy the French had been as unfortunate as they had been fortunate -in Flanders. In November of 1746 the Austrians and Sardinians, assisted -by a British fleet, had entered Provence and bombarded Antibes. They -were recalled, however, by the news that the Genoese had revolted, and -thrown off the Austrian yoke. In their retreat they were harassed by -Marshal de Belleisle, laid siege to Genoa in vain, and began to quarrel -amongst themselves. The French, to complete their own discomfiture, -marched another army into Italy under the brother of Belleisle; but -they were stopped in the Pass of Exilles, and defeated, with the loss -of four thousand men and of their commander, the Chevalier de Belleisle. - -[Illustration: FLORA MACDONALD. (_After the Portrait by J. Markluin_, -1747.)] - -There was grave discontent and suffering in France, and Marshal Saxe, -through General Ligonier, made proposals for peace. The news of these -overtures gave great delight in England, but the king and Cumberland -were bent on continuing the war. Pelham and Chesterfield advocated -acceptance of the terms, but Newcastle sided with the king, to gain -favour with him. As the terms, however, could not with decency be -bluntly rejected, Cumberland solicited and obtained the post of -negotiator in the matter for England; but the Ministers, desirous of -peace, foreseeing that the wishes or the hasty temper of Cumberland -would soon ruin every chance of accomplishing a treaty, the Earl of -Sandwich was sent over to act as assistant to the duke; this meant -that he was to overrule, if possible, the mischief Cumberland would be -sure to make. Sandwich accordingly hastened over to Holland, and had a -secret interview with the Marquis de Puisieulx, the French Minister for -Foreign Affairs, and, after much dodging on the part of the marquis, he -managed to have the discussion removed from military negotiators to a -congress at Aix-la-Chapelle. - -The congress had opened at Aix-la-Chapelle early in the spring, but it -did not begin its sittings till the 11th of March, 1748, Sandwich being -sent thither as our Plenipotentiary. The campaign, however, opened -simultaneously, and, could Cumberland and the king have managed it, -war would soon have overturned the hopes of peace; but circumstances -were too much for them. The Prince of Nassau, ambitious as he was of -military renown, failed to bring into the field his Dutch levies; the -thirty thousand Prussians, as Pelham had expected, did not appear. -The Dutch, so far from furnishing the sums they had engaged for, -sent to London to raise the loan of a million sterling; but London -itself had ceased to be a money-lending place. The war had drained -the resources even of the British capital. To complete the deadlock, -Marshal Saxe advanced into the field, and showed to the world that, -though Cumberland might beat an army of famine-exhausted Highlanders, -he was no match for him. He completely out-generalled him, made false -demonstrations against Breda, where the Allied army lay, and then -suddenly concentrated his forces before Maestricht, which, it was -evident, must soon fall into his hands. Maestricht secured, the highway -into Holland was open. - -The king and his war cabinet were now compelled to sue to France for -the peace which was so freely offered the year before. Newcastle -wrote to Sandwich in April, that the impossibility of arresting the -progress of the French army, the discordant pretensions of the Allies, -and their gross neglect of their engagements, rendered it absolutely -necessary to make peace. Sandwich was to communicate this necessity to -the Plenipotentiaries of the Allies, and if they declined to assent -to it, to sign the preliminaries without them. The Ministers of the -Allies still refused to join; it suited them very well to receive vast -subsidies to fight their own battles, and yet to leave England to fight -them. On the other hand, Count St. Severin, the Plenipotentiary of -France, now felt his vantage-ground, and offered far worse terms than -before, and, to force their acceptance, threatened that if they were -not agreed to without delay, the French would leave the fortifications -of Ypres, Namur, and Bergen-op-Zoom, and march directly into Holland. -The treaty was signed by England, France, and Holland on the 18th of -April. The general conditions were a mutual restoration of conquests. -All the nations were placed very much _in statu quo_, except that -Prussia had got Silesia, and Sardinia had lost Placentia and Finale. As -for England, she firmly established her maritime supremacy, which from -that date has remained unchallenged. The Young Pretender was compelled -to leave France, and thenceforward ceased to be of any political -importance. - -From the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle for several years little of striking -interest occurred in the affairs of Britain. The public at first was -rejoiced at the return of peace; but the more it looked into the -results of so costly a war the more dissatisfied it grew, and the -complaints were loud and general that Ministers had sacrificed the -honour and interests of the nation. The Opposition, however, was at -so low an ebb, that little was heard of the public discontent in -Parliament; and Pitt, formerly so vociferous to denounce the war, now -as boldly vindicated both it and the peace, and silenced all criticisms -by his overmastering eloquence. The Government still went on granting -subsidies to the German princes, though the war was at an end. - -During the year 1750 the French evinced a hostile disposition. They -laid claim to part of Nova Scotia, and refused to surrender the -islands of St. Lucia and St. Vincent, as they were bound to do by -the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. They continued to stir up bad feeling -towards us both in Spain and Germany. The Empress listened with -eagerness to the suggestions of France, and co-operated with that -country in endeavouring to influence Spain against us. Fortunately, -the good disposition of the Queen of Spain, and the able management -of Mr. Keene, our Ambassador, foiled all these efforts, and completed -a commercial treaty with that country. This treaty was signed on -the 5th of October, 1750, and placed us at once on the same footing -in commercial relations with Spain as the most favoured nations. -We abandoned the remaining term of the Assiento, and obtained one -hundred thousand pounds as compensation for the claims of the South -Sea Company. The right of search, however, was passed over in silence, -and we continued to cut logwood in Campeachy Bay and to smuggle on -the Spanish Main, winked at by the Spanish authorities, but liable to -interruption whenever jealousy or ill-will might be in the ascendant. -In various directions our commerce flourished at this time, and many -injurious restrictions were removed, such as those that hampered the -whale fishery of Spitzbergen, the white herring and coast fisheries, -the trade to the coast of Guinea, the import of iron from the American -plantations and of raw silk from China. Our manufactures also grew -apace, in spite of the internal jarrings of the Ministry and the -deadness of Parliament. - -While affairs were in this state, the Prince of Wales died (March -20, 1751). He had been in indifferent health for some time, and had -injured his constitution by dissipated habits. He was forty-four -years of age, of a weak character, which had led him into excesses, -and the consequences of these were made worse by great neglect of his -health. The same weakness of character had made him very much the tool -of political faction, and placed him in an unnatural opposition to -his father. An attempt was made by Lord Egmont to keep together the -prince's party. He assembled a meeting of the Opposition at his house -on the morning of the prince's death, and hinted at taking the princess -and her family under their protection; and he recommended harmony among -themselves; but some one said, "Very likely, indeed, that there should -be harmony, when the prince could never bring it about;" and so every -one hastened away to look after themselves. It was no sooner seen that -there was an understanding between the Princess of Wales and the king -than numbers of the late prince's friends offered their adhesion to the -Pelhams, equally out of dread of the Duke of Cumberland and dislike -of the Duke of Bedford, who was opposed to the Pelhams, and, it was -feared, likely to support Cumberland, and thus place him at the head of -affairs. - -The Session of 1753 was distinguished by two remarkable Acts of -Parliament. The one was for the naturalisation of the Jews, the -other for the prevention of clandestine marriages. The Jew Bill was -introduced into the Lords, and passed it with singular ease, scarcely -exciting an objection from the whole bench of bishops; Lord Lyttelton -declaring that "he who hated another man for not being a Christian was -not a Christian himself." But in the Commons it raised a fierce debate. -On the 7th of May, on the second reading, it was assailed by loud -assertions that to admit the Jews to such privileges was to dishonour -the Christian faith; that it would deluge the kingdom with usurers, -brokers, and beggars; that the Jews would buy up the advowsons, and -thus destroy the Church; that it was flying directly in the face of -God and of Prophecy, which had declared the Jews should be scattered -over the face of the earth, without any country or fixed abode. Pelham -ridiculed the fears about the Church, showing that, by their own rigid -tenets, the Jews could neither enter our Church nor marry our women, -and could therefore never touch our religion, nor amalgamate with us -as a people; that as to civil offices, unless they took the Sacrament, -they could not be even excisemen or custom-house officers. The Bill -passed by a majority of ninety-five to sixteen; but the storm was only -wafted from the Parliament to the public. Out-of-doors the members of -Parliament, and especially the bishops, were pursued with the fiercest -rancour and insult. Members of the Commons were threatened by their -constituents with the loss of their seats for voting in favour of -this Bill; and one of them, Mr. Sydenham, of Exeter, defended himself -by declaring that he was no Jew, but travelled on the Sabbath like a -Christian. The populace pursued the members and the bishops in the -streets, crying, "No Jews! No Jews! No wooden shoes!" In short, such -was the popular fury, that the Duke of Newcastle was glad to bring in a -Bill for the repeal of his Act of Naturalisation on the very first day -of the next Session, which passed rapidly through both Houses. - -It was high time that some measures were taken for preventing -clandestine marriages. Nothing could be so loose as the marriage laws, -or so scandalous as the practice regarding marriages at this date. No -previous public notice or publication of banns was hitherto required, -nor was any license requisite. Any clergyman, though of the most -infamous character, could perform the ceremony at any time or place, -without consent of parents or guardians. The consequence was, that the -strangest and most scandalous unions took place, for which there was no -remedy, and the results of which were lives of misery and disgrace. The -merest children were inveigled into such connections, and the heirs of -noble estates were thus entrapped into the most repulsive alliances, -and made the victims of the most rapacious and unprincipled of mankind. -The Fleet Prison, where were many ruined parsons--ruined by their -crimes and low habits--was a grand mart for such marriages. A fellow -of the name of Keith had acquired great pre-eminence in this line. He -used to marry, on an average, six thousand couples every year; and on -the news of this Bill, which would stop his trade, he vowed vengeance -on the bishops, declaring that he would buy a piece of ground and -out-bury them all! - -The Bill was prepared by the judges, and afterwards remodelled and -conducted through the Lords by Lord Chancellor Hardwicke. It provided -that banns should be published for every marriage in the parish -church for three successive Sundays; that no license to waive these -banns should be granted to any minor without consent of the parent -or guardian; and that special licenses, empowering the marriage to -be celebrated at any time or place, should only be granted by the -archbishop, and for a heavy sum. The Bill was opposed in the Lords -by the Duke of Bedford, and in the Commons by Henry Fox, Mr. Nugent, -Mr. Charles Townshend, and others. It was declared to be a scheme -for keeping together the wealth of the country in the hands of a few -grasping and ambitious families. Townshend denounced it as intended to -shut younger sons out of all chance of raising themselves by marriage. -Henry Fox had benefited especially by the looseness of the old marriage -law, for he had run away with Lady Caroline Lennox, the eldest daughter -of the Duke of Richmond. He was especially severe on Lord Hardwicke, -accusing him of seeking by the Bill to throw more power into the hands -of the Lord Chancellor, and Hardwicke retorted with still greater -acrimony. The Bill passed, and there was a strong inclination to extend -its operation to Scotland, but the Scottish lawyers and representative -peers defeated this attempt. - -Another measure in this Session marks an epoch in the history of -literature and science in Great Britain. Parliament empowered the -Crown to raise money by lottery for the purchase of the fine library, -consisting of fifty thousand volumes, and the collection of articles -of vertu and antiquity, amounting to sixty-nine thousand three hundred -and fifty-two in number, bequeathed by Sir Hans Sloane to the nation -on the condition that twenty thousand pounds should be paid to his -daughters for what had cost himself fifty thousand pounds. The same -Bill also empowered Government to purchase of the Duchess of Portland, -for ten thousand pounds, the collection of MSS. and books, etc., made -by her grandfather, Harley, the Lord Treasurer Oxford, and also for the -purchase of Montagu House, which was offered for sale in consequence of -the death of the Duke of Montagu without heirs, in which to deposit -these valuable collections. The antiquarian and literary collections -of Sir Robert Cotton, purchased in the reign of Queen Anne, were also -removed to Montagu House; and thus was founded the now magnificent -institution, the British Museum. It is remarkable that whilst Horace -Walpole, professing himself a patron of letters, has recorded all the -gossip of his times, he has not deemed this great literary, scientific, -and artistic event worthy of the slightest mention. - -The course of business was suddenly interrupted by the unexpected -death of Pelham, the Prime Minister, in 1754. Pelham was but sixty -years of age, of a florid and apparently healthy appearance, but at -once indolent and too fond of the table. He had been compelled to seek -sea-bathing at Scarborough, and on the 7th of January wrote to his -brother, the Duke of Newcastle, saying that he never was better; but -on the 3rd of March he was taken ill, and on the 6th was a corpse. The -king was startled at his death, for his moderation and quiet management -had long held together very jarring elements in the Ministry. "Now I -shall have no more peace!" exclaimed George, on hearing the news of -his decease, and he was only too correct in his prognostic. Pelham -was a respectable rather than a great minister. His abilities were by -no means shining, but experience had made him a good man of business. -Waldegrave gave him credit for being "a frugal steward of the public, -averse to Continental extravagances and useless subsidies;" and yet -never were more of each perpetrated than during his administration. -He had the merit, which he had acquired in the school of Walpole, of -preferring peace to war; and Horace Walpole admits that "he lived -without abusing his power, and died poor." - -Newcastle, a man older than his brother Pelham, and of inferior -abilities, instead of strengthening himself by the promotion of Pitt -and Henry Fox, was only anxious to grasp all the power of the Cabinet, -and retain these far abler men as his obedient subordinates. He at -once got himself placed at the head of the Treasury, and selected -as Chancellor of the Exchequer Henry Legge, a son of the Earl of -Dartmouth, a quiet but ordinary man of business, by no means fitted to -take the leadership of the House of Commons. The three men calculated -for that post were Pitt, Fox, and Murray; but Pitt was still extremely -disliked by the king, who did not forget his many years' thunderings -against Hanoverian measures, and both George and Newcastle were no -little afraid of his towering ambition. Henry Fox was a man of amiable -character in private life, but in politics an adventurer. - -[Illustration: WEDDING IN THE FLEET. (_From a Print of the Eighteenth -Century._)] - -Murray, afterwards Lord Mansfield, as we have said, of a decided -Jacobite house, was a rising young lawyer, who had won great fame -for his speech in a case of appeal before the House of Lords, was -now Solicitor-General--accomplished and learned in the law, a man -of pleasing person, and a fine orator, bold, persevering in his -profession, yet, with all the caution of a Scotsman, plodding his way -towards the bench--the real and almost the only object of his ambition. -Murray, indeed, let Newcastle know that such was his ambition; -and therefore, as Pitt was passed over from the royal dislike and -Newcastle's own jealousy, and Murray, too, for this reason, Henry Fox -alone was the man for the leadership of the Commons. Newcastle told -him that he proposed him for that post; but when they met, Fox soon -found that he was expected to play the rôle without the essential -power. Fox, of course, demanded to be informed of the disposal of the -secret-service money, but Newcastle replied that his brother never -disclosed that to any one, nor would he. Fox reminded him that Pelham -was at once First Lord of the Treasury and leader of the Commons, and -asked how he was to "talk to members when he did not know who was in -pay and who was not?" And next he wished to know who was to have the -nomination to places? Newcastle replied, Himself. Who was to recommend -the proper objects?--Still himself. Who to fill up the ministerial -boroughs at the coming elections?--Still Newcastle himself. Fox -withdrew in disgust, and Newcastle gave the seals of the Secretaryship -to a mere tool--Sir Thomas Robinson, a dull, uncouth man, who had been -some years ambassador at Vienna, and had won the favour of the king by -his compliance with all his German desires. Robinson, according to Lord -Waldegrave, was ignorant even of the language of the House of Commons, -and when he attempted to play the orator, threw the members into fits -of merriment. Newcastle, says Lord Stanhope, had succeeded in a very -difficult attempt--he "had found a Secretary of State with abilities -inferior to his own." - -As to the other changes in the Ministry, Sir Dudley Ryder being -advanced to the bench, Murray succeeded him as Attorney-General. Lord -Chancellor Hardwicke was made an earl; Sir George Lyttelton and George -Grenville, friends of Pitt, had places--one as Treasurer of the Navy, -the other as cofferer. Pitt himself, who was suffering from his great -enemy, the gout, at Bath, was passed over. No sooner did he meet with -Fox in the House of Commons, than he said aloud, "Sir Thomas Robinson -lead us! Newcastle might as well send his jack-boot to lead us!" No -sooner did the unfortunate Sir Thomas open his mouth, than Pitt fell -with crushing sarcasm upon him; and Fox completed his confusion by -pretending to excuse him on account of his twenty years' absence -abroad, and his consequent utter ignorance of all matters before -the House. Soon after, Pitt made a most overwhelming speech, on the -occasion of a petition against the return of a Government candidate by -bribery, and called on Whigs of all sections to come forward and defend -the liberties of the country, unless, he said, "you will degenerate -into a little assembly, serving no other purpose than to register the -arbitrary edicts of one too powerful subject!" This was a blow at -Newcastle, which, coming from a colleague in office, made both him and -his puppets in the Commons, Legge and Robinson, tremble. Newcastle -saw clearly that he must soon dismount Robinson from his dangerous -altitude, and give the place to Fox. - -The new Parliament reassembled on the 14th of November, and the king in -his speech, whilst pretending the differences which had arisen between -us, France, and Spain were by no means serious, yet called for enlarged -supplies to defend our American territories against the designs of -these Powers. In fact, matters were becoming very serious in our -American colonies; but the Government withheld the real facts from the -knowledge of the public, and it was not till the opening of Parliament, -in March, 1755, that they candidly avowed that war was inevitable. The -French and English were actually engaged in war both in the East Indies -and in America. In the East Indies there was just now an apparent pause -in hostilities, through an agreement between the two Companies; but in -North America matters daily grew worse. There were, and had been ever -since the Peace, violent disputes as to the boundary-lines both of Nova -Scotia--produce of the tax was seven hundred Acadia--and between Canada and -our colony of New England. The French, becoming more and more daring, -commenced the erection of forts in the valley of the Ohio, to connect -the settlements on the St. Lawrence with those on the Mississippi. They -had already erected one called Duquesne, greatly to the indignation of -the inhabitants of Pennsylvania and Virginia. In Nova Scotia, Major -Lawrence, with one thousand men, defeated the French and their Indian -allies; but, on the other hand, the French surprised and sacked Block's -Town, on the Ohio, belonging to the Virginians, who sent forward Major -George Washington to attack Fort Duquesne. Washington, destined to -acquire the greatest name in the New World, marched with four hundred -men, but was surprised at a place called Great Meadows, and was glad to -capitulate on condition of retiring with military honours (1754). - -At this crisis, when an able diplomatist at Paris might have avoided -a great war, the Earl of Albemarle, who never had been an able or -attentive ambassador, but a mere man of pleasure, died; and though -George II. was so well aware of the gathering storm that he sent a -message to the House of Commons announcing the necessity for increased -forces, and, consequently, increased supplies, nothing could induce -him to forego his usual summer journey to Hanover. The Commons readily -voted a million and a half, but made an energetic protest against the -king quitting the country in the circumstances. Besides the state of -affairs in France and Spain, those of Ireland were very disturbed. The -Duke of Dorset, the Lord-Lieutenant, was recalled, and Lord Harrington -sent in his place to endeavour to restore order. Lord Poulett, -therefore, moved a resolution against George's journey; but it was -overruled, and the infatuated king set out in April, attended by Lord -Holderness. - -The day before George embarked, Admiral Boscawen set sail, with -eleven ships of the line and two regiments of soldiers, to intercept -the French fleet, which had sailed from Rochefort and Brest to carry -reinforcements to the Canadians. Boscawen was to attack and destroy -the French, if possible. Boscawen came up with the French fleet on -the banks of Newfoundland, but a thick fog hid them from each other. -Captain Howe, afterwards Lord Howe, and Captain Andrews, however, -descried and captured two of the French men-of-war, containing eight -thousand pounds in money, and many officers and engineers; but the rest -of the fleet, under Admiral Bois de la Motte, warned by the firing, -got safe into the harbour of Louisburg. - -On the arrival of this news the French Court complained bitterly of the -violation of the peace, to which the Court of St. James's replied that -the French had too prominently set the example, and the ambassadors -on both sides were recalled--an equivalent to a declaration of war, -though none on either side yet followed. We had soon a severe reverse -instead of a victory to record. General Braddock had been despatched -against Fort Duquesne, and had reached Great Meadows, the scene of -Washington's defeat in the preceding summer. Braddock was a general of -the Hawley school--brave enough, but, like him, brutal and careless. -His soldiers hated him for his severity. The Indians resented so much -the haughtiness with which he treated them, that they had most of -them deserted him; and, as was the fatal habit of English commanders -then and long afterwards, he had the utmost contempt for what were -called "Provincials" (that is, Colonists), supposing that all sense -and knowledge existed in England, and that the English, just arrived, -knew more about America than natives who had spent their lives in -it. He therefore marched on into the woods, utterly despising all -warnings against the Indians in alliance with the French. At Great -Meadows he found it necessary, from the nature of the woods and the -want of roads, to leave behind him all his heavy baggage, and part of -his troops to guard it, and he proceeded with only one thousand two -hundred men and ten pieces of artillery. On the 9th of July, 1755, -having arrived within ten miles of Fort Duqnesne, he still neglected -to send out scouts, and thus rashly entering the mouth of a deep woody -defile, he found himself assaulted by a murderous fire in front and -on both flanks. His enemies were Indians assisted by a few French, -who, accustomed to that mode of fighting, aimed from the thickets and -behind trees, and picked off his officers, whom they recognised by -their dress, without themselves being visible. Without attempting to -draw out of the ambush, and advance with proper precautions, Braddock -rushed deeper into it, and displayed a desperate but useless courage. -Now was the time for his Indians to have encountered his enemies in -their own mode of battle, had his pride not driven them away. After -having three horses killed under him, in the vain endeavour to come at -his foes, he was shot, and his troops retreated in all haste, leaving -behind them their artillery and seven hundred of their comrades on -the ground. Their retreat was protected by the "provincial" George -Washington--whose advice had been unheeded--or the slaughter would have -been greater. - -The news of Braddock's defeat, reaching London whilst the king was -still absent, caused a great panic and want of decision. Sir Edward -Hawke had been despatched with a fleet of eighteen sail in July to -intercept the return of the French fleet from Canada, but, hampered by -contradictory orders, he only took prizes; and now Admiral Byng, in -October, was sent out with twenty-six more, but both failed in their -object. Our privateer cruisers had done more execution in the West -Indies. They had nearly annihilated the trade of the French in those -islands, and, according to Smollett, captured, before the end of the -year, three hundred French vessels, and brought into the English ports -eight thousand French seamen. - -As the French now made vigorous preparations for war, George II. began -to tremble for Hanover, and put out all his energies to accomplish -fresh alliances--of course, at the cost of fresh subsidies to be paid -by England. Hesse-Cassel, the Empress of Russia, and even his old -enemy, Frederick of Prussia, were applied to, and engaged, by promises -of English money, in defence of Hanover. George was especially afraid -of Frederick, who was bound by no ties where his interest was at stake, -and who, if not retained at a high rate, might fall on Hanover as he -had done on Silesia. In gaining Frederick, however, George lost his old -ally, Austria, which, forgetting all past obligations, immediately made -alliance with France. - -When the subsidy to Hesse-Cassel was sent home to receive the -signatures of the Cabinet, it was found to amount to an annual -payment by England of one hundred and fifty thousand crowns, besides -eighty crowns to every horseman, and thirty crowns to every foot -soldier, when they were really called out to service. That to Russia -was immensely greater; then came in prospective that to Saxony, to -Bavaria, etc. These latter States had been fed all through the last -few years for doing nothing, and now demanded vastly higher terms. -Yet when the Hessian Treaty was laid on the Council table by the -compliant Newcastle, Ministers signed it without reading it. Pitt and -Fox, however, protested against it; and when the Treasury warrants -for carrying the treaty into execution were sent down to Legge, the -Chancellor of the Exchequer, he refused to sign them. - -This was a thunderstroke to Newcastle--Legge, who had been so pliant, -thus to rebel. Newcastle, in his consternation, hastened to Pitt, -imploring him to use his influence with Legge, and promising him the -Seals as Secretary, engaging to remove all prejudice from the king's -mind. But not only Pitt, but the public, had been long asking whether, -in these critical times, everything was to be sacrificed for the -sake of this old grasping jobber at the Treasury? whether Newcastle -was to endanger the whole nation by keeping out of office all men of -talent? Pitt stood firm: no offers, no temptations, could move him. -Newcastle, finding Pitt unmanageable, flew to Fox, who accepted the -Seals on condition of having proper powers conceded to him, and agreed -to support the treaties, against which he had been equally as violent -as Pitt, having just before said to Dodington, "I am surprised you are -not against all subsidies." Robinson was consoled with a pension of two -thousand pounds a year and the post of Master of the Wardrobe. The king -had returned from Hanover, and Fox was not to receive the Seals till -two days after the meeting of Parliament, so that he might keep his -place and support the Address. By his accession to office he changed -the violence of the opposition of the Duke of Bedford, and brought the -support of the Russells to the Ministry. This strength, however, did -not prevent the certainty of a breakup of the Cabinet. Pitt was now -arrayed against his former colleagues. - -Whilst things were in this position, Parliament met on the 13th of -November. The great question on which the fate of the Ministry depended -was that of the subsidies to Hesse and Russia. It was something new -to see not merely an ordinary opposition, but the Chancellor of the -Exchequer and the Paymaster of the Forces--Legge and Pitt--ranging -themselves against the king and their colleagues on this question. In -the House of Lords the Address in reply to the royal speech, which -implied approbation of these subsidies, was supported by Newcastle, -Hardwicke, and the Duke of Bedford, who hitherto, since quitting -office, had opposed everything, and was opposed by Lords Temple and -Halifax. But the great struggle was in the Commons. The debate began -at two in the afternoon, and continued till five the next morning--the -longest hitherto recorded, except the one on the Westminster election -in 1741. On this occasion William Gerard Hamilton made his first and -almost last speech, which acquired him promotion in the Government of -Ireland, and the cognomen of "Single-speech Hamilton." Murray spoke -splendidly in defence of the subsidies; but Pitt, rising at one o'clock -in the morning, after sitting eleven hours in that heated atmosphere, -burst out upon the whole system of German subsidies with a tempest of -eloquence which held the House in astonished awe. He denounced the -whole practice of feeing the little German potentates as monstrous, -useless, absurd, and desperate: an eternal drain on England for no -single atom of benefit. He compared the union of Newcastle and Fox to -the union of the Rhône and Saône--a boisterous and impetuous torrent, -with a shallow, languid, and muddy stream. But though Pitt's eloquence -dismayed and confounded Ministers, it could not prevent their majority. -The Address was carried by three hundred and eleven votes against -one hundred and five; and it was now clear that Pitt must quit the -Cabinet. In fact, in a very few days, not only he, but Legge and George -Grenville, were summarily dismissed, and James Grenville, the other -brother, resigned his seat at the Board of Trade. - -The year 1756 opened with menaces to England of the most serious -nature. The imbecility of the Ministry was beginning to tell in the -neglect of its colonies and its defences. France threatened to invade -us, and a navy of fifty thousand men was suddenly voted, and an army -of thirty-four thousand two hundred and sixty-three of native troops; -but as these were not ready, it was agreed to bring over eight thousand -Hessians and Hanoverians. To pay for all this it was necessary to grant -excessive supplies, and lay on new duties and taxes. In presenting -the money bills in the month of May, Speaker Onslow could not avoid -remarking that there were two circumstances which tended to create -alarm--foreign subsidies and foreign troops introduced, and nothing -but their confidence in his Majesty could allay their fears, or give -them confidence that their burdens would be soon reduced. There was, -in fact, no chance for any such reduction, for wars, troubles, and -disgraces were gathering around from various quarters. The first -reverse came from the Mediterranean. - -[Illustration: DEFEAT OF GENERAL BRADDOCK IN THE INDIAN AMBUSH. (_See -p._ 119.)] - -The French had always beheld with jealousy our possession of the island -of Minorca, which had been won by General Stanhope in 1708, and secured -to us by the Peace of Utrecht. That England should possess the finest -port in the Mediterranean, and that so near their own shores, was a -subject of unceasing chagrin. The miserable administration of British -affairs, the constant attention to the interests of Hanover instead of -our own, now inspired France with the resolve to snatch the prize from -us. Great preparations were made for this object, and the report of -these as duly conveyed to the English Ministers by the consuls in both -Spain and Italy, but in vain. At length the certainty that the French -were about to sail for Minorca burst on the miserable Ministers; but -it was too late--they had nothing in readiness. The port of Mahon was -almost destitute of a garrison; the governor, Lord Tyrawley, was in -England; and the deputy-governor, General Blakeney, though brave, as he -had shown himself at the siege of Stirling, was old, nearly disabled -by his infirmities, and deficient in troops. What was still worse, all -the colonels were absent from the regiments stationed there, and other -officers also--altogether thirty-five! - -The alarmed Ministers now mustered what ships they could, and -despatched Admiral Byng with them from Spithead on the 7th of April. -The whole of these ships amounted only to ten, in a half rotten -condition and badly manned; and they commenced their voyage only three -days before the French armament issued from Toulon, the English having -to cross the Bay of Biscay, and traverse two hundred leagues of the -Mediterranean, whilst the French had only seventy leagues to travel -altogether. The French armament consisted of twelve ships of the line, -and numerous transports, under Admiral La Galissonière, consisting -of sixteen thousand men, under the command of the Duke de Richelieu. -General Blakeney received news of the approach of this fleet by means -of a fast-sailing sloop, and began in all activity to prepare for -his defence. He collected his forces into the castle of St. Philip, -commanding the town and harbour of Mahon, calling in five companies -from Ciudadela. All his troops, however, amounted only to two thousand -eight hundred. He had large quantities of cattle driven into the fort, -flour and bakers were got in, the ports blocked up, and he sank a sloop -in the channel to obstruct the entrance to the harbour. The French -fleet appeared off port Ciudadela on the 18th of April, but Byng did -not come in sight till the 19th of May--a month after--and then he came -disappointed and dispirited. There was a mutual attempt made by Byng -and by Blakeney to effect communication, but it does not appear to have -been of a determined character, and it failed. La Galissonière was now -bearing down on Byng, and the next day, the 20th of May, the two fleets -confronted each other. Byng, about two o'clock, gave the signal to -Rear-Admiral West to engage, which West did with such impetuosity, that -he drove several of the French ships out of line. But Byng himself did -not follow the example of West; he hung back, and thereby prevented -West from following up his advantage. It was in vain that Byng's own -captain urged him to advance; he pretended that it could not be done -without throwing his ships out of regular line; and he kept at such a -distance that his vessel, a noble ship carrying ninety guns, never was -fairly in action at all, and had not a single man killed or wounded. -Thus deserted, West was compelled to fall back; and La Galissonière, -who showed no disposition to continue the fight, sailed away. Byng -retired to Gibraltar. - -At the sight of Byng sailing away, the French fired a _feu de joie_ -from all their lines, and Blakeney knew that he was left to his fate. -He determined still to defend the place, but Richelieu sent in haste to -Toulon for fresh reinforcements. The fort was soon surrounded by twenty -thousand men, with eighty-five pieces of artillery. In about a week -Richelieu carried one of the breaches by storm, though with great loss, -and Blakeney capitulated on condition that the English should march out -with all the honours of war, and should be conveyed in the French ships -to Gibraltar. Thus was Minorca lost to England through the shameful -neglect of a miserably incompetent Ministry and a faint-hearted admiral. - -The tidings of this disaster roused the people of England to a pitch -of desperation. The Ministers were condemned for their gross neglect -and imbecile procrastination, and Byng was execrated as a coward and -a traitor. Meanwhile, the most culpable man of all, Newcastle, was -trembling with terror, and endeavouring to find a scapegoat somewhere. -Fox was equally trembling, lest Newcastle should make that scapegoat -of him. He declared to Dodington that he had urged Newcastle to send -succour to Minorca as early as Christmas, and that Cumberland had -joined him in urging this, to no purpose. He asserted that Newcastle -ought to answer for it. "Yes," replied Dodington, "unless he can find -some one to make a scapegoat of." This was the very fear that was -haunting Fox, and he hastened, in October, to the king, and resigned -the seals. This was a severe blow to Newcastle, and he immediately -thought of Murray to succeed him; but, unfortunately, Sir Dudley Ryder, -the Lord Chief Justice, just then having died, Murray had fixed his -ambition on occupying his seat on the bench. They were obliged to -give it to him, with the title of Mansfield, or make a mortal enemy -of him. Newcastle then thought of conciliating Pitt. Pitt refused to -belong to any Ministry at all in which Newcastle remained. Newcastle, -in his perplexity, next tried Lord Egmont, and even old Granville, but -both declined the honour; and not a man being to be found who would -serve under him, he was compelled most reluctantly to resign. He had -certainly presided over the destinies of the nation far too long. - -The king now thought of placing Fox at the head of a new -administration; but when Fox asked Pitt to join, he refused, and the -king was obliged to send for Pitt, much as he hated him. Pitt replied -that he was laid up with the gout--a complaint which troubled him, -but which he frequently found it convenient to assume. George then -prevailed upon the Duke of Devonshire, a man of no commanding ability, -and averse from office, but of the highest integrity of character, to -accept the post of First Lord of the Treasury, and to form a Cabinet. -Though the friend of Fox, he felt that statesman to be too unpopular -for a colleague, and offered Pitt the seals of Secretary of State, -which he accepted; Legge was re-appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer; -Pitt's brother-in-law, Lord Temple, First Lord of the Admiralty; -Temple's brother, George Grenville, Treasurer of the Navy; another -brother, James Grenville, again was seated at the Treasury Board; Lord -Holderness was the second Secretary of State, to oblige the king; -Willes, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas; the Duke of Bedford was made -Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, it was said by Fox's suggestion, as a thorn -in the flesh to Pitt, and, as Horace Walpole sarcastically remarked, -Pitt had not Grenville cousins enough to fill the whole Administration; -Charles Townshend was made Treasurer of the Chamber, though his talents -and eloquence, in which he excited Pitt's jealousy, deserved a much -higher office. - -The Ministry being complete, Parliament met on the 2nd of December. -It was found that the new Administration had not that influence in -the boroughs that Newcastle, who had cultivated it, had; and several -members of the Cabinet, Pitt amongst them, had difficulty in getting -returned, as was the case with Charles Townshend. In the king's -speech, his Majesty was made to speak of the militia, which he was -known by everybody to hold in sovereign contempt, as the best and most -constitutional means of national defence. He announced also that he -had ordered the return of the Hanoverian troops to their own country; -and the Duke of Devonshire inserted in the Address from the Lords an -expression of thanks for having brought these troops over. Pitt had -declared that he would quit the Cabinet if such a vote was passed, and -Temple came hurrying down to the House--Pitt being absent from the -Commons with the gout--and declared that he had quitted a sick bed -to protest against it. This was an unlucky beginning. It was clear -that there was want of unity in the Cabinet at its very birth, and -out-of-doors the people were loudly complaining of the scarcity of -food, and bread riots were frequent. The king himself could not help -ridiculing the speech his new Ministers had composed for him; and a -poor printer being arrested for putting another speech into his mouth, -George said he hoped the man might receive very lenient punishment, -for, as far as he could understand either of the speeches, he thought -the printer's the best. To abate the ferment out-of-doors, the Commons -passed two Bills: one prohibiting the export of grain, flour, or -biscuit; the other prohibiting, for several months, distillation from -wheat or barley. - -But though Pitt protested against thanking the king for bringing over -Hanoverian troops, he found it necessary to support the king's German -treaties and alliances, which were avowedly for the defence of Hanover. -Fox reminded him of his favourite phrase, that Hanover was a millstone -round the neck of England; but it was not the first time that Pitt had -had to stand the taunt of eating his own words, and he braved it out, -especially voting two hundred thousand pounds to Frederick of Prussia. -A wonderful revolution in Continental politics had now converted this -long-hostile nephew of George II. into an ally, if not a friend. - -The Empress Maria Theresa, never reconciling herself to the seizure of -Silesia by Frederick, and not finding England disposed to renew a war -for the object of recovering it, applied to her old enemy, France. It -required some ability to accomplish this object of detaching France -from its ancient policy of hostility to Austria, pursued ever since -the days of Henry IV., and in severing the alliance with Prussia; but -her Minister, Kaunitz, who had been her ambassador in Paris, contrived -to effect it. The temptation was thrown out of the surrender of Belgic -provinces to augment France, in return for assistance in recovering -German possessions from Prussia. To add fresh stimulus to this -change, the vengeance of offended woman was brought into play. Madame -Pompadour, Louis XV.'s all-powerful mistress, had sent flattering -compliments to Frederick by Voltaire; but the Prussian king only repaid -them with sneers. On the other hand, the virtuous Maria Theresa did -not blush to write, with her own hand, the most flattering epistles -to the Pompadour. By these means, the thirst of revenge raised in -the heart of the French mistress worked successfully the breach with -Prussia and the alliance with Austria. The same stimulus was tried, -and with equal effect, on the Czarina Elizabeth, on whose amorous -licence the cynical Prussian monarch had been equally jocose. Kaunitz -knew how to make the sting of these ungallant sallies felt at both -Paris and St. Petersburg, and the winter of 1755-6 saw the Russian -alliance with Prussia and England renounced, the English subsidy, -with far more than German probity, renounced too, and Russia pledged -to support Austria and France. The Elector of Saxony, Augustus, King -of Poland, who amused himself with low pot-house companions and tame -bears, and left his affairs to his minister, Count Brühl, was also -induced, by the promise of Prussian territory, to join the league; and -even Sweden, whose queen, Ulrica, was sister to Frederick, was drawn -over to take side against him, in the hope of recovering its ancient -province of Pomerania. This confederation of ninety millions of people, -leagued against five millions, was pronounced by Pitt "one of the most -powerful and malignant ones that ever yet threatened the independence -of mankind." - -The confederates endeavoured to keep their plans profoundly secret till -they were ready to burst at once on the devoted King of Prussia; but -Frederick was the last man alive to be taken by surprise. The secret -was soon betrayed to him, and, at once waiving his dislike of the King -of England, he concluded a convention with him in January, 1756, and -bound himself, during the disturbances in America, not to allow any -foreign troops to pass through any part of Germany to those colonies, -where he could prevent it. Having his treasury well supplied, he put -his army in order, and in August of that year sent a peremptory demand -to Vienna as to the designs of Austria, stating, at the same time, that -he would not accept any evasive reply; but the reply being evasive, he -at once rushed into Saxony at the head of sixty thousand men, blockaded -the King of Saxony in Pirna, and secured the queen in Dresden. By this -decisive action Frederick commenced what the Germans style "The Seven -Years' War." In the palace of Dresden Frederick made himself master -of the secret correspondence and treaties with France, Russia, and -Austria, detailing all their designs, which he immediately published, -and thus fully justified his proceedings to the world. - -The Austrians advanced under Marshal Braun, an officer of English -extraction, against Frederick, but after a hard-fought battle at -Lowositz, on the 1st of October, Frederick beat them, and soon after -compelled the Saxon army, seventeen thousand strong, to surrender at -Pirna. The King of Saxony, who had taken refuge in the lofty rock -fortress of Königstein, surrendered too, on condition of being allowed -to retire to Warsaw, and Frederick established his headquarters for the -winter at Dresden, levying heavy contributions throughout Saxony. - -During this year little was done in America. General Bradstreet -defeated a body of the enemy on the River Onondaga, and, on the other -hand, the French took the two small forts of Ontario and Oswego. - -The year 1757 opened amid very gloomy auspices. War, of a wide and -formidable character, was commencing in Europe, and the House of -Commons was called on to vote no less than eight million three hundred -thousand pounds for the supplies of the year, and to order fifty-five -thousand men for the sea service, and forty-five thousand for the -land. The National Debt had now reached seventy-two million pounds, -and was destined to a heavy and rapid increase. Pitt commenced the -admirable plan recommended years before by Duncan Forbes, of raising -Highland regiments from the lately disaffected clans. The militia -was remodelled, it was increased to thirty-four thousand, and it was -proposed to exercise the men on Sunday afternoons, to facilitate their -progress in discipline; but an outcry from the Dissenters put a stop -to this. Serious riots, moreover, were the consequences of forcing -such a number of men from their homes and occupations in the militia -ranks; and the public discontent was raised to a crisis by the voting -of two hundred thousand pounds, avowedly for the protection of Hanover. -A measure which the nation beheld with astonishment Pitt himself -introduced, notwithstanding his many thunderings against the Hanover -millstone. - -Amid these angry feelings Admiral Byng was brought to trial. The -court-martial was held at Plymouth. It commenced in December, 1756, and -lasted the greater part of the month of January of the following year. -After a long and patient examination, the Court came to the decision -that Byng had not done his utmost to defeat the French fleet or relieve -the castle of St. Philip. The Court, however, sent to the Admiralty in -London to know whether they were at liberty to mitigate the twelfth -Article of War, which had been established by an Act of Parliament of -the twenty-second year of the present reign, making neglect of duty as -much deserving death as treason or cowardice. They were answered in -the negative, and therefore they passed sentence on Byng to be shot on -board such of his Majesty's ships of war and at such time as the Lords -of the Admiralty should decide. - -[Illustration: LONDON BRIDGE IN 1760.] - -No sooner was the sentence passed than his judges were seized with a -vehement desire to procure a pardon for the admiral. They made the -most urgent entreaties to the Admiralty for that purpose, and Captain -Augustus Keppel authorised Horace Walpole to say that he and four -others of the members of the Council had something of importance to -communicate, and desired to be relieved from their oath of secresy. The -House of Commons was quite ready to pass a Bill for the purpose, and -the king respited the admiral till all such inquiries had been made. -But when the Bill had been passed by one hundred and fifty-three to -twenty-three, it turned out that these five officers had nothing of -consequence to disclose. Still Lord Temple, who was at the head of the -Admiralty, was greatly averse from the carrying out of the sentence, -which, in fact, was much disproportioned to the crime. Pitt also -interceded with the king, and renewed applications were made to the -Admiralty; but, on the other hand, the people were smarting under the -loss of Minorca, and demanded the execution of the sentence. Hand-bills -were posted up, "_Hang Byng, or take care of the King._" The House of -Lords, when the Commons' Bill was carried up to them, however, settled -the matter. Murray and Lord Hardwicke demanded of every member of the -court-martial at the bar of the House whether they knew of any matter -which showed their sentence to be unjust, or to have been influenced by -any undue motive; and as all declared they did not, the Lords dismissed -the Bill. The sentence was therefore fixed for execution on the 14th -of March. Byng, both during the trial, and now when brought on board -the _Monarch_ in Portsmouth Harbour to be shot, showed no symptoms -of fear. When one of his friends, to prevent a man from coming in to -measure Byng for his coffin, said, standing up by him, "Which of us is -the taller?" Byng immediately replied, "Why this ceremony? I know what -it means; let the man measure me for a coffin." On the deck he wished -to have his eyes left unbound; but when told it might frighten the -soldiers and distract their aim, he said, "Let it be done, then; if it -would not frighten them, they would not frighten me." He fell dead at -the discharge (March 14, 1757). - -Cumberland was now appointed to command the troops in Hanover -intended to co-operate with Prussia against France and Austria; but -he had an intuitive dread of Pitt, and was very unwilling to quit -the kingdom whilst that formidable man was Paymaster of the Forces. -He therefore never rested till the king dismissed him from office. -George himself required little urging. He had always hated Pitt for -his anti-Hanoverian spirit; nor had his conduct in office, however -respectful, done away with his dislike. George, therefore, was desirous -to get rid of the able Pitt and recall the imbecile Newcastle. He -complained that Pitt made harangues, even in the simplest matters -of business, which he could not comprehend; and as for Lord Temple, -his brother-in-law, he declared him to be pert and insolent. George -therefore sent Lord Waldegrave to Newcastle to invite him to return -to office, saying, "Tell him I do not look upon myself as king whilst -I am in the hands of these scoundrels, and am determined to be rid of -them at any rate." Newcastle longed to regain his favour, but he was -afraid of a notice made in the House of Commons for an inquiry into -the causes of the loss of Minorca. The king, nevertheless, dismissed -Temple and Pitt, and Legge and others resigned. Cumberland, in great -delight, then embarked for Hanover, thinking the main difficulty over; -but, in fact, it had only just begun. The inquiry into the Minorca -affair was, indeed, so managed that it did not absolutely condemn the -Ministry of Newcastle, neither did it fully acquit them; whilst, at the -same time, the public were highly incensed at the dismissal of Pitt, -whom they rightly deemed the only man in the two Houses with abilities -capable of conducting the affairs of the nation successfully. Addresses -and presentations of the freedom of their cities came pouring in on -Pitt from all the great towns of the kingdom. Horace Walpole said it -literally rained gold boxes. Legge, as the firm ally of Pitt, received -also his share of these honours. - -But for Newcastle to form a Cabinet was no such easy matter. Pitt -refused to take office with him unless he had the whole management of -the war and foreign affairs. The king then agreed to send for Henry -Fox, who accepted the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer; but -Newcastle was so sensible of Fox's unpopularity that he was terrified -at undertaking an Administration with Fox and without Pitt, though he -was equally reluctant to let a Cabinet be formed without the former. -For three months the fruitless endeavours to accomplish a Ministry -went on, Parliament sitting all the time, and a great war commencing. -Finally, the king and Newcastle were compelled to submit to the terms -of "the Great Commoner," as they called Pitt, who became Secretary of -State, with the management of the war and foreign affairs. Newcastle -became again First Lord of the Treasury, but without one of his old -supporters, and Legge Chancellor of the Exchequer; Holderness, a mere -cipher, was the other Secretary of State; Anson was placed at the head -of the Admiralty; Lord Temple was made Lord Privy Seal; and Pratt, an -able lawyer and friend of Pitt, Attorney-General. Fox condescended to -take the office of Paymaster of the Forces; and thus, after a long and -severe struggle, the feeble aristocrats, who had so long managed and -disgraced the country, were compelled to admit fresh blood into the -Government in the person of Pitt. But they still entertained the idea -that they only were the men, and that wisdom would die with them. One -and all, even the otherwise sagacious Chesterfield, prognosticated only -dishonour and ruin for such a plebeian appointment. "We are no longer a -nation," said Chesterfield; "I never yet saw so dreadful a prospect." - -And, for some time, events seemed to justify these apprehensions -by the old governing class. Not a plan of Pitt's but failed. His -first enterprise was one of that species that has almost universally -failed--a descent on the coast of France. Early in September a fleet -of sixteen ships of the line, attended by transports and frigates, was -despatched to Rochefort, carrying ten regiments of foot, under the -command of Sir John Mordaunt. Sir Edward Hawke commanded the fleet, and -the troops were landed on a small fortified island named Aix, at the -mouth of the Charente. There, in spite of strict orders, the English -soldiers and sailors became awfully drunk, and committed shocking -excesses and cruelties on the inhabitants. The rumour of this made the -forces in Rochefort furious for vengeance; and when the army was to -be landed within a few miles of the place in order to its attack, as -usual in such cases, the admiral and general came to an open quarrel. -Mordaunt betrayed great timidity, and demanded of Hawke how the troops, -in case of failure, were to be brought off again. Hawke replied, that -must depend on wind and tide--an answer which by no means reassured -Mordaunt. General Conway, next in command to Mordaunt, was eager for -advancing to the attack; and Colonel Wolfe--afterwards the conqueror -of Quebec--offered to make himself master of Rochefort with three -ships of war and five hundred men at his disposal. The brave offer -was rejected, but the report of it at once pointed out Wolfe to Pitt -as one of the men whom he was on the look-out to work with. Howe, the -next in command to Hawke, proposed to batter down the fort of Fouras -before advancing on Rochefort; but Mordaunt adopted the resort of all -timid commanders--a council of war--which wasted the time in which the -assault should have been made, and then it was declared useless to -attempt it; the fortifications of Aix were destroyed, and the fleet put -back. Mordaunt, like Byng, was brought before a court-martial, but with -very different results. He was honourably acquitted--perhaps, under the -atrocious 12th Article of War, the Court feared even to censure; and -it was said by the people that Byng was shot for not doing enough, and -Mordaunt acquitted for doing nothing at all. - -In North America matters were still more unprosperous. Lord Loudon -had raised twelve thousand men for the purpose of taking Louisburg -and driving the French from our frontiers; but he did nothing, not -even preventing the attack of Marshal Montcalm, the Commander-in-Chief -in Canada, on Fort William Henry, which he destroyed, thus leaving -unprotected the position of New York. At the same time, Admiral -Holbourne, who was to have attacked the French squadron off Louisburg, -did not venture to do it, because he said they had eighteen ships to -his seventeen, and a greater weight of metal. - -Such was the condition into which an army and navy, once illustrious -through the victories of Marlborough and Blake, were reduced by the -aristocratic imbecility of the Newcastles, Bedfords, and Cumberlands. -This last princely general had, in fact, put the climax to his career. -He had placed himself at the head of fifty thousand confederate -troops, in which there were no English, except the officers of his own -staff, to defend his father's Electorate of Hanover. But this ruthless -general, who never won a battle except the solitary one of Culloden, -against a handful of famished men, was found totally incompetent to -cope with the French general, d'Estrées. He allowed the French to cross -the deep and rapid Weser, and continued to fall back before them as -they entered the Electorate, until he was driven to the village of -Hastenbeck, near Hameln, where the enemy overtook and defeated him. -He then continued his retreat across the desolate Lüneburg Heath, to -cover Stade, near the mouth of the Elbe, where the archives and other -valuable effects of Hanover had been deposited for safety. At this time -Richelieu succeeded to the command of d'Estrées in this quarter, and -he continued to drive Cumberland before him, taking Hameln, Göttingen, -and Hanover itself, and soon after Bremen and Verden. Thus were Hanover -and Verden, which had cost England such millions to defend, seized by -France; nor did the disgrace end here. Cumberland was cooped up in -Stade, and compelled, on the 8th of December, to sign a convention at -Closter-Seven, by which he engaged to send home the Hesse and Brunswick -troops, and to disperse the Hanoverians into different quarters, not to -serve again during the war. - -Meanwhile, Frederick of Prussia was waging a tremendous war with -France, Russia, and Austria. To disable Austria before her allies -could come up to her aid, he suddenly, in April, made an eruption -into Bohemia. His army threaded the defiles of the mountains of the -Bohemian frontier in different divisions, and united before Prague, -where Marshal Braun and Prince Charles of Lorraine met him with eighty -thousand men, his own forces amounting to about seventy thousand. A -most obstinate and sanguinary conflict took place, which continued from -nine in the morning till eight at night, in which twenty-four thousand -Austrians were killed, wounded, or taken prisoners, and eighteen -thousand Prussians. The Prussians were destitute of pontoons to cross -the Moldau, or their writers contend that not an Austrian would have -escaped. But Marshal Daun advancing out of Moravia with another strong -army, to which sixteen thousand of the fugitives from Prague had united -themselves, Frederick was compelled to abandon the siege of Prague, and -march to near Kolin, where he was thoroughly defeated by Daun, with a -loss of thirteen thousand of his bravest troops. - -This was a blow which for a time completely prostrated the Prussian -monarch. Nothing but the most indomitable spirit and the highest -military talent could have saved any man under such circumstances. But -Frederick had disciplined both his generals and soldiers to despise -reverses, and he relied on their keeping at bay the host of enemies -with which he was surrounded till he had tried a last blow. On the -field of Rosbach, near the plain of Lützen, where Gustavus Adolphus -fell, after having relieved Marshal Keith at Leipsic, Frederick gave -battle to the united French and Austrians. The French numbered forty -thousand men, the Austrians twenty thousand; yet, with his twenty -thousand against sixty thousand, Frederick, on the 5th of November, -took the field. His inferior numbers favoured the stratagem which he -had planned. After fighting fiercely for awhile, his troops gave way, -and appeared to commence a hasty retreat. This, however, was continued -only till the French and Austrians were thrown off their guard, when -the Prussians suddenly turned, and received the headlong squadrons -with a murderous coolness and composure. The Austrians, confounded, -fled at once; and Soubise, a general of the princely House of Rohan, -who owed his appointment to Madame Pompadour, was totally incapable of -coping with the Prussian veterans. He saw his troops flying in wild -rout, and galloped off with them, leaving a vast number of slain, seven -thousand prisoners, and the greater part of his baggage, artillery, and -standards in the hands of the enemy. - -The Battle of Rosbach raised the fame of Frederick wonderfully all -over Europe. He soon roused himself, however, for fresh efforts. -Whilst he had been thus engaged on the Saale, the Austrians had again -overrun Silesia, defeating the Prussians under the Duke of Bevern, -storming the great fortress of Schweidnitz, and making themselves -masters of Breslau, the capital. In spite of his reduced numbers and -the advancing winter, Frederick immediately directed his march towards -Silesia, gathering reinforcements as he went, so that by the 5th of -December, just one month from the Battle of Rosbach, he came up with -Prince Charles of Lorraine and Marshal Daun at Lissa, a small village -near Breslau, and with forty thousand men encountered and defeated -nearly seventy thousand Austrians, killing and wounding twenty-seven -thousand of them, taking above fifty standards, one hundred cannon, -four thousand waggons, and much other spoil. This battle at once freed -Silesia from the Austrians, who trooped over the mountains in all -haste, and left the victorious king to close this unexampled campaign. - -To add to the fame of Frederick, news arrived that Marshal Lewald, with -twenty thousand Prussians, had beaten the great horde of Russians at -Jägerndorf, and driven them out of Prussia, with the single exception -of Memel; that Lewald and Manteuffel had swept the Swedes out of -Pomerania, taking three thousand prisoners; and that Prince Henry of -Prussia and Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, to whom Frederick, at the -urgent request of England, had entrusted the command of the Hanoverian -and Hessian troops which Cumberland had abandoned, had, with these -very troops, driven the French from Lüneburg, Zell, and Hanover. These -troops, it is true, were bound by the Convention of Closter-Seven -not to fight again during the war; but the generals pleaded that the -cruelties and rapacity of the French in Hanover were such as set aside -all compacts. - -Pitt, though he remained determined against our continuing to send -soldiers to Germany, was so elated at the success of Frederick that, -on the meeting of Parliament, on the 1st of December, he supported -the vote of six hundred and seventy thousand pounds as a subsidy to -Prussia, George having entered into a new convention with Frederick -to defend his Electorate. Pitt, on the same occasion, pronounced a -glowing eulogium on Clive's proceedings in India. This great Minister -had, in fact, formed the most extensive designs for the colonial -aggrandisement of England, and the repulse of France in those quarters. -At his suggestion, Lord Loudon had been sent to North America, and -as he had failed to render any service, General Abercrombie had gone -out to supersede him. Pitt already, however, had his eye on a young -officer, Wolfe, whom he deemed the true hero for that service; whilst, -on the opposite side of the globe, he was watching the proceedings -of another young officer with immense pleasure--namely, Clive. These -two remarkable men, under the fostering genius of Pitt, were destined -to destroy the ascendency of France in those regions, and to lay -the foundations of British power on a scale of splendour beyond all -previous conception. - -[Illustration: LORD CLIVE. (_After the Portrait by Gainsborough._)] - -Clive, a young clerk of the Company's, at Madras, had deserted his -desk, taken a commission, and, as early as 1748, had distinguished -himself by baffling the French commanders Dupleix and Bussy, at -Pondicherry. In 1751 he had taken Arcot from Chunda Sahib, the Viceroy -of the Carnatic, and, aided by the Mahrattas, defeated Rajah Sahib, -the son of Chunda, in a splendid victory at Arnee. In 1752 he raised -the siege of Trichinopoly, where the Nabob of Arcot was besieged by -the French. In 1755, landing at Bombay from England, he, with Admiral -Watson, made an expedition to Gheriah, the stronghold of the celebrated -pirate Angria, demolished it, and seized the spoils, valued at one -hundred and twenty thousand pounds. In 1757 he took Calcutta from the -Nabob Surajah Dowlah, the ally of the French, who had captured it, and -shut up the English prisoners in the memorable Black Hole, where, in -one night (June 20, 1756), out of one hundred and forty-six persons, -one hundred and twenty-three perished. Clive also captured the city -of Hooghly, defeated Dowlah, and compelled him to cede the town and -vicinity. He then drove the French from their factory of Chandernagore; -marched forward on Moorshedabad, defeated Surajah Dowlah in a battle -extraordinary for the rout of an immense army by a mere handful of men, -at Plassey (1757); deposed him, and seated on his throne Meer Jaffier. -From this day dates British supremacy in India. - -In America Lord Amherst took the chief command, with Wolfe as his -second; Abercrombie being despatched to reduce the French forts on -Lakes George and Champlain, and thus open the way into Canada. On -the 2nd of June the British fleet, commanded by Admiral Boscawen, -and carrying Lord Amherst and twelve thousand men, anchored before -Louisburg, the capital of Cape Breton. The French had six thousand -men, soldiers and marines, and five ships of the line were drawn up in -the harbour. The landing was therefore effected with difficulty; but -Wolfe, who led the way in person, showed such spirit and activity, and -the Admiral and General, unlike the usual conduct on such occasions, -acted together with such unanimity and zeal, that the French were -compelled, towards the end of July, to capitulate, and the soldiers of -the garrison were sent to England, prisoners of war. The whole island -of Cape Breton submitted to the conquerors, and the island of St. John -was also reduced by Colonel Lord Rollo. St. John's was afterwards named -Prince Edward's Island, in compliment to the royal family. - -The events on land were very different. Abercrombie, like General -Braddock, advanced with all the careless presumption of a second-rate -general. The grand object was to reduce Fort Ticonderoga, built on -a neck of land between Lakes George and Champlain. At the landing, -Lord Howe, one of the best officers, was killed, but they drove back -the French, and advanced on the fort, which was of great strength, -defended by a garrison of four thousand men, commanded by the Marquis -de Montcalm, the Commander-in-Chief of the Canadians, himself. Montcalm -had raised a breastwork eight feet high, and made in front of it a -barricade of felled trees with their branches outwards. Abercrombie, -with a foolish confidence, advanced right upon this barricade, without -waiting for the coming up of his artillery, which was detained by the -badness of the roads. With a reckless disregard of the lives of his -men, he commanded them to attempt to storm these defences, and after -fighting with the usual courage of Englishmen for several hours, and -two thousand of them being slaughtered, it was found that their efforts -were useless, and they were ordered to retire. Brigadier Forbes, who -had been sent against Fort Dupuesne, an attempt so disastrous to both -Washington and Braddock, executed his task with the utmost promptitude -and success. Forbes took possession of it on the 25th of November, and, -in compliment to the great Minister under whose auspices they fought, -named it Fort Pitt, since grown from a solitary fort into Pittsburg. - -In Europe, Pitt was still bent on those attacks on the coast of -France which long experience had shown were of little use as means of -successful war, but highly objectionable, as fraught with excessive -inhumanity to the innocent people of the seaboard. This, his second -expedition, was aimed at St. Malo. A fleet of eighteen ships of the -line, thirteen frigates, with sloops, fire-ships, and bomb-ketches, -was put under the command of Lord Howe; but as Sir Edward Hawke, his -senior, struck his flag, and refused to serve as second, Lord Anson, -to get rid of the difficulty, put himself nominally at the head of -the squadron. The command of the troops was given to the Duke of -Marlborough, a brave man, but destitute of the genius of his father, -and Lord George Sackville and Lord Granby were under him. There -were fourteen thousand troops of the line and six thousand marines. -With these went a number of aristocratic volunteers, amongst them -Lord Downe, Sir John Armitage, and Sir John Lowther, the possessor -of fourteen thousand pounds a-year. On the 5th of June, 1758, the -transports anchored in Cancale Bay, and next day the troops were landed -and led against St. Malo. This town, built on one of a cluster of -granite rocks which rise out of the sea on that iron-bound coast, they -found too strongly fortified to storm, but they burnt a hundred and -thirty privateers and a great quantity of small craft in the harbour, -and then returned to their ships. They then sailed for Le Hâvre, but -were prevented by the wind from doing the same damage, and so continued -their voyage to Granville and Cherbourg, whence they were driven by -storm; and thereupon coasting a considerable way farther, but to no -purpose, the fleet returned to Portsmouth, the main result being a -heavy expense. Fox and the Opposition in the Commons called it breaking -windows with guineas; and the old king, who had expressed his dislike -of this sort of warfare, said we should brag of having burnt the French -ships, and the French of having driven us away. - -The next month Pitt despatched a smaller fleet and force to destroy -the port of Cherbourg, which the French had constructed under Cardinal -Fleury, and, as they stated by an inscription, "for all eternity." This -time the command was given to General Bligh. Howe was admiral, and on -board with him went Prince Edward, afterwards Duke of York. On the 8th -of August the troops were landed at Cherbourg, which was deserted by -the garrison, and they destroyed the forts and harbour, demolished a -hundred and seventy pieces of iron cannon, and carried off twenty-two -fine brass ones. After re-embarking and returning to Portsmouth, Bligh -was ordered to pay another visit to St. Malo, but still found it too -strong for him; yet he landed his men in the bay of St. Lunaire, -about two leagues westward of St. Malo; and the weather immediately -driving Howe to sea, the army was marched overland to St. Cast, some -leagues off. The soldiers were allowed to rove about and plunder, till -Bligh heard that the Duke of Aiguillon was advancing against them at -the head of a strong force. Bligh then, but in no hurry, marched for -the port of St. Cast, followed by Aiguillon, who waited till he had -embarked all but one thousand five hundred men, when he fell upon them, -and slaughtered a thousand of them in a hollow way amongst the rocks -leading down to the shore. - -In Germany, Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, after driving the French -out of Hanover, had followed them across the Rhine this spring, and -on the 23rd of June defeated them at Crefeld, with a slaughter of six -thousand men. He then took Düsseldorf; but the French court recalling -the incapable Clermont, and sending Marshal De Contades with fresh -forces against him, and Prince Soubise defeating the Hessians, he was -obliged to fall back into Westphalia, where he was joined by the Duke -of Marlborough and Lord George Sackville with the English auxiliaries, -but too late to effect anything further. Shortly afterwards the Duke -of Marlborough died suddenly, under strong suspicions of having been -poisoned. - -Frederick of Prussia, meanwhile, had been beset by Austrians, Russians, -and French, and had never been able to retire to winter quarters. He -had continued to blockade Schweidnitz amid frost and snow, and having -reduced it, at the very first symptoms of spring he suddenly burst into -Moravia, and invested Olmütz, its capital. There he had to contend -with the able and cautious Marshal Daun and General Laudohn, nearly as -efficient. Laudohn managed to seize three thousand waggons, bringing -from Silesia supplies for Frederick; and whilst the king was in this -state of destitution for food even for his army, a hundred thousand -Russians, under General Fermor, were marching steadily on Berlin. They -had taken Königsberg, laid waste the whole country beyond the Vistula, -and then pushed on for the Oder. They had arrived before Küstrin, -only a few marches from Berlin, when Frederick, leaving his brother, -Prince Henry, to keep Daun and Laudohn in check before Olmütz, marched -against them. A terrible battle took place on the plain of Zörndorf, -near Custrin, in which neither Prussians nor Russians gave quarter, -and which lasted from nine in the morning till seven at night. Twenty -thousand Russians were left killed or wounded on the field, and eleven -thousand Prussians. The Russians retired with reluctance, and did not -wholly evacuate the Prussian territory till the end of October. But -Frederick himself, long before that time, had been compelled to hurry -back to the support of his brother Henry, whom Daun had driven back -into Saxony. He fixed his camp at Hochkirch, near Bautzen, and close to -the Bohemian lines. But a few mornings after, before daybreak, Daun and -Laudohn burst into his camp by a combined movement, and threw the whole -into confusion before the troops could muster. When Frederick awoke at -the uproar and rushed from his tent, all around was one fearful scene -of slaughter and flight. The news of this defeat of the generally -victorious Prussians threw the court of Vienna into ecstacies, for -they thought that Frederick was ruined; and so he might have been -had Daun been as alert to follow him up as he had been successful in -surprising him. But Daun was naturally slow; a very few days sufficed -for Frederick to collect fresh forces around him, and he suddenly -darted away into Silesia. There he raised the siege of Neisse, which -was invested by another division of the Austrian army; then, falling -back on Dresden, threatened by Daun, he drove him back, and, marching -to Breslau, fixed there his winter quarters. - -The year 1759 is one of the most glorious in our annals. Pitt, by his -own spirit, and by selecting brave and able men, had infused such -ardour into our service, that our officers no longer seemed the same -men. Still, France, stung by the reverses and insults which we had -heaped on her, but especially by our ravages of her coast, contemplated -a retaliatory descent on ours. Gunboats were accumulated at Le Hâvre -and other ports, and fleets were kept ready at Toulon and Brest, as -well as a squadron at Dunkirk, under Admiral Thurot, a brave seaman. -The king sent a message to the Commons, demanding the calling out of -the militia; and the twenty-four thousand French prisoners who had -been left in great destitution by their own Government on our hands, -were marched into the interior of the country. In July Admiral Rodney -anchored in the roads of Le Hâvre, bombarded the town, set it on fire -in several places, and destroyed many of the gunboats. In August the -Toulon fleet, commanded by Admiral De la Clue, on its way to operate -against our coast, was pursued by Boscawen, who had recently returned -from America, and overtaken off Lagos, in Algarve. De la Clue was -mortally wounded, and his ship--reckoned the finest in the French -navy--and three others were taken, whilst a fifth was run aground -and burnt. At the same time the blockades of Dunkirk and Brest were -vigorously kept up. - -[Illustration: SURPRISE OF FREDERICK AT HOCHKIRCH. (_See p._ 131.)] - -The enemy's fleets being thus destroyed or shut up, Pitt determined on -his great enterprise, the conquest of Canada. The idea was worthy of -his genius. His feeble predecessors had suffered the French from this -neighbouring colony to aspire to the conquest of our North American -territory. They had built strong forts on the lakes and down the valley -of the Ohio; they intended to connect them with the Mississippi, and -then to drive us out of the country. Had not Pitt come into office -they might probably have succeeded. But Pitt had already commenced the -driving in of the French outposts, and he now planned the complete -expulsion of that nation from their advanced posts and from Canada -itself. His scheme had three parts, which were all to concentrate -themselves into one grand effort--the taking of Quebec, the capital. -It was a daring enterprise, for Canada was ably governed and defended -by Marshal de Montcalm, a man of great military experience and talent, -and highly esteemed for his noble character by the colonists and the -Indians, vast tribes of whom he had won over to his interest by his -courtesy and conciliatory manner, whilst the English had as much -disgusted them by their haughty surliness. But Pitt had picked his men -for the occasion, and especially for the grand _coup-de-main_, the -taking of Quebec. He formed his whole plan himself, and though it was -not perfect, and was greatly criticised by military men, it succeeded -though not in effecting the combination which he contemplated, in all -its parts. - -[Illustration: ADMIRAL RODNEY BOMBARDING LE HÂVRE. (_See p._ 132.)] - -The left of his operations was entrusted to General Prideaux with -a body of colonial militia, and Sir William Johnson with another -of friendly Indians, over whom he had a wonderful ascendency. This -united force was to march against the fort of Niagara, reduce it, -and then, crossing Lake Ontario, advance on Montreal. The centre -of his operations was entrusted to General Amherst, who superseded -Abercrombie. With twelve thousand men he was again to attempt -Ticonderoga, open the navigation of Lake Champlain, and then, joining -Prideaux and Johnson at Montreal, descend the St. Lawrence to support -Wolfe, who was to be conveyed by sea to the St. Lawrence, and to -prepare for the storming of Quebec, it being hoped that, by the time of -his arrival, the two other divisions of the army would have come up. - -In pursuance of this plan of the campaign, Prideaux and Johnson arrived -before the fort of Niagara in the middle of July, which they found very -strong, and garrisoned by six hundred men. Prideaux was soon killed by -the bursting of a shell, but Johnson continued the siege with great -ability, having to invest the fort on one hand, whilst he was menaced -on the other by a mixed body of French and Indians, one thousand seven -hundred in number, who came to relieve the fort. The attack upon him -commenced with a terrible war-whoop of the Indians, which, mingling -with the roar of the great cataract near, made the most horrible din -imaginable. But this did not disconcert the English and their savage -allies, who received them with such steady courage, that in less than -an hour they were put to the rout in sight of their own garrison, and -pursued for five miles with dreadful slaughter. The garrison thereupon -capitulated, remaining prisoners of war. There, however, Sir William -Johnson's career stopped. From various causes, not foreseen, he was not -able to advance beyond the Ontario to unite with Amherst. That general -had fully succeeded in taking Ticonderoga and Crown Point, but he found -the French so strongly posted on an island at the upper end of Lake -Champlain, that he was compelled to stop and build boats to enable his -army to reach and dislodge them; and it was not till October that he -was ready to proceed, when he was driven back repeatedly by tempests, -and compelled to go into winter quarters. - -Wolfe, meanwhile, had reached the St. Lawrence in June, on board a -fleet commanded by Admiral Saunders. The navigation of that river was -considered very dangerous, but in ascending they captured two small -store-ships, and found on board some excellent charts of the river, -which enabled the admiral to ascend safely. On the 27th of June the -army was landed on the Isle of Orleans, in the middle of the St. -Lawrence, in front of Quebec. - -The Canadas at that period contained only about sixty thousand souls, -Quebec about seven thousand. But the city occupies a most formidable -site. It stands on a steep and rocky promontory running into the left -bank of the St. Lawrence, about a hundred leagues from its mouth, and -where the river, from a breadth of from twelve to twenty miles, rapidly -narrows to about one mile. The city is built part on the rocky heights, -part on the slopes below. Up the river from the city rose still higher -and almost inaccessible steeps, called the Heights of Abraham, and, on -the other hand, the side of the city down the stream was bounded by the -river St. Charles, which there runs into the St. Lawrence. The stretch -of ground between the St. Charles and the stream of Montmorency, some -miles lower, called Beauport, was connected by a bridge with Quebec. -On this ground, as the most accessible side of the city, Montcalm -had encamped his army, consisting altogether of ten thousand French, -Canadians, and Indians. - -Wolfe raised batteries at Point Levi and on the island, and bombarded -the town, but he could not draw the wary Montcalm from his strong -position. In his front lay the river and some unapproachable sandbanks, -behind and around him rocks and dense woods inaccessible. Once only -he made a rush across the river, and endeavoured, with a detachment -of one thousand six hundred men, to gain the batteries on Point Levi; -but his troops soon saw the attempt to be hopeless, and retired. No -measures were neglected by Wolfe, on his part, to draw Montcalm from -his position. He marched along the banks of the Montmorency opposite to -him, and made feints as if he would cross it somewhere above him, but -to no purpose--Montcalm knew his advantage. Wolfe wrote home, that if -Montcalm had but shut himself up in Quebec, he could have taken the -town very easily, but he could not readily force him from his admirable -position. Growing at length impatient, he determined to attack him -where he was, and he dispatched Admiral Holmes up the river with a -number of transports, as though he contemplated something in that -quarter. He then landed, on the 31st of July, a body of troops near the -mouth of the Montmorency, which there falls three hundred feet into the -St. Lawrence. He had discovered a ford at some distance up the river, -and dispatched Brigadier Townshend to cross there and attack Montcalm -in flank, whilst he himself, by means of the ships and their boats, -gained the beach and attacked in front. The _Centurion_ man-of-war was -placed to engage a battery which swept the place of landing, and then -the troops were conveyed in boats, which drew little water, towards -the shore. Some of these, however, got entangled amongst rocks, and -created a delay in getting them off. By this time the French were -hurrying down towards the landing-place with their artillery, and began -to fire murderously from the banks above upon them. Wolfe, seeing that -Townshend would cross the ford before they were ready to co-operate, -sent an officer to recall him. At this time, the Grenadiers having -reached the beach, rushed forward upon the entrenchments before the -rest of the troops could be got out of the boats to support them. They -were met by such a destructive fire that they were compelled to fall -back with much slaughter. By this time night was setting in, attended -by a storm, the roaring of which, mingling with the roar of the mighty -St. Lawrence as the tide fell, seemed to warn them to recover their -camp. The word was given to re-cross the river, and they made good -their retreat without the French attempting to pursue them, though the -Indians lurked in the rear to scalp such of the dead and such of the -wounded as could not be brought off. - -Wolfe then held a council with his two next in command, the Brigadiers -Monckton and Townshend, and they resolved, as a desperate attempt, -to move up the river, and thus endeavour to draw Montcalm from his -unassailable position. Accordingly, leaving detachments to defend the -Isle of Orleans and Point Levi, the rest of the army ascended the St. -Lawrence for some miles, and pitched their camp on the right bank. To -attract still more attention, Admiral Holmes was ordered to put his -vessels in active motion for some days, as if seeking a landing-place -higher up the river. This stratagem, however, produced no other result -than that of Montcalm sending a detachment of one thousand five hundred -men to watch their proceedings. He himself maintained his old ground. - -Completely disheartened by this result, Wolfe for a moment felt despair -of his object, and in that despairing mood, on the 9th of September, he -wrote to Pitt. He said that, "to the uncommon strength of the country, -the enemy had added, for the defence of the river, a great number -of floating batteries and boats; that the vigilance of the Indians -had prevented their effecting anything by surprise; that he had had -a choice of difficulties, and felt at a loss how to proceed; and he -concluded with the remark, that his constitution was entirely ruined, -without the consolation of having done any considerable service to the -State, or without any prospect of it." - -But the despondency of Wolfe was but for a moment. Suddenly a new -idea--an inspiration, it seemed--burst upon him: he would scale the -Heights of Abraham--the point where no mortal ascent was dreamed of, -and which therefore was less defended, except by nature, than the rest -of the vicinity of the city. The ships were immediately ordered to make -a feint, under Admiral Saunders, opposite Montcalm's camp at Beauport, -and those under Holmes, at a point higher up the river. Attention being -thus drawn from himself, on the night of the 12th of September, when it -was pitch dark and the tide flowing, he put across the river to a small -inlet about two miles above Quebec, which ever since bears the name of -Wolfe's Cove. - -They succeeded in landing unobserved by any of the sentinels posted -along the shore, where they had to wait for the boats fetching over the -second detachment, there not being boats enough. Before this arrived, -they began to climb the rocks by a narrow track, so steep and rugged -that they could only ascend by clinging to the bushes and projecting -crags. Directly above their heads was a watch-post of a captain and a -hundred and fifty men. There, as they drew near the summit, Colonel -Howe--a brother of Lord Howe, who fell at Ticonderoga--leading the van, -the watch became aware of a noise, and fired down the rocks, directed -by the sound. The English soldiers imprudently returned the volley -upwards, instead of reserving it until they had gained the ascent. They -continued their scramble up, however, with redoubled ardour, and the -French, on their sudden appearance, panic-struck, fled. The second -detachment soon followed them, and the whole little army stood on the -heights above the town before the break of day. - -When Montcalm was informed of this wonderful feat, he thought it merely -some new feint to draw him from his lines; but when he had ascertained -with his own eyes the truth, he said, "I see them, indeed, where -they ought not to be; but, as we must fight, I shall crush them." He -immediately led his troops over the bridge of the St. Charles, and up -to the eminence above the town. There he found the English already -advanced in order of battle to within cannon-shot of Quebec. Wolfe -had drawn them up with much judgment. His left wing was formed in -what military men call _en potence_--that is, facing two ways, so as -to guard against being outflanked. In this wing, too, he had placed -a regiment of Highlanders, one of those which Pitt had formed, and -which had already shown its bravery. His right, extending towards the -St. Lawrence, had in the van the Grenadiers who had distinguished -themselves at the taking of Louisburg, supported by a regiment of the -line. Wolfe had taken his post on this wing. The sailors had managed -to drag up one cannon, and they had seized four other small guns at -the battery they had passed; that was all their artillery. But in -this respect Montcalm was no better off, for in his haste he had only -brought along with him two guns. He had ordered a cloud of Indians to -hover on the left of the English, and had lined the thickets and copses -with one thousand five hundred of his best marksmen. These concealed -skirmishers fired on the advancing pickets of the English with such -effect, that they fell back in confusion; but Wolfe hastened forward, -encouraged them to dash on, and ordered the first line to reserve their -fire till within forty yards of the enemy. The men well obeyed the -order, and marched briskly on without firing a shot, whilst the French -came hurrying forward, firing as they came. They killed many of the -English, but, as soon as these came within the forty yards' distance, -they poured a steady and well-directed a volley into the enemy that -did dreadful execution. Wolfe, with characteristic enthusiasm, was in -the front line, encouraging them by voice and action, and in less than -half an hour the French ranks broke, and many began to fly. Meanwhile -Wolfe, exposing himself to the very hottest fire, had been wounded in -the wrist by nearly the first discharge; and he had scarcely wrapped -his handkerchief around it, when another bullet hit him in the groin. -Still appearing to pay no attention to these serious wounds, he was -in the act of inciting his men to fresh efforts, when a ball pierced -his chest, and he fell. He was carried to the rear, and, whilst he -seemed to be in the very agony of death, one of those around him cried, -"See how they run!" "Who run?" exclaimed Wolfe, raising himself, with -sudden energy, on his elbow. "The enemy," replied the officer; "they -give way in all directions." "God be praised!" ejaculated Wolfe; "I -die happy!" and, falling back, he expired. Nearly at the same moment -Brigadier Monckton was severely wounded, and Brigadier Townshend took -the command, and completed the victory. Montcalm, also, had fallen. He -was struck by a musket-ball whilst endeavouring to rally his men, and -was carried into the city, where he died the next day. When told that -he could not live--"So much the better," replied this brave and able -man; "I shall not then live to see the surrender of Quebec." His second -in command was also mortally wounded, and being taken on board the -English ships, also died the next day. Of the French, one thousand five -hundred had fallen, and six hundred and forty of the English. On the -18th September, five days after the battle, the city capitulated, the -garrison marching out with the honours of war, and under engagement to -be conveyed to the nearest French port. Other fragments of the defeated -army retired to Montreal. - -Whilst this glorious news came from the West, from the East arrived -tidings equally stirring. In India Colonel Coote, afterwards famous -as Sir Eyre Coote, defeated the French under Lally, and made himself -master of all Arcot. General Ford defeated the Marquis de Conflans, and -took Masulipatam, and afterwards defeated a detachment of Dutch, which -had landed from Java to aid our enemies in Bengal. Ford completely -routed them, and took the seven ships which had brought them over, and -which lay in the Hooghly. - -At sea, Sir Edward Hawke attacked the French fleet under Admiral -Conflans at the mouth of the Vilaine in Quibéron Bay. The situation, -amid rocks and shoals, and with a sea running high, so late in the -year as the 20th of November, was most perilous, but Hawke scorned -all danger, attacked the French fleet close under their own shores, -took two men-of-war, sank four more, including the admiral's ship, -the _Soleil Royal_, and caused the rest, more or less damaged, to -take refuge up the river. Two of our own vessels were stranded in -the night, but their crews and stores were saved. For this brilliant -action, which crippled the French navy for the remainder of the war, -Hawke was thanked by Parliament, received from the king a pension of -one thousand five hundred pounds a-year for his own and his son's life, -and, in the next reign, was raised to the peerage. Thurot, meanwhile, -had escaped out of Dunkirk, but with only five ships, which kept out of -the way by seeking shelter in the ports of Sweden and Norway. - -In Germany, Frederick of Prussia was hard put to it. A fresh army of -Russians, under General Soltikow, advanced to the Oder, and another -army of Austrians, under Laudohn, advanced to form a junction with -them. To prevent this, Frederick sent General Wedel to encounter the -Russians, but he was defeated by them on the 23rd of July, with heavy -loss. Frederick himself then hastened against them, but, before his -arrival, the Austrians had joined Soltikow, making a united force -of sixty thousand, which Frederick attacked, on the 12th of August, -with forty-eight thousand, at the village of Kunersdorf, close to -Frankfort-on-the-Oder. At first he was successful; but, attempting to -push his advantages, he was completely beaten, the whole of his army -being killed or scattered to three thousand men. So completely did his -ruin now seem accomplished, that, expecting the Russians, Austrians, -Poles, Swedes, and Saxons to come down on him on all sides, he once -more contemplated taking the poison that he still carried about him; -wrote a letter to that effect to his Prime Minister, and directed the -oath of allegiance to be taken to his nephew, and that his brother, -Prince Henry, should be regent; but finding that the Russians, who had -lost twenty thousand men, were actually drawing off, he again took -courage, was soon at the head of thirty thousand men, and with these -was hastening to the relief of Dresden, when he was paralysed by the -news that General Finck, with twelve thousand men, had suffered himself -to be surrounded at Maxen, and compelled to surrender. Despairing of -relieving Dresden during this campaign, Frederick eventually took up -his winter quarters at Freiberg, in Saxony, and employed himself in -raising and drilling fresh soldiers; compelled, however, to pay his -way by debasing both the Prussian coin, and the English gold which he -received in subsidy, by a very large alloy. - -[Illustration: DEATH OF WOLFE. (After the Painting by Benjamin West, -P.R.A.)] - -Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick was more successful. He was at the -head of an army of fifty-five thousand men, including ten or twelve -thousand English, under Lord George Sackville. As the French had -taken Frankfort-on-the-Main, he left the British and Hanoverian -troops, amounting to twenty-eight thousand men, to watch the French, -under Marshal de Contades, upon the Lippe, and set out to drive back -the other divisions of the French, under De Broglie. He found these -amounted to thirty-five thousand strong, but he did not hesitate -to engage them at Bergen, on the Nidda, near Frankfort. After a -hard-fought battle, he was defeated with a loss of two thousand men -and five pieces of cannon. De Broglie pushed rapidly after him, formed -a junction with Contades, and speedily reduced Cassel, Münster, and -Minden. There appeared every prospect of the whole Electorate of -Hanover being again overrun by them. The archives were once more sent -off to Stade, ready for embarkation. But Ferdinand now displayed -the superiority of his generalship. He left five thousand of his -troops, with an air of carelessness, in the way of the French, who, -unsuspicious of any stratagem, hastened forward to surprise them, when, -to their astonishment, they found the whole of Ferdinand's army had -been brought up in the night, and were drawn up behind a ridge near -Minden. - -To approach Ferdinand's forces, the French were obliged to pass -a narrow ground between a river and a marsh, and were so cramped -that they committed the very error which cost them the battle of -Blenheim. They placed the cavalry in the centre, and made wings of -their infantry. The cavalry made a succession of furious charges on -Ferdinand's centre, but this stood compact and immovable, till the -French horse, being discouraged, the Allies charged in their turn, and -the centre of the army, the cavalry, being thus driven back, the whole -line gave way. At this moment Ferdinand sent orders to Lord George -Sackville to charge with the cavalry, which had been kept in reserve, -and thus complete the destruction of the flying French. But Lord -George, who had been constantly quarrelling with Ferdinand, as well as -his own second in command, the Marquis of Granby, now did not appear to -comprehend a succession of orders, and sat still. But Ferdinand, having -lost patience, sent word to the Marquis of Granby to advance, and he -promptly obeyed, but it was now too late; the French had got half an -hour's start. Thus the English cavalry was deprived of all share in -the victory; but the English foot had borne the chief brunt of the -attack, being in the centre. Six British regiments, in fact, for a time -maintained the whole shock of the French. Sackville was tried by court -martial, and dismissed from all his military appointments. The battle -of Minden was fought on the 1st of August, 1759. - -The Parliament of England met on the 13th of October. Pitt, not without -cause, assumed much merit from the successes of the year; and, in -truth, so far as military matters went, rarely had this country reaped -such fame. We had triumphed in every quarter of the world. In January -came the news of the capture of Goree; in June, of Guadeloupe; in -August, that of the victory of Minden; in September, of the victory off -Lagos; in October, of the conquest of Quebec; in November, of Hawke's -victory off Quiberon. Horace Walpole said, "victories came so thick, -that every morning we were obliged to ask what victory there was, for -fear of missing one." At the same time, the condition of our trade -warranted the inscription afterwards placed on Chatham's monument in -the Guildhall, that he caused commerce to flourish with war. - -The earliest martial event of the year 1760 was the landing of Thurot, -the French admiral, at Carrickfergus, on the 28th of February. He had -been beating about between Scandinavia and Ireland till he had only -three ships left, and but six hundred soldiers. But Carrickfergus being -negligently garrisoned, Thurot made his way into the town and plundered -it, but was soon obliged to abandon it. He was overtaken by Captain -Elliot and three frigates before he had got out to sea, his ships were -taken, he himself was killed, and his men were carried prisoners to -Ramsey, in the Isle of Man. - -In April the French made an attempt to recover Quebec. -Brigadier-General Murray had been left in command of the troops, six -thousand in number, and the fleet had returned to England. The Marquis -de Vaudreuil, now the French governor at Montreal, formed a plan of -dropping down the St. Lawrence the moment the ice broke up, and before -the mouth of the river was clear for ships to ascend from England. He -therefore held in readiness five thousand regular troops, and as many -militia, and the moment the ice broke in April, though the ground was -still covered with snow, he embarked them in ships and boats under the -command of Chevalier de Levis, an officer of reputation. On the 28th of -that month they were within sight of Quebec. They had landed higher -up than where Wolfe did, and were now at the village of Sillery, not -far from Wolfe's place of ascent. Murray, who had only about three -thousand men available for such a purpose, the rest having been reduced -by sickness, or being needed to man the fortifications, yet ventured -to march out against them. He was emulous of the fame of Wolfe, and -attacked this overwhelming force with great impetuosity, but was -soon compelled to retire into Quebec with the loss of one thousand -men killed and wounded. This was a serious matter with their scanty -garrison, considering the numbers of the enemy, and the uncertainty of -the arrival of succour. - -Levis, who knew that his success depended on forestalling any English -arrivals, lost no time in throwing up trenches and preparing batteries. -Had the river continued closed, Quebec must soon have reverted to the -French; but, on the 11th of May, the English were rejoiced to see a -frigate approaching, and this, only four days after, was followed -by another frigate and a ship of the line. These, commanded by Lord -Colville, immediately attacked and destroyed or drove on shore the -French flotilla, and at that sight Levis struck his tents and decamped -as rapidly as he came, leaving behind him his baggage and artillery. -Nor was the Marquis de Vaudreuil left long undisturbed at Montreal. -The three expeditions, which had failed to meet the preceding summer, -were now ordered to converge on Montreal--Amherst from Lake Ontario, -Haviland from Crown Point, and Murray from Quebec. Amherst had been -detained at Oswego by an outbreak of the Cherokees against us. This -native tribe had been friendly to us, and we had built a fort in -their country, and called it Fort Loudon, after Lord Loudon; but in -the autumn of 1759 they had been bought over by the French, and made -a terrible raid on our back settlements, murdering and scalping the -defenceless inhabitants. Mr. Lyttelton, the Governor of South Carolina, -marched against them with a thousand men, and compelled them to -submission; but no sooner had he retired than they recommenced their -hostilities, and Amherst sent against them Colonel Montgomery, with one -thousand two hundred men, who made a merciless retaliation, plundering -and burning their villages, so as to impress a sufficient terror upon -them. - -Amherst had now ten thousand men; and though he had to carry all his -baggage and artillery over the Ontario in open boats, and to pass the -rapids of the upper St. Lawrence, he made a most able and prosperous -march, reducing the fort of Île Royale on the way, and reached the -isle of Montreal on the very same day as Murray, and a day before -Haviland. Vaudreuil saw that resistance was hopeless, and capitulated -on the 8th of September. The French were, according to contract, sent -home, under engagement not to come against us during the remainder of -the war. Besides this, Lord Byron chased a squadron of three frigates, -convoying twenty store-ships to Quebec, into the Bay of Chaleur, and -there destroyed them. Thus all the French possessions in North America, -excepting the recent and feeble settlement of New Orleans, remained in -our hands. - -The war in Germany grew more and more bloody. Russia and Austria came -down upon Frederick this year with great forces. Daun entered Saxony; -Laudohn and Soltikow, Silesia. Laudohn defeated Fouqué at Landshut, -and took the fortress of Glatz, and compelled Frederick, though hard -pressed by Daun, to march for Silesia. The month was July, the weather -so hot that upwards of a hundred of his soldiers fell dead on the -march. Daun followed him, watching his opportunity to fall upon him -when engaged with other troops, but on the way Frederick heard of the -defeat of Fouqué and the fall of Glatz, and suddenly turned back to -reach Dresden before Daun, and take the city by storm; but as Daun was -too expeditious for him, and Maguire, the governor, an Irishman, paid -no heed to his demands for surrender, Frederick, who had lately been so -beautifully philosophising on the inhumanities of men, commenced a most -ferocious bombardment, not of the fortress but of the town. He burnt -and laid waste the suburbs, fired red-hot balls into the city to burn -it all down, demolished the finest churches and houses, and crushed -the innocent inhabitants in their flaming and falling dwellings, till -crowds rushed from the place in desperation, rather facing his ruthless -soldiers than the horrors of his bombardment. - -Prevented by the arrival of Daun from utterly destroying Dresden, -though he had done enough to require thirty years of peace to restore -it, Frederick marched for Silesia. Laudohn, who was besieging Breslau, -quitted it at his approach; but the Prussian king, who found himself -surrounded by three armies, cut his way, on the 15th of August, at -Liegnitz, through Laudohn's division, which he denominated merely -"a scratch." He was instantly, however, called away to defend his -own capital from a combined army of Russians under Todleben, and of -Austrians under Lacy, another Irishman; but before he could reach them -they had forced an entrance, on the 9th of October. The Russians, -departing from their usual custom of plunder, touched nothing, but -levied a contribution of one million seven hundred thousand dollars on -the city. At Frederick's approach they withdrew. - -But there was no rest for Frederick. Daun was overrunning Saxony; had -reduced Leipsic, Wittenberg, and Torgau. Frederick marched against him, -retook Leipsic, and came up with Daun at Torgau on the 3rd of November. -There a most sanguinary battle took place, which lasted all day and -late into the night. Within half an hour five thousand of Frederick's -grenadiers, the pride of his army, were killed by Daun's batteries of -four hundred cannon. Frederick was himself disabled and carried into -the rear, and altogether fourteen thousand Prussians were killed or -wounded, and twenty thousand of the Austrians. This scene of savage -slaughter closed the campaign. The Austrians evacuated Saxony, with the -exception of Dresden; the Russians re-passed the Oder, and Frederick -took up his winter quarters at Leipsic. - -Prince Ferdinand this summer had to contend with numerous armies of the -French. De Broglie marched from Frankfort into Hesse with a hundred -thousand men. On the 10th of July they met the hereditary Prince of -Brunswick at Corbach, and defeated him, though he gained a decided -advantage over them a few days after at Emsdorf, taking the commander -of the division and five battalions prisoners. This was followed by -Ferdinand himself, who was at Warburg, where he took ten pieces of -artillery, killed one thousand five hundred of the French, and drove -them into the Dimel, where many were drowned. The British cavalry had -the greatest share in this victory. In fact, the Marquis of Granby led -them on all occasions with such spirit and bravery, that Ferdinand -placed them continually in the post of danger, where of course they -suffered more severely than the other troops. - -Notwithstanding these checks at Emsdorf and Warburg, the French -obtained possession of Göttingen and Cassel. Ferdinand attempted, but -in vain, to dislodge them from Göttingen, and the hereditary Prince, -attempting to surprise the Marquis de Castries at Wesel, was repulsed -with a loss of one thousand two hundred men at Closter-Campen, near -that town, and was compelled to retreat. This closed the campaign, and -the French took up their winter quarters at Göttingen and Cassel. - -Whilst these things were happening, and but two days before the mail -arrived bringing the news of the defeat at Closter-Campen, George II. -died. He had, till within the last two years, enjoyed robust health. -He had then a severe attack of gout, and from that time his eyes and -hearing had failed. On the morning of the 25th of October he rose at -his usual hour of six, drank his chocolate, inquired how the wind was, -being anxious for the arrival of the mails, and then suddenly fell, -uttered a groan, and expired. He was seventy-seven years of age. - -[Illustration: MARTELLO TOWER ON THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM, QUEBEC.] - - - - -[Illustration: GEORGE WHITEFIELD PREACHING. (_See p._ 143.)] - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -PROGRESS OF THE NATION FROM THE REVOLUTION TO 1760. - - The Church after the Revolution--The Non-Jurors--The Act of - Toleration--Comprehension Bill--Laxity of Religion--The Wesleys - and Whitefield--Foundation of Methodism--Extension of the - Movement--Literature--Survivors of the Stuart Period--Prose - Writers: Bishop Burnet--Philosophers: Locke--Bishop - Berkeley, etc.--Novelists: Fielding, Richardson, Smollett, - and Sterne--Dr. Davenant--Bentley--Swift--Addison--Addison - and Steele--Bolingbroke--Daniel Defoe--Lady Mary - Wortley Montagu--Poets: Pope--His Prose Writings--Gay, - Prior, Young, etc.--James Thomson, Allan Ramsay, - Gray, and Minor Lights--Dramatists--Physical Science: - Astronomers--Mathematicians--Electricians--Chemists--Medical - Discoverers--Music: Purcell--Italian Music--Handel--Church - Music--The Academy of Ancient Music and other - Societies--Architecture--Wren and his Buildings--St. Paul's--His - Churches and Palaces--Vanbrugh--Gibbs--Hawksmoor--Minor - Architects--Painting and Sculpture: Lely and Kneller--Other Foreign - Painters and Decorators--Thornhill--Other English Artists--Hogarth - and his Works--Exhibition of British Artists--Sculptors--Shipping, - Colonies, Commerce, and Manufactures--Increase of Canals--Woollen - and Silk Trades--Irish Linens--Lace--Iron, Copper, and other - Industries--Increase of the large Towns. - - -The Revolution of 1688, which overthrew absolutism in the State, -overthrew it also in the Church. The political principles of William -of Orange, and the Whigs who brought him in, were not more opposed to -the absolutism of the Stuarts than the ecclesiastical principles of -the new king and queen, and the prelates whom they introduced into the -Church, were to the high-churchism of Laud, Sancroft, Atterbury, and -their section of the Establishment. When Parliament, on the accession -of William and Mary, presented the Oath of Allegiance to the Lords -and Commons, eight of the bishops, including Sancroft, Archbishop of -Canterbury, refused it; and of these, five were of the number of the -seven who had refused to sign James II.'s Declaration of Indulgence, -and thus gave the immediate occasion to the outbreak ending in the -Revolution. Thus a fresh faction was produced in the Establishment, -that of the Non-jurors, who were, after much delay and patience, -finally excluded from their livings. As the existing law could not -touch the non-juring bishops so long as they absented themselves from -Parliament, where the oath had to be put to them, a new Act was passed, -providing that all who did not take the new oaths before the 1st of -August, 1689, should be suspended six months, and at the end of that -time, in case of non-compliance, should be ejected from their sees. -Still the Act was not rigorously complied with; they were indulged -for a year longer, when, continuing obstinate, they were, on the 1st -of February, 1691, excluded from their sees. Two of the eight had -escaped this sentence by dying in the interim--namely, the Bishops of -Worcester and Chichester. The remaining six who were expelled were -Sancroft, the Primate, Ken of Bath and Wells, Turner of Ely, Frampton -of Gloucester, Lloyd of Norwich, and White of Peterborough. In the room -of these were appointed prelates of Whig principles, the celebrated -Dr. Tillotson being made Primate. Other vacancies had recently or did -soon fall out; so that, within three years of his accession, William -had put in sixteen new bishops, and the whole body was thus favourable -to his succession, and, more or less, to the new views of Church -administration. - -Having obtained a favourable episcopal bench, King William now -endeavoured to introduce measures of the utmost wisdom and -importance--measures of the truest liberality and the profoundest -policy--namely, an Act of Toleration of dissent, and an Act of -Comprehension, by which it was intended to allow Presbyterian ministers -to occupy livings in the Church without denying the validity of their -ordination, and also to do away with various things in the ritual -of the Church which drove great numbers from its community. By the -Act of Toleration--under the name of "An Act for exempting their -Majesties' Protestant subjects dissenting from the Church of England -from the penalties of certain laws"--dissenters were exempt from all -penalties for not attending church and for attending their own chapels, -provided that they took the new oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy, and -subscribed to the declaration against Transubstantiation, and also that -their chapels were registered, and their services conducted without the -doors being locked or barred. As the Quakers would take no oaths, they -were allowed to subscribe a declaration of fidelity to the Government, -and a profession of their Christian belief. - -But the Comprehension Bill was not so fortunate. Ten bishops, with -twenty dignified clergymen, were appointed as a commission to make -such alterations in the liturgy and canons, and such plans for the -reformation of the ecclesiastical courts as, in their opinion, best -suited the exigencies of the times, and were necessary to remove -the abuses, and render more efficient the services of the Church. -The list of these commissioners comprised such men as Tillotson, -Stillingfleet, Sharp, Kidder, Hall, Tenison, and Fowler. They met -in the Jerusalem Chamber, and began their labours preparatory to -this great comprehensive bill. In order to sanction these changes, -Convocation was summoned, and then the storm broke loose. The Jacobites -and the discontented cried out they were going to pull the Church down; -the High Churchmen declared it was a scheme to hand over the Church -to the Presbyterians; the Universities cried that all the men engaged -in the plan were traitors to the true faith, and the king himself was -not spared. The High Churchmen who were included in the commission -fled out of it amain, and Convocation threw out the whole reform as -an abomination. Convocation having given this blow to all hopes of -ecclesiastical reform, was prorogued to the 24th of January, 1690, and -on the 6th of February was dissolved with the Parliament, nor was it -suffered to meet again for business till the last year of the reign of -William. - -Burnet describes the state of religion and intelligence in the nation -at the period of Anne's reign as most lamentable, the clergy as "dead -and lifeless: the most remiss in their labours in private, and the -least severe in their lives," of all that he had seen amongst all -religions at home or abroad; the gentry "the worst instructed and -the least knowing of any of their rank that he ever went amongst;" -and the common people beyond all conception "ignorant in matters of -religion." The words of Atterbury, a high Tory, were quite as strong. -A description of the state of religion in the country, drawn up by -him, was presented by Convocation to the queen, which stated that "the -manifest growth of immorality and profaneness," "the relaxation and -decay of the discipline of the Church," the "disregard to all religious -places, persons, and things," had scarcely had a parallel in any age. -Dr. Calamy, a great Nonconformist, equally complains that the "decay of -real religion, both in and out of the Church," was most visible. Under -the Georges much the same state of affairs prevailed. The episcopal -bench was Whig, though very apathetic; while the clergy were Tory, and -disinclined to listen to their superiors. - -It was at this era of religious apathy that John Wesley (_b._ 1703; -_d._ 1791), and Charles, his brother (_b._ 1708; _d._ 1788), and -George Whitefield (_b._ 1714), came forward to preach a revival, and -laid the foundation of Methodism. These young men, students at Oxford, -all of them originally of clerical families but Whitefield--who was -the son of an innkeeper--with Hervey, afterwards the author of the -well-known "Meditations amongst the Tombs," and some others of their -fellow-collegians, struck by the dearth of religious life of the time, -met in their rooms for prayer and spiritual improvement. They were soon -assailed with the nicknames of "Sacramentarians," "Bible Moths," and -finally, "Methodists," a term current against the Puritans in those -days, and suggested by the appellative _Methodistæ_, given to a college -of physicians in ancient Rome, in consequence of the strict regimen -which they prescribed to their patients. - -In 1734 the Wesleys commenced their career as preachers to the -people, and were soon followed by Whitefield. This may, therefore, be -considered the date of the foundation of Methodism. None of them had -any the remotest idea of separating from the Church, or founding new -sects. The Wesleys made a voyage to Georgia, in America, and, on their -return, found their little party not only flourishing in Oxford but -in London, where they had a meeting-house in Fetter Lane. Whitefield, -however, was the first to commence the practice of field-preaching, -amongst the colliers at Kingswood, near Bristol; but in this he was -soon imitated by Wesley. As they began to attract attention by the -ardour of their preaching and the wonderful effect on the people, -this became necessary, for speedily all church doors were closed -against them. John Wesley had a peculiar genius for the construction -of a new religious community, and he was ready to collect hints for -its organisation from any quarter. The most prolific source of his -ordinances for his new society was the system of the Moravians, -whose great settlement at Herrnhuth, in Germany, he visited, and had -much consultation with its head, Count Zinzendorf. From it he drew -his class-meetings, his love-feasts, and the like. In framing the -constitution of his society, Wesley displayed a profound knowledge of -human nature. He took care that every man and woman in his society -counted for something more than a mere unit. The machinery of -class-meetings and love-feasts brought members together in little -groups, where every one was recognised and had a personal interest. -Numbers of men, who had no higher ambition, could enjoy the distinction -of class-leaders. It did not require a man to go to college and take -orders to become a preacher. Thomas Maxwell with Wesley, and Howel -Harris with Whitefield, led the way from the plane of the laity into -the pulpits of Methodism, and have been followed by tens of thousands -who have become able if not learned, and eloquent if not Greek-imbued, -preachers. Wesley divided the whole country into districts, into -which he sent one or more well-endowed preachers, who were called -circuit preachers, or round preachers, from their going their rounds -in particular circuits. Under the ministry of these men sprang up -volunteer preachers, who first led prayer-meetings, and then ascended -to the pulpit in the absence of the circuit preachers, and most of -them soon discovered unexpected talents, and edifying their own local -and often remote or obscure little auditories, became styled local -preachers. Out of these local preachers ever and anon grew men of large -minds and fertilising eloquence, who became the burning and shining -lights of the whole firmament of Methodism. It was Wesley's object not -to separate from the Church, and it was only after his death that the -Wesleyans were reckoned as Nonconformists. - -Whitefield and Wesley soon separated into distinct fields of labour, -as was inevitable, from Whitefield embracing Calvinism and Wesley -Arminianism. Whitefield grew popular amongst the aristocracy, from the -Countess of Huntingdon becoming one of his followers, and, at the same -time, his great patron. Whitefield, like the Wesleys, made repeated -tours in America, and visited all the British possessions there. When -in England, he generally made an annual tour in it, extending his -labours to Scotland and several times to Ireland. On one of his voyages -to America he made some stay at Lisbon. Everywhere he astonished -his hearers by his vivid eloquence; and Benjamin Franklin relates a -singular triumph of Whitefield over his prejudices and his pocket. -He died at Newbury Port, near Boston, United States, on the 30th of -September, 1770. If Whitefield did not found so numerous a body as -Wesley, he yet left a powerful impression on his age; and we still -trace his steps, in little bodies of Calvinistic Methodists in various -quarters of the United Kingdom, especially in Wales. - -[Illustration: JOHN WESLEY.] - -The literature of this period is more distinguished for learning and -cleverness than for genius. There are a few names that rise above the -smartness and mere accomplishment of the time into the regions of pure -genius; but, with very few exceptions, even they bear the stamp of the -period. We have here no Milton, no Shakespeare, no Herbert, no Herrick -even, to produce; but De Foe, Addison, Steele, Thomson, and Pope, if -they do not lift us to the highest creative plane, give us glimpses and -traits of what is found there. For the rest, however full of power, -there hangs a tone of "town," of a vicious and sordid era, about -them, of an artificial and by no means refined life, a flavour of the -grovelling of the politics which distinguished the period, and of the -low views and feelings which occupied and surrounded the throne during -the greater portion of this term. - -Some of the writers of the last period were still existing in this. -Dryden was living, and wrote some of his most perfect works, as his -"Fables," and his "Alexander's Feast," as well as translated Virgil -after the Revolution. He was still hampered by his miserable but far -more successful dramatic rivals, Shadwell and Elkanah Settle. Nathaniel -Lee produced in William's time his tragedies, "The Princess of Cleves," -and his "Massacre of Paris." Etherege was yet alive; Wycherley still -poured out his licentious poems; and Southern wrote the greater part -of his plays. His "Oronooko" and his "Fatal Marriage" were produced -now, and he received such prices as astonished Dryden. Whilst "Glorious -John" never obtained more than a hundred pounds for a play, Southern -obtained his six or seven hundred. - -[Illustration: From the Picture in the National Gallery of British Art. - -DOCTOR JOHNSON IN THE ANTE-ROOM OF LORD CHESTERFIELD, WAITING FOR AN -AUDIENCE, 1748. - -BY E. M. WARD, R.A.] - -[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE JERUSALEM CHAMBER, WESTMINSTER ABBEY.] - -We may satisfy ourselves as to William's appreciation of poetry by -the fact that Shadwell was his first poet-laureate and Nahum Tate the -next. Dr. Nicholas Brady and Nahum Tate made the version of the Psalms -which long disgraced the Church Service. Sir William Temple, Baxter, -Sir George Mackenzie, Stillingfleet, and Evelyn, as well as some others -flourishing at the end of the last period, still remained. - -Amongst the earliest of the prose writers may be mentioned the -theological authors. Cumberland was the author of a Latin treatise, -"De Legibus Naturæ," in which he successfully combated the infidelity -of Hobbes. Bull, who, as well as Cumberland, became a bishop, -distinguished himself before the Revolution by his "Harmonia -Apostolica," an anti-Calvinistic work, and by his "Defensio Fidei -Nicenæ." In 1694 he published his "Judicium Ecclesiæ Catholicæ." John -Norris, of the school of Cudworth and Henry More, and nearly the last -of that school called the English Platonists, published, besides many -other works, his "Essay on the Ideal World" in 1701 and 1702. He also -wrote some religious poetry of no particular mark. - -Tillotson and South were the great authors of sermons of this period. -Tillotson was one of the most popular preachers of the time, but may -be said to have done more good by his liberal and amiable influence -at the head of the Church than by his preaching. There is a solid and -genuinely pious character about the sermons of Tillotson which suited -the better-trained class of mind of his age, but which would now be -deemed rather heavy. South has more life and a more popular style; -he was therefore more attractive to the courtiers of his day than to -the sober citizens, and he has larded his text with what were then -deemed sprightly sallies and dashing phrases, but which are now felt as -vulgarisms. Both divines, however, furnished succeeding preachers with -much gleaning. - -Dr. Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury (_b._ 1643) who figures so -prominently in the reign of William and Mary, and who rendered such -essential service to the establishment of religious liberty, is the -great historian of his time. Without his narratives of his own period, -we should have a very imperfect idea of it. With all his activity -at Court and in Parliament, he was a most voluminous writer. His -publications amount to no less than a hundred and forty-five, though -many of these are mere tracts, and some of them even only single -sermons. His earliest productions date from 1669, and they continued, -with little intermission, to the time of his death in 1715--a space of -forty-six years. His great works are "The Reformation of the Church," -in three volumes, folio, 1679, 1681, and 1715; and his "History of -His Own Times," in two volumes, published after his death in 1724. -Burnet lays no claim to eloquence or to much genius, and he has -been accused of a fondness for gossip, and for his self-importance; -but the qualities which sink all these things into mere secondary -considerations are his honesty and heartiness in the support of sound -and liberal principles far beyond the majority of his fellow prelates -and churchmen. Whilst many of these were spending their energies in -opposing reform and toleration, Burnet was incessantly, by word and -pen, engaged in assisting to build up and establish those broad and -Christian principles under which we now live. Besides the great works -named, he wrote also "Memoirs of James and William, Dukes of Hamilton;" -"Passages in the Life and Death of Wilmot, Earl of Rochester;" a "Life -of Bishop Bedell;" "Travels on the Continent;" "An Exposition of the -Thirty-nine Articles," etc. etc. - -Dr. Thomas Burnet is known for his eloquent and able History of -the Earth, "Telluris Sacra Theoria," first published in Latin, and -afterwards in English. This work, on which his fame rests, was greatly -read and admired at the time, but the discoveries of modern science -have reduced it to mere ingenious but unfounded theory. He was also -author of "Archæologica Philosophica," and some lesser treatises. - -The great philosopher of this period was John Locke (_b._ 1632; -_d._ 1704). Locke had much to do with the governments of his time, -and especially with that extraordinary agitator and speculator, -Ashley, Lord Shaftesbury, whom he attended in his banishment, and -did not return till the Revolution. Yet, though so much connected -with government, office, and the political schemers, Locke remained -wonderfully unworldly in his nature. His philosophical bias, no doubt, -preserved him from the corrupt influences around him. He was a staunch -advocate of toleration, and wrote three letters on Toleration, and left -another unfinished at his death. In these he defended both religious -and civil liberty against Jonas Proast and Sir Robert Filmer, advocates -of the divine right of kings. His "Thoughts on Education" and his -"Treatises on Government" served as the foundations of Rousseau's -"Emile" and his "Contrat Social." Besides these he wrote numerous works -of a theological kind, as "The Vindication of the Reasonableness of -Christianity;" and in his last years, "A Discourse upon Miracles," -"Paraphrases of St. Paul," and "An Essay for the Understanding of -St. Paul's Epistles;" a work "On the Conduct of the Understanding," -and "An Examination of Father Malebranche's Opinion of Seeing all -Things in God." But his great work is his "Essay concerning the Human -Understanding." This may be considered the first pure and systematic -treatise on metaphysics in the English language; and though the pursuit -of the science since his time has led to the rejection of many of his -opinions, the work will always remain as an able and clearly-reasoned -attempt to follow the method of Bacon in tracing the nature and -operations of the understanding. - -In the department of philosophy flourished also Bishop Berkeley (_b._ -1684; _d._ 1753), author of "The Principles of Human Knowledge," -whostartled the world with the theory that matter has no existence in -the universe, but is merely a fixed idea of the mind; Dr. Mandeville, -a Dutchman by birth, who settled in London, and published various -medical and metaphysical works of a freethinking character; Hutchinson, -an opponent of Dr. Woodward in natural history, and Newton in natural -philosophy; and David Hartley, author of "Observations on Man." Bishop -Butler, Warburton, Hoadley, Middleton, author of "A Free Inquiry -into the Miraculous Powers of the Church," and Secker, Archbishop of -Canterbury, were the leading theologians in the Church; but Dissent -could also boast of its men of light and leading in Dr. Isaac Watts, -author of a system of Logic and of the popular Hymns; Calamy, the -opponent of Hoadley; Doddridge, and others. - -In the department of novel writing, no age had yet produced such a -constellation as Fielding, Richardson, Sterne, and Smollett. Their -works are still read with admiration by all who have a relish -for vivid and masterly delineations of life; their only drawback -being, that they are all more or less stained with the grossness and -licentiousness of the age. From these faults Samuel Richardson (_b._ -1689; _d._ 1761) is most free, and in his "Sir Charles Grandison" -he hasshown himself ahead of his age in the wisdom and liberality -of his ideas. He discountenanced duelling, and taught the soundest -principles of honour and morality. The photographic minuteness of his -style prevents the general reading of his works in the present day -of abundant new literature. The principal novels of Henry Fielding -(_b._ 1707; _d._ 1754), "Joseph Andrews," "Tom Jones," and "Amelia," -abound in wit, vigour, and knowledge of human nature. He wrote also -some plays, and edited several periodicals. His sister, Sarah, also -wrote "David Simple," a novel, and translated Xenophon's "Memoirs -of Socrates." Tobias Smollett (_b._ 1721; _d._ 1771) paints life in -strong, bold, but somewhat coarse lines, full of vigour, but with -even more grossness than Fielding uses. "Peregrine Pickle," "Count -Fathom," "Roderick Random," "Humphrey Clinker," and "Sir Launcelot -Greaves," if not now generally read, have been carefully studied and -made use of by some of our modern novelists. Smollett, besides, wrote -plays, satires, poems, and edited "The Briton," a weekly newspaper. -Laurence Sterne (_b._ 1713; _d._ 1768) struck out a style of writing -peculiar to himself, and which still defies all successful imitation. -Notwithstanding attempts to represent his pathos as grimace, and his -humour as tinsel, the felicity of touch in "Tristram Shandy," and the -flashes of wit and feeling in his "Sentimental Journey," will, in spite -of detractors, and of the occasional indecency of the author, always -send readers to Sterne. - -One of the pioneers of the science of political economy at this time -was Dr. Davenant, the son of Sir William Davenant, the poet. He had -no genius for drawing principles and theories from accumulated facts, -but he was a diligent collector of them, and his porings amongst State -documents and accounts have served essentially the historians and -political economists of our day. - -During this period Richard Bentley, Master of Trinity College, -Cambridge, and archdeacon of Ely, figures prominently as one of the -most profound classical scholars that Great Britain has produced, -and, at the same time, as one of the most quarrelsome, arrogant, and -grasping of men. The circumstance which made the most noise in his -career was his controversy with the Hon. Charles Boyle regarding the -authenticity of the Epistles of Phalaris and the Fables of Æsop. In -this dispute he had to contend with Drs. Atterbury, French, King, -and Smallridge, who made the reply to him in their "Examination of -Bentley's Dissertation on the Epistles," in the name of Boyle. Swift -also attacked him in "The Battle of the Books." The controversy made an -immense noise at the time, and Bentley completely proved his assertion, -that both the Epistles of Phalaris and the Fables of Æsop, in their -present form, are spurious. The services of Bentley in publishing -corrected editions of various classical works are of no ordinary kind. -Amongst the authors who have received the benefit of his critical -touches are Aristophanes, Cicero, Menander, Philemon, Horace, Nicander, -Phædrus, and Homer. In his editions of Horace and Homer, however, -he laid himself open to severe criticism by his rash and arbitrary -emendations of the text, and still more so by his edition of Milton's -"Paradise Lost," from the same cause. In this case he showed that he -was as deficient in the Italian and romantic learning, which Milton had -made himself master of, as he was great in his own classical field. -Bentley displayed himself as a theologian of great distinction by his -refutation of Collins's "Discourse of Freethinking," and his lectures -at Oxford in defence of the Christian religion. - -With "The Battle of the Books" appeared "The Tale of a Tub;" and though -these were anonymous, it was soon well known that they were from the -hand of Jonathan Swift, a friend of Harley and Bolingbroke, who now -assumed a position in the public eye destined to be rendered yet more -remarkable. Swift was of English parentage, but born in Dublin in -1667. He was educated at Kilkenny and the University of Dublin. In -early life he became private secretary to Sir William Temple, and at -this time he wrote his "Tale of a Tub," which cut off all his hopes -of a bishopric. He edited a selection from the papers of Temple, and -then accompanied Lord Berkeley to Ireland as chaplain. Disappointed of -the preferment which he had hoped for, he went over from the Whigs to -the Tories in 1710, and thenceforward was an unscrupulous adherent of -Harley and Bolingbroke, defending all their measures in the "Examiner," -and pouring out his vengeance on all opponents with unflinching -truculence. In his political character Swift has been styled the great -blackguard of the age, and certainly with too much truth. In spite of -rare intellectual power, wit, and sarcasm, no principle or tenderness -of feeling restrained him in his attacks on his enemies. If Harley and -Bolingbroke are guilty of inflicting the disgraceful peace of Utrecht -on the nation, simply to avenge themselves on the Whigs, no man so -thoroughly abetted them in that business as Swift. His "Conduct of the -Allies," his "Public Spirit of the Whigs," and other political tracts -and articles, bear testimony to his unscrupulous political rancour. -His "Drapier's Letters," and his treatment of Wood in the affair of -the Irish halfpence, show that no means, however base and false, came -amiss to him in serving the objects of his ambition. The great work of -Swift is his "Gulliver's Travels," a work characterised by a massive -intellect and a fertile invention, but defiled by the grossness that -was inseparable from his mind, and that equally pollutes his poems, -in which there is much wit and humour, but not a trace of pathos -or tenderness. There is none of that divine glow of love and human -sympathy, mingled with the worship of beauty and truth, which courts -our affections in the works of the greatest masters. When we are told -that Swift's grossness is merely the grossness of the time, we point -to "Robinson Crusoe," to "The Seasons" and "Castle of Indolence" of -Thomson, and to the works of Addison, for the most admirable contrast. -Swift--who died in the famous year of the '45--was one of the most -vigorous writers of the age, but he was one of the most unamiable. He -was the Mephistopheles of the eighteenth century. - -What a contrast immediately presents itself in the generous nature -of Steele, in the genial and pure writings of Addison! Both Addison -and Steele were poets, Steele principally a dramatic poet, of -considerable success; Addison was the author of "Cato," a tragedy, -and the "Campaign," celebrating the victory of Blenheim, with other -poems. But the reputation of both Steele and Addison rests on their -prose. They were the introducers of essay and periodical writings, -and carried these to a perfection which has never been surpassed. -Richard Steele (_b._ 1671; _d._ 1729) has the honour of originating -this new department of literature--a departmentwhich has grown into -such importance, that the present age would scarcely know how to exist -without it. He started the "Tatler" in 1709, issuing it three times a -week, and was joined by Addison in about six weeks. The interest with -which this new literary paper was expected at the breakfast tables of -that day, can only be likened to that which the morning papers now -excite. In 1711, the "Tatler" having come to an end, the "Spectator" -was started on the same plan, jointly by Steele and Addison, and, this -ceasing in 1712, in the following year the "Guardian" took its place. -Steele was the largest contributor to the "Tatler" and "Guardian," -Addison to the "Spectator." Various of their contemporaries furnished -papers, Swift amongst the rest, but there are none which can compare -with the vigorous, manly writing of Steele, and the elegant, and often -noble, compositions of Addison. The mixture of grave and gay was -admirable. In these papers we find abundant revelations of the spirit -and manners of the times. The characters of Sir Roger de Coverley, -Will Wimble, etc., have an imperishable English interest. The poetic -and generous nature of Joseph Addison (_b._ 1672) was demonstrated -by his zealous criticisms on Milton's "Paradise Lost," which mainly -contributed to rescue it from the neglect which it had experienced. -Addison, after Sir Philip Sidney, was the first to call attention to -our old popular ballads, "Chevy Chase" and "The Babes in the Wood," the -eulogies on which probably led Bishop Percy to the collection of the -precious "Reliques" of the ballad lore of former ages. The "Spectator" -and "Guardian" were published daily. Steele afterwards published the -"Englishman," with which Addison had no concern, and it only reached -to fifty-seven numbers. These two fellow-labourers, both in literature -and Parliament, after nearly fifty years' friendship, were sundered -by a mere political difference--the question of limiting the royal -prerogative of creating peers, in 1719, the last year of Addison's life. - -Bolingbroke (_b._ 1678; _d._ 1751) must be named with the prose writers -of the age. Amongst his writings there is little that will now interest -the reader. He wrote in a brilliant and pretentious style, as he acted; -and his writings, like his policy, are more showy than sound. As a cold -sceptic in religion, and a Jacobite in politics, proud and essentially -selfish in his nature, we are not likely to find anything from his -pen which can strongly attract us, or is calculated to benefit us. In -the Tory party, to which he belonged, he was one of those brilliant -and self-complacent apparitions, which have all the qualities of -the meteor--dazzling, but speedily sinking into darkness, though his -"Patriot King" had some temporary influence, and even furnishes the -keynote to some of the earlier writings of Lord Beaconsfield. - -[Illustration: HENRY FIELDING. (_The Portrait by Hogarth; the Border by -James Basire._)] - -A very different man was patriotic Daniel Defoe (_b._ 1663; _d._ 1731). -Defoe, who was engaged in trade, and was the introducer of pantiles, -was a thorough Whig, or, as we should now call him, a Radical in -politics. He was one of those rare men who look only at the question -before them, and who are, therefore, found almost as often calling -to account the party to which they nominally belong, as rebuking the -faction to which they are opposed. His principle was essentially -"measures, not men," and thus he was one of the zealous supporters of -Godolphin and his ministry in accomplishing the union with Scotland; -and equally so of Harley and Bolingbroke, for establishing a commercial -treaty with France. He was much more useful to reform than liked by -so-called reformers, and was continually getting into trouble for his -honest speaking. From the age of twenty-three to that of fifty-eight, -his pen had scarcely a moment's rest from advocating important -political and social subjects, and there was a force of reason, a -feeling of reality, a keenness of wit and satire, in his compositions -that gave them interest and extensive attention. - -But whilst his political efforts did their work in his lifetime, his -literary labours are the basis of his present fame. These were almost -all produced after his sixtieth year; "Robinson Crusoe," by far the -most popular of all his writings and one of the most popular in all -the world's literature, "The Dumb Philosopher," "Captain Singleton," -"Duncan Campbell," "Moll Flanders," "Colonel Jacque," "The Journal of -the Plague," "The Memoirs of a Cavalier," "The Fortunate Mistress; or, -Roxana," "The New Voyage round the World," and "Captain Carleton." The -life and fidelity to human nature with which these are written have -continually led readers to believe them altogether real narratives. -The "Journal of the Plague" was quoted as a relation of facts by Dr. -Mead; Chatham used to recommend "The Memoirs of a Cavalier" as the -best account of the Civil War; Dr. Johnson read the life of "Captain -Carleton" as genuine, and we continually see the story of "Mrs. Veal's -Ghost," written by Defoe to puff Drelincourt's heavy "Essay on Death," -included in collections as a matter-of-fact account of an apparition. -This quality of verisimilitude is one of the greatest charms of his -inimitable "Crusoe," which is the delight of the young from age to age. - -Amongst the prose writers of this period a lady stands prominent, -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (_b._ 1690; _d._ 1762), the daughter of the -Duke of Kingston, and mother of Lady Bute, the wife of the Earl of -Bute, the celebrated Minister of George III. Lady Mary derives her -chief fame from her Letters, which were not published till after her -death. They are as remarkable for their wit, brilliancy, and clear, -thorough sense, as any of the writings of the age. In these we have a -most graphic picture of life in the East, as she had lived some years -at Constantinople with her husband. She thence conferred one of the -greatest boons on her country, by the introduction of inoculation for -the smallpox. Lady Mary translated the "Enchiridion of Epictetus," and -wrote many verses, including satirical ones, called "Town Eclogues;" -but her fame must always rest upon her clear and sparkling letters. She -was celebrated for her wit and beauty, and was a leading figure in the -fashionable as well as the literary world. Pope and she were long great -friends, but quarrelled irreconcilably. - -At the head of the poets of this period stands Alexander Pope, who -became the founder of a school which has had followers down to our -own time. Pope was the poet of society, of art, and polish. His life -was spent in London and in the country, chiefly between Binfield, in -Windsor Forest, and Twickenham; and his poetry partakes very much of -the qualities of that scenery--rich, cultivated, and beautiful, but -having no claims to the wild or the sublime. He is opposed to poets -like Milton and Shakespeare as pastures and town gardens are opposed to -seas, forests, and mountains. In style he is polished to the highest -degree, piquant, and musical; but, instead of being profound and -creative, he is sensible, satiric, and didactic. He failed in "the -vision and the faculty divine," but he possessed fancy, a moderate -amount of passion, and a clear and penetrating intellect. He loved -nature, but it was such only as he knew--the home-scenes of Berkshire -and the southern counties, the trained and polished beauties in his -gardens, the winding walks and grottoes at Twickenham. Mountains he had -never seen, and there are none in his poetry. He was born in the year -of the Revolution, and died in 1744, aged fifty-six; and, considering -that he suffered from a feeble constitution and defective health, he -was a remarkably industrious man. His pastorals appeared in Tonson's -"Miscellany" when he was only twenty-one years old. Before this he -had translated the first book of the "Thebais," and Ovid's "Epistle -from Sappho to Phaon;" paraphrased Chaucer's "January and May," and -the prologue to "The Wife of Bath's Tale." In two years after his -"Pastorals" appeared his "Essay on Criticism" (1711). "The Messiah" and -"The Rape of the Lock" were published in 1712--the year in which the -"Spectator" died. "The Rape of the Lock" celebrated the mighty event -of the clipping of a lock of hair from the head of Miss Belle Fermor -by Lord Petre. This act, adorned with a great machinery of sylphs -and gnomes, a specimen of elegant trifling, enchanted the age, which -would have less appreciated grander things, and placed Pope on the -pinnacle of fame. In 1713 he published "Windsor Forest," a subject for -a pleasant but not a great poem, yet characteristic of Pope's genius, -which delighted in the level and ornate rather than the splendid and -the wild. In 1715 appeared the first four books of his translation -of Homer's "Iliad," which was not completed till 1720. This still -continues the most popular translation of the great heroic poet of -Greece; for although it is rather a paraphrase of this colossal yet -simple poem, and therefore not estimated highly by Greek scholars who -can go to the original, it has that beauty and harmony of style which -render it to the English reader an ever-fascinating work. In 1717 -appeared his "Epistle from Eloisa to Abelard," a poem displaying more -passion than any other of Pope's writings, but too sensuous, and the -subject itself far from well chosen. Next succeeded his "Odyssey" of -Homer, in conjunction with Fenton and Broome, and in 1728 the first -three books of "The Dunciad," in which he took a sweeping vengeance on -the critics and poetasters of the time, who had assailed him fiercely -on all sides, with John Dennis at their head. The vigour with which -Pope wielded the satiric lash excited the wonder of the public, which -had seen no such trenchant production hitherto in the language, and -filled the whole host of flayed and scalded dunces with howls of wrath -and agony. Pope was not sparing of foul language in his branding of -others, and they were still more obscene and scurrilous in their -retorts. It is questionable whether they or Pope felt the most torture; -for, so far from silencing them, they continued to kick, sting, and -pelt him with dirt so long as he lived. So late as 1742 he published -a fourth book of the satire, to give yet one more murderous blow to -the blackguard crew. Besides this satire, he modernised an edition -of Donne's Satires, and produced his "Essay on Man," his "Epistle -on Taste," his "Moral Essays," and other poems, down to 1740. His -"Essay on Man," "Moral Essays," etc., display shrewd sense, and a keen -perception of the characteristics of human nature and of the world; yet -they do not let us into any before unknown depths of life or morals, -but, on the contrary, are, in many particulars, unsound. In fact, these -productions belong by no means to poetry, of which they exhibit no -quality, and might just as well have been given in prose. On the whole, -Pope is a poet whose character is that of cleverness, strong intellect, -carefully-elaborative art, much malice, and little warmth or breadth -of genuine imagination. He reflects the times in which he lived, which -were corrupt, critical, but not original, and he had no conception of -the heavens of poetry and soul into which Milton and Shakespeare soared -before him, and Keats, Shelley, Coleridge, Wordsworth and Tennyson in -our time have wandered at large. - -The strong sense, lively fancy, and smart style of his satires, -distinguished also Pope's prose, as in his "Treatise of the Bathos; or, -the Art of Sinking in Poetry;" his "Memoirs of P. P., Clerk of this -Parish"--in ridicule of Burnet's "Own Times"--his Letters, etc. In some -of the last he describes the country and country seats, and the life -there of his friends; which shows that, in an age more percipient of -the charm of such things, he would have probably approached nearer to -the heart of Nature, and given us something more genial and delightful -than anything that he has left us. - -Dr. Arbuthnot, a great friend of Pope and Swift, was also one of the -ablest prose writers, "The Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus," published -in Pope's and Swift's works, and the political satire of "John Bull," a -masterly performance, being attributed to him. - -John Gay, a contemporary of Pope, Swift, and Arbuthnot, is now best -known by his "Fables" and his "Beggar's Opera." His "Fables" have been -extremely popular, and still make him a general name; but, in his own -time, his "Beggar's Opera" was his great success. Its wit, its charming -music, its popular characters, gave it a universal favour; and it is -the only English opera that even to this time has become permanent. -Gay's "Trivia; or, the Art of Walking the Streets of London," is still -amusing, and some of his ballads have a lightness and buoyancy about -them which justify the esteem in which he was held. - -Matthew Prior had a high reputation in his day as a poet, but his -poetry has little to recommend it now. He was the more popular as a -poet, no doubt, because he was much employed as a diplomatist in Queen -Anne's reign by the Tory party. His "City and Country Mouse," written -in conjunction with Lord Halifax, in ridicule of Dryden's "Hind and -Panther," may be considered as one of his happiest efforts. - -Sir Samuel Garth, author of "The Dispensary," a mock-heroic poem in six -cantos, and Sir Richard Blackmore, another physician, and author of -a whole heap of epics in ten or twelve books each--as "King Arthur," -"King Alfred," "Eliza," "The Redeemer," etc.--may still be found in -our collections of verse, but are rarely read. Dr. Young's "Night -Thoughts" yet maintain their place, and are greatly admired by many, -notwithstanding his stilted style and violent antithesis, for amid -these there are many fine and striking ideas. - -Still more have "The Seasons" and "The Castle of Indolence" of James -Thomson retained, and are likely to retain, the public favour. "The -Seasons" is a treasury of the life and imagery of the country, animated -by a true love of Nature and of God, and abounding in passages of -fire, healthy feeling, and strong sense, often of sublime conceptions, -in a somewhat stiff and vicious style. "The Castle of Indolence" is -a model of metrical harmony and luxurious fancy, in the Spenserian -stanza. Another poet of the same time and country--Scotland--is Allan -Ramsay, who, in his native dialect, has painted the manners and sung -the rural loves of Scotland in his "Gentle Shepherd" and his rustic -lyrics. Till Burns, no Scottish poet so completely embodied the -spirit, feelings, and popular life of his country. Amongst a host of -verse-makers, then deemed poets, but who were merely imitators of -imitators, we must except Gray, with his nervous lyrics, and, above -all, his ever-popular "Elegy in a Country Churchyard." Gray also has a -genuine vein of wit and merriment in his verse. Collins was a poet who -under happier conditions might have done the greatest things. Parnell's -"Hermit," Blair's "Grave," Shenstone's "School Mistress," Akenside's -"Imagination," can yet charm some readers, and there are others in -great numbers whose works yet figure in collections of the poets, or -whose individual poems are selected in anthologies, as Smith, King, -Sprat Bishop of Rochester, Duke, Montague Earl of Halifax, Nicholas -Rowe, Dyer--author of the "Fleece," "Grongar Hill," and "Ruins of -Rome,"--Sheffield, Duke of Buckinghamshire, Fenton, Somerville--author -of "The Chase," "Field Sports," etc.,--Hammond--author of "Love -Elegies,"--Lord Lyttelton, Mallet, Mickle--author of the ballads of -"Cumnor Hall," "There's Nae Luck about the House," and translator -of the "Lusiad" of Camoens,--Shaw, Harte, West, Cawthorne, Lloyd, -Gilbert Cooper, Grainger--author of "The Sugar Cane," and the once -popular ballad of "Bryan and Pereene,"--Dodsley, poet and bookseller, -Boyse--author of "The Deity," a poem, etc.,--Smollett--more remarkable -as a novelist and historian,--Michael Bruce, Walsh, Falconer--author -of "The Shipwreck,"--Yalden, Pattison, Aaron Hill, Broome, Pitt--the -translator of Virgil,--John Philips--author of "Cider," a poem, "The -Splendid Shilling," etc.,--West, and others. In fact, this age produced -poets enough to have constituted the rhythmical literature of a nation, -had they had as much genius as they had learning. - -Besides the miscellaneous poets, the dramatic ones numbered -Congreve, Vanbrugh, Farquhar, Colley Cibber, Nicholas Rowe--already -mentioned--Savage, Lansdowne, Ambrose Philips, and others. In many of -the plays of these authors there is great talent, wit, and humour, -but mingled with equal grossness. Congreve's dramas are principally -"The Old Bachelor," "The Incognita," "The Double Dealer," "The Way of -the World," comedies, and "The Mourning Bride," a tragedy. Vanbrugh, -the celebrated architect, produced "The Relapse," "The Provoked -Wife," "The Confederacy," "The Journey to London," and several other -comedies. Farquhar's principal plays are "The Beaux's Stratagem," -"Love and a Bottle," and "The Constant Couple." Savage was the author -of the tragedy of "Sir Thomas Overbury;" Nicholas Rowe, of five or -six tragedies and one comedy, the most popular of which are "The Fair -Penitent" and "Jane Shore." Rowe also translated Lucan's "Pharsalia." -As for Colley Cibber, he was a mere playwright, and turned out above -two dozen comedies, tragedies, and other dramatic pieces. Lord -Lansdowne was the author of "The She-gallants," a comedy, and "Heroic -Love," a tragedy of some merit; and John Hughes wrote "The Siege of -Damascus," a tragedy, which long remained on the stage. - -James Bradley (_b._ 1692), who succeeded Halley as the third Astronomer -Royal, held that post till 1762, when he died. He had in 1728 -distinguished himself by his discovery of an unanswerable proof of the -motion of the earth by his observations on the apparent alteration -in the place of a fixed star. His second great discovery was that -of the mutation of the earth's axis, showing that the pole of the -equator moves round the pole of the elliptic, not in a straight but -in a waving line. Bradley gave important assistance to the Ministry -in their alteration of the calendar in 1751, and the vast mass of -his observations was published after his death, by the University of -Oxford, in two volumes, in 1798. - -[Illustration: COSTUMES OF THE PERIOD OF GEORGE II.] - -Halley's quadrant was constructed and made known by him to the -Philosophical Society, in 1731, though Thomas Godfrey, a glazier, of -Philadelphia, is said to have made a similar instrument a year before. -As early, however, as 1727 Newton had described such an instrument to -Halley, that is, a very little time before his death. This invaluable -instrument has since been improved, first into a sextant, and -ultimately into a complete circle. In 1758 appeared John Dollond's -corrections of Newton's views of the dispersion of refracted light, and -in the following year his achromatic telescope, based on his accurate -discoveries. - -In 1720 Colin Maclaurin, the successor of James Gregory in the -mathematical chair at Edinburgh, published his "Geometrical Organica," -a treatise on curves; in 1742 his admirable treatise on Fluxions; -and in 1748 his treatise on Algebra. Dr. Robert Simson, professor -of mathematics at Glasgow, published a restoration of the "Loci" of -Apollonius, and an English translation of Euclid, which continued -down to a late period in use, both in Scotland and England. In 1717 -James Stirling published a Latin treatise on lines of the third order, -and another on Fluxions, called "Methodus Differentialis," in 1730. -William Emerson, a mathematician and mechanist, wrote on fluxions, -trigonometry, mechanics, navigation, algebra, optics, astronomy, -geography, dialling, etc., but a considerable portion was only in part -published during this period. Thomas Simpson, a weaver, of Market -Bosworth, at the age of seven-and-twenty suddenly discovered himself as -an extraordinary mathematician, and went on till his death, in 1761, -publishing works on fluxions, the nature and laws of chance, on mixed -mathematics, on the doctrine of annuities and reversions, on algebra, -elementary geometry, trigonometry, etc. James Ferguson, also, the son -of a day-labourer, in Banffshire, studied mathematics whilst tending -sheep, and published a number of works on the phenomena of the harvest -moon, astronomy, mechanics, hydrostatics, pneumatics, and optics. -Ferguson had a remarkably lucid and demonstrative style, both in -writing and lecturing, and his example excited a keen spirit of inquiry -amongst the working classes, so that he is said to have diffused the -knowledge of physical science amongst the class from which he sprang -more than any other man. - -In electricity great strides were made. Between the years 1705 and 1711 -Francis Hawksbee published in the Transactions of the Royal Society -several experiments, in which he had, for the first time, discovered -the production of the electric spark by friction, and electrical -attraction and repulsion. In 1720 Stephen Gray, a pensioner of the -Charterhouse, published the result of his experiments on this subject, -with a list of the substances which showed electricity under friction; -and in 1732 he discovered the conducting property of non-electrical -bodies. Before 1739, Dufray, keeper of the King's Garden at Paris, -discovered the repellent power of two similarly-electrified bodies, -and the attraction of these positively and negatively electrified--or, -as he termed it, possessing the vitreous and the resinous electricity. -Cuneus and Lallemand discovered the mode of accumulating the electric -fluid in what was called the Leyden jar in 1745. This discovery gave a -new impetus to inquiry, and Nollet, in France, and Watson, in England, -conceived the hypothesis of the jar being overcharged on one side and -undercharged on the other. This growing perception of the positive -and negative conditions of the electric fluid received confirmation -from the experiments of Benjamin Franklin, in America. Franklin soon -improved the Leyden jar into an electrical battery; and, in 1752, -he proved the identity of electricity and lightning by his grand -experiment of the kite. On this he recommended lightning conductors, -which, however, were not used in England till ten years afterwards. - -On the laws of heat and cold, and atmospheric changes under their -influence, many interesting facts were ascertained by the aid of the -thermometers of Fahrenheit and Réaumur. Dr. Martin, of St. Andrews, -distinguished himself in these inquiries, and published his discoveries -and deductions in 1739 and 1740. In 1750 Dr. Cullen drew attention -to some curious facts connected with the production of cold by -evaporation. Dr. Joseph Black discovered what he called latent heat, -and continued his researches on this subject beyond the present period. - -Chemistry also received valuable extensions of its field. Dr. John -Mayow published new facts respecting nitre, and on the phenomena of -respiration and combustion, as revealed by experiments on this and -other substances. At the commencement of the eighteenth century Stahl, -a German chemist, propounded his theory of phlogiston as the principle -of combustion, which was only exploded by the further discoveries -of Dr. Black, Cavendish, and Priestley. Soon after, Dr. Hales threw -new light on aëriform bodies, or, as they are now termed, gases; and -finally, Dr. Black demonstrated the presence of a gas in magnesia, -lime, and the alkalies, which had long before been noticed by Van -Helmont, but had been forgotten. This was then termed fixed air, but -has now acquired the name of carbonic acid gas, or carbon dioxide. -At the end of this period chemistry was extensively studied, and was -rapidly revealing its secrets. - -The kindred science of medicine was also in marked advance. Dr. Thomas -Sydenham, who died in 1689, at the very commencement of this period, -had prepared the way for a more profound knowledge of the science by -his careful and persevering observation of facts and symptoms; and -the improvements he introduced guided medical men in the treatment of -disease till the end of this period. Anatomical science was greatly -advanced at this era by Malpighi, Steno, Ruysch, Duverney, Morgagni, -Albinus, Haller, and other Continental physicians. In England Humphrey -Ridley published a work on the brain in 1695, and William Cowper, -in 1698, his anatomical tables, said to be borrowed from the Dutch -anatomist, Bidloo. In 1726 Alexander Munro published his "Osteology;" -he was also founder of the Medical School of Edinburgh. In 1733 -William Cheselden, the most expert operator of his day, published his -"Osteography." In 1727 Stephen Hales published his "Vegetable Statics," -and in 1733 his "Hæmastatics," which carried both vegetable and animal -physiology beyond all preceding knowledge either here or abroad. -Zoology and comparative anatomy also received some progress from the -labours of Nehemiah Grew, Tyson, Collins, and other members of the -Royal Society. - -Music advanced at an equal rate with its sister arts, and during this -period added to its conquests the compositions of Purcell and Handel. -William was too much engaged in war to become a patron of music, or -of any of the fine arts, and his queen, Mary, does not appear to have -possessed much taste for it. She is related by Sir John Hawkins to -have sent for Purcell and Mrs. Arabella Hunt, a famous singer, to -entertain her. Mrs. Hunt sang some of Purcell's splendid compositions, -and Purcell accompanied them on the harpsichord; but Mary soon grew -weary of these, and called on Mrs. Hunt to sing the Scottish ballad, -"Cold and Raw!" - -Henry Purcell (_b._ 1658; _d._ 1695) produced the bulk of his works in -William's reign. He composed the music to "The Tempest," "Dioclesian," -"King Arthur," "Don Quixote," "Bonduca," and "Orpheus Britannicus." -Many parts of these, and his sonatas, anthems, catches, rounds, -glees, etc., are as much enjoyed now as in his own day. The music to -Davenant's "Circe," by Banister, of Shadwell's "Psyche," by Lock, -and of Dryden's "Albion and Albanius," by Grabut, had increased in -England the liking for the lyrical drama; but Purcell's compositions -wonderfully strengthened it, and from "King Arthur" may properly be -dated the introduction of the English opera. Gay's "Beggar's Opera," -six-and-thirty years after, however, was the first complete and avowed -opera, and this did not establish that kind of entertainment in -England. The wonderful success of this production, which was performed -for sixty-two nights (not consecutive), was chiefly derived from the -wit and satire of the composition itself, the abundance of popular airs -introduced, and the party feeling which it gratified. The airs were -selected and adapted by Dr. Pepusch, a German, who settled in London, -and became celebrated there. He also furnished the overture, and wrote -accompaniments to the airs. Eleven years after, Milton's "Comus" was -adapted to the stage by the Rev. Dr. Dalton, with music by Dr. Arne, -who afterwards composed the music for "Artaxerxes," and thence derived -a high reputation. - -The taste for Italian music was now every day increasing; singers of -that nation appeared with great applause at most concerts. In 1703 -Italian music was introduced into the theatres as _intermezzi_, or -interludes, consisting of singing and dancing; then whole operas -appeared, the music Italian, the words English; and, in 1707, Urbani, a -male soprano, and two Italian women, sang their parts all in Italian, -the other performers using English. Finally, in 1710, a complete -Italian opera was performed at the Queen's Theatre, Haymarket, and -from that time the Italian opera was regularly established in London. -This led to the arrival of the greatest composer whom the world had -yet seen. George Frederick Handel was born at Halle, in Germany, in -1685. He had displayed wonderful genius for music as a mere child, -and having, at the age of seven years, astonished the Duke of Saxe -Weissenfels--at whose court his brother-in-law was a valet--who -found him playing the organ in the chapel, he was, by the Duke's -recommendation, regularly educated for the profession of music. At -the age of ten, Handel composed the church service for voices and -instruments; and after acquiring a great reputation in Hamburg--where, -in 1705, he brought out his "Almira"--he proceeded to Florence, where -he produced the opera of "Rodrigo," and thence to Venice, Rome, and -Naples. After remaining in Italy four years, he was induced to come -to England in 1710, at the pressing entreaties of many of the English -nobility, to superintend the opera. But, though he was enthusiastically -received, the party spirit which raged at that period soon made it -impossible to conduct the opera with any degree of self-respect and -independence. He therefore abandoned the attempt, having sunk nearly -all his fortune in it, and commenced the composition of his noble -oratorios. Racine's "Esther," abridged and altered by Humphreys, was -set by him, in 1720, for the chapel of the Duke of Chandos at Cannons. -It was, however, only by slow degrees that the wonderful genius of -Handel was appreciated, yet it won its way against all prejudices -and difficulties. In 1731 his "Esther" was performed by the children -of the chapel-royal at the house of Bernard Gates, their master, -and the following year, at the king's command, at the royal theatre -in the Haymarket. It was fortunate for Handel that the monarch was -German too, or he might have quitted the country in disgust before -his fame had triumphed over faction and ignorance. So far did these -operate, that in 1742, when he produced his glorious "Messiah," it -was so coldly received that it was treated as a failure. Handel, in -deep discouragement, however, gave it another trial in Dublin, where -the warm imaginations of the Irish caught all its sublimity, and gave -it an enthusiastic reception. On its next presentation in London his -audience reversed the former judgment, and the delighted composer -then presented the manuscript to the Foundling Hospital, where it was -performed annually for the benefit of that excellent institution, and -added to its funds ten thousand three hundred pounds. It became the -custom, from 1737, to perform oratorios on the Wednesdays and Fridays -in Lent. Handel, whose genius has never been surpassed for vigour, -spirit, invention, and sublimity, became blind in his latter years. He -continued to perform in public, and to compose, till within a week of -his death, which took place on April 13, 1759. - -[Illustration: MRS. ARABELLA HUNT SINGING TO QUEEN MARY. (_See p._ -155.)] - -Whilst this progress in operatic and sacred music was being made, the -Church Service had received some admirable additions. Jeremiah Clarke, -the Rev. Henry Aldrich, D.D., dean of Christ Church, John Weldon, -organist to Queen Anne, and Georges I. and II., and the Rev. Dr. Robert -Creighton, canon of Salisbury, composed many admirable pieces. William -Croft, Mus. Doc., is the author of thirty-one splendid anthems, and -Maurice Greene, Mus. Doc., of forty, which are still heard with solemn -delight in old choirs. William Boyce, Mus. Doc., organist to Georges -II. and III., added to these numerous anthems and services the oratorio -of "Solomon," and many other compositions of a superb character--one -of them the grand anthem performed annually at the Feast of the Sons -of the Clergy. Boyce also composed a variety of secular pieces of rare -merit. - -In 1710 was established the Academy of Ancient Music, the object of -which was to promote the study of vocal and instrumental harmony. -Drs. Pepusch, Greene, and other celebrated musicians were amongst its -founders. They collected a very valuable musical library, and gave -annual concerts till 1793, when more fashionable ones attracted the -public, and the society was dissolved. In 1741 was established the -Madrigal Society, the founder of which was John Immyns, an attorney. -It embraced men of the working classes, and held meetings on Wednesday -evenings for the singing of madrigals, glees, catches, etc. Immyns -sometimes read them a lecture on a musical subject, and the society -gradually grew rich. The composers of such pieces at this period were -such men as Purcell, Eccles, Playford, Leveridge, Carey, Haydn, Arne, -etc. Public gardens became very much the fashion, and in these, at -first, oratorios, choruses, and grand musical pieces were performed, -but, by degrees, gave way to songs and catches. Vauxhall, originally -called Spring Garden, established before the Revolution, became all -through this period the fashionable resort of the aristocracy, and to -this was added Ranelagh, near Chelsea College, a vast rotunda, to which -crowds used to flock from the upper classes on Monday, Wednesday, and -Friday evenings, to hear the music and singing. These performances -spread greatly the taste for music, and probably excited the alarm of -the puritanically religious, for there arose a loud outcry against -using music in churches, as something vain and unhallowed. Amongst -the best publications on the science of music during this period -were Dr. Holder's "Treatise on the Natural Grounds and Principles of -Harmony," 1694; Malcolm's "Treatise on Music, Speculative, Practical, -and Historical," 1721; Dr. Pepusch's "Treatise on Harmony," 1731; Dr. -Smith's "Harmonics; or, the Philosophy of Musical Sounds;" Avison's -"Essay on Musical Expression," 1752. Avison also published twenty-six -concertos for a band, which were much admired. - -[Illustration: HANDEL.] - -At this period, both the grand old styles of architecture, the Gothic -for ecclesiastical buildings, and the Tudor and Elizabethan for -palaces and mansions, had, for a time, run their course. A classical -or Italian fashion had come in, and the picturesque churches and halls -of our ancestors were deemed barbarous. Inigo Jones had introduced -the semi-classical style, and now Sir Christopher Wren and Vanbrugh -arose to render it predominant. Wren had the most extraordinary -opportunity for distinguishing himself. The fire of London had swept -away a capital, and to him was assigned the task of restoring it. -Wren (_b._ 1632; _d._ 1723) was descended from a clerical family. In -1651 he was appointed to the chair of astronomy at Gresham College; -three years afterwards to that of the Savilian professor at Oxford. -In 1661 he was appointed by Charles II. to assist Sir John Denham, -the surveyor-general, and in 1663 he was commissioned to examine the -old cathedral of St. Paul, with a view to its restoration in keeping -with the Corinthian colonnade which Inigo Jones had, with a strange -blindness to unity, tagged on to a Gothic church. The old church was -found to be so thoroughly dilapidated, that Wren recommended its entire -removal and the erection of another. This created a terrible outcry -amongst the clergy and citizens, who regarded the old fabric as a model -of beauty. - -Whilst these contentions were going on, Wren had entered fairly on -his profession of architect. He built the Sheldonian Theatre at -Oxford, begun in 1663, and completed in 1669; and the fine library -of Trinity College, Cambridge, and the beautiful square, Neville's -Court, to the same college. He also built the chapels of Pembroke and -Emmanuel Colleges, in the same university. In the erection of these, -he suffered, from the conceit and conflicting opinions of parties -concerned, a foretaste of the squabbles and contradictions which -rendered the whole period of the building of St. Paul's miserable. In -1665 he found leisure to visit Paris, and study the magnificent palaces -and churches with which Louis XIV. was embellishing his capital. -There he got a glimpse of the design for the Louvre, which Bernini, -the architect, showed him, but only for a moment; and he was in -communication with Mansard, Le Vau, and Le Pautre. - -On his return, the contentions regarding pulling down old St. Paul's -were rife as ever; but the following year the fire occurred, and -Wren was commissioned to make a plan for the rebuilding of the City. -He proposed to restore it on a regular plan, with wide streets and -piazzas, and for the banks of the river to be kept open on both sides -with spacious quays. But these designs were defeated by the ignorance -and selfishness of the inhabitants and traders, and the banks of the -Thames became once more blocked up with wharves and warehouses, narrow -and winding lanes; and Wren could only devote his architectural talent -to the churches, the Royal Exchange, and Custom House. These latter -buildings were completed in the three following years; they have since -both been burnt down and rebuilt. Temple Bar, a hideous erection, was -finished in the fourth year, 1670. All this time the commencement of -the new St. Paul's was impeded by the attempts of the commissioners -to restore the old tumbling fabric, and it was only by successive -fallings-in of the ruins that they were compelled to allow Wren to -remove the whole decayed mass, and clear the ground for the foundations -of his cathedral. These were laid in 1675, nine years after the fire, -and the building was only terminated in thirty-five years, the stone on -the summit of the lantern being laid by Wren's son, Christopher, 1710. -The choir, however, had been opened for divine service in 1697, in the -twenty-second year of the erection. - -During this long period Sir Christopher had been busily employed in -raising many other buildings; amongst these, the Royal Observatory, -Greenwich; St. Bride's; St. Swithin's; the Gateway Tower, Christ -Church, Oxford; St. Antholin's, Watling Street; the palace at -Winchester, never completed; Ashmolean Museum, and Queen's College -Chapel, Oxford; St. James's, Westminster; St. Clement's, Eastcheap; St. -Martin's, Ludgate Hill; St. Andrew's, Holborn; Christ Church, Newgate -Street; Hampton Court Palace, an addition; Morden College, Blackheath; -Greenwich Hospital; St. Dunstan's-in-the-East, tower and spire; -Buckingham House, since pulled down; and Marlborough House. - -His plan for his _chef-d'œuvre_, St. Paul's, like his grand plan for -the City, with its principal streets ninety feet wide, its second-rate -streets sixty, and its third-rate thirty, was rejected. This cathedral -was a composition compact and simple, consisting of a single general -octagonal mass, surmounted by a dome, and extended on its west side -by a portico, and a short nave or vestibule within. The great idea of -Wren was to adapt it to Protestant worship, and therefore he produced -a design for the interior, the parts of which were beautifully grouped -together so as to produce at once regularity and intricacy, yet -without those long side aisles and recesses, which the processions and -confessionals of Roman Catholic worship require. The whole long period -of Wren's erection of this noble pile was one continued battle with -the conceit, ignorance, and dogmatism of the commissioners, who made -his life a bitter martyrdom; and when we read the admired inscription -in St. Paul's, "_Si monumentum requiris, circumspice_," we behold, on -obeying its injunction, only what Wren did, not what he suffered in -doing it. - -The style of St. Paul's, and, indeed, of all Wren's churches, is -neither Grecian nor Gothic, but Italian, influenced by the fashion -which Bernini, the Italian architect of Louis XIV., had introduced -into France. It is a class of architecture of which the Grecian is the -basis, but which is so freely innovated upon as to leave little general -resemblance. In its different parts we have columns and pilasters -of every Grecian and, indeed, Roman order, pediments, peristyles, -architraves, and friezes, mingled up with windows of all sorts, and all -kinds of recesses and projections, the façades and intercolumniations -ornamented with festoons, and wreaths, and human masks, and the whole -surmounted by a great Eastern dome, and by campaniles partaking of all -the compilations of the main buildings. St. Paul's itself is a noble -building, notwithstanding the manifest gleanings from the antique and -the mediæval, and their combination into a whole which has nothing -original but their combination into one superb design. Besides St. -Paul's, the rest of Wren's churches are disappointing, and we cannot -avoid lamenting that he had lost the sense of the beauty of Gothic -architecture, especially when we call to mind the exquisite churches -of that style which adorn so many of the Continental cities. Whilst -the exteriors of Wren's churches show heavily in their huddled-up -situations in London streets, their interiors, in which much more of -the Grecian and Roman styles is introduced, are equally heavy, and -wanting in that pliant grace which distinguishes the interiors of -Gothic cathedrals. Perhaps the noblest work of Wren next to St. Paul's -is Greenwich Hospital, which is more purely Grecian, and therefore -displays a more graceful and majestic aspect. The Palace of Hampton -Court, attached to the fine old Tudor pile of Cardinal Wolsey, is a -great square mass, in which the Dutch taste of William is said to have -set aside Wren's original design. But surely William did not compel him -to erect that (in such circumstances) ponderous barbarism of a Grecian -colonnade in the second quadrangle of Hampton Court, attaching it to a -Gothic building. In fact, neither Wren nor Inigo Jones appears to have -had the slightest sense of the incongruity of such conjunctions. Jones -actually erected a Grecian screen to the beautiful Gothic choir of -Winchester Cathedral, and placed a Grecian bishop's throne in it, amid -the glorious canopy-work of that choir. The return to a better taste -swept these monstrosities away. - -The fame of Wren must rest on St. Paul's, for in palaces he was less -happy than in churches. His additions to Windsor Castle and St. -James's Palace, and his erection of Marlborough House are by no means -calculated to do him high honour, whilst all lovers of architecture -must deplore the removal of a great part of Wolsey's palace at Hampton -Court to make way for Wren's structure. A glorious view, if old -drawings are to be believed, must all that vast and picturesque variety -of towers, battlements, tall mullioned windows, cupolas, and pinnacles, -have made, as they stood under the clear heaven glittering in the sun. -The writers who saw it in its glory describe it in its entireness -as the most splendid palace in Europe. Of the campaniles of Wren, -that of St. Bride's, Fleet Street; of Bow Church, Cheapside; of St. -Dunstan's-in-the-East; and the tower of St. Michael's, Cornhill, are -the finest. The last is almost his only Gothic one, and would have been -a fine tower had the ornament been equally diffused over it, and not -all been crowded too near the top. Wren was thwarted in his design for -the London Monument. He drew a plan for one with gilt flames issuing -from the loop-holes, and surmounted by a phœnix, but as no such design -could be found in the five Orders, it was rejected, and the existing -commonplace affair erected. One of his last undertakings was the repair -of Westminster Abbey, to which he added the towers at the west end, -and proposed to erect a spire in the centre. Sir Christopher left a -large quantity of drawings, which are preserved in All Souls' College -library, Oxford. - -The next great architect of this period is Sir John Vanbrugh, who, -when in the zenith of his fame as a dramatic writer, suddenly started -forth as an architect, and had the honour of erecting Castle Howard, -the seat of the Earl of Carlisle; Blenheim House, built for the Duke -of Marlborough, in reward of his victories; Duncomb Hall, Yorkshire; -King's Weston, in Gloucestershire; Oulton Hall, Cheshire; Grimsthorpe, -in Lincolnshire; Eastbury, in Dorsetshire, now destroyed; and Seaton -Delaval, in Northumberland, since partly destroyed by fire. Besides -these, he built the opera house, also destroyed by fire. In all these -there is a strong similarity, and as a general effect, a certain -magnificence; but, when examined in detail, they too frequently resolve -themselves into a row of individual designs merely arranged side by -side. This is very much the case with the long façade of Blenheim. -There is a barbaric splendour, but it has no pervading unity, and only -differs from the Italian manner of Wren by a much bolder and profuser -use of the Grecian columns and pilasters. In fact, the architecture of -the whole of this period is of a hybrid character, the classical more -or less modified and innovated to adapt it to modern purposes and the -austerity of a northern climate. - -Amongst the most distinguished of this series of architects is James -Gibbs, who, after studying in Italy, returned to England in time -to secure the erection of some of the fifty churches ordered to be -built in the metropolis and its vicinity in the tenth year of Queen -Anne. The first which he built is his finest--St. Martin's, at the -north-east corner of Trafalgar Square. Besides St. Martin's, Gibbs was -the architect of St. Mary's, in the Strand; of Marylebone Chapel; of -the body of All Saints', Derby--an incongruous addition to a fine old -Gothic tower; of the Radcliffe Library, at Oxford; of the west side of -the quadrangle of King's College, and of the Senate House, Cambridge, -left incomplete. In these latter works Sir James Burrows, the designer -of the beautiful chapel of Clare Hall, in the same university, was also -concerned. Gibbs was, moreover, the architect of St. Bartholomew's -Hospital. - -Nicholas Hawksmoor, a pupil of Wren's, and an assistant of Vanbrugh's -in building Castle Howard and Blenheim House, was the architect of St. -George's-in-the-East, Ratcliff Highway, begun in 1715; of St. Mary -Woolnoth, Lombard Street; of St. George's, Bloomsbury; St. Anne's, -Limehouse; of Easton Norton House, in Northamptonshire; and of some -other works, including a mausoleum at Castle Howard, and repairs of the -west front of Westminster Abbey. St. George's, Bloomsbury, is perhaps -his finest structure. It has a Corinthian portico, like St. Martin's, -and the steeple is surmounted by a statue of George II. - -During this period, St. John the Evangelist, Westminster, was built -by Thomas Archer. The churches of Greenwich, of St. George's, Hanover -Square, and St. Luke's, Middlesex, were designed by John James. To this -time likewise belong St. Giles's-in-the-Fields; St. Olave's, Southwark, -and Woburn Abbey, by Flitcroft; Chatsworth House and Thoresby, by -Salmon; Montagu House, by the French architect, Pouget; All Saints' -Church, and the Peckwater Quadrangle of Christ Church, Oxford, by Dean -Aldrich; and the library of Christ Church, designed by Dr. George -Clarke, M.P. for Oxford, in the reign of Anne. After these the Earl of -Burlington, a worshipper of Palladio and Inigo Jones, became a very -fashionable architect, and built the dormitory at Westminster School; -Petersham House, and other noblemen's mansions. The fine colonnade in -the courtyard of Burlington House is also his work. Burlington was -essentially a copyist, as was his protégé Kent, who built Holkham, -in Norfolk, and the Horse Guards, but acquired as much reputation -by his landscape gardening as he gained little by his architecture. -Towards the end of this period several foreign artists were employed in -England. We have already named Pouget; Giacomo Leoni was much employed; -and Labelye, a Swiss, built Westminster Bridge, which was completed in -1747. Thomas Ripley, originally a carpenter, built the Admiralty. - -Painting, like architecture, was at a very low ebb during this period, -with one or two brilliant exceptions. Foreign artists were in demand, -and there was no native talent, except that of Thornhill and Hogarth, -which could claim to be unjustly overlooked in that preference. -Sir Peter Lely was still living, but Sir Godfrey Kneller, another -foreigner, was already taking his place. Kneller was a German, born -at Lübeck, and educated under the best Flemish masters of the day. As -he had chosen portrait-painting as his department, he hastened over -to England after a visit to Rome and Venice, as the most profitable -field for his practice, and being introduced to Charles II. by the -Duke of Monmouth, he became at once the fashion. Kneller had talents -of the highest order, and, had not his passion for money-making been -still greater, he would have taken rank with the great masters; but, -having painted a few truly fine pictures, he relied on them to secure -his fame, and commenced an actual manufacture of portraits for the -accumulation of money. Like Rubens, he sketched out the main figure, -and painted the head and face, leaving his pupils to fill in all the -rest. He worked with wonderful rapidity, and had figures often prepared -beforehand, on which he fitted heads as they were commissioned. Sir -John Medina, a Fleming, was the chief manufacturer of ready-made -figures and postures for him, the rest filled in the draperies and -backgrounds. Kneller had a bold, free, and vigorous hand, painting with -wonderful rapidity, and much of the grace of Vandyck, but only a few -of his works show what he was capable of. The beauties of the Court -of William and Mary, which may be seen side by side with those of the -Court of Charles II. by Lely at Hampton Court, are far inferior to -Lely's. - -During this time foreign painters of various degrees of merit -flourished in England. Amongst these were John Baptist Vanloo, brother -of the celebrated Carl Vanloo, a careful artist; Joseph Vanaken, a -native of Antwerp, who did for Hudson what his countrymen did for -Kneller--furnished draperies and attitudes. He worked for many others, -so that Hogarth painted his funeral as followed by all the painters -of the day in despair. The celebrated battle-painter, Peter Vander -Meulen, Hemskerk, Godfrey Schalcken, famous for his candle-light -effects, John Van Wyck, a famous painter of horses, James Bogdani, a -Hungarian flower, bird, and fruit painter, Balthazar Denner, famous for -his wonderfully finished heads, especially of old people, and Theodore -Netscher, the son of Gaspar Netscher, all painted in England in the -earlier part of the eighteenth century. Boit--a painter of French -parentage--Liotard, and Zincke, were noted enamel painters. Peter -Tillemans, who painted English landscapes, seats, busts, roses, etc., -died in 1734; and the celebrated Canaletti came to England in 1746, -and stayed about two years, but was not very successful, the English -style of architecture, and, still more, the want of the transparent -atmosphere of Italy, being unfavourable to his peculiar talent. - -[Illustration: ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL, LONDON, AND LUDGATE HILL, AS IT -WAS.] - -There was also a vast deal of decorations of ceilings and staircases -still going on, and foreign artists flocked over to execute it. -Laguerre, a Frenchman, succeeded Verrio in this department, and his -works yet remain at Hampton Court, Burleigh, Blenheim, and other -places. Laguerre was appointed to paint the cupola of St. Paul's, -designs having been offered also by Antonio Pellegrini, who had thus -embellished Castle Howard; but their claims were overruled in favour -of Sir James Thornhill. Besides these, there were Lafosse, who had -decorated Montagu House, Amiconi, a Venetian, and others, who executed -many hundred square yards of such work in England. Such was the fashion -for these foreign decorators, that when a native artist appeared equal -to any one of them in skill and talent, and superior to most, he found -himself paid at a very inferior and invidious rate. - -This was the case with Sir James Thornhill, of Thornhill, near -Weymouth. His father, however, had spent his fortune and sold the -estate, and Sir James, being fond of art, determined to make it his -profession to regain his property. His uncle, the celebrated Dr. -Sydenham, assisted him in the scheme. He studied in London, and then -travelled through Flanders, Holland, and France. On his return he was -appointed by Queen Anne to paint the history of St. Paul in the dome of -the new cathedral of St. Paul, in eight pictures in chiaroscuro, with -the lights hatched in gold. So much was the work approved, that he was -made historical painter to the queen. The chief works of the kind by -Sir James were the Princess's apartment at Hampton Court, the gallery -and several ceilings in Kensington Palace, a hall at Blenheim, a chapel -at Lord Oxford's, at Wimpole, a saloon of Mr. Styles's, at Moorpark, -and the ceilings of the great hall at Greenwich Hospital. On the -ceiling of the lower hall appear, amid much allegorical scenery, the -portraits of William and Mary, of Tycho Brahe, Copernicus, Newton, and -others; on that of the upper hall appear the portraits of Queen Anne -and her husband, the Prince of Denmark; and paintings of the landing of -William at Torbay, and the arrival of George I. There are, in addition, -portraits of George I., and two generations of his family. Sir James -also painted the altar-piece of All Souls', Oxford, and one presented -to his native town, Weymouth. - -Other English artists of this period were John Riley, an excellent -and original painter, who died in 1691; Murray, a Scotsman; Charles -Jervas, the friend of Pope, a man much overrated by his acquaintance; -and Jonathan Richardson, a much superior artist to Jervas, and author -of the valuable "Essay on the Art of Criticism, as it relates to -Painting." Thomas Hudson, a pupil of Richardson, and his son-in-law, -was an admirable painter of heads, and had the honour of being the -instructor of Sir Joshua Reynolds. Henry Cook, like Thornhill, was a -decorator, and painted the choir of New College Chapel, at Oxford, and -the ceiling of a large room at the New River head. Among other artists -of repute there may be named Luke Cradock, a flower and fruit painter; -John Wootton, an animal painter; Francis Hayman, an historical painter -and designer for book-plates--those for "Don Quixote" being his best; -and George Lambert, one of the first English landscape painters of any -mark. - -Far above all other English artists of this period, however, stood -William Hogarth (_b._ 1697). There is no artist of that or any former -age who is so thoroughly English. He is a John Bull from head to -foot--sturdy, somewhat headstrong, opinionated, and satirical. He is, -indeed, the great satirist of the brush; but his satire, keen as it -is, is employed as the instrument of the moralist; the things which he -denounces and derides are crimes, follies, and perverted tastes. In -his own conduct, as on his canvas, he displayed the same spirit, often -knocking down his own interests rather than not express his indignant -feeling of what was spurious in art, or unjust towards himself. Hogarth -was the first English painter who attracted much notice amongst -foreigners, and he still remains one of the most original in genius -of the British school. His subjects are not chosen from the loftier -regions of life and imagination, but from the very lowest or the most -corrupted ones of the life of his country and time. "The Harlot's -Progress," "The Rake's Progress," "Marriage _à la Mode_," "The March -to Finchley," "Gín Lane," "Beer Lane," etc., present a series of -subjects from which the delicate and sensitive will always revolt, and -which have necessarily an air of vulgarity about them, but the purpose -consecrates them; for they are not selected to pander to vice and -folly, but to expose, to brand, to extirpate them. - -He first published an engraving of "The Small Masquerade Ticket, or -Burlington Gate," in ridicule of Lord Burlington's architecture, and -of Pope's eulogiums on Burlington and satire of the Duke of Chandos. -He illustrated "Hudibras," and produced a satirical plate, "The -Taste of the Times," in 1724; and, some years after, "The Midnight -Conversation" and "Southwark Fair." Not content with the fame which -this vein, so peculiarly his own, was bringing him, he had the ambition -to attempt the historical style, but this was a decided failure. In -1734, however, he came out in his full and peculiar strength in "The -Harlot's Progress." The melancholy truth of this startling drama, -mingled with touches of genuine humour, seized at once on the minds -of all classes. It became at once immensely popular; it was put -on the stage, and twelve hundred subscriptions for the engravings -produced a rich harvest of profit. In the following year he produced -"The Rake's Progress," which, though equally clever, had not the same -recommendation of novelty. In 1744 he offered for sale the original -paintings of these subjects, as well as "The Four Times of the Day," -and "The Strolling Actresses Dressing in a Barn;" but here he felt the -effects of the sturdy English expression of his sentiments on art, and -his distributing of an engraving of "The Battle of the Pictures," as a -ticket of admission, gave great offence to painters and their patrons. -The whole sum received was only four hundred and twenty-seven pounds. -Undaunted by his self-injuring avowal of his opinions, he offered in -1750 the pictures of "Marriage _à la Mode_" for sale, but put forth -an advertisement in such caustic terms, as he reflected on the result -of his former auction, that he effectually kept away purchasers, and -obtained only a hundred and twenty pounds for what Mr. Angerstein -afterwards gave a thousand pounds for. His "March to Finchley" being -sent for the royal inspection, so impressed George II. with the idea -that it was a caricature of his Guards, that, though the engraving of -it was dedicated to him, he ordered the picture out of his sight, with -expressions of great indignation. Hogarth quietly substituted the name -of the King of Prussia in the dedication, as "an encourager of the -arts." - -Soon after appeared his twelve plates of "Industry and Idleness," and -in 1753 he published a work called "The Analysis of Beauty," in which -he attempted to prove that the foundation of beauty and grace consists -in a flowing serpentine line. He gave numerous examples of it, and -supported his theory with much ingenious argument. The book brought -down upon him a perfect tempest of critical abuse from his envious and -enraged contemporaries. In 1757 he visited France, and being engaged in -sketching in Calais, he was seized and underwent very rough treatment -from "the politest nation in the world," under an impression that -he was employed by the English government to make drawings of the -fortifications. This adventure he has commemorated in his picture of -"Calais Gate." In the following year he painted his "Sigismunda." - -Besides those enumerated, "The Four Election Scenes," "The Enraged -Musician," "The Distressed Poet," and "England and France"--all made -familiar to the public by engravings--are amongst his best works. In -1760 occurred the first exhibition of pictures by British artists, the -works of Hogarth being an actuating cause. He had presented to the -Foundling Hospital, besides his "March to Finchley," his "Marriage _à -la Mode_," and his "Moses brought before Pharaoh's Daughter," his most -successful picture of that kind; and Hayman and other artists having -followed his example, a company of artists conceived the idea that an -exhibition of the works of living artists might be made profitable. -Hogarth fell readily into the plan, till it was proposed to add to this -a royal academy of arts, which he opposed with all his might. He died -in 1764, and was buried in the churchyard at Chiswick, where also lies -by his side his wife, who survived him twenty-five years. - -In sculpture at this period we stood much lower than in painting. Here -we had no Hogarth, nor even a Thornhill. All that was of any value in -this art proceeded from the chisels of foreigners, and even in that -what an immense distance from the grand simplicity of the ancients! The -sculpture of Italy and France was in the ascendant, but Bernini and -Roubiliac had little in common with Phidias and Praxiteles, and our -own sculptors presented a melancholy contrast to the work of artists -of the worst age of Greece or Rome; there is scarcely a name that is -worth mentioning. The best of the native sculptors was John Bushnell, -who was employed by Wren to execute the statues of the kings at Temple -Bar; and Francis Bird, who was also employed later by Wren to execute -"The Conversion of St. Paul," in the pediment of the new cathedral, the -bas-reliefs under the portico, and the group in front, all of a very -ordinary character. His best work is the monument of Dr. Busby in the -transept of Westminster Abbey. Besides this he executed the monument of -Sir Cloudesley Shovel, also at Westminster, and the bronze statue of -Henry VI., in the quadrangle of Eton College, both very indifferent. -Gibbs and Bird executed the ponderous and tasteless monument of -Holles, Duke of Newcastle, at Westminster, and the fine old minster is -disgraced by a crowd of still more contemptible productions of this -period. These can only be equalled in wretchedness by the works of a -trading school, who supplied copies in lead of ancient gods, goddesses, -shepherds, shepherdesses, etc., for the gardens of the nobility, which -soon swarmed in legions in all the gardens and areas in and around the -metropolis. Amongst the chief dealers in this traffic were Cheere and -Charpentier, who employed foreign artists, even, for such images, and -it was the fortune of Roubiliac to commence his English career with the -former of these traders. The three chief foreigners of this period were -Rysbraeck, Scheemakers, and Roubiliac, who were copyists of the French -sculptors Coysevox, Bouchardon, and Le Moyne, as these had been of -Bernini. - -Notwithstanding the constant wars of this time, British shipping, -commerce, colonies, and manufactures made considerable progress. At -the commencement of this period the amount of shipping employed in -our commerce was altogether 244,788 tons, being 144,264 tons English, -and 100,524 foreign; in 1701 the amount of shipping employed was -337,328 tons, of which alone 293,703 were English. In 1702, the end of -William's reign, the number of English mercantile vessels was about -3,281, employing 27,196 seamen. The royal navy, at the end of William's -reign, amounted to about 159,000 tons, employing some 50,000 sailors, -so that the seamen of England must have amounted at that period to -nearly 80,000. - -At the end of the reign of Anne the shipping employed in commerce -amounted to 448,000 tons, of which only 26,573 tons were foreign; so -that the English mercantile shipping had increased, in little more than -twelve years, 127,800 tons. At the end of the reign of George I. our -mercantile shipping was only 456,000 tons, the foreign being 23,651 -tons; so that the increase for the time was but slight. The royal -navy had greatly decreased under George I. At the end of the reign of -George II., the total amount of our commercial shipping was 573,978 -tons, including 112,737 foreign. Thus, whilst the total shipping at the -commencement of this period (in 1688) was only 244,788 tons, at the -end of it (in 1760) the total was 573,978 tons, or a nett increase, -in seventy-two years, of 329,190 tons: the increase being much larger -than the total amount of tonnage possessed at the commencement of -the period, the amount of foreign shipping remaining very nearly the -same--in fact, only 12,000 tons more. The royal navy, which, at the -commencement of the period, was reckoned at 101,892 tons, at the end -of it was 321,104 tons, showing an increase of 219,212 tons; and, at -the rate of men employed at the commencement, the number now employed -in both our commercial and our national navy could not be fewer than -160,000 men. - -The growth of our commerce during these seventy-two years is shown -by the amount of our exports. In 1697--that is, nine years after the -Revolution--the amount of exports was only £3,525,907; but in the -three next years of peace they rose to £6,709,881. War reduced these -again to little more than £5,000,000, and at the end of the reign -of Anne, during peace, they rose to £8,000,000. At the end of the -reign of George I. the war had so much checked our commerce, that -the exports scarcely amounted to that sum, the average of the three -years--1726, 1727, and 1728--being only £7,891,739. By the end of the -reign of George II., however (1760), they had risen to £14,693,270. -Having by this period driven the fleets of France and Spain from the -ocean, we rather extended our commerce than injured it. Thus, during -these seventy-two years, our exports had increased from about three -millions and a half annually to more than fourteen millions and a half -annually, or a yearly difference of upwards of eleven millions--a most -substantial growth. - -One great cause of this progress was the growth of our colonies. They -began now to demand a considerable quantity of our manufactures and -other articles of domestic comfort and convenience, and to supply us -with a number of items of raw material. Towards the end of the reign of -George I. our American colonies, besides the number of convicts that -we sent thither, especially to Virginia and Maryland, attracted a -considerable emigration of free persons, particularly to Pennsylvania, -in consequence of the freedom of its constitution as founded by Penn, -and the freedom for the exercise of religion. - -[Illustration: WILLIAM HOGARTH. (_After the Portrait begun by Weltdon -and finished by himself._)] - -New York, Jersey, and the New England States traded in the same -commodities: they also built a considerable number of ships, and -manufactured, especially in Massachusetts, coarse linens and woollens, -iron, hats, rum, besides drying great quantities of fish for Spain, -Portugal, and the Mediterranean markets. Massachusetts already employed -40,000 tons of shipping. New England furnished the finest masts in the -world for the navy; Virginia and Maryland furnished 50,000 hogsheads -of tobacco, annually valued at £370,000; employing 24,000 tons of -shipping. From these colonies we received also large quantities of -skins, wool, furs, flax, etc. Carolina had become a great rice-growing -country. By the year 1733 it had nearly superseded the supply of that -article from Italy in Spain and Portugal; in 1740 it exported nearly -100,000 barrels of rice; and seven years afterwards, besides its rice, -it sent to England 200,000 pounds of indigo, rendering us independent -of France for that article; and at the end of the present period its -export of indigo had doubled that quantity, besides a very considerable -exportation of pitch, sassafras, Brazil wood, skins, Indian corn, and -other articles. - -In 1732 the new colony of Georgia was founded by General Oglethorpe, -and became a silk-growing country, exporting, by the end of this -period, 10,000 pounds of raw silk annually. - -The rapid growth of the commerce of the American colonies excited an -intense jealousy in our West Indian Islands, which claimed a monopoly -of supply of sugar, rum, molasses, and other articles to all the -British possessions. The Americans trading with the French, Dutch, -Spaniards, etc., took these articles in return; but the West Indian -proprietors prevailed upon the British Government, in 1733, to impose -a duty on the import of any produce of foreign plantations into the -American colonies, besides granting a drawback on the re-exportation -of West Indian sugar from Great Britain. This was one of the first -pieces of legislation of which the American colonies had a just right -to complain. At this period our West Indies produced about 85,000 -hogsheads of sugar, or 1,200,000 cwts. About three hundred sail were -employed in the trade with these islands, and some 4,500 sailors; the -value of British manufactures exported thither being nearly £240,000 -annually, but our imports from Jamaica alone averaged at that time -£539,492. Besides rum, sugar, and molasses, we received from the West -Indies cotton, indigo, ginger, pimento, cocoa, coffee, etc. - -During this period a vast empire was beginning to unfold itself in the -East Indies, destined to produce a vast trade, and pour a perfect mine -of wealth into Great Britain. The victories of Clive, Eyre Coote, and -others, were telling on our commerce. During the early part of this -period this effect was slow, and our exports to India and China up to -1741 did not average more than £148,000 per annum in value. Bullion, -however, was exported to pay expenses and to purchase tea to an annual -amount of upwards of half a million. Towards the end of this period, -however, our exports to India and China amounted annually to more than -half a million; and the necessity for the export of bullion had sunk -to an annual demand for less than £100,000. The amount of tea imported -from China during this period rose from about 140,000 pounds annually -to nearly 3,000,000 pounds annually--an enormous increase. - -The progress of our manufactures was equally satisfactory. At the -commencement of this period that great innovator and benefactor, -the steam-engine, was produced. The idea thrown out by the Marquis -of Worcester, in his "Century of Inventions," in 1663, had been -neglected as mere wild theory till Savery, in 1698, constructed a -steam-engine for draining mines. This received successive improvements -from Newcomen and Crawley, and further ones from Brindley in 1756, -and Watt extended these at the end of this period, though this -mighty agent has received many improvements since. Navigable canals, -also, date their introduction by the Duke of Bridgewater, under the -management of Brindley, from the latter end of this period, 1758. -Other great men, Arkwright, Compton, Hargreaves, etc., were now busily -at work in developing machinery, and applying steam to it, which has -revolutionised the system of manufacture throughout the world. In 1754 -the Society of Arts and Manufactures was established. - -One great article of manufacture and export, however, down to this -period, continued to be that of our woollens. To guard this manufacture -many Acts had been passed at different times, prohibiting the -exportation of the raw material. Immediately after the Revolution a -fresh Act of this kind was passed, and such was the jealousy even of -the Irish and of our American colonies weaving woollen cloths, that, -in 1689, an Act was passed prohibiting the exportation of wool or -woollen goods from Ireland or our plantations to any country except -England. Having taken measures thus to confine as much as possible the -profit of the woollen manufacture to England, the next year, which saw -all protecting duties taken off corn, saw also leave given for the -exportation of woollen cloths duty-free from England to any part of the -world. Sir William Davenant estimates the value of the yearly growth -of wool in England at this time at about £2,000,000, and the value of -its woollen manufactures at £8,000,000. He calculates that one-fourth -of this amount was exported. In 1738 Mr. John Kay invented the mode of -casting the shuttle by what is called a "picking-peg," by which means -the weaver was enabled to weave cloths of any width, and throw off -twice the quantity in the same time. In 1758 the Leeds Cloth Hall was -erected, and, about twenty years afterwards, a hall for white cloths. - -The silk trade received a great impulse by the erection of a silk-mill -at Derby, in 1719, by John Lombe and his brothers. Lombe had smuggled -himself into a silk-mill in Italy, as a destitute workman, and had -then copied all the machinery. To prevent the operation of this new -silk factory in England--which was worked by a water-wheel on the -river Derwent, had 97,746 wheels, movements, and individual parts, -and employed three hundred persons--the King of Sardinia prohibited -the exportation of the raw material, and thus, for a time, checked -the progress of the manufacture. Parliament voted Sir Thomas Lombe -£14,000 as a compensation for loss of profits thus occasioned, on -condition that the patent, which he had obtained for fourteen years, -should expire, and the right to use the machinery should be thrown -open to the public. By the middle of this period our silk manufactures -were declared superior to those of Italy, and the tradesmen of -Naples recommended their silk stockings as English ones. In 1755 -great improvements were introduced by Mr. Jedediah Strutt in the -stocking-loom of Lee. - -As the woollen manufactures of Ireland had received a check from the -selfishness of the English manufacturers, it was sought to compensate -the Protestants of Ulster by encouraging the linen manufacture there, -which the English did not value so much as their woollen. A Board was -established in Dublin in 1711, and one also in Scotland in 1727, for -the purpose of superintending the trade, and bounties and premiums on -exportation were offered. In these favourable circumstances the trade -rapidly grew, both in Ireland and Scotland. In 1750 seven and a half -million yards of linen were annually woven in Scotland alone. - -The lace manufacture was still prosecuted merely by hand, and chiefly -in Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, and in the West of England. No lace -was produced from machinery before 1768. - -In the manufacture of iron a most material discovery of smelting the -ore by the use of pit-coal was made. The forests of England were so -much reduced by the consumption of wood in the iron furnaces, that it -was contemplated removing the business to our American colonies. This -necessity was obviated by the discovery by Dud Dudley of a mode of -manufacturing bar-iron with coal instead of wood. This discovery had -been patented in 1619, yet, singularly, had been neglected; but in 1740 -the principle was applied at Coalbrookdale, and iron thus made tough -or brittle, as was wished. Iron works, now not confined to one spot -by the necessity of wood, sprang up at various places in England and -Wales, and the great works at Rotherham were established in 1750, and -the famous Carron works in Scotland in 1760. The quantity of pig-iron -made in 1740 was calculated at 17,000 tons, and the number of people -employed in the iron trade at the end of this period is supposed to be -little short of 300,000. - -The production of copper during this period was so plentiful, that, -though the great mines in Anglesea were not yet discovered, full -liberty was given to export it, except to France. From 1736 to 1745 -the mines of Cornwall alone produced about 700 tons annually, and the -yearly amount was constantly increasing. A manufactory of brass--the -secret of which mixture was introduced from Germany, in 1649--was -established in Birmingham, in 1748; and, at the end of this period, -the number of persons employed in making articles of copper and -brass was, probably, not less than 50,000. The manufacture of tinned -iron commenced in Wales about 1730, and in 1740 further improvements -were made in this process. Similar improvements were making in the -refinement of metals, and in the manufacture of silver plate, called -Sheffield plate. English watches acquired great reputation, but -afterwards fell into considerable disrepute from the employment of -inferior foreign works. Printing types, which we had before imported -from Holland, were first made in England in the reign of Queen Anne, -by Caslon, an engraver of gun-locks and barrels. In 1725 William Ged, -a Scotsman, discovered the art of stereotyping, but did not introduce -it without strong opposition from the working printers. Great strides -were made in the paper manufacture. In 1690 we first made white paper, -and in 1713 it is calculated that 300,000 reams of all kinds of paper -were made in England. An excise duty was first laid on paper in 1711. -Our best china and earthenware were still imported, and, both in style -and quality, our own pottery was very inferior, for Wedgwood had not -yet introduced his wonderful improvements. Defoe introduced pantiles -at his manufactory at Tilbury, before which time we imported them from -Holland. The war with France compelled us to encourage the manufacture -of glass; in 1697 the excise duty, imposed three years before, was -repealed, but in 1746 duties were imposed on the articles used in its -manufacture, and additional duties on its exportation. The manufacture -of crown glass was not introduced till after this period. - -The effects of the growth in our commerce and manufactures, and the -consequent increase of the national wealth, were seen in the extension -of London and other of our large towns. Eight new parishes were added -to the metropolis during this period; the Chelsea Waterworks were -established in 1721; and Westminster Bridge was completed in 1750. -Bristol, Hull, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds, -Edinburgh, Glasgow, Frome, Dublin, and several other towns, grew -amazingly. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. - - Accession of George III.--His Conduct--Ascendency of Bute--Meeting - of Parliament--Enthusiastic Reception of the King's Speech--Bute's - Cabals--Hostility to Pitt--Ministerial Changes--Marriage of the - King--Queen Charlotte--Misfortunes of Frederick--Ferdinand of - Brunswick's Campaign--Defeat of the French in the East and West - Indies--Negotiations for Peace--Pitt's large Demands--Obstinacy of - Choiseul--The Family Compact suspected--Resignation of Pitt--Bute's - Ministry--War with Spain--Abandonment of Frederick--Policy of - the new Czar--Resignation of Newcastle--Bute at the head of the - Treasury--Successes in the West Indies--Capture of Manila--Bute's - Eagerness for Peace--The Terms--Bute's Unpopularity--Close of - the Seven Years' War--Successes of Clive--Defeat of the Dutch in - India--Final Overthrow of the French in India--Fate of the Count - de Lally--Bute and the Princess of Wales--The Cider Tax--Bute's - Vengeance--His Resignation--George Grenville in Office--No. 45 - of the North Briton--Arrest of Wilkes--His Acquittal--Vengeance - against him--The King negotiates with Pitt--Wilkes's Affairs in - Parliament--The Wilkes Riots--The Question of Privilege--The - Illegality of General Warrants declared--Wilkes expelled the - House--Debates on General Warrants--Rejoicing in the City of London. - - -George III., at the time of the sudden death of his grandfather, was -in his twenty-second year. The day of the late king's death and the -following night were spent in secret arrangements, and the next morning -George presented himself before his mother, the Princess-dowager, -at Carlton House, where he met his council, and was then formally -proclaimed. This was on the 26th of October, 1760. - -The conduct of the young king, considering his shyness and the defects -of his education, was, during the first days of his sudden elevation, -calm, courteous, affable, and unembarrassed. "He behaved throughout," -says Horace Walpole, "with the greatest propriety, dignity, and -decency." He dismissed his Guards to attend on the body of his -grandfather. But it was soon seen that there would be great changes in -his Government. Pitt waited on him with the sketch of an address to his -Council; but the king informed him that this had been thought of, and -an address already prepared. This was sufficient for Pitt; he had long -been satisfied that the favourite of mother and son, the Groom of the -Stole, and the inseparable companion, Bute, would, on the accession of -George, mount into the premiership. - -On the morning of Monday, the 28th, the king's brother, Edward, Duke -of York, and Lord Bute were sworn members of the Privy Council. It -was obvious that Bute was to be quite in the ascendant, and the -observant courtiers paid instant homage to the man through whom all -good things were to flow. The king declared himself, however, highly -satisfied with his present Cabinet, and announced that he wished no -changes. A handbill soon appeared on the walls of the Royal Exchange -expressing the public apprehension: "No petticoat government--no Scotch -favourite--no Lord George Sackville!" Bute had always championed Lord -George, who was so bold in society and so backward in the field; and -the public now imagined that they would have a governing clique of the -king's mother, her favourite, Bute, and his favourite, Lord George. - -Parliament, which had been prorogued for a few days on account of -the demise of the king, assembled on the 18th of November. The king -delivered a speech, composed by Lord Hardwicke, and revised by -Pitt, and containing a passage, said to be inserted by himself, as -follows:--"Born and educated in this country, I glory in the name of -Briton!" In the addresses these words produced the most enthusiastic -responses. "What a lustre," exclaimed the Lords, "doth it cast upon the -name of Briton, when you, sir, are pleased to esteem it amongst your -glories!" For the rest, the speech expressed the royal determination -to prosecute the war with all vigour; praised the magnanimity and -perseverance of his good brother, the King of Prussia; and recommended -unanimity of action and opinion in Parliament. Nothing could appear -more unanimous or more liberal than Parliament. - -But the smoothness was only on the surface--beneath were working the -strongest political animosities and the most selfish desires. The -little knot of aristocratic families which had so long monopolised all -the sweets of office, now saw with indignation tribes of aspirants -crowding in for a share of the good things. The aspirants filled the -ante-chamber of Bute, the angry and disappointed resorted to Newcastle, -who was in a continual state of agitation by seeing appointments given -to new men without his knowledge; members rushing in to offer their -support to Government at the next election, who had hitherto stood -aloof, and were now received and encouraged. - -[Illustration: GREAT SEAL OF GEORGE III.] - -Meanwhile, Bute was sedulously at work to clear the way for his own -assumption, not merely of office, but of the whole power of the -Government. He acted as already the only medium of communication with -the king, and the depositary of his secrets. He opened his views -cautiously to Bubb Dodington, who was a confidant of the Lichfield -House party, and still hungering after a title. Dodington advised him -to induce Lord Holderness to resign and take his place, which, at -first, Bute affected to disapprove of, but eventually acted upon. The -first object was to get rid of Pitt, who, by his talents and haughty -independence of manner, was not more acceptable to the king and his -counsellor, Bute, than by his policy, which they desired to abandon. -Pamphlets were therefore assiduously circulated, endeavouring to -represent Pitt as insatiable for war, and war as having been already -too burdensome for the nation. - -On the 21st of March Parliament was dissolved by proclamation, and the -same day the _Gazette_ announced several of the changes determined on -in the Ministry. The Duke of Bedford retired from the Lord-Lieutenancy -of Ireland, and his place was taken by the Earl of Halifax. Legge, who -was considered too much in the interest of Pitt, was dismissed, and -Lord Barrington now took his place of Chancellor of the Exchequer. -Charles Townshend took Barrington's former office, and Sir Francis -Dashwood became Treasurer of the Chambers in room of Townshend. Both -Townshend and Dashwood had gone over to the party of Bute. Lord -Holderness was now made to do what Dodington had before suggested; he -resigned his office of Secretary of State, and in due course Bute was -gazetted as appointed to that post. No notice of this change had been -communicated to Pitt, the other and Chief Secretary, till it took place. - -On the 8th of July an extraordinary Privy Council was summoned. All -the members, of whatever party, were desired to attend, and many were -the speculations as to the object of their meeting. The general notion -was that it involved the continuing or the ending of the war. It -turned out to be for the announcement of the king's intended marriage. -The lady selected was Charlotte, the second sister of the Duke of -Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Apart from the narrowness of her education, the -young princess had a considerable amount of amiability, good sense, and -domestic taste. These she shared with her intended husband, and whilst -they made the royal couple always retiring, at the same time they -caused them to give, during their lives, a moral air to their court. -On the 8th of September Charlotte arrived at St. James's, and that -afternoon the marriage took place, the ceremony being performed by the -Archbishop of Canterbury. On the 22nd the coronation took place with -the greatest splendour. - -We must now step back a little to observe the war on the Continent from -the opening of the present campaign. Frederick of Prussia lay encamped -during the winter in Silesia, surrounded by difficulties and enemies. -His resources both in money and men appeared well nigh exhausted. -The end of autumn, 1760, brought him the news of the death of George -II., and, from what he could learn of the disposition of his successor -and his chief advisers, it was certain that peace would be attempted -by England. This depressing intelligence was confirmed in December -by the British Parliament indeed voting again his usual subsidy, but -reluctantly, and he found it paid with still more reluctance and delay. -Whilst thus menaced with the total loss of the funds by which he -carried on the war, he saw, as the spring approached, the Russians and -Austrians advancing against him with more than double his own forces. -Disasters soon overtook him. The capture of Schweidnitz enabled the -Austrians to winter in Silesia, which they had never yet done during -the war; and the Russians also found, to their great satisfaction, on -arriving in Pomerania, that they could winter in Colberg. The Russian -division under Romanzow had besieged Colberg both by land and sea, and, -despite the attempts of the Prussians sent by Frederick to relieve it, -it had been compelled to surrender. In these discouraging circumstances -Frederick took up his winter quarters at Breslau. His affairs never -wore a darker aspect. He was out-generaled and more discomfited this -campaign than by a great battle. His enemies lay near in augmented -strength of position, and his resources had ominously decreased. - -The campaign against the French was opened in February by Prince -Ferdinand of Brunswick attacking the Duke de Broglie, and driving him -out of Cassel. Prince Ferdinand followed up this advantage by attacking -them in Marburg and Göttingen, and applied himself particularly to the -siege of Cassel. But Broglie, now recovered from his surprise, first -defeated the hereditary Prince of Brunswick, Ferdinand's nephew, at -Stangerode, and then repulsed Ferdinand himself from Cassel. - -The destruction of the French magazines delayed their operations till -midsummer, when Broglie advanced from Cassel, and the Prince Soubise -from the Rhine, to give Ferdinand battle. On the march they fell -in with Sporken, and this time defeated one of his posts, and took -nineteen pieces of cannon and eight hundred prisoners. The Allies -awaited them in front of the river Lippe, and between that river and -the Aest, near the village of Kirch-Denkern. The French were routed at -all points, having lost, according to the Allies, five thousand men, -whilst they themselves had only lost one thousand five hundred. The -effect of the victory, however, was small. - -If the French had been by no means successful in Germany, they had been -much less so in other quarters of the globe. In the East Indies we had -taken Pondicherry, their chief settlement, from them, and thus remained -masters of the whole coast of Coromandel, and of the entire trade with -India. In the West Indies, the French had been fortifying Dominica, -contrary to treaty, and Lord Rollo and Sir James Douglas were sent -thither, and speedily reduced it. France, indeed, was now fast sinking -in exhaustion. Louis XV. was a man of no mark or ability, inclined to -peace, and leaving all affairs to his Ministers, and still more to his -mistress, Madame de Pompadour. Choiseul was a man of talent, but of -immense vanity, and little persistent firmness. He was now anxious for -peace, but, too proud to make the proposal directly, he induced the -Courts of Russia and Austria to do it. It was suggested that a congress -should be held at Augsburg for settling the peace of Europe. England -and Prussia readily consented. But the Duke of Choiseul, anxious to -have a clear understanding of the terms on which England and France -were likely to treat, proposed a previous exchange of views, and -dispatched M. Bussy to London, whilst Mr. Pitt sent to Paris Mr. Hans -Stanley. - -Choiseul made, undoubtedly, a large offer for peace. It was that each -power should retain all such of its conquests as should be in its -hands, subject to exchanges and equivalents, in Europe, on the 1st of -May next; in America, the West Indies, and Africa, on the 1st of July; -and in the East Indies on the 1st of September. But Pitt had declared -that he would never make another peace of Utrecht. He considered that -we had France down, and he determined to retain everything of value. -He therefore replied that the proper period for the principle of the -treaty to take place was that on which the treaty was really signed, -that it might so happen that it would not be signed at the dates named, -and he did this in order to complete a scheme, which he had already -nearly accomplished, that of seizing on Belleisle, an island on the -coast of France. It surrendered in July, and the news of this loss was -speedily followed in Paris by that of the loss of Dominica in the West, -and of Pondicherry in the East Indies. - -These reverses were calculated to make France more compliant; yet -Pitt was astonished to find, instead of compliance, a great spirit -of resistance. Choiseul would by no means admit that Belleisle was -an equivalent for Minorca. He demanded Guadeloupe and Belleisle too, -simply in lieu of the French conquests in Germany. He now demurred -to the surrender of Cape Breton, or in any case to forego the right -of fishing along its coasts. He was not content with Amaboo or -Acra; he demanded Senegal or Goree. He declined also to destroy the -fortifications of Dunkirk, raised in contempt of the treaty of Utrecht. -All captures made at sea previous to the declaration of war must be -restored; and in Germany, though he was willing to withdraw the French -troops, it was only on condition that the troops commanded by Prince -Ferdinand should not reinforce the Prussian army. - -The secret of this wonderfully augmented boldness of tone on the part -of France soon transpired. Choiseul had been endeavouring to secure the -alliance of Spain, and saw himself about to succeed. Spain was smarting -under many losses and humiliations from the English during the late -war. Whilst General Wall, the Spanish minister at Madrid, urged these -complaints on the Earl of Bristol, our ambassador there, Choiseul was -dexterously inflaming the minds of the Spanish Court against Britain -on these grounds. He represented it as the universal tyrant of the -seas, and the sworn enemy of every other maritime state. He offered to -assist in the recovery of Gibraltar, and to make over Minorca to Spain. -By these means he induced Spain to go into what became the celebrated -Family Compact--that is, a compact by which France and Spain bound -themselves to mutually succour and support each other; and to admit the -King of Naples, the son of the Spanish king, to this compact, but no -prince or potentate whatever, except he were of the House of Bourbon. - -Besides the general compact, there was a particular one, which -engaged that, should England and France remain at war on the 1st of -May, 1762, Spain should on that day declare war against England, and -should at the same time receive possession of Minorca. The existence -of these compacts was kept with all possible secrecy; but Mr. Stanley -penetrated to a knowledge of them in Paris, and his information was -fully confirmed from other sources. If these, however, had left any -doubt, it would have been expelled by the receipt of a French memorial -through M. Bussy, to which a second memorial on Spanish affairs was -appended. Pitt received the proposition with a tone of indignation -that made it manifest that he would suffer no such interference -of a third party--would not yield a step to any such alliance. He -declared, in broad and plain terms, that his majesty would not permit -the affairs of Spain to be introduced by France; that he would never -suffer France to presume to meddle in any affairs between himself and -Spain, and that he should consider any further mention of such matters -as a direct affront. A similar message was dispatched to the Earl of -Bristol in Spain, declaring that England was open to any proposals of -negotiation from Spain, but not through the medium of France. This was, -in fact, tantamount to a defiance to both France and Spain, and would -undoubtedly have put an end to all further negotiation had there not -been a purpose to serve. The Spanish treasure ships were yet out at sea -on their way home. Any symptoms of hostility would insure their capture -by the British, and cut off the very means of maintaining a war. -General Wall, therefore, concealed all appearance of chagrin; admitted -that the memorial had been presented by France with the full consent -of his Catholic majesty, but professed the most sincere desire for the -continuance of peaceful relations. - -Pitt was not for a moment deceived, and in August the Family Compact -was signed. He broke off the negotiation, recalled Stanley from Paris, -dismissed Bussy from London, and advised an immediate declaration of -war against Spain, whilst it was yet in our power to seize the treasure -ships. But there was but one Pitt--one great mind capable of grasping -the affairs of a nation, and of seizing on the deciding circumstances -with the promptness essential to effect. The usually timid Newcastle -became suddenly courageous with alarm. Bute pronounced Pitt's proposal -as "rash and unadvisable;" the king, obstinate as was his tendency, -declared that, if his Ministers had yielded to such a policy, he would -not; and Pitt, having laboured in vain to move this stolid mass of -ministerial imbecility through three Cabinet Councils, at last, in the -beginning of October, declared that, as he was called to the Ministry -by the people, and held himself responsible to them, he would no longer -occupy a position the duties of which he was not able to discharge. On -the 5th he resigned, and his great Ministry came to an end. - -The Bute Ministry was now in power, and determined on reversing -the policy of Pitt--policy which had added so magnificently to the -territory and glory of the country. Bute had now to seek powerful -connections to enable him to carry on. The commonplace man seeks to -make up for his feebleness by associating with him, not men of merit, -but men of aristocratic connection. For this reason he conferred the -Privy Seal on the Duke of Bedford, and the Seal of Secretary on the -Earl of Egremont. To break the force of popular indignation for the -loss of Pitt from the helm--for the people knew who was the great -man and successful minister well enough--the king was advised to -confer some distinguished mark of favour on Pitt. He was offered the -government of Canada as a sinecure, with five thousand pounds a year. -Pitt was not the man to undertake a highly responsible office without -discharging the duties, and he was next offered the Chancellorship of -the Duchy of Lancaster; but he preferred a simple pension of three -thousand pounds a-year, and that a title should be conferred on his -wife. By this arrangement he was left in the House of Commons, and -in a position to continue his exertions for the country. Both these -suggestions were complied with. - -Ministers were soon compelled to pursue the policy which Pitt had so -successfully inaugurated. With all the determination of Lord Bute and -his colleagues to make a speedy peace, they found it impossible. The -Family Compact between France and Spain was already signed; and in -various quarters of the world Pitt's plans were so far in progress -that they must go on. In East and West, his plans for the conquest -of Havana, of the Philippine Isles, and for other objects, were not -to be abruptly abandoned; and Ministers were compelled to carry out -his objects, in many particulars, in spite of themselves. And now -the unpleasant truth was forced on the attention of Ministers, that -the war which Pitt declared to be inevitable was so, and that he had -recommended the only wise measure. The country was now destined to pay -the penalty of their folly and stupidity in rejecting Pitt's proposal -to declare war against Spain at once, and strip her of the means of -offence, her treasure ships. Lord Bristol, our ambassador at Madrid, -announced to Lord Bute, in a despatch of the 2nd of November, that -these ships had arrived, and that all the wealth which Spain expected -from her American colonies for the next year was safe at home. And -he had to add that with this, Wall, the Minister, had thrown off the -mask, and had assumed the most haughty and insolent language towards -Great Britain. This was a confession on the part of Lord Bristol -that he had suffered Wall to throw dust in his eyes till his object -was accomplished, and it made patent the fact that Pitt had been too -sagacious to be deceived; but that the new Ministers, whilst insulting -Pitt and forcing him to resign, had been themselves completely duped. -Spain now, in the most peremptory terms, demanded redress for all her -grievances; and, before the year had closed, the Bute Cabinet was -compelled to recall Lord Bristol from Madrid, and to order Fuentes, -the Spanish ambassador in London, to quit the kingdom. On the 4th of -January, 1762, declaration of war was issued against Spain. Neither -king nor Ministers, seeing the wisdom of Pitt's policy and the folly -of their own, were prevented from committing another such absurdity. -They abandoned Frederick of Prussia at his greatest need. They refused -to vote his usual subsidy. By this execrable proceeding--for we not -only abandoned Frederick, but made overtures to Austria, with which he -was engaged in a mortal struggle--we thus threw him into the arms and -close alliance of Russia, and were, by this, the indirect means of that -guilty confederation by which Poland was afterwards rent in pieces by -these powers. On the 5th of January, 1762, died the Czarina Elizabeth. -She was succeeded by her nephew, the Duke of Holstein, under the title -of Peter III. Peter was an enthusiastic admirer of the Prussian king; -he was extravagant and incessant in his praises of him. He accepted the -commission of a colonel in the Prussian service, wore its uniform, and -was bent on clothing his own troops in it. It was clear that he was -not quite sane, for he immediately recalled the Russian army which was -acting against Frederick, hastened to make peace with him, and offered -to restore all that had been won from him in the war, even to Prussia -proper, which the Russians had possession of. His example was eagerly -seized upon by Sweden, which was tired of the war. Both Russia and -Sweden signed treaties of peace with Frederick in May, and Peter went -farther: he dispatched an army into Silesia, where it had so lately -been fighting against him, to fight against Austria. Elated by this -extraordinary turn of affairs, the Prussian ambassador renewed his -applications for money, urging that, now Russia had joined Frederick, -it would be easy to subdue Austria and terminate the war. This was an -opportunity for Bute to retrace with credit his steps; but he argued, -on the contrary, that, having the aid of Russia, Frederick did not want -that of England; and he is even accused of endeavouring to persuade -Russia to continue its hostilities against Prussia; and thus he totally -alienated a power which might have hereafter rendered us essential -service, without gaining a single point. The Duke of Newcastle, man of -mediocre merit as he was, saw farther than Bute into the disgraceful -nature of thus abandoning a powerful ally at an extremity, as well as -the impolicy of converting such a man into a mortal enemy; and, finding -all remonstrances vain, resigned. Bute was glad to be rid of him; and -Newcastle, finding both his remonstrance and resignation taken very -coolly, had the meanness to seek to regain a situation in the Cabinet, -but without effect, and threw himself into the Opposition. - -[Illustration: GEORGE III.] - -On Newcastle's resignation Bute placed himself at the head of the -Treasury, and named Grenville Secretary of State--a fatal nomination, -for Grenville lost America. Lord Barrington, though an adherent of -Newcastle, became Treasurer of the Navy, and Sir Francis Dashwood -Chancellor of the Exchequer. Bute, who, like all weak favourites, had -not the sense to perceive that it was necessary to be moderate to -acquire permanent power, immediately obtained a vacant Garter, and thus -parading the royal favours, augmented the rapidly growing unpopularity -which his want of sagacity and honourable principle was fast creating. -He was beset by legions of libels, which fully exposed his incapacity, -and as freely dealt with the connection between himself and the mother -of the king. - -But in spite of Bute's incapacity the expeditions planned by Pitt -were uniformly successful. The British fleets were everywhere busy -attacking the Spanish colonies, and cutting off the Spanish ships -at sea. A fleet had been dispatched, under Admiral Rodney, at the -latter end of the last year, against Martinique, carrying nearly -twelve thousand men, commanded by General Monckton. They landed on the -7th of January at Cas de Navires, besieged and took Port Royal, the -capital, St. Pierre, and, finally, the whole island. This was followed -by the surrender of St. Vincent, Grenada, and St. Lucia, so that the -English were now masters of the whole of the Caribbees. A portion of -this squadron, under Sir James Douglas, then proceeded to join an -expedition, which sailed from Portsmouth on the 5th of March; the fleet -commanded by Admiral Sir George Pococke, and the army by the Earl of -Albemarle. The squadron arrived before Havana on the 4th of June--King -George's birthday--and effected a landing without much difficulty. - -It was not, however, till the 12th of August that they were ready -with their batteries. The effect of the bombardment was almost -instantaneous. Within six hours nearly all the enemy's guns were -silenced, and the next day the Spaniards capitulated, agreeing to yield -not only the place, and the vessels in the harbour, but the country for -a hundred and eighty miles to the westward; in fact, all the best part -of Cuba. The booty taken was valued at nearly three million pounds. - -In the East Indies, immediately afterwards, another severe blow was -inflicted on Spain. An expedition sailed from Madras, and Admiral -Cornish conveyed in a small fleet a body of men amounting to two -thousand three hundred, and consisting of one regiment of the line, in -addition to marines and sepoys. Colonel William Draper, afterwards so -well known for his spirited contest with the still undiscovered author -of "Junius's Letters," was the commander. They landed near Manila, -the capital of the Philippine Islands, on the 24th of September, -the Spanish garrison there being taken completely by surprise. The -whole of the Philippines submitted without further resistance; and -Draper, besides being made a knight of the Bath, was, with the naval -commanders, thanked by Parliament, as well they might be. - -The brilliant successes of this campaign had clearly been the result -of Pitt's plans before quitting office. Bute and his colleagues had -no capacity for such masterly policy, and as little perception of the -immense advantages which these conquests gave them in making peace. -Peace they were impatient for--less on the great grounds that peace -was the noblest of national blessings, than because the people grumbled -at the amount of taxation--and because, by peace, they diminished, or -hoped to diminish, the _prestige_ of the great Minister, who had won -such vast accessions to the national territory. Bute was eager to come -to terms with France and Spain, regardless of the advantages he gave -to prostrate enemies by showing that impatience. Had he made a peace -as honourable as the war had been, he would have deserved well of the -country; but to accomplish such a peace required another stamp of mind. - -Bute made overtures to France through the neutral Court of Sardinia. -Louis XV. and his Ministers caught at the very first whisper of such -a thing with the eagerness of drowning men; a sufficient intimation -to an able and cautious minister, that he might safely name his own -terms. The ambassadors, however, soon found that the real business of -the treaty was transacted between Bute, on the part of Britain, and the -Duke de Choiseul, on that of France; and that not through ambassadors, -but through Sardinian envoys. - -The conditions first agreed upon were, that both England and France -were to withdraw their support, either by men or money, to the war in -Germany. France was to evacuate the few towns that she held there, as -well as Cleve and Guelders. Minorca was to be restored in exchange for -Belleisle, which thus fully justified Pitt's capture of that little -and otherwise useless island. The fortifications of Dunkirk were to be -reduced to the state required by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. - -France ceded Canada, Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton, stipulating for the -free exercise of their religion by the inhabitants of Canada, and for -their leaving the country if they preferred it, carrying away their -effects, if done within eighteen months. Nova Scotia and Cape Breton -were given up unconditionally. The boundaries of Louisiana were more -clearly defined. The French retained the right to fish on part of the -coast of Newfoundland and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and to retain the -two little islets of St. Pierre and Miquelon, as places of shelter for -their fishermen, on condition that no batteries should be raised on -them, nor more than fifty soldiers keep guard there. Their fishermen -were not to approach within fifteen miles of Cape Breton. - -In the West Indies it was decided that Great Britain should, of the -French islands that she had taken, retain Tobago, Dominica, St. -Vincent, and Grenada, but restore to France Guadeloupe, Martinique, -and St. Lucia. - -In the East Indies France agreed to keep no troops, and raise no -fortifications in Bengal, and on these conditions their settlements -were restored, but merely as places of trade. Goree, on the coast of -Africa, was restored, but Senegal was surrendered. - -As for Spain, she abandoned all designs on Portugal, and restored the -colony of Sacramento; and she surrendered every point on which her -declaration of war against England was based--namely, the right to fish -on the coast of Newfoundland; the refusal to allow us to cut logwood in -Honduras; and to admit the settlement of questions of capture by our -courts of law. - -These certainly were large concessions, but it was to be remembered -that we had not received them for nothing; they had cost vast sums, and -the national debt had been doubled by this war, and now amounted to -one hundred and twenty-two million six hundred thousand pounds. These -territories had, in fact, cost us upwards of sixty million pounds; and -it is certain that Pitt would have exacted a more complete renunciation -from France of the conquered countries. There was a clause inserted -which Pitt would never have permitted--namely, that any conquests that -should be made after the signing of these articles, should be restored -by all parties. Now, Bute and the Ministry knew that we had expeditions -out against Cuba and the Philippines, and that the only conquests -likely to be made were in those quarters. To throw away without -equivalent the blood and money expended in these important enterprises -was a most unpatriotic act. Still, there was opportunity for more -rational terms, for Grimaldi, the Spanish ambassador at Paris, held -back from signing, in hope that we should be defeated at Havana, and -that then he could raise his terms. When the news of the loss of both -Havana and Manila arrived, Grimaldi was in great haste to sign, and -Mr. Grenville and Lord Egremont very properly insisted that we should -demand an equivalent for the conquest in Cuba. Pitt would have stood -firm for the retention of that conquest as by far the most important, -and as justly secured to us by the refusal of the Spanish ambassador -to sign at the proper time. But Bute would have signed without any -equivalent at all. Fortunately, there was too strong an opposition to -this in the Cabinet, and the Duke of Bedford was instructed to demand -Florida or Porto Rico in lieu of Havana. Florida was yielded--a fatal, -though at the moment it appeared a valuable concession, for it only -added to the compactness of the American colonies, hastening the day of -independence, whilst Cuba would have remained under the protection of -the fleet, one of the most valuable possessions of the British empire. - -This point settled, the preliminaries of peace were signed at -Fontainebleau on the 3rd of November. To console Spain for her losses -by her unlucky alliance with France, Louis XV. ceded Louisiana to that -country by a private convention. - -The violent discontent with the conduct of Bute and his Ministry -gave considerable strength to the Opposition, at the head of which -now stood Pitt, supported by Lord Temple and the Duke of Newcastle. -George Grenville, not satisfied with the terms of the peace, resigned -the post of Secretary to Halifax, and took his new one at the head -of the Admiralty; and Henry Fox, Paymaster of the Forces, became the -leader of the Commons. The Duke of Devonshire and the Marquis of -Rockingham also resigned their places in the royal household; and the -king, in his vexation, striking Devonshire's name out of the list of -Privy Councillors, the Duke's kinsmen, Lords George Cavendish and -Bessborough, also resigned. - -Such was the formidable opposition with which Parliament came to the -consideration of this peace. It met on the 25th of November, and the -tone of the public out of doors was then seen. The king, as he went -to the House of Lords, was very coolly received by the crowds in the -streets, and Bute was saluted with hisses, groans, and the flinging -of mud and stones. On the 19th of December he moved in the Lords an -address in approbation of the terms of the peace. Lord Hardwicke -opposed the motion with great warmth and ability, but there was no -division. Very different was the reception of a similar address in -the Commons the same day, moved by Fox. There Pitt, who was suffering -with the gout, denounced the whole treaty, as shamefully sacrificing -the honour and interests of the country. When he rose he was obliged -to be supported by two of his friends, and was at length compelled to -beg to be allowed to address the House sitting. He yet made a vehement -speech of three hours and a half against the conditions accepted. The -Ministry, however, had a large majority, three hundred and nineteen -voting for them against sixty-five. With this brief triumph of Bute's -unpopular party closed the year 1762. - -The year 1763 opened with the signing of the definitive treaty -at Paris on the 19th of February, whence it was called the Peace -of Paris. Five days later, a peace was signed between Prussia and -Austria at Hubertsberg, in Saxony, to which Saxony, as the ally of -Austria, was a party. Indeed, when England and France, Russia and -Sweden, had withdrawn from the contest, there was little prospect of -the continuance of the war. Both parties were exhausted, and yet, -of the two, Frederick, in his dogged firmness, and in the almost -unparalleled endurance of his people, was more than a match for -Austria. If Maria Theresa could not cope with him when she had France, -Russia, Saxony, and Poland, all united with her to put him down, the -case was now hopeless. The English had stipulated that France should -evacuate all the places in Germany and Flanders that belonged to those -countries, and Frederick had easily induced the German states, in these -circumstances, to a maintenance of neutrality. Austria, therefore, -consented to this peace. She stood out the longest for the retention of -Glatz, the only place won from Frederick still in her hands, but she -was compelled to yield that, too. Both parties returned to the same -situations as before the commencement of this fatal Seven Years' War. - -[Illustration: TEMPLE BAR IN 1800.] - -Whilst this war was raging in Europe, and carrying its ramifications -to the most distant regions of the world, Clive and Eyre Coote were -extending the British Empire in India, and, in the case of Clive, -with as much ability as Frederick of Prussia showed in enlarging his -kingdom in Europe. Clive, in 1757, put down Surajah Dowlah, the Nabob -of Bengal, and in June of that year defeated him at Plassey with a mere -handful of men against his enormous host. He set up Surajah Dowlah's -General-in-chief, Meer Jaffier, and hailed him Nabob of Bengal, Orissa, -and Bahar. We claimed from Meer Jaffier two million seven hundred and -fifty thousand pounds as the share of the Company, the fleet, and -the army. Clive's own share was two hundred and fifty-four thousand -pounds, and the shares of the members of the committee ran from twenty -thousand to one hundred thousand pounds each. Besides this, it was -stipulated that the French factories and effects should be given up -to the English, and the French never again allowed to enter Bengal. -The territory surrounding Calcutta, within a given distance of the -town, was to be granted them on zemindary tenure, the company paying -the rent, like the other zemindars or landholders. Thus the British, -who were before merely the tenants of a factory, became in reality the -rulers of Bengal. - -[Illustration: LORD BUTE AND THE LONDONERS. (_See p._ 175.)] - -At this moment Meer Jaffier found it impossible to retain his seat -without the support of the English. Shah Allum, the eldest son of -the Great Mogul, was coming against him with a large army. Clive met -and defeated him, and for this service he received from his puppet a -jaghire, or domain worth twenty-seven thousand pounds a year. - -Scarcely had Colonel Forde returned from this expedition, towards the -end of the year 1759, when the Dutch, envious of the English success, -sent an armament of seven men-of-war and one thousand four hundred -soldiers from Java. They landed on the Hooghly, and began committing -ravages; but Forde surprised and defeated them, taking every one of -their ships. They were glad to apologise, and pay the expenses of the -war. In February, 1760, a few weeks after these events, Clive, whose -health was failing, set sail for England, where he was received with -the highest éclat, and made an Irish peer, as Lord Clive, Baron of -Plassey. He soon after entered Parliament. - -Our next great move was against the French in the Carnatic. After -various actions between the French and English in India during -the Seven Years' War, General Count de Lally, an officer of Irish -extraction, arrived at Pondicherry in April, 1758, with a force of -one thousand two hundred men. Lally attacked and took Fort St. David, -considered the strongest fort belonging to the East India Company, and -then, mustering all his forces, made his appearance, in December of -that year, before Madras. He had with him two thousand seven hundred -French and four thousand natives, whilst the English had in the town -four thousand troops only, of which more than half were sepoys. But -Captain Caillaud had marched with a small force from Trichinopoly, -which harassed the rear of the French. After making himself master of -the Black Town, and threatening to burn it down, he found it impossible -to compel Fort St. George to surrender, and, after a severe siege of -two months, on the appearance of Admiral Pococke's squadron, which had -sailed to Bombay for more troops, he decamped in the night of the 16th -of February, 1759, for Arcot, leaving behind him all his ammunition and -artillery, fifty-two pieces. Fresh combats took place between Pococke -and D'Aché at sea, and the forces on land. Colonel Brereton attempted -to take Wandewash, but failed; and it remained for Colonel Eyre Coote -to defeat Lally. Coote arrived at Madras on the 27th of October, and, -under his direction, Brereton succeeded in taking Wandewash on the -last of November. To recover this place, Lally marched with all his -force, supported by Bussy, but sustained a signal defeat on the 22nd -of January, 1760. Arcot, Trincomalee, and other places fell rapidly -into the hands of Colonel Coote. The French called in to their aid the -Nabob of Mysore, Hyder Ali, but to little purpose. Pondicherry was -invested on the 8th of December, and, on the 16th of January, 1761, it -surrendered, Lally and his troops, amounting to two thousand, remaining -prisoners. This was the termination of the real power of France in -India; for though Pondicherry was restored by the treaty of 1763, the -French never again recovered their ground there, and their East India -Company soon after was broken up. The unfortunate Lally on his return -to France was thrown into the Bastille, condemned for high treason, and -beheaded in the Place de Grève on the 9th of May, 1766. - -The Earl of Bute became more and more unpopular. The conditions of the -peace were greatly disapproved, and the assurance that not only Bute, -but the king's mother and the Duke of Bedford, had received French -money for carrying the peace, was generally believed. The conduct of -Bute in surrounding the king with his creatures, in which he was joined -by the Princess of Wales, added much to the public odium. George was -always of a domestic and retiring character, and he was now rarely -seen, except when he went once or twice a-year to Parliament, or at -levees, which were cold, formal, and unfrequent. Though, probably, -the main cause of this was the natural disposition of himself and -queen, yet Bute and the princess got the credit of it. Then the manner -in which Bute paid his visits to the princess tended to confirm the -rumours of their guilty intimacy. He used always to go in an evening -in a sedan chair belonging to one of the ladies of the princess's -household, with the curtains drawn, and taking every other precaution -of not being seen. There were numbers of lampoons launched at the -favourite and the princess. They were compared to Queen Isabella and -Mortimer, and Wilkes actually wrote an ironical dedication of Ben -Jonson's play of "The Fall of Mortimer," to Bute. - -All these causes of unpopularity were rendered more effective by the -powerful political party which now assailed him. Pitt led the way, -and the Dukes of Devonshire, Bolton, and Portland, the Marquis of -Rockingham, the Earls of Temple, Cornwallis, Albemarle, Ashburton, -Hardwicke, and Bessborough, Lords Spencer, Sondes, Grantham, and -Villiers, James Grenville, Sir George Savile, and other Whigs, -presented a formidable phalanx of opponents in both Houses. The -measures, too, which he was obliged to bring forward, were certain -to augment his discredit. The funded debt had grown to upwards of a -hundred millions, and there were three millions and a half besides -unfunded. It was necessary to raise a new loan, and, moreover, to -raise a new tax, for the income was unequal to the expenditure, even -in time of peace. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Dashwood, was not -a man likely to make these new burdens go down easily. He issued the -new loan to the public with so little advertisement, that the friends -of the Ministers secured the greater part of the shares, and they soon -rose to eleven per cent. premium, by which they were enabled, at the -public cost, to make heavy sums. The tax which Sir Francis proposed was -one on cider and perry, besides some additional duties on wines. There -was at once an outcry in the City against this tax, led on by the Lord -Mayor, Alderman Beckford, a great friend of Pitt. The cry was only too -sure to find a loud echo from the cider-growing districts. Bute and -his Chancellor were quickly compelled to reduce the proposed impost -from ten shillings a hogshead, to be paid by the buyer, that is, by the -merchant, to four shillings, to be paid by the grower. The tax thus cut -down was calculated to produce only seventy-five thousand pounds--a sum -for which it was scarcely worth while to incur so much odium. - -The cider tax passed, opposed by thirty-nine Peers and a hundred and -twenty Commoners; but it left a very sore feeling in the western -counties, that cider, worth only five shillings a hogshead, the poor -man's meagre beverage, should have a tax levied on it nearly doubling -the price; whilst that at fifty shillings a hogshead, the rich man's -luxury, only paid the same. The growers even threatened to let the -apples fall and rot under the trees, rather than make them into -cider, subject to so partial a tax. No imposition had excited so -much indignation since Sir Robert Walpole's Excise Bill, in 1733. In -the cider counties bonfires were made in many places, and Bute was -burnt emblematically as a jack-boot--Jack Bute--and his supposed royal -mistress under that of a petticoat, which two articles, after being -carried about on poles, were hurled into the flames. - -Instead of taking means to conciliate the public, Bute, stung by -these testimonies of dislike, and by the pamphlets and lampoons which -issued like swarms of wasps, revenged himself by others, which only -intensified the hatred against him. Still worse for him, he had caused -the Dukes of Newcastle and Grafton, and the Marquis of Rockingham, to -be dismissed from the Lord-Lieutenancies of their respective counties, -because they voted against the peace on Bute's terms. With a still more -petty rancour he had visited the sins of these noblemen on the persons -in small clerkships and other posts who had been recommended by them, -turning them all out. Sir Henry Fox joined him relentlessly in these -pitiful revenges, and would have carried them farther had he not been -checked by others. - -For a time, Bute and his colleagues appeared to brave the load of -hatred and ignominy which was now piled everywhere upon them, but it -was telling; and suddenly, on the 7th of April, it was announced that -the obnoxious Minister had resigned. Many were the speculations on this -abrupt act, some attributing it to the influence of Wilkes, and his -remorseless attacks in the _North Briton_; others to the king and queen -having at length become sensitive on the assumed relations of Bute and -the king's mother; but Bute himself clearly stated the real and obvious -cause--want of support, either in or out of Parliament. "The ground," -he wrote to a friend, "on which I tread is so hollow, that I am afraid -not only of falling myself, but of involving my royal master in my -ruin. It is time for me to retire." - -George Grenville succeeded to both Bute and Dashwood, becoming first -Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the king -announced that he had intrusted the direction of affairs to him, and -the Lords Egremont and Halifax, the Secretaries of State, whence they -soon acquired the name of "The Triumvirate." The Duke of Bedford -quitted his post as ambassador at Paris, and was succeeded by the Earl -of Hertford. The Earl of Sandwich became head of the Admiralty, and -the Earl of Shelburne head of the Board of Trade. Old Marshal Ligonier -was removed from the post of Master of the Ordnance to make way for -the Marquis of Granby, but received a peerage. These changes being -completed, the king closed the Session of Parliament on the 19th of -April, with a speech, in which he declared the peace honourable to his -Crown, and beneficial to his people. - -This avowal in the royal speech called forth John Wilkes in No. 45 -of the _North Briton_, destined to become a famous number indeed. -Wilkes had ceased in the _North Briton_ to employ mere initials when -commenting on leading men in Parliament or Government; and he now -boldly declared that the speech put into the king's mouth by the -Ministers was false in its assertion, that the peace was neither -honourable to the Crown nor beneficial to the country. This was -regarded as a gross insult to his Majesty, though it was avowedly -declared to attack only the Ministry; and on the 30th of April Wilkes -was arrested upon a general warrant, that is, a warrant not mentioning -him or any one by name, but applying to the authors, printers, and -publishers of the paper in question. George Grenville, the new -Minister, had, of course, the credit of this proceeding; though it was -thought that Bute still secretly directed the movements of Government, -and that he or the king might be the real author of the order. - -Wilkes entered the Tower in all the elation of spirits which the -occasion of acting the political hero inspired. He was soon visited by -the Dukes of Bolton and Grafton, and Lord Temple, who, as well as his -own friends, his solicitor, and counsel, were refused admittance. His -house was entered, and his papers were seized and examined by Wood, -the Under-Secretary of State, and Carteret Webb, the Solicitor to the -Treasury. On the 3rd of May Wilkes was conveyed to the Court of Common -Pleas, before Sir Charles Pratt, where his case was stated by Mr. -Serjeant Glynn, and then Wilkes himself made a speech of an hour long. -On the 6th of May he was brought up to hear the joint opinion of the -judges, which was that, though general warrants might not be strictly -illegal, the arrest of Wilkes could not be maintained, on account of -his privilege as a member of Parliament; that nothing short of treason -felony, and an actual breach of the peace, could interfere with that -privilege, and that a libel could not be termed a breach of the peace. -The judgment of the Bench, therefore, was that Mr. Wilkes be discharged -from his imprisonment. - -The release of Wilkes by the Court of Common Pleas was a triumph over -Ministers, which, had they been wise, would have induced them to take -no further notice of him. They had only made a popular demigod of him. -The people, not only in London, but all over the country, celebrated -his exit from the Tower with the liveliest demonstrations, especially -in the cider districts, still smarting under the new tax, and where -they accordingly once more paraded the jack-boot and petticoat, adding -two effigies--one of Bute, dressed in a Scottish plaid and with a blue -ribbon, the other no less a person than the king, led by the nose by -Bute. - -The English Government, instead of treating Wilkes with a dignified -indifference, was weak enough to show how deeply it was touched by him, -dismissed him from his commission of Colonel of the Buckinghamshire -Militia, and treated Lord Temple as an abettor of his, by depriving him -of the Lord-Lieutenancy of the same county, and striking his name from -the list of Privy Councillors, giving the Lord-Lieutenancy to Dashwood, -now Lord Le Despencer. - -Meanwhile by the advice of Bute the king sent for Pitt. On the 27th -of August he had an audience of the king at Buckingham House. Pitt, -however, insisted on having in with him all, or nearly all, his old -colleagues, and this was too much for the king; whilst not to have -had them would have been too little for Pitt, who was too wise to -take office without efficient and congenial colleagues. The king, -nevertheless, did not openly object, but allowed Pitt to go away -with the impression that he would assent to his demands. This was -Saturday, and Pitt announced this belief to the Dukes of Devonshire -and Newcastle, and the Marquis of Rockingham. But on Sunday Grenville -had had an interview with the king, and finding that he considered -Pitt's terms too hard, had laboured successfully to confirm him in that -opinion. Accordingly, on Monday, at a second meeting, the king named -the Earl of Northumberland, Lord Halifax, and George Grenville, for -leading posts in the Cabinet, saying, "Poor George Grenville, he is -your near relation, and you once loved him." Pitt said that it would -not do, bowed and retired; the king saying, "My honour is concerned, -and I must support it." - -Grenville, chagrined as he was, still clung to the Government, and -called in the Duke of Bedford as President of the Council, Lord -Sandwich as Secretary of State. Lord Hillsborough succeeded Lord -Shelburne at the Board of Trade. Such was the Government which was to -supersede the necessity of Pitt; Lord Chesterfield declaring that -they could not meet the Parliament, for that they had not a man in the -Commons who had either abilities or words enough to call a coach. - -Parliament met on the 15th of November, and the very first object which -engaged the attention of both Houses was Wilkes. In such fiery haste -were Ministers, that Lord Sandwich, in the Peers, started up, before -the king's speech could be considered, and declared that he held in his -hand a most filthy and atrocious libel, written by Wilkes, called "An -Essay on Woman." Wilkes never had published the filth. He had written, -as it appeared, by the assistance of a profligate and now deceased son -of Archbishop Potter, this "Essay on Woman;" but he had never published -it. It had lain in his desk, and had only been read to two persons--one -of whom was Sandwich himself. When Wilkes, however, was driven to set -up a printing press in his own house, he had printed a dozen copies -of the "Essay on Woman," to give to his dissolute friends, whom he -used to meet at the Dilettanti Club, in Palace Yard. Sandwich, aware -of the existence of the essay, had bribed one of Wilkes's printers, -named Curry, to lend him a copy of it, and had paid him five guineas -as a guarantee for its safe return. The whole thing was a stupid -parody of Pope's "Essay on Man;" in which, instead of the inscription -to Bolingbroke, commencing "Awake, my St. John!" there appeared an -invocation beginning, "Awake, my Sandwich!" and there were also -ridiculous notes attributed to Warburton. - -In the Commons, on the same day, Grenville delivered a message from the -Crown, announcing to the House the imprisonment of one of their members -during the recess. Wilkes immediately rose in his place, and complained -of the breach of that House's privilege in his person; of the entry -of his house, the breaking open of his desk, and the imprisonment of -his person--imprisonment pronounced by the highest legal authority to -be illegal, and therefore tyrannical. He moved that the House should -take the question of privilege into immediate consideration. On the -other hand, Lord North, who was a member of the Treasury board, and -Sir Fletcher Norton, Attorney-General, put in the depositions of the -printer and publisher, proving the authorship of No. 45 of the _North -Briton_ on Wilkes, and pressing for rigorous measures against him. A -warm debate ensued, in which Pitt opposed the proceedings to a certain -extent, declaring that he could never understand exactly what a libel -was. Notwithstanding, the Commons voted, by a large majority, that -No. 45 of the _North Briton_ was "a false, scandalous, and malicious -libel," tending to traitorous insurrection, and that it should be burnt -by the common hangman. - -[Illustration: JOHN WILKES.] - -The consequences were an intense excitement in favour of Wilkes, and -execration against the Commons. Wilkes was reported to be delirious, -and crowds collected in the streets before his house, calling for -vengeance on his murderers. Sandwich was especially denounced; in -return for his dragging forth the obscenity of Wilkes, his own -private life was ransacked for scandalous anecdotes, and they were -only too plentiful. Horace Walpole says that Sandwich's conduct to -Wilkes had brought forth such a catalogue of his own impurities -as was incredible. The "Beggar's Opera" being just then acted at -Covent Garden, when Macheath uttered the words, "That Jemmy Twitcher -should peach, I own surprises me!" the whole audience burst into most -tumultuous applause at the obvious application; and thenceforth Jemmy -Twitcher was the name by which Sandwich was more commonly known. - -Still the affairs of Wilkes continued to occupy almost the sole thought -and interest of the Session. On the 23rd of November the question of -privilege came up; and though he was absent, having been wounded in a -duel, it was actively pushed by the Ministers. Mr. Wilbraham protested -against the discussion without the presence of Wilkes, and his being -heard at the bar in his defence. Pitt attended, though suffering -awfully from the gout, propped on crutches, and his very hands wrapped -in flannel. He maintained the question of privilege, but took care to -separate himself from Wilkes in it. The rest of the debate was violent -and personal, and ended in voting, by two hundred and fifty-eight -against one hundred and thirty-three, that the privilege of Parliament -did not extend to the publication of seditious libels; the resolution -ordering the _North Briton_ to be burnt by the hangman was confirmed. -These votes being sent up to the Lords, on the 25th they also debated -the question, and the Duke of Cumberland, Lord Shelburne, and the -Duke of Newcastle, defended the privilege of Parliament as violated -in the person of Wilkes. In the end, however, the Ministers obtained -a majority of a hundred and fourteen against thirty-eight. Seventeen -peers entered a strong protest against the decision. On the 1st of -December there was a conference of the two Houses, when they agreed to -a loyal address to the king, expressing their detestation of the libels -against him. - -Simultaneously with these proceedings, the actions commenced by Wilkes, -and the printer, publishers, and others arrested under the general -warrant, were being tried in the Common Pleas. All the parties obtained -verdicts for damages, and that of Wilkes was for a thousand pounds. -Chief-Justice Pratt, strengthened by the verdicts, made a most decided -declaration of the illegality and unconstitutional nature of general -warrants. - -As this excitement closed the old year, so it opened the new one. No -sooner did Parliament meet, after the Christmas recess, than, on the -17th of January, 1764, the order for Wilkes's attendance at the bar was -read. It was then found that he had thought it best to retire into -France. Still he did not hesitate to send over a medical certificate, -signed by one of the king's physicians and an army surgeon, affirming -that his wound was in such a condition that it was not safe for him to -leave Paris. The House of Commons paid no attention to the certificate, -but proceeded to examine evidence, and the famous No. 45 of the _North -Briton_; and after a violent debate, continuing till three o'clock in -the morning, passed a resolution that the paper in question contained -the grossest insults to his Majesty, to both Houses of Parliament, and -tended to traitorous insurrection against the Government. Accordingly, -the next day, he was formally expelled the House, and a new writ was -issued for Aylesbury. - -On the 13th of February the Opposition in the Commons brought on the -question of the validity of general warrants. The debate continued -all that day and the next night till seven o'clock in the morning. -The motion was thrown out; but Sir William Meredith immediately made -another, that a general warrant for apprehending the authors, printers, -and publishers of a seditious libel is not warranted by law. The -combat was renewed, and Pitt made a tremendous speech, declaring that -if the House resisted Sir William Meredith's motion, they would be -the disgrace of the present age, and the reproach of posterity. He -upbraided Ministers with taking mean and petty vengeance on those who -did not agree with them, by dismissing them from office. This charge -Grenville had the effrontery to deny, though it was a notorious fact. -As the debate approached its close, the Ministers called in every -possible vote; "the sick, the lame were hurried into the House, so -that," says Horace Walpole, "you would have thought they had sent a -search warrant into every hospital for Members of Parliament." When -the division came, which was only for the adjournment of Meredith's -motion for a month, they only carried it by fourteen votes. In the City -there was a confident anticipation of the defeat of Ministers, and -materials had been got together for bonfires all over London, and for -illuminating the Monument. Temple was said to have faggots ready for -bonfires of his own. - -Government, not content with expelling Wilkes from the House of -Commons, had commenced an action against him in the Court of King's -Bench, where they succeeded in obtaining a verdict against him for a -libel in the _North Briton_. Temple paid the costs, and the City of -London turned this defeat into a triumph, by presenting its freedom to -the Lord Chief Justice Pratt, for his bold and independent conduct in -declaring against the general warrants. They ordered his portrait to be -placed in Guildhall; and the example of London was followed by Dublin -and many other towns, who presented their freedom and gold snuff-boxes -to Pratt. The City of London also gave its thanks to its members for -their patriotic conduct. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - The American Colonies and their Trade--Growing Irritation in - America--The Stamp Act--The American Protest--The Stamp Act - passed--Its Reception in America--The King's Illness--The - Regency Bill--The Princess Dowager omitted--Her Name inserted - in the Commons--Negotiations for a Change of Ministry--The - old Ministry returns--Fresh Negotiations with Pitt--The first - Rockingham Ministry--Riots in America--The Stamped Paper - destroyed--Pitt's Speech--The Stamp Act repealed--Weakness - of the Government--Pitt and Temple disagree--Pitt forms - a Ministry--And becomes Lord Chatham--His Comprehensive - Policy--The Embargo on Wheat--Illness of Chatham--Townshend's - Financial Schemes--Corruption of Parliament--Wilkes elected for - Middlesex--Arrest of Wilkes--Dangerous Riots--Dissolution of - the Boston Assembly--Seizure of the _Liberty_ Sloop--Debates in - Parliament--Continued Persecution of Wilkes--His Letter to Lord - Weymouth--Again expelled the House--His Re-election--The Letters - of Junius--Luttrell declared elected for Middlesex--Incapacity of - the Ministry--Partial Concessions to the Americans--Bernard leaves - Boston--He is made a Baronet--"The Horned Cattle Session"--Lord - Chatham attacks the Ministry--Resignations of Granby and - Camden--Yorke's Suicide--Dissolution of the Ministry. - - -If Grenville and his Cabinet, in their ignorance of human nature, had -made a gross mistake in their conduct towards Wilkes, they now made -a more fatal one in regard to our American colonies. These colonies -had now assumed an air of great importance, and were rapidly rising -in population and wealth. The expulsion of the French from Canada, -Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton, the settlement of Georgia by General -Oglethorpe, the acquisition of Florida from Spain, had given a -compactness and strength to these vast colonies, which promised a still -more accelerated and prosperous growth. At this period the inhabitants -are calculated to have amounted to two millions of Europeans, and -half a million of coloured people, Indians and negroes. The trade was -becoming more extensive and valuable to the mother country. The imports -from England, chiefly of her manufactures, amounted to three million -pounds annually in value. They carried on a large trade with our West -Indian islands and the Spanish American colonies, and French and Dutch -West Indies. They also built ships for the French and Spaniards, in -the West Indies. They had extensive iron and copper mines and works -in different states. They manufactured great quantities of hats in -New England. The fisheries of Massachusetts produced two hundred and -thirty thousand quintals of dried fish, which they exported to Spain -and Portugal, and other Catholic countries of Europe. Carolina exported -its rice to these countries as well as to England; and they exported -vast quantities of cured provisions, dye-woods, apples, wax, leather, -tobacco from Virginia and Maryland (fifty thousand hogsheads annually -to England alone) valued at three hundred and seventy-five thousand -pounds. The masts from New England, sent over for the British navy, -were the largest in the world. - -Such was the busy scene which these colonies were now presenting. -Dutch, German, and Swedish emigrants were carrying their industry and -handicrafts thither. But, instead of our merchants seeing what a mighty -market was growing up for them there, their commercial jealousy was -aroused at the sight of the illicit trade which the colonists carried -on with the Spanish, French, and other colonies, and even with Europe. -The planters of the British West Indies complained of the American -colonists taking their rum, sugar, coffee, etc., from the Dutch, -French, and Spanish islands, in return for their raw produce, asserting -that they had a monopoly for all their productions throughout the whole -of the British dominions. Loud clamours were raised by these planters -in the British Parliament, demanding the prohibition of this trade; -and, after repeated endeavours in 1733 an Act was passed to crush it, -by granting a drawback on the re-exportation of West Indian sugar from -England, and imposing duties on the importation of the West Indian -produce of our European rivals direct into the American colonies. - -These were measures which must have greatly irritated the American -colonists. They exhibited a disposition to curb and repress their -growing energies between the interests of British merchants and British -West Indian planters. The prospect was far from encouraging; whilst, -at the same time, the English Ministers, crushing these energies with -one hand, were contemplating drawing a revenue by taxation from them -on the other. Britain argued that she sacrificed large amounts in -building up colonies, and therefore had a right to expect a return -for this expenditure. Such a return, had they had the sagacity to -let them alone, was inevitable from the trade of the colonies in an -ever-increasing ratio. - -Grenville, being on the look-out for new taxes, had paid particular -attention to the rapid growth of the American colonies, and was -inspired with the design of drawing a revenue from them. The scheme -had been suggested to Sir Robert Walpole, when his Excise Bill failed, -by Sir William Keith, who had been governor of Pennsylvania; but Sir -Robert had a far deeper insight into human nature than the shallow -and obstinate Grenville. He replied, "I have already Old England set -against me, and do you think I will have New England set against me -too?" - -During the Session of 1764 Grenville imposed several duties on American -articles of export, if imported direct from the French, Dutch, and -Spanish West Indies. The Americans did not dispute the right of the -mother country to impose such duties on the trade of the empire in any -quarter; but these imposts, seeing the object of them, were not the -less galling. But Grenville did not stop there; he stated, at the time -of passing these duties, that it was probable that Government would -charge certain stamp duties in America. This was creating a sore place -and immediately striking it. The infatuated Minister was contemplating -an act of the nature of which neither he nor his colleagues had any -conception. - -The news of these imposts, and of this intended stamp duty, flew across -the Atlantic, and produced the most bitter excitement. Never could -this unwelcome news have reached the colonies at a more unpropitious -moment. To restrictions on their legitimate trade, the British had been -adding others on their illegitimate trade. Nearly all the American -colonies lay on the seaboard, and were, therefore, naturally addicted -to a free sort of trade, which these new duties made contraband. The -British Government had sent out a number of revenue ships and officers -to cut off this trade, and capture and confiscate all vessels found -practising it. The colonists met in various places, and passed very -strong resolutions against these regulations. The people of New England -spread their views and resolves all over the colonies by means of -the press. They refused to listen to any overtures of the British -Government on the subject. They claimed the right to grant, of their -own free will, such contributions to the revenue of the empire as their -own assemblies should deem just, and to submit to no compulsion where -they had no voice. They called on all the colonists to refrain as much -as possible from purchasing any of the manufactures of England so -long as she showed a disposition to oppress them, and to obtain their -materials for clothing from other countries, or to begin to manufacture -them themselves; and to cease also to use all luxuries on which the -duties were laid. To make their case known in England, Pennsylvania, -Massachusetts, Maryland, and Georgia appointed the celebrated Benjamin -Franklin their agent in London. - -Parliament met on the 10th of January, 1765. The resentment of the -Americans had reached the ears of the Ministry and the king, yet both -continued determined to proceed. In the interviews which Franklin and -the other agents had with the Ministers, Grenville begged them to point -to any other tax that would be more agreeable to the colonists than -the stamp-duty; but they without any real legal grounds drew the line -between levying custom and imposing an inland tax. Grenville paid no -attention to these representations. Fifty-five resolutions, prepared -by a committee of ways and means, were laid by him on the table of the -House of Commons at an early day of the Session, imposing on America -nearly the same stamp-duties as were already in practical operation -in England. These resolutions being adopted, were embodied in a bill; -and when it was introduced to the House, it was received with an -apathy which betrayed on all hands the profoundest ignorance of its -importance. Burke, who was a spectator of the debates in both Houses, -in a speech some years afterwards, stated that he never heard a more -languid debate than that in the Commons. Only two or three persons -spoke against the measure and that with great composure. There was -but one division in the whole progress of the Bill, and the minority -did not reach to more than thirty-nine or forty. In the Lords, he -said, there was, to the best of his recollection, neither division nor -debate! - -[Illustration: - - AMERICAN PROVINCES - in 1763 - AFTER THE CONTEMPORARY MAP - by Peter Bell. -] - -But a very different spirit displayed itself in America on the arrival -of the news of the passing of the Act. Franklin's friend, Thompson, -replied to him, that, instead of lighting candles, there would be -works of darkness. The rage of the American public burst forth in -unequivocal vigour. At New York, the odious Stamp Act was represented -surmounted with a death's head instead of the royal arms, and was -hawked through the streets with the title of "the folly of England -and the ruin of America." At Boston the colours of the shipping were -lowered half-mast high, and the bells of the city were muffled and -tolled funeral knells. Everywhere there was a frenzied excitement, -and the provincial Assemblies resounded with the clamour of indignant -patriotism. It was the fortune of that of Virginia to give the leading -idea of union and co-operative resistance, which led to the grand -conflict, and to eventual victory over the infatuated mother country. -There Patrick Henry, a very different man to Franklin, started up, and -kindled by his fiery breath the torch of confederate resistance. But -it was at once seen that, to acquire their full weight, the colonies -must unite. Speeches, pamphlets, articles in newspapers, all called -for co-operation. A print was published exhibiting a snake cut into a -number of pieces, each piece inscribed with the name of a colony, and -with the motto, "_Join or die_." In consequence, several of the states -sent representatives to a general congress, to be held at New York in -the month of October, to take measures for a general resistance to the -Stamp Act. - -[Illustration: REVENUE CUTTERS CAPTURING AN AMERICAN SMUGGLING VESSEL. -(_See p._ 184.)] - -Whilst the American colonies were thus stimulated, by unwise taxation, -into a temper which never again could be entirely allayed, the king -was suddenly attacked with an illness, that startled himself and the -kingdom from that security which his apparently robust constitution -had inspired. He was said to labour under cough and fever; but it -became pretty well understood, after a time, that it was something -more alarming--that it was, in fact, an attack of that insanity which -recurred again and again, and held him for years, during the latter -part of his reign, in its fearful power. This time it was of short -occurrence; and the moment it was past, George held a levee at St. -James's, and appeared at it with a cheerful air, as if to dissipate -all alarm. But the king himself immediately proposed a measure, which -showed that it had excited grave thoughts in him. He submitted to -Ministers the propriety of a provision for a regency, in case of any -recurring malady which should incapacitate him for business. The matter -was discussed in the Cabinet, and it was agreed that such a bill should -be prepared, empowering the king to name, if deemed necessary, "either -the queen, or any other person of the royal family usually residing in -Great Britain." - -On the 24th of April, accordingly, the king proposed, in a speech from -the throne, the measure to the Houses in these words. Both Houses sent -addresses of affection, and the bill was introduced into the House of -Lords; and it was there contended that it was too vague, no person -being directly named, except the queen. To remedy this the king sent -a new message, naming the five princes of the royal house, with the -power of nominating others in the case of the deaths of any of them. -Still, on the second reading, Lord Lyttelton declared that this left it -perfectly uncertain who would become regent; and he moved an address to -the king to name which one of the persons specified he would nominate -as regent. But here the Duke of Richmond asked, whether the queen were -naturalised; and if not, whether she were capable of acting as regent. -He asked, also, who were, strictly speaking, the royal family? The Earl -of Denbigh replied, "All who were prayed for;" but the Duke of Bedford -contended that those only in the order of succession constituted the -royal family. This went at once to exclude the Princess Dowager of -Wales, the king's mother; and Halifax, Bedford's colleague, agreed with -him. Amidst all this confusion, Lord Halifax hastened away to the king, -and advised him to have the name of his mother omitted, lest the Lords -should strike it out, and thus make it appear a public insult. The poor -bewildered king, taken by surprise, said, "I will consent, if it will -satisfy my people." - -Halifax, possessed of this authority, returned to the House of -Lords, and announced that, by the king's permission, he proposed the -re-commitment of the bill, with the names only of the queen and the -sons of the late king now living. Thus, the Princess Dowager was -publicly stigmatised, on the authority of her own son, as incapable -of reigning. The amendment, as the royal pleasure, was agreed to. -The country was struck with astonishment. The Duke of Bedford is -represented by Horace Walpole as almost dancing about for joy; the -consternation of Bute and his party was indescribable. To cover the -disgrace, they represented it as the wish of the Princess Dowager -herself. But when the king was left to his own reflections, it began -to dawn upon him that he had, by his weak compliance, openly insulted -his own parent in the grossest manner. He bitterly upbraided Halifax -with having thus stolen his consent by a surprise. But Grenville, -with his usual obstinacy, declined to replace the princess's name -unless it were strongly pressed upon him in the House. He trusted, -however, that the Opposition, who hated the princess, would relieve -him of this necessity by voting against the reinsertion of the name. -But he was mistaken. Mr Morton, the chief justice of Chester, one of -the Bute party, moved for the insertion of the princess's name in the -bill, and the Opposition made no objection; they only too much enjoyed -Grenville's embarrassment. He was therefore compelled to insert the -name, which--thus falsifying Halifax's assertion to the king, that, -if left in, it would be struck out by Parliament--was carried by an -overwhelming majority. - -The circumstance sank deeply into the mind of the king, and, resenting -especially the conduct of Grenville--who had acted as though he held -a monopoly of office,--he determined to be rid of him. He therefore -consulted with his uncle, the Duke of Cumberland. That prince, to -whom age and infirmities seemed to have given a degree of wisdom, -declared the offer of the Ministry to Pitt to be the necessary step, -and willingly undertook to make it. But knowing that Pitt would not -even listen to the proposal without Temple, he dispatched a summons to -Stowe for that nobleman, and himself, infirm as he was, went to Hayes, -to learn the will of the great commoner personally. Pitt showed himself -disposed to accept the office, on condition that general warrants -should be declared illegal; that the officers dismissed on account of -their votes be restored; and that an alliance with Protestant powers, -and especially with Prussia, should be formed, to counterbalance the -compact between France and Spain. This was asking a great deal; but -Pitt demanded more in the particulars of appointments, namely, that -Pratt, who had opposed the Court so decidedly as regarded Wilkes and -general warrants, should be Lord Chancellor, and he opposed the Court -desire that the Duke of Northumberland should be at the head of the -Treasury. Pitt, moreover, designed the Treasury for Temple. But, when -Temple arrived, he refused to take office at all. The fact was that -just now he was making a reconciliation with his brother, Grenville, -and was averse from throwing him overboard. So far from joining Pitt, -he was on the verge of another breach with him. Pitt, disconcerted by -this repulse, with a weakness to be deplored in so great a man, refused -to accept the offer to form a ministry at all. - -The unfortunate king was obliged to submit, and retain his present -incompetent Ministers. These incompetent Ministers, on their part, -now believing themselves indispensable, became at once proportionably -assuming, and even insolent, in their demands. Grenville and Bedford -put several direct demands to the king as the conditions even of their -condescending to serve him: that he would promise to have no further -communications with Lord Bute, nor to allow him the slightest share -in his councils; that he would dismiss Bute's brother, Mr. Mackenzie, -from the office of Privy Seal of Scotland, and from the management -of Scottish affairs; that he would dismiss Lord Holland from being -Paymaster of the Forces, and appoint Lord Granby Commander-in-Chief. -The king, after some demur, submitted to all these conditions, except -the appointment of Lord Granby, and escaped that only by Granby himself -declining the post. George submitted, because he could not help it, -to these imperious conditions; but he inly resented them, and did not -avoid showing it by his coldness towards both Bedford and Grenville. At -this, the haughty Bedford took fire, and read the king a severe lecture -before leaving town for Woburn. He complained of the king showing -kindness to the enemies of the administration; and demanded whether the -king had kept his promise not to consult Lord Bute. - -George had much difficulty in restraining his indignation, but he -kept it down, and only bowed the duke silently out of his presence. -No sooner had he departed than he flew to Cumberland, and declared he -would bear this no longer. Again overtures were made to Pitt, again -Pitt expressed himself willing to take office, but again declined, -because Temple still refused. Foiled in these attempts to engage Pitt, -and equally foiled in an endeavour to engage some of the heads of the -leading Whig houses, who would enter no administration without Pitt, a -heterogeneous cabinet was at length cobbled up, through the management -of the old Duke of Newcastle, who was hankering after office. The -Marquis of Rockingham was put forward as First Lord of the Treasury -and Premier. Grafton and Conway were to be Secretaries of State; and -the latter, lately dismissed with ignominy from the army, was to lead -the Commons. The Earl of Northington was made Chancellor, the old -Duke of Newcastle Privy Seal; another old and almost superannuated -nobleman, Lord Winchelsea, President of the Council. Charles Townshend -retained his post of Paymaster of the Forces. Such materials, it was -clear, could never long hold together. "It is a mere lute-string -administration," said Townshend himself; "it is pretty summer wear, but -it will never stand the winter!" - -Whilst these changes had been passing at home, the effervescence in -America had grown most riotous and alarming. Boston took the lead -in tumultuous fury. In August, the house of Mr. Oliver, the newly -appointed stamp-distributor, was attacked and ransacked; his effigy was -hanged on a tree, thenceforward honoured by the name of the Liberty -Tree. It was then taken down, paraded about the streets, and committed -to the flames. The colonel of the militia was applied to, but sent -an evasive answer, showing that there were others above the mob who -enjoyed what the mob were doing. With this encouragement they broke -out afresh, crying, "Liberty and Property!" which, said a colonial -authority, "was their cry when they meant to plunder and pull down a -house." This time they gutted and partly demolished the houses of the -registrar-deputy of the Admiralty, the comptroller of the customs, -and the lieutenant-governor, destroying a great quantity of important -papers. In New York, delegates assembled from nine different colonial -Assemblies. The governor forbade them to gather, declaring their -meetings unprecedented and unlawful, but he took no active measures to -prevent their deliberations. The Congress met in October, and sat for -three weeks. They appointed Mr. Timothy Ruggles, from Massachusetts, -their chairman, and passed fourteen resolutions denying the right of -the mother country to tax them without their own consent; and they drew -up petitions to the king and Parliament. Everywhere associations were -established to resist the importation of British manufactures after -the 1st of January next, and it was agreed that they should dissolve -themselves as soon as the stamp tax was abolished. But it is well -known, from letters addressed to Franklin, that the Republican element -was already widely spread through the colonies, and this very first -opportunity was seized on by its advocates to encourage the idea of -throwing off the allegiance to England without further delay. - -As the 1st of November approached, the day on which the Stamp Act was -to take effect, the excitement became intense. Furious crowds assembled -in the ports to prevent the landing of the stamped paper from the -ships which brought it. The appointed distributors were compelled to -resign their posts. At New York the stamped paper was landed, but such -was the commotion that it had to be put into the custody of the city -magistrates, and be kept under guard in the city hall. It was utterly -impossible to put the paper into use, and, after some interruption, -business and the courts of law were allowed to proceed without it, on -the plea that the stamps could not be obtained. - -On the 14th of January, 1766, the king opened Parliament with a -speech, rendered necessary by the change of Ministry and the affairs -of America. A great debate followed, in which Burke made his maiden -speech, and was followed by Pitt, who said in his loftiest tone of -eloquence: "This kingdom has no right to lay a tax upon the colonies. -On this point I could not be silent, nor repress the ardour of my -soul, smote as it is with indignation at the very thought of taxing -America internally without a requisite voice of consent. Taxation is -no part of the governing or legislative power. Taxes are the voluntary -gift and grant of the Commons alone. At the same time, on every real -point of legislation, I believe the authority to be fixed as the -pole-star--fixed for the reciprocal benefit of the mother country and -her infant colonies. They are the subjects of this kingdom, equally -entitled with yourselves to all the rights of mankind and the peculiar -privileges of Englishmen, and equally bound by its laws. The Americans -are the sons, not the bastards of England. The distinction between -legislation and taxation is essential to liberty. The Crown, the Peers, -are equally legislative powers with the Commons. If taxation be a part -of simple legislation, the Crown, the Peers, have rights in taxation as -well as yourselves--rights which they will claim whenever the principle -can be supported by might." - -Grenville rose and defended the Stamp Act. He denied that the right -of taxation depended on representation. He complained justly, that -when he proposed to tax America, there was little opposition in that -House. He contended that protection and obedience were reciprocal, and -he exposed the fallacy of Pitt's distinction between taxes and duties. -There was much justice in these remarks. The words of Grenville, so -pointedly directed against him, immediately called up Pitt again. He -had spoken; it was contrary to all rule, but the lion of Parliament -broke recklessly through the meshes of its regulations, and when he -was called to order the members supported him by cries of "Go on! go -on!" He went on, severely castigating Grenville for complaining of the -liberty of speech in that House; and dropping in his indignation the -terms of courtesy towards the late Minister of "honourable" or "right -honourable," said simply--"Sir, the gentleman tells us that America is -obstinate--America is almost in open rebellion. Sir, I rejoice that -America has resisted. Three millions of people so dead to all the -feelings of liberty as voluntarily to submit to be slaves, would have -been fit instruments to make slaves of all the rest." He then exposed -the cases quoted by Grenville to show that taxation in this country -had been imposed without representation, showing that these very -instances led to immediate representation. "I would have cited them," -he continued, "to show that even under arbitrary reigns Parliaments -were ashamed of taxing a people without their consent. The gentleman -asks when the Americans were emancipated? But I desire to know when -they were made slaves?" He then touched on the true sources of benefit -from our colonies, the profits of their trade. He estimated the profits -derived from the American commerce at two millions sterling, adding -triumphantly, "This is the fund that carried us victoriously through -the late war. This is the price America pays us for protection." He -then alluded to the comparative strength of the two countries. "I -know the valour," he said, "of your troops. I know the skill of your -officers. In a good cause, on a sound bottom, the force of this country -can crush America to atoms. But in such a cause as this your success -would be hazardous. America, if she fell, would fall like the strong -man. She would embrace the pillars of the state, and pull down the -constitution along with her." - -The advice of Pitt prevailed. Ministers determined to bring in two Acts -in accordance with his counsels: an Act declaratory of the supreme -power of Parliament over the colonies, and another repealing the Stamp -Act, on the plea which he had suggested. The Declaratory Act passed -readily enough, for all parties agreed in it; but the repeal of the -Stamp Act met with stout opposition. Grenville, with the pertinacity of -a man who glories in his disgrace, resisted it at every stage. When he -was hissed by the people, he declared that "he rejoiced in the hiss. If -it were to do again, he would do it!" In the Lords there was a strong -resistance to the repeal. Lord Temple, who had now deserted Pitt, -supported his brother Grenville with all his might. Lords Mansfield, -Lyttelton, and Halifax, the whole Bedford faction, and the whole Bute -faction, opposed it. The king declared himself for repeal rather than -bloodshed. - -[Illustration: TROOPS ESCORTING THE STAMPED PAPER TO THE CITY HALL, NEW -YORK. (_See p._ 188.)] - -To acquire popularity, the Rockingham administration made a further -restriction on the import of foreign silks; they made a modification -of the Cider Bill, but this only extended to taking the duty off -cider belonging to private persons, and was regarded as a bribe to -the country gentlemen. They induced the House of Commons to pass a -resolution on the 25th of April, declaring general warrants illegal, -and, if for seizing any member of the House, a breach of privilege. -But when they passed this in the form of a bill, the Lords threw it -out; and a second bill for the same purpose failed in the Commons. -Still, these conciliatory measures did not procure them confidence. -Colonel Barré refused them his support; General Conway was sick of -his post, and longed to be out of it; and Henley, Lord Northington, -as Chancellor, was found actually intriguing against his colleagues. -With the Court they grew into no favour, because the king thought -them backward in procuring from Parliament suitable provision for his -younger brother. It was clear that this could not last. To cap the -climax of weakness, the Rockingham Cabinet came to open issue amongst -themselves on the plan of government for Canada. Northington informed -the king that they could not go on; and the king, on the 7th of July, -gave the Chancellor a letter to Pitt, inviting him to form a new -Ministry. The same day his Majesty also informed the existing Cabinet -of the change which he contemplated. Conway said frankly, it was the -best thing the king could do; but Lord Rockingham and the Duke of -Newcastle were deeply offended. - -Pitt hastened up to town, and was graciously received by the king, who -told him that he left the choice of his colleagues entirely to himself. -Pitt, as twice before, immediately proposed that his brother-in-law, -Lord Temple, should be placed at the head of the Treasury. Temple was -summoned from Stowe, but was as haughty and unmanageable as ever. He -demanded that all the old Ministers should be dismissed, that Lord -Lyttelton should have the Privy Seal, Lord Gower be Secretary of -State, etc. Pitt could not accede to these terms. This time he did -not throw up the offer of the Premiership to oblige his wrong-headed -brother-in-law, who had the overweening idea that he was as great a man -as Pitt himself. He stood firm, and, after a long interview at North -End, Hampstead, where Pitt had taken a house for the time, Temple set -off to Stowe again in high dudgeon, declaring that Pitt had thrown -off the mask, and never meant to accept his co-operation at all. Lord -Camden advised Pitt to stand fast, throw off the Grenvilles, and save -the nation without them. He acted on the advice. - -He found the Bedford clan ready, as usual, for office, but wanting to -come in a whole legion; the poor weak Duke of Newcastle was equally -prepared, shedding tears in his facile way, hugging and kissing -people in his trouble, and wondering why his "dear old friend" had -thus abandoned him. Pitt passed on, and chose Lord Camden as Lord -Chancellor; Northington as President of the Council; Lord Granby as -Commander-in-Chief; Shelburne and Conway as Secretaries of State; -the Duke of Grafton as First Lord of the Treasury; Charles Townshend -as Chancellor of the Exchequer; with Lord North, James Grenville, -brother of Temple, Colonel Barré, and others, in secondary posts. -Mr. Stewart Mackenzie, Bute's brother, was restored to his former -office, but without any control over Scottish affairs. It was clear -that Pitt had selected his colleagues without regard to party, but -with an eye to the ability of the respective persons. It was a mode of -acting particularly after the fancy of the king, who had always been, -according to his own words to Pitt on the occasion, "zealously ready to -give his aid towards destroying all party distinctions, and restoring -that subordination to government, which can alone preserve that -inestimable blessing, liberty, from degenerating into licentiousness." -"I venture," said Burke, "to say, it did so happen that persons had a -single office divided between them, who had never spoken to each other -in their lives, until they found themselves, they knew not how, pigging -together, heads and points, in the same truckle bed." - -But where, all this time, was the Great Commoner? The whole world -was astonished when the fact came out that Pitt would accept no post -in his own Ministry but that of Privy Seal, which necessitated his -removal to the House of Peers. The king himself offered no opposition. -Pitt's colleagues were not only astonished, but confounded; for they -calculated on having his abilities and influence in the House of -Commons. "It is a _fall up stairs_," said the witty Chesterfield, -"which will do Pitt so much hurt that he will never be able to stand -upon his legs again." No doubt it was a great mistake, but the -infirmity of Pitt's health is an abundant excuse. This matter settled, -Chatham condescended to coax the haughty Duke of Bedford, whom he met -at Bath, to join him. He explained that the measures he meant to pursue -were such as he knew the Duke approved. Having heard him, Bedford -replied, proudly, "They are _my measures_, and I will support them, in -or out of office." It was understood that he would receive overtures -from Chatham, and, in these circumstances, Parliament met on the 11th -of November. - -Previous to this, however, Chatham had thought over several decisive -measures, and sketched out a scheme of foreign and domestic policy, -which marked how far above the intellectual grasp of most of his -contemporaries was that of his mind. He determined, if possible, to -form an alliance of European states against the Family Compact of the -Bourbons in France and Spain; to reform the Government of Ireland, -which greatly needed it, and that of India. - -His first measure was to establish the Great Northern Alliance. He had -obtained information of designs on the part of France and Spain to make -a descent on our southern coast, and burn the dockyards of Portsmouth -and Plymouth. Before quitting office, in 1761, he had planned this -alliance, and he now made endeavours, but in vain, to induce Frederick -of Prussia to come into such an alliance. Frederick was too sore at his -treatment by the Cabinet of Lord Bute to listen to any proposals from -England. Still, this would not have prevented Chatham from prosecuting -the object of the alliance with Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Germany, and -Holland, had he remained long enough in office. His name carried the -utmost weight all over the Continent. His indomitable vigour, and his -victorious arms, had been witnessed with wonder. In Paris, Horace -Walpole found the news of his return to office produced a panic not to -be described. The very mention of his name struck a silence into the -most boastful or insolent company. - -His enemies of his own house were not so easily intimidated. The summer -had been an unprecedentedly rainy one. The crops had failed, and, in -consequence of the scarcity and dearness of corn, there had been riots, -especially in the western counties. The enraged people had burned down -the ricks and barns of the farmers who were hoarding their corn for -higher prices. Chatham instantly, that is, on the 10th of September, -issued a proclamation against "forestallers and regraters." As the -riots still increased, on the 24th he caused an Order in Council to -be issued, laying an embargo on corn, and prohibiting the sailing of -vessels already laden with wheat for foreign markets, the failure -of crops being as great on the Continent as in England. He had been -advised not to venture on so bold a measure without calling together -Parliament; but he would not hear of it, lest it should look like -timidity of counsel. It was a daring stretch of prerogative, and did -not pass without severe censure. Chatham defended the measure: he -quoted Locke in justification of such measures for the prevention of -internal calamity and tumult; and he defended it further by the fact, -that to have called together Parliament would have brought noblemen -and gentlemen from their own neighbourhood, just when they were most -needful there to maintain order. Lord Camden, the present Chancellor, -and Lord Northington, the late one, stoutly supported him, Camden -saying that it was a measure so moderate and beneficial, that a Junius -Brutus might have trusted it to a Nero. Unfortunately, he added that, -at worst, it was only "a forty days' tyranny"--a phrase which excited -the utmost clamour, and was long remembered against him. - -In the Christmas recess Chatham hastened to Bath, to improve his health -for the campaign of the ensuing Session; but when Parliament met again, -in the middle of January, 1767, Ministers were in consternation at his -not reappearing. The Duke of Grafton and Beckford, who were his most -devoted adherents, were thunderstruck. They found it impossible to keep -in order the heterogeneous elements of the Cabinet. All the hostile -qualities, which would have lain still under the hand of the great -magician, bristled up, and came boldly out. The spirit of Bedford, -of Newcastle, and of Rockingham, was active in their partisans, and -gathered courage to do mischief. Lord Shelburne and the Duke of Grafton -became estranged; Charles Townshend, who had as much ambition and -eccentricity as talent, began to show airs, and aim at supremacy. -Grafton implored Chatham to come to town if possible, and when that was -declared impracticable, to allow him to go down, and consult with him -in his sick chamber. But he was informed that the Minister was equally -unable to move or to consult. - -In these unfortunate circumstances, Charles Townshend, as Chancellor -of the Exchequer, proposed the annual rate for the land-tax. He called -for the amount of four shillings in the pound, the rate at which it had -stood during the war; but he promised next year to reduce it to three. -The country gentlemen grumbled, representing that in years of peace -it was commonly reduced to three and sometimes to two. Grenville saw -his advantage--his great opponent away and the landholders ready to -rebel--and he moved that, instead of next year, the reduction should -take place immediately. Dowdeswell supported him, and the amendment -was carried by two hundred and six votes against a hundred and -eighty-eight. The Opposition was astonished at its own success, and yet -it need not have been; they who had to vote were chiefly land-owners, -and men who did not like taxing themselves. As Lord Chesterfield -observed, "All the landed gentlemen had bribed themselves with this -shilling in the pound." - -The Opposition was in ecstasies: it was the first defeat of Ministers -on a financial question since the days of Walpole, and in our time the -Chancellor would have resigned. The blow seemed to rouse Chatham. Three -days after this event, on the 2nd of March, he arrived in town, though -swathed in flannel, and scarcely able to move hand or foot. He declared -that the Chancellor of the Exchequer and himself could not hold office -together. A few days, and Townshend would have been dismissed from -office, and the country might have escaped one of its greatest shocks; -but, unfortunately, the malady of Chatham returned with redoubled -violence, and in a new and more terrible form. He was obliged to refuse -seeing any one on State affairs. - -Such a calamity could not but be attended with the most mischievous -consequences. Chatham was obliged to leave town, and seek retirement -and a purer air at North End, near Hampstead. Townshend, who in a -few days would have ceased to be Chancellor of the Exchequer, still -retained office, and now showed more freely the wild and erratic -character of his genius. He had lost half a million from the revenue by -the reduction of the land-tax, and he pledged himself to the House to -recover it from the Americans. He declared that he fully agreed with -George Grenville, even in the principle of the Stamp Act, and ridiculed -the distinction set up by Chatham, and admitted by Franklin, of the -difference between internal and external taxation. This was language -calculated to fire the already heated minds of the colonists, who, -the more they reflected on Chatham's lofty language on the supreme -authority of the mother country in the declaratory Act, the more firmly -they repudiated it. - -On the 11th of March, 1768, the Parliament, having nearly lived -its term of seven years, was dissolved, and the most unprecedented -corruption, bribery, and buying and selling of the people's right to -their own House, came into play. The system originated by Walpole was -now grown gigantic, and the sale and purchase of rotten boroughs was -carried on in the most unblushing manner by candidates for Parliament, -particularly aristocrats, who had managed to secure the old boroughs -as their property, or to control them by their property. The Mayor and -Aldermen of Oxford wrote to their members, long before the dissolution, -to offer them the renewal of their seats for the sum of seven thousand -five hundred pounds, which they meant to apply to the discharge of the -debts of the corporation. The House arrested the Mayor and Aldermen, -and clapped them in Newgate for five days; but on their humbly begging -pardon at the bar of the House, they released them again to continue -their base contract. Nay, whilst in prison, these corporation officials -had sold their borough to the Duke of Marlborough and the Earl of -Abingdon. Well might Chatham say this rotten part of the constitution -wanted amputating. Where the people of corporations had votes, they -were corrupted beyond all hope of resistance by the lavish bribes of -the wealthy. The Earl Spencer spent seventy thousand pounds to secure -the borough of Northampton for his nominee. There were attorneys acting -then as now for such boroughs and such corrupt constituents, and -they went about offering them to the highest bidders. One Hickey was -notorious amongst this tribe; and above all, the borough of Shoreham -distinguished itself by its venality, which assumed an aspect almost -of blasphemy. The burgesses united in a club to share the proceeds -of bribery equally amongst themselves, and styled themselves "the -Christian Club," in imitation of the first Christians, who had all -things in common! In the train of all this unprincipled corruption -followed riots and tumults amongst the people, who were at once -starving from the scarcity and dearness of bread, and infuriated with -the drink with which they had been plied to serve the views of these -base candidates. From the centre of this unholy chaos again rose the -figure of John Wilkes, as the reputed champion of liberty. - -He was advised to try Westminster, where Mr. John Churchill, the -brother of his coadjutor, the satirist, and others, were in his -interest, but he boldly struck for the City of London. There were seven -candidates at the poll. Wilkes received one thousand two hundred and -forty-seven votes, but he was still lowest on the poll. His friends, -the mob, had no franchise. - -Undaunted by his defeat, he immediately offered himself for Middlesex, -and there, though the mob could not vote, they could act for him. -They assembled in vast numbers, shouting, "Wilkes and Liberty!" They -accompanied him to the poll; they stopped all the roads that led to -the hustings at Brentford, suffering no one to pass who was not for -Wilkes and liberty. His zealous supporters wore blue cockades or paper -in their hats, inscribed "Wilkes and Liberty," or "No. 45." At night -they assembled in the streets, insisting on people illuminating their -houses in honour of Wilkes; abused all Scotsmen they met; scribbled -"No. 45" on the panels of carriages as they passed; made the parties in -them shout their favourite cry; broke the windows of Lord Bute at the -West End, and of Harley, the Lord Mayor, at the Mansion House--the same -Harley, a younger brother of the Earl of Oxford, who, as sheriff, had -had to burn No. 45 of the _North Briton_ in Cornhill. By such means the -mob managed to return Wilkes at the very head of the poll. - -This was wormwood to the Government; and Wilkes did not leave them many -days in quiet. He had declared that, on returning to England, he would -surrender himself under his outlawry on the first day of the next term. -Accordingly, on the 20th of April, he presented himself to the Court of -King's Bench, attended by his counsel, Mr. Glynn, and avowed himself -ready to surrender to the laws. Lord Mansfield declared that he was not -there by any legal process, and that the court could not take notice -of him; but in a few days he was taken on another writ, and on the -8th of June he was again brought before Lord Mansfield, who declared -the outlawry void through a flaw in the indictment; but the original -verdict against him was confirmed, and he was sentenced to imprisonment -for twenty-two calender months, and two fines of five hundred pounds -each--one for the _North Briton_, and the other for the "Essay on -Woman." - -[Illustration: "THE POLLING." - -ONE OF THE SERIES OF FOUR PAINTINGS ENTITLED "THE ELECTION," BY W. -HOGARTH.] - -[Illustration: THE MOB RELEASING MR. WILKES ON HIS WAY TO PRISON. (_See -p._ 193.)] - -But these proceedings had not been effected without continual tumults. -On the day that Wilkes was arrested by order of the King's Bench -(the 27th of April), and, being refused bail, was sent to the King's -Bench prison, the mob stopped the hackney coach as it proceeded over -Westminster Bridge, took out the horses, and, with shouts of "Wilkes -and Liberty!" drew him, not to the prison, but into the City, and took -him into a tavern in Cornhill, where they kept him till midnight, -declaring that he should enjoy his freedom in spite of the law. But -Wilkes knew his position better than his champions, and, stealing away, -he went voluntarily to the King's Bench, and surrendered himself. The -next morning, when the mob knew that he was in prison, they assembled -in furious throngs, and demanded, under the most terrible menaces, his -liberation. They were at length dispersed by a detachment of Horse -Guards, but not until the mob had abused and pelted the soldiers. These -riots were kept up in different places from day to day; and on the -10th of May, twenty people were killed or wounded. When the soldiers -who had fired on the rioters were brought to trial, they were not -only acquitted, but the new Parliament voted loyal addresses on the -occasion; and the Government, through Lord Barrington, the Secretary -at War, and in the king's name, thanked publicly the officers and men -for their signal service in protecting the public peace. This only -added fresh fuel to the popular flame. To protect the public peace by -shooting the people, and to assure the perpetrators of this outrage, -as Lord Barrington did, that they should have every assistance from -Government in defending them from all legal consequences, was rightly -deemed most un-English conduct. The riots spread on all sides. - -In October of this year Chatham at length resigned, and Parliament -assembled on the 8th of November. The two great objects which engrossed -the attention of Government in these days were North America and John -Wilkes. The news of the Act imposing import duties had reawakened all -the indignation of the people of Massachusetts. The Bostonians took -immediate steps to realise their doctrines. In October, 1767, the chief -men there met, and entered into a bond to purchase or wear no English -manufacture, but to encourage domestic manufacture till these obnoxious -import duties were withdrawn. The Massachusetts Assembly passed strong -resolutions to the same effect, and Mr. James Otis, who had been most -active in contending for them, exerted himself, through the press, -to circulate them all over America. Causes were not long wanting for -testing the resolution of the people of Massachusetts. The governor -of that colony, Francis Bernard, was precisely the man to bring the -matter to a crisis. He was able, determined, and of a hot temper. The -people hated him, because they knew that he was writing home despatches -full of the most unfavourable representations of their proceedings -and designs. He refused to confirm the nomination of such members of -the council as he knew were opposed to the new regulation; and Lord -Shelburne supported him in his act. In consequence, the Assembly -addressed a circular letter to all the other colonies, calling on them -to unite in defeating the new duties. Bernard in vain opposed the -resolution authorising this circular letter; and, on his report, Lord -Hillsborough instructed him to demand from the Assembly the rescinding -of the resolution. The Assembly refused, declaring that if a British -Minister could control the votes of provincial Assemblies, liberty was -but a mere show. Lord Hillsborough had instructed Bernard to dissolve -the Assembly in case it refused to rescind the resolution. In the -meantime, events took place which might have caused a more judicious -man to pause ere he fulfilled these instructions. - -On the 10th of June, 1768, a sloop called the _Liberty_, the property -of Mr. John Hancock, of Boston, arrived in the harbour of that city -laden with a cargo of Madeira wine. Resistance having been offered to -the collection of the duties, the comptroller signalled the _Romney_ -man-of-war, lying at anchor off Boston, to take the sloop in tow and -carry her under her guns. Crowds, meanwhile, had gathered on the quay, -and commenced measures for resistance. The captain of the _Romney_ -sent out his boat's crew to haul in the sloop, and the mob attacked -them with stones. The man-of-war's men, notwithstanding, executed their -task, and carried the _Liberty_ under the guns of the _Romney_. - -But the success of the capture only intensified the commotion on shore. -The tumult continued the next day; the mob broke the windows of the -houses of the commissioners and the custom-house officers; they dragged -the collector's boat on shore, and made a bonfire of it. These officers -fled for their lives--first on board the _Romney_, and then to Castle -William, a fortress at the mouth of the harbour. The third day was -Sunday, and the Bostonians kept the day with the decorum customary with -New Englanders; but on the Monday the riot was resumed with unabated -vigour. Placards were carried round the town, calling on the Sons of -Liberty to meet on Tuesday at ten o'clock. The Sons of Liberty were -members of the non-importation associations, which had been established -there, and in many parts of America. They had adopted that designation -from a phrase in a speech of Colonel Barré, delivered in Parliament -as early as 1765. Daughters of Liberty existed as well as Sons of -Liberty, who mutually bound themselves to drink no tea, as well as to -wear nothing imported after the passing of these duties. The Government -retaliated by pouring troops into the town and summoning ships of war -into the harbour. - -Such, then, was the state of affairs at the meeting of Parliament in -November, 1768. These events in America claimed immediate attention. -The petition of the Convention of Massachusetts, on its arrival, was -rejected indignantly. The Opposition called for the production of the -correspondence with the civil and military authorities there on the -subject, but this demand was negatived. In January, 1769, the House -of Lords took up the subject in a lofty tone. They complained of the -seditious and treasonable proceedings of the people of Boston and of -Massachusetts generally; and the Duke of Bedford, affirming that it -was clear that no such acts could be punished by the magistrates or -tribunals of the colony, moved an address to the king recommending that -the criminals guilty of the late outrages should be brought to England -and tried there, according to an Act of the 35th of Henry VIII. On the -26th of January it was introduced to the Commons. There it excited a -very spirited opposition. Pownall, who had himself been governor of -Massachusetts, and knew the Americans well, accused the Lords of gross -ignorance of the charters, usages, and character of the Americans; -and Governor Johnstone as strongly condemned the motion, which was -carried by one hundred and fifty-five to eighty-nine. On the 14th of -March a petition from New York, denying their right to tax America in -any way, was rejected, on the motion of Lord North; and, still later -in the session, Governor Pownall moved that the revenue acts affecting -America should be repealed forthwith. By this time everybody seemed to -have become convinced of the folly of the attempt; but Ministers had -not the magnanimity to act at once on the certainty that stared them in -the face. Parliament was prorogued on the 9th of May, and did not meet -again till the following January, as if there were nothing of moment -demanding its attention. - -With the same want of sagacity which was driving Ministers and -Parliament to the loss of America, they were still persecuting Wilkes -into popularity. On the 14th of November, 1768, Sir Joseph Mawby, -member for Southwark, presented a petition from Wilkes, reciting all -the proceedings of Government against him, and praying for his being -heard at the bar of the House. Wilkes appeared before the House on the -31st of January, where he took exception to the word "blasphemous" as -applied to the "Essay on Woman." Thurlow, afterwards Lord Chancellor, -a most swearing, blaspheming man, protested that if the House did not -declare it blasphemous, it would be a disgrace to it. However, the -words "impious" and "obscene" were substituted. On the 1st of February -the House determined that his petition was frivolous. The next day -the House went into another charge against Wilkes. In the preceding -April Lord Weymouth, previous to the riots in St. George's Fields, had -issued a letter, as Secretary of State, to the magistrates of Lambeth, -warning them of the danger of riots taking place in the endeavour to -free Wilkes from prison, and offering them the aid of the military. -Wilkes, while in the King's Bench, had obtained a copy of this letter, -and sent it to the _St. James's Chronicle_ with his own comments, -styling it a "hellish project," and as the direct cause of that "horrid -massacre." Weymouth complained to the House of Lords that this was a -breach of privilege. A conference was had with the Commons; Wilkes was -brought to the Bar, where Baldwin, the printer, had acknowledged the -letter to be his, and then, so far from denying it, claimed the thanks -of the country for having exposed that "bloody scroll." The Commons -decided that he was guilty of an insolent and seditious libel, and on -the following day, February 3rd, on the motion of Lord Barrington, he -was expelled the House, by a majority of two hundred and nineteen to -one hundred and thirty-seven. The king had directly asked for such a -verdict by a letter to Lord North, declaring that Wilkes's expulsion -was "highly expedient and must be effected." - -The direct consequence was that he was immediately nominated again by -the freeholders of Middlesex. Mr. Dingley, a mercantile speculator of -London, offered himself as the Government candidate, but withdrew in -a fright, and Wilkes was returned, without opposition, on the 16th of -February, only thirteen days after his expulsion. The next day Lord -Strange moved in the Commons, that John Wilkes, after having been -expelled, was incapable of serving again in the present Parliament, and -the case of Sir Robert Walpole was quoted in justification. Wilkes was -a second time declared incapable of sitting, the election was declared -void, and the public indignation rose higher than ever. The freeholders -of Middlesex instantly met at the "London" Tavern, and subscribed -on the spot two thousand pounds towards defraying the expenses of -Wilkes's election. They then formed themselves into a "Society for -Supporting the Bill of Rights," and a third time proposed Wilkes as -their candidate. He was immediately returned for Middlesex, Dingley not -finding any one who dared to nominate him. The next day, the 17th of -March, the Commons again voted the election void. - -With the beginning of this year, 1769, there commenced, under the -signature of "Junius," the most remarkable series of political letters -which ever appeared in our political literature. Time has not yet -disclosed who this public censor was, though the most weighty reasons -attach the belief to its having been Sir Philip Francis. Whoever -he was, his terrible dissections of the conduct and characters of -public men--the Duke of Grafton, the Duke of Bedford, Lord Mansfield, -and others, not excepting the king himself--caused the most awful -consternation amongst the ranks of the Ministry, and raised the highest -enthusiasm in the public by the keen and caustic edge of his satire and -his censure, by the clear tone of his reasonings, his obvious knowledge -of secret Government movements, and the brilliant lustre of his style. - -At the same unfortunate juncture, the king insisted on Lord North -demanding from Parliament half a million for the liquidation of his -debts, though he possessed a civil list of eight hundred thousand -a-year. Simple as were the habits of George and his queen, the most -reckless disregard of economy was practised in his household. No means -were taken to check the rapacity of his tradesmen, and it was shown -that even for the one item of the royal coach, in 1762, there had been -charged seven thousand five hundred and sixty-two pounds! The Commons -voted the half million, the public grumbled, and the popularity of -Wilkes, the great champion of reform, rose higher than ever. A fourth -time the freeholders of Middlesex nominated him as their candidate; and -on this occasion a fresh Government nominee presented himself. This -was Colonel Henry Lawes Luttrell. Two other candidates, encouraged by -Luttrell's appearance, came forward; and on the 13th of April the list -of the poll, which had gone off quietly, showed Wilkes one thousand -one hundred and forty-three; Luttrell, two hundred and ninety-six; -Whitaker, five; and Roach, none. - -On the 15th of April, notwithstanding Luttrell's signal defeat, the -House of Commons, on the motion of Onslow, son of the late Speaker, -voted, after a violent debate, by a majority of fifty-four, that "Henry -Lawes Luttrell, Esq., ought to have been returned for Middlesex." -The debate was very obstinate. The whole of the Grenville interest, -including Lord Temple, was employed against Government, and the -decision was not made till three o'clock on Sunday morning. - -To such a pitch of folly and despotism had the Grafton Ministry -been driven by the events of the Session of 1769, by their conduct -towards the Americans and Wilkes. The Rockinghams and Grenvilles were -combined against the Grafton Cabinet, and thus acquiring popularity at -its expense. Lord Camden, though still retaining his place, utterly -disapproved of their proceedings. The people everywhere held meetings -to express their total loss of confidence in both the Ministers and -Parliament, and to pray the king to dissolve the latter. In the autumn, -the action of Wilkes against Lord Halifax, for the seizure of his -papers, was tried, and the jury gave him four thousand pounds damages. - -But, gloomy as was the aspect of affairs at home, they were far more -so in America. There, the insane conduct of the Government had gone on -exasperating and alienating the colonists. True, the Cabinet, on the -close of Parliament, held a meeting to consider what should be done -regarding America. Grafton proposed to repeal the obnoxious duties -at the commencement of the next session, but he was overruled on the -motion of Lord North, and it was agreed to repeal all but the tea -duties. Within a few days after the close of the session, therefore, -Lord Hillsborough wrote this news in a circular to the governors of -the American colonies. As was certain, the partial concession produced -no effect, the principle being still retained in the continued tea -duty. Moreover, Hillsborough's circular was composed in such harsh -and uncourteous terms, that it rather augmented than assuaged the -excitement. - -In Massachusetts the colonists were more exasperated against Governor -Bernard, on account of his letters reflecting on the Bostonians in -the matter of the late riots, these letters having been laid before -Parliament, and copies of them by some means procured and sent on -by their agents. They declared that it was beneath their dignity to -deliberate in the midst of an armed force, and requested Bernard to -withdraw the troops, but he refused; and they, on their part, declined -to vote supplies, on which he adjourned them to Cambridge. There, -however, as Cambridge was only separated from Boston by an arm of the -sea, they continued to protest against an armed force, as an invasion -of the national rights of the colonists, and highly dangerous. Bernard -soon announced to them his intention to sail for England, to lay the -state of the colony before the king, and the house immediately voted -a petition to his Majesty, praying him to keep him from coming back -again. Bernard then called upon them to refund the money expended -for the quartering of the troops; but that they pronounced quite as -unreasonable as the Stamp Act, and finding them utterly intractable, -Bernard prorogued the Assembly, and quitted the colony, leaving the -administration in the hands of Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson. - -Yet, in that blind and defiant spirit, which he continued to show till -he had lost the colonies, George created Bernard a baronet on his -reaching home, for having, in effect, brought Massachusetts to the -verge of rebellion; and, to show his emphatic sense of these services, -he himself paid all the expenses of the patent. - -Parliament assembled on the 9th of January, 1770. People had been -surprised at the unusual delay in summoning it, considering the -critical state of America, but they were much more surprised when the -subject put foremost in the king's speech was a lamentation over the -murrain which had appeared amongst horned cattle during the recess, -and which Ministers had taken some measures to stop without calling -together Parliament. It was true that he afterwards alluded to the -state of affairs in America, and trusted some means would be devised by -Parliament to appease the irritation. But whilst war itself appeared -imminent there, whilst the whole country at home was in a state of high -discontent, and the Spitalfields weavers were at this moment in a state -of open riot, the idea of giving the chief place in the royal speech to -horned cattle caused a burst of universal ridicule. It was thenceforth -called the "Horned Cattle Session." Junius launched one of his fierce -missives at the Duke of Grafton, observing, "Whilst the whole kingdom -was agitated with anxious expectation on one great point, you meanly -evaded the question, and, instead of the explicit firmness and decision -of a king, gave us nothing but the misery of a ruined grazier." - -[Illustration: WILLIAM PITT, EARL OF CHATHAM.] - -Chatham had begun to ponder the proceedings of Ministers towards -America and towards Wilkes, or rather his constituents, as soon as -the returning activity of his mind permitted him. The conduct of the -Duke of Grafton, who had taken the lead during his retirement, did -not escape his censure. He had too easily fallen into the demand -of the Cabinet for severe measures in both those cases. No sooner, -therefore, did Chatham appear than he launched the whole thunder of -his indignation, and such was still his power that he shattered the -Cabinet to atoms. No sooner was the Address to the king moved and -seconded, than he rose and passed, with some expressions of contempt, -from the mention of the horned cattle to the more important topics. He -drew a dismal picture both of the domestic condition and the foreign -relations of the country. He glanced at the manner in which the Treaty -of Paris had been made, the abandonment of the King of Prussia, and the -consequent isolated condition of the kingdom, without a friend or an -ally. But bad as the external affairs of the nation were, he described -the internal as far worse. There everything was at discount. The people -were partly starving and wholly murmuring; the constituencies were -alarmed at the invasion of their rights in the case of John Wilkes; and -the colonies were on the very edge of rebellion. Such was the condition -to which the Government in a short time had reduced the commonweal. -More than all did he condemn the policy pursued towards America. He -protested against the term "unwarrantable," as applied to the conduct -of the colonists; proposed to substitute the word "dangerous." He owned -that he was partial towards the Americans, and strongly advocated a -system of mildness and indulgence in their case. - -As for Wilkes, he counselled them earnestly to introduce a paragraph -into their Address to the king, stating their conviction that the chief -discontents of the nation arose from the violation of the rights of -representation in his expulsion from the Commons. "I am," said the -eloquent earl, "neither moved by his private vices nor by his public -merits. In his person, though he were the worst of men, I contend for -the safety and security of the best; and God forbid that there should -be a power in this country of measuring the civil rights of the subject -by his moral character, or by any other rule than the fixed laws of the -land." - -This was going to the very heart of the question with that clear, -searching sense for which Chatham was so distinguished. Lord Chancellor -Camden, who had himself a strong and honest intellect, but not -the moral courage of Chatham, had retained the Great Seal, though -disapproving of the measures of his colleagues. Emboldened by the words -of his friend, he now rose and expressed his regret for having so long -suppressed his feelings. But, he added, "I will do so no longer; I will -openly and boldly speak my sentiments. I now proclaim to the world -that I entirely coincide in the opinions expressed by my noble friend, -whose presence again reanimates us, touching this unconstitutional and -illegal vote of the House of Commons.... By this violent and tyrannical -conduct Ministers have alienated the minds of the people from his -Majesty's Government--I had almost said from his Majesty's person!" -After these words Camden could no longer remain Lord Chancellor. - -The Marquis of Granby resigned his posts as Paymaster-General of the -Ordnance and Commander-in-Chief of the Army, much to the annoyance and -against the entreaties of the king and the Duke of Grafton. Camden -would have done the same, but as the Ministers were anxious to be rid -of him, Chatham and his friends counselled him to remain, and put the -Ministry to the odium of dismissing him. This was done, and thus two of -the men most popular with the public--Granby and Camden--were lost to -the Administration. The Seals, as Lord Shelburne had predicted, went -a-begging. Charles Yorke, second son of the former Lord Chancellor, -Hardwicke, had all his life been hankering after this prize, but -as he was closely pledged to the party of Lord Rockingham, he most -reluctantly declined it. Three days subsequently, however, the king, -after the levee, suddenly called him into his closet, and so pressingly -entreated him to accept the Seals and rescue his sovereign from an -embarrassment, that he gave way. This was on the 18th of January. He -was to be raised to the peerage by the title of Lord Morden, but, on -encountering the keen reproaches of his party at Lord Rockingham's, -he went home and committed suicide. The Seals were then successively -offered to Mr. de Grey, the Attorney-General, to Sir Eardley Wilmot, -and Lord Mansfield, who refused them, and they were obliged to be put -in commission, Lord Mansfield consenting to occupy the woolsack, as -Speaker to the House of Lords, till that was done. After some time, -Sir Sidney Stafford Smythe, one of the barons of the Exchequer, the -Honourable Henry Bathurst, one of the justices of the Common Pleas, and -Sir Richard Aston, one of the justices of the King's Bench, were named -the commissioners. - -In the House of Commons, too, the Speaker, Sir John Cust, was removed -by death at the same moment, and Sir Fletcher Norton was elected in his -place. On the 22nd of January, the same day that Sir Fletcher Norton -was made Speaker of the House of Commons, the Marquis of Rockingham -moved in the Lords for an inquiry into the state of the nation. The -crumbling down of the Cabinet continued. James Grenville resigned; -Dunning, the Solicitor-General, and General Conway, followed; and on -the very day of Lord Rockingham's motion, the Duke of Grafton himself -laid down the Seals. The whole of his administration had thus vanished, -like a mere fog ministry, at the first reappearance of the luminary, -Chatham. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Lord North--He forms a Ministry--Chatham declaims against - Secret Influence--Grenville's Election Committee--Lord North's - Conciliatory Measures--Determination of the Bostonians--The - Boston Massacre--Trial of the Soldiers--Apparent Success of - North's Measures--Affair of the Falkland Islands--Promptitude - of the Ministry--The Quarrel composed--Trials of Woodfall and - Almon--The Right of Parliamentary Reporting--Strengthening of the - Ministry--Quarrels in the City--The Royal Marriage Act--Fate of - the Queen of Denmark--Anarchical Condition of Poland--Interference - of Russia--Deposition of Poniatowski--Frederick's Scheme of - Partition--It is ratified--Inquiry into Indian Affairs--Lord - North's Tea Bill--Lord Dartmouth and Hutchinson--The Hutchinson - Letters--Dishonourable Conduct of Franklin--Establishment of - Corresponding Committees--Burning of the _Gaspee_--Destruction - of the Tea--Franklin avows the Publication of the - Letters--Wedderburn's Speech--The Boston Port Bill--The - Massachusetts Government Bill--The Coils of Coercion--Virginia - joins Massachusetts--Gage Dissolves the Boston Assembly--He - fortifies Boston Neck--The General Congress--A Declaration of - Rights--The Assembly at Concord--They enrol Militia--Seizure of - Ammunition and Arms--Meeting of Parliament--Chatham's conciliatory - Speech--His Bill for the Pacification of the Colonies--Its - Fate--Lord North's Proposal--Burke's Resolutions--Prorogation of - Parliament--Beginning of the War. - - -In this utter desertion, the king prevailed on Lord North, who was -already Chancellor of the Exchequer, to accept Grafton's post of First -Lord of the Treasury, with the Premiership. Lord North, eldest son of -the Earl of Guildford, was a man of a remarkably mild and pleasant -temper, of sound sense, and highly honourable character. He was -ungainly in his person and plain of countenance, but he was well versed -in the business of Parliament, and particularly dexterous in tagging to -motions of the Opposition some paragraph or other which neutralised the -whole, or turned it even against them. He was exceedingly near-sighted, -so much so, that he once carried off the wig of the old Secretary of -the Navy, who sat near him in the House. For the rest, he was of so -somnolent a nature that he was frequently seen nodding in the House -when Opposition members were pouring out all the vials of their wrath -on his head. He thought himself a Whig, but if we are to class him by -his principles and his acts of administration, we must pronounce him a -Tory. - -The Ministry, as reconstructed, consisted of Lord North, First Lord of -the Treasury; the Great Seal was in commission; Granby's places, the -Ordnance and Commander of the Forces, were still unsupplied; so was -the Duke of Manchester's old post of Lord of the Bed-Chamber. The Earl -of Halifax became Lord Privy Seal; the Earl of Pembroke became a Lord -of the Bed-Chamber; the Earl of Waldegrave, Master of the Horse to the -queen; Sir Gilbert Elliot, Treasurer of the Navy; Charles James Fox -became a junior Lord of the Admiralty; Admiral Holborne another; Mr. -Welbore Ellis became one of the Vice-Treasurers of Ireland; and Thurlow -was appointed Solicitor-General, in place of Dunning. - -Lord North soon found himself briskly assailed in both Lords and -Commons. In the former, Chatham was not so happy in amalgamating the -parties of Rockingham and Grenville as he hoped; but he had staunch -friends and oppositionists in Lords Camden, Shelburne, and Stanhope, -and in the Commons he was as warmly supported by Barré, Beckford, -Calcraft, and Dunning. On the 2nd of March a motion was also made -in the Lords for an Address to the king, praying him to increase -the number of seamen in the navy; and it was made to introduce -strong censures on the dismissal of able officers for their votes in -Parliament. On this occasion Chatham loudly reiterated the old charge -of the royal councils being influenced by favourites. "A long train of -these practices," he said, "has convinced me that there is something -behind the throne greater than the throne itself." He referred to -Mazarin, of France; and as Bute was just at this period gone to Turin, -he added, "Mazarin abroad is Mazarin still!" It is not to be supposed -that Bute had any secret influence whatever at this period; but the -people still believed that he had, and that two men especially were his -agents with the king--Bradshaw, commonly called "the cream-coloured -parasite," and Dyson, both placemen and members of the Commons. -Probably, Chatham had a secondary object--to punish these men, who with -Rigby, the parasite of the Duke of Bedford, were continually running -about endeavouring to depreciate the efforts of the more competent, -to whom they were pigmies, saying, "Only another mad motion by the -mad Earl of Chatham." Grafton, though now out of office, repelled -the insinuation of secret influence with indignation. This charge -of Chatham's was followed up, four days after, by a most outspoken -remonstrance from the Corporation of London. It was carried up to St. -James's on the 14th of March by Beckford, the Lord Mayor, and two -hundred and twenty Common Councilmen and other officers. Beckford read -the Address, which charged secret counsellors, and a corrupt majority -of the House of Commons, with depriving the people of their rights. It -declared that the House of Commons did not represent the people, and -called upon the king to dissolve it. His Majesty received the Address -with manifest signs of displeasure, and the courtiers, who stood round, -with actual murmurs and gesticulations of anger. - -At this crisis George Grenville brought in and carried through a -measure, which showed how useful he might have been, had he never -been raised out of his proper element to rule and alienate colonies. -He was now fast sinking into the grave, though but fifty-eight years -of age. This measure was a bill to transfer the trial of controverted -elections from the whole House of Commons to a Select Committee of it. -Ever since the famous Aylesbury case, the whole House had taken the -charge of examining all petitions against the return of candidates and -deciding them. This was a great obstruction of business; and Grenville -now proposed to leave the inquiry and decision to the Select Committee, -which was to be composed of fifteen members of the House, thirteen of -whom were to be chosen by the contesting claimants for the seat, out -of a list of forty-five, elected by ballot from the whole House. The -other two were to be named, one each, by the contesting candidates. The -Committee was empowered to examine papers, call and swear witnesses, -and, in fact, to exercise all the authority previously wielded by the -whole House. It was opposed by Welbore Ellis, Rigby, Dyson, and Charles -James Fox, not yet broken from his office shell into a full-fledged -patriot. It was, however, carried, and being supported in the Lords by -Lord Mansfield, who on this occasion manifested an unusual disregard of -his party principles, it was passed there too. - -Whilst Chatham was heading the Opposition in a determined onslaught -on the Government, the latter were also compelled to face the awkward -American question. Great hopes had been entertained that the people of -Boston would be much calmer after the departure of Governor Bernard. -Hutchinson, the Deputy-Governor, was not only an American, but a -man of a mild temper. But the temper of the Bostonians was now so -much excited, that the leaders of the non-importation Act were more -vehement than ever. The English merchants presented a petition to -Parliament showing that, in consequence of the import duties and the -combinations of the colonists to resist them, the exports from England -to these colonies had fallen off in 1769 by the amount of seven hundred -and forty thousand pounds; that the revenue received from duties paid -in America had fallen off from one hundred and ten thousand pounds per -annum to thirty thousand pounds. - -It was in these grave circumstances that Lord North, on the 5th of -March, 1770, brought forward his bill, based on the terms of Lord -Hillsborough's letter to the American governors, to repeal all the -import duties except that on tea. This was one of those half-and-half -measures which never succeed; it abandoned the bulk of the duties, -but retained the really obnoxious thing--the principle. Grenville -very truly told them that they should retain the whole, or repeal the -whole. Lord Barrington and Welbore Ellis, in their dogged Toryism, -protested against repealing a single item of them; and the Opposition, -Barré, Conway, Meredith, Pownall, etc., as earnestly entreated them to -remove the duties altogether, and with them all cause of irritation. -The motion for leave to bring in the bill was carried by two hundred -and four votes to one hundred and forty-two. During the debates it was -shown that, during the financial year, the American tea duties had -produced--not the calculated ten or twelve thousand, but less than -three hundred pounds! For such a sum did our legislators risk a civil -war. As a last effort on this question at this time, the Opposition, on -the 1st of May, called for the correspondence with America; and, on the -9th, Burke moved nine resolutions on the general topic. They were not -only negatived, but a similar motion, introduced into the Peers by the -Duke of Richmond, met the same fate. - -At the very time that these measures were occupying the British -Parliament, the Bostonians were driving affairs to a crisis. In nearly -all the seaports committees were in active operation for examining -all cargoes of ships, and reporting the result. These committees -also kept a keen observation on each other, and visited publicly -any that appeared lukewarm. Boston, as usual, distinguished itself -most prominently in this business. Regular meetings were held in -Faneuil Hall, and votes passed denouncing all who dared to import -the prohibited goods. Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson exerted himself -to form an association amongst the traders in opposition to these -anti-importers, but he tried in vain. They insisted that the merchants -who had imported goods in their shops and warehouses should be -compelled to ship them back to those who had sent them. One merchant, -more stubborn than the rest, was immediately waited on by a deputation, -headed by an axeman and a carpenter, as if prepared to behead and bury -him; and he was told that a thousand men awaited his decision, and they -could not be answerable for his safety if he refused to comply. - -[Illustration: AFFRAY AT BOSTON BETWEEN THE SOLDIERS AND ROPE-MAKERS. -(_See p._ 201.)] - -The animosity against the soldiers at Boston was actively kept up. The -sentinel could not stand at his post without insult. Every day menaced -a conflict. A fictitious account of an affray between the soldiers and -the people of New York was circulated at Boston, in which the soldiers -were represented as beaten. This gave impetus to the aggressive temper -of the Bostonians. On the 2nd of March, a soldier, insulted by the men -at Gray's rope-walk, resented it; they came to blows, and the soldier -was overpowered. He fetched up some of his comrades, who, in their -turn, beat and chased the rope-makers through the town. The passions of -the mob were inflamed, and they began to arm themselves for an attack -on the soldiery. In a few days the crowd assembled and assaulted a -party of them in Dock Square. The officer prudently withdrew them to -the barracks. As the evening advanced, the mob increased. They cried, -"Turn out, and do for the soldiers!" They attacked and insulted a -sentinel at the Custom House. A party of soldiers was sent by Captain -Preston to the officers on duty to protect the man. The mob pelted -them with pieces of wood, lumps of ice, etc., and denounced them as -"cowards," "red-lobster rascals," and the like. The soldiers stood to -defend the Custom House till they were fiercely attacked, and at length -they fired in self-defence, killed three persons, and wounded several -others--one mortally. - -To prevent further carnage, a committee of the townsmen waited on the -governor and council, and prevailed on them to remove the soldiers from -the town to Castle William. The successful rioters carried the bodies -of the killed in procession, denounced the soldiers as murderers, -and spread the most exaggerated accounts of the affray through the -newspapers, under the name of "the massacre." Captain Preston and his -men were arrested and put upon their trials before a jury of the irate -townsmen. Nobody, for a time, would act as counsel for the defence; but -at length John Adams, a young lawyer, undertook the office, and made -the case so plain, that not only Captain Preston, but all the soldiers -were acquitted, except two, who had fired without orders, and these -were convicted only of manslaughter. - -The arrival of the news of Lord North's repeal of all the duties, -except tea, produced little effect on the minds of the people of -Boston. They declared that the unconstitutional principle was the -real offence, and that it was still retained. The people of New York, -however, had long inclined to gentler measures. They agreed to import -all other articles except tea. Pennsylvania and other colonies followed -their example; and they declared that they who wanted tea must smuggle -it. The more fiery patriots declared against this lukewarmness; but -the desire for the English goods was so great that, during the years -1770 and 1771, the importations were larger than they had ever been. -Nevertheless, though the colonies appeared returning to order and -obedience, the efforts of the Republican party never relaxed, and, -especially in Massachusetts, there was a tone of sullen discontent. -"Liberty poles" were still erected; exciting harangues were delivered -on the anniversary of "the massacre," and the Assembly continued to -manifest a stubborn resistance to the will of the Lieutenant-Governor. - -During the recess of Parliament, a dispute occurred with Spain -regarding the Falkland Islands, which led to the very verge of war. -In 1764 the French, under Bougainville, made a settlement on Falkland -Sound; but Spain putting in a claim that these isles were part of her -South American territory, Choiseul, the French Minister, abandoned the -settlement, and the Spaniards changed its name from Port Louis to Port -Soledad. The very next year, 1765, Commodore Byron was sent to form -a settlement on another of the islands, which he named Port Egmont, -in honour of Lord Egmont, First Lord of the Admiralty. Such were the -distant islets to which, in 1769, Spain began to assert her claim. -The Governor of Port Soledad sent repeated messages to Captain Hunt, -of the _Tamar_, stationed at Port Egmont, requiring the abandonment -of the place. When the notices were succeeded by threats, Captain -Hunt sailed home to lay the matter before his Government. He landed -at Portsmouth in June, 1770, and made known the Spanish interference -to the Cabinet. Meanwhile, the Spaniards, taking advantage of Hunt's -absence, had, about the time that he arrived in England, dispatched -to the Falklands Buccarelli, the Governor of Buenos Ayres, with five -frigates and one thousand six hundred men. Having entered the port on -pretence of wanting water, and finding the _Tamar_ absent, and only two -armed sloops there, and a mere handful of soldiers, Buccarelli landed -his force, and, after the firing of a few shots for form's sake, the -English surrendered, and were permitted to depart with all the honours -of war. - -The excitement, both at Court and in the country, was far beyond the -then apparent value of the islands; but there had been an insult to the -British flag, and both Government and Opposition demanded expiation. -Lord North displayed a bold and determined tone on the occasion. -Orders were sent over to the British ambassador, at Madrid, to demand -an immediate disavowal of Buccarelli's act, and instant measures -were taken for war, in case of refusal. Ships were refitted, their -commanders named, stores were put on board, and orders for pressing -men, according to the custom of the time, were issued. But in London -these preparations met with resistance from the opposition spirit of -the Corporation. Things, however, seemed tending strongly towards -war. Our _Chargé d'affaires_ at Madrid, in absence of the ambassador, -was Mr. Harris, the son of the author of "Hermes." He was but a youth -of four-and-twenty, but already displayed much of the talent which -raised him to the title of Malmesbury. He wrote home that the King of -Spain and some of his Ministers were averse from the idea of war, and -unprepared for it; but that others were influenced by Choiseul, the -French Premier, and demanded a vigorous attack on England. - -But the King of France did not share in the feeling of Choiseul. He -wrote to the King of Spain about this time, "My Minister wishes for -war, but I do not!" In fact, changes had taken place in the Court of -France which were about to precipitate Choiseul from his long-enjoyed -favour. Madame de Pompadour was dead, and the king had become deeply -enamoured of Madame du Barry. Choiseul was impolitic enough to despise -her influence, and treated her with undisguised _hauteur_. He soon -felt the consequence in an order from the king to resign his office -and retire to his estate at Chanteloupe, in Touraine. The shock to -the insolent Minister, who had so long ruled absolutely in the French -Court, was the more unlooked for, because he thought himself now all -the more safe from having secured the marriage of the king's heir, -his eldest grandson, with the Austrian archduchess, Marie Antoinette. -Choiseul was succeeded by the triumvirate d'Aiguillon, as Foreign -Minister; Terray, as Minister of Finance; and Maupeou, as Minister of -Jurisprudence; but all subject to the supreme influence of Madame du -Barry. Louis XV. thenceforth became a cipher. - -The spirit of Choiseul having departed from the French administration, -and the king having so unequivocally expressed his intention not to -go to war, the Spanish Court hastened to lower its tone and offer -conciliatory terms. In December they had proposed, through Prince de -Masserano, to disavow the expedition of Buccarelli, if the English -Court would disown the menaces of Captain Hunt. This was promptly -refused, and orders were sent to Mr. Harris to quit the capital of -Spain. He set out in January, 1771, but was speedily recalled; the -expedition of Buccarelli was disavowed; the settlement of Port Egmont -was conceded, whilst the main question as to the right of either party -to the Falklands at large was left to future discussion. So little -value, however, did Britain attach to the Falkland Isles, that it -abandoned them voluntarily two years afterwards. For many years they -were forsaken by both nations; but in 1826 the Republic of Buenos Ayres -adopted them as a penal colony, and in 1833 the British finally took -possession of them. - -Whilst these events had been progressing, the Ministry had entered into -a combat with the great unknown political essayist, Junius. Junius -had advanced from Sir William Draper to the Duke of Grafton, and from -the Duke of Grafton to the king in his sweeping philippics. For these -daring censures, Woodfall, the printer of the _Public Advertiser_, -was tried, and also Almon, the publisher of the _London Museum_, a -monthly periodical, for reprinting the libel there. Almon was convicted -of publishing, and sentenced to pay a fine of ten marks, and give -security for his good behaviour for two years, himself in four hundred -pounds, and two sureties in two hundred pounds each. He moved in vain -for a new trial. Woodfall was convicted of "printing and publishing -only;" but he obtained an order for a new trial, on the ground of the -phrase "only" being ambiguous. But the circumstance which excited the -attention and turned the resentment of both Liberal statesmen and -the people was, that Lord Mansfield on these trials had instructed -the juries to confine themselves to the facts alone, and to leave -the question of legality to the judges. This was properly declared a -dangerous infringement of the rights of juries, and calculated to make -their verdicts merely the servile echoes of the dicta of the judges. -Lord Chatham, on the 28th of November, denounced in the Peers this -dictation of the judge to the juries. Serjeant Glynn, at the same time, -moved in the Commons for an inquiry into the administration of justice -in Westminster Hall, where such unconstitutional instructions could -be given. This occasioned a warm debate, in which Burke, Dunning, and -others, ably defended the public rights. The motion was negatived. - -The year 1771 opened in circumstances which greatly diminished the -interest in Parliamentary proceedings. As all reporting was excluded -from the House of Lords, the chief speakers there felt that they were -no longer addressing the nation, but merely a little knot of persons -in a corner, and consequently the stimulus of both fame and real -usefulness was at an end. In the Commons, the desire of the Ministry -to reduce that popular arena to the same condition of insignificance -produced a contest with the City as foolish and mischievous in its -degree as the contests then going on with Wilkes and America. George -Onslow, nephew of the late Speaker, and member for Guildford, moved -that several printers, who had dared to report the debates of the House -of Commons, should be summoned to the bar to answer for their conduct. -Accordingly, these mediums of communication between the people and -their representatives were summoned and reprimanded on their knees. -One of their number, named Miller, however, declared that he was a -liveryman of London, and that any attempt to arrest him would be a -breach of the privileges of the City. The Serjeant-at-Arms dispatched -a messenger to apprehend this sturdy citizen, and bring him before the -House; but, instead of succeeding, the Parliamentary messenger was -taken by a City constable, and carried before Brass Crosby, the Lord -Mayor. With the Lord Mayor sat Alderman Wilkes and Alderman Oliver. -It was delightful work to Wilkes thus to set at defiance the House -of Commons, which had made such fierce war on him. The Lord Mayor, -accordingly, was fully confirmed in his view that the messenger of -the Commons had committed a flagrant violation of the City charter, -in endeavouring to lay hands on one of its liverymen within its own -precincts, and they held the messenger accordingly to bail. The House -of Commons was fired with indignation at this contemptuous disregard -of their dignity. They passed a resolution, by a large majority, -ordering the Lord Mayor and the two aldermen to appear at their bar. -Wilkes bluntly refused to attend the House in any shape but as a -recognised member of it. Crosby pleaded a severe fit of the gout; and -Oliver, though he appeared in his place, refused to make any submission -whatever, but told them he defied them. The House, in its blind anger, -resolved that Oliver should be committed to the Tower, and Crosby to -the custody of the Serjeant-at-Arms. But Crosby declared that he would -not accept this indulgence at the hands of the House, but would share -the incarceration of his honourable friend; and he was accordingly sent -also to the Tower. The people out of doors were in the highest state -of fury. They greeted the City members on their way to and from the -House, but they hooted and pelted the Ministerial supporters. Charles -James Fox, still a Government man, as all his family had been, was -very roughly handled; Lord North's carriage was dashed in, and himself -wounded; and had he not been rescued by a popular member, Sir William -Meredith, he would probably have lost his life. The Commons had engaged -in a strife with the City, in which they were signally beaten, and no -further notice being taken of the printers, from this time forward the -practice of reporting the debates of Parliament became recognised as -an established privilege of the people, though formally at the option -of the House; and so far now from members or Ministers fearing any -evil from it, the most conservative of them would be deeply mortified -by the omission of their speeches in the reports. The termination of -the Session also opened the doors of the Tower, and liberated the -Lord Mayor and Alderman Oliver. They were attended from the Tower to -the Mansion House by the Corporation in their robes, where a banquet -celebrated their restoration to freedom, and the populace displayed -their sympathy by bonfires and illuminations. - -[Illustration: SPADE GUINEA OF GEORGE III.] - -[Illustration: FIVE-SHILLING PIECE OF GEORGE III.] - -[Illustration: TWOPENNY PIECE OF GEORGE III.] - -During the recess considerable changes took place in the Cabinet. Lord -Halifax died on the 8th of June; the Earl of Suffolk succeeded him as -Secretary of State, and the remainder of the Grenville party thereupon -supported the Ministry. Suffolk introduced his friend, Lord Hyde, -afterwards Earl of Clarendon, to the post of Chancellor of the Duchy -of Lancaster, with an augmented salary. The administration of Lord -North was considerably strengthened, too, by the abilities of Thurlow, -as Attorney-General, and of Wedderburn, as Solicitor-General. But the -addition to the Cabinet of Lord North which occasioned the greatest -surprise, was that of the Duke of Grafton. He received the Privy Seal. - -During the recess a violent quarrel had been going on in the City, -which showed the disorganisation of the Opposition. Wilkes had offered -himself as sheriff; but Alderman Oliver, who had lately been in prison -for his bold conduct in the affair of Miller, the printer, had refused -to support the claim of Wilkes. In fact, not only he, but the Lord -Mayor, Alderman Townshend, and Sawbridge, were beginning to see through -Wilkes. Oliver went further--he refused to serve as the other sheriff -with Wilkes. Government availed itself of these divisions to defeat -the election of Wilkes. Alderman Bull became the second candidate with -Wilkes, and Government induced their party in the City to nominate -Aldermen Plumbe and Kirkman in opposition to them. Wilkes would -probably have been defeated, especially as Oliver finally came forward, -supported by all the eloquence and exertions of John Horne. But, -fortunately for Wilkes and his fellow-candidate, Bull, a letter sent -by the Government agent to a Mr. Smith in the City was misdelivered -to another Mr. Smith, a supporter of Wilkes and Bull, announcing the -exertions that Government would make in support of their men, Plumbe -and Kirkman. This letter was immediately published, and, alarming all -the enemies of Government, made them rally round Wilkes and Bull, who -were accordingly elected. - -[Illustration: PRESS-GANG AT WORK.] - -On the 21st of January, 1772, the king opened Parliament, and the two -divisions of the Opposition under the leadership of Rockingham and -Chatham were found to be divided and dispirited. The chief proceeding -of this session was one of a very remarkable character. The boasted -morals of George III. and of his queen had not defended his family -from gross crimes and corruptions. Very notorious was the life of his -brother, the Duke of Cumberland. Amongst his licentious intrigues -was one with Henrietta Vernon, Lady Grosvenor, a young and beautiful -woman, whom he seduced, following her into Cheshire, when her husband -took her from town, and meeting her in various disguises. In 1770 Lord -Grosvenor brought an action against him and obtained a verdict of ten -thousand pounds. With a rapidity of fickleness almost unexampled, he -was immediately afterwards paying suit to Mrs. Horton. Cumberland -went over to Calais with Mrs. Horton, and there married her according -to the rites of the Church of England (October 2, 1771). The Duke -of Gloucester also now confessed to a secret marriage (September 6, -1766) with the Countess Dowager Waldegrave. A Bill was brought into -Parliament in 1772, since well known as the Royal Marriage Act, by -which every prince or princess, descendant of George II., except only -the issue of princes married abroad, was prohibited from marrying -until the age of twenty-five without the king's consent. After that -age they might apply to the Privy Council, and if within a year -of such announcement both Houses of Parliament should not express -disapprobation of the intended marriage, it might then be lawfully -solemnised. The Bill did not pass without violent opposition. - -But these were by no means the total of the royal troubles at this -period. The youngest and most beloved of George III.'s sisters, -Caroline Matilda, had been married to Christian VII. of Denmark. This -young man was little better than an idiot, and the poor princess was -married to him at the age of sixteen. The marriage of this young -couple, and their ascent to the throne, were nearly simultaneous; and, -contrary to the usual custom of a monarch, it was deemed advisable that -he should travel. In his tour he fell in with the celebrated Struensee, -a young physician of Altona. Christian VII., like all weak monarchs, -must have favourites. Struensee speedily became the perfect master of -Christian's mind and actions, and on their return to Copenhagen he was -raised to the rank of count, and soon after was made Prime Minister. -His enemies were of course numerous, and scandal soon connected his -name with that of the queen. All this especially favoured the plans -of the base queen dowager, who, in league with the hostile nobles, -feigned a plot against the king; obtained from him, in his bed at -midnight, an order for the arrest of the queen, Struensee, and others. -The queen was seized half dressed. Struensee was executed with especial -barbarities; but the King of England interfered to save his sister, and -to procure the succession to her son. The unhappy young queen, however, -was separated for ever from her two children, and conveyed to Zell, in -Hanover--the same castle or prison where the unhappy wife of George I. -had pined away her life. There she died after a few years, protesting -her innocence, though Struensee had confessed his guilt. - -From the affairs of the royal family, we turn to a more important -subject, the partition of Poland. Poland, lying contiguous to Russia, -had for ages been in a condition calculated to attract the cupidity of -ambitious neighbours. Its nobles usurped all authority. They kept the -whole mass of the people in hopeless serfdom; they usurped the whole -of the land; they elected their own king, and were too fond of power -themselves to leave him more than a puppet in their hands. To make the -condition of the country worse, it was violently divided on the subject -of religion. One part of the nobles consisted of Roman Catholics, -another of what were called Dissidents, made up of members of the Greek -Church, and Protestants, Lutherans, Calvinists, and Arians. Although by -what was called the Pacta Conventa the Dissidents had been admitted to -an equality of rights, this was totally disregarded by the overbearing -Roman Catholics; and in 1736 the Pacta Conventa was formally abolished. -Every Dissident was, by this measure, for ever excluded from -government, and from all interest in it. - -Thus the whole country was torn by religious animosity; the nobles -were insolent to the Crown, and the people were nothing. Such was -the divided condition of Poland which led to its dismemberment. -All nobility of mind was destroyed; pride and oppression were the -inseparable consequences of such a system. There was no middle class, -no popular class; it was a country of lords and slaves--of one class -domineering over the other. The Greek Catholics were the Dissidents, -and the Dissidents sought aid from Russia--which was also Greek in -religion--and, to insure this aid, condescended to the lowest arts of -solicitation, to the practice of fawning, stooping, and cringing to -the great barbarous power of Russia on one side, and to the equally -barbarous power of Turkey on the other. The nobles could bring large -bodies of cavalry into the field, as many, at times, as a hundred -thousand; but as they had no free people, and dreaded to arm their -slaves, they had little or no infantry, except such as they hired, and -even this was in no condition to withstand the heavy masses of Russian -infantry, much less such armies as Prussia or Austria might be tempted -to bring against them. - -From the moment that Russia was called in, under the pretext of -maintaining order, she became, or aimed to become, the dominant power -there. She pressed on the whole line of the Polish frontier with her -armies, inundated the kingdom with her troops, and levied contributions -for their support as if she had been in a conquered country. From that -hour, too, the kings were elected rather by foreign armies than by the -Poles themselves. Stanislaus Poniatowski, the present king, was the -nominee of Catherine of Russia, whose lover he had been till superseded -by Orloff. She had placed him on the throne by force of arms, and he -was incapable of doing anything except through her power. - -Some faint endeavours were made to shake off the yoke. Encouraged by -France, they summoned the Turks to their aid and cut to pieces several -detachments of the Russians. They proclaimed Poniatowski deposed, -and called on the people to aid them to drive out the invaders. But -the people, long used to oppression from their own lords, did not -answer to the call. In France, Choiseul had been hurled from power, -and France left the Poles to their fate. It was now that Frederick -of Prussia proposed to Austria to combine with Russia and share -Poland between them. At this robber proposition, so in character with -Frederick, who had all his life been creating a kingdom by plundering -his neighbours, Maria Theresa at first exclaimed in horror. But she -was now old and failing, and she gave way, declaring that, long after -she was dead and gone, people would see what would happen from their -having broken through everything which had, till then, been deemed -just and holy. Frederick of Prussia took the surest way to compel the -Austrians to come in for a share of the spoils of Poland. He marched a -body of soldiers out of Silesia--the territory which he had rent from -Austria--into Posen, and Austria, not to be behind, had marched another -army into the Carpathian Mountains. - -In vain did Poniatowski remonstrate; he had no means of resistance. -The Turks could no longer defend themselves from Russian invasion, -much less assist Poland. They applied to Frederick to intercede -with Catherine for peace for them. Nothing could so entirely suit -Frederick's plans. He sent Prince Henry of Prussia to negotiate with -Catherine, who took the opportunity to represent to her the advantages -to the three great powers, Russia, Prussia, and Austria, strengthening -themselves by appropriating portions of Poland. The Russians, relieved -from contention with the Poles, now pushed on their victories against -the Turks; drove them over the Danube, and seized some of their most -fertile provinces. To complete their ruin, they, aided by England, -attacked and destroyed their fleet in the Mediterranean. - -The treaty between Russia, Prussia, and Austria for the first division -of Poland was signed at St. Petersburg on the 5th of August, 1772. The -three robber powers now promised to rest satisfied with their booty; -to respect the rights and remaining territories of Poland--words hollow -and worthless as they who used them. The invaders divided at this time -about one-third of Poland between them. Prussia appropriated the whole -of Pomerania, part of Great Poland, the bishopric of Warmia, and the -palatinates of Marienburg and Culm; with complete command of the lower -part of the Vistula. The whole of this territory did not exceed eight -hundred square miles, but it was a territory of vast importance to -Prussia, as it united Pomerania with the rest of that kingdom. Russia -and Austria acquired immensely more in extent. Russia took nearly the -whole of Lithuania, with the vast country between the rivers Dwina -and Dniester. Austria secured the country along the left bank of the -Vistula from Wieliczka to the confluence of the Vistula and the Viroz. -But Russia had Galicia, the palatinate of Belz, and a part of Volhynia. -Unsupported by France, England had no course but to acquiesce in the -arrangement. - -The year 1773 opened with an inquiry in Parliament into the abuses of -the administration of affairs in India. There were great complaints -of the wholesale rapacity and oppression perpetrated on the natives -by the Company's servants. Before the close of the preceding year, a -secret committee had been appointed to inquire into these abuses, and -to take the matter out of the hands of Government, the Company proposed -to appoint a number of supervisors to go out to India and settle the -causes of complaint. The secret committee proposed a Bill to prevent -this, as a scheme for merely evading a thorough inquiry and continuing -the atrocities. Burke, who was a holder of India stock, defended the -Company, and declared that such a Bill would annihilate the Company, -and make the House of Commons the Company itself and the Speaker its -chairman. He reminded them that the Company paid to Government four -hundred thousand pounds a year, and that Government had connived at the -maladministration which had been carried on. This certainly was, so far -from a reason against the Bill, a reason why they should connive no -longer; and the Bill was carried by a large majority. - -The Company was then compelled to reduce its dividends to six per cent. -and apply to Parliament for a loan of a million and a half to meet its -pecuniary difficulties. This, Ministers and Parliament complied with, -and proceeding to relieve the Company of its embarrassments, Lord -North proposed and carried a measure, by which the Company, which -had no less than seventeen million pounds of tea in its warehouses, -should, without limit of time, be authorised to export its teas to -the British colonies of America duty free. This was thought a great -and conciliatory boon to the Americans, but it proved otherwise. The -import duty of threepence in the pound was still stubbornly retained, -and the Americans, looking at the principle of taxation, and not at -a mere temptation of a cheapened article, saw through the snare, and -indignantly rejected it. The principal tea merchants declared that this -would be the case, and that the whole Government scheme was wild and -visionary. - -Though there had appeared a lull in American affairs for some time, -any one who was observant might have seen that all the old enmities -were still working in the colonial mind, and that it would require -little irritation to call them forth in even an aggravated form. Lord -Hillsborough was no longer Governor, but William Legge, Lord Dartmouth. -He was a man of high reputation for uprightness and candour; Richardson -said that he would be the perfect ideal of his Sir Charles Grandison, -if he were not a Methodist; and the poet Cowper, not objecting to his -Methodism, described him as "one who wears a coronet and prays." But -Lord Dartmouth, with all his superiority of temper and his piety, could -not prevent the then stone-blind Cabinet and infatuated king from -accomplishing the independence of America. - -Another favourable circumstance would have been found in the fact -that in Hutchinson, Massachusetts had a native Governor, a man of -courteous manners and moderate counsels. But even out of Hutchinson's -position arose offence. His brothers-in-law, Andrew and Peter Oliver, -were appointed Lieutenant-Governor and Chief Justice of the province. -Lord North thought that the payment of these officers should be in -the hands of Government, to render them independent of the colonists; -but this the colonists resented as an attempt to destroy the Charter -and establish arbitrary power. The Massachusetts House of Assembly -declared on this occasion, in their address to the Crown:--"We know of -no commissioners of his Majesty's Customs, nor of any revenue that his -Majesty has a right to establish in North America." They denounced the -Declaratory Act passed at the suggestion of Chatham, and the attempt -to make the governors and judges independent of the people, and the -arbitrary instruments of the Crown. In Virginia the same spirit was -conspicuous. - -During the years 1767, 1768, and 1769, Mr. Thomas Whately--at one time -private secretary to Grenville, and several years Under-Secretary -of State to Lord Suffolk, but during these years out of office, and -simply member of Parliament--had maintained a private correspondence -with Governor Hutchinson and his brother-in-law, Andrew Oliver, the -Lieutenant-Governor. In these letters Hutchinson and Oliver had freely -expressed to their old friend their views of the state of affairs in -the colony; and, of course, said many things never intended to come -to the public eye, or to operate officially. On the death of Whately, -in 1772, some villain purloined these letters and conveyed them to -Franklin, who was acting as agent for Massachusetts. Who this dishonest -firebrand was, was never discovered. Franklin pledged himself to -secrecy, both as to the letters and as to the name of the person who -so basely obtained them. The name of this person he faithfully kept; -but the contents of the letters were too well calculated to create -irreconcilable rancour in the minds of the Americans, for him to resist -the pleasure of communicating them to the Massachusetts Assembly. He -accordingly forwarded them to Mr. Curling, the Speaker of the Assembly. - -The whole mode of coming into possession of these papers has something -in it revolting to all honourable minds. Franklin, aware of this, -insisted that they should not be printed nor made public, but only -circulated amongst a select few. But the same motives which had induced -Franklin to break his pledged secrecy, operated on the Assembly. They -determined to make them public, and therefore pretended that other -copies of them had reached them from England, and that they were thus -absolved from all conditions of secrecy. This was totally false. The -story was invented for the occasion, and the letters, without the name -of Whately, to whom they had been addressed, were published by the -Assembly. It was left to be inferred by the public, that they had been -sent officially to England by the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, and -the Assembly voted the writing of them ample evidence of a fixed design -on the part of the British Government to destroy the Constitution and -establish arbitrary power. A petition was dispatched to be presented -by Franklin to the king, calling for the removal of Hutchinson and -Oliver from their posts. When these letters were read under these false -impressions, sentiments were found in them which assumed a wholly -exaggerated character, and the flame produced was, as Franklin and the -Assembly intended, of the most furious kind. - -[Illustration: BOSTON "BOYS" DISGUISED AS INDIANS THROWING THE TEA -CHESTS INTO THE HARBOUR. (_See p._ 210.)] - -When these letters were published in America, their real character -was concealed, and every means taken to represent them as official -despatches to the officers of Government in England. The public -rage was uncontrollable. A committee was formed to wait on Governor -Hutchinson, and demand whether he owned the handwriting. Hutchinson -freely owned to that, but contended very justly that the letters -were of a thoroughly private character, and to an unofficial person. -Notwithstanding, the House of Assembly drew up a strong remonstrance to -the British Government, charging the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor -with giving false and malicious information respecting the colony, and -demanding their dismissal. This remonstrance, accompanied by copies of -the letters themselves, was immediately dispatched over the colonies, -and everywhere produced, as was intended, the most violent inflammation -of the public mind against us. The Bostonians had for some time -established what was called a Corresponding Committee, whose business -it was to prepare and circulate through the whole of the colonies -papers calculated to keep alive the indignation against the British -Government. This Committee quickly was responded to by other committees -in different places, and soon this plan became an organisation -extending to every part of the colonies, even the most remote, by which -intelligence and arguments were circulated through all America with -wonderful celerity. - -That the spirit of the Bostonians had ripened into actual rebellion -was unequivocally shown in the course of the year 1773. The _Gaspee_ -Government schooner, commanded by Lieutenant Dudingston, had been -singularly active in putting down smuggling about Rhode Island. The -Rhode Island packet coming in one evening from Newport to Providence, -instigated by the general anger against the _Gaspee_--for the Rhode -Islanders were great smugglers--refused to pay the usual compliment of -lowering the flag to the schooner. Dudingston fired a shot across her -bows, and, on her paying no regard to that, gave chase. The packet, -however, ran close in shore, and the _Gaspee_ following too eagerly, -ran aground. It was on a sandy bottom, and the return of the tide -would have lifted her off undamaged; but the smuggling population of -Providence put off to her in the night, whilst she lay in a position so -as to be incapable of using her guns, surprised, boarded, and set fire -to her, carrying the lieutenant and the crew triumphantly on shore. -Government offered a reward of five hundred pounds for the discovery of -the perpetrators of this daring outrage; but though it was well known -who the perpetrators were, no one would give any information. On the -contrary, the most violent threats were uttered against any one who -should do so. - -When such acts as the burning of the _Gaspee_ had been done with -impunity, and whilst the American mind was rankling with the Franklin -poison of the purloined letters, three vessels arrived at Boston, laden -with tea, under the conditions of Lord North's Bill. On the arrival -of the ships the commotion was intense. The captains themselves would -gladly have sailed away with their obnoxious cargoes in safety, but the -governor very foolishly gave orders that they should not pass the ports -without a permit from himself, and he sent Admiral Montague to guard -the passages out of the harbour with two ships of war. As the evening -grew dark, those who had quitted the meeting held on the 16th of -December to demand that the ships should be sent home again, were met -by mobs of men arrayed as wild Indians, who hurried down to Griffin's -Wharf, where the tea ships lay. Rushing tumultuously on board, and -hoisting out the tea chests, they emptied them into the sea amid -much cheering and noise. Having thus destroyed teas to the amount of -eighteen thousand pounds, the triumphant mob retreated to their houses. - -The news from Boston could not have arrived at a moment when the -public mind was more ill-disposed towards the Americans. The affair -of the abstraction of Mr. Whately's private letters from his house -or office, and their publication, contrary to custom and to its -own engagement, by the Massachusetts Assembly, had produced a deep -conviction in all classes in England of the utter disregard of honour -both in the American colonists and their agent, Franklin. This -disgraceful violation of the sacred security of private papers roused -the indignation of Mr. William Whately, banker, in Lombard Street, and -brother to the late Mr. Thomas Whately. He conceived strong suspicions -of John Temple, afterwards Sir John Temple, Lieutenant-Governor of New -Hampshire, and, though one of the Commissioners of Customs at Boston, -really hostile to the Commission, and a strong partisan of Franklin. -Whately challenged Temple, and was severely wounded in the rencontre. -At this, Franklin came forward with an avowal that neither the late Mr. -Whately nor Mr. Temple had anything to do with the carrying off of the -letters; that he alone was responsible for this act. - -Owing to these circumstances, occasion was taken, on the presentation -to the Privy Council of the petition of the people of Boston for the -removal of the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts, -to animadvert on Franklin's conduct. This took place on the 29th of -January, 1774, when Dunning and Lee were retained on the part of -the petition, and Wedderburn, the Solicitor-General, appeared for -the Crown. There were no less than thirty-five Privy Councillors -present, amongst them Lord North, and Lord Gower at their head, as -Lord President. Neither Dunning nor Lee spoke effectively, but as if -they by no means relished the cause in which they were engaged; while -Wedderburn seemed animated by extraordinary life and bitterness. He -was the friend of Whately, who was now lying in a dangerous state from -his wound. After speaking of the Charter and the insubordinate temper -of the people of Massachusetts, he fell with withering sarcasm on -Franklin, who was present. Hitherto, he said, private correspondence -had been held sacred, even in times of the most rancorous party fury. -But here was a gentleman who had a high rank amongst philosophers, and -should be the last to sanction such infamous breaches of honour, openly -avowing his concern in them. He asked where, henceforth, Dr. Franklin -could show his face; and said that henceforth he must deem it a libel -to be termed "a man of letters," he was "a man of three letters, _f -u r_, a thief." Wedderburn could compare him only to Zanga, in Dr. -Young's "Revenge:"-- - - "Know, then, 'twas I; - I forged the letter--I disposed the picture-- - I hated--I despised--and I destroy!" - -Priestley, in a letter, describes the effect of Wedderburn's address -as received with what must seem mad merriment by the Council. "Mr. -Wedderburn had a complete triumph. At the sallies of his sarcastic wit, -all the members of the Council, the President himself, Lord Gower, not -excepted, frequently laughed outright; and no person belonging to the -Council behaved himself with decent gravity, except Lord North, who -came in late." - -The Privy Council decided that the petition from Massachusetts was -framed on false and exaggerated allegations, and was groundless, -vexatious, and scandalous. Two days afterwards, the king dismissed -Franklin from the office, which he had till now held, of -Deputy-Postmaster of America. - -On the 14th of March Lord North moved to bring in a Bill to take away -from Boston the customs, the courts of justice, and government offices, -and give them to Salem. This Bill was carried through both Houses with -little opposition. Bollan, the agent of the Council of Massachusetts, -desired to be heard against the Bill, but was refused. It received the -royal assent on the 31st of March, and the trade of Boston was supposed -to be annihilated. - -Whilst this Bill was passing the Lords, on the 28th of March Lord Gower -brought a fresh one into the Commons, which had no less object than -the repeal of the Charter of Massachusetts. It was entitled, "A Bill -for the Better Regulating Government in the Province of Massachusetts -Bay." It went to remove the nomination of the members of the Council, -of the judges and magistrates, etc., from the popular constituencies -to the Crown. Lord North observed that the Charter of William III. -had conferred these privileges on Massachusetts as exceptional to all -other colonies, and that the consequence was that the Governor had no -power whatever. Strong opposition was made to this proposed Bill by -Dowdeswell, Sir George Savile, Burke, Barré, Governor Pownall, General -Conway, and Charles Fox, who was now in opposition. The Bill passed -the Commons by a majority of two hundred and thirty-nine against -sixty-four; and it passed the Lords by a majority of ninety-two against -twenty. But even now another Bill passed the House of Commons--a -Bill for removing to another colony for trial any inhabitant of -Massachusetts Bay, who was indicted for any murder or other capital -offence which the Governor might deem to be perpetrated in the attempt -to put down tumults and riots. This measure was still more vehemently -opposed than the rest. - -To commence a course of more rigour in Massachusetts, Governor -Hutchinson was recalled, and General Gage, a man who had seen service, -and had the reputation of firmness and promptitude, was appointed in -his stead. But the mischief of the new Acts became rapidly apparent. -Had the Boston Port Bill alone been passed, perhaps not much harm might -have been done. There were numbers of people throughout America who -were of opinion that Boston had gone too far in destroying the tea, -and might have remained passive if the Bostonians had been compelled -to make compensation. But the fatal Act was that which abolished -the Massachusetts Charter. That made the cause common; that excited -one universal alarm. If the British Government were thus permitted -to strike out the colonial Charters at pleasure, all security had -perished. All the colonies determined to support their own cause in -supporting that of Massachusetts. - -The Virginians were the first to move to lead the agitation. Patrick -Henry and Thomas Jefferson took the initiative in a measure which would -have better suited the character of the religious New Englanders. A -fast was ordered on account of the Boston Port Act. The next day, -however, being the 25th of May, Lord Dunmore, the governor of the -province, dissolved the Assembly. The members, nothing daunted, retired -to the "Raleigh" Tavern, and passed a series of resolutions. The chief -of these were to purchase nothing of the East India Company, except -saltpetre and spices, until their injuries were redressed; to request -the members of all Corresponding Committees to take measures for the -appointment of members to a General Congress; to summon the new members -of the Assembly (the writs for which were already in course of issue) -to meet at Williamsburg to elect delegates from that colony to the -Congress. - -In the meantime, General Gage landed at Boston on the 13th of May. -The Port Bill had preceded him a few days, and the tone of the other -colonies rendered the Bostonians firmer in their temper than ever. On -the 25th of May General Gage announced to the Assembly at Boston the -unpleasant fact, that he was bound to remove, on the 1st of June, the -Assembly, the courts of justice, and all the public offices, to Salem, -in conformity with the late Act. As they petitioned him to set apart -a day for fasting, he declined that, and, to prevent further trouble, -adjourned them to the 7th of June, to meet at Salem. - -On the 1st of June according to the arrangements of General Gage, -as the clock struck twelve, all the public offices were closed, and -the whole official business was transferred to Salem. But the wide -discontent of the people met him there as much as at Boston. When the -Assembly met, which was in the following week, such was its spirit -that General Gage felt that he must dissolve it. General Gage, seeing -the lowering aspect of affairs, took the precaution to throw more -troops into the neighbourhood, so that he had some six regiments, with -a train of artillery, when he encamped on the common near Boston. -Active emissaries were immediately sent amongst these troops, who, by -presents of ardent spirits and fine promises, seduced a considerable -number from their duty. To prevent this, he stationed a strong guard -at Boston Neck, a narrow isthmus connecting the town with the common -and open country. On this a vehement cry was raised, that he was going -to cut off all communication with the country, blockade the town, and -reduce it to submission by famine. The inhabitants of the county of -Worcester sent a deputation to inquire Gage's intentions, and they did -not omit to hint that, if necessary, they would drive in the guard with -arms; for, in fact, besides the arms which most Americans then had, -others had been supplied to such as were too poor to purchase them. -Gordon, their historian, tells us that the people were preparing to -defend their rights by the sword; that they were supplying themselves -from Boston with guns, knapsacks, etc. According to the Militia -Law, most men were well furnished with muskets and powder, and were -now busily employed in exercising themselves; thus all was bustle, -casting of balls, and making ready for a struggle. Gage, seeing all -this, removed the gunpowder and the military stores from Charlestown, -Cambridge, and other localities, to his own quarters. This, again, -excited a deep rage in the people, who threatened to attack his troops. -To prevent this, he went on briskly with his defences on the Neck; -but what he did by day the mob endeavoured to undo by night. They set -fire to his supplies of straw; they sank the boats that were bringing -bricks, and overturned his waggons conveying timber. Nothing but the -greatest patience and forbearance prevented an instant collision. - -The General Congress met at Philadelphia on the 4th of September, when -all the delegates, except those of North Carolina, who did not arrive -till the 14th, were found to represent twelve States, namely, the -four New England States, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, -New Jersey, Delaware, and the two Carolinas. It was settled, however, -that, whatever the number of delegates, each colony should have one -vote. The next day they assembled in Carpenters' Hall for business, -and elected Peyton Randolph, late Speaker of the Virginian House of -Burgesses, president. It was soon found that so much diversity of -opinion prevailed, it was deemed prudent, in order to preserve the -air of unanimity, to deliberate with closed doors. It was clear that -Massachusetts and Virginia were ready for war; but it became equally -clear that other States yet clung with all the attachment of blood -and old connection to the fatherland. Strong and long-continued, -according to Mr. Joseph Galloway, one of their own members, were the -debates; and though they finally, and, from their system of secrecy, -with an air of unanimity, drew up strong resolutions, they were more -moderately expressed than the instructions of many of the delegates. -They agreed to a Declaration of Rights, in which they asserted that -they had neither lost the rights of nature, nor the privileges of -Englishmen, by emigration; consequently, that the late Acts of -Parliament had been gross violations of those rights, especially as -affecting Massachusetts. They therefore passed resolutions to suspend -all imports, or use of imported goods, until harmony was restored -between Great Britain and her colonies. An association was formed to -carry these resolutions out, to which every member subscribed. Having -adjourned till the 10th of May of the next year, the Congress dissolved -itself on the 26th of October, and the delegates then hastened home -to keep alive the flame of their revived zeal in every quarter of the -continent. - -[Illustration: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.] - -But, whilst Congress was sitting, the spirit of revolution was every -day growing more rife in Massachusetts. Governor Gage had issued writs -for a new Assembly, which was to meet at Salem on the 5th of October; -but so many of the newly appointed members refused to act, that he -issued a proclamation to countermand the writs. The patriots, however, -set the proclamation at defiance; and confident, from the resignation -of the timid loyalists, that they were in a majority, met at Salem, -and formed themselves into a provincial congress, to be joined by such -other persons as should be chosen for the consideration of public -affairs. They then adjourned to Concord, a town about twenty miles from -Boston, and elected John Hancock, the owner of the _Liberty_ sloop, as -president. They then adjourned to Cambridge, and constituted Concord -the depôt of arms and ammunition for twelve thousand militia. They -enrolled the militia under the name of "Minute Men," or men who were to -turn out, at a minute's notice, with musket or rifle. They appointed -committees and sub-committees for different purposes, and, in fact, put -the province into a perfect attitude of war. - -News arrived that the king, by proclamation, had prohibited the -export of arms and military stores to America. This news was received -with a burst of rage. The people of Rhode Island, who had burnt the -king's schooner, _The Gaspee_, seized forty pieces of cannon on the -batteries defending the harbour, and carried them into the country. -The people of New Hampshire surprised a small fort called William and -Mary, garrisoned only by one officer and five men, and carried off -the ordnance, arms, ammunition and military stores. Everywhere orders -were issued for the purchase of arms and ammunition; for training the -militia; for erecting powder mills, and manufactories of arms and -shot, as well as for making saltpetre. So far as it depended on the -people of Massachusetts, it was already rebellion. Still, however, -the other colonies, except, perhaps, Virginia, were far from this -bellicose temper. The colonies, in general, thought the measures of -the late Congress too strong; and the State of New York, in spite -of the impetuosity of such men as Jay, carried a vote rejecting the -resolutions of the Congress. - -The Parliament of England had now nearly run its septennial course, -and was accordingly dissolved on the 30th of September. Such was the -feeling of resentment in Great Britain against the proceedings of the -Americans, that the Parliament that was now elected gave the Ministers -an increased majority. - -It met on the 29th of November. The king, in his speech, alluded to -the determined resistance to the imperial authority of the American -colonists, and pre-eminently of those of Massachusetts Bay. He called -upon Parliament to support him in his endeavours to restore order. -There was strong opposition to the addresses in both Houses, demands -being made for a full production of all papers and correspondence on -this great subject, but the battle did not begin until January, 1775, -when Chatham moved the repeal of the legislation of the previous year, -and the withdrawal of the troops from Boston. - -Chatham, on rising, severely blamed Ministers for the course which -they had pursued, and which had driven the colonies to the verge of -rebellion. "Resistance to your Acts," he said, "was necessary as it was -just; and your vain declarations of the omnipotence of Parliament, and -your imperious doctrines of the necessity of submission, will be found -equally incompetent to convince or to enslave your fellow-subjects in -America, who feel that tyranny, whether attempted by an individual -part of the Legislature, or the bodies who compose it, is equally -intolerable to British subjects." He eulogised the conduct of the -Congress, and remarked that it was obvious that all attempts to impose -servitude on such men, to establish despotism over such a mighty -continental nation, must be vain, must be fatal. "We shall be forced," -he said, "ultimately, to retract; let us retract while we can--not when -we must. I say we must necessarily undo these violently oppressive -Acts; they must be repealed. You will repeal them; I pledge myself for -it that you will, in the end, repeal them. I stake my reputation on -it. I will consent to be taken for an idiot if they are not finally -repealed. Avoid, then, this humiliating, this disgraceful necessity." -He declared that the cause of America and England was one; that it -was the glorious spirit of Whiggism which animated the colonists. "It -is liberty to liberty engaged. In this great cause they are immovably -allied; it is the alliance of God and nature--immutable, eternal--fixed -as the firmament of heaven. You cannot force them, united as they -are, to your unworthy terms of submission. It is impossible." Lords -Shelburne, Camden, and Rockingham, and the Duke of Richmond, zealously -supported the views of Chatham, but the Ministerial party opposed the -motion as obstinately as ever; and it was rejected by sixty-eight votes -against eighteen. - -Chatham, undeterred by the fate of his motion, determined to make one -more effort, and bring in a Bill for the pacification of the colonies, -and he called upon Franklin to assist in framing it. On the following -Tuesday, Franklin hurried down to Hayes with the draft of the Bill left -with him, and with his full approbation of it, having, he says, only -added one word, that of "constitutions" after "charters." The next -day (Wednesday), the 1st of February, Chatham appeared in the House -of Lords with his Bill. He declared that it was a Bill not merely of -concession, but of assertion, and he called on the Lords to entertain -it cordially, to correct its crudenesses, and pass it for the peace -of the whole empire. The Bill first explicitly asserted our supreme -power over the colonies; it declared that all that related to the -disposing of the army belonged to the prerogative of the Crown, but -that no armed force could be lawfully employed against the rights and -liberties of the inhabitants; that no tax, or tollage, or other charge -for the revenue, should be levied without the consent of the provincial -Assemblies. The Acts of Parliament relating to America passed since -1764 were wholly repealed; the judges were made permanent during their -good behaviour, and the Charters and constitutions of the several -provinces were not to be infringed or set aside, unless upon some valid -ground of forfeiture. All these concessions were, of course, made -conditional on the recognition by the colonies of the supreme authority -of Parliament. - -Had this Bill been frankly accepted by Ministers, it would have gone -far to heal the rupture between the mother country and her colonies. -The Earl of Dartmouth, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, -proposed that the Bill should lie on the table for deliberation. The -Duke of Grafton complained of the manner in which the Bill had been -hurried into the House, and, as Chatham in his reply observed, showed -every disposition to hurry it as quickly out again. The friends of -the Duke of Bedford, who had joined the administration, exhibited the -most rancorous disposition towards America. The chief of these, Lord -Sandwich, declared that he never could believe this Bill was the work -of any British peer, but rather of an American, and he looked full at -Dr. Franklin, who was leaning on the bar. He declared the Americans -to be in actual rebellion; that they were not troubling themselves -about mere words and nice distinctions; that they were aiming at -independence, and nothing else. The Bedford party carried the day, and -the Bill was rejected by sixty-one votes against thirty-two. - -Lord North, however, was still sufficiently impressed by the solemn -warnings of Chatham and others to attempt a conciliatory measure of his -own. Accordingly, on the 20th of February, only ten days after his Bill -restrictive of the American trade, and whilst it was progressing, he -moved in a committee of the whole House, "That if the Legislature of -any of the American provinces should propose to make some provision for -the common defence, and also for the civil government of that province, -and if such proposal shall be approved of by the king and Parliament, -it would be proper to forbear, whilst such provision lasted, from -levying or proposing any tax, duty, or assessment within the said -province." - -This proposal, which, at an earlier stage of the dispute, might have -been listened to, was one at this stage which was sure to be rejected, -and was only one of those miserable half measures which commonplace -minds so frequently put forth only to demonstrate their inability to -grasp the amplitude of the occasion. It was supposed that the measure -had been intended to be larger, but that the Bedford party had fallen -on it in Council, and reduced it to these pitiable dimensions. Yet when -it was introduced into the Commons by Lord North, the Bedford party -looked at each other in consternation, and soon the tempest broke loose -on the Treasury benches. - -The storm was appeased only by Lord North's condescending to explain -his measure in such a manner as deprived it of every particle of -generous feeling, and reduced it to the lowest Machiavellian level. He -said the real object of the resolution was to divide the Americans, to -satisfy the moderate part of them, and oppose them to the immoderate, -to separate the wheat from the chaff; that he never expected his -proposal to be generally acceptable. On this, Colonel Barré and Burke -assaulted him fiercely. Barré branded the whole scheme as founded on -that low, shameful, abominable maxim, "_Divide et impera_." Burke -declared that the proposition was at variance with every former -principle of Parliament, directly so with the restrictive measures -now in progress; that it was mean without being conciliatory. But -the resolution passed by two hundred and seventy-four votes against -eighteen. - -Again, on the 22nd of March, Burke made another earnest effort to -induce the infatuated Ministers and their adherents in Parliament to -listen to reason. In one of the finest speeches that he ever made, he -introduced a series of thirteen resolutions, which went to abolish -the obnoxious Acts of Parliament, and admit the principle of the -colonial Assemblies exercising the power of taxation. In the course -of his speech he drew a striking picture of the rapid growth and the -inevitable future importance of these colonies. He reminded the House -that the people of New England and other colonies had quitted Great -Britain because they would not submit to arbitrary measures; that in -America they had cultivated this extreme independence of character, -both in their religion and their daily life; that almost every man -there studied law, and that nearly as many copies of Blackstone's -"Commentaries" had been sold there as in England; that they were the -Protestants of Protestants, the Dissenters of Dissenters; that the -Church of England there was a mere sect; that the foreigners who -had settled there, disgusted with tyranny at home, had adopted the -extremest principles of liberty flourishing there; that all men there -were accustomed to discuss the principles of law and government, and -that almost every man sent to the Congress was a lawyer; that the very -existence of slavery in the southern States made white inhabitants hate -slavery the more in their own persons. "You cannot," he said, "content -such men at such a distance--Nature fights against you. Who are you -that you should fret, rage, and bite the chains of Nature? Nothing -worse happens to you than does to all nations who have extensive -empires. In all such extended empires authority grows feeble at the -extremities. The Turk and the Spaniard find it so, and are compelled to -comply with this condition of Nature, and derive vigour in the centre -from the relaxation of authority on the borders." His resolutions were -negatived by large majorities. - -In the meantime, petitions, memorials, and remonstrances were presented -from New York and other places, and from the British inhabitants of -Canada, but all were rejected. On the 26th of May George III. prorogued -Parliament, and expressed his perfect satisfaction in its proceedings; -so utterly unconscious was this king that he was alienating a great -empire, and which, indeed, was already virtually gone from him; for -during the very time that Parliament had been protesting against even -the contemptible crumbs of concession offered by Ministers, war had -broken out, blood had flowed, and the Americans had triumphed! - -[Illustration: AMERICAN TWENTY DOLLARS BILL (1775)] - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Gage attempts to seize American Arms--Skirmish at - Lexington--Blockade of Boston--The Second Congress at - Philadelphia--Washington chosen Commander-in-Chief--Fall of - Ticonderoga and Crown Point--Washington at Boston--Battle - of Bunker's Hill--The Olive Branch Petition--Condition - of the American Army--Expedition against Canada--Capture - of Montreal--Arnold's Expedition--His Junction with - Montgomery--Failure of the Attack on Quebec--The Employment - of German Mercenaries--Washington seizes Dorchester - Heights--Evacuation of Boston--Howe retires to Halifax--The War - in Canada--Thomas's Retreat--Sullivan evacuates Canada--The War - in the South--Attack on Charleston--Paine's Pamphlet, "Common - Sense"--New York and Virginia decide for Independence--Debate in - Congress--Report of the Committee--Arbitrary Proceedings--The - Declaration--Overtures to France--Arrival of Lord Howe--Position - of Washington--Howe's Overtures--Battle of Brooklyn--Washington's - Retreat--His Desperate Position--Howe receives a Deputation - from Congress--Washington retires Step by Step--Cornwallis's - Pursuit--Close of the Campaign--The Articles of Confederation - published by Congress--Fresh Overtures to France--Parliament - votes large Sums of Money--John the Painter--Chatham - demands a Cessation of Hostilities--Washington's Change - of Tactics--Surprise of Trenton--Washington outmanœuvres - Cornwallis--He recovers New Jersey--Difficulties of Congress--Howe - advances against Washington--Alteration of Howe's Plans--Battle - of the Brandywine--Howe crosses the Schuylkill--Cornwallis - enters Philadelphia--Battle of Germantown--Washington at - Valley Forge--Burgoyne's Plan of Campaign--His Advance--St. - Clair's Defeat--Burgoyne on the Hudson--The Beginning of his - Misfortunes--Battle of Bemus's Heights--Burgoyne's Message to - Clinton--He is Surrounded--He attempts to cut his Way through--The - Surrender of Saratoga--Clinton's Failure to relieve Burgoyne--Close - of the Campaign. - - -During the winter the Americans had been preparing for war, fabricating -and repairing arms, drilling militia, and calling on one another, by -proclamations, to be ready. On the 26th of February, 1775, Gage sent -a detachment to take possession of some brass cannon and field-pieces -collected at Salem. A hundred and fifty regulars landed at Salem for -this purpose, but, finding no cannon there, they proceeded to the -adjoining town of Danvers. They were stopped at a bridge by a party of -militia, under Colonel Pickering, who claimed the bridge as private -property, and refused a passage. There was likely to be bloodshed on -the bridge, but it was Sunday, and some ministers of Salem pleaded the -sacredness of the day, and prevailed on Colonel Pickering to let the -soldiers pass. They found nothing, and soon returned. - -Again, on the night between the 18th and 19th of April, General Gage -sent a detachment of about eight hundred grenadiers and light infantry -to destroy a depôt of stores and arms at Concord. They were commanded -by Lieutenant-Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn, of the Marines. The -alarm was given, fires were kindled, bells rung, guns discharged, -and the country was up. The British troops reached Lexington at five -o'clock in the morning, and pushed on their light infantry to secure -the bridges. They encountered a body of militia under cover of a gun -near the road, whom they ordered to retire, and they withdrew in haste. - -Here the Americans assert that when the minute-men did not retire -on the first order, the English fired on them and killed eight of -them. The English, on the other hand, declare that the Americans, in -retiring, no sooner reached the shelter of a wall than they fired on -the British; that the firing came also from some adjoining houses, -and shot one man, and wounded Major Pitcairn's horse in two places; -that then the English were ordered to fire, that they killed several, -wounded others, and put the body, about a hundred in number, to flight. -By this time the alarm had spread, the minute-men came running from all -places, and as the English, having executed their commission, began to -retire, the Americans shouted, "The lobsters run!" The minute-men now -rushed over the bridge after them, and firing from behind trees and -walls, killed a considerable number of them. The Americans--excellent -shots with their rifles--could only be seen by the smoke of these -rifles, and the English, tired with their long night march, instead -of halting to hunt them out, kept on their way towards Lexington. -The whole march was of this description: the English, unable to get -a good shot at their enemies, the minute-men pressing on their rear, -still sheltered by trees and walls. The result would have been more -disastrous had not General Gage sent on to Lexington another detachment -of foot and marines, consisting of about sixteen companies, under -command of Lord Percy. In this first bloodshed between the colonists -and the mother country, the British found they had lost sixty killed, -forty-nine missing, and one hundred and thirty-six wounded. The -Americans admitted that they had a loss of sixty, of whom two-thirds -were killed. - -The news spread on every side; the retreat of the English from Concord, -which always was intended, as soon as the object was accomplished, was -represented as an ignominious flight before the conquering Americans, -and the effect was marvellous. Men flocked from all quarters. There -were some twenty thousand men assembled round Boston, forming a -line nearly twenty miles in extent, with their left leaning on the -river Mystic, and their right on the town of Boston. Putnam and Ward -became the souls of the American army. Gage, who was awaiting fresh -reinforcements, lay quiet, contented to hold his post, when he might, -according to military authorities, have attacked the American lines, -at first loose, and without any proper order and consistency, with -great advantage. The inhabitants of Boston, not relishing the idea -of a blockade, applied to Gage for permission to retire. He replied -that they were at liberty to do so with their families and effects, -on surrendering their arms. The Bostonians at once interpreted this -to mean the whole of their merchandise, and Gage, in consequence, -countermanded his permission. - -On the 10th of May the second Congress met at Philadelphia. The -delegates had everywhere been easily elected, and Franklin, having -arrived on the 5th of May in Philadelphia, was in time to be added to -the number already chosen there. The battle of Lexington had heated the -blood of the delegates, and they assembled in no very pacific mood. -They assumed the name of the Congress of the United Colonies, and -rejected with contempt the poor conciliatory Bill of Lord North, as it -had already been deservedly treated by the provincial Assemblies. They -immediately issued a proclamation prohibiting the export of provisions -to any British colony or fishery still continuing in obedience to -Great Britain; or any supply to the British army in Massachusetts -Bay, or the negotiation of any bill drawn by a British officer. -Congress ordered the military force of the colonies to be placed on an -efficient footing. They called into existence a body of men, besides -the provincial militia, to be maintained by the United Colonies, and -to be called continental troops, which distinction must be kept in -mind during the whole war. They then made a most admirable choice of a -commander-in-chief in the person of Colonel George Washington. - -The spirits of the Americans had been raised by the success of attempts -against the forts of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, on Lake Champlain. -Early in the spring, some of the leading men of Connecticut, and chief -amongst them Wooster and Silas Deane, projected this expedition, -as securing the passes into Canada. The volunteers who offered for -this enterprise were to march across the frontiers of New York, and -come suddenly on these forts. The wretched condition of carelessness -existing in these important outposts, notwithstanding the alarming -state of the colonies, may be known by the result. Phelps, disguised as -a countryman, entered the fort on pretence of seeking a barber; and, -whilst roaming about in feigned search of him, noted well the ruinous -condition of the fort, and the utter negligence of the guard. The next -day, Ethan Allen went alone to the fortress, ostensibly on a visit to -his friend the commander, leaving his troops concealed in the wood. -He represented that he wanted to conduct some goods across the lake, -and borrowed twenty of his soldiers to help him. These men he made -dead-drunk; and then, rushing suddenly to the fort, where there were -only twenty-two soldiers more, he compelled them in their surprise to -lay down their arms, set a guard over them, and entered his friend's -bed-room and pronounced him a prisoner. He then advanced against the -fort of Crown Point, where he found only a garrison of twelve men, and -immediately afterwards secured Skenesborough, the fortified house of -Major Skene, and took his son and his negroes. - -When Washington arrived at Boston, on the 15th of June, he found -the English army augmented to ten thousand by fresh forces, under -Generals Burgoyne, William Howe, the brother of Lord Howe, and Henry -Clinton. The American troops consisted of twenty thousand militia and -volunteers, still in a most confused condition, extended over a line of -twenty miles in length, that only required an attack of five thousand -men, led by a general of courage and ability, to be thoroughly beaten. -They were, moreover, greatly deficient in powder and other necessaries. -But the English generals lay as if there were no urgent need of action. -Had a sudden movement on the Neck been made from Boston, five hundred -men could have broken and dispersed the Americans nearest to that -position before the other ill-trained troops, some of them at great -distances, could have come up; and they might have been easily defeated -in detail by the simultaneous efforts of four spirited generals and -ten thousand efficient soldiers. But lethargy seemed to have seized on -Gage, and to have also infected his coadjutors. - -To the north of Boston peninsula, separated from it only by an arm -of the sea, called the Charles River, about as broad as the Thames -at London Bridge, stands Charlestown, built also on a peninsula, -surrounded everywhere by navigable water, except a neck somewhat wider -than Boston Neck. On the peninsula of Charlestown were two eminences: -the lower one, nearest to Boston, being called Breed's Hill, the higher -and more remote, Bunker's Hill. These hills, which commanded Boston, -would have immediately attracted the eye of any general of the least -talent. But Gage had utterly neglected this most vital point; and, on -awaking on the morning of the 17th of June, he suddenly saw the height -of Breed's Hill covered with soldiers and military works, as by magic, -and the Americans shouting and beginning to fire upon the town and -shipping in the harbour. - -The Americans had marched on the evening of the 16th with orders to -make themselves masters of Bunker's Hill. By some mistake, they had -planted themselves on Breed's Hill, and instantly began to throw up -a formidable redoubt and entrenchments, and to place their guns in -battery. Gage then ordered a detachment of troops, under the command -of General Howe and Brigadier Pigott, to drive the Americans, at all -costs, from that position. It was noon before Howe crossed the river -and landed on the Charlestown peninsula; but then Howe perceived the -strength of the Americans to be greater than had been supposed, and, -halting, he sent for reinforcements. They advanced up the hill, formed -in two lines, the right headed by General Howe, the left by Brigadier -Pigott. The left was immediately severely galled by the riflemen posted -in the houses and on the roofs of Charlestown, and Howe instantly -halted and ordered the left wing to advance and set fire to the town. -This was soon executed, and the wooden buildings of Charlestown were -speedily in a blaze, and the whole place burnt to the ground. The -Americans reserved their fire till the English were nearly at the -entrenchments, when they opened with such a deadly discharge of cannon -and musketry as astonished and perplexed the British. Most of the men -and the staff standing around General Howe were killed, and he stood -for a moment almost alone. Some of the newer troops never stopped till -they reached the bottom of the hill. The officers, however, speedily -rallied the broken lines, and led them a second time against the -murderous batteries. A second time they gave way. But General Clinton, -seeing the unequal strife, without waiting for orders, and attended -by a number of resolute officers, hastened across the water in boats, -and, rallying the fugitives, led them a third time up the hill. By this -time the fire of the Americans began to slacken, for their powder was -failing, and the English, wearied as they were, rushed up the hill, and -carried the entrenchments at the point of the bayonet. Had Gage had a -proper reserve ready to rush upon the flying rout on the Neck, few of -them would have remained to join their fellows. The battle was called -the Battle of Bunker's Hill, though really fought on the lower, or -Breed's Hill. - -Notwithstanding the real outbreak of the war, Congress yet professed -to entertain hopes of ultimate reconciliation. When the reinforcements -had arrived from England, and it was supposed that part of them were -destined for New York, it issued orders that, so long as the forces -remained quiet in their barracks, they should not be molested; but if -they attempted to raise fortifications, or to cut off the town from the -country, they should be stoutly opposed. When the news of the surprise -of the forts on the Lake Champlain arrived, Congress endeavoured to -excuse so direct a breach of the peace by feigning a belief in a -design of an invasion of the colonies from Canada, of which there was -notoriously no intention, and they gave orders that an exact inventory -of the cannon and military stores there captured should be made, in -order to their restoration, "when the former harmony between Great -Britain and her colonies, so ardently wished for by the latter, should -render it consistent with the overruling law of self-preservation." -After the battle of Bunker's Hill, Congress still maintained this tone. -On the 8th of July they signed a petition to the king, drawn up by John -Dickinson, in the mildest terms, who, when to his own surprise the -petition was adopted by the Congress, rose, and said that there was -not a word in the whole petition that he did not approve of, except -the word "Congress." This, however, was far from the feeling of many -members; and Benjamin Harrison immediately rose and declared that there -was but one word in the whole petition that he did approve of, and that -was the word "Congress." The petition to the king expressed an earnest -desire for a speedy and permanent reconciliation, declaring that, -notwithstanding their sufferings, they retained in their hearts "too -tender a regard for the kingdom from which they derived their origin to -request such a reconciliation as might be inconsistent with her dignity -or welfare." At the same time, they resolved that this appeal, which -they called "The Olive Branch," should, if unsuccessful, be their last. -They could hardly have expected it to be successful. - -When Washington arrived at the camp at Cambridge, instead of twenty -thousand men, which he expected on his side, he found only sixteen -thousand, and of these only fourteen thousand fit for duty. He -describes them as "a mixed multitude of people under very little order -or government." They had no uniforms; and Washington recommended -Congress to send them out ten thousand hunting-shirts, as giving them -something of a uniform appearance. There was not a single dollar in the -military chest; the supply of provisions was extremely deficient and -uncertain. There was a great want of engineering tools; and he soon -discovered that the battle of Bunker's Hill, which, at a distance, was -boasted of as a victory, had been a decided defeat. He immediately -set about to reduce this discouraging chaos into new order. Assisted -by General Lee, he commenced by having prayers read at the head of -the respective regiments every morning. He broke up the freedom which -confounded officers and men; he compelled subordination by the free -use of the lash, where commands would not serve. He kept them daily -at active drill. He laboured incessantly to complete the lines, so -that very soon it would be impossible for the enemy to get between -the ranks. But the great and--if the English generals had been only -properly awake--the fatal want was that of powder. Washington found -that they had but nine rounds of powder to a musket, and next to none -for the artillery. "The world," said Franklin, "wondered that we so -seldom fired a cannon; why, we could not afford it!" And all this was -disclosed to General Gage by a deserter, and he still lay in a profound -slumber! The Ministry at home, scarcely more awake to the real danger, -were yet astonished at his lethargy; and they recalled him under the -plea of consulting him on the affairs of the colony. He sailed from -Boston in October, leaving the chief command to General Howe. - -Meanwhile an expedition against Canada had been projected by Colonel -Arnold and Ethan Allen at the taking of the forts of Ticonderoga and -Crown Point. The recommendations of Allen were taken up, and on the -27th of June, although they had on the first of that month declared -their determination not to invade or molest Canada, the Congress -passed other resolutions, instructing Philip Schuyler, one of their -newly-made generals, to proceed to Ticonderoga, and thence, if he -saw it practicable, to go on and secure St. John's and Montreal, and -adopt any other measures against Canada which might have a tendency to -promote the security of the colonies. It was autumn, however, before -the American force destined for this expedition, amounting to two -thousand men, assembled on Lake Champlain; and Schuyler being taken -ill, the command then devolved on General Montgomery. General Carleton, -the Governor of Canada, to whom the Americans, when it suited their -purpose, were always attributing designs of invasion of the colonies, -had not, in fact, forces sufficient to defend himself properly. - -General Montgomery reached the St. Lawrence, and detached six hundred -men to invest Fort Chambly, situated on the river Sorel, about five -miles above Fort St. John. The menaced condition of Quebec compelled -General Carleton to abandon Montreal to its fate, and to hasten to the -capital, and Montgomery immediately took possession of it. So far all -succeeded with the American expedition. Carleton, to reach Quebec, -had to pass through the American forces on the St. Lawrence. He went -in disguise, and dropped down the river by night, with muffled oars, -threading the American craft on the river, and so reached Quebec alone, -but in safety. Montgomery was determined to fall down the St. Lawrence -too, to support Arnold; but his position was anything but enviable. -He had been obliged to garrison Forts Chambly and St. John's, and he -was now compelled to leave another garrison at Montreal. This done, he -had only four hundred and fifty men left, and they were in the most -discontented and insubordinate condition. As he proceeded, therefore, -he found them fast melting away by desertion; and, had he not soon -fallen in with Arnold and his band at Point aux Trembles, he would have -found himself alone. - -Arnold had meanwhile arranged everything with Washington, at Cambridge, -for his expedition. He marched away from Cambridge with twelve hundred -men, and on reaching the Kennebec River, one hundred and thirty miles -north of Boston, embarked upon it, carrying with him one thousand -pounds in money, and a whole cargo of manifestoes for distribution -among the Canadians. Thence he had to traverse a terrible wilderness -of woods, swamps, streams, and rugged heights, where the men had to -carry their boats and provisions on their shoulders, and where, for -two-and-thirty days, they saw no house, wigwam, or sign of human life. -So extreme were their distresses, that for the last several days they -had to live on their own dogs. It was the 3rd of November before they -reached the first Canadian settlement on the river Chaudière, which -flows into the St. Lawrence opposite to Quebec. They emerged on the -river St. Lawrence, at Point Levi, immediately over against Quebec. -Could Arnold have crossed immediately, such was the suddenness of the -surprise, he probably would have taken the city. But a rough gale was -blowing at the time, and for five days he was detained on the right -bank of the river by that circumstance and the want of boats. Arnold, -nevertheless, managed to cross the river in the night, about a mile -and a half above the place where Wolfe had crossed. Finding the cliffs -there too high to scale, he followed the shore down to Wolfe's Cove, -and ascended the heights just where Wolfe had done so. Like Wolfe, -Arnold formed his band on the Heights of Abraham, and, trusting to the -belief that the Canadians were in favour of the Americans, proposed -to make a dash up to the gates of the city before day broke; but his -followers protested against this design. When day dawned, Arnold saw -so many men on the walls and batteries that he knew the assault was -hopeless, and retired to Point aux Trembles, where he was joined by -Montgomery, who took the chief command. - -[Illustration: MONTGOMERY'S ASSAULT ON THE LOWER TOWN, QUEBEC. (_See -p._ 222.)] - -Arnold had not been able to bring any artillery with him; Montgomery -had a little. They had about twelve hundred men altogether; and with -this force they now marched upon Quebec. On the 20th of December they -commenced firing on the town from a six-gun battery; but their cannon -were too light to make much impression--they had no guns heavier than -twelve-pounders, and these were soon dismounted by Colonel Maclean and -his sailors. The Americans withdrew their guns to a safer distance; and -their troops were desirous to abandon the enterprise as impracticable, -but the commanders engaged them to continue by holding out a prospect -of their plundering the lower town, where all the wealth lay. On the -last day of the year, soon after four in the morning, the attack was -commenced. Two divisions, under Majors Livingstone and Brown, were left -to make feigned attacks on the upper town, whilst the rest, in two -lines, under Montgomery and Arnold, set out amid a blinding snow-storm -to make two real attacks on the lower town. Montgomery, descending to -the bed of the St. Lawrence, wound along the beach to Cape Diamond, -where he was stopped by a blockhouse and picket. Haying passed these, -he again, at a place called Pot Ash, encountered a battery, which was -soon abandoned. Montgomery then led his troops across huge piles of -ice driven on shore; and no sooner had they surmounted these than they -were received by a severe fire from a battery manned by sailors and -Highlanders. Montgomery fell dead along with several other officers -and many men; and the rest, seeing the fate of their commander, turned -and fled back up the cliffs. Arnold, at the same time, was pushing his -way through the suburbs of the lower town, followed by Captain Lamb -with his artillerymen, and one field piece mounted on a sledge. After -these went Morgan with his riflemen; and as they advanced in the dark, -and muffled in the falling snow, they came upon a two-gun battery. As -Arnold was cheering on his men to attack this outpost, the bone of his -leg was shattered by a musket-ball. He was carried from the field; but -Morgan rushed on and made himself master of the battery and the guard. -Just as day dawned, he found himself in front of a second battery, -and, whilst attacking that, was assailed in the rear and compelled to -surrender, with a loss of four hundred men, three hundred of whom were -taken prisoners. Arnold retreated to a distance of three or four miles -from Quebec, and covered his camp behind the Heights of Abraham with -ramparts of frozen snow, and remained there for the winter, cutting -off the supplies of the garrison, and doing his best to alienate the -Canadians from the English. - -The English Opposition now began to comment with great vigour on -the conduct of affairs. The spirit of that body rose higher, as the -imminence of war became greater. Charles James Fox made a motion for -a committee to inquire into the causes of the inefficiency of his -Majesty's arms in North America, and of the defection of the people -in the province of Quebec. He took a searching review of the whole -proceedings since 1774, and contended that there was a great lack -of ability and management somewhere, either in the Government which -planned, or the generals who had to execute the Ministerial orders. His -motion, however, was useless, for it was rejected by two hundred and -forty to one hundred and four votes. - -But on the 29th of February, 1776, the treaties lately entered into -by the British Government with a number of German princes to furnish -troops to fight in America, were laid on the table of the Commons; -and intense indignation was raised against this most odious and -impolitic measure. There had been negotiations with Russia for the -purpose of procuring her savages to put down our kinsmen in America; -but this barbarous attempt had failed. It was more successful with -the petty princes of Germany. The Duke of Brunswick, the Landgrave of -Hesse-Cassel, and other little despots, now greedily seized on the -necessity of England, to drive the most extravagant terms with her. -Under the name of levy-money, they were to receive seven pounds ten -shillings for every man; and besides maintaining them, we were to pay -to the Duke of Brunswick, who supplied four thousand and eighty-four -men, a subsidy of fifteen thousand five hundred and nineteen pounds; -the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, who furnished twelve thousand men, did -not get such good terms as Brunswick--he had ten thousand pounds; the -hereditary Prince of Hesse received six thousand pounds a-year, for -only six hundred and eighty-eight men. Besides this, the men were to -begin to receive pay before they began to march. Brunswick was also -to get double his sum, or thirty-one thousand and thirty-eight pounds -a-year, for two years after they had ceased to serve; and the Landgrave -of Hesse was to receive twelve months' notice of the discontinuance of -the payment after his troops had returned to his dominions. The payment -for 1776 was to be four hundred and fifty thousand crowns, or nearly -one hundred thousand pounds. The Prince of Waldeck soon after engaged -to furnish six hundred and seventy men on equally good terms. Beyond -all these conditions, England was bound to defend the dominions of -those princes in the absence of their troops. The independent members -of both Houses nobly discharged their duty in condemnation of this -engagement of German mercenaries, but without effect, and the king -prorogued Parliament, under the pleasing delusion that his foreign -troops would soon bring his rebellious subjects to reason; and the -Ministers apparently as firmly shared in this fallacious idea. - -In America, during this time, various encounters had taken place -between the English and American forces. Washington, in spite of the -severity of the winter weather, was pressing the blockade of Boston. -But the difficulties with which he had to contend were so enormous, -that, had General Howe had any real notion of them, as he ought to -have had, he might have beaten off the American troops over and over -again. His troops, it is true, only amounted to about seven thousand, -and Washington's to about fifteen thousand; but besides the deficiency -of powder in Washington's camp, the terms on which his troops served -were such as kept him in constant uncertainty. This was the condition -of things when, early in March, Washington commenced acting on the -offensive. He threw up entrenchments on Dorchester Heights, overlooking -and commanding both Boston town and harbour. Taking advantage of a dark -night, on the 4th of March he sent a strong detachment to the Heights, -who, before mining, threw up a redoubt, which made it necessary for -General Howe to dislodge them, or evacuate the place. It seems amazing, -after the affair of Bunker's Hill, that Howe had not seen the necessity -of occupying the post himself. He now, however, prepared to attack the -redoubt, and the soldiers were eager for the enterprise. The vanguard -fell down to Castle William, at which place the ascent was to be made; -and on the morrow, the 5th of March, the anniversary of what was termed -the Massacre of Boston, the fight was to take place. A violent storm, -however, arose, rendering the crossing of the water impracticable. -By the time that it ceased, the Americans had so strengthened their -works, that it was deemed a useless waste of life to attempt to carry -them. The only alternative was the evacuation of Boston. Howe had -long been persuaded that it would be much better to make the British -headquarters at New York, where there were few American troops, and -where the king's friends were numerous; and this certainly was true, -unless he had mustered resolution and sought to disperse his enemies -when they were in a state of disorder and deficiency of ammunition that -insured his certain success. As it was, he was now most ignominiously -cooped up, and in hourly jeopardy of being shelled out of the place. -He had obtained the permission of his Government for this movement, -and he now set about it in earnest. When, however, he came to embark, -another example was given of that shameful neglect which pervaded the -whole of the British civil department of the military service. When -the transports were examined, they were found totally destitute of -provisions and forage. No direct compact was made between Howe and -Washington regarding the evacuation; but an indirect communication -and understanding on the subject was entered into--through the "Select -Men" of Boston--that no injury should be done to the town during it, -provided the troops were unmolested in embarking. Before departing, -however, the English totally dismantled and partly demolished Castle -William. On the 17th, the last of the British troops were on board; and -that afternoon Boston was entered in triumph by General Putnam, at the -head of the vanguard. - -Howe, who, with seven thousand soldiers and more than one thousand -sailors, did not feel himself safe at New York till the new -reinforcements should arrive, sailed away to Halifax--a circumstance -which gave the appearance of a retreat to his change of locality, -and had thus a bad effect in more ways than one. Washington, who was -informed of his final destination, immediately marched with the greater -part of his army to New York, and thence went himself to Philadelphia -to concert future measures with the Congress. This body, in -commemoration of the surrender of Boston, ordered a medal to be struck -in honour of it, and that it should bear the effigy of Washington, with -the title of the Asserter of the Liberties of his Country. The medal -was cast in France. - -In Canada the management of the war was more successful. To maintain -the war in that quarter, Congress had ordered nine regiments to be -raised. One of these was to be raised in Canada itself, and for this -purpose a commission was given to Moses Hazen, who had formerly been a -captain of rangers, under Wolfe. He was not, however, very successful. -The Canadians were not to any extent disaffected to the British -Government, and by no means well affected to the New Englanders, who -were bitterly bigoted against Catholics, which the Canadians chiefly -were. When Hazen and Arnold saw that the Canadians would neither -enlist nor bring provisions to their camps, without cash payment, they -commenced plundering for all that they wanted, and thus confirmed that -people in their hatred of the Americans. They, moreover, insulted the -Canadians by ridiculing their rites of worship. - -Miserably as Arnold had passed the winter in his camp, as spring -approached he again planted his batteries above Quebec, but produced -so little effect that Carleton lay still in expectation of his -reinforcements on the breaking up of the river. On the 1st of April -General Wooster arrived, and took the command, much to the disgust of -Arnold, who was sent to command a detachment at Montreal. On the 1st -of May, General Thomas, who was to be supreme in command, arrived, and -found the forces amounting to about two thousand men. The river was now -opening; and on the 6th of May three English ships had made their way -up to Quebec, full of troops. Two companies of the 29th Regiment and -one hundred marines were immediately landed amid the rejoicings of the -inhabitants; and General Carleton gave instant orders to issue forth -and attack the American lines. But General Thomas, conscious that, so -far from being able to take Quebec, he should be himself taken, unless -he decamped with all haste, was already on the move. General Carleton -pursued him vigorously, and the retreat of the Americans became a -regular rout. They threw themselves into boats at the Three Rivers, -leaving behind them all their artillery and stores, as well as the -sick, who were numerous, the smallpox having broken out amongst them. -Thomas managed to reach Fort Chambly and St. John's on the Sorel; but -there he died, having taken the smallpox. - -Carleton being, by the beginning of June, reinforced by still more -troops from England, determined to follow the Americans. They had -reached the Three Rivers, about midway between Quebec and Montreal, -and about thirty miles from the American headquarters on the Sorel, -when General Sullivan, who had succeeded Thomas, sent two thousand -men under General Thompson. They got across the river and hoped to -surprise the English; but it was daylight before they drew near the -Three Rivers. Landing with confusion, they sought a place where they -could form and defend themselves; but they found themselves entangled -in a labyrinth of streams and morasses. Then they were attacked, -front and rear, by Generals Fraser and Nesbit. In the suddenness of -the surprise, no precaution had been taken to secure or destroy their -boats; the remainder of the Americans, therefore, getting into them, -pulled away and crossed. Sullivan, who had hastened to support them, -now, accompanied by St. Clair, made the best of his way back to Fort -Chambly. Carleton pursued, but coming to the Sorel, instead of sailing -up it, by which he might have reached Chambly nearly a day earlier -than Sullivan, with a strange neglect he continued lying at the mouth -of the river for a couple of days. Had he not done this, Arnold would -have been intercepted at Montreal, and Ticonderoga, now defenceless, -would have fallen into his hands. By this false step much damage to -the king's cause ensued. Carleton, however, determined to seek out -Arnold himself, and sent on General Burgoyne in pursuit of Sullivan. -Burgoyne made quick pursuit; but the Americans were too nimble for both -himself and Carleton. Arnold hastily evacuated Montreal, and, crossing -the river, joined Sullivan at St. John's, on the Sorel. There Sullivan -proposed to make a stand, but his troops would not support him, for the -whole army was in a state of insubordination. Burgoyne marched rapidly -after them; but, on reaching the head of the Sorel, he found they had -escaped him by embarking on the lake. Sullivan and Arnold had encamped -on the Isle aux Noix, a swampy place, where their men perished, many of -them, of fever, and Burgoyne was obliged to satisfy himself with the -thought that they were driven out of Canada. - -In the south, affairs had been as ill conducted by the English -commanders as in the north they had been carried on well. Governor -Martin had made an effort to recover North Carolina. He had collected -a number of Highlanders, recently emigrated to America, and a number -of back-woodsmen, called Regulators, and sent them, under the -command of Colonels Macdonald and Macleod, to compel the inhabitants -to submission. They were to be supported by regular troops to be -landed at Wilmington, and General Clinton was daily expected with -the reinforcements from England. But Clinton did not appear, and the -impatient Highlanders and Regulators, in marching from Cross Creek to -Wilmington, were decoyed into a swamp, and there attacked and beaten. -Macleod and most of the Highlanders were taken prisoners, and the -Regulators, such as escaped, made again for the woods. - -On the 3rd of May Lord Cornwallis arrived on the coast with a squadron -of transports, convoyed by Sir Peter Parker, with several ships of war. -General Clinton arrived soon after, and took the command of the troops; -and, in concert with Parker, he determined to attack Charleston, -the capital of South Carolina. On the 4th of June they appeared off -Charleston, and landed on Long Island. They found the mouth of the -harbour strongly defended by fortifications on Sullivan's Island, and -by others on Hadrell's Point on its north. On the point lay encamped -the American General Lee. Clinton threw up two batteries on Long Island -to command those on Sullivan island, whilst Parker, from the ships, -was to assist in covering the landing of the troops on that Island. -Clinton was informed that he could easily cross from one island to -the other by a ford; and consequently, on the morning of the 28th of -June, Sir Peter Parker drew up his men-of-war--three vessels of fifty -guns each, and six frigates of twenty-eight guns each, besides another -of twenty-four guns and the _Thunder_ bomb. But he had been deceived; -what was called a ford, he found impassable. He was compelled to -reimbark his troops, and meanwhile Parker's vessels, also unacquainted -with their ground, ran upon a shoal, where one of them struck. In -these unfortunate circumstances, the Americans, from the island and -from Hadrell's Point, poured a tremendous fire into the ships, doing -dreadful execution. Clinton sailed away, after this ignominious attempt -to join General Howe, but some of the vessels were compelled to remain -some time at Long Island to refit. - -[Illustration: SIGNATURES TO THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.] - -But whilst these conflicts were taking place, the Revolution was -marching on at full speed, and had reached its height--the Declaration -of Independence. The Continental Congress, on the 15th of May, passed -a resolution that it was necessary for such of the States as had not -framed for themselves such constitutions as were required by the -altered circumstances of the country, to forthwith frame such as should -be conducive to their safety and welfare. This was published in all the -newspapers, accompanied by a statement that, as the King of England, -in concurrence with his Parliament, had excluded the people of those -colonies from his protection, it became indispensable to abolish the -constitution established by that power, and frame one for themselves. -Here was a plain declaration; there was no longer any mistake. - -There was no man in the colonies, nevertheless, who contributed so -much to bring the open Declaration of Independence to a crisis as -Thomas Paine, the celebrated author of "The Rights of Man" and of -"The Age of Reason." Paine was originally a Quaker and staymaker at -Thetford, in Norfolk. He renounced his Quakerism and his staymaking, -became an exciseman, and then an usher in a school, reverting again -to the gauging of ale firkins. In 1772 he wrote a pamphlet on the -mischiefs arising from the inadequate payment of the excise officers, -laying them open to bribes, etc. This pamphlet having been sent to -Franklin, induced him to recommend the poor author to emigrate to -America. Paine adopted the advice, and settled at Philadelphia in -1774. He there devoted himself to political literature, wrote for the -papers and journals, finally edited the _Philadelphia Magazine_, and, -imbibing all the ardour of revolution, wrote, in January of the year -1776, a pamphlet called "Common Sense." This pamphlet was the spark -that was needed to fire the train of independence. It at once seized -on the imagination of the public, cast other writers into the shade, -and flew, in thousands and tens of thousands of copies, throughout the -colonies. It ridiculed the idea of a small island, three thousand miles -off, ruling that immense continent, and threatening, by its insolent -assumption, the expanding energies of three millions of men, more -vigorous, virtuous, and free, than those who sought to enslave them. - -Amongst the provinces employing themselves to carry out the -recommendation of the Congress, by framing new constitutions, that of -New York was emboldened by the presence of Washington and his army to -disregard the Royalists, and to frame a perfectly independent system. -Gouverneur Morris took the lead in the ultra party, and declared that -the time was now come for asserting entire independence. On the 27th -of May a resolution to that effect was passed. The delegates of the -Assembly were instructed to support these principles in Congress. - -The Assembly of Virginia, meeting in convention at Williamsburg on -the 6th of May, drew up a Declaration of Rights, a document which -afterwards became the model for the celebrated "Rights of Man" with -the French Revolutionists. In this Declaration it was asserted that -the rights of the people cannot exist with hereditary monarchy; and -in the fourth article it was affirmed, that the idea of "a man being -born a magistrate, a legislator, or a judge, is unnatural and absurd." -Accordingly, Richard Henry Lee, as one of their delegates, on the -7th of June, moved in General Congress, that "these United Colonies -are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States; that they -are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all -political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, -and ought to be, totally dissolved; that measures should immediately -be taken for procuring the assistance of foreign Powers, and a -confederation be formed to bind the colonies more closely together." - -This all-important question was adjourned to the next day, the 8th of -June, when it was debated in a committee of the whole House. As the -discussion, however, took place with closed doors, as all great debates -of Congress did, to hide the real state of opinion, and to give to the -ultimate decision an air of unanimity, the reports of it are meagre and -unsatisfactory. We know, however, that Lee, the original mover, was -supported by his colleague Wythe, and most energetically by John Adams; -that it was as vigorously opposed by John Dickinson and his colleagues, -Wilson, of Pennsylvania, Robert Livingstone, of New York, and John -Rutledge, of South Carolina. Moreover, a considerable number of members -from different States opposed the motion, on the ground, not of its -being improper in itself, but, as yet, premature. Six colonies declared -for it, including Virginia. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland -were at present against it. New York, Delaware, and South Carolina, -were not decided to move yet; and it was proposed to give them time to -make up their minds. Dr. Zubly, of Georgia, protested against it, and -quitted the Congress. To give time for greater unanimity, the subject -was postponed till the 1st of July; but, meanwhile, a committee was -appointed to draw up a Declaration of Independence. The members of this -committee were only five, namely, Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia; John -Adams, of Massachusetts; Roger Sherman, of Connecticut; Richard R. -Livingstone, of New York; and Benjamin Franklin, of Pennsylvania. - -[Illustration: THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE OF THE UNITED STATES OF -AMERICA, JULY 4th, 1776. - -FROM THE PAINTING BY J. TRUMBULL.] - -On the 1st of July the report of the committee was read, together -with the form of declaration as drawn up by Jefferson, but afterwards -remodelled by Franklin and the committee. Nine states now voted for -independence. Pennsylvania and South Carolina voted against it. -Delaware and South Carolina requested an adjournment to the next day, -in order to make up their minds, when they voted for it, a new delegate -having arrived from Delaware with firmer instructions. New York held -out against independence, General Howe having now arrived at Sandy -Hook, and the Provincial Congress having retired from New York to White -Plains. Jay and Gouverneur Morris, from that State, were, however, -vehement for independence, asserting that the Congress of New York -ought to be dissolved, and delegates sent up to a new and more popular -Congress. - -The revolutionary party in New York determined to carry them, and -the revolutionary party in Pennsylvania the same, right or wrong. -In Pennsylvania delegates insisted that those of their colleagues -who were averse from the Declaration should absent themselves, and -those favourable to it should attend and vote. From Delaware, one -single delegate, Cæsar Rodney, voted and decided the question in that -province. The New York Assembly only nominally reconstructed its -Provincial Congress. Instead of calling the electors together, as -recommended by the report of the 28th of May, some of the freeholders -and voters declared such of the old members as were willing to vote -for the Declaration re-elected; and this irregular and clearly -unconstitutional body attended and voted for the Declaration. Finally -the moderate party, headed by John Dickinson, withdrew, and the -Declaration was carried by one vote. - -By these violent and arbitrary means was passed on the 4th July, -1776, the famous Declaration of Independence. The original motion for -such a Declaration, on the 8th of June, had been supported by a bare -majority of seven States to six; and now the whole thirteen States -were said to have assented, though it is perfectly well known that -several signatures were not supplied till months afterwards by newly -chosen delegates. The Declaration contained the following assertions -of freedom:--1. That all men are born equally free, possessing certain -natural rights, of which they cannot, by any compact, deprive their -posterity; 2. That all power is vested in the people, from whom it is -derived [but it was voted in Congress that the blacks made no part of -the people]; 3. That they have an inalienable, indefeasible right to -reform, alter, or abolish their form of government at pleasure; 4. That -the idea of an hereditary first magistrate is unnatural and absurd. - -The Americans did not make their Declaration of Independence till they -had communicated with France. The British Government, as Lord North -publicly declared in Parliament, had long heard of American emissaries -at Paris seeking aid there. A secret committee, which had Thomas -Paine for its secretary, was appointed to correspond with the friends -of America in Great Britain, Ireland, and other parts of the world. -Encouraged by the assurances of France, the secret committee was soon -converted into a public one, and agents were sent off to almost every -court of Europe to invite aid of one kind or another against the mother -country, not omitting even Spain, Naples, Holland and Russia. Silas -Deane was dispatched to Paris in March of this year, to announce the -growing certainty of a total separation of the colonies from Great -Britain, and to solicit the promised co-operation. - -Lord Howe arrived from England, and cast anchor off Sandy Hook, a few -hours after the Declaration of Independence had been read to the army -by Washington. He had been expected by his brother, General Howe, who -had arrived at the same point on the 29th of June, supposing he should -find the admiral there. General Howe found Washington already in New -York, and actively engaged in throwing up entrenchments, both there -and on Long Island, to close the Hudson against the British fleet. -Washington's headquarters were at New York; those of General Sullivan, -at the western extremity of Long Island, opposite to New York; and -Governor's Island, Paulus Hook, New Rochelle, and other points, were -strongly defended to protect the rear of the city. At the time of -Admiral Howe's arrival, the army of Washington did not amount to more -than seventeen thousand men, of whom three thousand were sick, and but -about ten thousand men fit for duty. From his letters to Congress, it -is clear that he entertained very little hope of maintaining his ground -in case of attack, for the fresh forces brought by Howe from England, -being joined by the shattered remains of Sir Peter Parker's squadron, -amounted to twenty thousand men. A few days afterwards, however, he was -joined by two regiments from Philadelphia, and by large bodies of New -York and New England Militia, raising his army to twenty-seven thousand -men, but of these a large number were sick. He now posted strong -reinforcements in Brooklyn. On this General Howe quitted Sandy Hook, -and advanced to Staten Island, where he could watch the operations of -the enemy. The Americans abandoned Staten Island, on his approach, -without firing a gun. - -Things being in this position on the arrival of Admiral Lord Howe, he -determined still, notwithstanding the Proclamation of Independence, -to make every effort to procure a last chance of peace. He deeply -regretted the delays which had attended his fleet, and lost no time -in sending on shore an intimation that he brought conciliatory -overtures. His first act was to dispatch a letter to Franklin, who, in -England, had expressed so earnest a desire for accommodation of all -differences, informing him of his commission to seek reconciliation, -and of his powers for the purpose. But the Declaration being now made, -Franklin had no longer a motive to conceal his real sentiments, and he -replied in terms which greatly astonished Howe, filling his letters -only with complaints of "atrocious injuries," and of what America had -endured from "your proud and uninformed nation." Howe next turned to -Washington, to whom he dispatched a flag of truce, bearing a letter to -the Commander-in-Chief. But as Washington could only be regarded as an -insurgent leader, Lord Howe thought he could not officially recognise -a title conferred only by the American Congress, and therefore did -not address him as "General," but simply as "George Washington, -Esquire." Washington refused to treat in any other character than that -of Commander-in-Chief of the American forces. He instantly returned -Howe's letter, and forwarded the other papers to Congress. One of these -was a circular declaration to the late royal Governors, enclosing -a copy of Lord Howe's commission, and stating that all who should -submit would be pardoned; that any town or province which declared its -adhesion to the Crown should at once be exempt from the provisions of -all the late Acts of Parliament, especially as regarded their trade; -and that, moreover, all such persons as were active in promoting the -settlement of their districts should be duly rewarded. The moment -Congress received this document they ordered it to be published in -the newspapers, that "the people might see how the insidious Court of -Great Britain had endeavoured to disarm and amuse them," and that "the -few whom hopes of moderation and justice on the part of the British -Government had still kept in suspense, might now at length be convinced -that the valour alone of their country is to save its liberties." Lord -Howe, undeterred by this spirited proceeding of Congress, on the 20th -of July sent the Adjutant-General once more to Washington, with another -letter, still addressed to "George Washington, Esquire," but adding a -number of etceteras. Washington was not to be caught by so shallow an -artifice. The proposed interview, like the last, therefore, came to -nothing, except that Congress took advantage of these repeated efforts -to insinuate that the British were afraid of fighting. - -Lord Howe now prepared to attack New York, where Washington had about -thirty thousand men. But the latter's troops were ill-equipped, and -deficient in discipline. Washington expected that Howe would attack -New York by the way of Long Island, and so he had posted nine thousand -men at Brooklyn, nearly opposite to it, behind entrenchments thrown -up by General Greene. Greene had been attacked by fever; and General -Putnam, who had taken his post, was but indifferently acquainted with -the position of the forces and the nature of the ground they would -have to defend with a rabble of most insubordinate troops. In these -circumstances General Howe, on the morning of the 22nd of August, threw -over from Staten Island into Long Island four thousand men, under the -command of General Clinton. They landed in Gravesend Bay, under cover -of the artillery of three frigates and two bombs. The rest of the army -followed with the artillery. Washington hastened over from New York -to strengthen General Sullivan, who was in command on the island. He -posted no less than fifteen thousand men along a peninsula at that end -of the island facing New York. - -[Illustration: WASHINGTON CROSSING THE DELAWARE. (_See p._ 235.)] - -Two British columns advancing by night--one by the shore road and the -other over the hills--managed to capture the patrols and approach the -outposts of the Americans. Washington having been all day engaged in -strengthening his lines, had returned to New York. Putnam was posted -on the left; and General Stirling was posted on the right on the -seashore, near the part called the Narrows. On the hills Sullivan -occupied one of the passes towards the left. The column on the British -right, consisting of Hessians, under General Von Heister, seized -on the village of Flat Bush, nearly opposite to Sullivan. At the -same time, Sir Henry Clinton and Sir William Erskine reconnoitred -Sullivan's position and the rest of the line of hills, and sent word -to General Howe that it would not be difficult to turn Sullivan's -position where the hills were low, near the village of Bedford. Howe -immediately ordered Lord Percy to support Clinton with his brigades, -in the direction of Bedford, and General Grant to endeavour to turn -the position of General Stirling, whilst the Hessians were ready to -attack Sullivan in front. At a signal, Howe himself marched along -with one of the divisions. In order to draw the enemy's attention -from the movements of General Clinton, Grant made a direct attack -upon Stirling's position, which brought to his aid a great part of -Sullivan's forces, thus deserting their own ground. Grant maintained -his attack till daylight, by which time Clinton had, by a slight -skirmish, crossed the line on his side. The attention from his march -was diverted by Von Heister attacking Putnam's position on the direct -way to Brooklyn, and Lord Howe, from his ships, opening a cannonade on -Governor's Island and Red Hook, in the rear of that town. About eight -o'clock came a fire from Clinton's column, which had now forced its way -into the rear of Putnam and between the Americans and Brooklyn. On this -discovery they endeavoured to make a way to their lines before that -town, but were driven back by Clinton only to find themselves assailed -in the rear by Von Heister. Thus hemmed in, they fled in confusion. -This action in their rear alarmed both Sullivan and Stirling, yet they -maintained their ground against Grant till they learned the total rout -of their comrades opposed to Clinton and Heister, when they laid down -their arms and ran for it. Knowing the ground better than the British, -many of them managed to escape to Brooklyn; but one thousand and -ninety-seven prisoners were taken, and from one thousand two hundred to -one thousand five hundred Americans were killed or wounded. The English -lost only about four hundred killed and wounded. - -Washington, who had witnessed the battle, saw, to his infinite -mortification, the British pursuing his flying troops almost up to -their entrenchments. The ardour of the English soldiers was such that -they would speedily have stormed and carried the lines, and not a man -of the American army on Long Island would have escaped being taken -or killed. But General Howe, with that marvellous stupidity which -marked all our generals in this war, ordered them back, saying that -the lines could be taken with less loss of life by regular approach. -The next morning they began throwing up trenches near one of the -American redoubts, from which to cannonade it; but Washington was much -more aware of the untenable nature of his position than Howe, and, -under favour of darkness, and of a thick fog in the morning, he had -been for hours busily transporting his forces over the East River to -New York. All that day, and in the night of the 29th, he continued, -with all possible silence, conveying over his troops, artillery, and -stores, expecting every moment that General Howe would burst through -his lines at Brooklyn, and attack him in the rear, whilst Lord Howe, -with his ships, would advance, and blow all his fragile transports into -the water. Soon, however, Washington saw there was no maintaining his -position there. He found the British fast enclosing him on all sides, -too; and on the 12th of September he began to evacuate the place in -such haste as to leave behind him a great quantity of his artillery and -stores. The English landed on York Island without the loss of a man. -Three thousand men had placed themselves ready to attack the British as -they landed, and before they could form; but the sight of two companies -of grenadiers, already in position, had such an effect on them, that -they fled, leaving their blankets and jackets, which they had thrown -off in certainty of beating the English. - -Washington saw almost with despair the condition of the American army; -any other man would have despaired of it altogether. He wrote to -Congress that nothing could make soldiers trustworthy but longer terms -of service; that, in fact, they ought to be engaged for the whole war, -and subjected to a rigid and constant discipline. He complained that -the soldiers were much bolder in plundering than fighting; and one of -his officers observed that the Pennsylvanian and New England troops -would as soon fight each other as the enemy. His Adjutant-General, -Reed, declared that discipline was almost impossible amid such a -levelling spirit as prevailed. These startling facts made Congress -begin in earnest to look out for foreign aid. In the meantime, it voted -that the army should be reorganised with eighty-eight battalions, to -be enlisted as soon as possible, and to serve during the war; each -State to furnish its respective quota, and to name the officers as high -as colonels. But Washington had soon to complain that they only voted, -and did not carry the plan strenuously into action; that there was a -mighty difference between voting battalions and raising men. - -The condition of Washington was inconceivably depressing. The time -for the serving of the greater part of the troops was fast expiring; -and numbers of them, despite the circumstances of the country, went -off. Whilst Washington was, therefore, exerting himself to prevail -on them to continue, he was compelled to weaken his persuasions by -enforcing the strictest restraint on both soldiers and officers, who -would plunder the inhabitants around them on the plea that they were -Tories. Sickness was in his camp; and his suffering men, for want of -hospitals, were obliged to lie about in barns, stables, sheds, and even -under the fences and bushes. He wrote again to Congress in a condition -of despair. He called on them to place their army on a permanent -footing; to give the officers such pay as should enable them to live -as gentlemen, and not as mean plunderers. He recommended that not only -a good bounty should be given to every non-commissioned officer and -soldier, but also the reward of a hundred or a hundred and fifty acres -of land, a suit of clothes, and a blanket. Though Congress was loth to -comply with these terms, it soon found that it must do so, or soldiers -would go over to the royal army. - -Before Lord Howe advanced farther, he received a deputation from -Congress. He had sent the captured American General, Sullivan, on his -parole to Philadelphia to endeavour to induce Congress to come to -terms, and save the further effusion of blood. He assured them that -he was not at liberty to treat with them as a Congress, but he would -willingly meet some of them as private gentlemen, having full powers, -with his brother, General Howe, to settle the dispute between them and -Great Britain, on advantageous terms; that, on finding them disposed to -agree to honourable conditions, he would seek for the acknowledgment -of their authority to treat with him, so as to make the compact valid. -The delegates appointed were sufficiently indicative of the little good -that was to be hoped from the interview. They were Dr. Franklin, John -Adams, and Edward Rutledge. Franklin had returned a most insulting -answer to a private letter sent to him by Lord Howe. It was in vain -that Lord Howe assured the deputies that England was disposed to -forget all, to pardon all, and to repeal all the obnoxious taxes, and -that inexpressible calamities would be avoided by the Colonies simply -returning to their allegiance. The deputies replied, that the only -terms on which America could make peace was as independent states. This -put the matter beyond accommodation. - -On the 12th of October General Howe, who would have been better -employed in driving the enemy before him than in waiting for his -brother's useless negotiations, sent a considerable part of his forces, -with flat-bottomed boats, through Hell Gate into the Sound, and landed -them at Frog's Neck, about nine miles in the rear of Washington's -position, thus cutting off all his supplies from the country. The -ships ascended higher up the North River, cutting off the retreat into -the Jerseys. Had Howe, instead of landing at Frog's Neck, done so -at Pell's Point, he would have rendered Washington's retreat nearly -impossible. But this was neglected till the 18th of October, by which -time Washington, finding that he was getting gradually hemmed in, and -Lee, who had now joined him from Sullivan's Island and the Carolinas, -insisting that nothing but instant retreat could save them, they -therefore made a rapid retreat into the open country called the White -Plains. They had much difficulty in carrying away their artillery; -and the whole of it must have been taken, had Howe shown any ordinary -activity. Between this date and the 21st there was considerable -skirmishing, which compelled Washington to retire farther into the -White Plains, and from thence towards the Delaware. - -On the 18th of November Lord Cornwallis crossed the North River with -six thousand men, and, landing on the Jersey side, began to attack -Fort Lee, standing nearly opposite Fort Washington. The garrison -fled, leaving behind all its tents standing, all its provisions and -artillery. Washington was compelled by this to fall back from his -position on the Croton, thence to Brunswick, Princeton, Trenton, and -finally to the Pennsylvanian side of the Delaware. Lord Cornwallis -followed at his heels. Cornwallis penetrated to the remotest parts -of east and west Jersey, and everywhere the inhabitants received him -as a friend and deliverer. On the 24th of November Lord Cornwallis -was approaching Brunswick, when he received orders to halt. By this -means, Washington was allowed to escape across the Delaware. It was -not till the evening of the 16th of December that Cornwallis received -orders to proceed, and, though he made all haste, he was too late. The -rear of the American army quitted Princeton as the van of the English -army entered it. Washington, in headlong haste, fled to Trenton, and -began ferrying his troops over the Delaware. When Cornwallis reached -Trenton, at nine o'clock the next morning, he beheld the last boats -of Washington crossing the river. Once over the water, the remains of -the American troops lost all appearance of an army. They were a mere -dirty, worn-out, ragged, and dispirited mob. Washington had taken the -advantage of the halt of Cornwallis to collect all the boats from -Delaware for the distance of seventy miles, so that the English could -not cross after them. Cornwallis, being thus brought to a stand, put -his army into winter quarters between the Delaware and the Hackensack. - -Whilst Cornwallis was pursuing Washington through the Jerseys, Clinton -swept Rhode Island of the American troops, and drove Commodore Hopkins -with some ships up Providence River, where he remained. Rhode Island, -however, required a strong body of English soldiers constantly to -defend it. Meanwhile Sir Guy Carleton, having destroyed the American -flotilla on Lake Champlain, was daily expected to march from Crown -Point and invest Ticonderoga, which was only fifteen miles distant, -and where Schuyler lay prepared to abandon it on the approach of the -English. But Carleton, who had displayed so much activity and energy, -now, like the rest of our generals, seemed at once to abandon them at -the decisive point. He descended the Champlain to Isle-aux-Noix, put -his forces into winter quarters there, and proceeded himself to Quebec, -to prepare for the next campaign. Thus ended the campaign of 1776. - -At the very time that Washington was flying before the British army, -Congress, putting a firm face on the matter, went on legislating as -boldly as ever. It established Articles of Confederation and perpetual -union between the several States. These Articles were a supplement to -and extension of the Declaration of Independence, and were sixteen in -number:--1st. That the thirteen States thus confederating should take -the title of the United States. 2nd. That each and all were engaged -in a reciprocal treaty of alliance and friendship for their common -defence, and for their general advantage; obliging themselves to assist -each other against all violence that might threaten all or any of them -on account of religion, sovereignty, commerce, or under any other -pretext whatever. 3rd. That each State reserved to itself alone the -exclusive right of regulating its internal government. 4th. That no -State in particular should either send or receive embassies, begin any -negotiations, contract any engagements, form any alliances, or conclude -any treaties with any king, prince, or power whatsoever, without the -consent of the United States assembled in Congress; that no person -invested with any post in the United States should be allowed to accept -any presents, emoluments, office, or title, from any king, prince, or -foreign Power; and that neither the General Congress, nor any State in -particular, should ever confer any title of nobility. 5th. That none of -the said States should have power to form alliances, or confederations, -even amongst themselves, without the consent of the General Congress. -6th. That no State should lay on any imposts, or establish any duties, -which might affect treaties to be hereafter concluded by Congress with -foreign Powers. 7th. That no State in particular should keep up ships -of war, or land troops beyond the amount regulated by Congress. 8th. -That when any of the States raised troops for the common defence, the -officers of the rank of colonel and under should be appointed by the -legislature of the State, and the superior officers by Congress. 9th. -That all the expenses of the war, etc., should be paid out of a common -treasury. Other clauses defined the functions and powers of Congress, -and the 14th offered to Canada admission to all the privileges of the -other States, should she desire it; but no other colony was to be -admitted without the formal consent of nine of the States composing the -Union. - -After thus settling the form and powers of the constitution, Congress -voted eight million dollars to be raised as a loan, and ordered a fresh -issue of paper money. But, above all, it laboured to acquire aid from -abroad, without which it was clear they must yield to the superior -military force of the mother country, and return to their obedience on -humiliating terms. For this purpose, in addition to Silas Deane, who -was already in Paris, Franklin and Arthur Lee were dispatched to that -capital to obtain aid with all possible speed. These gentlemen set sail -in the beginning of November, though in much apprehension of being -intercepted by the British cruisers; but managed to reach Quibéron -Bay in safety, and Paris before the end of the year. So successful -was Franklin in Paris, that he obtained a gift of two millions of -livres from the French king in aid of America, and the assurance that -this should be annually augmented, as her finances allowed. The only -stipulation for the present was profound secrecy. Franklin had also -found the cause of America so popular, that many officers were anxious -to engage in her service; and the enthusiastic young Marquis Lafayette, -notwithstanding the ill news from the United States, engaged to embark -his life and fortune with Washington and his compatriots. - -[Illustration: AMERICAN BILL OF CREDIT (1775).] - -In England Parliament met on the 31st of October, and Lord North now -moved, in a Committee of Supply, for forty-five thousand seamen for -the service of the following year; and in a warm debate, in which Mr. -Luttrell made a severe charge of maladministration at the Admiralty, -and of the most shameful corruptions and peculations in that department -and in the Commissariat, he called for the production of the necessary -papers to enable him to substantiate these charges. - -Yet the whole demand for sailors was carried, and the demand of inquiry -as absolutely rejected. Parliament went on and voted three million two -hundred and five thousand five hundred and five pounds for the expenses -of the navy; four thousand pounds for Greenwich Hospital; five hundred -thousand pounds for the discharge of the debts of the navy. For the -army, including some new contracts with the German princes for men to -serve in America, three million pounds. What was still more disgraceful -was that, amid all these charges on the public purse, the king came -again with a fresh demand for six hundred thousand pounds for debts on -the Civil List. It was pretended that extraordinary calls had been made -on the royal purse by the suffering Royalists in America; but it was -notorious that the Royal household continued in the same condition of -reckless waste and extravagance as it was when the former half million -was voted for the same purpose. Yet the Commons granted this sum; and, -by way of preventing the king from falling into fresh difficulties, -added one hundred thousand pounds a year to the Civil List. The matter, -however, did not pass without a plain reminder to his Majesty. The -rough-spoken Sir Fletcher Norton, the Speaker of the Commons, when -presenting this Bill for the increase of the Civil List to the king, -said:--"Sir,--In a time of public distress, full of difficulty and -danger, under burdens almost too heavy to be borne, your faithful -Commons postponed all other business, and granted your Majesty not only -a large present supply, but a very great additional revenue--great -beyond example--great beyond your Majesty's highest wants!" Having -passed these votes, Parliament was prorogued on the 13th of December -till the 21st of the following January. - -But whilst England had been thus preparing for the augmentation of the -navy, America had been aiming a blow at the efficiency of that navy, -which must for years, if successful, have prostrated our whole maritime -forces, and exposed our shores to the easiest invasion. This intended -blow was nothing less than the destruction of our great naval dockyards -and arsenals, and military storehouses, at Portsmouth and Plymouth. The -chief agent in this infamous design, if the evidence of a miscreant can -be believed, was Silas Deane. On the 7th of December the rope-house of -the Royal Dockyard at Portsmouth was found to be on fire. By active -exertions it was got under, after it had destroyed that building, and -was imagined to be an accident. But on the 15th of January, 1777, -one of the officers of the dockyard found a machine and combustibles -concealed in the hemp in the hemp-house of the same dockyard. Suspicion -now fell on a moody, silent artisan, who, on the day of the fire, had -been looking about the dockyard, and who, by some chance, had got -locked up in the rope-house the night before. His name was not known, -but the fact only that he was a painter, and had been called John -the Painter. Government immediately offered a reward of fifty pounds -for his apprehension; the same sum, with a strange simplicity, being -offered to him if he would surrender himself for examination. Nothing, -however, could be learned of him in Portsmouth or the country round; -but fresh fires were now breaking out at Plymouth Dockyard and on the -quays of Bristol. At Plymouth the fire was instantly checked, and the -perpetrator was nearly seized. At Bristol the fire was laid near a -narrow, deep creek, crowded with shipping, which was nearly dry at -low water, so that it was impossible to get the shipping out. Six or -seven warehouses were destroyed, but the shipping escaped. In another -house at Bristol combustibles were discovered, and the alarm became -general that the American incendiaries, having failed to burn New -York, were come to England to burn our dockyards and maritime houses. -Fortunately, in the beginning of February, a man was apprehended for -the perpetration of a burglary at Odiham, in Hampshire; and, by the -activity of Sir John Fielding, the London magistrate, he was identified -as John the Painter. When brought before Sir John and other magistrates -in town, the man conducted himself with tact and address. Though -closely examined and cross-questioned by some of the members of the -Privy Council, by Lords of the Admiralty, and other officers of the -board, he maintained the scrutiny without betraying any embarrassment, -or letting anything escape him that could in any degree incriminate -him. A confession was, however, wormed out of him by another painter, -named Baldwin. Silas Deane, John the Painter declared, according to -Baldwin's evidence, had encouraged him to set fire to the dockyards of -Plymouth and Portsmouth, Woolwich and Chatham, as the most effectual -means of disabling Great Britain; that he gave him bills to the amount -of three hundred pounds on a merchant in London, and promised to reward -him according to the amount of service he should do to the American -cause. Before his execution he freely admitted the truth of the charges -against him. He confessed to having twice attempted to fire the -dockyard at Plymouth, and to burning the warehouses at Bristol, having -in vain endeavoured to deposit his combustibles on board the ships. -He, moreover, stated that he had a recommendation from Silas Deane to -Dr. Bancroft, in London, to whom he had declared that he would do all -the harm he could to England; that the doctor did not approve of his -conduct, but had, at his request, promised not to betray him. - -On the 8th of May, 1777, Ministers moved for more money for the -insatiable Landgrave of Hesse, whose troops were at this very time -exhibiting the most scandalous state of defiance of discipline, of -consequent inefficiency, and of plunder of the inhabitants of America. -This grant, though violently opposed, was carried, but only by a -majority of eight. All parties now began to denounce the shameless -rapacity of these German princes. Nor did Chatham, ill as he was, -allow the Session to pass without making one more energetic protest -against the continuance of the war with America. On the 30th of May -he moved an address to his Majesty for the immediate cessation of -hostilities. Notwithstanding all that had been said on our successes -over the Americans, Chatham contended as positively as ever that we -could never conquer them. "You have," he said, "ransacked every corner -of Lower Saxony, but forty thousand German boors never can conquer -ten times the number of British freemen. You may ravage, you cannot -conquer--it is impossible--you cannot conquer America. You talk of your -numerous funds to annihilate the Congress, and your powerful forces -to disperse their army; I might as well talk of driving them before -me with my crutch! But what would you conquer? The map of America? I -am ready to meet any general officer on the subject" (looking at Lord -Amherst)--"What will you do out of the protection of your fleet? In the -winter, if together, they are starved; and if dispersed, they are taken -off in detail. I am experienced in spring hopes and vernal promises. I -know what Ministers throw out; but at last will come your equinoctial -disappointment. You have got nothing in America but stations. You have -been three years teaching them the art of war. They are apt scholars; -and I will venture to tell your lordships that the American gentry will -make officers enough fit to command the troops of all the European -Powers." Chatham's motion was rejected by ninety-nine votes against -twenty-eight. Parliament was prorogued by the king on the 6th of June, -in a speech in which he indulged the fallacious hope that the American -insurrection would be terminated in the present campaign. But Chatham's -prophecies were at the very time realising themselves. Had the Howes -had the necessary qualities of commanders in such an important -cause--had they pursued and dispersed the American army, as they ought -to have done on defeating it, and as they might readily have done; -and had the British Government instantly, whilst in this favourable -position, repealed all the obnoxious statutes, they would have thrown -Congress and Washington so completely into the wrong, that it would -have been impossible for them to have made head again. But neither -the Generals nor the Government of that day had the capacity for such -strategic and statesmanlike policy. The Generals went comfortably into -winter quarters, leaving the embers of war to rekindle and spread; and -Government, deaf to the warnings of Chatham, still stolidly refused -justice whilst rigorously enforcing their injustice. And, indeed, when -Chatham gave his last Cassandra-like remonstrance, it was already too -late. We had indeed taught the Americans the art of war. Washington -was no longer contented to stand on the defensive, happy if he could -preserve his soldiers from running off without fighting at all. His -circumstances were desperate, and the energy which springs from despair -now urged him to measures of daring and wakefulness just as the English -Generals, like northern bears, were entering on their winter's sleep. -Benedict Arnold had paid him a visit in his wretched camp beyond the -Delaware, and probably from their united counsels sprang a new style of -movement, which confounded his unsuspecting enemies. - -The army of Lord Cornwallis, which had so triumphantly pursued -Washington through the Jerseys, supposing the Americans now put beyond -all possibility of action, if not wholly dispersed, lay carelessly -in their cantonments on the left bank of the Delaware. The two main -outposts, Trenton and Bordentown, were entrusted to bodies of Hessians. -At Trenton lay Colonel Rahl, and at Bordentown Count Donop. As the -Christmas of 1776 was approaching, they had abandoned all discipline. -The British officers, too, had mostly quitted their regiments, and -had gone to enjoy the Christmas at New York, where General Howe was -keeping up great hospitality, imagining the war to be fast drawing to -a close. But if the English paid no attention to Washington, he was -paying every attention to them. His plans arranged, he set out on the -evening of Christmas day, 1776, and crossed the river at Mackonkey's -Ferry, nine miles above Trenton, to attack that fort. The river was so -encumbered with ice that he found it a most arduous undertaking, but he -accomplished it with the division immediately under his command--two -thousand four hundred in number. He continued his march through the -night on Trenton, and reached it at about eight o'clock in the morning. -A trusted spy had informed him over night, that he had seen the -soldiers, both British and Hessians, asleep, steeped in drink. When he -arrived, the soldiers still lay sunk in their Christmas debauch; and it -was only by the first crash of the cannon that they were roused. When -they ran to arms Washington had already invested the town. The brave -Colonel Rahl, in his endeavour to form his drunken troops, and lead -them on, was mortally wounded by an American rifle, almost at the first -discharge. The light horse and a portion of the infantry, who fled on -the first alarm, escaped to Bordentown. The main body attempted to -retreat by the Princeton Road, but found it already occupied by Colonel -Hand and his regiment of Pennsylvanian riflemen. Thus cut off, ignorant -of the force opposed to them, and without enthusiasm for the cause, -they threw down their arms and surrendered. About a thousand prisoners -and six cannon were taken. The Americans had two killed, two frozen to -death, and a few wounded. As soon as Washington had refreshed his men, -he re-crossed the Delaware, carrying with him his prisoners, the stores -he had taken, and the six field-pieces that he brought with him. - -This spirited and brilliant action had a wonderful effect on the -American mind. It revived the courage of the troops, which had -sunk very low after so many defeats. It inspired them and the -public at large with confidence in the talents and daring of their -Commander-in-Chief, who was now eulogised as another Fabius. Such was -the confidence inspired, even in himself, by this success, that, being -immediately joined by three thousand six hundred Pennsylvanian militia, -he determined to cross the Delaware, as it was now strongly frozen -over. But General Grant had already joined General Leslie at Princeton, -with a strong body of British and Hessian troops; and General Howe, -on hearing of the fresh spirit of the American army, had detained -Lord Cornwallis, who was about to leave for England. He hastened to -Princeton, and took the command of the whole force, concentrating all -the troops on the Delaware shore. On the 2nd of January, 1777, he -marched from Princeton for Trenton, drove in the enemy's outposts, and -reached Trenton by five o'clock the same afternoon. Washington retired -as he approached. The British, on arriving at the fort and bridge -of the Assumpinck, found both guarded by artillery, and Washington -posted on some high ground beyond. Cornwallis cannonaded the bridge -and forts, and his fire was briskly returned. He then encamped for -the night there, intending to force the creek the next morning; but -Washington did not wait for him. With his raw militia only a few days -in camp, he had no chance of resisting Cornwallis's army, and yet--a -thaw having taken place--it was impossible to cross the Delaware. He -called a council of war, and it was concluded that, from the great -force of Cornwallis in front, the rear could not be very strong. It was -therefore determined to make an attempt to gain the rear, beat up the -enemy's quarters at Princeton, now, as they supposed, nearly deserted, -and, if they could succeed, fall on the British stores and baggage at -New Brunswick. Their own baggage was, accordingly, sent quickly down -the river to Burlington, the camp-fires were replenished, and small -parties being left to deceive the enemy by throwing up entrenchments, -Washington, about midnight, silently decamped by a circuitous route -towards Princeton. At dawn they encountered two out of three English -regiments, which had been at Princeton, on the march. These were the -17th and 55th, hastening to join Cornwallis at Trenton. They imagined -the Americans, owing to a thick fog, to be a body of Hessians; but, -on discovering the mistake, a sharp fight took place, and for some -time the two British regiments withstood Washington's whole force. -Colonel Mawhood, the English commander, posted his force advantageously -on a rising ground between the Americans and Princeton, sent back -his baggage waggons, and dispatched messengers to bring up the 40th -regiment, still in Princeton, with all speed. The 40th not arriving, -Washington managed to force his way between the two British regiments. -The 17th continued its march for Trenton; the 55th fell back upon -Princeton, where the 40th, which had defended itself in the college, -after losing a considerable number of prisoners, joined the 55th, and -retreated upon New Brunswick. - -Washington found no rest at Princeton. Cornwallis no sooner heard -the cannonading near Princeton than he immediately comprehended -Washington's _ruse_, and, alarmed for his magazines at New Brunswick, -he hastened in that direction. Washington, aware of his approach, found -it necessary to give up the attempt on New Brunswick. He therefore -hastened across Millstone river, broke down the bridge behind him to -stop pursuit, and posted himself on the high ground at Morristown, -where there were very strong positions. Here he received additional -troops, and entrenched himself. Cornwallis, not aware of the real -weakness of Washington's army despite all its additions, again sat down -quietly for the winter at New Brunswick. For six months the British -army now lay still. Washington, however, lost no time in scouring all -quarters of the Jerseys. He made himself master of the coast opposite -Staten Island, and seized on Newark, Elizabeth Town, and Woodbridge. -The inhabitants had been plundered by the Hessians and English, and -now they were plundered again by their own countrymen for having -received the English well. Washington exerted himself to suppress this -rancorous conduct of the New England and Virginian troops, and issued -a proclamation absolving the people of their oaths to the English, and -promising them protection on their taking a new oath to Congress. The -people of the Jerseys gladly accepted this offer. - -Meanwhile, the American emissaries were both busy and successful at the -Court of France. Though the Government still professed most amicable -relations towards Great Britain, it winked at the constant sale of -the prizes taken by American privateers, or those who passed for -such, in their ports. The Government had, as we have seen, supplied -the insurgents with money and arms. It was now arranged between Silas -Deane and the French Minister, Vergennes, that the supplies of arms -and ammunition should be sent by way of the West Indies, and that -Congress should remit payment in tobacco and other produce. The French -Government supplied the American agents with money for their purchases -of arms and necessary articles for the troops, also to be repaid in -tobacco. Two of the ships sent off with such supplies were captured -by the British men-of-war; but a third, loaded with arms, arrived -safely. To procure the money which they could not draw from Europe, -Congress made fresh issues of paper money, though what was already out -was fearfully depreciated. They voted a loan also of five millions of -dollars, at four per cent. interest. They authorised a lottery to raise -a like sum, the prizes to be payable in loan-office certificates. These -measures only precipitated the depreciation of the Government paper; -people refused to take it; and Washington, to prevent the absolute -starvation of the army, was endowed with the extraordinary power of -compelling the acceptance of it, and of arresting and imprisoning -all maligners of the credit of Congress. Congress went further, and -passed a resolution that their bills ought to pass current in all -payments, trade, and dealings, and be deemed equal in value to the -same sum in Spanish dollars; and that all persons refusing to take -them should be considered enemies to the United States; and the local -authorities were called upon to inflict forfeitures and other penalties -on all such persons. Still further: the New York convention having -laid before Congress their scheme for regulating the price of labour, -produce, manufactured articles, and imported goods, it was adopted. -But these arbitrary and unscientific measures the traders set at -defiance, and the attempts to enforce them only aggravated the public -distress. Loans came in slowly, the treasury ran low, the loan offices -were overdrawn, and the issue of bills of credit was reluctantly -recommenced; ten additional millions were speedily authorised, and as -the issue increased, the depreciation naturally kept pace with it. The -Commissioners in France were instructed to borrow money there, but the -instructions were more easily given than executed. - -[Illustration: WASHINGTON AND HIS MEN AT VALLEY FORGE. (_See p._ 239.)] - -Such were the difficulties under which Congress and Washington had -been struggling through this winter to raise and keep together any -considerable force; whilst General, now Sir William Howe, had been -completely dozing at New York. The first movements of Howe were to -execute several detached evolutions, and a vast quantity of stores -were destroyed. As a retaliation, the Americans sent Colonel Meigs -over to Long Island, to a place called Sag Harbour, where the English -had a great quantity of provision stores, which they learned were very -remissly guarded. Meigs, who had been trained under Arnold, conducted -the enterprise very adroitly. He passed the Sound in whale-boats in -the night, landed without much difficulty before the break of day, -and began to fire the magazines. He met with a brave resistance from -the crews of the merchants' vessels; but, having two hundred men, and -there being no soldiers to oppose him, he destroyed twelve of the -trading vessels, took ninety prisoners, and returned triumphantly -without the loss of a single man. In the meantime, Washington had -quitted his encampment at Morristown, and taken up a strong position at -Middlebrook, about twelve miles from Princeton. On the 13th of June -Howe at last marched out of New Brunswick to attack him. On this, -Washington called to his assistance a great part of the troops in the -highlands, the whole force of the Jersey militia, whilst Arnold, who -had the command at Philadelphia, was actively engaged with Mifflin in -preparing defences for the Delaware. The object of Howe was to draw -Washington from his entrenchments, certain that, on fair ground, it -would require little exertion to totally dissipate his army; therefore, -after marching up almost to the American lines, he commenced a retreat, -evacuated even New Brunswick, and fell back to Amboy. Washington fell -into the snare; he sent a strong force in pursuit of Howe, who, keeping -up the _ruse_, threw a bridge over the narrow strait which divides -Staten Island from the mainland, and sent over part of his baggage -and a number of troops. Satisfied then that Howe was bent on resuming -his old quarters at New York, Washington quitted his camp, which had -cost him so much labour to create, and descended with his main body -to Quibbletown. On seeing this, Howe advanced again, and dispatched -several bodies of soldiers by different routes, to get, if possible, -between Washington and his old post on the hills, so as to bring him -to an engagement on the plain. Washington instantly became aware of -his design, and retreated with all speed. Lord Cornwallis, who led the -British van, notwithstanding, managed to come up with him, and fell -upon a division of three thousand strong, advantageously posted, and -defended with cannon. Cornwallis's charge, however, threw him into -confusion, the rout became general, and the British pursued them as far -as Westfield, when, coming to a woody country, and the heat of the day -being intense, they halted for the night. This halt was the salvation -of Washington: it enabled him to regain his old fortified post in the -hills, leaving behind him part of his cannon, and about two hundred men -killed. - -Instead of waiting to watch Washington, or leaving any force for that -purpose, Howe now suddenly altered his plans, marched back in reality -to Staten Island, and left the enemy in full command of the Jerseys. -Embarking his army on the 5th of July, he left General Clinton at New -York with seventeen battalions, a body of loyal American militia, and -a regiment of light horse. He set sail on the 23rd of July, and stood -out to sea. Washington, now supposing that he meant to make an attempt -on Boston, moved slowly towards the Hudson; but he had soon information -that caused him to retreat again towards the Delaware; and, news -coming that Howe had been seen off Cape May, he advanced to Germantown. -Instead of entering the Delaware, however, the British fleet was -presently seen steering eastward, and all calculations were baffled. -Washington, now believing that he was intending to return to New York, -proceeded to Philadelphia, and had an interview with Congress. - -Howe's real intention had been to enter the Delaware, and proceed -up it direct to Philadelphia; but, understanding that the Americans -had placed enormous impediments in the river, he stood away for the -mouth of the Elk, in Chesapeake Bay. He was tediously detained by the -contrary winds that always prevail on that course in that season, and -it was the 28th of August before he entered the Elk, and reached the -Elk head, where he landed his troops. On the 2nd of September (1777) -he began his march for Philadelphia. He soon came upon a body of -Washington's army at Iron Hill, which he charged and drove from the -hill. On the 11th he came in sight of Washington's main army, strongly -posted and fortified on the forks of the Brandywine river. Here Howe's -dispositions were excellent. He sent forward, under General Knyphausen, -the second division, which advanced to a ford called Chad's Ford, -and drove a detachment of Americans across it. Howe then advanced, -and, planting his cannon along the bank of the river, he engaged the -Americans in a brisk cannonade across the stream. Meanwhile, Lord -Cornwallis was silently marching in the rear of Howe's troops, round -to another ford at the forks of the Brandywine, which he crossed, -and took Washington's army in the rear. On firing his signal gun, -the Americans were thrown into consternation, and at the same moment -Knyphausen dashed across Chad's Ford, and drove the surprised Americans -from their batteries and entrenchments at the point of the bayonet. -The batteries were instantly turned against them, and Cornwallis, who -had been checked by a division under Sullivan, coming up, there was a -general rout. The Americans fled in utter confusion, having lost three -hundred killed, six hundred wounded, and four hundred taken prisoners. -The English had one hundred killed and four hundred wounded. - -But, scarcely had Howe posted himself at Wilmington, when Washington -re-crossed the Schuylkill and marched on the British left, hoping -to imitate the movement of Cornwallis at the Brandywine which had -been so effectual. Howe, aware of the strategy, however, reversed -his front, and the Americans were taken by surprise. In this case, -Howe himself ought to have fallen on the Americans, but a storm is -said to have prevented it, and Washington immediately fell back to -Warwick Furnace, on the south bank of French creek. From that point he -dispatched General Wayne to cross a rough country and occupy a wood on -the British left. Here, having fifteen hundred men himself, he was to -form a junction with two thousand Maryland militia, and with this force -harass the British rear. But information of this movement was given to -Howe, who, on the 20th of September, sent Major-General Greig to expel -Wayne from his concealment. Greig gave orders that not a gun should be -fired, but that the bayonet alone should be used, and then, stealing -unperceived on Wayne, his men made a terrible rush with fixed bayonets, -threw the whole body into consternation, and made a dreadful slaughter. -Three hundred Americans were killed and wounded, about a hundred were -taken prisoners, and the rest fled, leaving their baggage behind them. -The British only lost seven men. - -Whilst Washington manœuvred to prevent Howe from crossing the -Schuylkill above him, the English General crossed below on the 22nd -of September, and thus placed himself between Philadelphia and the -American army. It was now necessary for Washington to fight, or give -up that city; but the condition of his troops, deficient in clothes -and shoes, owing to the poverty of the commissariat department, -with wretched arms, and fatigued by their recent exertions, forbade -all hope of maintaining even the defensive. He therefore fell back, -and Cornwallis, on the 27th, advancing from Germantown, entered -Philadelphia amid the welcome of the loyal inhabitants. Cornwallis -occupied the city with four regiments, but the body of the British army -encamped at Germantown, ten miles distant. But, though the Americans -had evacuated the city, they still held the command of the Delaware -below it, and thus cut off the supplies of the British army by sea, -and all communication between the army and the fleet, except by the -circuitous course of Chester, liable to capture by the enemy. - -Within a few days of taking Philadelphia, Lord Howe raised three -batteries on the side of the river. On the 3rd of October Washington -issued from his camp on the Schuylkill, about fourteen miles from -Germantown, having heard that two British detachments had been -withdrawn thence to attack the forts on the Delaware. He had been -reinforced by militia from Maryland and New Jersey, and determined to -surprise the British camp at Germantown. Two columns of Continental -troops, led by Greene and Sullivan, were to gain the front of the -British, and attack it; whilst two other columns of militia were to -attack the rear. This force marched all night, and entered Germantown -about sunrise, and all seemed likely to favour their enterprise. A fog -prevented the discovery of their approach. But, at the first surprise, -Colonel Musgrove threw himself into a storehouse, and kept up such a -fire from the windows as checked the assault of the Americans, and -gave time for the rest of the British force to get under arms. The -village of Germantown consisted of one long street. Across this street -the British army had encamped, and stoutly resisted the advance of the -Americans. Musgrove was summoned to surrender; but he continued his -fire from the house without taking any notice, and, before artillery -could be brought up to batter the house, General Greig and Brigadier -Agnew came up to his assistance. The Continental troops in front, led -on by Washington himself, made a brisk attack, but were repulsed at all -points, and were badly co-operated with by the militia in the rear. -Washington was compelled to fall back to his camp at Skippack Creek, -leaving behind him about eight hundred killed and wounded, and four -hundred prisoners. So far, however, was Sir William Howe from availing -himself of this opportunity to follow up the attack on Washington, and -disperse his army, that he, as usual, thought only of getting into snug -winter quarters. - -Thus was another glorious chance for the utter dispersion of the -American army thrown away by this most incompetent commander; and, as -Washington saw that he had nothing to fear during the winter, except -from the elements, he determined to encamp himself, so as to keep the -British in constant anxiety about him. He selected a strong piece of -ground at a place called Valley Forge, covered with wood. He set his -soldiers to fell trees and make log-huts, the interstices of which they -stopped with moss, and daubed up with clay. As they had plenty of fuel, -they could thus pass the winter in some degree of comfort. A great -number of his men were on the verge of the expiration of their term, -and were impatient to return home; but he persuaded many to remain, -and he employed them in throwing up entrenchments on the right of his -camp, which was open towards the plain. His left was defended by the -Schuylkill, and his rear by a steep precipice descending to the Valley -Creek. He began two redoubts, but he soon saw that there was no fear of -Howe moving so long as the winter lasted, and he left them unfinished. -And thus the winter went over, Howe lying snugly at Philadelphia, -enjoying his wine and his cards, and apparently forgetful that there -was any such place as Valley Forge within five-and-twenty miles of him. - -Whilst these movements had been progressing, very different ones had -been in development in the north. The British Government, with the -fatality which distinguished nearly all its counsels in this war, had -thought proper to take the command of the army destined to operate by -way of Canada on the northern colonies, from Sir Guy Carleton, and -to confer it on General Burgoyne. The campaign had been planned--not -by experienced military men on the spot, capable of estimating the -difficulties of the enterprise, but in the Cabinet at home, directed by -defective maps, and still more defective information. - -This scheme was to take Ticonderoga, and then to advance upon Albany. -Whilst the army was marching to this point, the fleet, carrying another -strong force, was to ascend the Hudson, and there meet Burgoyne, by -which means the British could then command the Hudson through its whole -extent; and New England, the head of the rebellion, would be entirely -cut off from the middle and southern countries. The plan was excellent -in itself, but demanded for its successful accomplishment not only -commanders familiar with the country, but the most ardent spirit in -them, and the most careful co-operation. - -Being conveyed to St. John's, Burgoyne there disembarked, and on the -16th of June he commenced his march for Crown Point, the shipping -following him by the lake. On the 1st of July he appeared before -Ticonderoga. The place required ten thousand troops effectually to -defend it; but St. Clair who commanded them had only three thousand, -very indifferently armed and equipped. St. Clair saw at once that he -must retire, as the Americans had already done, at Crown Point; but he -sought to do it unobserved. Accordingly, in the night of the 5th of -July the flight took place; but St. Clair's orders were immediately -disobeyed; the soldiers fired the house which had been occupied by -General de Fermoy, and the British were at once apprised of the -retreat. The sailors soon broke up the obstructions at the mouth of the -river, and a fleet of gunboats was in instant pursuit. They overtook -the Americans near the falls of Skenesborough, and quickly mastered -the protecting galleys, and destroyed the vessels. General Burgoyne -followed with other gunboats containing troops, and at the same time -dispatched Generals Fraser and Reisedel by land after St. Clair. - -St. Clair had marched with such celerity that he reached, before the -next night, Castleton, thirty miles from Ticonderoga. But the rear -division under Colonel Warner halted at Hubberton, six miles short of -Castleton. Early next morning, General Fraser found them on a hill. No -sooner did they descry him, than one of the regiments turned and fled, -leaving most of their officers to be taken prisoners. But the other two -regiments, commanded by Warner and Francis, stood their ground stoutly. -Fraser had with him only about eight hundred men, and the Americans -were from one thousand two hundred to one thousand five hundred -strong. But Fraser advanced up the hill and attacked them briskly. The -Americans were protected by a sort of breastwork formed of logs and -trees, and they gave Fraser a smart reception. But, calculating on the -approach of Reisedel and the Germans, he fought on; and Reisedel soon -after marching up with a full band of music, the Americans imagined -that the whole body of the Germans was there, and fled on to Castleton -as fast as they could. - -General Schuyler was hastening to support Ticonderoga, when, on -reaching Saratoga, he was met by the news of this succession of -defeats. He had, when joined by St. Clair and Long, who had been left -to defend St. John's in vain, about five thousand men, the whole now -of the northern army; but many of these were militia hastily called -together--many of them without arms--more, destitute of ammunition, -and still more, of discipline. But Schuyler depended much more on the -nature of the country which the British would have to traverse from -this point than on his men. The whole region between Skenesborough and -the Hudson was an almost unbroken wilderness. Wood Creek was navigable -as far as Fort Anne; from Fort Anne to the Hudson, over an exceedingly -rough country, covered with thick woods, and intersected by numerous -streams and morasses, extended a single military road. Whilst Burgoyne -halted a few days at Skenesborough to bring up the necessary supplies, -Schuyler seized the opportunity to destroy the navigation of Wood -Creek, by sinking impediments in its channel, and breaking up the -bridges and causeways, of which there were fifty or more on the road -from Fort Anne to Fort Edward. Had Burgoyne been well informed, he -would have fallen back on Ticonderoga, have embarked on Lake George, -and proceeded to Fort George, whence there was a waggon-road to Fort -Edward, the place he was aiming at. Instead of this, he determined on -separating himself from his baggage and artillery, sending these, under -General Philips, to Fort George, and proceeding with the main portion -of the army across the rugged country that lay between himself and Fort -Edward. On this route they had not only to contend with swamps swarming -with mosquitoes, deep gullies, ravines, and rivulets, but to make -temporary bridges to supply the place of those destroyed by Schuyler, -and remove the trees felled by him. The weather, to add to their -stupendous labour, was intensely hot; yet, surmounting everything, -on the 30th of July Burgoyne and his army hailed with enthusiasm the -sight of the Hudson, which they had thus reached through a series of -brilliant successes. - -[Illustration: GEORGE WASHINGTON. (_After the Portrait by Smart._)] - -There only needed now one thing to render the expedition triumphant, -and place the Hudson from Albany to New York in the absolute power -of the British army--that General Howe should have been prepared to -keep the appointment there with a proper fleet and armed force. But -Howe was engaged in the campaign of Philadelphia, and seems to have -been utterly incapable of conducting two such operations as watching -Washington and supporting Burgoyne. As soon as Burgoyne discovered -this fatal want of co-operation on the part of Howe, he ought to -have retreated to the lakes, but he still determined to advance; and -before doing so, he only awaited the coming up of the artillery and -baggage under General Philips, and of Colonel St. Leger, who had been -dispatched by the course of the Oswego, the Oneida Lake, and Wood -Creek, and thence by the Mohawk river, which falls into the Hudson -between Saratoga and Albany. St. Leger had two hundred regulars--Sir -John Johnson's Royal Queen's and Canadian Rangers--with him, and a -body of Indians under Brandt. St. Leger, on his way, had laid siege to -Fort Schuyler, late Fort Stanwix, near the head of the Mohawk. General -Herkimer raised the militia of Tryon county, and advanced to the relief -of the place. - -On hearing this, Burgoyne dispatched Colonel Baum with two pieces of -artillery and eight hundred men--dismounted German dragoons and British -marksmen. They were to surprise Bennington, a place about twenty miles -to the east of the Hudson, where the Americans had collected their -stores from New England, and, having secured these, to return and carry -them to St. Leger. Baum, however, found himself surrounded by Generals -Starke and Warner at St. Corick's Mill, on Walloon Creek, six miles -from Bennington, before help came up. For two hours a fierce attack -was kept up on Baum's entrenchments on all sides by the Americans with -muskets and rifles. Baum made a most gallant defence, and three times -drove them from some high ground which they occupied above his camp. -At last he was picked off by a rifleman and fell mortally wounded. -His German troops retreated into the woods, in the direction of Fort -Edward, and were there met by Breyman, who was slowly advancing with -reinforcements. He reorganised the fugitives, and commenced his -retreat, hotly pursued by Starke and Warner; he made his way back to -Burgoyne, but not until he had fired nearly his last cartridge. - -During this time St. Leger had been investing Fort Schuyler. The whole -of his miscellaneous force did not exceed six hundred, exclusive of -Indians; and on the 5th of August he learned that General Herkimer was -advancing to the relief. He instantly dispatched Sir John Johnson with -a party of regulars and a number of Indians to waylay him. Herkimer -fell into the ambush, and was himself mortally wounded. St. Leger, -finding that his light artillery made no impression on the walls of -Fort Schuyler, and hearing a false rumour that Burgoyne was defeated, -raised the siege, leaving behind him his artillery, tents, and stores. -His precipitation was occasioned by the more certain news of the -approach of Arnold with ten pieces of artillery and two thousand men, -who indeed, reached Fort Schuyler two days after his retreat. - -Burgoyne was now in a condition which demanded all the talents of a -great general. His forces were heavily reduced, those of the enemy -much increased, and he was amongst bogs and wildernesses, which -Barrington and Barré had from the first declared would be fatal to any -army. He had sent express after express to Howe to urge a movement -in co-operation, but no news of it arrived, and every day he was -becoming more and more cut off from advance or retreat. Whilst these -circumstances were operating against him, Burgoyne collected his -artillery and provisions for about a month, and, forming a bridge of -boats, passed his army, on the 13th and 14th of September, over the -Hudson, and encamped on the heights and plains of Saratoga. Just at -this juncture Schuyler had been superseded by his successor Gates, yet -he himself remained to give his assistance in the campaign. The day -after Gates assumed the command, Morgan had marched in with his rifle -corps, five hundred strong, and Major Dearborn with two hundred and -fifty other picked men. Arnold, too, had returned from pursuit of St. -Leger, with two thousand men. The Americans numbered, with militia -continually flocking in, nearly eight thousand, whilst Burgoyne's -force did not exceed half that number. To approach the Americans it -was necessary to cross the low ground, seamed with watercourses and -rugged with scrub and stones, and to lay down bridges and causeways. -This being completed, on the 19th the British army took position at -Bemus's Heights in front of the American left. Gates, stimulated by -the presence of Arnold, began the attack by sending out a detachment -to turn Burgoyne's right flank, but they soon perceived the covering -division of Fraser, and retreated. Gates then put Arnold at the head of -a still stronger detachment to fall directly on Burgoyne's position, -and a severe fight commenced about three o'clock in the afternoon, -which lasted until sunset. Arnold made the most impetuous assaults -on the British line to break it, but everywhere in vain, although the -whole weight of the attack fell on three or four of our regiments, -the rest being posted on some hills, and the Germans on the left at a -greater distance. Whenever they advanced into the open field, the fire -of the American marksmen from their concealment drove them back in -disorder; but whenever the Americans ventured out, the British rushed -forward and committed havoc amongst them; so the contest continued till -night. The British remained in the field and claimed the victory; but -it was a victory severely won, and far from decisive. The losses on -both sides had been from five hundred to six hundred killed and wounded. - -The English lay all night on their arms, and, as day dawned, began -to entrench their position. If ever a general needed to push on his -advantage it was now. Every day was consuming Burgoyne's stores; every -day was augmenting the forces of the enemy. The country was closed -to Burgoyne; it was open with all its resources to the Americans. -Yet he lay there, as if paralysed, from the 20th of September to the -7th of October. The reason of this fatal delay is said to have been -that Burgoyne had received a letter from General Sir Henry Clinton -at New York, informing him that he must expect no co-operation from -General Howe, but that he himself would take the responsibility of -making a diversion in his favour by attacking the Forts Montgomery and -Clinton, on the lower part of the Hudson. Burgoyne, on receiving this -intelligence, sent Clinton word that he would remain where he was till -the 12th of October--a fatal resolve, as a calculation of his stores -should have shown him, which the acts of the Americans were certain to -render calamitous. Elated at being able to stand their ground in some -degree, this novel and almost sole success in the war had raised the -spirits of the Colonials as by a miracle. They poured in on all sides, -and Arnold, ever ready in resource, suggested to Gates an enterprise -to be effected while Burgoyne was lying still and consuming his own -victuals. - -This was to send a part of Lincoln's militia, under Colonel Brown, to -endeavour to surprise Fort Ticonderoga, Mount Independence, and Fort -George, to capture or destroy all the stores there, to hold them in -strong force, and thus completely to cut off Burgoyne's retreat by the -lakes to Canada. Brown, being joined by another body of militia under -Colonel Johnson, invested Ticonderoga. Being repulsed there, he sailed -through Lake George in the vessels he had taken; made a fresh attempt -upon Diamond Island, and, being also repulsed there, he set fire to -the captured vessels, and returned to the American camp in the rear -of Burgoyne. Partial as his success had been, he had, however, opened -the route, and whilst he and the rest of the militia were watching -Burgoyne, other bodies of Americans were mustering in his track, and -the retreat of Burgoyne became an impossibility. He could stay where he -was no longer. His provisions were exhausted; his horses were dying for -lack of forage, and his situation was most deplorable. - -In this situation the English General determined to attempt--what -he should have attempted at first--to force the American lines. -Accordingly, on the 7th of October, he drew out one thousand five -hundred picked men, and formed them less than a mile from the American -camp. No sooner were they descried, than they were attacked furiously -by Poor's New Hampshire brigade. The attack extended rapidly to the -right, where Morgan and his rifle corps stole round through some woods, -and opened fire on the flank of the column. Other troops rushed out -of the American entrenchments, and endeavoured to force their way -between the British and their camp; but Major Ackland and his riflemen -withstood them bravely; yet Burgoyne and his one thousand five hundred -men were forced to fall back, leaving their cannon behind them. Morgan -and his riflemen were now arriving, under cover of the woods, near -the flank of the right wing; and Fraser, perceiving them, advanced -to dislodge them. In this he succeeded, but was picked off by the -American marksmen, as usual safe behind their trees, and fell mortally -wounded. Meanwhile Colonel Brooks, at the head of Jackson's regiment -of Massachusetts, was more successful. He turned the entrenchments of -the German brigade, maintained his ground within the lines, and, to the -wonderful relief of the Americans, seized the baggage of the Germans, -and an ample supply of ammunition. - -Retreat was now inevitable, and Burgoyne determined to attempt to -reach Fort George, at the southern end of Lake George. He had but -three days' provisions left, and his force was now reduced to three -thousand five hundred men, and these had to make their way through a -wilderness swarming with active and elate enemies. Gates, aware of -the movement which Burgoyne was intending to make, sent troops up the -river to occupy the banks of the Hudson, and to guard all passages -of escape. The distance to Saratoga was only six miles, but the rain -fell in torrents, the roads were almost impassable, the bridges over -the Fishkill were all broken down by the Americans. Burgoyne sent -forward detachments of soldiers to repair the bridges and re-open the -roads; but they found the woods swarming with riflemen, and that it -was impossible to execute the task assigned them. On the 10th, when -he arrived at the fords of the Fishkill, he found them obstructed by -strong forces of Americans. He soon dispersed them with cannon, but -they only retired to the Hudson, where still stronger bodies of troops -were posted to oppose his crossing. He might, perhaps, have dispersed -these too, but other bodies were seen already in line on the left bank, -and to cross there appeared hopeless. - -Driven to desperation, Burgoyne now contemplated crossing the river -in the very face of the enemy, and fighting his way through, and for -this purpose he sent a party up the river to reconnoitre a suitable -spot. Once over, he had little doubt of making his way to Fort Edward, -and thence to the Canadian lakes. At this moment Gates was informed -that Burgoyne had effected his passage, and that he had left only -the rear-guard in the camp. He was in full march upon the camp, in -the belief that he could seize it with ease, and part of his forces -had actually crossed the fords of Fishkill, near which Burgoyne was -strongly posted, when a spy or a deserter informed him of his mistake. -Had it not been for this circumstance he must have suffered a surprise -and a certain defeat, and the fortunes of Burgoyne would probably have -been different. He was now on the alert to receive the Americans, and -when, to his mortification, he saw them at a signal again retreating, -he poured a murderous fire into them, and pursued them in confusion -across the creek. This was his last chance. No news reached him from -Clinton; but he ascertained that the Americans had already, in strong -force, blocked up his way to Fort Edward. This was decisive. On the -13th he called together a council of war, at which every captain was -invited to attend, and the unanimous result of the deliberations was -that they must capitulate. Accordingly, an officer was sent with a note -to the American headquarters that evening, to propose an interview -between General Burgoyne and General Gates. The American General agreed -to the meeting at ten o'clock the next morning. There Burgoyne stated -that he was aware of the superiority of Gates's numbers, and, to spare -the useless effusion of blood, he proposed a cessation of arms, to -give time for a treaty to that effect. - -Gates replied that he was well aware that General Burgoyne's army was -reduced to the last extremity; that it had lost the greater part of its -men by repeated defeats, sickness, etc., together with their artillery, -horses, and ammunition; that their retreat was cut off, and, therefore, -he could listen to nothing but an absolute surrender. Burgoyne said -he would never admit that his retreat was cut off whilst he had arms -in his hands; and Gates, who knew that Clinton was on his march, and -might soon alter the whole face of things, was only too anxious to have -Burgoyne's army out of the way. After some preliminaries, therefore, -to save appearances, on the 16th it was agreed that the British should -march out of their camp with all the honours of war; should deposit -their cannon on the banks of the Hudson, and there pile their arms at -the command of their own officers; that the troops, of whatever nation -they might be composed, should retire in all security and honour to -Boston, where they should be provided with all necessary comforts until -they embarked for England, under condition of not serving against the -United States again during that war; that the Canadians should be -allowed to return in all honour to their own country; and that in no -case should officers be separated from their own men. These were not -such terms as are usually granted to conquered armies; and the reason -was, that Clinton was every day drawing nearer. Scarcely were these -terms agreed on, when this fact became known to Burgoyne. For a moment -he hesitated whether he should sign the contract; but, on consultation -with his officers, he felt himself bound in honour to ratify it, and -accordingly, the next morning, the 17th of October, the deed was -signed, and the troops, marching out, grounded their arms. - -Whilst Burgoyne had been looking in vain for aid from New York, Sir -Henry Clinton, at length daring the responsibility of a necessary deed, -had set out with three thousand men, in vessels of different kinds, -up the Hudson. On the 6th of October--eleven days before Burgoyne -signed the capitulation--Clinton set out. Leaving one thousand men -at Verplank's Point, he crossed to the other bank with his remaining -two thousand, and landed them at Stony Point, only twelve miles from -Fort Montgomery. He advanced with one-half of his force to storm Fort -Clinton, and dispatched Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell to attack Fort -Montgomery. Both forts were to be attacked, if possible, at the same -instant, to prevent the one from aiding the other. The simultaneous -assaults took place about sunset. Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell was -killed leading his column against Fort Montgomery, but his brave troops -entered and drove the garrison of eight hundred men from the place. -Clinton found the approach to the fort of his own name much more -arduous. But on went our brave fellows till they reached the foot of -the works, where, having no ladders, they hoisted one another on their -shoulders to the embrasures, through which they pushed past the cannon, -and drove the Americans from their guns, and across the rampart, -at the points of their bayonets. It was dark by the time the forts -were taken, but the Americans soon threw light enough on the scene -by setting fire to several vessels which were moored close under the -guns of the forts. Had the English been disposed to risk the attempt -to save them, they were prevented by several strong booms and chains -thrown across the river. These they afterwards broke through, and, on -the 13th of October, at the very moment that Burgoyne was making his -first overtures for surrender, the English troops under General Vaughan -ascended, in small frigates, as far as Esopus Creek, only thirty miles -overland to Saratoga. But Burgoyne having now surrendered, and Gates -being at liberty to send down strong reinforcements to co-operate with -Putnam, the English vessels and troops were recalled, and returned -to New York. Such was the campaign of 1777; equally remarkable for -the valour of the British troops, and for their misfortunes; for the -imbecility of their Government, and the incapacity or rashness of their -commanders. - -[Illustration: SURRENDER OF BURGOYNE AT SARATOGA. (_See p._ 244.)] - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Meeting of Parliament--Lord Chatham's Amendment to the Address--The - News of Saratoga--Treaty between France and America--Washington - in Valley Forge--Intrigues against him--Violation of Burgoyne's - Convention--Debates in Parliament--Attempt to bring Chatham - into the Ministry--Lord North's Conciliation Bills--The French - Note--Patriotism of the Nation--The King refuses to send for - Chatham--His last Speech and Death--Honours to his Memory--Burke's - Measure of Irish Relief--Repeal of Laws against Roman - Catholics--Explosion of Scottish Bigotry--Turgot's Warnings--Naval - Engagement off Ushant--Failure of Lafayette's Canadian - Expedition--Clinton compelled to evacuate Philadelphia--Failure of - Lord North's Commissioners--D'Estaing and Sullivan attempt to take - Rhode Island--Subsequent Proceedings of D'Estaing--Courts-martial - of Keppel and Palliser--The Irish Volunteers--Spain declares - War--Military Preparations--Junction of the French and Spanish - Fleets--They retire from the Channel--D'Estaing in the West - Indies--His Attempt on Savannah--Weakness of Lord North's - Ministry--Meeting of Parliament--Lord North's Irish Bill--Richmond, - Shelburne, and Burke attempt Economic Reforms--The Meeting - at York petitions for Reform of Parliament--Burke's Economic - Scheme--North's Manœuvre--Further Attempts at Reform--The - Westminster Meeting--Dunning's Motion--Defeat of his later - Resolutions--"No Popery" in Scotland--Lord George Gordon's - Agitation--The Riots and their Progress--Their Suppression--Trial - of the Prisoners--Rodney relieves Gibraltar--Destruction of English - Merchantmen--Disputes with Holland--The Armed Neutrality of the - North--Capture of Charleston--Declaration of South Carolina--Battle - of Camden--Expedition into North Carolina--Arrival of the French - Squadron--Rodney in the West Indies--Arnold's Treachery--Trial - and Death of André--Breach with Holland--Attacks on Jersey and - Gibraltar--Mutiny in the Army of Washington--Arnold's Raids in - Virginia--Cornwallis in North Carolina--His Engagements with - Greene--His March into Virginia--Rawdon and Greene--Battle of - Eutaw Springs--Siege of York Town--The American Armies close round - him--Cornwallis compelled to Surrender. - - -The American disasters had now to be criticised in Parliament. On the -20th of November the two Houses met, and Lord Chatham rose instantly -to reply, and to move an amendment on the Address. He attacked the -Ministry with a still more personal and sweeping censure than he had -done once before. "Can Ministers," he asked, "presume to expect a -continuance of support in their career of ruinous infatuation? Can -Parliament be so dead to its dignity and its duty as to be deluded into -the loss of the one and the violation of the other? Will they continue -to give an unlimited credit and support to Government in measures -which are reducing this flourishing empire to ruin and contempt? -But yesterday, and England might have stood against the world; now, -none so poor to do her reverence! I use the words of a poet; but, -though it be poetry, it is no fiction. It is a shameful truth, that -not only the power and strength of this country are wasting away and -expiring, but her well-earned glories, her true honour and substantial -dignity, are sacrificed. France, my lords, has insulted you; she has -encouraged and sustained America; and, whether America be wrong or -right, the dignity of this country ought to spurn at the officious -insult of French interference!" It is certain that Chatham would not -have tolerated the presence of Franklin and Deane in Paris for a single -day; they must have quitted France, or France would have been instantly -compelled to throw off the mask. At this time, when the news neither -of Howe's success in the south nor of Burgoyne's fall in the north had -arrived, Chatham seemed to see in prophetic vision the disasters of -the latter general. "The desperate state of our army," he said, "is, -in part, known. No man thinks more highly of our troops than I do. -I love and honour the English troops. I know that they can achieve -anything but impossibilities; and I know that the conquest of English -America is an impossibility. You cannot--I venture to say it--you -cannot conquer America! You may swell every expense and every effort -still more extravagantly; pile and accumulate every assistance that -you can buy or borrow; traffic and barter with every little, pitiful -German prince that sells and sends his subjects to the shambles of a -foreign prince; your efforts are for ever vain and impotent--doubly -so from this mercenary aid on which you rely; for it irritates to -an incurable resentment the minds of your enemies, to overrun them -with the mercenary sons of rapine and plunder, devoting them and -their possessions to the rapacity of hireling cruelty! If I were an -American, as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop was landed in -my country, I would never lay down my arms--never--never--never!" On -the subject of employing Indians in the war against the Americans, -willing to forget that he had done the same thing in Canada, he burst -forth most indignantly: "But, my lords, who is the man that, in -addition to these disgraces and mischiefs of our army, has dared to -authorise and associate to our arms the scalping-knife and tomahawk -of the savage? to call into civilised alliance the wild and inhuman -savage of the woods? to delegate to the merciless Indian the defence -of disputed rights, and to wage the horrors of this barbarous war -against our brethren? My lord, these enormities cry aloud for redress -and punishment. Unless done away, it will be a stain on the national -character--it is a violation of the Constitution; I believe it is -against the law. It is not the least of our national misfortunes, that -the strength and character of our army are thus impaired; infected -with the mercenary spirit of robbery and rapine--familiarised to the -horrid scenes of savage cruelty, it can no longer boast of the noble -and generous principles which dignify a soldier!" He then proceeded to -give the Americans credit still for a natural leaning towards England; -believed that they might be drawn from their alliance with France; and -recommended, by his amendment, an immediate cessation of arms, and a -treaty between the countries, by which he hoped that America would yet -be retained in affectionate dependence. - -Affairs had now assumed such an aspect that the different sections of -the Opposition saw the necessity of coalescing more, and attending -zealously; but still they were divided as to the means to be pursued. -A great meeting was held on the 27th of November at the Marquis of -Rockingham's, to decide on a plan of action. It was concluded to move -for a committee on the state of the nation, and Chatham being applied -to, advised that the very next day notice should be given that such a -motion should be made on Tuesday next, the 2nd of December. The motion -was made, the committee granted, and in it the Duke of Richmond moved -for the production of the returns of the army and navy in America and -Ireland. Whilst Lord North--who, if he had been his own master, would -have resigned--was refusing to produce the necessary papers, the Lords -consented to this measure; and at this very moment came news of the -surrender at Saratoga, which was speedily confirmed. - -The news had the most instant effect across the Channel. All hesitation -on the part of the French Court to enter into the treaty with the -United States disappeared. The American Commissioners, Franklin, -Deane, and Lee, were informed that the King of France was ready to -make a treaty, claiming no advantage whatever, except that of trade -with the States. It was intimated that this proceeding would, in all -probability, involve France in a war with Great Britain, but that -she would claim no indemnity on that score. The only condition for -which she positively stipulated was, that America should, under no -temptations, give up its independence, or return under the dominion of -England. The two kingdoms were to make common cause, and assist each -other against the common enemy. The Americans were to endeavour to make -themselves masters of all the British territories that they could, -and retain them as their rightful acquisition; the French to obtain -whatever islands they could in the West Indies, and retain them. France -did not venture to seek back the Canadas or Nova Scotia, well knowing -that the Americans would not consent to have them there as neighbours. -Neither country was to make peace with England without the other. Lee -was to continue at Paris as the first American Ambassador there, and -the treaty was to continue some weeks a secret, in order to obtain, if -possible, the accession of Spain to it, which, however, they could not -do then. - -In America, such was the state of things, that a British commander -there, of the slightest pretence to activity and observation, would -have concluded the war by suddenly issuing from his winter quarters, -and dispersing the shoeless, shirtless, blanketless, and often almost -foodless, army of Washington. His soldiers, amounting to about eleven -thousand, were living in huts at Valley Forge, arranged in streets like -a town, each hut containing fourteen men. Such was the destitution of -shoes, that all the late marches had been tracked in blood--an evil -which Washington had endeavoured to mitigate by offering a premium for -the best pattern of shoes made of untanned hides. For want of blankets, -many of the men were obliged to sit up all night before the camp fires. -More than a quarter of the troops were reported unfit for duty, because -they were barefoot and otherwise naked. Provisions failed, and on more -than one occasion there was an absolute famine in the camp. It was -in vain that Washington sent repeated and earnest remonstrances to -Congress; its credit was at the lowest ebb. The system of establishing -fixed prices for everything had totally failed, as it was certain to -do; and Washington, to prevent the total dispersion of his army, was -obliged to send out foraging parties, and seize provisions wherever -they could be found. He gave certificates for these seizures, but -their payment was long delayed, and, when it came, it was only in the -Continental bills, which were fearfully depreciated, and contrasted -most disadvantageously with the gold in which the British paid for -their supplies. - -Nor was this the whole extent of that wretched condition of the United -States which would have attracted the vigilant attention of an able -English commander, and have roused him into successful action. The -greatest discontent prevailed in Congress against Washington. Gates -and the northern army had triumphed over the entire British army -there; but what had been the fate of Washington hitherto? Want of -success had evoked a party in Congress against Schuyler, Sullivan, -and himself: In this party Henry Lee and Samuel Adams were violent -against him. They accused him of want of vigour and promptitude, and -of a system of favouritism. Congress was wearied of his constant -importunities and remonstrances. Gates, since the capture of Burgoyne, -had assumed a particular _hauteur_ and distance, and, there could -be little doubt, was aspiring to the office of Commander-in-Chief. -A new Board of War was formed, in which the opponents of Washington -became the leading members. Gates and Mifflin were at its head, and -Conway was made Major-General over the heads of all the brigadiers, -and Inspector-General of the army. A system of anonymous letters was -in action depreciating the character and services of Washington. But, -whilst these elements of disunion and weakness were in full play, Howe -slumbered on in Philadelphia, unobservant and, probably, ignorant of it -all. The opportunity passed away. The intrigues against Washington were -defeated as soon as they became known to his own army and the people -at large, through the influence of the real esteem that he enjoyed in -the public heart, especially as news had just arrived that friends and -forces were on the way from France. - -At this juncture, when the eyes of all Europe were turned on the new -Republic of America, Congress gave a proof of its utter contempt of -those principles of honour which are regarded as the distinguishing -characteristics of civilised nations. The convention on which General -Burgoyne's army had surrendered was deliberately violated. It had been -stipulated that his troops should be conveyed to Boston, and there -suffered to embark for England in British transports to be admitted -to the port for that purpose. But no sooner did Congress learn this -stipulation than it showed the utmost reluctance to comply with it. -It was contended that these five thousand men would liberate other -five thousand in England to proceed to America. It was therefore -determined to find some plea for evading the convention. An article of -the convention provided that the English officers should be quartered -according to their rank; but they complained that six or seven of -them were crowded into one small room, without regard either to rank -or comfort. But Burgoyne, finding remonstrance useless at Boston, -wrote to Gates reminding him of his engagements in the convention, and -declaring such treatment a breach of public faith. This was just one of -those expressions that Congress was watching for, and they seized upon -it with avidity. "Here," they said, "is a deep and crafty scheme--a -previous notice put in by the British General to justify his future -conduct; for, beyond all doubt, he will think himself absolved from -his obligation whenever released from his captivity, and go with all -his troops to reinforce the army of Howe." Burgoyne offered at once to -give Congress any security against such imagined perfidy. But this did -not suit Congress--its only object was to fasten some imputation on the -English as an excuse for detaining them contrary to the convention, and -they went on to raise fresh obstacles. - -The shameful length to which Congress carried this dishonourable -shuffling astonished Europe. They insisted that Great Britain should -give a formal ratification of the convention before they gave up the -troops, though they allowed Burgoyne and a few of his officers to go -home. The British Commissioners, who had arrived with full powers to -settle any affair, offered immediately such ratification; but this -did not arrest the slippery chicane of Congress. It declared that it -would not be satisfied without ratification directly from the highest -authority at home. In short, Congress, in open violation of the -convention, detained the British troops for several years prisoners of -war. - -When Parliament opened on the 20th of January, 1778, the Opposition -fell, as it were, in a mass upon the Ministry on this question. -There was much dissatisfaction expressed at the Government allowing -Liverpool, Manchester, and other places, to raise troops without -consulting Parliament. It was declared to be a practice contrary to the -Constitution and to the Coronation Oath. Sir Philip Jennings Clerke, on -the 22nd of January, moved for an account of the numbers of troops so -raised, with the names of the commanding officers. Lord North, whilst -observing that this mode of raising troops showed the popularity -of the war, and that the country was by no means in that helpless -condition which a jealous and impatient faction represented it to be, -readily granted the return. In the House of Lords the Earl of Abingdon -moved to consult the judges on the legality of raising troops without -authority of Parliament; but this motion was not pressed to a division. -But, on the 4th of February, Sir Philip Jennings Clerke returned to his -charge in the Commons. Lord North replied that this now hotly-decried -practice was one which had been not only adopted, but highly approved -of, in 1745, and again in 1759, when Lord Chatham was Minister, and -that he had then thanked publicly those who had raised the troops for -the honour and glory of their country. A motion was negatived by the -Lords on the same day, to declare this practice unconstitutional, and a -similar one later in the Session, introduced by Wilkes and supported by -Burke. - -[Illustration: WASHINGTON AT VALLEY FORGE, BY THE CAMP FIRE. (_See p._ -247.)] - -The spirit of the country appeared to be running in a strong current -for the return of Lord Chatham to the helm, as the only man who could -save the sinking state, and bring the American difficulty to a happy -issue. But the great obstacle to this was the still continued assertion -of Lord Chatham--that the full independence of America could not be -for a moment listened to, whilst to almost every other man of the -Opposition that independence was already an accomplished fact. Lord -Rockingham, who was looked up to as a necessary part of any Cabinet -at the head of which Chatham should be placed, had, in the previous -Session, asserted his opinion that the time had now passed for hoping -to preserve the dependence of these colonies; and, now he saw France -coming into the field against us, he was the more confirmed in this -view. This was a fatal circumstance in the way of the establishment of -a strong co-operative Cabinet, formed out of the present Opposition. -But a still greater obstacle was the iron determination of the king. -In vain did Lord North express his desire to resign and declare -the necessity of conciliatory measures. George reproached him with -intending to desert him. On further pressure he gave him leave to apply -to Chatham and the Whigs, but only on the absurd condition that they -should join the present Ministry, serve under Lord North, and carry on -the policy of the existing Government. As usual, Lord North gave way, -and consented to stay in office, and to bring in a plan of conciliation -opposed to his former declarations. - -On the 17th of February he introduced this plan in two Bills. He -declared that his policy had always been pacific; that he had never -proposed any tax on the Americans--when he came into office he had -found them taxed already; that he had tried conciliatory means before -the sword was drawn, and would still gladly try them. He had thought -the former propositions to the Americans very reasonable, and he -thought so still. Forgetful of the hopes that he had held out, of -assisting the revenues of Great Britain by the taxation of Americans, -he now surprised his auditors by asserting that he had never expected -to derive much revenue from America, and that, in reality, the taxes -imposed had not paid the expenses of the attempt to collect them. -The first of his Bills, therefore, he entitled one "For removing all -doubts and apprehensions concerning taxation by the Parliament of Great -Britain in any of the colonies." It repealed entirely the tea duty in -America, and declared "that from and after the passing of this Act, the -king and Parliament of Great Britain will not impose any duty, tax, or -assessment whatever, in any of his Majesty's colonies, except only such -duties as it may be expedient to impose for the regulation of commerce, -the nett produce of such duty to be always paid and applied to and for -the use of the colony in which the same shall be levied." The second -Bill removed some otherwise insuperable obstacles to a treaty. The -Commissioners--five in number--were to raise no difficulties as to the -legal ranks or titles of those with whom they would have to negotiate. -They were empowered to proclaim a cessation of hostilities on the part -of the king's forces by sea or land for any necessary term and on any -necessary conditions. They might suspend all the Acts of Parliament -respecting America passed since 1763, yet the Bill excepted the repeal -of the Massachusetts Charter, and introduced that into a separate -Act--another weak measure, for on such an occasion the only wisdom -was to wipe away all Acts, or repeal of Acts, which had arisen out of -these unhappy differences. The effect of this statement has been well -described in the _Annual Register_ of that year, in an article supposed -to be from the hand of Burke:--"A dull, melancholy silence for some -time succeeded this speech. It had been heard with profound attention, -but without a single mark of approbation of any part, from any -description of men, or any particular man in the House. Astonishment, -dejection, and fear overclouded the whole assembly. Although the -Minister had declared that the sentiments he had expressed that day -had been those which he always entertained, it is certain that few or -none had understood him in that manner, and he had been represented to -the nation at large as the person in it the most tenacious of those -Parliamentary rights which he now proposed to resign, and the most -adverse to the submissions which he now proposed to make." - -These unfortunate affairs precipitated the resignation of Lord George -Germaine. His proud and impetuous temper had occasioned the resignation -already of Sir Guy Carleton and of the two Howes. All complained that -they could not obtain the necessary reinforcements and supplies from -him as the Colonial Minister; and his tart and insolent replies to -their complaints produced the retirement of these three commanders. -He was already charged with having been the luckless projector of -Burgoyne's disastrous expedition. Sir Henry Clinton was named the -successor to the command of the forces in America, in the place of Sir -William Howe. The punishment of North for the policy which had thus -virtually lost America, was every day falling more crushingly upon him. -On the 13th of March the Marquis de Noailles, the French Ambassador in -London, and the uncle of Lafayette's wife, handed to Lord Weymouth a -note formally announcing the treaty of friendship and commerce between -France and America. On the 17th it was the bitter duty of Lord North -to read this remarkable document to the House of Commons. The affected -right to make such a treaty with the colonies of another nation, and -the professions of goodwill, notwithstanding such an interference, -amounted to the keenest irony, if not downright insult. - -The reading of this French note aroused at once the old feeling of -enmity between France and England. If there was a strong resentment -against the Americans before, it now grew tenfold. The war became -popular with all, except the extreme Opposition. Lord North moved an -appropriate address to the king; the Opposition moved as an amendment -to it that his Majesty should dismiss the Ministers. Loyal addresses -from both Houses were, however, carried by large majorities. In -consequence of the French note, the king ordered Lord Stormont to quit -Paris, and the Marquis de Noailles took his departure from London, -where, in spite of his official character, he was no longer safe from -popular insult. Orders were also sent to the Lord-Lieutenants of the -several counties to call out the militia. - -Through all these arrangements Lord North continued to persist in his -resignation. If the king had had any glimmering of what was necessary -to save the colonies, he would himself have removed North long ago. But -the only man who could take the place with any probability of success, -or with any of the confidence of the public, was Lord Chatham, whom the -king regarded with increasing aversion. Chatham's pride, which would -not stoop an inch to mere outside royalty, feeling the higher royalty -of his own mind, so far from seeking office, must himself be sought, -and this deeply offended the monarch. Lord North could point to no -other efficient successor, and George angrily replied that, as regarded -"Lord Chatham and his crew," he would not condescend to send for "that -perfidious man" as Prime Minister; he would only do it to offer him and -his friends places in the Ministry of Lord North. - -The days of Chatham were far nearer their close than was suspected. -One more sudden blaze of his high intellect, and he was gone. Whilst -the subject of America continued to be discussed in both Houses with -much acrimony and little result, the Duke of Richmond, seeing that -Chatham did not come forward, took a decided step. He gave notice, -on the 7th of April, of an address to the king, entreating him to -withdraw both his fleets and armies from the United States, and make -peace with them on such terms as should secure their goodwill. Chatham -was roused effectually by this notice. Wrapped in flannel, pale and -emaciated, he was supported into the House by his son William, and his -son-in-law, Lord Mahon. His large wig seemed to bury his worn, shrunken -face, except the still piercing eye and the aquiline nose. When the -Duke of Richmond had made his motion, and Lord Weymouth, one of the -Secretaries of State, had replied to it, Chatham arose. Lord Camden -says that in speaking "he was not like himself: his speech faltered, -his sentences were broken, and his mind not master of itself. His words -were shreds of unconnected eloquence; and flashes of the same fire, -which he, Prometheus-like, had stolen from heaven, were then returning -to the place whence they were taken." All was deep attention, and -even in bosoms antagonistic in principle were profound interest and -respect. His words, weak and halting at first, grew, as he warmed with -his subject, into much of the power and harmony of former days, and -battling with his feebleness of frame he put forth, in one last great -effort, the power of his spirit. - -"My lords," he said, "I rejoice that the grave has not closed upon me; -that I am still alive to lift up my voice against the dismemberment -of this ancient and most noble monarchy. Pressed down as I am by the -hand of infirmity, I am little able to assist my country in this most -perilous conjuncture; but, my lords, whilst I have sense and memory, -I will never consent to deprive the royal offspring of the House of -Brunswick, the heirs of----" here he faltered for some moments, whilst -striving to recall the name--"of the Princess Sophia, of their fairest -inheritance. My lords, his Majesty succeeded to an empire as great in -extent as its reputation was unsullied. Shall we tarnish the lustre -of that empire by an ignominious surrender of its rights and fairest -possessions? Shall this great kingdom, which has survived whole and -entire the Danish depredations the Scotch inroads, and the Norman -conquest--that has stood the threatened invasion of the Spanish Armada, -now fall prostrate before the House of Bourbon? Surely, my lords, this -nation is no longer what it was! Shall a people that fifteen years -ago were the terror of the world now stoop so low as to tell this -ancient, inveterate enemy--'Take all we have, only give us peace'? It -is impossible! I wage war with no man or set of men; I wish for none -of their employments; nor would I co-operate with men who persist in -unretracted error--who, instead of acting on a firm, decisive line of -conduct, halt between two opinions where there is no middle path. In -God's name, if it is absolutely necessary to declare either for peace -or war, and the former cannot be preserved with honour, why is not the -latter commenced without hesitation? I am not, I confess, well informed -of the resources of this kingdom; but I trust it has still sufficient -to maintain its just rights, though I know them not. But, my lords, any -state is better than despair. Let us, at least, make one effort, and if -we must fall, let us fall like men!" - -The Duke of Richmond made a feeble reply, and then Chatham rose, in -the deepest indignation, to answer the Duke, but the violence of his -feelings overcame him; he staggered and fell in a swoon, and would have -been prostrated on the floor but for the assistance of some friendly -hands. He lay apparently in the agonies of death. The whole House was -agitated; the Peers crowded round him in the greatest commotion; all -except the Earl of Mansfield, who beheld the fall of his ancient rival -almost as unmoved, says Lord Camden, "as the senseless body itself." -His youngest son, John Charles Pitt, was there, and exerted himself to -render all possible assistance. The insensible orator was carried in -the arms of his friends to the house of Mr. Sargent, in Downing Street. -By the prompt aid of a physician, he was in some degree recalled to -consciousness, and within a few days was conveyed to his own dwelling -at Hayes. There he lingered till the morning of May 11th, when he died -in the seventieth year of his age. - -On the day of Chatham's death, his friend and disciple, Colonel -Barré, announced the melancholy event in the House of Commons, and -moved that his funeral should be conducted at the public charge, and -his remains be deposited in Westminster Abbey. This was seconded by -Thomas Townshend, afterwards Secretary of State, and Lord Sydney. -All parties consented, with many praises, to this suggestion; and -two days afterwards, Lord John Cavendish introduced the subject of -a further testimony of public regard for the departed. It was well -known that Chatham, notwithstanding the ten thousand pounds left him -by the Duchess of Marlborough, notwithstanding the emoluments of his -places and pensions, and the noble estate bequeathed to him by Sir -William Pynsent, was still in debt. Lord John Cavendish put to the -score of disinterestedness what ought probably to have been placed to -the account of free living and little care of money, and called on -Parliament to reward the descendants of the Earl for the great addition -which he had made to the empire as well as to its glory. Lord North -cordially assented. - -An address, founded on this resolution, was carried to the king, who -faithfully kept the word he had given nearly three years before. -Chatham had then, through Lord North, sought to get his own pension -continued to his second son, William Pitt, afterwards the celebrated -Minister. On that occasion, George III. had declared that the conduct -of Chatham of late had totally obliterated any sense of gratitude -for his former merits; but that, when decrepitude or death should -put an end to him as a trumpet of sedition, he would not punish the -children for the father's sins, but would place the second son's name -where Chatham's had been. He now consented to that; an annuity bill -settled four thousand pounds a-year on the heirs of Chatham to whom -the title should descend, which received the sanction of Parliament; -and the Commons, moreover, voted twenty thousand pounds to pay the -deceased Earl's debts. Both these motions passed the House of Commons -unanimously; but, in the Upper House, the Duke of Chandos attacked the -grants, and condemned severely the custom of loading the country with -annuities in perpetuity. The bill was, however, carried by forty-two -votes to eleven, though four noble Lords entered a protest against it, -namely, Lord Chancellor Bathurst, the Duke of Chandos, Lord Paget, and -Markham, Archbishop of York. - -The funeral was but poorly attended. Few members of either House were -there, except those of the Opposition. Gibbon says that "the Government -ingeniously contrived to secure the double odium of suffering the thing -to be done, and of doing it with an ill grace." Burke and Savile, -Thomas Townshend, and Dunning, were pall-bearers; Colonel Barré carried -the banner of the barony of Chatham, supported by the Marquis of -Rockingham and the Dukes of Richmond, Northumberland, and Manchester; -William Pitt, in the place of his elder brother, who was gone to -Gibraltar, was the chief mourner, followed by eight Peers, as assistant -mourners, amongst whom were Lord Shelburne and Lord Camden. The tomb -of Chatham is in the north transept of the Abbey, distinguished by the -monument soon afterwards erected to his honour. - -[Illustration: DEATH OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. (_From the Painting by J. -S. Copley, R.A., in the National Gallery, London._)] - -On the 6th of May Burke had brought forward a measure for the benefit -of his long-oppressed country, to the effect that Ireland should -enjoy the privilege of exporting its manufactures, woollen cloths and -woollens excepted, and of importing from the coast of Africa and other -foreign settlements all goods that it required, except indigo and -tobacco. The Irish were to have the additional privilege of sending to -England duty-free, cotton-yarns, sail-cloth, and cordage. Parliament, -for once, looked on these demands with favour. They recollected that -the Americans had endeavoured to excite disaffection amongst the Irish -by reference to the unjust restrictions on their commerce by the -selfishness of England, and they felt the loss of the American trade, -and were willing to encourage commerce in some other direction. Lord -Nugent co-operated with Burke in this endeavour. But the lynx-eyed -avarice of the English merchants was instantly up in arms. During the -Easter recess, a host of petitions was got up against this just -concession. The city of Bristol, which was represented by Burke, -threatened to dismiss him at the next election, if he persisted in -this attempt to extend commercial justice to Ireland; but Burke told -them that he must leave that to them; for himself, he must advocate -free trade, which, if they once tried it, they would find far more -advantageous than monopoly. They kept their word, and threw him out -for his independence. At the same time, the English merchants, as they -had always done before by Ireland, triumphed to a great extent. They -demanded to be heard in Committee by counsel, and the Bills were shorn -down to the least possible degree of benefit. - -During the discussion of this question, Sir George Savile brought -forward another. This was a Bill for relieving Catholics, by repealing -the penalties and disabilities imposed by the 10th and 11th of King -William III. The hardships sought to be removed were these:--The -prohibition of Catholic priests or Jesuits teaching their own doctrines -in their own churches, such an act being high treason in natives and -felony in foreigners; the forfeitures by Popish heirs of their property -who received their education abroad, in such cases the estates going -to the nearest Protestant heir; the power given to a Protestant to -take the estate of his father, or next kinsman, who was a Catholic, -during his lifetime; and the debarring all Catholics from acquiring -legal property by any other means than descent. Dunning declared the -restrictions a disgrace to humanity, and perfectly useless, as they -were never enforced; but Sir George Savile said that was not really -the fact, for that he himself knew Catholics who lived in daily -terror of informers and of the infliction of the law. Thurlow, still -Attorney-General, but about to ascend the woolsack, promptly supported -the Bill; and Henry Dundas, the Lord Advocate of Scotland, lamented -that it would afford no relief to his own country. These Acts did not -affect Scotland, as they had been passed before the Union; but Scotland -had a similar Act passed by its own Parliament, and he promised to move -for the repeal of this Scottish Act in the next Session. In the Commons -there was an almost total unanimity on the subject; and in the Lords, -the Bishop of Peterborough was nearly the only person who strongly -opposed it. He asked that if, as it was argued, these Acts were a dead -letter, why disturb the dead? - -But smoothly as this transaction had passed, there was a hurricane -behind. The threatened extension of the measure to Scotland roused -all the Presbyterian bigotry of the North. The synod of Glasgow and -other synods passed resolutions vowing to oppose any interference with -the Scottish Act for the suppression of Popery. Press and pulpit were -speedily inflamed; associations were formed in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and -most of the towns, for the defence of the Protestant interest. All the -old persecutions and insults of Catholics were renewed; they could not -safely appear in the streets, or remain safely in their houses. Not -even those liberal enough to advocate the just rights of Catholics were -secure, at least from rude treatment. Dr. Robertson, the historian, -was hooted, when he went abroad, as a favourer of the Papists. There -was as yet no more toleration in Scotland than if a William III. had -never appeared in England. From Scotland the intolerant leaven spread -southwards. It grew fiercer and fiercer, and in a while found a proper -champion in the hot-headed Lord George Gordon, whose exploits as the -ringleader of riot, and fire, and confusion, culminated two years later -in the scenes of destruction and terror for ever memorable as the -Gordon riots. - -In Europe war was about to break forth, in consequence of war in -America. Yet the Court of France did not lack solemn warnings -of the fatal path on which they were entering. The honest and -far-sighted financier, Turgot, who had been employed by Louis XVI., -as Comptroller-General, to endeavour to bring the terribly disordered -revenue of France into order, said, "I must remind you, sire, of these -three words--'No bankruptcy, no augmentation of imposts, no loans.' To -fulfil these three conditions there is but one means--to reduce the -expenditure below the receipt, and sufficiently below it to be able -to economise, every year, twenty millions, in order to clear off the -old debts. Without that, the first cannon fired will force the State -to bankruptcy." He assured the king that all colonies, on arriving at -a condition of maturity, would as naturally abandon the control of -the mother country as children, arriving at majority, do the control -of their parents; that the independence of America would, therefore, -come of itself, without France ruining herself to accelerate the -event; that, as to France wishing Spain to join in this attempt, Spain -must remember her own colonies, for, by assisting to free the British -colonies, she would assuredly assist to liberate her own. - -Before there was any declaration of war, the King of France, on the -18th of March, issued an order to seize all British ships in the ports -of that kingdom; and, nine days afterwards, a similar order was issued -by the British Government as to all French ships in their harbours. The -first act of hostility was perpetrated by Admiral Keppel. He had been -appointed first Admiral on the earliest news of the treaty of France -with America; and, being now in the Channel with twenty ships of the -line, he discovered two French frigates, _La Licorne_ and _La Belle -Poule_, reconnoitring his fleet. Not troubling himself that there had -been no declaration of war, Keppel ordered some of his vessels to give -chase; and, on coming up with the _Licorne_, a gun was fired over her, -to call her to surrender; and the Frenchman struck his colours, but not -before he had poured a broadside into the _America_, commanded by Lord -Longford, and wounded four of his men. The "saucy" _Arethusa_, famed in -song and story, in the meantime, had come up with the _Belle Poule_, -and, after a desperate action, drove her in amongst the rocks, whilst -the _Arethusa_ herself was so disabled as to require towing back to the -fleet. A schooner and a French frigate were soon afterwards taken; and, -finding on board these vessels papers stating that the fleet in Brest -harbour consisted of thirty-two sail of the line and ten or twelve -frigates, Keppel returned to Portsmouth for reinforcements. - -For this Keppel was much blamed, as it was considered that the papers -might have been made out in order to deceive him. The number of -the French fleet, however, soon proved to be correct, for, during -Keppel's absence, it sailed out of Brest, under the command of Admiral -D'Orvilliers. Keppel, returning with his squadron augmented to thirty -vessels of the line, found D'Orvilliers out at sea, and the _Lively_, -twenty-gun brig, which he had left to watch the motions of the French, -surprised by them in a fog, and captured. On the 27th of July Keppel -came up with D'Orvilliers off Ushant, and instantly gave battle. The -two fleets passed each other on different tacks, keeping up a furious -cannonade for two hours. Keppel then signalled his second in command, -Sir Hugh Palliser, to wear round and renew the attack; but Palliser had -received so much injury, that he could not or did not obey the signal. -Keppel, therefore, bore down to join Palliser's division, and formed -afresh for the fight. But by this time D'Orvilliers was making for -Brest as fast as he could, claiming a victory. Night came down, and the -next morning the French fleet was nearly out of sight. On this, Keppel -returned to England to refit, much out of humour with Palliser. - -Meanwhile, in America military intrigues were on foot against -Washington. Amongst these endeavours was one for alienating from him -Lafayette. For this purpose an expedition was planned against Canada, -and Lafayette, as a Frenchman, was appointed to the command, hoping -thus to draw to him the Frenchmen of Canada. Not a word was to be -breathed of it to Washington; and Conway and Starke, two of the most -malicious members of the cabal, were to take command under Lafayette. -On the 24th of January, 1778, Washington received a letter from Gates, -the President of the Board of War, commanding him to send one of his -best regiments to Albany, on the Hudson, for a particular service, and -enclosing another to Lafayette, requiring his immediate attendance -on Gates. Gates found, however, that Lafayette was not to be seduced -from his attachment to Washington. He would not accept the command, -otherwise than as acting in subordination to his Commander-in-Chief; -and he should send all his despatches and bulletins to him, at the same -time that he furnished copies to Congress. The vain Frenchman verily -believed that he was going to restore Canada, not to America, but to -the French Crown--a fear which began to haunt Congress after he had set -out; but the fear was needless. When Lafayette reached his invading -army, instead of two thousand five hundred men, it amounted to about -one thousand two hundred, and the militia were nowhere to be heard of. -Clothes, provisions, sledges, were all wanting, and, instead of leading -his troops, as he was directed, to Lake Champlain, whence he was to -proceed to Île-aux-Noix to blow up the English flotilla, and thence, -crossing the Sorel, to descend the St. Lawrence to Montreal, he gave up -the expedition with a sigh, and returned to the camp of Washington. - -In the month of April arrived the permission for Sir William Howe to -retire, and, although he was one of the five Commissioners named for -carrying into effect the proposals in Lord North's Bill, he determined -to leave at the earliest day for England. Lord Howe, the Admiral, -was equally impatient to return, but Lord Sandwich had informed him -that it would be considered a great misfortune for him to quit his -command in the present circumstances. This was, in fact, an order for -his remaining, which the breaking out of the war with France, and the -expected arrival of a French fleet, rendered doubly imperative. Sir -Henry Clinton was appointed to succeed Sir William Howe, and, the -former having arrived in Philadelphia, Howe departed. Scarcely had -Clinton assumed the command, when an order arrived from the Government -at home to abandon Philadelphia, and concentrate his forces at New -York. The French fleet under D'Estaing was on its way, and it was -considered that we had not a fleet of sufficient strength to beat them -back from the mouth of the Delaware. - -On the 6th of June--only a fortnight after Howe's departure--the -three Commissioners, Lord Carlisle, Mr. Eden, and Governor Johnstone, -arrived. They learned with consternation and unspeakable chagrin this -order for the evacuation of Philadelphia, and, still more, that so -important a dispatch had been kept concealed from them. There was not -a single circumstance in favour of the Commissioners. At the same -moment that we were making this disastrous retreat from the hardly-won -Philadelphia, publishing our weakness to the world, Congress had just -received the mighty news of French alliance, French aid, and French -ships and troops steering towards their coasts. The Commissioners -came furnished with propositions the most honourable and favours the -most absolute. They were authorised to offer to the Americans that -no military forces should be maintained in the Colonies without the -consent of the General Congress or of the Assembly of a particular -State; that England would take measures to discharge the debts of -America, and to give full value to its paper money; would admit an -agent or agents from the States into the British Parliament, and -send, if they wished it, agents to sit with them in their Assemblies; -that each State should have the sole power of settling its revenue, -and perfect freedom of internal legislation and government--in fact, -everything except total severance from the parent country. Such terms, -conceded at the proper time, would have made war impossible; but the -proper time was long past, and they were now useless. The Commissioners -applied to Washington for a passport to Congress, in order to lay the -proposals brought by the Commissioners before them. But Washington -bluntly refused the passport; and only consented to forward the -letter through the common post. Congress took time to deliberate on -the contents of the letter, and then returned an answer through their -President, that the Act of Parliament and the forms of the Commission -all supposed the American States to be still subject to Great Britain, -which had long ceased to be fact; and that Congress could listen to -no overtures from the King of England until he had withdrawn his fleet -and armies, and was prepared to treat with them as independent States. -The Commissioners could only retire, leaving behind them a manifesto -threatening the utmost severities of war. - -Clinton, having now united his forces at New York, directed his -attention to the approach of the fleet of D'Estaing. This had sailed -for the Delaware, expecting to find Lord Howe there; but, finding that -he had sailed for New York, it followed him, and arrived there six days -after him. The fleet of D'Estaing consisted of twelve sail-of-the-line -and six frigates. Howe had only ten sail-of-the-line, and some of them -of only forty or fifty guns, and a few frigates. Besides, D'Estaing -had heavier metal, and ships in much better condition, for those of -Howe were old and out of repair, and their crews were considerably -deficient. Altogether, D'Estaing had eight hundred and fifty-four guns; -Howe, only six hundred and fourteen. From D'Estaing's superiority of -force it was quite expected that he would attack Howe; but he was -dissuaded by the pilots from entering the harbour, and lay outside -eleven days, during which time he landed the Ambassador. Lord Howe -showed much spirit in preparing for an encounter, though he was daily -in expectation of Admiral Byron with some additional ships, the Admiral -coming to supersede him. He put his ships in the best order he could, -and the English seamen hurried in from all quarters to man his vessels. -A thousand volunteers came from the transports, and masters and mates -of merchantmen offered their services. Just, however, when it was -expected that D'Estaing would avail himself of the tide, on the 22nd of -July, to enter the harbour, he sailed away for Rhode Island, and up the -Newport river. In a few days Howe sailed in quest of D'Estaing. They -found D'Estaing joined by Lafayette with two thousand American troops, -and by General Sullivan with ten thousand more, and D'Estaing proposed -to land four thousand from his fleet. The English garrison in Newport -amounted to only five thousand men. But here a contest arose between -D'Estaing and Sullivan for the supreme command, and this was not abated -till Howe with his fleet hove in sight. Then D'Estaing stood out to -sea, in spite of the remonstrances of Sullivan, Greene, and the other -American officers. Lord Howe endeavoured to bring him to action, at -the same time manœuvring to obtain the weather-gauge of him. In these -mutual endeavours to obtain the advantage of the wind, the two fleets -stood away quite out of sight of Rhode Island, and Sullivan commenced -in their absence the siege of Newport. Howe, at length, seeing that he -could not obtain the weather-gauge, determined to attack the French -to leeward, but at this moment a terrible storm arose, and completely -parted the hostile fleets, doing both of them great damage. D'Estaing -returned into the harbour of Newport, but only to inform the Americans -that he was too much damaged to remain, but must make for Boston to -refit. Sullivan and the other officers remonstrated vehemently against -his departure; but in vain. Scarcely had D'Estaing disappeared, when -Sir Henry Clinton himself, leading four thousand men, arrived in Rhode -Island, and Sullivan crossed to the mainland in haste. He blamed the -French for the failure of the enterprise. - -[Illustration: GIBRALTAR. - -FROM A DRAWING BY BIRKET FOSTER, R.W.S.] - -[Illustration: THE SAUCY "ARETHUSA" AND THE "BELLE POULE." (_See p._ -255.)] - -Lord Howe, when he had collected his ships after the storm which -separated him from D'Estaing, again made for Boston, in the hope of -being able to attack the French Admiral in the harbour; but he found -him too well protected by the batteries to be able to reach him. He -therefore returned to New York, and, as his leave of absence had -arrived, he surrendered the command to Admiral Byron, and took his -leave of America on the 26th of September, and reached Portsmouth on -the 25th of October. Byron now had a very good fleet, consisting of -ships of one size or other to the number of ninety-one sail. Such a -fleet assembled on the American coast at a proper time would have -intercepted and destroyed the fleet of D'Estaing, and have cleared all -those waters of French and American privateers. Byron no sooner came -into command than he also made a voyage to Boston, to see whether he -could not come at D'Estaing's fleet; but his usual weather attended -him, his ships were scattered by a tempest, and D'Estaing took the -opportunity of sailing to the West Indies, according to his orders. -Notwithstanding the agreement of the French to assist America, they -were thinking much more of recovering Canada or seizing on the British -West India islands for themselves. - -The British, apprised of the views of France, determined to send a -fleet and troops to protect the West Indies; but, instead of sending -the requisite force from home, the Ministers ordered Clinton to send -five thousand men from New York. This was another example of the feeble -and penurious manner in which they carried on this war. Clinton had -recently sent three thousand five hundred men to Georgia, and now this -detachment of five thousand diminished his already insufficient army by -eight thousand five hundred men. It was, therefore, utterly impossible -that he could take another decisive step in America during this year, -and thus Congress was left to strengthen its army and to await fresh -reinforcements from France. - -Commodore Hotham, with only five ships of the line, a bomb-vessel, and -some frigates, conveyed Major-General Grant and this force to the West -Indies, being nearly the whole way within a short sail of D'Estaing -and his much superior fleet, without knowing it. Grant's destination -was to protect Dominica; but, before his arrival, Marshal de Bouillé, -Governor-General of Martinique, had landed with two thousand men, and -had compelled Lieutenant-Governor Stewart, who had only about one -hundred regular troops and some indifferent militia for its defence, to -surrender. Grant being too late to save Dominica, turned his attention -to St. Lucia, being conveyed thither by the joint fleet of Hotham -and Barrington. They had scarcely made a good footing on the island -when D'Estaing's fleet hove in sight. He had twelve sail-of-the-line, -numerous frigates and transports, and ten thousand men on board, and -the English would have had little chance could he have landed. But -the British fleet resolutely attacked him, and, after several days' -struggle, prevented his landing more than half his troops. These were -so gallantly repulsed by Brigadier Medows, who was at the head of only -one thousand five hundred men, that, on the 28th December, D'Estaing -again embarked his troops, and quitted the island. The original French -force under Chevalier de Michaud then surrendered, and St. Lucia was -won, though Dominica was lost. - -The first thing which occupied the Government on the opening of the -year 1779 were the trials of Keppel and Palliser. That of Keppel -commenced on the 7th of January, and lasted till the 11th of February. -The Court consisted of five admirals and eight captains; Sir Thomas -Pye, Admiral of the White, being president. Keppel was acquitted, -and pronounced to have behaved like a brave and experienced officer, -and to have rendered essential service to the State. This sentence -occasioned a wonderful rejoicing in the City, where Keppel's political -principles prevailed. The portico of the Mansion House was illuminated -two successive nights, and there were general illuminations throughout -London and Westminster. It had been well had the demonstration ended -there; but the mob took the opportunity of the guard which had been -stationed before the house of Palliser in Pall Mall being withdrawn -at midnight to smash in his windows, burst in the doors, and destroy -his furniture. The work of destruction once begun was soon extended. -The mob demolished the windows of Lord North and Lord George Germaine, -as well as of the Admiralty, Government being looked upon as the real -enemies of Keppel and accessories of Palliser. The next day, the -12th of February, Parliament and the City Corporation gave the most -unmistakable sanction to these proceedings. Both Houses of Parliament -voted thanks to Keppel: the Lords unanimously, the Commons with only -one dissenting voice. The Court of Common Council not only voted thanks -to Keppel, but presented him with the freedom of the City in a box of -heart of oak, richly ornamented, and the City was more brilliantly -illuminated than before, the Monument being decked out with coloured -lamps. - -Palliser, incensed at these marked censures on himself, vacated his -seat in Parliament, and resigned his Governorship of Scarborough -Castle, his seat at the Board of Admiralty, his colonelcy of -marines, retaining only his post of Vice-Admiral, and demanding a -court-martial. This was held on board the _Sandwich_, in Portsmouth -harbour, and lasted twenty-one days, resulting finally in a verdict of -acquittal, though with some censure for his not having acquainted his -Commander-in-Chief instantly that the disabled state of his ship had -prevented him from obeying the signal to join for the renewal of the -fight. This sentence pleased neither party. Keppel thought Palliser -too easily let off--Palliser that he was sacrificed to party feeling -against Government. - -In Ireland the effervescence assumed the shape of resistance to -commercial injustice. It was, indeed, impossible to condemn too -strongly the injustice which that country had endured for ages, and in -nothing more than in the flagrant restrictions heaped upon its commerce -and manufactures in favour of English interests. The Irish now seized -on the opportunity while America was waging war against the very same -treatment to imitate the American policy. They formed associations in -Dublin, Cork, Kilkenny, and other places, for the non-importation of -British goods which could be manufactured in Ireland, till England -and Ireland were placed on an equal footing in all that related to -manufactures and commerce. Ministers, who had turned a deaf ear for -years, and almost for ages, to such complaints, were now alarmed, -especially as there was a rumour of French invasion, which might be -so materially aided by disaffection in Ireland. They therefore made -a pecuniary grant to relieve the commercial distress in Ireland, and -passed two Acts for the encouragement of the growth of tobacco and -hemp, and the manufacture of linen in that island. These concessions, -however, were not deemed sufficient, and the people formed themselves -into Volunteer Associations, appointing their own officers, and -defraying the cost of their own equipments. This was done under the -plea of the danger of invasion; but Government knew very well that -American agents had been very busy sowing discontent in Ireland, and -they saw too much resemblance in these things to the proceedings on the -other side of the Atlantic not to view them with alarm. The Marquis -of Rockingham, who had been well instructed in the real grievances of -Ireland by Burke, moved in the House of Lords, on the 11th of May, for -the production of all papers necessary to enable the House to come -to a full understanding of the trade of Ireland and of mercantile -restrictions on it with a view to doing impartial justice to that -kingdom. Lord Gower promised that these should be ready for production -next Session. - -On the 16th of June, just as the House was growing impatient for -prorogation, Lord North, who earlier in the Session had made some -unsuccessful negotiations with the Whigs, announced intelligence -which put such prorogation out of the question. He informed the -House that the Spanish Ambassador had delivered a hostile manifesto -and had thereupon quitted London. On the 17th a Royal Message was -delivered, asserting his Majesty's surprise at this act of Spain, -and declaring that nothing on his part had provoked it. But it by -no means took anybody else by surprise, and the Opposition strongly -reproached Government for not giving credit to their warnings on this -head. In the Commons, Lord John Cavendish, and, in the Lords, the -Earl of Abingdon and the Duke of Richmond, moved that the fleet and -army should be immediately withdrawn from America, that peace be made -with those States, and all our forces be concentrated in chastising -France and Spain, as they deserved, for their treachery and unprovoked -interference. They called for a total change of Ministers and measures. - -These motions were defeated, and Lord North, on the 21st of June, -moved for the introduction of a Bill to double the militia and raise -volunteer corps. The proposal to double the militia was rejected, that -to raise volunteer corps accepted. To man the Navy a Bill was brought -in to suspend for six months all exemptions from impressment into the -Royal Navy. The measure was passed through two stages before rising, -and carried the next morning, and sent up to the Lords. There it met -with strong opposition, and did not receive the Royal Assent till the -last day of the Session. This was the 3rd of July, and was followed, on -the 9th, by a Royal Proclamation ordering all horses and provisions, -in case of invasion, to be driven into the interior. The batteries -of Plymouth were manned, and a boom was drawn across the harbour at -Portsmouth. A large camp of militia was established at Cox Heath, in -front of Maidstone, and, in truth, this demonstration of a patriotic -spirit was very popular. - -Spain having now, most fatally for herself, been persuaded to join -France in the war with England, turned her first attention to Gibraltar -which she hoped France would enable her to conquer. But France showed -no disposition to assist her to regain Gibraltar. At the same time, -the great object was to accomplish the union of the French and Spanish -fleets, which they deemed must then be invincible, and not only drive -the English from the seas, but enable them to land in England itself. -The French managed to muster fifty thousand men, whom they marched to -the different ports on the Channel, from Hâvre to St. Malo. By this -means, keeping England in fear of an invasion, their fleet slipped -out of Brest on the 3rd of June, under the command of D'Orvilliers, -and effected the desired junction with the Spaniards at Cadiz. The -French fleet consisted of thirty sail of the line; the Spanish, of -thirty-eight; making the united fleet sixty-eight sail, besides -numerous frigates and smaller vessels. Never, since the days of the -Armada, had such a mighty squadron threatened the shores of Great -Britain. - -To oppose this tremendous force, our Admiral, Sir Charles Hardy, -had only thirty-eight sail. In the confidence of their overwhelming -strength, the Franco-Spanish fleet sailed directly for the English -coast. Hardy, who was a brave seaman, but somewhat past his prime, -endeavoured to prevent their insulting our shores, and pursued them -first near the Scilly Isles, and then towards the straits of the -Channel. On shore the panic was intense, the French and Spaniards -being expected every hour to land. But on the 31st of August, the wind -veering enabled Hardy to get the weather-gauge of them; and being now -in the Channel, he was prepared to engage their fleet, though so much -superior in numbers; and on shore great quantities of military and -volunteers had collected. Hardy anchored off Spithead. At the sight -of this combination of circumstances, the courage of the Spaniards -and French evaporated. They began to quarrel amongst themselves. The -Spaniards were for landing on some part of the British coast; the -French admiral contended that they would have the equinoctial gales -immediately upon them, and that many of their vessels were in bad -condition. The Spanish commander declared that, this being the case, -he would relinquish the enterprise, and return to his own seaports. -D'Orvilliers was necessarily compelled to return too, and retired to -Brest, where a pestilential disease attacked the French, from having -been so long cooped up in foul ships. Well might Lord North, on the -meeting of Parliament, say, "Our enemies fitted out a formidable fleet; -they appeared upon our coasts; they talked big; threatened a great -deal; did nothing, and retired." - -In America, the belligerents were early afoot this year; but the -attention and the forces of the English were drawn from the States -to the West Indies by the determined attempts of the French to make -themselves masters of our islands there. D'Estaing, who was joined -by another French squadron under the Marquis de Vaudreuil, was early -opposed by Admiral Byron, who arrived at St. Lucia from the American -coast on the 6th of January. This Admiral Vaudreuil, on his way, had -visited our settlements on the coast of Africa, and taken from us -Senegal; but Sir Edward Hughes soon arrived there, and took their -settlement of Goree, so that it was a mere exchange of territory. -In June Admiral Byron was obliged to escort our merchant fleet to a -certain distance, and D'Estaing seized that opportunity to make himself -master of St. Vincent and Grenada, where the garrisons were weak. On -the return of Byron, on the 5th of July, he came to an engagement with -D'Estaing off Grenada; but the French admiral, after an indecisive -action, took advantage of the night to sail away, boasting of a great -victory. He now made for Georgia and Carolina, to assist the Americans -in endeavouring to wrest from us our recent conquest of Savannah, in -Georgia. - -In fact, the chief scene of the war during this year continued to be -south. In September, D'Estaing arrived off Savannah, to co-operate with -the American forces in recovering that important place. He brought -with him twenty-four ships of the line and fourteen frigates, and -was moreover attended by a numerous squadron of French and American -privateers, besides carrying a considerable body of troops. On learning -D'Estaing's approach, General Lincoln and Governor Rutledge began to -march their troops towards Savannah, and sent a number of small vessels -to enable the French to carry their troops up the river, and land them -near the town. General Prevost, commander of the English garrison, made -the most active preparations to receive them. D'Estaing had agreed -to wait for the arrival of General Lincoln, with the South Carolina -force, but, with the want of faith characteristic of the man, on the -12th of September he landed three thousand men, and summoned General -Prevost to surrender in the name of the French king. Prevost claimed -twenty-four hours to decide, and this time he employed in strengthening -his defences. Before the expiration of this time Colonel Maitland, who -was on the march for Beaufort with eight hundred veterans, came in, -and Prevost returned for answer that he would defend the place to the -utmost. On the 16th, General Lincoln arrived, and was greatly incensed -to find that D'Estaing had broken the agreement to wait for him, and -still worse, had summoned the place in the name of France instead of -the Congress. - -D'Estaing, who expected to have taken the place with little trouble, -greatly alarmed lest the English should seize most of the French West -Indian islands in his absence, urged an assault contrary to the wishes -of Lincoln, and this was made on the 9th of October. The forces, five -thousand eight hundred in number, were led on in two columns, but they -were received by such a raking fire from walls and redoubts, and from -the brig flanking the right of the British lines, that they were thrown -back in confusion; and before D'Estaing and Lincoln could restore -order, Colonel Maitland made a general sortie with fixed bayonets, -and the whole attacking force fled in utter rout. D'Estaing would now -remain no longer, but re-embarked his forces, and sailed away, to the -unspeakable chagrin of the Americans, who retreated in all haste, the -greater part of the militia breaking up and returning home. - -[Illustration: LORD NORTH.] - -The effect of the American war, so extremely unsatisfactory to the -nation, had now perceptibly reduced the influence of Lord North and -his Ministry. Their majorities, which had formerly been four to one, -had now fallen to less than two to one; and this process was going -rapidly on. The changes in the Cabinet had been considerable, but they -had not contributed to reinvigorate it. The removal of Thurlow to the -House of Lords had left nobody equal to him in the Commons to contend -with such men as Fox, Burke, Barré, and the several others. Wedderburn -had taken Thurlow's place as Attorney-General, and Wallace had stepped -into Wedderburn's as Solicitor-General. Lord Weymouth, who had held the -posts of Secretary of State for the North and South Departments since -the death of the Earl of Suffolk, now resigned, and Lord Hillsborough -was appointed to the Southern Department, and Lord Stormont to the -Northern Department. Neither of these changes was popular. The Duke of -Bedford's party had become more and more cool towards Lord North, and -in every respect there was a declining power in the Cabinet. It was at -variance with itself, and was fast losing the confidence of the public. -Lord George Germaine was still retained by the king as Secretary of the -Colonies, notwithstanding the disgust he had excited by the unfortunate -planning of the expedition of Burgoyne. - -On the 25th of November Parliament was opened, and the king, in his -speech, made a strong appeal to the country for support against -the unprovoked war on the part of France and Spain. The Marquis of -Rockingham, in proposing an amendment on the Address in the Lords, -was extremely severe. He concluded by moving that every part of the -Address, except the title, should be expunged, and that, instead of -what then stood, a prayer should be inserted that his Majesty would -reflect on the extent of territory which marked the opening of his -reign, the opulence and power, the reputation abroad, the concord -at home, to which he had succeeded, and now on the endangered, -impoverished, enfeebled, distracted, and even dismembered, state of the -whole, after the enormous grants of his successive Parliaments, and -calling on him, as the only remedy of impending ruin, to dismiss his -present evil councillors, and summon new and more auspicious ones. The -language was crushing, but it derived its force from its undeniable -truth. Lord John Cavendish moved a similar amendment in the Commons; -and the Opposition declared that it was well that his Majesty's speech -expressed trust in Divine Providence, for Providence was the only -friend that his Government had now left; and that our arms, both on -sea and land, were paralysed by the scandalous practice of putting at -the head of the army and navy mere Court favourites, and by the want -of all vigour and sagacity of planning and following up our campaigns. -Fox went further, and asserted that weakness and stupidity could not -effect the wholesale shame and ruin that surrounded us; that there must -be treachery somewhere; and that, if this were driven a little further, -the people would seize on arms, and chase the miserable Cabinet from -its abused seat. Lord North made the best reply that the circumstances -admitted; but there were no symptoms of the Ministers resigning, or -being removed by the infatuated monarch, and the amendments were -rejected in both Houses, as a matter of course. - -During this debate, the state of Ireland had been repeatedly alluded -to, and, on the 13th of December, Lord North brought forward his -promised scheme of Irish relief, which consisted in extending the -exportation of woollen cloths to wool, and wool-flocks, to all -kinds of glass manufactures, and in free trade to the British -colonies--privileges that it seems wonderfully strange to us, at the -present day, could ever have been withheld from any portion of the same -empire. The critical state of America, no doubt, had much to do with -the grant of these privileges, for all of them were conceded. - -The ruinous expenditure of the war, and the continual difficulties into -which the Civil List had fallen, now roused throughout the country a -strong demand for economical reform. The Duke of Richmond introduced -the subject into the Upper House by moving, on the 7th of December, -that an Address be conveyed to his Majesty representing the distress -of the country, the heavy demands upon it for the complicated war, and -recommending a reduction of all useless expenses; it also set out that -profusion, so far from being strength, was weakness; that it behoved -all classes of officials to consent to a curtailment of the lavish -salaries; and that it would be a noble example in the Crown to take -the lead, which could not fail of enhancing the love of the people, -and diffusing an excellent influence throughout every department of -the State. His grace represented that the vast military establishment -by sea and land could not include less than three hundred thousand -men; that, since the beginning of the American war the expenditure had -added sixty-three millions of pounds to the Debt, and its interest, -eight millions, to our annual payments. The interest of the Debt had -now become of itself equal to the whole of our expenditure in years -of peace before. He laid much stress on the belief that the example -of the king would induce all orders of men to make equal sacrifices -to the needs of their country. Richmond declared that he had no wish -to curtail the pensions of those who had wasted their fortunes in the -service of their country, as the Pelhams, for the Duke of Newcastle -was said to have sunk five hundred thousand pounds during the years -that he so fondly adhered to office. He gave the Ministers and the -aristocracy credit for a disinterestedness which they did not possess. -They admitted the vastness of the expenditure, and that there was -wastefulness, and that they were desirous of economy; but they could -not believe that any reduction of the Civil List would be sensibly -felt, whilst it would reflect dishonour on the country, as if it were -incapable of maintaining the Crown in due credit. Lord Chancellor -Thurlow affected not to believe in the distress, or that any case of -public extravagance had been made out. The Duke of Richmond's motion -was negatived by seventy-seven votes against thirty-six. - -But on the 15th of December, only eight days later, Lord Shelburne -followed up the question by moving that the alarming additions annually -made to the Debt, under the name of extraordinaries incurred in -different services, demanded an immediate check; that the distresses of -landed and mercantile interests made the strictest economy requisite, -and that the expenditure of such large sums without grants from -Parliament was an alarming violation of the Constitution. He showed -that these expenses bore no proportion to those of any former wars as -to the services performed for them, and stated plainly that the cause -was notorious--that the greater part of the money went into the pockets -of the Ministers' contracting friends. Lord Shelburne's motion was also -rejected. He then gave notice for a further motion of a like nature on -the 8th of February. - -The matter was not to be lightly or easily dismissed. On the very -same day that Lord Shelburne made his motion in the Lords, Edmund -Burke gave notice of a series of resolutions which he should introduce -after the Christmas recess. He stated the outline of his intended -measures for economical reform. Whilst he was delivering a very fine -speech on this occasion, Fox came in from the House of Lords, where -he had been listening to the debate on Lord Shelburne's motion, and -warmly supported him, lamenting that there was not virtue enough in -the House to carry through so necessary--so patriotic a measure. "I -am just come," he said, "from another place where the first men in -this kingdom--the first in abilities, the first in estimation--are now -libelling this House." The announcement excited, as Fox intended, much -surprise, and he continued--"Yes, I repeat it. Every instance they -give--and they give many and strong instances--of uncorrected abuses, -with regard to the public money, is a libel on this House. Everything -they state on the growth of corrupt influence--and it never was half so -flourishing--is a libel on this House." - -The corruptionists in Parliament were deaf to eloquence or -remonstrance; the base contractors sitting there, and the other vile -absorbers of the money voted by the country for the most sacred -purposes, for the preservation of the integrity and existence of -the empire, sat still in impudent hardihood; but the sound of these -stirring words was already out of doors. The City of London voted -thanks to the Duke of Richmond and the Earl of Shelburne for their -motions, and for their promised resumption of the subject on the 8th -of February. A great meeting was called at York to induce that county -to prepare a petition for reform in Parliament. Many efforts were made -by persuasion and by menace to prevent these freeholders from meeting. -But the Marquis of Rockingham and Sir George Savile stood forward, -attended the meeting, and encouraged the freeholders. The meeting was -held on the 30th of December, and, besides these distinguished men, -was attended by peers, gentlemen, clergymen--the richest and noblest -in the county. A petition was adopted to the House of Commons in -the strongest terms. Before separating, this most important meeting -appointed a committee of correspondence, consisting of sixty-one -gentlemen, to carry out the objects of the petition, and still further -to prepare the plan of a national association for the promotion of the -great business of reform. The contagion spread rapidly; in numbers of -other counties, and in many of the leading cities, similar petitions -were got up, and committees of correspondence formed. The result was -that very soon, in the counties of Middlesex, Chester, Hants, Hertford, -Sussex, Huntingdon, Surrey, Cumberland, Bedford, Essex, Gloucester, -Somerset, Wilts, Dorset, Devon, Norfolk, Berks, Bucks, Nottingham, -Kent, Northumberland, Suffolk, Hereford, Cambridge, Derby, Northampton, -and the towns of York and Bristol, Cambridge, Nottingham, Newcastle, -Reading, and Bridgewater, petitions were prepared, and in most of them -corresponding committees organised. - -When Parliament reassembled, after the Christmas recess, the -great question of economical reform took the first place in its -deliberations. The great Yorkshire petition was introduced on the 8th -of February by Sir George Savile, who, as the forms of the House then -allowed, made a speech on its presentation. He was a small, weakly man, -but of the most upright character, and was listened to with the highest -respect. On the 11th Burke rose to bring forward his extensive scheme -of retrenchment and reform. It was a scheme of reforms so vast and -multiform as to require five Bills to include them. It dealt with the -sale of the Crown lands; the abolition of the separate jurisdictions -of the Principality of Wales, the Duchies of Cornwall, Chester, and -Lancaster; of the Court offices of Treasurer, Comptroller, Cofferer, -Keeper of the Stag, Buck, and Fox Hounds, of the Wardrobe, Robes, -Jewels, etc.; of the recently-instituted office of Third Secretary of -State; the reduction and simplification of offices in the Ordnance and -Mint departments; the Patent Office of the Exchequer; the regulation -of the pay offices of the army, navy, and of pensioners; and, finally, -the Civil List. Such a host of corrupt interests was assailed by this -wholesale scheme, that it was certain to receive a very determined -opposition; and it might have been supposed that it would be -encountered by the most rabid rage. But not so. The great tribe whose -interests were affected were too adroit strategists for that; they -were too well assured that, being legion, and all knit up together -from the Crown downwards, embracing every branch of the aristocracy, -they were safe, and might, therefore, listen to the fervid eloquence -of the poetic Irishman, as they would to a tragedy that did not affect -them further than their amusement was concerned. Lord North very soon -managed to put the Principality and the Duchies out of the range of his -inquiries. He declared that nobody was more zealous for a permanent -system of economy than he was; but then, unfortunately, the king's -patrimonial revenue was concerned in these Duchies, and therefore he -must be first consulted; and, what was still more embarrassing was, -that these proposals affected the rights of the Prince of Wales, and -therefore could not be mooted till he was of age; so that branch of -the inquiry was lopped off, under the gentle phrase of postponement. -When the discussion reached the reform of the king's household, Burke -was compelled to admit that a former attempt to reform this lavish -yet penurious household by Lord Talbot, had been suddenly stopped, -because, forsooth, it would endanger the situation of an honourable -member who was turnspit in the kitchen! The end of it was, that though -all expressed themselves as delighted and as acquiescent, almost -every detail was thrown out in committee. The only point carried was -that which abolished the Board of Trade, by a majority, however, of -only eight. The Board of Trade was ere long restored again. The other -portions of Burke's great scheme occupied the House through March, -April, and May, and then was got rid of by a manœuvre in the committee, -Burke declaring that he would bring the measure forward again next -session. - -But the subject was not so easily disposed of. Colonel Barré, in -the House of Commons, only three days after Burke introduced his -great motion, declared that Burke's measure did not go far enough; -that Burke did not mean to interfere with the enormous pensions and -overpaid places already in possession; and that he would himself -introduce a motion for a Committee of Accounts, to probe all these -depths of corruption, and to examine into the army extravagances, -which were excessive, and to him unaccountable. Lord North, so far -from opposing this motion, declared his surprise that no one had -thought of introducing it before, and that he was extremely anxious -himself for the reduction of all needless expenditure. The Opposition -expressed their particular satisfaction; but they were rather too -precipitate, for North made haste to get the business into his own -hands; and, on the 2nd of March, was ready with a Bill of his own -framing. The Opposition were lost in astonishment; and Barré denounced -this perfidious conduct in the Minister in terms of just indignation. -The whole Opposition, who found themselves outwitted, declared that the -scheme, so far from being intended to relieve the country, was meant to -shield existing abuses, and they accordingly resisted it to the utmost. -North, however, by his standing majority of myrmidons, carried the Bill -through the House; and Sir Guy Carleton, late Governor of Canada, and -five others, were appointed Commissioners. Thus the whole motion was in -reality shelved. - -Two more attempts were made. Mr. Crewe reproduced the Bill to disable -revenue officers from voting at elections, which was at once rejected. -Sir Philip Jennings Clerke then reintroduced his Bill to exclude -contractors from the House of Commons, unless their contracts were -obtained at a public bidding. This was suffered, for appearance' sake, -to pass the House with little opposition; but it was arrested in the -Peers by the law lords, at the head of whom were Mansfield and Thurlow, -and thrown out. - -On April 6th a great meeting was held in Westminster, avowedly to add -weight to the county petitions for economical reform, which were now -pouring into the House of Commons. Fox presided, and was supported by -the Dukes of Devonshire and Portland. Government, to throw discredit -on the meeting, affected alarm, and, at the request of the Middlesex -magistrates, who were believed to have been moved by Ministers to make -it, a body of troops was drawn up in the neighbourhood of Westminster -Hall. The indignation of the Opposition was so much excited that Burke, -in the House of Commons, commenting on this attempt to insinuate -evil designs against the friends of reform, denounced the Middlesex -magistrates as creeping vermin--the very "scum of the earth;" and Fox -declared that if soldiers were to be let loose on the constitutional -meetings of the people, then all who went to such meetings must go -armed! - -Whilst these indignant sentiments were uttering, the petitions for -economical reform were pouring in from all parts of the country in such -numbers that the table of the House appeared buried under them. The -House went into committee upon the subject, and then Dunning rose and -introduced his famous motion for a resolution in these words:--"That -it is the opinion of this committee that the influence of the Crown -has increased, is increasing, and ought to be diminished." Dunning -declaimed in language bold and unsparing, and expatiated at great -length on the alarming influence of the Crown, purchased by the lavish -expenditure of the people's money, the people thus being made the -instruments of their own slavery. He censured in stinging terms the -treatment of the economical plans of Burke, the treacherous terms -of approbation with which Ministers had received them, and then had -trodden on them piecemeal till they had left of them the merest -shred. He trusted the nation would still resent this audacious mockery -of reform--this insult to the most distinguished patriots. This was -the way, he contended, that this Administration had again and again -acted--adding ridicule to oppression. Dunning's motion was carried, at -a late hour of the night, by two hundred and thirty-three votes against -two hundred and fifteen. - -[Illustration: "NO POPERY" RIOTERS ASSAULTING LORD MANSFIELD. (_See p._ -266.)] - -Encouraged by this unwonted success (for the words of the speaker, -reminding them of the coming elections, had sunk deep into many -hearts). Dunning immediately moved a second proposition, namely, -that it was competent to that House to examine into and correct any -abuses of the Civil List, as well as of any other branch of the public -revenue. The resolution was carried without a division. Immediately on -the heels of this, Thomas Pitt moved that it was the duty of the House -to redress without delay the grievances enumerated in the petitions -of the people. Lord North implored that they would not proceed any -further that night; but this resolution was also put and carried, -likewise without division. Immediately, though it was past one o'clock -in the morning, Fox moved that all these motions should be reported. -Lord North, in the utmost consternation, declared this procedure was -"violent, arbitrary, and unusual;" but Fox pressed his motion, and it -was carried, like the rest, without a division, and the Report was -brought up. - -When the committee on the petitions next met, on the 10th of April, -Dunning, elated with his success, was ready with fresh resolutions. -His first was that it was necessary for the purity and independence -of Parliament that the proper officer should, within ten days of the -meeting of Parliament in each Session, lay before the House an account -of moneys paid out of the Civil List, or out of any part of the public -revenue, to any member of Parliament. This, too, was triumphantly -carried, only to be followed by another from Dunning, that the persons -holding the offices of Treasurer of the Chamber, Treasurer of the -Household, or clerkships of the Green Cloth, with all their deputies, -should be incapable of sitting in the House of Commons. Here the -confounded Ministerial members began to recover their spirit under the -sweeping sentences passed against them, and Dunning only carried this -resolution by a majority of two. Either they thought they had done -enough by their late votes to satisfy their constituents, or Ministers -had found means to render them obedient by menacing losses from their -side, for when Dunning proposed a resolution that his Majesty should be -requested not to dissolve or prorogue Parliament until proper measures -had been taken to secure to the people the benefits prayed for in -their petitions, the motion was rejected by a majority of fifty-one -in a very full House. Fox and Dunning vented their indignation at -this result on the Ministerial phalanx, whom they declared to be the -worst of slaves--slaves sold by themselves into the most contemptible -thraldom. But their castigation was in vain; the troop was brought back -to its primitive compliance, and defeated every future motion from the -Opposition. - -Whilst the Opposition was in the dejection of disappointed hopes, -suddenly there arose an explosion of popular opinion against the -Catholics, stimulated and led on by an insane fanatic, which threatened -the most direful consequences, and produced sufficiently frightful -ones--the so-called Gordon Riots. - -We have already noted the excitement in Scotland at the Act which was -passed in 1778 for the repeal of some of the severest disabilities of -the Catholics; and this had been greatly increased by the proposal -to extend its operation by a second Act to Scotland. The fanatics of -Scotland were promptly on the alert, and there were dangerous riots in -Edinburgh and Glasgow. But the same unchristian spirit had now spread -to England, and Protestant Associations, as they were called, linked -together by corresponding committees, were established in various -towns, and had elected as their president and Parliamentary head Lord -George Gordon, a brother of the Duke of Gordon. During the spring -of 1780 he presented several petitions from the people of Kent, and -he then conceived his grand idea of a petition long enough to reach -from the Speaker's chair to the centre window at Whitehall, out of -which Charles walked to the scaffold. At a meeting of the Protestant -Association, held towards the end of May in Coachmakers' Hall, in -London, he announced that he would present this petition on the 2nd -of June. Resolutions were passed that the Association and all their -friends must go in procession on that day to present the petition. They -were to assemble in St. George's Fields; every one must have a blue -cockade in his hat, to distinguish him from the enemies of the cause; -and Lord George, to stimulate them, told them that unless the gathering -amounted to twenty thousand he would not present the petition. On the -26th of May he stated in the House of Commons that he should appear -there with the petition at the head of all those who had signed it. -Accordingly, on 2nd of June vast crowds assembled on the appointed -spot, amounting to sixty thousand, or, as many asserted, one hundred -thousand men. This formidable throng was arranged in four battalions, -one consisting entirely of Scotsmen, who received Lord George with -enthusiastic acclamations, and, after a vapouring speech from him, -marched by different ways to Westminster. - -The Lords had been summoned to discuss a motion by the Duke of Richmond -on universal suffrage and annual Parliaments, and Lord Mansfield was -to preside in the absence of Lord Chancellor Thurlow. Mansfield had -excited the particular resentment of these zealots by having acquitted -a Catholic priest charged with the crime of celebrating Mass, and -no sooner did he make his appearance than he was assailed with the -fiercest yells and execrations. His carriage windows were dashed in, -his robe was torn, and he escaped finally into the House with his wig -in great disorder, and himself pale and trembling. The Archbishop of -York was an object of the particular fury of these Protestants. They -tore off his lawn sleeves and flung them in his face. The Bishop of -Lincoln, a brother of Lord Thurlow, had his carriage demolished, and -was compelled to seek refuge in a neighbouring house, where he is said -to have made his way in women's clothes over the roof into another -dwelling. The Secretaries of State, Lords Stormont, Townshend, and -Hillsborough, were rudely handled. It was found impossible to proceed -with the Orders of the Day. The peers retired as best they might, one -by one, making their way home on foot, or in hackney coaches, in the -dark, and no one was left in the House except Lord Mansfield and a few -servants. - -[Illustration: THE GORDON RIOTS. - -FROM THE PAINTING BY SEYMOUR LUCAS, R.A.] - -The members of the House of Commons had to run the gauntlet of these -furies much like the Lords. They pulled many of them out of their -carriages, tore their clothes from their backs, and maltreated them, -crying continually, "Repeal the Bill! No Popery! Lord George Gordon!" -The frantic multitude forced their way into the lobby of the House, and -attempted to break into the House itself. They thundered at the doors, -and there was imminent danger of their forcing their way in. Meanwhile, -Lord George Gordon and Alderman Ball were presenting the petition, -and moved that the House should consider it at once in committee. An -amendment was moved, that it should be considered on Tuesday, the 6th; -but there were not means of putting either motion or amendment, for the -mob had possession of the lobby, and the Serjeant-at-Arms declared it -was impossible to clear it. Whilst this confusion lasted, Lord George -Gordon exerted himself to excite the mob to the highest possible pitch. -So long as members were speaking, he continued to go to the top of the -gallery stairs, ever and anon, to drop a word to the crowd below likely -to exasperate them against the particular member speaking. "Burke, -the member for Bristol, is up now," he cried; and then coming again, -"Do you know that Lord North calls you a mob?" This he repeated till -the crowd was worked up to a maddening frenzy, and made so desperate -a battering at the door, that it was momentarily expected they would -burst it open. Several of the members vowed to Lord George, that, if -his rabid friends did violate the sanctity of the House, they would run -him through as the first man stepped over the lintel. These determined -proceedings daunted Lord George. He retired to the eating-room, -and sank quietly into a chair. Meanwhile, Lord North had privately -despatched a messenger for a party of the Guards. Till these could -arrive, some of the more popular members went out, and used their -endeavours to appease the rage of the multitude. Lord Mahon harangued -them from the balcony of a coffee-house, and produced considerable -effect. About nine o'clock, Mr. Addington, a Middlesex magistrate, came -up with a party of Horse Guards. He spoke kindly to the people, and -advised them to disperse quietly, which, the exasperator being absent, -many of them did. Soon after came a party of foot soldiers, who were -drawn up in the Court of Requests, and they soon cleared the lobby. The -members then boldly proceeded with the debate, and, undeterred by the -cries still heard from without, carried the amendment for deferring -the consideration of the petition by a hundred and ninety-four votes, -including the tellers, against only eight. The House then adjourned -until the 6th of June. - -Imagining that the crowd would now disperse, the soldiers were -dismissed, and the magistrates returned home. But this was premature. -There were shoals of hot-headed fanatics, who were not willing to -depart without some damage inflicted on the Catholics. One division of -these attacked the Bavarian chapel in Warwick Lane, Golden Square, and -another attacked the Sardinian chapel in Duke Street, Lincoln's Inn -Fields, destroyed their interiors, and set them on fire. The engines -arrived only in time to see a huge bonfire before the Sardinian chapel -made of its seats, and both chapels too far in flames to be stopped; -indeed, the mob would not allow the engines to play. The soldiers, too, -arrived when it was too late to do anything, but seized thirteen of the -rioters. - -The next day all seemed quiet; but at evening, the men having got their -Saturday's wages and their usual beer, there were some disturbances in -Moorfields, and the mob abused some of the Catholics there. The next -day, Sunday, the 4th, fresh crowds assembled in the same quarter, and -attacked the houses and chapels of the Catholics, and this continued -for the next three days. Troops were sent to quell them; but, having -orders not to fire, the mob cared nothing for them. Some of the rioters -took their way to Wapping and East Smithfield to destroy the Catholic -chapels in that neighbourhood; and others burst into and plundered the -shops and houses of Messrs. Rainsforth and Maberly, tradesmen, who had -been bold enough to give evidence against the rioters taken on Friday. -Another detachment took their way to Leicester Fields to ransack the -house of Sir George Savile, the author of the Bill for the relaxation -of the penal code against the Catholics. This they stripped and set -fire to, and some of the pictures and furniture, as well as some of -the effects taken from the Catholic chapels and houses in Moor fields, -were paraded before the house of Lord George Gordon, in Welbeck Street, -in triumph. The mob had now acquired a more desperate character. -The fanatic members of the Protestant Association had retired in -consternation from the work of destruction, seeing fresh elements -introduced into it--elements not of simple religious frenzy, but of -plunder and revolutionary fury. They had begun the disturbance, and the -thieves, pickpockets, burglars, and all the vilest and most demoniacal -tribes of the metropolis had most heartily taken it up. - -The Government was paralysed by the greatness of the evil. While -the House of Commons had been sitting, the mob had attacked Lord -North's house, in Downing Street, close by; but a party of soldiers -had succeeded in interposing themselves between the mansion and its -assailants. The house of the Minister was saved; but the gigantic -mass of rioters then rolled towards the City, vowing that they would -sack Newgate, and release their comrades, who had been sent there on -Friday. On the 6th they appeared in vast numbers before that prison, -and demanded of Mr. Akerman, the keeper, the delivery of their -associates. Their cry was still "No Popery!" though their object -was havoc: they were armed with heavy sledge-hammers, crowbars, and -pick-axes; and on the keeper refusing to liberate the prisoners, they -commenced a desperate attack on his doors and windows, and, collecting -combustibles, flung them into the dwelling. It was speedily in flames, -and, whilst it burned, the mob thundered on the iron-studded doors of -the prison with their tools. But, as they made no impression, they -formed heaps of the keeper's furniture, and made a fire against the -doors. The fires spread from the keeper's house to the prison chapel, -and thence to some of the doors and passages leading into the wards. -The mob raised terrible yells of rage and triumph, which were as wildly -echoed by the prisoners within, some of whom were exulting in the -expectation of rescue, and others shrieking, afraid of perishing in the -conflagration. The crowd, now more furious than ever, from greedily -drinking the wine and spirits in the keepers cellar, rushed through the -gaps made by the flames, and were masters of the prison. They were led -on by ferocious fellows, who were but too familiar with the interior -of the place. The different cells were forced open, and the now -half-maddened prisoners were either rudely dragged out, or they rushed -forth in maniacal delight. Three hundred of these criminals, some of -them stained with the foulest offences, and four of them under sentence -of execution on the following Thursday, were let out, to add to the -horrors of the lawless tumult. They came out into the surging, roaring -multitude to raise their shouts at the sight of the great prison, which -had lately been rebuilt at a cost of one hundred and forty thousand -pounds, in one vast conflagration. Nothing was left of it the next -morning but a huge skeleton of blackened and frowning walls. - -The same evening the new prison of Clerkenwell was broken open, and all -the prisoners were let loose. These joined the drinking, rabid mass, -and, in their turn, attacked and gutted the houses of two of the most -active magistrates--Sir John Fielding and Mr. Cox. As they went along, -they compelled the inhabitants to illuminate their houses, under menace -of burning them down. Everywhere they seized on gin, brandy, and beer, -and thus, in the highest paroxysm of drunken fury, at midnight they -appeared before Lord Mansfield's house, in Bloomsbury Square. He was -quickly obliged to escape with Lady Mansfield by the back door, and -to take refuge in the house of a friend in Lincoln's Inn Fields. The -mob broke in, and, having demolished the doors and windows, proceeded -to destroy and fling out into the square the furniture, pictures, and -books, of which their fellows outside made several bonfires. Then -perished one of the finest libraries in England, not only of works of -law but of literature, which his lordship, through a long course of -years, had been collecting. - -The next morning, Wednesday, the 7th of June, the consternation was -universal. The shops continued closed, and people barricaded their -houses as well as they could, many of them chalking "No Popery!" on -their doors, or hanging blue silk, the Protestant Association colour, -from their windows. Dr. Johnson, in a walk from Fleet Street to see -the ruins of the Old Bailey, describes the coolness and composure with -which "the Protestants," men and boys, were employed in plundering -and stripping houses, unmolested by soldiers, constables, or any one. -Great numbers of the mob were going about, armed with iron bars torn -from the railings in front of Lord Mansfield's, to levy contributions -on the householders. Some went singly; three mere boys were observed -thus engaged in company; and one man, mounted on horseback, refused to -receive anything less than gold. - -A strong party, not satisfied with having destroyed Lord Mansfield's -town house, set off to burn that at Caen Wood, near Highgate. They -were met and turned back by a detachment of cavalry. They were equally -disappointed in their intended sack of the Bank of England. They found -this mine of wealth guarded by infantry, who had here orders to fire, -and did it without scruple, killing and wounding a great many. They -were more successful against the prisons. They broke open the King's -Bench, the Fleet, the Marshalsea, and all the other prisons except the -Poultry Compter, and set at liberty all the prisoners. Before the day -had dawned, the whole sky was glaring with the light of conflagrations. -The number of separate fires burning at the same time was counted up -to thirty-six. Had the weather been stormy, the whole of London must -have been laid in ashes; but, providentially, the weather was perfectly -calm. The scene of the greatest catastrophe was at the distillery of -a Mr. Langdale, on Holborn Bridge. This gentleman was a Catholic, and -his stores of spirits were a violent temptation. They broke open his -premises in the evening, and destroyed everything. They staved in -his hogsheads of spirits, and others collected them in pails and in -their hats, and drank voraciously. The kennel ran a mingled river of -gin, brandy, and pure alcohol, and men, women, and children were seen -on their knees sucking up the stream as it flowed! Fire was set to -the premises, and catching the spirits which flooded the floors, the -flames shot up to the sky like a volcano. The unhappy wretches, who -had stupefied themselves with the fiery fluid, perished like flies in -the raging element. No such scene of horror had been seen in all these -spectacles of violence and crime. The loss of Mr. Langdale alone was -estimated at one hundred thousand pounds. - -[Illustration: DR. JOHNSON VIEWING THE SCENE OF SOME OF THE "NO POPERY" -RIOTS. (_See p._ 268.)] - -Up to this point, the whole Government and magistracy seemed as -much stupefied as the poor wretches who had perished in the flames -of the distillery. The king was the first to awake from this fatal -lethargy. He summoned a Council on the morning of the 7th of June, -at which he presided, and demanded what they had to propose for the -suppression of these disorders. At the king's question the Cabinet -appeared dumb-foundered. It was the general opinion that no officer -could proceed to extremities against a mob, however it might be -breaking the law, until an hour after the Riot Act had been read by -a magistrate. This was a monstrous perversion of the meaning of that -Act; but, had even this been zealously followed out, the riots must -have been promptly suppressed. Luckily, at this moment Wedderburn, the -Attorney-General, answered the king's interrogation boldly, that the -Riot Act bore no such construction as was put upon it. In his opinion, -no single hour was required for the dispersion of a mob after the -reading of the Riot Act; and not even the reading of the Act at all was -necessary for the authorisation of military force where a mob was found -actually committing a felony by firing a dwelling-house, and could not -be restrained by other means. Encouraged by Wedderburn's contention, -the king declared that that had always been his own opinion, and that -now he would act upon it. There should be, at least, one magistrate in -the kingdom who would do his duty. The Council, gathering courage, then -concurred, and a proclamation was issued, warning all householders to -keep within doors with their families, the king's officers being now -ordered to put down the riots by military execution, without waiting -for any further reading of the Riot Act. - -This proclamation was speedily followed by the steady march of -soldiers to various quarters. At one moment was heard the loud roar -of innumerable voices in the full commission of outrage, and at the -next the rattle of musketry and the shrieks of the wounded and dying, -followed by a strange silence. The first troops who commenced the -bloody duty of repression were the Northumberland militia, who had -come that day by a forced march of twenty-five miles, and who were led -by Colonel Holroyd against the rioters at Langdale's distillery in -Holborn. A detachment of the Guards at the same time drove the mob from -the possession of Blackfriars Bridge. Numbers were there killed, or -were forced by the soldiers or their own fears over the parapet of the -bridge, and perished in the Thames. Where the mob would not disperse, -the officers now firmly gave the word of command, and the soldiers -fired in platoons. Little resistance was offered; in many quarters the -inhabitants, recovering their presence of mind, armed themselves, and -came forth in bodies to assist the soldiers. The number of troops now -assembled in and around London amounted to twenty-five thousand, and -before night the whole city was as quiet--far quieter, indeed--than -on ordinary occasions, for a sorrowful silence seemed to pervade it; -and besides two hundred men shot in the streets, two hundred and fifty -were carried to the hospitals wounded, of whom nearly one hundred soon -expired. But these bore no proportion to the numbers who had fallen -victims to their own excesses, or who had been buried under the ruins -of falling buildings, or consumed in the flames in the stupor of -intoxication. The king's decision had saved London. - -On Tuesday, the 20th of June, the Commons entered on the consideration -of the great Protestant petition, praying for the repeal of Sir George -Savile's Act for the relief of Catholics. On this occasion Burke and -Lord North went hand in hand. Burke drew up five resolutions, which -North corrected. These resolutions declared that all attempts to seduce -the youth of this kingdom from the Established Church to Popery were -criminal in the highest degree, but that all attempts to wrest the -Act of 1778 beyond its due meaning, and to the unnecessary injury -of Catholics, were equally reprehensible. In the course of July the -rioters were brought to trial. Those prisoners confined in the City -were tried at the regular Old Bailey Sessions; those on the Surrey -side of the river by a Special Commission. The Lord Chief Justice -De Grey, being in failing health, resigned, and Wedderburn took his -place as Lord Chief Justice, under the title of Lord Loughborough. His -appointment gave great satisfaction; but this was considerably abated -by his speech at the opening of the Commission, in which he indulged in -very severe strictures on the rioters, who had to appear before him as -judge. Of the one hundred and thirty-five tried, about one half were -convicted, of whom twenty-one were executed, and the rest transported -for life. Amongst the convicted was Edward Dennis, the common hangman; -but he received a reprieve. The trial of Lord George Gordon, who was -foolishly accused of high treason, was postponed through a technical -cause till the following January, when he was ably defended by Mr. -Kenyon and Mr. Erskine; and the public mind having cooled, he was -acquitted. Probably the conviction of his insanity tended largely to -this result, which became more and more apparent, his last strange -freak being that of turning Jew. - -From this episode of fire and fanaticism we recur to the general theme -of the war with Spain, France, and America, in which England was every -day becoming more deeply engaged. From the moment that Spain had -joined France in the war against us, other Powers, trusting to our -embarrassments with our colonies and those great European Powers, had -found it a lucrative trade to supply, under neutral flags, warlike -materials and other articles to the hostile nations; thus, whilst under -a nominal alliance, they actually furnished the sinews of war against -us. In this particular, Holland, the next great commercial country to -Britain, took the lead. She furnished ammunition and stores to the -Spaniards, who all this while were engaged in besieging Gibraltar. -Spain had also made a treaty with the Barbary States, by which she -cut off our supplies from those countries. To relieve Gibraltar, -Admiral Sir George Rodney, who was now appointed to the command of -our navy in the West Indies, was ordered to touch there on his way -out. On the 8th of January 1780, when he had been a few days out at -sea, he came in sight of a Spanish fleet, consisting of five armed -vessels, convoying fifteen merchantmen, all of which he captured. These -vessels were chiefly laden with wheat, flour, and other provisions, -badly needed at Gibraltar, and which he carried in with him, sending -the men-of-war to England. On the 16th he fell in with another fleet -off Cape St. Vincent, of eleven ships of the line, under Don Juan de -Langara, who had come out to intercept the provisions which England -sent to Gibraltar. Rodney had a much superior fleet, and the Spanish -admiral immediately attempted to regain his port. The weather was very -tempestuous, and the coast near the shoal of St. Lucar very dangerous; -he therefore stood in as close as possible to the shore, but Rodney -boldly thrust his vessels between him and the perilous strand, and -commenced a running fight. The engagement began about four o'clock in -the evening, and it was, therefore, soon dark; but Rodney, despite -the imminent danger of darkness, tempest, and a treacherous shore, -continued the fight, and the Spaniards for a time defended themselves -bravely. The battle continued till two o'clock in the morning; one -ship, the _San Domingo_, of seventy guns, blew up with six hundred men -early in the action; four ships of the line, including the admiral's, -of eighty guns, struck, and were carried by Rodney safe into port; -two seventy-gun ships ran on the shoal and were lost; and of all the -Spanish fleet only four ships escaped to Cadiz. - -Bearing his prizes with him, Rodney proceeded to Gibraltar, carrying -great exultation to the besieged rock by the news of such victory and -the timely supplies. He sent on some ships to carry similar relief to -our garrison at Port Mahon, and, after lying some weeks at Gibraltar, -he dispatched Admiral Digby home with a portion of the fleet, and then -with the rest made sail for the West Indies. Digby, on his homeward -route, also captured a French ship of the line, and two merchant -vessels laden with military stores. This blow to the Spanish maritime -power was never altogether recovered during the war. - -Rodney, on reaching the West Indies, found, as we shall see, a combined -fleet of French under the Count de Guichen, and of Spanish under -Admiral Solano; but he could not bring them to an engagement, and, -after a brief brush, they eventually eluded him, Solano taking refuge -in Havana, and De Guichen convoying the home-bound merchant ships of -France. Disappointed in his hopes of a conflict with these foes, -Rodney sailed for the North American coasts. Scarcely had he quitted -the European waters, however, when the Spaniards took a severe revenge -for his victory over them at St. Vincent. Florida Blanca, the Minister -of Spain, learnt, through his spies in England, that the English East -and West Indian traders were going out under a very foolishly feeble -escort--in fact, of only two ships of the line. Elated at the news, -Florida Blanca collected every vessel that he could, and dispatched -them, under Admirals Cordova and Gaston, to intercept this precious -prize. The enterprise was most successful. The Spanish fleet lay in -wait at the point where the East and West India vessels separate, off -the Azores, captured sixty sail of merchantmen, and carried them safe -into Cadiz. The two vessels of war escaped, but in the East Indiamen -were eighteen hundred soldiers going out to reinforce the troops in the -East. - -This, though it was a severe blow to our trade, was but a small part -of the damage which the active spirit of Florida Blanca did us. He -promoted with all his energies the system of armed neutrality which -had long been projected on the Continent to cripple our power. -England knew that if she permitted this process, there was little -chance of her bringing any of her antagonists to terms; she therefore -insisted rigidly on the right of search, and on the seizure of all -such contraband articles under whatever flag they were conveyed. Not -only did Holland supply France and Spain in Europe, but she allowed -the American privateers to carry their English prizes into their West -Indian ports for sale. All this time Holland was not only bound by the -most immense obligations to Great Britain for the millions of money and -the tens of thousands of men whom we had sacrificed for the security of -her independence against France, but she was also bound by treaty to -furnish us certain aids when we were attacked by France. From the year -1778 Sir Joseph Yorke, our Ambassador at the Hague, had made continual -remonstrances against this clandestine trade with our enemies; and -France, on the other hand, had, by alternate menaces and persuasions, -exerted herself to induce the Dutch to set England at defiance. In this -she succeeded to a great extent. Much correspondence ensued, the Dutch -maintaining a specious neutrality, but still continuing to carry timber -and naval stores to France. Sir Joseph Yorke was therefore instructed -to demand from the States the succours stipulated by treaties, and -which might have been demanded the moment that France declared war -against England. On the 26th of November, 1779, he received not only a -positive refusal, but a fresh complaint of the interruption of their -trade by English men-of-war. - -Whilst affairs with Holland were in this position, Count Florida -Blanca, the Spanish Minister, had adopted the system of seizing all -neutral vessels, of whatever nation, that were found carrying British -goods, and conveying them into Spanish ports as lawful prizes. This, as -he calculated, raised the resentment of all the neutral Powers--Russia, -Sweden, Denmark, Prussia, Holland, and the trading States of Italy--who -denounced these outrages on their flag. But Florida Blanca replied, -that so long as England was suffered to pursue this system, Spain must -continue to make reprisals; that it was, however, in the power of -the neutral nations to combine and defend their flags, by compelling -England to desist. The result was as he had hoped. Catherine of Russia, -who had hitherto considered herself an ally of England--who had, at -one time, contemplated furnishing soldiers to assist in reducing the -American rebels, and who protested against the monstrosity of France -encouraging the colonies of England to throw off their allegiance--was -suddenly induced to change her tone. On the 26th of February she issued -her famous proclamation, "that free ships should make free goods." -This meant that all neutral nations should continue to carry all kinds -of articles to Powers at war with one another, without search or -question, except such goods as were expressly specified in treaties. -Sweden, Denmark, Prussia, France, and Spain, all readily entered into -this league, which assumed the name of the "Armed Neutrality," the -object of which, though ostensibly to control all belligerent Powers, -was really to suppress the naval power of England. Holland eulogised -this league, but did not yet venture to join it; but prohibited the -exportation of stores to our garrison in Gibraltar, whilst her ships -were busy carrying supplies to the Spanish besiegers. Sir Joseph Yorke, -therefore, on the 21st of March, 1780, informed the States that, -unless the stipulated help was furnished within three weeks, England -would suspend, _pro tempore_, the regulations in favour of the Dutch -commerce. The States still refused to furnish the succours, and at the -specified time the privileges in question were suspended, though Count -Welderen still continued in London, and Sir Joseph Yorke at the Hague. -It was evident that Holland could not long continue in this position, -and Frederick of Prussia was soliciting Catherine of Russia to enter -into an engagement to protect the Dutch commerce in every quarter of -the globe. If Frederick could have prevailed, he would have stirred up -a universal crusade against England; but Catherine was not rash enough -for this quixotism. - -[Illustration: OLD NEWGATE.] - -We return now to the American campaign. Sir Henry Clinton, at the close -of the year 1779, proceeded to carry into effect his plan of removing -the war to the Southern States. The climate there favoured the project -of a winter campaign, and, on the day after Christmas Day, Sir Henry -embarked five thousand men on board the fleet of Admiral Arbuthnot. -But the weather at sea at this season proved very tempestuous, and his -ships were driven about for seven weeks. Many of his transports were -lost, some of them were taken by the enemy; he lost nearly all the -horses of the cavalry and artillery, and one vessel carrying the heavy -ordnance foundered at sea. It was the 11th of February, 1780, when -he landed on St. John's Island, about thirty miles from Charleston. -He then planned the investment of Charleston with Admiral Arbuthnot; -but he was not on good terms with that officer, and this threw great -impediments in the way of prompt action. It was the 1st of April -before they could break ground before the city. Once begun, however, -the siege was prosecuted with vigour. Lord Cornwallis was sent to -scour the country, and so completely did he effect this, that Lincoln -was compelled to offer terms of surrender. These were considered too -favourable to the Americans, and the siege continued till the 11th -of May, when the English were doing such damage to the town, and the -inhabitants suffering so much, that they threatened to throw open the -gates if Lincoln did not surrender. In this dilemma, Lincoln offered to -accept the terms proposed by Clinton before, and the British general -assented to his proposal. On the 12th of May the Americans grounded -their arms. The news of this blow, which laid the whole south open to -the English, carried consternation throughout the States; and, arriving -in England at the close of the Gordon riots, seemed to restore the -spirits of the British. - -The town of Charleston being now in his possession, Sir Henry -Clinton proceeded to reduce the whole province to obedience. He -issued proclamations, calling on the well-affected young men to form -themselves into military bodies, and to act in support of the king's -troops, pledging himself that they should never be called upon to march -beyond the frontiers of North Carolina on the one side, or those of -Georgia on the other; and he assured the inhabitants at large of the -utmost protection of person and property, so long as they continued -peaceable and loyal subjects of the Crown. In the meantime, Lord -Cornwallis continued to enforce these proposals by the movements of his -troops. Could Sir Henry Clinton have remained in this quarter, he would -without doubt have steadily carried his victorious arms northward till -he had everywhere restored the rule of England. But he was completely -crippled by the wretched management of the miserable Government at -home, who seemed to expect to reconquer America without an army. At -this crisis he received news that the Americans were mustering in -strong force on the Hudson, and that a French fleet was daily expected -on the coast of New England to co-operate with them. He was now -compelled to embark for New York, leaving Lord Cornwallis to maintain -the ground obtained in South Carolina as well as he could with a body -of four thousand men. His second in command was Lord Rawdon, a young -officer who had distinguished himself greatly at the battle of Bunker's -Hill, and who, like Cornwallis, his chief, was destined, in after -years, to occupy the distinguished post of Governor-General of India, -with the successive titles of Earl Moira and Marquis of Hastings. The -chief business of Cornwallis was to maintain the status gained in South -Carolina, but he was at liberty to make a move into North Carolina if -he thought it promising. - -Congress, alarmed at the progress of the English in South Carolina, had -made extraordinary efforts to reinforce the Republican party in North -Carolina. On the fall of Charleston, General Gates, who had acquired -a high but spurious reputation upon the surrender of Burgoyne, was -sent to take the chief command. In marching towards South Carolina, -the American army suffered severely from the tropical heat of the -climate and the scarcity of food. Gates led them through a country -of alternating swamps and sandy deserts, called by the Americans -pine-barrens. The troops lived chiefly on the lean cattle which they -found scattered through the woods, on green Indian corn, and peaches, -which were plentiful, being indigenous to the State of Louisiana. -Lord Rawdon, who was lying at Camden, where he had halted his men to -protect them from the heat, was joined there by Lord Cornwallis early -in August. The entire force when united did not, however, exceed two -thousand men, whilst the troops of Gates amounted to six thousand. -The British general, notwithstanding, advanced briskly to meet the -Americans, and on the evening of the 16th of August the two armies met -rather unexpectedly, and some skirmishing took place, after which they -halted in position till near daybreak. - -When day dawned, Cornwallis saw that the ground he occupied was so -favourable that it rendered his inferiority of numbers of little -consequence. He therefore drew out his forces for immediate action. -Swamps to the right and left narrowed the ground by which the Americans -could approach him, and forming his troops into two lines, commanded -by Lord Rawdon and General Webster, he attacked the Americans under -Gates and quickly put them to the rout. The Virginian militia ran most -nimbly, and sought refuge in the woods. Gates himself galloped away -believing all was lost, and never halted till he reached Charlotte, -about eighty miles off. The only men who fought well were two brigades -of regulars under the command of the German, Von Kalb, who kept his -ground against the troops of Lord Rawdon for three-quarters of an hour, -sustaining repeated charges of the bayonet unmoved; but Von Kalb fell -mortally wounded, and the last of the Americans then gave way and fled -for their lives in all directions. - -The American Congress, which had imagined Gates a greater officer even -than Washington, because he had captured Burgoyne through the ability -of Arnold, though Washington--from envy, as they supposed--had always -held a more correct opinion, now saw their error. No sooner was this -victory at Camden achieved, than Cornwallis dispatched Tarleton after -General Sumter, who was marching on the other side of the Wateree on -his way into South Carolina. Tarleton started after him with a couple -of hundred of cavalry, and rode so sharply that he had left half his -little force behind him, when he came up with him near Catawba Ford, -and fell upon his far superior force without a moment's hesitation, -killing and wounding one hundred, and taking captive upwards of two -hundred, with all Sumter's baggage, artillery, and one thousand stand -of arms. - -Cornwallis now announced to the Royalists of North Carolina that he -would soon send a force for their defence, and advanced to Charlotte. -He next took measures for punishing those who had pretended to -re-accept the allegiance of England only to relapse into a double -treachery. He declared that all such being captured should be treated -as traitors, and hanged. These severe measures were carried into -execution on some of the prisoners taken at Camden and Augusta, and -others were shipped off to St. Augustine. This system was as impolitic -as it was cruel, for the Americans were certain to adopt it in -retaliation, as they did, with a frightful ferocity, when the Royalists -were overthrown in South Carolina, and avowedly on this ground. Lord -Rawdon, adopting the example, wrote to his officers that he would -give ten guineas for the head of any deserter from the volunteers of -Ireland, and five only if brought in alive. - -Scarcely had Lord Cornwallis commenced his march into the interior of -North Carolina, and scarcely had he dispatched Major Ferguson with a -corps of American Royalists, to advance through the country towards -the frontiers of Virginia, when this corps received another proof of -the wisdom of keeping out of the woods and hills. Major Ferguson was -attacked near the pass of King's Mountain by swarms of riflemen, many -of them mounted, from Virginia, Kentucky, and the Alleghanies who shot -down and exterminated his followers almost to a man, the major falling -amongst the rest. The victors gave a prompt proof of their apt adoption -of Lord Cornwallis's teaching, by hanging ten of the prisoners. Lord -Cornwallis was harassed by similar hordes of flying and creeping -skirmishers. Hearing the news of the slaughter of Ferguson's force, he -returned to Charlotte, retracing his march through most rainy weather, -terrible roads, and almost totally destitute of provisions. Cornwallis -fell ill on the road, and Lord Rawdon had to assume the command. It -was not till the 29th of October that the army resumed its original -position near Camden; and General Leslie, who had been also dispatched -to co-operate with Cornwallis in Virginia, was recalled, but was -obliged to return by sea. - -The news of the approach of the French succours was brought by -Lafayette, who, much to the joy of Washington, and of America -generally, again reached the States, landing at Boston in April. -He announced that the fleet, commanded by the Chevalier de Ternay, -consisted of seven sail of the line, with numerous smaller vessels, -and brought over six thousand troops, under the Comte de Rochambeau. -The French squadron reached Rhode Island on the 13th of July. -Washington thereupon declared himself ready for an attack on New -York; but Rochambeau replied that it would be better to wait for -the expected and much larger fleet of De Guichen. Before De Guichen -appeared, the English admiral, Graves, arrived, with six ships of war, -thus increasing the English superiority at sea, and De Ternay found -himself blockaded in the harbour of Newport, and Rochambeau was glad to -entrench himself on Rhode Island, and abandon all idea of attacking New -York. Sir Henry Clinton, on his part, planned an attack on Rochambeau -with the army, while the French fleet blockaded in Newport harbour -should be attacked by Admiral Arbuthnot. But Clinton and Arbuthnot -were at variance, and the admiral did not promptly and cordially -second the views of Clinton. He went slowly round Long Island, to -place himself in conjunction with the general; whilst Clinton embarked -eight thousand troops, and approached the position of Rochambeau. But -Arbuthnot strongly contended against the attempt, declaring Rochambeau -too formidably fortified, and Washington, at the same time, advancing -from his position with a large force, suddenly passed the North River -and approached King's Bridge, as if meditating an attack on New York. -These circumstances induced Clinton reluctantly to return to New York. -Washington retreated to his old ground at Morristown, and Arbuthnot -remained blockading De Ternay before Newport. Neither party, therefore, -could do more than be still for the remainder of the season. Clinton -was completely crippled for any decisive action by the miserable -modicum of troops which the English Government had furnished him, and -the enemy now knew that the fleet of De Guichen was not likely to -arrive this season. - -This fleet had enough to do to cope with Rodney in the West Indian -waters. Rodney, as we have hinted, with twenty sail of the line, came -up with De Guichen's fleet of twenty-three sail of the line, besides -smaller vessels, on the evening of the 16th of April, off St. Lucia. -He came into action with it on the 17th, and succeeded in breaking -its line, and might have obtained a most complete victory, but that -several of his captains behaved very badly, paying no attention to -his signals. The _Sandwich_, the Admiral's ship, was much damaged in -the action, and the French sailed away. Rodney wrote most indignantly -home concerning the conduct of the captains, and one of them was -tried and broken, and some of the others were censured; but they were -protected by the spirit of faction, and escaped their due punishment. -Rodney, finding he could not bring the French again to engage, put into -St. Lucia to refit, and land his wounded men, of whom he had three -hundred and fifty; besides one hundred and twenty killed. De Guichen -had suffered far more severely. Rodney again got sight of the French -fleet on the 10th of May, between St. Lucia and Martinique; but they -avoided him, and made their escape into the harbour of Fort Royal. -Hearing of the approach of a Spanish fleet of twelve sail of the line, -and a great number of lesser vessels and transports, bringing from ten -thousand to twelve thousand men, Rodney went in quest of it, to prevent -its junction with the French; but Solano, the Spanish admiral, took -care not to go near Rodney, but, reaching Guadeloupe, sent word of his -arrival there to De Guichen, who managed to sail thither and join him. -This now most overwhelming united fleet of France and Spain left Rodney -no alternative but to avoid an engagement on his part. He felt that not -only our West India Islands, but the coasts of North America, were at -its mercy; but it turned out otherwise. - -The Spaniards had so crowded their ships with soldiers, and made such -wretched provision for their accommodation, that the most destructive -and contagious fever was raging amongst them. This was quickly -communicated to the French vessels; the mortality was more than that -of a great battle, and the combined fleet hastened to Martinique, -where they landed their soldiers and part of their seamen to recruit. -They remained at Fort Royal till the 5th of July, only to disagree and -quarrel more and more. Proceeding thence to St. Domingo, they parted, -De Guichen returning to Europe, as convoy of the French homebound -merchantmen; and Solano sailing to Havana, to co-operate with his -countrymen in their designs on Florida. - -Thus this mighty armada--of which such high things were expected--was -dispersed; Rodney, sending part of his fleet to Jamaica, proceeded to -join Arbuthnot at New York, with eleven ships of the line and four -frigates. The news of his approach reached the French and Americans -there, at the same time as that of the return of De Guichen to Europe, -and spread the greatest consternation. To consider what was best to -do in the circumstances, a meeting was proposed at Hartford, in -Connecticut, between Washington and Rochambeau, which took place on the -21st of September. At this moment a discovery took place which had a -startling effect on the Americans, and was calculated to inspire the -most gloomy views of their condition. General Arnold, who had fought -his way up from the humble station of a horse-dealer to that which -he now held, had, on all occasions, shown himself an officer of the -most daring and enterprising character. Having been appointed military -governor of Philadelphia, after its evacuation by General Clinton in -1778, as a post where he might recover from the severe wounds which he -had received in the recent campaign, he began a style of living much -too magnificent for his finances, for, with all his abilities, Arnold -was a vain and extravagant man. He married a beautiful young lady of -that city of Royalist origin. Rumours to his disadvantage were soon -afloat, originating in this cause, for whatever he did was regarded by -the staunch Whigs with an unfavourable eye. Congress was the more ready -to listen to charges against him, because, involved himself in debts -incurred by his extravagance, he pressed them for large claims upon -them, which they had no means to satisfy. Commissioners were selected -by them to examine his claims, and these men, appointed for their -hard, mean natures, reduced his demands extremely. Arnold uttered his -indignation at such treatment in no measured terms, and the consequence -was that he was arrested, tried by a court-martial, on various charges -of peculation in his different commands, and for extortion on the -citizens of Philadelphia. Some of these were declared groundless, -but others were pronounced to be proved, and Arnold was condemned to -be reprimanded by the Commander-in-Chief. This put the climax to his -wrath. Washington, who had, in Arnold's opinion, been as unjustly -exalted and favoured for his defeats and delays, as he himself had been -envied and repressed for his brilliant exploits, was of all men the one -from whom he could not receive with patience a formal condemnation. -This sentence was carried into effect in January, 1779, and Arnold, -stung to the quick, was prepared to perpetrate some desperate design. -The opportunity came when he was placed in command of West Point, on -the Hudson, which was the key to all intercourse between the Northern -and Southern States. - -[Illustration: ARREST OF MAJOR ANDRÉ. (_See p._ 278.)] - -At the very time he received this appointment he was actually in -correspondence with Colonel Robinson, an officer of General Clinton's -staff, declaring that he was become convinced of the more righteous -cause of the mother country, and that he was prepared to testify this -by some signal service to his king. It was at the beginning of August -of the present year when Arnold assumed his command at West Point; -and Clinton lost no time in opening a direct correspondence with -him, through which such singular advantages were offered. Sir Henry -Clinton employed as his agent in this correspondence a young officer of -high promise in his profession and of considerable literary talents, -Major John André, Adjutant-General and aide-de-camp to Sir Henry. As -Clinton was naturally anxious to bring this hazardous correspondence -to a close, he pressed Arnold to come to a speedy decision, offering -him rank in the army and a high reward in return for the promised -services--namely, the surrender of West Point, with all its dependent -forts and stores, including, as a matter of course, the command of -the Hudson, and the terror and distrust which this act would spread -through the American army. The absence of Washington at the meeting -with Rochambeau at Hartford was seized on as a proper opportunity for a -personal and final conference on the subject. Major André was selected -by General Clinton to meet Arnold on neutral ground. The place selected -was on the western bank of the Hudson, and Clinton strongly enjoined -him to enter on no account within the American lines, to assume no -disguise, nor to be the bearer of any written documents. Day dawned -before the whole preliminaries were settled, though the chief point -was determined--namely, that West Point should be surrendered to the -English on the following Monday. André was prevailed on to remain -with Arnold the greater part of the day; and then, on going down to -the shore, he found that the boatman who had brought him out refused -to carry him back. When André returned to Arnold at Smith's house, he -gave him a pass, and advised him to travel by land to King's Ferry, -and there to cross. He insisted that for this purpose he must assume -a disguise, and travel under his assumed name of John Anderson. So -little was André apprehensive of danger, that he not only disobeyed the -injunction of his commander-in-chief in this particular, but in the -far more important one of carrying written papers, which he concealed -in his boot. - -He was proceeding in all apparent safety when, approaching the village -of Tarrytown, three militiamen suddenly sprang forward, and, seizing -his bridle, demanded who he was. André, being on neutral ground, -exceeded his former incaution, and instead of ascertaining whether the -men were Americans, in which case Arnold's pass was his security, he -asked the men who they were, and being answered "From below," which was -the pass for New York, replied, "And so am I." By this, discovering -that he was a British officer, the men began to search him, and soon -made prize of his fatal papers. Warned in time, Arnold escaped on board -a British man-of-war. But very different was the fate of Major André. -General Clinton, the moment he was aware of his arrest, sent a letter -to Washington, stating that André had gone on shore under a flag of -truce, and, at the time of his arrest, was travelling under a pass from -Arnold, the commander of the district. Clinton therefore requested -Washington to liberate André immediately. To this letter Washington -did not reply till after a lapse of four days, and after the board of -officers appointed for the purpose had declared André a spy. He even -rejected the last prayer of the gallant soldier that he might be spared -the gibbet, and had him hanged. - -During this year the Americans continued to hope for relief to -themselves from the progress of the Armed Neutrality, but derived -little good from it, though, through their exertions, they beheld -Holland added to the open enemies of England. The Dutch Government, -flattering themselves that, with nearly all the world against her, -England must succumb, had long been secretly in negotiation with the -insurgent subjects of England, and their treachery was now suddenly, -by a singular circumstance, brought to light. Captain Keppel, cruising -in the _Vestal_ frigate off the banks of Newfoundland, in the month of -September, captured one of the American packets. On the approach of -the British boats to the packet, it was observed that something was -hastily flung overboard. A sailor leaped from one of the boats into -the sea, and succeeded in securing this something before it had sunk -beyond reach. It turned out to be a box, which had been weighted with -lead, but not sufficiently to render it so rapid in its descent as to -prevent its seizure by the British tar. On being opened, it revealed -a mass of papers belonging to an American emissary to the Court of -Holland, and opened up a long course of negotiations, and an eventual -treaty of peace and commerce between Holland and our American colonies. -The bearer of these papers was discovered on board the packet, in the -person of Henry Laurens, late president of the American Congress. -These most important papers, together with their bearer, were sent -with all speed to England. Copies were forwarded to Sir Joseph Yorke, -our Ambassador at the Hague, who was instructed to demand from the -States General the disavowal of the negotiations. The States General, -confounded by the discovery of their clandestine negotiations, remained -silent for a week, and then only replied by advancing complaints of -violence committed by the British navy on their traders, and of its -having insulted the Dutch flag by seizing some American privateers in -the port of the island of St. Martin, under the very guns of the fort. -Sir Joseph did not allow himself to be diverted from his demand, but -again, on the 12th of December, a month after the presentation of his -memorial, demanded an answer. No answer was returned. England was thus -compelled to declare war against Holland on the 20th of December, Sir -Joseph Yorke being recalled by the king, and Count Welderen receiving -his passports in London. - -The enemy, meanwhile, were on the alert, trying, by their fleets and -armies, to assail us in almost every quarter. In the very opening -days of the year--at the very commencement of January, 1781--the -French made an attack on the island of Jersey. They had sent across -the Channel a fleet carrying nearly two thousand men; but their ships -met the common fortune that has ever attended invaders of Britain: -they were scattered by tempests, many of them dashed on the rocks of -those iron-bound shores, and some driven back to port. They managed, -however, to land eight hundred men by night, and surprised the town of -St. Helier's, taking prisoner its Lieutenant-Governor, Major Corbet, -who thereupon thinking all lost, agreed to capitulate. But the next -officer in command, Major Pierson, a young man of only twenty-five, -refused to comply with so pusillanimous an order. He rallied the troops -and encouraged the inhabitants, who fired on the French from their -windows. The invaders, surrounded in the market-place, were compelled -to surrender, after their commander, the Baron de Rullecourt, and many -of his soldiers, were killed. The gallant young Pierson was himself -killed by nearly the last shot. - -The garrison of Gibraltar was all this time hard pressed by the -Spaniards. Florida Blanca had made a convention with the Emperor of -Morocco to refuse the English any supplies; those thrown in by Rodney -the year before were nearly exhausted, and they were reduced to grave -straits. Admiral Darby was commissioned to convoy one hundred vessels -laden with provisions, and to force a way for them into the garrison. -Darby not only readily executed his commission, to the great joy of the -poor soldiers, but he blockaded the huge Spanish fleet under Admiral -Cordova, in the harbour of Cadiz, whilst the stores were landing. - -In America, all at the opening of the campaign seemed to favour the -English cause. The army of Washington, still suffering the utmost -extremities of cold and starvation, began in earnest to mutiny. A -Pennsylvanian division of one thousand three hundred men marched out -of their camp at Morristown, and proceeded to Princeton, carrying with -them six field-pieces and their stores, and their demands were granted -by Congress. The success of this revolt encouraged others to repeat -the manœuvre. On the night of the 20th of January a part of the Jersey -brigade, stationed at Pompton, marched to Chatham, and made precisely -the same demands. But now seeing that, if this were suffered, the whole -army would quickly go to pieces, Washington sent General Howe after -them, with orders to surround them, and shoot them down, if they did -not surrender; and if they did surrender, immediately to seize the most -active ringleaders, and execute them. Howe readily accomplished his -mission; he reduced the mutinous, and shot their leaders. - -In such very discouraging circumstances the American campaign began. -Whilst insurrection was in their camp, Sir Henry Clinton dispatched -General Arnold to make a descent upon the coast of Virginia. That -general had been dispatched into that quarter, at the close of the -year, with one thousand six hundred men, in ships so bad, that -they were obliged to fling overboard some of their horses. Arnold, -however, first sailed up the river James, and landed at Westover, only -twenty-five miles from Richmond, the capital of Virginia. Jefferson, -who was Governor of Virginia, was seized with great alarm; for, though -the militia of the State were nominally fifty thousand, he could muster -only a few hundreds. He therefore hastily collected what property -he could, and fled up the country, dreading to fall into the hands -of a man so embittered against the Americans as Arnold was, who was -himself well aware that they had determined to hang him without mercy -if they caught him. Arnold did not allow much time to elapse without -action. The next day he was in Richmond, and sent word to Jefferson -that, provided British vessels might come up the river to take away -the tobacco, he would spare the town. Jefferson rejected the proposal, -and Arnold burnt all the tobacco stores and the public buildings, both -there and at Westham. After committing other ravages, he returned to -Portsmouth, on Elizabeth River, where he entrenched himself. On the -26th of March, General Phillips, having assumed the command, in company -with Arnold ascended James River with two thousand five hundred men, -took and destroyed much property in Williamsburg and York Town, ravaged -the country around, and then sailed to the mouth of the Appomattox, -and burnt all the shipping and tobacco in Petersburg. After other -depredations, and forcing the Americans to destroy their own flotilla -between Warwick and Richmond, Phillips and Arnold descended the James -River to Manchester, and proposed to cross over to Richmond. But -Lafayette having just reached that place before them with upwards of -two thousand men, they re-embarked, and, after destroying much other -property, especially shipping and stores, at Warwick and other places, -they fell down to Hog Island, where they awaited further orders. - -An active warfare had been going on at the same time in North Carolina. -Lord Cornwallis had, however, no longer to compete with the inefficient -Gates, but with General Greene, a much more vigorous man. On the 17th -of January, Colonel Tarleton, who had been dispatched with a thousand -men, horse and foot, to attack a body of Americans under General -Morgan, came up with them at a place called Cowpens. Tarleton's troops -were worn out by their long march, but that impetuous officer gave them -no time to rest themselves, but fell on the enemy with loud shouts. -The militia fled at once, and the advance of the English endangered -the flanks of the Continentals, and it became necessary to make a -retrograde movement. This Tarleton mistook for a retreat, so accustomed -was he to carry all before him, and his men were rushing on without -regard to order, when the Americans suddenly faced about, poured a -deadly fire into the British at thirty yards' distance, and then, -briskly charging, broke their already disorderly line. Being closely -pursued, they lost, in killed and wounded, upwards of five hundred men. - -On hearing of the defeat of Tarleton, Cornwallis advanced rapidly, in -order, if possible, to intercept Morgan and his English prisoners at -the fords of Catawba. A rise of the water from the rains prevented his -crossing that river so soon as he expected, and Morgan joined Greene, -both generals, however, retreating behind the Yadkin. The swollen state -of the river and the want of boats also detained Lord Cornwallis at -the Yadkin, but he finally succeeded in crossing and throwing himself -between Greene and the frontiers of Virginia, from which Greene looked -for his supplies and reinforcements. Greene continued to retreat till -he had also placed the Dan between himself and Cornwallis; but his -militia had deserted so rapidly on his flight, that, on reaching the -Dan, he had not more than eighty of that body with him. Greene now had -the way open to him for retreat into Virginia, and, Cornwallis giving -up the chase, marched leisurely to Hillsborough, in North Carolina, -where he invited the Royalists to join his standard. Such was his -success--numbers of Royalists flocking in to serve with Tarleton's -legion--that Greene, alarmed at the consequences of this movement, -turned back for the purpose of cutting off all possible reinforcements -of this kind, yet avoiding a general engagement. Once more Cornwallis -advanced to chastise Greene, and once more Greene beat a retreat. This -manœuvring continued till the 15th of March, when Greene having been -joined by fresh troops, thought himself strong enough to encounter -the English general. He drew up his army on very strong ground near -Guildford Court House, where Cornwallis boldly attacked him, and, after -a stout battle, completely routed him. - -But the British were in no condition to take advantage of American -exhaustion. At a time when the Ministry at home had obtained the most -magnificent grants from Parliament--grants for ninety thousand seamen, -thirty thousand soldiers, and twenty-five millions of pounds to pay for -them--there was scarcely a fleet on the American coasts, and nothing -which could be called an army. Had Cornwallis been in possession of -an adequate force, he would speedily have cleared all the Southern -States. Wherever he came, even with his handful of men, he drove the -Americans before him. He now took up his headquarters at Cross Creek, -where he sought to rest his troops and recover his sick and wounded. -He hoped there to establish a communication with Major Craig, who had -been successfully dispatched to take possession of Wilmington, at the -mouth of Cape Fear River, but this was not very practicable, and as -the country about Cross Creek was destitute of the necessary supplies, -Cornwallis himself descended to Wilmington, which he reached on the 7th -of April. Colonel Webster and others of his wounded officers died on -the march. Greene, with his fragment of an army, as badly provisioned -as that of Cornwallis, followed them at a safe distance. - -At Wilmington Lord Cornwallis remained about three weeks, uncertain -as to his plan of operations. His forces amounted to only about one -thousand five hundred men; he therefore determined, at length, to march -into Virginia, and join the expedition there. He made his march without -encountering any opposition, reaching Presburg on the 20th of May. -Thereupon Lord Cornwallis found himself at the head of a united force -of seven thousand men. Sir Henry Clinton's effective troops at New York -amounted only to ten thousand nine hundred and thirty-one men, and the -little detachment under Lord Rawdon only to nine hundred. - -The very day that Lord Cornwallis had marched from Wilmington, Lord -Rawdon was bravely fighting with Greene at Hobkirk's Hill, in South -Carolina. Greene had not ventured to attack Lord Cornwallis; but he -thought he might, by diverting his course into South Carolina, induce -him to follow, and thus leave exposed all North Carolina to Wayne -and Lafayette, as well as all his important posts in the upper part -of North Carolina. Greene failed to draw after him Cornwallis, but -he sat down at Hobkirk's Hill, about two miles from the outposts of -Lord Rawdon's camp at Camden. Lord Rawdon, hearing that Greene was -waiting to be reinforced by troops under Lieutenant-Colonel Lee, did -not give him time for that. He marched out of Camden, at nine o'clock -in the morning, on the 25th of April, and quietly making a circuit -through some woods, he came upon Greene's flank, and drove in his -pickets before he was perceived. Startled from his repose, Greene -sought to return the surprise by sending Colonel Washington, a nephew -of the American commander-in-chief, with a body of cavalry, to fall on -Rawdon's rear, as he was passing up the hill. But Rawdon was aware of -this manœuvre, and prevented it, still pressing up Hobkirk's Hill, in -the face of the artillery, charged with grape-shot. Greene's militia -fled with all speed, and Rawdon stood triumphant on the summit of -the hill, in the centre of Greene's camp. But the success was not -followed up, owing to the insufficiency of the English troops, and -Greene was able, without risking another engagement, to compel Rawdon -to retire to Charleston. The American general encamped on the Santee -Hills until September, when he descended on Colonel Stewart, who had -succeeded Rawdon. After a severe struggle at Eutaw Springs on the 8th -of September, Stewart retired to Charleston Neck, and all Georgia -and South Carolina were lost to the English, with the exception of -Charleston and Savannah. Meanwhile, Lord Cornwallis only allowed -himself three days' rest at Presburg; he marched thence, on the 24th -of May, in quest of Lafayette, who was encamped on the James River. -Cornwallis crossed that river at Westover, about thirty miles below -Lafayette's camp, and that nimble officer retreated in all haste to -join General Wayne, who was marching through Maryland with a small -force of eight hundred Pennsylvanians. Lafayette and Wayne retreated up -the James River, and Cornwallis pursued his march to Portsmouth. There -he received an order from Sir Henry Clinton, desiring him to look out -for a position where he could fortify himself, and at the same time -protect such shipping as might be sent to the Chesapeake to prevent the -entrance of the French. Cornwallis fixed on York Town, on York River, -and there, and at Gloucester, in its vicinity, he was settled with his -troops by the 22nd of August. Sir Henry Clinton wrote, intimating that -he should probably send more troops to the Chesapeake, as there was a -probability that Washington and Rochambeau, giving up the attack of New -York, would make a united descent on York Town. Wayne and Lafayette -were already continually increasing their forces above York Town; but -any such reinforcements by Sir Henry were prevented by the entrance of -the Comte de Grasse, with twenty-eight sail of the line and several -frigates, into the Chesapeake, having on board three thousand two -hundred troops, which he had brought from the West Indies. These troops -he landed, and sent, under the Marquis de St Simon, to join Lafayette, -much to his delight. - -[Illustration: SURRENDER OF LORD CORNWALLIS, YORK TOWN. (_See p._ 283.)] - -Rodney, who was still commanding in the West Indies, had been on the -look-out for De Grasse, but, missing him, he had dispatched Sir Samuel -Hood after him, supposing that he had made for New York. Hood had -with him fourteen ships of the line, and, arriving at Sandy Hook on -the 28th of August, he found that De Grasse had then sailed for the -Chesapeake. Admiral Arbuthnot had been replaced by Admiral Graves, but -Graves had only seven ships of the line, and of these only five fit for -action. Taking the chief command, with these twenty-one ships Graves -set sail for the Chesapeake, with Hood as second in command. There, on -the 5th of September, he discerned the fleet of De Grasse at anchor, -just within the Capes of Virginia, and blocking up York River with -his frigates. Graves had his nineteen ships, De Grasse twenty-eight, -and Nelson could have desired nothing better than such a sight in the -narrow waters of the Chesapeake: not a ship would have escaped him; -but Graves was no Nelson, and allowed De Grasse to cut his cables -and run out to sea. There, indeed, Graves attacked him, but under -infinitely greater disadvantages, at four o'clock in the afternoon. The -night parted them, and De Grasse returned to his old anchorage in the -Chesapeake, and Graves sailed away again for New York. - -Meanwhile, Washington and Rochambeau were mustering for the march -to the Chesapeake. On the 14th of September Washington reached the -headquarters of Lafayette, and took the supreme command, Rochambeau -being second, and the especial head of the French. The next day -Washington and Rochambeau held a conference with the Comte de Grasse. -De Grasse told them that what they did they must do quickly, for that -he could not remain on that station longer than the 1st of November; -and it was resolved to act accordingly. - -Sir Henry Clinton had for some time been aware of the real destination -of the united forces of Washington and Rochambeau. He must have seen -that there was a determined resolve to crush, by the most powerful -combination of American and French forces, the army in the south, -and every exertion should have been made by him, with fleet and -army, to release Cornwallis from his peril. But, instead of sending -direct reinforcements to Cornwallis, and ordering the fleet to engage -the enemy's attention, and, if possible, defeat De Grasse in the -Chesapeake, he concocted a diversion in Connecticut with Arnold, -which he fondly hoped would recall Washington. Sir Henry Clinton -contemplated further expeditions--first against the Rhode Island fleet, -and next against Philadelphia; but these never came off, and matters -were now every day assuming such an aspect as should have stimulated -him to some direct assistance to Cornwallis. - -On the 28th of September the combined army of French and Americans -came in sight of York Town, and encamped about two miles from the -outworks. The next morning they extended themselves towards the left -of Cornwallis, but cautiously; and the English pickets slowly retired -within the outer lines at their approach. That evening Cornwallis -received a despatch from Sir Henry Clinton, dated September 24th, -which gave the cheering expectation that he was duly sensible of the -imminence of the danger, and of his responsibility. He said:--"At -a meeting of the general and flag officers held this day, it is -determined that above five thousand men, rank and file, shall be -embarked on board the king's ships, and the joint exertions of the -navy and army made in a few days to relieve you, and afterwards to -co-operate with you. The fleet consists of twenty-three sail of the -line, three of which are three-deckers. There is every reason to hope -that we start on the 5th of October." On this promising intimation of -speedy aid, Cornwallis immediately drew in his small force from the -extended outworks, and concentrated them within the entrenchments round -the town. Undoubtedly it was a measure calculated to save much life, -which must have been lost in defending outworks too widely extended -for the enclosed force; but it encouraged the Americans, who did not -expect to gain them thus easily. Two thousand men took up their ground -before Gloucester. Round York Town itself Washington, Rochambeau, -Lafayette, and St. Simon concentrated their forces. On the night of -the 1st of October, the French on the right and the Americans on the -left drew nearer, and commenced breaking ground. Six days were then -spent in bringing from the ships fifty pieces of cannon, some of them -very heavy, ammunition, and other military stores; in fact, as much -preparation was made for carrying this single post as if it had been -a regular and first-rate fortress. On the night of the 6th of October -the French and Americans began casting up their first parallel within -six hundred yards of Cornwallis's lines. By the 9th of October their -trenches and batteries were completed, and that afternoon they opened a -tremendous fire on the town. Cornwallis replied to them with vigour, -but he found many of his guns on the left silenced, and his works -greatly damaged. On the night of the 11th the enemy began their second -parallel within three hundred yards of the lines. In its progress, for -three days, Cornwallis committed much havoc amongst them by opening -fresh embrasures for guns, and pouring an incessant shower upon them of -balls and shells. Two redoubts on the left flank of the British more -particularly annoyed them, and Washington determined to carry these by -storm. Of course they were carried, and their guns then turned on York -Town. - -The situation of Lord Cornwallis was now growing desperate. An attempt -to destroy the enemy's batteries failed on the 16th. "At this time," he -says, "we knew that there was no part of the whole front attacked in -which we could show a single gun, and our shells were nearly exhausted. -I had therefore only to choose between preparing to surrender the -next day, or endeavouring to get off with the greater part of the -troops; and I determined to attempt the latter." Having conceived this -desperate scheme of endeavouring to escape, Cornwallis that night wrote -to Sir Henry Clinton, in cypher, telling him not to risk fleet or army -in the attempt to rescue them. He was sure that something had prevented -the fleet from sailing at the time proposed, and he sought to steal -away with the bulk of his army, leaving a small number to capitulate -for the town. The idea, with such troops of well-mounted cavalry at -his heels, was a wild one, and there were other obstacles in the way. -He must first ferry his troops across the river to Gloucester, and, as -he had not vessels enough to carry all at once, he had sent over part -of them, when a violent storm arose, and prevented the return of the -boats. This was decisive. With his forces thus divided, Cornwallis had -scarcely soldiers enough left to man the guns in York Town, and there -was nothing for it but to surrender. - -Accordingly, on the morning of the 17th, he sent a flag of truce to -Washington, proposing a cessation of hostilities for twenty-four -hours, in order that commissioners might meet and settle the terms of -surrender. They were soon arranged, and articles of surrender were -signed by the respective generals on the morning of the 19th of October. - -At two o'clock the York Town troops marched out with their drums -beating, their muskets shouldered, and their colours cased, and piled -their arms. The number of those who remained effective now amounted -only to four thousand; the rest, making up the total number to about -six thousand, were lying sick or wounded. General Lincoln, who had -been so lately a prisoner of the English, was appointed to receive -them, and the British prisoners had to march through two lines of the -allied army, upwards of a mile in length, the Americans on the right, -and the French on the left. The different feelings with which the -English regarded the French and Americans was remarked. The English -officers, as they passed along the enemy's lines, courteously saluted -every French officer--a compliment which they withheld from every -American one, even the highest. The surrender of Cornwallis's army -was the determining point of the war. The news of this decisive event -reached London on the 25th of November. Lord North walked about the -room, exclaiming, "Oh, God! it is all over!" The king received the -communication with more firmness. In Paris great was the exultation. -Franklin, who was there, and who, only three days before, had written -to Governor Pownall that he never expected to see "this accursed war" -finished in his time, now wrote to John Adams, at the Hague:--"I -congratulate you on this glorious news. The infant Hercules, in his -cradle, has now strangled his second serpent;" and so delighted was he -with his conceit of the serpent, that he afterwards had a medal cast -embodying it. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Rodney takes St. Eustatia--Destruction of Dutch Commerce--Loss - of Minorca--Naval Actions--Meeting of Parliament--Vehemence - of the Opposition--Losses in the West Indies--Breaking up of - the Ministry--Their Defeat on Conway's Motion--Lord North's - Resignation--Shelburne refuses the Premiership--New Whig - Government--Agitation in Ireland--Grattan's Motion for Legislative - Independence--The Volunteer Meeting at Dungannon--Grattan's - Motion carried--Demands of the Irish Parliament conceded--Flood's - Agitation--Economic Reforms--Pitt's Motion for Parliamentary - Reform--Unsuccessful Negotiations for Peace--Rodney's Victory - over De Grasse--Lord Howe's Exploits--The Siege and Relief of - Gibraltar--Negotiations for Peace--Folly of Oswald and Duplicity - of Shelburne--The Negotiations continued--Franklin throws over - Vergennes--Conclusion of a Secret Treaty between England and - America--Fate of the American Royalists--Announcement of the - Peace in Parliament--Terms of Peace with France, Spain, and - Holland--Opposition to the Peace--Coalition of Fox and North--Fall - of Shelburne--Pitt's Attempt to form a Ministry--The Coalition - in Office--Reform and the Prince of Wales--Fox's India Bill--Its - Introduction--Progress of the Measure--The King's Letter to - Temple--Reception of the News in the Commons--Dismissal of the - Ministry--Pitt forms a Cabinet--Factious Opposition of Fox--Pitt's - India Bill--He refuses to divulge his Intentions--The Tide - begins to Turn--Attempt at a Coalition--Increasing Popularity of - Pitt--Fox's Resolution--The Dissolution--"Fox's Martyrs." - - -There were other transactions besides those of the American campaign, -during the year, which demand notice. Rodney co-operated with a body -of troops under General Vaughan in an attempt to recover the island -of St. Vincent, which the French had taken in the previous year, but -they were not successful. They then turned their attack on the island -of St. Eustatia, belonging to the Dutch, and the governor not having -heard the news of the war, they met with no resistance. The capture -was a most valuable one; the whole island seemed one great store of -Dutch and American products and goods. There were one hundred and -fifty merchant vessels in the harbour all secured, besides six ships -of war and a fleet of thirty Dutch West Indiamen, which had just left, -but which were sent after and brought back. The value of the whole -prize was estimated at three millions eight hundred thousand pounds. -A large quantity of the merchandise belonged to Englishmen, who were -engaged thus in supplying the Americans through this channel. Rodney -confiscated the whole of it. In vain did the owners demand, through -the Assembly of St. Kitt's, the restoration of those goods; Rodney -would not listen to them. Besides St. Eustatia, the small neighbouring -islands of St. Martin and Saba, and the Dutch settlements on the rivers -of Demerara and Essequibo, in Guiana, were taken with their ships and -property. The Dutch trade in these parts received a mortal blow. On -the other hand, the French, under the Marquis de Bouillé, captured the -island of Tobago. - -The English now began to contemplate taking the Cape of Good Hope -from the Dutch. General Johnstone was dispatched in April with five -ships of the line, some frigates, and smaller vessels, having on board -General Medows and three regiments for this purpose; but encountering -Admiral Suffren in the way, after an indecisive action, Johnstone fell -in with and took a Dutch East Indiaman of great value, and learned -through it that Suffren had managed to reach the Cape and give the -alarm, and that the Cape was put into strong defence. Johnstone, -therefore, made for Saldanha Bay, where he learned that a number of -other Dutch East Indiamen were lying. Four of these he secured; the -rest were run ashore by their commanders and burnt. During the autumn -both Dutch and French suffered much from the British on the coasts of -Coromandel and the island of Sumatra. They also took from the Dutch -Negapatam, Penang, and other places. - -Meanwhile, Florida Blanca had planned the capture of Minorca. He -prevailed on France, though with difficulty, to assist. The Duke de -Crillon, a Frenchman, was made commander of the expedition, and on -the 22nd of July the united fleets of France and Spain sailed out of -Cadiz Bay, and stretched out into the ocean, as if intending to make a -descent on England. The main part of the fleet did, in fact, sail into -the English Channel. But they did not venture to attack Admiral Darby, -and contented themselves with picking up a number of merchant vessels; -and again dissensions and disease breaking out, this great fleet -separated, and each nation returned to its respective ports, without -effecting anything worthy of such an armament. But a lesser portion of -this fleet, on coming out of harbour, carrying eight thousand troops, -stores, and ordnance, had passed through the Straits of Gibraltar, and -appeared suddenly before Port Mahon. On the 19th of August the troops -were landed near Port Mahon, and, being favoured by the inhabitants, -once under the sway of Spain, and good Catholics, they soon invested -the fort, and compelled General Murray, who formerly so bravely -defended Quebec, to retire to Fort St. Philip, leaving the town of Port -Mahon in their possession. Despite the resolute defence of his men, -Murray was forced to surrender the island. - -[Illustration: EDMUND BURKE. (_After the portrait by George Romney._)] - -There were various actions at sea, in one quarter or other. Sir -Hyde Parker, convoying a merchant fleet from the Baltic, on the 5th -of August fell in with Admiral Zouttman near the Dogger Bank, also -convoying a fleet of Dutch traders. An engagement took place, Zouttman -having a few men-of-war more than Parker. The engagement was terrible. -The ships on both sides were severely damaged, and the _Hollandia_--a -sixty-four-gun ship of Zouttman's--went down with all its crew. Many -of the other ships were with difficulty kept afloat. On reaching the -Nore, the king and the Prince of Wales went on board, where they -highly complimented both Parker and the rest of the officers. On the -12th of December Admiral Kempenfeldt, with thirteen ships-of-the-line, -discovered, off Ushant, the French fleet, under De Guichen, convoying -a fleet of transports and merchantmen, bound, some for the East and -others for the West Indies, with troops and stores. The fleet of De -Guichen was far superior to that of Kempenfeldt, but, the convoy being -at a considerable distance from the transports and traders, Kempenfeldt -adroitly made himself master of twenty sail of these vessels, and -sailed off with them; and within a few days afterwards he captured -five more of these ships. There were also other fights of minor -importance. - -On the 27th of November, only two days after the receipt of the news -of the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, Parliament met. The king adverted -to the unhappy event, but still declared that he should be betraying -his trust, as sovereign of a free people, if he did not refuse to give -up the contest; that he still trusted in Divine Providence, and he -called for fresh, animated, and united exertions. He turned with more -satisfaction to the successes in the East Indies, and the safe arrival -of our principal mercantile fleets. In the Lords, the Earl of Shelburne -attacked the Address, supported by the Duke of Richmond and the Lords -Camden and Rockingham; but the most tempestuous burst of indignant -eloquence from the Opposition took place in the Commons. Fox asserted -that he had listened to the Address with horror and amazement. He -declared himself confounded at the hardihood of Ministers, after such a -consummation of their imbecile management, who dared to look the House -of Commons in the face. He would not say that they were paid by France, -for it was not possible for him to prove the fact; but, if they were -not, he avowed that they deserved to be, for they had served the French -monarch more faithfully and successfully than ever Ministers served a -master. He especially singled out Lord Sandwich for reprobation, as the -author of the wretched condition of our fleets, which were inferior in -number of ships and their appointments to those of the enemy all over -the globe. He called on the House to insist on the total and immediate -change of Ministers, and urged the adoption of measures which should, -if possible, repair the incalculable injuries they had inflicted on -the nation. The Ministers, however, had strength enough to carry the -Address by two hundred and eighteen votes against one hundred and -twenty-nine; but the debate was resumed on the Address being reported, -and then William Pitt delivered a most scathing speech, declaring that -so far from our being warranted in pressing this ruinous war, he was -satisfied that, if he went from one end of the Treasury bench to the -other, such was the condition of the Ministry, he should find that -there was not one man who could trust his neighbour; and the truth -of this was becoming strikingly evident. Dundas, the Lord Advocate, -hitherto one of the staunchest supporters of Lord North, spoke now as -in astonishment at the language of the Ministers, declaring that some -of them in Council clearly did not give their honest opinions. There -were other like symptoms of defection; the sensitive placemen saw that -the end of the North Administration was at hand. Lord North, perceiving -the ground failing beneath him, lowered his tone, and, on Sir James -Lowther, seconded by Mr. Powys, proposing a resolution that the war -against America had been an utter failure, he explained that he did not -advocate, in future, a continental warfare there, a marching of troops -through the provinces, from north to south, but only the retention of -ports on the coast, for the protection of our fleets in those seas, and -the repulse of the French and Spaniards. Parliament was adjourned on -the 20th of December till the 21st of January, and thus closed the year -1781. - -Ill news flowed in apace from all quarters during the recess. The -Marquis de Bouillé had surprised and retaken St. Eustatia. The new -conquests in Demerara and Essequibo had also been retaken. Bouillé -having secured St. Eustatia, next turned his arms against the old and -valuable island of St. Kitt's. He then landed eight thousand men at -Basseterre, the capital, whose movements were protected by the fleet -under De Grasse. General Fraser and Governor Shirley took post on the -rugged heights of Brimstone Hill, and made a stout defence, whilst Sir -Samuel Hood, who had followed De Grasse from the Chesapeake, boldly -interposed between the French admiral and the French troops on shore. -Hood twice beat off De Grasse; but the British fleet and army were much -too inconsiderable to maintain the conquest. The island was finally -taken, and after it the smaller ones of Nevis and Montserrat, so that -of all the Leeward Islands we had only Barbadoes and Antigua left. - -These dispiriting losses, combined with the fall of Minorca, stimulated -the public and the mercantile bodies to petition earnestly for the -termination of the American war; and Parliament met at the appointed -time amid numbers of such demands. Petitions came from the cities of -London and Westminster, and many other towns and counties, bearing -rather the features of remonstrances. No sooner did the House meet than -Fox moved for an inquiry into the causes of the constant failure of our -fleets in these enterprises, on which so much had depended. The object -was to crush Lord Sandwich, the head of the Admiralty. Fox's motion -was rejected, but only by a majority of twenty-two. The strength of -Ministers was fast ebbing. - -The first symptom of the breaking up was the necessity felt for the -dismissal of Lord George Germaine, who had contributed so essentially -to the defeats in America. But even then the king would not consent -that he should resign without conferring a peerage on him, observing, -"No one can then say he is disgraced." No quiet was now allowed to the -declining Ministers. Fox, on the 20th of February, strongly seconded -by William Pitt, made another attack on Lord Sandwich, this time -including the whole Board of Admiralty; and the motion was only lost -by nineteen. Another, and perhaps more formidable, enemy now stood -forward. This was General Conway, who enjoyed the highest esteem of -the House, and had been the first to propose the abolition of the -fatal Stamp Act. He moved, on the 22nd of February, that the House -should address his Majesty, entreating that he would "listen to the -advice of his Commons, that the war on the continent of North America -might no longer be pursued for the impracticable purpose of reducing -the inhabitants of that country to obedience by force." After a great -debate, the House divided two hours after midnight, and Ministers -were reduced to a majority of one, the votes being one hundred and -ninety-four against one hundred and ninety-three. Five days after, -General Conway again moved that any further attempts against America -would weaken the efforts of England against her European enemies, and, -by further irritating the colonies, render the desired peace more -difficult. The resolution was carried against Government by two hundred -and thirty-four against two hundred and fifteen. Finally, on the 15th -of March Sir John Rous moved a vote of want of confidence, which was -again lost by a minority of only nine. It was instantly determined to -renew this motion through Lord Surrey; and Lord North saw so clearly -that nothing could now avert his fall, that he implored the king most -earnestly to accept his resignation. George sent for Lord North on the -20th, and addressed him in these words:--"Considering the temper of the -House, I thought the Administration at an end." Lord North instantly -seized on the words, saying:--"Then, sire, had I not better state the -fact at once?" The king consented, and North hurried down to the House -of Commons in his court-dress, as he was. - -It was five o'clock--the House densely crowded; for Lord Surrey was -going to make the great Opposition motion of want of confidence, and -only waited for the arrival of the Minister. As North hurried up the -House, there were loud cries of "Order! order! Places! places!" North -no sooner reached the Treasury bench than he rose to make his important -disclosure; but the Opposition called vociferously for Lord Surrey, -while the Ministerial members called for Lord North. Fox then moved -that "Lord Surrey do speak first," but North instantly exclaimed, "I -rise to speak to that motion." Being now obliged to hear him, for -he was perfectly in order, he observed, that, had they suffered him -at once to proceed, he might have saved them much useless noise and -confusion, for, without any disrespect to the noble lord, he was going -to show that his motion was quite unnecessary, as the Ministers had -resigned, and that that resignation was accepted by the king! He had -only wanted to announce that fact, and to move an adjournment of a -few days, in order to make the necessary arrangements for the new -Administration. Never was there a more profound surprise. The House -was adjourned for five days, and the members prepared to depart and -spread the news. But it proved a wild, snowy evening; the carriages had -not been ordered till midnight, and whilst the members were standing -about in crowds waiting for their equipages, rather than walk home -through the snow, Lord North, who had kept his carriage, put three or -four of his friends into it, and, bowing to the other members, said, -laughingly, "You see, gentlemen, the advantage of being in the secret. -Good night!" - -The king, in the first instance, applied to Lord Shelburne to form -a Ministry; but he was bound by engagements to Wentworth House, and -honourably refused to take the lead. George then tried Lord Gower -as ineffectually, and so was compelled to send for Lord Rockingham, -who accepted office, on the condition that peace should be made -with America, including the acknowledgment of its independence, if -unavoidable; administrative reform, on the basis of Mr. Burke's three -Bills; and the expulsion of contractors from Parliament, and revenue -officers from the exercise of the elective franchise. The king stood -strongly on the retention of Lord Chancellor Thurlow and Lord Stormont -in their offices. Rockingham, with reluctance, conceded the retention -of Thurlow, but refused that of Stormont. The choice of Lord Rockingham -was such as could only have been made where family influence and party -cliques had more weight than the proper object of a Minister--the able -management of national affairs. Rockingham, though a very honourable -man, was never a man of any ability, and though now only fifty-two, -his health and faculties, such as they were, were fast failing. Besides -this, there was a violent jealousy between him and Lord Shelburne, -who became his colleague, and brought in half of the Cabinet. The -shape which the Ministry eventually assumed was this:--Lord Rockingham -became First Lord of the Treasury and Premier; the Earl of Shelburne -and Charles Fox, Secretaries of State; Thurlow, Lord Chancellor; -Camden, notwithstanding his age, President of the Council; Duke of -Grafton, Privy Seal; Lord John Cavendish, Chancellor of the Exchequer; -Keppel--made a viscount--First Lord of the Admiralty; General Conway, -Commander of the Forces; the Duke of Richmond, Master-General of -Ordnance; Dunning--as Lord Ashburton--Chancellor of the Duchy of -Lancaster. Burke was not admitted to the Cabinet, for the Whigs were -too great sticklers for birth and family; but his indispensable ability -insured him the Paymastership of the Forces--by far the most lucrative -office in the hands of Government, but the salary of which he was -pledged to reduce by his Bill. Pitt was offered a place as Lord of the -Treasury; but he had already declared, on the 8th of March, on the -debate on Lord John Cavendish's motion, that he would never accept a -subordinate situation. Dundas remained in office, as Lord Advocate, and -John Lee was made Solicitor-General. Such was the new Administration: -it embraced, as leaders, five Rockinghamites and five Shelburnites. -The eleventh member of the Cabinet, Thurlow, belonged to neither side, -but was the king's man. Fox saw himself in office with him with great -repugnance, and Burke felt the slight put upon him in excluding him -from the Cabinet. - -On the 28th of March the Ministry, as completed, was announced in the -House, and the writs for the re-elections having been issued, the -House adjourned for the Easter holidays, and on the 8th of April met -for business. The first affairs which engaged the attention of the new -Administration were those of Ireland. We have already seen that, in -1778, the Irish, encouraged by the events in North America, and by Lord -North's conciliatory proposals to Congress, appealed to the British -Government for the removal of unjust restrictions from themselves, -and how free trade was granted them in 1780. These concessions -were received in Ireland with testimonies of loud approbation and -professions of loyalty; but they only encouraged the patriot party to -fresh demands. These were for the repeal of the two obnoxious Acts -which conferred the legislative supremacy regarding Irish affairs on -England. These Acts were--first, Poynings' Act, so called from Sir -Edward Poynings, and passed in the reign of Henry VII., which gave to -the English Privy Council the right to see, alter, or suppress any Bill -before the Irish Parliament, money Bills excepted; the second was an -Act of George I., which asserted in the strongest terms the right of -the king, Lords, and Commons of England to legislate for Ireland. - -Grattan determined to call these Acts in question in the Irish -Parliament, and at least abolish them there. This alarmed even -Burke, who, writing to Ireland, said, "Will no one stop that madman, -Grattan?" But Grattan, on the 19th of April, 1780, submitted to the -Irish House of Commons a resolution asserting the perfect legislative -independence of Ireland. He did not carry his motion then, but his -speech--in his own opinion, the finest he ever made--had a wonderful -effect on the Irish public. Other matters connected with sugar duties, -and an Irish Mutiny Bill, in which Grattan took the lead, fanned the -popular flame, and the Volunteer body at the same time continued to -assume such rapidly growing activity that it was deemed necessary -by Government to send over the Earl of Carlisle to supersede the -Earl of Buckinghamshire, and to give him an able secretary in Mr. -Eden. But this did not prevent the Irish Volunteers from meeting at -Dungannon on the 15th of February, 1782. There were two hundred and -forty-two delegates, with their general-in-chief, Lord Charlemont, -at their head, and they unanimously passed a resolution prepared by -Grattan, "That a claim of any body of men other than the King, Lords, -and Commons of Ireland, to bind this kingdom, is unconstitutional, -illegal, and a grievance." On the 22nd, Grattan moved a similar -resolution in the Irish House of Commons, which was only got rid of -by the Attorney-General asking for some time to consider it. Two days -only before Grattan had made his motion on Irish rights, that is, on -the 20th of February, he seconded a Bill for further relief of Roman -Catholics in Ireland, introduced by Mr. Gardiner. The Bill was passed, -and wonderfully increased the influence of Grattan by adding the -grateful support of all the Catholics. Such was the tone of Ireland, -and such the transcendent influence of Grattan there, when the new Whig -Ministry assumed office. - -Grattan had given notice that on the 16th of April he would move -for the utter repeal of the Acts destructive of the independent -legislative rights of Ireland. On the appointed day, the House of -Commons having been expressly summoned by the Speaker, Grattan rose, -and, assuming the question already as carried, began, "I am now to -address a free people. Ages have passed away, and this is the first -moment in which you could be distinguished by that appellation. I have -found Ireland on her knees; I have watched over her with an eternal -solicitude; I have traced her progress from injury to arms, from arms -to liberty. Spirit of Swift! spirit of Molyneux! your genius has -prevailed! Ireland is now a nation. In that new character I hail her, -and, bowing to her august presence, I say, ESTO PERPETUA!" The speech -was received with thunders of applause. It concluded with an Address to -the Crown, declaring in the plainest, boldest language, that no body -of men, except the Irish Parliament, had a right to make laws by which -that nation could be bound. The Address was carried by acclamation; it -was carried with nearly equal enthusiasm by the Lords, and then both -Houses adjourned to await the decision of the Parliament and Ministry -of Great Britain. - -[Illustration: HENRY GRATTAN.] - -This was a serious position of affairs for the consideration of the -new Whig Ministry. They were called on to declare, either that Ireland -was part of the empire, and subject to the same laws, as regarded the -empire, as Great Britain, or that it was distinctly a separate empire -under the same king, just as Hanover was. The Ministry of Rockingham -have been severely blamed by one political party, and highly lauded by -another, for conceding the claims of Ireland on that head so readily; -for they came to the conclusion to yield them fully. They were by -no means blind to the difficulties of the case, and to the evils -that might arise from a decision either way. But the case with the -present Ministry was one of simple necessity. England had committed -the great error of refusing all concession to demanded rights in the -case of America, and now lay apparently too exhausted by the fight to -compel submission, with all Europe in arms against her. Ireland, aware -of this, was in arms, and determined to profit by the crisis. Fox, -therefore, on the 17th of May, announced the intention of Ministers -at once to acknowledge the independence of Ireland by repealing the -Act of the 6th of George I. Fox, in his speech, declared that it was -far better to have the Irish willing subjects to the Crown than bitter -enemies. The Bill repealing the 6th of George I. accordingly passed -both Houses as a matter of course, and the effect upon Ireland was -such, that in the first ebullition of the national joy the Irish House -of Commons voted one hundred thousand pounds to raise twenty thousand -seamen. The Irish Commons, moreover, offered to grant Grattan, for his -patriotic and successful exertions in this cause, a similar sum, to -purchase him an estate. Grattan--though a poor man, his income at that -time scarcely exceeding five hundred pounds a year--disinterestedly -refused such a sum, and was only with difficulty induced ultimately to -accept half of it. - -There were not wanting, however, those who strove to disturb the -joy of Ireland, and the peace of England thus acquired, by sowing -suspicions of the sincerity of England, and representing that the -independence granted was spurious rather than real. Amongst these, -Flood, the rival of Grattan in political and Parliamentary life, took -the lead. He seized on every little circumstance to create doubts of -the English carrying out the concession faithfully. He caught at an -imprudent motion of the Earl of Abingdon, in the Peers, and still more -vivaciously at the decision of an appeal from Ireland, in the Court -of King's Bench, by Lord Mansfield. The case had remained over, and -it was deemed impracticable to send it back to Ireland, though nearly -finished before the Act of Repeal. Fox explained the case, and made -the most explicit declaration of the "full, complete, absolute, and -perpetual surrender of the British legislative and judicial supremacy -over Ireland." But the suspicions had been too adroitly infused to be -removed without a fresh and still more positive Act, which was passed -in the next Session. - -The claims of Ireland seeming, for the moment, to be happily satisfied, -Ministers now proceeded to carry out those reforms for which they had -loudly called during the many years that they had been in opposition. -They adopted and introduced the Bills of Sir Philip Clerke and Mr. -Carew for excluding contractors from the House of Commons, and revenue -officers from voting at elections. The Bill against the contractors -passed the Commons with little difficulty; but the Ministers -immediately felt the mischief of allowing Lord Thurlow to retain his -place of Chancellor. He opposed the measure vehemently, and divided -the House upon it. Lord Mansfield gave it his cordial resistance, and -the new Lord Ashburton, though created by the present Administration, -tacked to it a clause exempting all gentlemen who merely contracted -for the produce of their estates. The clause, however, was lopped away -again on the return of the Bill to the Commons, and the Act passed -without it. The Bill for disqualifying revenue officers was opposed -with equal pertinacity by Thurlow and Mansfield; though Lord Rockingham -stated that the elections in seventy boroughs depended chiefly on -revenue officers, and that nearly twelve thousand of such officers -created by the late Ministry had votes in other places. The Bill -passed, after exempting all officers who held their posts for life, -and therefore were charitably supposed to be beyond the reach of undue -influence, as if no such thing as promotion had its effect. - -On the 15th of April a message was sent down to both Houses from the -king, in conformity with his pledge to the new Ministry, with regard -to Mr. Burke's plan of economical reform, which it proposed should -be a measure of effectual retrenchment, and to include his Majesty's -own Civil List. Lord Shelburne, in communicating it to the Lords, -assured the House that this was no mere ministerial message, but was -the genuine language of the king himself, proceeding from the heart. -Burke, in the Commons, used more exuberant terms of eulogy, declaring -that "it was the best of messages to the best of people from the -best of kings!" Early in May he moved for leave to bring in his Bill -on the subject, and then most of the promised wonders of reform and -retrenchment vanished. The duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster and the -principality of Wales were at once cut out of his scheme of reform. The -plan of supplying the Royal Household by contract was abandoned; the -Ordnance Office, in the hands of the Duke of Richmond, was not to be -touched, nor the Treasurer of the Household's office; and some other -of the royal establishments, which were mere sinecures, were left. But -he succeeded in lopping off the third Secretaryship of State, which -had been created for the American colonies, and was useless now they -were gone; the Lords of Trade and Plantations; the Lords of Police in -Scotland; the principal officers of the Great Wardrobe, Jewel Office, -Treasurer of the Chamber, Cofferer of the Household, six Clerks of the -Board of Green Cloth--in all, about a dozen offices were swept away. -The Pension List was vigorously revised. No pension was to exceed three -hundred pounds a year, and not more than six hundred pounds was to be -granted in pensions in any one year; the names of the persons to whom -they were granted were to be laid before Parliament within twenty days -after the beginning of each session, until the amount in the Pension -List should reach ninety thousand pounds. The Secret Service money was, -at the same time, limited; and a solemn oath was to be administered -to the Secretaries of State regarding its proper employment. It may -be imagined what were the consternation and the disgust of the large -class which had been revelling on these misappropriated funds of the -nation. Burke, in a letter, describes feelingly the gauntlet he had -to run in proceeding with his reform. "I was loaded," he says, "with -hatred for everything withheld, and with obloquy for everything given." -What, however, brought unjust odium on him, but just reproach on the -Cabinet, was, that Lord Rockingham made haste, before the Bill was -passed, to grant enormous pensions to his supporters and colleagues, -Lord Ashburton and Colonel Barré. The latter ardent patriot, who, -whilst Burke's Bill was in consideration, said it did not go far -enough in reform, now willingly pocketed three thousand two hundred -pounds a year, as a pension, besides the salary of his office. In the -House of Lords, Thurlow again attacked the Bill, supported by Lords -Mansfield and Loughborough; but it passed, and Burke immediately gave -an illustrious proof of his disinterestedness, by bringing in a Bill -for regulating and reducing the enormous emoluments of his own office, -the Paymastership of the Forces. - -From economical and colonial, Ministers proceeded to Parliamentary -reform. Sir Harbord Harbord had introduced, before their accession to -office, a Bill to disfranchise the rotten borough of Cricklade, in -Wiltshire, as Shoreham had already been disfranchised. The new Ministry -supported it, with the exception of their strange colleague, Thurlow, -whom they ought to have insisted on being dismissed. Cricklade was a -thoroughly venal borough, regularly sold to some East Indian nabob; -and Mr. Frederick Montagu, in the debate, quoted Lord Chatham's -remark on Shoreham, which had also been the purchased lair of Indian -corruptionists, that he "was glad to find the borough of Shoreham -likely to be removed from Bengal to its ancient situation in the county -of Sussex." - -The success with Cricklade encouraged William Pitt to bring forward a -motion for a general reform of Parliament. This he did on the 7th of -May, and was seconded by Wilkes's old ally, Alderman Sawbridge. Pitt -did not venture to talk of a Bill, but only to propose a Committee -to consider the subject. This was granted; but it was soon apparent -that nothing would be done. The Ministers were at variance on the -subject--some went one length, and some another; many of them were as -determined against all Parliamentary reform as any Tories. Rockingham, -the Prime Minister, especially, held much borough influence. He was -utterly opposed, in secret, to all such reforms. Pitt himself would -hear nothing of repealing the Septennial Act; but he was for sweeping -away rotten boroughs and transferring their votes to the counties; -he went for equalising the whole representation, for destroying the -influence of the Treasury and the hereditary right assumed by the -aristocracy, and, by disfranchising the rotten boroughs, for sweeping -the House of the creatures of the India House. He was zealously -supported by Fox, Sheridan, Sir George Savile; and the Duke of -Richmond, in the Lords, warmly commended the movement; but the motion -had the fate that might have been expected--it was negatived, though -only by twenty votes. - -But the matters most important, and in which the Rockingham Ministry -succeeded the best, were those of attempting to accomplish the peace -with America, and with the Continental nations, on which they had so -long and so loudly insisted. Fox first tried his diplomatic genius -with the Dutch, whom he could, as he boasted, soon conciliate; but, to -his infinite chagrin, that calculating people were so elated by the -recent ill success of the English, and relied so completely on the -powerful fleets of France and Spain to protect their trade and islands, -that they returned a contemptuous answer, declaring that they could -not treat without their allies. Still more mortifying was his repulse -by the Americans. His offers of negotiations for peace were received -with a haughty indifference by Congress, and he was again referred -to France. Fox now had recourse to the mediations of Russia and -Prussia. But Frederick the Great declined to intervene, and the Czarina -Catherine coupled her offers of alliance with conditions which the king -and the majority of the Cabinet refused to accept, though Fox thought -they were reasonable. - -Scarcely was the Rockingham Administration formed when they determined -to recall England's ablest admiral, Sir George Rodney, and they carried -this into execution in May of this year, and appointed Admiral Pigott -in his stead. Lord Keppel, who had shown himself so sensitive in his -own case, now he was at the head of the Admiralty not only recalled -Rodney because he was of another party, but he did it in the coldest -and most direct manner, through his secretary, Mr. Stephen. However, -before this order of recall was issued--the 1st of May--Rodney had -fought one of the greatest and most decisive battles which adorn the -history of our navy. He had gone in all haste to the West Indies, with -fourteen ships of the line, to join Sir Samuel Hood, who was vainly -contending against the fleet of De Grasse and a strong land force at -St. Christopher's. But, as De Grasse had landed eight thousand men, -under De Bouillé, and Hood had no land troops, he could not save the -island. After its capture Rodney fell in with him, and their united -fleet amounted to thirty-six ships of the line. It was well, for Hood -informed Rodney that De Grasse was intending to join the Spanish -general, Galvez, at St. Domingo, where they were to sail for a grand -attack on the chief of the British West India Islands, Jamaica, almost -the only island, excepting Barbadoes and Antigua, which Britain now -owned in that part of the globe. On the 8th of April he was signalled -that the French fleet was unmoored and proceeding to sea. Rodney -instantly put out, and the next morning discovered this fleet under -Dominica. The wind being in favour of De Grasse, he stood away for -Guadeloupe; but Rodney gave chase, and Hood's squadron getting far -in advance, De Grasse veered round in the hope of beating him before -the rest of Rodney's fleet could come up. Hood received the fire of -three men-of-war in the _Barfleur_, his ship, for some time; but he -stood bravely to the enemy, and the wind now favouring Rodney, he -came up and joined in the engagement. Several ships on each side were -so much damaged that they were almost useless, and Captain Bayne, of -the _Alfred_, was killed. The next morning the French were nearly -out of sight; but Rodney pressed after them, for he knew that if they -succeeded in joining the Spaniards, he should have sixty sail, instead -of thirty-six, to contend with. - -On the evening of the 11th he had the satisfaction to find himself -close to the enemy, and at daybreak of the 12th the battle began. At -first there was so little wind that Rodney was unable to put into -execution his long-cherished scheme of breaking right through the -centre of the enemy's line, and beating one half before the other could -come to the rescue. About noon a breeze sprang up, and afforded the -long-desired opportunity. Rodney was now in the van, and after Captain -Gardiner, in the _Duke_, had made the first attempt and fallen back -disabled, Rodney's own ship, the _Formidable_, broke through, followed -by the _Namur_ and the _Canada_. The great end of Rodney was gained. He -had cut in two the vast fleet, and his ships doubling on one half threw -the whole into confusion. The half to the windward were terribly raked, -whilst the half to the leeward were unable to come up to their aid. The -battle, however, continued without respite from noon till evening, the -leeward half endeavouring to join and return to the charge, but without -being able. The most striking part of the action was the attack on the -great ship of De Grasse, the _Ville de Paris_. That huge vessel, the -pride of the French navy, towering over all far and near, attracted the -ambition of Captain Cornwallis, of the _Canada_, the brother of Lord -Cornwallis, to whose surrender De Grasse had so largely contributed. -Captain Cornwallis, as if determined on a noble revenge, attacked the -_Ville de Paris_ with fury, hugely as it towered above him, and so well -did he ply his guns that he soon reduced the monster almost to a wreck. -De Grasse fought desperately, but Hood coming up in the _Barfleur_, -about sunset, to the assistance of Cornwallis, De Grasse was compelled -to strike his flag. On board the _Ville de Paris_ were found thirty-six -chests of money, intended to pay the conquerors of Jamaica, and on -the other ships nearly all the battering trains for that purpose. The -remainder of the fleet made all sail, and Rodney pursued, but was -stopped by a calm of three days under Guadeloupe, and they escaped. -Rodney sailed to Jamaica, which he had thus saved, and was received -with acclamations of honour and gratitude. There, however, he received -the order for his recall, and returned home. To the eternal dishonour -of the Rockingham Administration, on receiving the news of this superb -and most important victory--a victory which at once restored the -drooping glories of Great Britain--they had not the pluck to cancel his -recall, though the feeling of the country compelled the Crown to grant -him a pension, and to raise him to the peerage by the title of Baron -Rodney. - -[Illustration: THE ATTACK ON THE "VILLE DE PARIS." (_See p._ 292.)] - -The prizes of Rodney, including the great _Ville de Paris_, on their -way home were assailed with a violent tempest, and went down, so that -the English people had not the gratification of seeing the largest -ship in the world, which had been captured by Rodney. The Dutch were -encouraged to attempt coming out of the Texel, and waylaying our -Baltic merchant fleet, but Lord Howe, with twelve sail-of-the-line, -was sent after them, and they quickly ran. His lordship remained there -blockading them till the 28th of June, when he was compelled to leave -his post and sail westward, with twenty-one ships-of-the-line and some -frigates, to watch the great combined fleet of France and Spain, which -had issued from Cadiz. The united fleet--thirty-six sail-of-the-line, -besides frigates--kept aloof, however, and allowed him safely to convoy -home the Jamaica merchant fleet, guarded by Sir Peter Parker. - -No sooner did Howe return to port than he had orders to sail in aid of -Gibraltar, which was not only greatly in need of stores and provisions, -but was menaced by the combined armies and fleets of France and Spain -with one great and overwhelming attack. The evil fortune of England did -not yet, however, seem to have disappeared, for the _Royal George_, -the finest vessel in the service, went down in a sudden squall. But -this awful catastrophe did not hinder the sailing of Lord Howe. He had -by great exertion mustered a fleet of thirty-four sail-of-the-line, -and on the 11th of September steered out for Gibraltar. For upwards of -three years this famous rock had now been beleaguered. After the relief -thrown in by Admiral Darby, the Spaniards, despairing of reducing the -garrison by blockade, determined to destroy the town and works by a -terrific bombardment. This bombardment was, accordingly, opened with -unexampled fury, and continued incessantly for days and weeks. The -town was set on fire, and numbers of houses consumed; the damage done -to the ramparts and public buildings was appalling. General Elliot -displayed the utmost temper and skill during this bombardment, as he -did throughout the whole siege. He continued by night, and at other -opportunities, to repair actively the damages done; and, reserving his -fire for occasions when he saw a chance of doing particular damage, he -caused the enemy to wonder at the little impression that they made. - -But, in the autumn of 1781, they resolved on a renewed attack of the -most vigorous kind. Elliot received information of this, and determined -to anticipate the plan. At midnight of the 26th of November he ordered -out all his grenadiers and light infantry, including the two veteran -regiments with which he had seen service in Germany so many years -ago, the 12th, and the regiment of General Hardenberg. Three hundred -sailors volunteered to accompany them, and the brave old general -himself could not stay behind. The detachment marched silently through -the soft sand, and entered the fourth line almost before the Spanish -sentinel was aware of them. In a very few minutes the enemy was in -full flight towards the village of Campo, and the English set to work, -under direction of the engineer officers, to destroy the works which -had cost the Spaniards such enormous labour to erect. The Spaniards for -several days appeared so stupefied that they allowed their works to -burn without any attempt to check the fire. In the following month of -December, however, they slowly resumed their bombardment. Nevertheless, -it was not till the spring of 1782 that the Spaniards were cheered by -the news that the Duke of Crillon was on his way to join them with the -army which had conquered Minorca. - -In April De Crillon arrived, and was followed by the Spanish and French -troops from Minorca. From eighteen to twenty thousand men were added to -the army already encamped before the place, and the most able engineers -were engaged from almost all countries of Europe, at extravagant -salaries, and great rewards were offered for inventions which might -demolish the formidable works of the English on the rock. Nearly forty -thousand troops were now congregated against the old fortress. One -hundred and seventy pieces of heavy artillery were directed against -it, and immense stores of ammunition were accumulated for this final -and triumphant achievement. On the other hand, General Elliot had now -repaired and strengthened his defences more than ever. His garrison was -augmented to seven thousand men, including a marine brigade; eighty -pieces of cannon frowned from the walls, and the bulk of his men were -of the best and most seasoned kind. - -[Illustration: THE DEFENCE OF GIBRALTAR BY LORD HEATHFIELD, 1782. - -FROM THE PAINTING BY J. S. COPLEY, R.A., AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY.] - -De Crillon, seeing that his bombardment from shore produced little -effect, determined to make the attack also from the sea. Amongst the -multiplicity of inventions which the offered rewards had produced, -the Chevalier D'Arcon, a French engineer, had produced a scheme which -excited the most confident expectations. The plan was to construct ten -monster floating batteries of such capacity that they should carry -the heaviest artillery, and so made and defended that they could be -neither sunk nor burnt. Loud was the clangour of hammer and saw, -and, as the secret could not be long preserved, equally busy was the -garrison within, preparing furnaces, and laying ready huge piles of -balls, to be discharged red-hot at these machines as soon as they -arrived. To constitute the intended batteries, ten large ships of from -six hundred to one thousand four hundred tons burden were cut down, -and made bombproof on the top. They were to be prevented from sinking -by the enormous thickness of the timber in their bottoms, and their -sides, which were to be six or seven feet thick, bolted, and covered -with raw hides. They were to be rendered more buoyant by thicknesses of -cork, and the interstices were to be filled with wet sand to prevent -combustion. There were to be plentiful supplies, by means of pumps, -pipes, and cisterns, of water, everywhere, to put out fire, for they -seem to have been aware of the burning balls that were being prepared -for them. - -As a rumour of the approaching visit of Lord Howe had reached the -Spanish camp, all was in haste to anticipate his arrival, and take the -huge fortress before he could succour it. Accordingly the great united -fleet of Spain and France, which so lately had paraded in the English -Channel, sailed into Algeciras Bay, and on the 13th of September the -floating batteries were hauled out by a number of the ships, and -anchored at regular distances, within six hundred yards of the English -works. Whilst this extraordinary armada was approaching and disposing -itself, tremendous fire was kept up from the land, with three hundred -long guns and mortars, to divert the attention of the garrison; but -old General Elliot was ready with his red-hot balls, and, the moment -the floating batteries came within gunshot distance, he poured into -them a most destructive fire-hail. The Spaniards, notwithstanding, -placed and secured their monster machines in a very short time, and -then four hundred cannon from land and sea played on the old rock -simultaneously and incessantly. For some time the hot balls appeared -to do no damage. The timbers, being of green wood, closed up after the -balls, and so prevented their immediate ignition. In other cases, where -smoke appeared, the water-engines dashed in deluges, and extinguished -the nascent fire. But presently the fire from the batteries slackened; -it was discovered that the balls--which had many of them pierced into -the timbers three feet deep--were doing their work. The floating -battery commanded by the Prince of Nassau, on board of which was also -the engineer, D'Arcon, himself, was found smoking on the side facing -the rock, at two o'clock in the day. No water could reach the seat of -mischief, and by seven o'clock it had become so extensive as to cause -the firing to cease, and to turn the thoughts of all to endeavours for -escape. Rockets were thrown up as signals for the vessels to come up -and take off the crews. But this was found impracticable. The garrison -actually rained deluges of fire, and all approach to the monster -machines was cut off. No vessel could draw near, except at the penalty -of instant destruction. For four more hours the vaunted floating -batteries remained exposed to the pitiless pelting of the garrison. -Before midnight, the _Talla Piedra_, the greatest of the monster -machines, and the flagship, _Pastora_, at her side, were in full flame, -and by their light the indefatigable Elliot could see, with the more -precision, to point his guns. Seven of the ten floating machines were -now on fire; the guns aboard them had entirely ceased, and those on -land, as if struck with wonder and despair, had become silent too. - -It might have been imagined that this magnificent and destructive -repulse would have convinced the allies that the siege was hopeless, -but they were pretty well informed that General Elliot had well nigh -exhausted his ammunition in this prodigal death-shower, and they -had still their great combined fleet, snug in the narrow bay, with -scouts in the Strait to prevent the carrying in of supplies. But -on the 24th of September news arrived at Madrid that the fleet of -Lord Howe was under weigh for Gibraltar. Howe's fleet of thirty-four -sail-of-the-line, six frigates, and three fire-ships, though in the -neighbourhood of one of fifty sail-of-the-line, besides a number of -frigates and smaller vessels, managed to get into the bay of Gibraltar -all safe, amid the wildest acclamations of soldiers and inhabitants. By -the 18th of October all the store-ships had discharged their cargoes, -and had passed through the Strait, and on the 19th Lord Howe followed -them with his fleet. The enemy's fleet then came out after him, and -the next day they were in the open ocean, and Howe proceeded to their -leeward to receive them. Some of their vessels had suffered in the -late gales, but they had still at least forty-four sail to Howe's -thirty-four, and, having the weather-gauge, had every advantage. But -after a partial firing, in which they received great damage from Howe, -they hauled off and got into Cadiz bay. Howe, then dispatching part of -his fleet to the West Indies and a second squadron to the Irish coast, -returned home himself. The news of the grand defence of Gibraltar -produced a wonderful rejoicing in England; thanks were voted by -Parliament to the officers and privates of the brave garrison; General -Elliot was invested with the Order of the Bath on the king's bastion in -sight of the works which he had preserved, and on his return, in 1787, -at the age of seventy, he was created a Peer as Lord Heathfield of -Gibraltar. - -With these superb demonstrations on the part of England terminated -the war. Her enemies discovered that her hoped-for fall was yet far -off, and were much more inclined to listen to overtures of peace, of -which they were now all in great need. These negotiations had been -begun by Fox immediately on the accession of the Rockingham Ministry -to office. Unfortunately the division of work between two Secretaries -of State entailed a double negotiation. To Fox as Secretary of Foreign -Affairs fell the arrangements for peace with France and Spain and -Holland, to Lord Shelburne as Colonial Secretary fell all arrangements -connected with the colonies, that is, with the United States. It was -most important that the two Ministers should be in close accord. -Unfortunately their views differed widely. Fox was for the immediate -recognition of the independence of America; Shelburne urged that to -give independence at once was to throw away a trump card. Further, -Mr. Oswald, Shelburne's agent, was duped by Franklin into accepting -from him a paper, in which the surrender of Canada was laid down as -a basis of peace. This paper Shelburne probably showed to the king, -but, with great duplicity, refrained from mentioning its existence to -his colleagues. On the 8th of May Mr. Thomas Grenville, Fox's agent, -arrived at Paris, and negotiations were begun in real earnest. But -the naïve confession of Oswald that peace was absolutely necessary to -England greatly hampered his efforts, and in a conversation with Lord -Shelburne's envoy the existence of the Canada paper leaked out. Fox was -naturally furious, but the majority of the Cabinet were opposed to him, -and voted against his demand for the immediate recognition of American -independence. He only refrained from resigning because he would not -embitter Lord Rockingham's last moments in the world. Lord Shelburne -became Premier in July. - -Upon the formation of the Shelburne Cabinet, and the news of Rodney's -victory over De Grasse, the negotiations were still continued, Mr. -Grenville only being recalled, and Mr. Alleyne Fitzherbert, afterwards -Lord St. Helens, being put in his place. France, Spain, Holland, were -all groaning under the cost and disasters of the war, yet keeping up an -air of indifference, in order to enhance their demands. The Americans -were more decided, for they were stimulated by the accounts of the -wretched condition of affairs at home. It was represented to Franklin -by Congress, that, however France or Spain might delay proposals -for peace, it was necessary for the United States. The position of -Franklin, nevertheless, was extremely difficult. There was the treaty -of alliance between France and the States of 1778, strictly stipulating -that neither party should conclude either peace or truce without the -other. What added to the difficulty was, that France had, within the -last two years, shown an unusual interest and activity of assistance. -Franklin, in order to strengthen his hands for the important crisis, -requested that other commissioners might be sent to Paris; and John Jay -quickly arrived from Spain, John Adams from Holland, and Henry Laurens -from London. The American Commissioners soon became strongly impressed -with the sentiment that France and Spain were keeping back a peace -solely for their own objects; and this was confirmed by a letter of -M. de Marbois, the secretary of the French legation at Philadelphia, -which had been seized by an English cruiser, and had been laid by -Mr. Fitzherbert before them. This letter appeared to be part of a -diplomatic correspondence between the French Minister, Vergennes, and -the French Minister in America, which threw contempt on the claim which -America set up to a share of the Newfoundland fisheries. It created -a strong belief that France was endeavouring to keep America in some -degree dependent on her; and Jay and Adams were extremely incensed at -Vergennes, and not only accused Franklin of being blindly subservient -to the French Court, but it made them resolve that no time should be -lost in effecting a separate treaty. Vergennes contended for the rights -of the Indian nations between the Alleghanies and the Mississippi, and -of Spain on the lower Mississippi, and this the American Commissioners -perceived to be an attempt to divide and weaken their territory. A -private and earnest negotiation for peace with England was therefore -entered upon as soon as a severe illness of Franklin permitted. - -[Illustration: MAP OF THE UNITED STATES AT THE TIME WHEN THEY GAINED -THEIR INDEPENDENCE.] - -There was no difficulty in these negotiations as to the full and entire -recognition of the independence of the States. The difficult points -were but two--one regarding the fishery, and the other regarding the -interests of the Royalists or Tories. The British Commissioners stood -out strongly for the free permission of all who had been engaged -in the war on the English side to return to their homes, and for -the restitution of all property confiscated in consequence of such -partisanship. The American Commissioners endeavoured to meet this -demand by saying the recommendations of Congress would have all the -effect that the English proposed. This the Commissioners regarded as -so many words, and they insisted so determinedly on this head, that -it appeared likely the negotiation would be broken off altogether. At -last Franklin said they would consent to allow for all losses suffered -by the Royalists, on condition that a debtor and a creditor account -was opened, and recompense made for the damages done by the Royalists -on the other side; commissioners to be appointed for the purpose of -settling all those claims. The English envoys saw at once that this was -a deception, that there would be no meeting, or no use in meeting, and -they therefore abandoned the point; and the question of the fishing -being in part conceded, the provisional articles were signed on the -30th of November, by the four American Commissioners on the one side, -and by Mr. Oswald on the other. In the preamble it was stated that -these articles were to be inserted in, and to constitute, a treaty of -peace, but that the treaty was not to be concluded until the terms of -peace had also been settled with France and Spain. - -This proviso, however, by no means affected the treaty with America. -This secret treaty was made binding and effectual so far as America -and England were concerned. The first article acknowledged fully the -independence of the United States. The second fixed their boundaries, -much to the satisfaction of the Americans; and liberty was secured to -them to fish on the banks of Newfoundland, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, -and wherever they had been accustomed to fish, but not to dry the fish -on any of the king's settled dominions in America. By the fourth, -fifth, and sixth articles it was engaged for Congress that it should -earnestly recommend to the several Legislatures to provide for the -restitution of all estates belonging to real British subjects who had -not borne arms against the Americans. All other persons were to be -allowed to go to any of the States and remain there for the settlement -of their affairs. Congress also engaged to recommend the restitution -of confiscated estates on the repayment of the sums for which they had -been sold; and no impediments were to be put in the way of recovering -real debts. All further confiscations and prosecutions were to cease. -By the seventh and eighth articles the King of England engaged to -withdraw his fleets and armies without causing any destruction of -property, or carrying away any negro slaves. By these articles, the -navigation of the Mississippi, from its source to the ocean, was to -remain for ever free and open to both parties. If West Florida happened -to be in the possession of Britain at the termination of a general -peace, a secret article determined its boundaries. - -Such were the conditions on which this great contest was finally -terminated. The Americans clearly had matters almost entirely their own -way, for the English were desirous that everything should now be done -to conciliate their very positive and by no means modest kinsmen, the -citizens of the United States. It was, in truth, desirable to remove as -much as possible the rancour of the American mind, by concessions which -England could well afford, so as not to throw them wholly into the arms -of France. The conditions which the Americans, on their part, conceded -to the unfortunate Royalists consisted entirely of recommendations -from Congress to the individual States, and when it was recollected -how little regard they had paid to any engagements into which they had -entered during the war--with General Burgoyne, for example--the English -negotiators felt, as they consented to these articles, that, so far, -they would prove a mere dead letter. They could only console themselves -with the thought that they would have protected the unhappy Royalists, -whom Franklin and his colleagues bitterly and vindictively continued to -designate as traitors. Franklin showed, on this occasion, that he had -never forgotten the just chastisement which Wedderburn had inflicted -on him before the Privy Council for his concern in the purloining of -the private papers of Mr. Thomas Whateley, in 1774. On that occasion, -he laid aside the velvet court suit, in which he appeared before the -Council, and never put it on till now, when he appeared in it at the -signing of the Treaty of Independence. - -On the 5th of December Parliament met, and the king, though not yet -able to announce the signing of the provisional treaty with France and -America, intimated pretty plainly the approach of that fact. Indeed, -Lord Shelburne had addressed a letter to the Lord Mayor of London -eight days before the articles with America were actually signed, that -this event was so near at hand that Parliament would be prorogued from -the time fixed for its meeting, the 26th of November, to the 5th of -December. It was, indeed, hoped that by that day the preliminaries with -France and Spain would be signed too. This not being so, the king could -only declare that conclusion as all but certain. - -This announcement drew from the Opposition a torrent of abuse of -Ministers, who, in reality, had only been carrying out the very measure -which they had long recommended, and which Fox, in particular, had been -seriously endeavouring to accomplish whilst in office. Their censures -appeared to arise rather from the fact that the war was ended without -their mediation than from anything else. Fox upbraided Lord Shelburne -with having once said that, when the independence of America should -be admitted, the sun of England would have set. Yet this had been -the opinion not of Lord Shelburne merely, but of numbers who now saw -reason to doubt that gloomy view of things, and there was the less -reason for Fox to throw this in the face of the Prime Minister, as he -had been himself, whilst his colleague, earnestly labouring with him -for that end. Still he was naturally sore from Shelburne's successful -intrigues against his diplomacy. On the 18th of December he moved for -copies of such parts of the provisional treaty as related to American -independence; but in this he was supported by only forty-six members. - -On the 26th the Houses adjourned for a month, for the Christmas recess, -and during this time the treaties with France and Spain made rapid -progress. The fact of America being now withdrawn from the quarrel, -coupled with the signs of returning vigour in England--Rodney's great -victory and the astonishing defence of Gibraltar--acted as a wonderful -stimulant to pacification. Spain still clung fondly to the hope of -receiving back Gibraltar, and this hope was for some time encouraged -by the apparent readiness of Lord Shelburne to comply with the desire, -as Chatham and Lord Stanhope had done before. But no sooner was this -question mooted in the House of Commons than the public voice denounced -it so energetically, that it was at once abandoned. On the 20th of -January, 1783, Mr. Fitzherbert signed, at Versailles, the preliminaries -of peace with the Comte de Vergennes, on the part of France, and with -D'Aranda, on the part of Spain. By the treaty with France, the right of -fishing off the coast of Newfoundland and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence -was restored, as granted by the Treaty of Utrecht; but the limits were -more accurately defined. The islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, on -the coast of Newfoundland, were ceded for drying of fish. In the West -Indies, England ceded Tobago, which France had taken, and restored St. -Lucia, but received back again Grenada, St. Vincent, Dominica, St. -Kitt's, Nevis, and Montserrat. In Africa, England gave up the river -Senegal and the island of Goree, but retained Fort St. James and the -river Gambia. In India, the French were allowed to recover Pondicherry -and Chandernagore, with the right to fortify the latter, and to carry -on their usual commerce. They regained also Mahé and the factory of -Surat, with their former privileges. The articles in the Treaty of -Utrecht, regarding the demolition of the fortifications of Dunkirk, -were abrogated. Spain was allowed to retain Minorca and both the -Floridas, but she agreed to restore Providence and the Bahamas. The -latter, however, had already been retaken by us. She granted to England -the right of cutting logwood in Honduras, but without the privilege -of erecting forts or stock-houses, which rendered the concession -worthless, for it had always been found that without these it was -impossible to carry on the trade. With the Dutch a truce was made -on the basis of mutual restoration, except as concerned the town of -Negapatam, which Holland ceded. The preliminaries, however, were not -settled till nearly eight months afterwards. - -It was not to be wondered at that when, on the 24th of January, the -preliminaries of peace were laid on the tables of the two Houses, -there should be a violent denunciation of the large concessions made -by Ministers. Spain had been granted better terms than in any treaty -since that of St. Quentin. She had obtained the most desirable island -of Minorca, with the finest port on the Mediterranean. She had got the -Floridas, and had given up scarcely anything, whilst, had the British, -now freed from the dead weight of America, pursued the war against -her, she must soon have lost most of her valuable insular colonies. -France had given up more, but she recovered very important territories -which she had lost, and especially her settlements of Pondicherry and -Chandernagore, in the East Indies; but America had conceded nothing, -and yet had been allowed to determine her own frontier, and to share -the benefits of the fishing all round our own Transatlantic coasts. - -A new and surprising phenomenon was discovered in the attacks upon -Ministers for these concessions: Fox and North were in coalition! -Fox, who so lately had declared North and his colleagues men "void -of every principle of honour and honesty," and who would consent, -should he ever make terms with them, to be called "the most infamous -of mankind," now as warmly declared that he had ever found Lord -North--this man void of honour and honesty--a man always "open and -sincere as a friend, honourable and manly as an enemy, above practising -subterfuges, tricks, and stratagems." Lord North, on his side, -repaid the compliments of Fox, growing enthusiastic on the genius, -eloquence, and generous nature of that statesman. "While I admire -the vast extent of his understanding," exclaimed North, "I can rely -on the goodness of his heart." The coalition was looked upon with -disfavour, but it was justified to a considerable extent during the -debate on the peace. Lord John Cavendish truly represented that France -and Spain were on the verge of ruin; that Holland was in an exhausted -and helpless condition; and that as for America, it was in the very -gulf of destitution, the people refusing to pay the taxes ordered by -Congress for the continuance of the war. And it was to such defeated -and demolished enemies that Ministers had conceded almost everything -they had asked. Lord North turned more particularly to the concession -made to the French in the East Indies. It was in that quarter, he said, -that he looked for a consolidated and expanding empire, calculated to -recompense us, and more than recompense us, for the loss of America. -From that splendid continent we had completely driven the French, -and the soundest policy dictated their continued firm exclusion from -it. Yet here had Ministers most fatally readmitted them, to renew -their old plots and alliances against us, by which they would to a -certainty continue to harass, thwart, and weaken us, till we once -more went through the ruinous and sanguinary process of expulsion. He -was equally severe on the surrender of Minorca and the Floridas to -Spain, and the admission of the unconceding, unconciliating Americans -to our own proper fishing grounds. Fox called on Ministers to produce -the treaty which he had sketched a few months before, and to see what -very different terms he had demanded, and would have exacted. That the -sense of the House went with these sentiments was shown by both the -amendments of the Coalition being carried by a majority of sixteen. -Lord John Cavendish moved another resolution strongly condemning the -terms of the treaty, but consented that the peace now made should -remain inviolate. This was also carried, by a majority of seventeen, -being two hundred and seven votes against one hundred and ninety. - -This majority of the Coalition compelled Lord Shelburne to resign; but -the rest of the Administration remained in their places, in the hope -that Pitt would now take the Premiership. In fact, the king, on the -24th of February, sent for Pitt and proposed this to him; but Pitt was -too sensible of the impossibility of maintaining himself against the -present combination of parties. The next day Dundas moved and carried -an adjournment for three days, to give time for the arrangement of -a new Cabinet. Pitt continued to persist in declining to take the -Premiership, and on the 2nd or 3rd of March the king sent for Lord -North. His proposal was that North should resume the management of -affairs; but North insisted on bringing in his new friends, and to that -the king objected. Matters remained in this impracticable condition -till the 12th, when the king sent for North, and proposed that the Duke -of Portland should be asked to form an Administration; but this did -not at all advance matters, for Portland was equally determined with -North to maintain the Coalition, and the king was resolved to have -nothing to do with Fox, whilst Fox was equally determined not to admit -the king's friend, Lord Stormont, to any Cabinet of which he was a -member. On the 31st the announcement was made that Pitt had resigned, -and that the king was prepared to submit to the terms of the Coalition. -George, with deep and inward groans, submitted himself once more to the -slavery of the great Whig houses, and, as some small recompense, the -Coalition admitted Lord Stormont to a place in the Cabinet. - -The new Administration arranged itself as follows:--The Duke of -Portland, First Lord of the Treasury; Lord North, Home Secretary; -Fox, Secretary for Foreign Affairs; the Earl of Carlisle, Privy Seal; -Lord John Cavendish, again Chancellor of the Exchequer; Admiral Lord -Keppel, the head of the Admiralty again; Lord Stormont, President -of the Council; the great stumbling block, Thurlow, removed from -the Woolsack, and the Great Seal put into commission; Burke again -Paymaster of the Forces, and his brother Richard as Secretary to the -Treasury in conjunction with Sheridan. Such was this strange and -medley association, well deserving Burke's own description of a former -Administration, as of a strange assemblage of creatures, "all pigging -together in one truckle-bed." Those who formed exclusively the Cabinet -were Portland, North, Fox, Cavendish, Carlisle, Keppel, and Stormont, -so that the great Whigs had taken care again to shut out Burke, who was -only a man of genius. Such an incongruous company could not long hold -together. The king did not conceal his indignation at seeing Fox in -office; the whole Court openly expressed its loathing of the anomalous -union; the country had no confidence in it; Fox felt that he had -wounded his popularity by his sudden and violent change. - -At first the course of affairs was not eventful. On the 7th of May -Pitt moved a series of resolutions as the basis of a Bill for reform -of Parliament. The main features of this scheme were those of taking -measures against bribery and corruption; the disfranchisement of -boroughs when a majority of the electors was proved corrupt; and the -addition of a hundred new members to the House of Commons, nearly all -of them from the counties, except an additional member or two from the -metropolis. - -On the 23rd of June the king sent down a message to the Commons, -recommending them to take into consideration a separate establishment -for the Prince of Wales, who had arrived at the age of twenty-one. This -young man, whose whole career proved to be one of reckless extravagance -and dissipation, was already notorious for his debauched habits, and -for his fast accumulating debts. He was a great companion of Fox, and -the gambling roués amongst whom that grand orator but spendthrift man -was accustomed to spend his time and money, and therefore, as a pet of -this Coalition Ministry, the Duke of Portland proposed to grant him -one hundred thousand pounds a year. The king, alarmed at the torrent -of extravagance and vice which such an income was certain to produce -in the prince's career, declared that he could not consent to burden -his people, and encourage the prince's habits of expense, by such -an allowance. He therefore requested that the grant should amount -only to fifty thousand pounds a year, paid out of the Civil List, -and fifty thousand pounds as an outfit from Parliamentary funds. The -Ministers were compelled to limit themselves to this, though the saving -was merely nominal, for the debts on the Civil List were again fast -accumulating, and the prince was not at all likely to hesitate to apply -to Parliament to wipe off his debts, as well as his father's when they -became troublesome to him. Resenting, however, the restraint attempted -to be put upon him by his father, the prince the more closely connected -himself with Fox and his party, and the country was again scandalised -by the repetition of the scenes enacted when Frederick, Prince of -Wales, father of George III., was the opponent of his own father, -George II., and the associate of his opponents. Such, indeed, had been -the family divisions in every reign since the Hanoverian succession. On -the 16th of July Parliament was prorogued. - -[Illustration: THE MANSION HOUSE, LONDON, IN 1760.] - -The regathering of Parliament, on the 11th of November, was -distinguished by two circumstances of very unequal interest. The -Prince of Wales, having arrived at his majority, took his seat as -Duke of Cornwall, as it was well known, intending to vote for a great -measure which Fox was introducing regarding India. We shall now almost -immediately enter on the narration of the important events which had -been transpiring in India during the American war. It is sufficient -here to observe that these were of a nature to give the most serious -concern and alarm to all well-wishers of the country, and of the -unfortunate natives of that magnificent peninsula. Fox's measure for -the reform and restraint of the East India Company was comprehended -in two Bills, the first proposing to vest the affairs of the Company -in the hands of sixteen directors, seven of them to be appointed by -Parliament, and afterwards sanctioned by the Crown, and nine of them to -be elected by the holders of stock. These were to remain in office four -years; the seven Parliament nominees to be invested with the management -of the territorial possessions and revenues of the Company; the nine -additional to conduct the commercial affairs of the Company under the -seven chief directors; and both classes of directors to be subject to -removal at the option of the king, on an address for the purpose from -either House of Parliament. The second Bill related principally to the -powers to be vested in the Governor-General and Council, and their -treatment of the natives. - -The Bills were highly necessary, and, on the whole, well calculated -to nip in the bud those ever-growing abuses of India and its hundred -millions of people which, some seventy years later, compelled -Government to take the control out of the hands of a mere trading -company, whose only object was to coin as much money as possible out -of the country and the folk. But it needed no sagacity to see that the -means of defeat lay on the very surface of these Bills. Those whose -sordid interests were attacked had only to point to the fact that -Parliament, and not the Crown, was to be the governing party under -these Bills, in order to secure their rejection. This was quickly done -through a most ready agent. Thurlow had been removed by the Ministry -from the Woolsack, where he had remained as a steady opponent of all -the measures of his colleagues; and it required but a hint from the -India House, and he was at the ear of the king. Nothing was easier than -for Thurlow to inspire George III. with a deep jealousy of the measure, -as aiming at putting the whole government of India into the hands of -Parliament and of Ministers, and the effect was soon seen. - -Fox introduced his first Bill on the 20th of November. All went -smoothly, and the second reading was ordered for that day week. Then -the storm burst. Mr. Grenville (afterwards Lord Grenville) described -the Bill as a scheme to put the Company into the hands of Ministers, -and to annihilate the prerogatives of the Crown at the same time. He -denounced it as one of the most daring and dangerous attempts that had -ever been brought into that House. He moved that it should lie over -till after Christmas, and there was a strong phalanx ready to support -him. Grenville did not press the motion to a division, and the Bill -was read a second time on the 27th, when a vehement and long debate -took place. Pitt put forth his whole strength against it, Fox for -it, and it was carried by two hundred and twenty-nine votes against -one hundred and twenty. On the 1st of December it was moved that the -Bill be committed, when the Opposition was equally determined. On -this occasion Burke, who had made himself profoundly acquainted with -Indian affairs, took the lead, and delivered one of his very finest -speeches, full of information and eloquence. Pitt resisted the going -into Committee with all his power, and pledged himself, if the House -would throw out the Bill, to bring in another just as efficacious, and -at the same time devoid of its danger. The debate, like the former -one, did not close till half-past four in the morning, and then it was -with a triumphant majority of two hundred and seventeen against one -hundred and three. The Bill, thus carried by such majorities through -the Commons, was carried up to the Lords, on the 9th of December, -by Fox, accompanied by a numerous body of the Commoners, and it was -considered as certain of passing there; but the king and his party, -exasperated at the resolute conduct of the Commons, had gone to such -lengths to quash the Bill in the Lords as are rarely resorted to by -the Crown. As in the Lower House, so here, it was allowed to be read -the first time without dividing; but it was attacked with an ominous -solemnity by Thurlow, the Duke of Richmond, and Lord Temple, who, since -his recall from the Lord-Lieutenancy of Ireland, had thrown himself -into the Opposition with peculiar vivacity. It was known that he had -been frequently closeted with the king of late, and he bluntly declared -the Bill infamous. As a matter of fact, he had urged the king to use -his personal influence with the House of Lords. Thurlow went further, -and, fixing one of his most solemn glances on the Prince of Wales, who -was sitting in the House to vote for the Bill, declared that if this -measure passed, the crown of England would not be worth wearing; and -that if the king allowed it to become law, he would, in fact, have -taken it from his head and put it on that of Mr. Fox. On the 15th, when -the Bill was proposed for the second reading, the royal proceedings -against it were brought at once to light. The Duke of Portland rose and -said, before going into the question, he was bound to notice a report -which was confidently in circulation, and which, if true, vitally -affected the constitution of the country. This was no less than that -the king had written a note to Lord Temple, stating that "his Majesty -would deem those who voted for the Bill not only not his friends, but -his enemies; and that if Lord Temple could put this into still stronger -language, he had full authority to do so." - -The Duke of Richmond read a paragraph from a newspaper in which the -report was stated, naming Lord Temple without any disguise. On this -Temple rose, and admitted that he had given certain advice to the king, -but would neither admit nor deny that it was of the kind intimated -in the report. That the rumour was founded on truth, however, was -immediately shown by the division. Numbers of lords who had promised -Ministers to vote for the Bill withdrew their support; the Prince of -Wales declined voting; and the Opposition carried a resolution for -adjournment till the next day, in order to hear evidence in defence of -the East India Company. It was clear that the Bill had received its -death-blow, and would never pass the Lords after this expression of the -royal will, and on the 17th of December it was lost by nineteen votes. - -Fox was very indignant, and made no scruple of attributing the conduct -of the king, not to mere report, but to fact. "There is," he said, "a -written record to be produced. This letter is not to be put in the -balance with the lie of the day;" whereupon he pulled from his pocket a -copy of the note said to have been written by the king to Lord Temple. -When he sat down, Mr. Grenville rose and stated that he had taken down -the words read as the king's note, and had shown them to his relative, -Lord Temple, who had authorised him to say that such words had never -been made use of by him. But Fox demanded whether Lord Temple had not -used words to that effect, and Grenville was silent. Fox continued -in a very fierce strain, denouncing back-stairs lords and bedchamber -politicians, and declared that the best-meant and best-concerted plans -of Ministers were subject to the blasting influence of a villainous -whisper. He added that he could not continue in office any longer -consistently either with his own honour or the interests of the nation. -He felt that he was goaded to it, and upbraided for not resigning -instantly; but a very honourable majority of that House stood pledged -to a great measure, and Ministers were equally bound not to abandon the -affairs of State in the midst of so much anarchy. These last words, and -the division, which was nearly two to one in favour of Ministers, left -it doubtful, after all, whether Fox and his colleagues would resign. As -such language, however, could not be used by Ministers with impunity, -and a dissolution of the Cabinet was probable, Erskine moved a -resolution, pledging the House to persevere in the endeavour to remedy -the abuses in the government of India, and declaring "that this House -will consider as an enemy to this country any person who shall presume -to advise his Majesty to prevent, or in any manner interrupt, the -discharge of this important duty." All strangers were excluded, but it -was ascertained that the motion was severely censured as an invasion of -the king's prerogative; yet the resolution was carried by one hundred -and forty-seven votes against seventy-three. - -Strong as was the majority of Ministers, however, the king did not wait -for their resigning. The day after this debate (Thursday, December -18th), the king sent, at twelve o'clock at night, to Fox and Lord North -an order to surrender their seals of office to their Under-Secretaries, -as a personal interview, in the circumstances, would be disagreeable. -Fox instantly delivered up his; but Lord North was already in bed, -and had entrusted his seal to his son, Colonel North, who could not -be found for some time. The Seals were then delivered to Lord Temple, -who, on the following day, sent letters of dismissal to all the other -members of the coalition Cabinet. Pitt, though in his twenty-fifth -year only, was appointed first Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor -of the Exchequer, and on him devolved the duty of forming a new -Administration. Earl Gower was nominated President of the Council, and -Lord Temple one of the Secretaries of State. When the House of Commons -met in the afternoon, Fox imagined, from a motion of Dundas to proceed -to business without the usual adjournment on Saturday, that it was the -object of the new party to pass certain money Bills, and then resort -to a dissolution. Fox opposed the motion, declaring that a dissolution -at this moment would produce infinite damage to the service of the -nation, and that, should it take place in order to suit the convenience -of an ambitious young man (meaning Pitt), he would, immediately on the -meeting of the new House, move for an inquiry into the authors and -advisers of it, in order to bring them to punishment. This caused Lord -Temple, who had occasioned the breaking up of the Coalition, to resign -again immediately, declaring that he preferred meeting any aspersions -upon him in his private and individual capacity. This certainly removed -a great danger from his colleagues, although it rendered the task of -his friend and relative, Pitt, still more difficult, in having to form -an Administration alone. The Ministry was then filled up thus:--Lord -Sydney, Secretary of State for the Home Department; the Marquis of -Carmarthen for the Foreign; the Duke of Rutland, Lord Privy Seal; -Lord Gower became President of the Council; the Duke of Richmond, -Master-General of the Ordnance; Lord Thurlow again Chancellor; Lord -Howe, First Lord of the Admiralty. With the exception of Pitt, the -whole of the Cabinet was drawn from the House of Lords. When the -Commons met, on the 22nd, Mr. Bankes said he was authorised by Mr. -Pitt, who was not in the House, a new writ for Appleby being moved -for on his appointment to office, to say that he had no intention to -advise a dissolution. His Majesty, on the 24th of December, having also -assured the House that he would not interrupt their meeting after the -recess by either prorogation or dissolution, the House adjourned till -the 12th of January, 1784. - -When Parliament reassembled, Fox seized the very earliest moment to -address the Chair and occupy the attention of the House. He rose at -the unusually early hour of half-past two o'clock in the day, before -the newly returned members had taken their oaths. Pitt himself was -in this predicament, but, as soon as he had taken his oath, he rose -to speak; but Fox contended that he was already in possession of the -House, and, though Pitt announced that he had a message from the king, -Fox persisted, and moved that the House should go into committee on -the state of the nation. This allowed Pitt to speak, who declared that -he had no objection to the committee; but he thought it more advisable -to go into the question of India, on which subject he proposed to -introduce a Bill. He then made some sharp remarks on the conduct of -Fox in thus seizing, by artifice, a precedence in speaking, and on -the petulance and clamour which the Opposition had displayed, and on -the violent and unprecedented nature of their conduct, by which they -hoped to inflame the spirit of the country and excite unnecessary -jealousies. In truth, Fox and his party were now running a most unwise -career. Possessed of a large majority, they were indignant that the -king should have dismissed them, and thought that they could outvote -the new Ministry, and drive them again from office. They had, no doubt, -such a majority; but, at the same time, they had the king resolute -against them. They had insulted him by their violent denunciations -of his letter, and they had not, in their anger, the discernment to -perceive that not only would this be made use of by their opponents to -injure them, both in Parliament and out of it, but their proceeding -with so much heat and violence was calculated to make them appear -factious--more concerned for their places than for the interests of the -country. All this took place; the king and Ministry saw how all this -would operate, and calmly awaited its effects. Fox and his party were, -however, blind to the signs of the times, and carried no less than five -resolutions against the Government. - -When the House met again, Pitt moved for leave to bring in his Bill -for the better government and management of the affairs of the East -India Company. He was aware, he said, how certain men would triumph -when he informed them that he had based his intended measures on the -resolutions of the proprietors of India stock. He was so miserably -irresolute, he said, as not to venture on a Bill founded on violence -and disfranchisement. He was so weak as to pay respect to chartered -rights; and he had not disdained, in proposing a new system of -government, to consult those who had the greatest interest in the -matter, as well as the most experience in it. These were all hard hits -at Fox and his party. In his Bill he went on the principle of placing -the commerce of India chiefly under the control of the Company itself; -but the civil and military government, he admitted, required some other -control than that of the Company, yet even this, in his opinion, ought -to be established in accordance with the convictions of the Company. In -truth, it was a Bill rather calculated to win the good will of the East -India Company than to reform the abuses of that body and to protect the -interests of the natives. Fox, with as much truth as personal feeling, -designated the Bill as the wisdom of an individual opposed to the -collective wisdom of the Commons of England. - -The Bill was suffered to pass the second reading, but was thrown out, -on the motion of its being committed, by two hundred and twenty-two -against two hundred and fourteen. Fox then gave notice of his intention -of bringing in a new Bill of his own on India, and demanded to know -from the Ministers whether he might expect to proceed in security with -it, or whether the House would be dissolved. Pitt did not answer; the -question was repeated by other members, but Pitt continued silent, till -General Conway said it was a new thing to see a Minister sitting in -sulky silence, and refusing to satisfy the reasonable desires of the -House. This brought out Pitt with an indignant denial; but he preserved -silence as to the probability of a dissolution. - -[Illustration: CHARLES JAMES FOX. (_After the portrait by Sir Joshua -Reynolds._)] - -These party tactics were continued with unwonted heat by the Opposition -on all occasions, till the House adjourned for three days, to meet -again on the 29th, the Opposition revelling in large majorities, though -they were aware that both the king and the House of Lords were adverse -to them. But the country was also growing weary of this unsatisfactory -position of things, and began to sympathise with the great patience -of Pitt rather than the tumultuous conduct of Fox and his friends. -Pitt, however, was strong in the assurance of the adhesion of the -Crown and the peerage, and saw unmistakable signs of revulsion in the -feeling of the public. The majorities of the Commons were becoming -every time less, and on the 16th of February the Corporation of London -had presented a strongly expressed address to the king, declaring its -approval of the late dismissal of Ministers, and its opinion that the -India Bill of Fox was an encroachment on the prerogative of the Crown. -Dr. Johnson also regarded it as a contest whether the nation should be -ruled by the sceptre of George III. or by the tongue of Mr. Fox. - -Fox saw the growing change with alarm. He saw that all their -resolutions and addresses produced no effect on the Ministerial -party; and he did not dare to go further and pass a Bill, either -legislative or declaratory, for he felt that the Lords would throw it -out; and to stop the supplies, or delay the Mutiny Bill would probably -disgust and annihilate the very majority on which he depended. In -these circumstances, he probably saw with satisfaction an attempt at -coalition. Mr. Grosvenor, the member for Chester, during the three days -of the adjournment, called a meeting of members of both parties for the -purpose of seeing whether a coalition could not be formed, and thus -put an end to this violent contest. About seventy members met, and an -address to the Duke of Portland and Mr. Pitt was signed by fifty-four. -Pitt expressed his readiness to co-operate in such a plan, but the Duke -of Portland declared that the first indispensable step towards such a -measure must be the resignation of Ministers. This put an end to all -hope of success. - -The feelings of the constituencies were undergoing a speedy change, and -the fact was now being rapidly proved. For three months, whilst the -Opposition in the House of Commons were exulting on their majority, the -majority amongst the people was sliding from them; and, whilst they -were straining every nerve to prevent the dissolution of Parliament, -they were only more securely preparing their own fall, for Pitt and the -Government had been zealously at work undermining them. The nation was -pleased at his bravery, and at his disinterestedness in refusing the -sinecure of the Clerkship of the Pells, though his private means were -scarcely £300 a year. - -From the 11th of February to the 1st of March the struggle went on, -many endeavours being made, but without effect, to come to an agreement -between the parties. On the last day Fox moved that an Address be -carried up to the king by the whole House, representing the violence -done to the Constitution by a Minister retaining his place after a vote -of want of confidence by the Commons, and insisting strongly on the -right and duty of that House to advise his Majesty on the exercise of -his prerogative. Pitt replied that, by attempting to force the king -to decide contrary to his judgment, they were placing the sceptre -under the mace; but the resolution was carried by a majority, though -of twelve only, and on the 4th the Address was carried up, when the -king repeated that his sentiments remained the same. Fox, on the -return of the House, moved that this answer should not be taken into -consideration before the 8th, and till then the Mutiny Bill should -remain in abeyance. His object was to stave off a dissolution until the -25th, when the Mutiny Bill expired. By refusing to renew it, he hoped -to force his rival to resign. The House on the 8th was excessively -crowded, for a very warm debate was anticipated. When it came to -divide about midnight, Fox was found to have carried his resolution, -but only by a majority of one. This was the climax of defeat. The once -triumphant Opposition saw that all was over with them, and they gave up -the contest. - -The supplies and the Mutiny Bill were now passed without much -difficulty, but Ministers did not venture to introduce an Appropriation -Bill. On the 23rd, Lord North, stating that the dissolution of -Parliament was confidently asserted out of doors, declared that such -a dissolution, without passing an Appropriation Bill, would be an -unparalleled insult to the House. He expressed his astonishment that -the Minister did not condescend to utter a syllable on the subject of -the proposed change. Pitt, now confident of his position, replied that -gentlemen might ask as many questions as they pleased; that he had -adopted a course which was advantageous to the country, and did not -feel bound to enter then into any explanations. All mystery, however, -was cleared up the next day, for the king went down to the House of -Lords and prorogued Parliament, announcing that he felt it his duty -to the Constitution and the country to convoke a new Parliament. -Accordingly, on the following day, the 25th of March, he dissolved -Parliament by proclamation. - -When the new Parliament met, on the 18th of May, it was seen how -completely Fox and North had destroyed their prestige by their late -factious conduct, and how entirely Pitt had made himself master of the -situation. His patience and cool policy under the tempestuous assaults -of the Opposition had given the country a wonderful confidence in him. -One party extolled him as the staunch defender of the prerogative, -another as the champion of reform and enemy of aristocratic influence. -Not less than one hundred and sixty of the supporters of the late -Coalition Ministry had been rejected at the elections, and they were -held up to ridicule as "Fox's Martyrs." - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III.--(_continued_). - - Victory of Pitt--The King's delight--Pitt's Finance--The India - Bill--Pitt's Budget--The Westminster Election--The Scrutiny--Fox - is returned--The Volunteers in Ireland--Flood's Reform Bill--Riots - in Ireland--Pitt's Commercial Policy for Ireland--Opposition - of the English Merchants--Abandonment of the Measure--Pitt's - Reform Bill--His Administrative Reforms--Bill for fortifying - Portsmouth and Plymouth--Pitt's Sinking Fund--Favourable - Reception of the Bill--Pitt's Excise Bill--Commercial Treaty - with France--Impeachment of Warren Hastings--Retrospect of - Indian Affairs: Deposition of Meer Jaffier--Resistance of Meer - Cossim--Massacre of Patna--Battle of Buxar and Capture of - Allahabad--Clive's Return to India--Settlement of Bengal and - Oude--Domestic Reforms--Rise of Hyder Ali--His Treaty with the - English--He is defeated by the Mahrattas--Deposition of the - Rajah of Tanjore--Failure of Lord Pigot to reinstate him--Lord - North's Regulating Bill--Death of Clive--Warren Hastings becomes - Governor-General--His dealings with the Famine--Treatment of - Reza Khan and the Nabob of Bengal--Resumption of Allahabad and - Corah--Massacre of the Rohillas--Arrival of the New Members of - Council--Struggle for Supremacy--Robbery of Cheyte Sing--Nuncomar's - Charges--His Trial and Execution--Hastings' Constitutional - Resignation--His Final Victory--Wars against the Mahrattas--Hyder - Ali's Advance--Defeat of Baillie--Energy of Hastings--Victories of - Sir Eyre Coote--Capture of Dutch Settlements--Naval Engagements - between the British and French--Death of Hyder Ali--Tippoo - continues the War--He invokes Peace--Hastings' extortions - from Cheyte Sing--Hastings' visit to Benares--Rising of the - People--Rescue of Hastings and Deposition of Cheyte Sing--Extortion - from the Begums of Oude--Parliamentary Inquiries--Hastings' - Reception in England--Burke's Motion of Impeachment--Pitt's - Change of Front--The Prince of Wales and the Whigs--Inquiry into - his Debts--Alderman Newnham's Motion--Denial of the Marriage - with Mrs. Fitzherbert--Sheridan's Begum Speech--Impeachment of - Hastings--Growth of the Opposition to the Slave Trade--The Question - brought before Parliament--Evidence Produced--Sir W. Dolben's - Bill--Trial of Warren Hastings--Speeches of Burke, Fox, and - Sheridan--Illness of the King--Debates on the Regency Bill--The - King's Recovery--Address of the Irish Parliament to the Prince of - Wales. - - -The General Election of 1784 secured for Pitt a prolonged tenure of -power. The king, in opening the Session, could not repress the air -of triumph, and congratulated the Houses on the declared sense of -his people, not forgetting to designate Fox's India Bill as a most -unconstitutional measure. In fact, no one was so delighted as the king. -He had contemplated the victory of Fox and his friends over Pitt with -actual horror. He had never liked Fox, and the violent and overbearing -manner in which he had endeavoured to compel the king to dismiss his -Ministers had increased his aversion into dread and repugnance. In -his letters to Pitt he had said, "If these desperate and factious men -succeed, my line is a clear one, to which I have fortitude to submit." -Again: "Should not the Lords stand boldly forth, this Constitution must -soon be changed; for if the two remaining privileges of the Crown are -infringed, that of negativing the Bills which have passed both Houses -of Parliament, and that of naming the Ministers to be employed, I -cannot but feel, as far as regards my person, that I can be no longer -of utility to this country, nor can with honour, remain in the island." -In fact, George was menacing, a second time, a retreat to Hanover; a -step, however, which he was not very likely to adopt. The sentiment -which the words really express is his horror of the heavy yoke of -the great Whig Houses. The Addresses from both Houses of Parliament -expressed equal satisfaction in the change, Pitt's triumphant majority -having now rejected the amendments of the Opposition. - -On the 21st of June Pitt introduced and carried several resolutions, -which formed the basis of his Commutation Act. These went to check -smuggling, by reducing the duty on tea from fifty to twelve and a half -per cent., and to raise the house and window tax so as to supply the -deficiency. A Bill was then passed to make good another deficiency in -the Civil List, to the amount of sixty thousand pounds. Early in August -Mr. Pitt brought in his India Bill, which differed chiefly from his -former one in introducing a Government Board of Commissioners, with -power to examine and revise the proceedings of the Court of Directors. -This, which afterwards acquired the name of the Board of Control, was -opposed by Fox, but passed both Houses with little trouble. - -Before this great measure had passed, Pitt had introduced his Budget. -On the 30th of June he made his financial statement. He said that -the resources of the country were in a very burthened and disordered -state; but that was not his work, but the work of his predecessors. The -outstanding arrears, owing to the late war, were already ascertained -to amount at least to fourteen million pounds. These operated very -injuriously on the public credit, being at a discount of from fifteen -to twenty per cent.; and that without greatly affecting the public -securities, he should not be able to find more than six million six -hundred thousand six hundred pounds of them at once. To meet the -interest, he proposed to raise taxes to the amount of nine hundred -thousand pounds a year. The imposts--some entirely new, and some -augmented--were on hats, ribbons, gauzes, coals, saddle and pleasure -horses, printed linens and calicoes, candles, paper, and hackney -coaches; licences to deal in excisable commodities, bricks, and tiles; -licences for shooting game. - -[Illustration: GENERAL ELECTION OF 1784: MASTER BILLY'S PROCESSION TO -GROCERS' HALL--PITT PRESENTED WITH THE FREEDOM OF THE CITY OF LONDON. -(_Reduced facsimile of the Caricature by T. Rowlandson._)] - -The duties on bricks and tiles were opposed, as affecting brick-makers -rather than the public, because stones and slates were not included. -These duties were, however, carried, and the Bill passed; but great -discontent arising regarding the duties on coals and on licences to -deal in excisable commodities, the Chancellor of the Exchequer was -obliged to produce a supplementary Budget, and, after withdrawing -these, to lay others on the sale of ale, gold and silver plate, the -exportation of lead, and postage of letters, at the same time limiting -the privilege of franking. It was high time that the latter practice -were put under regulation, for the privilege was enormously abused. -Till this time, a simple signature of a member of Parliament, without -name of the post town whence it was sent, or date, freed a letter all -over the kingdom. Many persons had whole quires of these signatures, -and letters were also addressed to numbers of places where they did not -reside, so that, by an arrangement easily understood, the persons they -were really meant for received them post-free. The loss to Government -by this dishonest system was calculated at one hundred and seventy -thousand pounds a year. By the present plan, no member was to permit -any letter to be addressed to him except at the place where he actually -was; and he was required, in writing a frank, to give the name of the -post town where he wrote it, with the dates of day and year, and to -himself write the whole address. - -On the 20th of August the Appropriation Bill and other measures of -routine having been carried through with great triumph by the Ministry, -the king prorogued the Parliament, which did not meet again till the -25th of January following. Fox came into the new Parliament in a very -remarkable and anomalous position. In the election for Westminster, -the candidates had been, besides himself, Admiral Lord Hood and Sir -Cecil Wray. The election was of the most violent kind, distinguished -by drunkenness, riot, and gross abuses. It continued from April the -1st to the 16th of May, and the numbers on the poll-books, at its -termination, stood as follows:--For Lord Hood, 6,694; for Fox, 6,233; -for Sir Cecil Wray, 5,598. The Prince of Wales had shown himself one of -the most ardent partisans of Fox, all the more, no doubt, because Fox -was detested by the king. The prince had displayed from his carriage -the "Fox favour and laurel," and, at the conclusion of the poll, had -given a grand _fête_ at Carlton House to more than six hundred Foxites, -all wearing "blue and buff." The Duchess of Devonshire and other lady -politicians also gave Fox substantial help. But Fox was not allowed -to triumph so easily. The Tory candidate, Sir Cecil Wray, as was well -understood, instigated and supported by the Government, demanded a -scrutiny; and Corbett, the high bailiff, in the circumstances, could -make no return of representatives for Westminster. As a scrutiny in so -populous a district, and with the impediments which Government and its -secret service money could throw in the way, might drag on for a long -period, and thus, as Government intended, keep Fox out of Parliament, -he got himself, for the time, returned for a small Scottish borough, to -the no small amusement of his enemies. - -[Illustration: - - _Sir Cecil Wray._ _Sam House (Publican on the side of Fox)._ - _Charles James Fox._ - -GENERAL ELECTION OF 1784: THE HUSTINGS, COVENT GARDEN: THE WESTMINSTER -DESERTER DRUMMED OUT OF THE REGIMENT--DEFEAT OF SIR CECIL WRAY. -(_Reduced facsimile of the Caricature by T. Rowlandson._)] - -Almost immediately on the meeting of the House of Commons, Welbore -Ellis demanded whether a return had been made for Westminster, and -being answered in the negative, moved that Mr. Corbett, the high -bailiff, with his assessor, should attend the House; and the next -day, February 2nd, Colonel Fitzpatrick presented a petition from the -electors of Westminster, complaining that they were not legally and -duly represented. In fact, the scrutiny had now been going on for -eight months, and as not even two of the seven parishes of Westminster -were yet scrutinised, it was calculated that, at this rate, the whole -process would require three years, and the city would, therefore, -remain as long unrepresented. The high bailiff stated that the -examinations, cross-examinations, and arguments of counsel were so -long, that he saw no prospect of a speedy conclusion; and Mr. Murphy, -his assessor, gave evidence that each vote was tried with as much form -and prolixity as any cause in Westminster Hall; that counsel--and this -applied to both sides--claimed a right to make five speeches on one -vote; and that propositions had been put in on the part of Sir Cecil -Wray to shorten the proceedings, but objected to on the part of Mr. Fox. - -On the 18th of February, Colonel Fitzpatrick, Fox's most intimate -friend, presented another petition from the electors of Westminster, -praying to be heard by counsel, in consequence of new facts having -come to light, but Lord Frederick Campbell, on the part of Government, -moved that such counsel should not argue against the legality of the -scrutiny. The counsel, on being admitted, refused to plead under -such restrictions. The House then called in the high bailiff, and -demanded what the new facts were on which the petition was based, and -he admitted that they were, that the party of Mr. Fox had offered to -take the scrutiny in the parishes of St. Margaret's and St. John's -alone, where Mr. Fox's interest was the weakest, in order to bring the -scrutiny to an end, and that Sir Cecil Wray had declined the offer. -Colonel Fitzpatrick then moved that the high bailiff should be directed -to make a return, according to the lists on the close of the poll on -the 17th of May last. This motion was lost, but only by a majority of -nine, showing that the opinion of the House was fast running against -the new Minister, and on the 3rd of March Alderman Sawbridge put the -same question again, when it was carried by a majority of thirty-eight. -It was clear that the Government pressure could be carried no further. -Sawbridge moved that the original motion should be put, and it was -carried without a division. The next day the return was made, and -Fox and Lord Hood were seated as the members for Westminster. Fox -immediately moved that the proceedings on this case should be expunged -from the journals, but without success. He also commenced an action -against the high bailiff for not returning him at the proper time, when -duly elected by a majority of votes. He laid his damages at two hundred -thousand pounds, and the trial came on before Lord Loughborough, -formerly Mr. Wedderburn, in June of the following year, 1786, when -the jury gave him immediately a verdict, but only for two thousand -pounds, which he said should be distributed amongst the charities of -Westminster. - -The king's speech, at the opening of this Session, recommended a -consideration of the trade and general condition of Ireland; and -indeed it was time, for the concessions which had been made by the -Rockingham Ministry had only created a momentary tranquillity. The -Volunteers retaining their arms in their hands after the close of the -American war, were evidently bent on imitating the proceedings of the -Americans, and the direction of the movement passed from Grattan to -Flood. In September, 1785, delegates from all the Volunteer corps in -Ireland met at Dungannon, representing one hundred thousand men, who -passed resolutions declaring their independence of the legislature -of Great Britain. The delegates at Dungannon claimed the right to -reform the national Parliament, and appointed a Convention to meet -in Dublin in the month of November, consisting of delegates from the -whole Volunteer army in Ireland. Accordingly, on the 10th of November, -the great Convention met in Dublin, and held their meetings in the -Royal Exchange. They demanded a thorough remodelling of the Irish -Constitution. They declared that as matters stood the Irish House of -Commons was wholly independent of the people; that its term of duration -was equally unconstitutional; and they passed zealous votes of thanks -to their friends in England. These friends were the ultra-Reformers of -England, who had freely tendered the Irish Reformers their advice and -sympathy. The Irish people were ready to hail the delegates as their -true Parliament, and the regular Parliament as pretenders. Within -Parliament House itself the most violent contentions were exhibited -between the partisans of the Volunteer Parliament and the more orthodox -reformers. Henry Flood was the prominent advocate of the extreme -movement, and Grattan, who regarded this agitation as certain to end -only in fresh coercion, instead of augmented liberty for Ireland, -vehemently opposed it. - -On the 29th of November Flood moved for leave to bring in a Bill for -the more equal representation of the people. This was the scheme of -the Volunteer Parliament, and all the delegates to the Convention who -were members of the House, or had procured admittance as spectators, -appeared in uniform. The tempest that arose is described as something -terrific. The orders of the House, the rules of debate, the very rules -of ordinary conduct amongst gentlemen, were utterly disregarded. The -fury on both sides was uncontrollable. The motion was indignantly -rejected by one hundred and fifty-seven votes against seventy-seven; -and the House immediately voted a cordial Address to his Majesty, -declaring their perfect satisfaction with the blessings enjoyed -under his auspicious reign, and the present happy Constitution, and -their determination to support him with their lives and fortunes. -On the 13th of March Mr. Flood introduced his Bill once more, for -equalising the representation of the people in Parliament. It proposed -to abolish the right of boroughs altogether to send members, and to -place the franchise in the people at large. Sir John Fitzgibbon, the -Attorney-General, stoutly opposed it; Grattan dissented from it, and it -was thrown out on the motion to commit it. - -Exasperated at the failure of this measure, a furious mob broke into -the Irish House of Commons on the 15th of April, but they were soon -quelled, and two of the ringleaders seized. The magistrates of Dublin -were censured for observing the gathering of the mob and taking no -measures to prevent its outbreak. The printer and supposed publisher -of the _Volunteers' Journal_ were called before the House and -reprimanded, and a Bill was brought in and passed, to render publishers -more amenable to the law. The spirit of violence still raged through -the country. Tumultuous associations were formed under the name of -Aggregate Bodies. - -Commercial and manufacturing distress was severe in the country, and -the unemployed workmen flocked into Dublin and the other large towns, -demanding relief and menacing the police, and directing their fury -against all goods imported from England. On the 2nd of January, 1785, -a Congress sat in Dublin, consisting of delegates from twenty-seven -counties, and amounting to about two hundred individuals. They held -adjourned meetings, and established corresponding committees in -imitation of their great models, the Americans. In truth, many of the -leaders of these present movements drew their inspiration now from -American Republican correspondents, as they did afterwards from those -of France, by whom they were eventually excited to rebellion. - -The Government of England saw the necessity of coming to some -conclusion on the subject of Irish commerce, which should remove the -distress, and, as a consequence, the disorder. The Irish Government, at -the instigation of the English Administration, sent over Commissioners -to consult with the Board of Trade in London, and certain terms being -agreed upon, these were introduced by Mr. Orde, the Secretary to the -Lord-Lieutenant, to the Irish House of Commons, on the 7th of February. -These were, that all articles not of the growth of Great Britain or -Ireland should be imported into each country from the other, under -the same regulations and duties as were imposed on direct importation, -and with the same drawbacks; that all prohibitions in either country -against the importation of articles grown, produced, or manufactured -in the other should be rescinded, and the duties equalised. There were -some other resolutions relating to internal taxation, to facilitate the -corn trade, and some details in foreign and international commerce. -These, after some debate, were passed on the 11th, and, being agreed to -by the Lords, were transmitted to England. - -On the 22nd of February the English House of Commons resolved itself -into a Committee, on the motion of Pitt, to consider these resolutions. -Pitt spoke with much freedom of the old restrictive jealousy towards -Ireland. He declared that it was a system abominable and impolitic; -that to study the benefit of one portion of the empire at the expense -of another was not promoting the prosperity of the empire as a whole. -He contended that there was nothing in the present proposals to alarm -the British manufacturer or trader. Goods, the produce of Europe, -might now be imported through Ireland into Britain by authority of the -Navigation Act. The present proposition went to allow Ireland to import -and then to export the produce of our colonies in Africa and America -into Great Britain. Beyond the Cape of Good Hope, or the Straits of -Magellan, they could not go, on account of the monopoly granted to the -East India Company. - -Delay was demanded, to hear what was the feeling of merchants and -manufacturers in England, and these soon poured in petitions against -these concessions, from Liverpool, Manchester, and other places; one -of them, from the Lancashire manufacturers, being signed by eighty -thousand persons. After two months had been spent in receiving these -petitions, hearing evidence and counsel, Mr. Pitt introduced his -propositions on the 12th of May. It was then found that British -interests, as usual, had triumphed over the Ministerial intentions of -benefiting Ireland. Not only was Ireland to be bound to furnish, in -return for these concessions, a fixed contribution out of the surplus -of the hereditary revenue towards defraying the expenses of protecting -the general commerce, but to adopt whatever navigation laws the British -Parliament might hereafter enact. Lord North and Fox opposed these -propositions, on the ground that the cheapness of labour in Ireland -would give that country an advantage over the manufacturers in this. -The resolutions were at length carried both in the Committee and in -the House at large on the 25th of July. - -But the alterations were fatal to the measure in Ireland. Instead -now of being the resolutions passed in the Irish Parliament, they -embraced restrictive ones originating in the British Parliament--a -point on which the Irish were most jealous, and determined not to -give way. No sooner did Mr. Orde, the original introducer of the -resolutions to the Irish Parliament, on the 2nd of August, announce his -intention to introduce them as they now stood, than Flood, Grattan, -and Dennis Browne declared the thing impossible; that Ireland never -would surrender her birthright of legislating for herself. Mr. Orde, -however, persisted in demanding leave to introduce a Bill founded -on these resolutions, and this he did on the 12th of August. Flood -attacked the proposal with the utmost vehemence. Grattan, Curran, and -others declared that the Irish Parliament could hear no resolutions -but those which they themselves had sanctioned. Accordingly, though -Mr. Orde carried his permission to introduce his Bill, it was only by -a majority of nineteen, and under such opposition that, on the 15th, -he moved to have it printed for the information of the country, but -announced that he should proceed no further in it at present. This -was considered as a total abandonment of the measure, and there was -a general rejoicing as for a national deliverance, and Dublin was -illuminated. But in the country the spirit of agitation on the subject -remained: the non-importation Associations were renewed, in imitation -of the proceedings in Boston, and the most dreadful menaces were -uttered against all who should dare to import manufactured goods from -England. The consequences were the stoppage of trade--especially in -the seaports--the increase of distress and of riots, and the soldiers -were obliged to be kept under arms in Dublin and other towns to prevent -outbreaks. - -Before the Irish affairs were done with, Pitt moved for leave to bring -in his promised Reform Bill. If Pitt were still desirous of reforming -Parliament, it was the last occasion on which he showed it, and it may -reasonably be believed that he introduced this measure more for the -sake of consistency than for any other purpose. He had taken no steps -to prepare a majority for the occasion; every one was left to do as he -thought best, and his opening observations proved that he was by no -means sanguine as to the measure passing the House. "The number of -gentlemen," he said, "who are hostile to reform are a phalanx which -ought to give alarm to any individual upon rising to suggest such a -motion." His plan was to transfer the franchise from thirty-six rotten -boroughs to the counties, giving the copyholders the right to vote. -This plan would confer seventy-two additional members on the counties, -and thus, in fact, strengthen the representation of the landed interest -at the expense of the towns; and he proposed to compensate the boroughs -so disfranchised by money, amounting to £1,000,000. Wilberforce, -Dundas, and Fox spoke in favour of the Bill; Burke spoke against it. -Many voted against it, on account of the compensation offered, Mr. -Bankes remarking that Pitt was paying for what he declared was, in -any circumstances, unsaleable. The motion was lost by two hundred and -forty-eight against one hundred and seventy-four. - -But though Pitt ceased to be a Parliamentary reformer--and by degrees -became the most determined opponent of all reform--he yet made an -immediate movement for administrative reform. He took up the plans of -Burke, praying for a commission to inquire into the fees, gratuities, -perquisites, and emoluments received in the public offices, with -reference to existing abuses. He stated that, already--acting on the -information of reports of the Board of Commissioners appointed in Lord -North's time--fixed salaries, instead of fees and poundages, had been -introduced in the office of the land-tax, and the Post Office was so -improved as to return weekly into the Treasury three thousand pounds -sterling, instead of seven hundred sterling. Similar regulations he -proposed to introduce into the Pay Office, the Navy and Ordnance -Office. He stated, also, that he had, when out of office, asserted that -no less than forty-four millions sterling was unaccounted for by men -who had been in different offices. He was ridiculed for that statement, -and it was treated as a chimera; but already twenty-seven millions of -such defalcations had been traced, and a balance of two hundred and -fifty-seven thousand pounds sterling was on the point of being paid in. -In fact, the state of the Government offices was, at that time, as it -had long been, such that it was next to impossible for any one to get -any business transacted there without bribing heavily. As a matter of -course, this motion was strongly opposed, but it was carried, and Mr. -Francis Baring and the two other Comptrollers of army accounts were -appointed the Commissioners. - -[Illustration: VIEW OF LONDON FROM THE TOWER TO LONDON BRIDGE IN THE -LATTER PART OF THE 18TH CENTURY. (_After the Picture by Maurer._)] - -The great financial questions of 1786 were the Duke of Richmond's -plan of fortifying Portsmouth and Plymouth, and Pitt's proposal of a -sinking fund to pay off the national debt, an excise duty on wines, -and Pitt's commercial treaty with France. During the previous Session -the Duke of Richmond, Master-General of the Ordnance, had proposed -a plan of fortifying these large arsenals, so that, in the supposed -absence of our fleet on some great occasion, they would be left under -the protection of regiments of militia, for whom enormous barracks -were to be erected. A board of officers had been appointed to inquire -into the advantages of the plan, and their report was now brought up -on the 27th of February, and introduced by Mr. Pitt, who moved that -the plan be adopted. This scheme was strongly opposed by General -Burgoyne, Colonel Barré, and others. Mr. Bastard moved an amendment -declaring the proposed fortifications inexpedient. He said the militia -had been called the school of the army, but to shut them up in these -strongholds, separate from their fellow-subjects, was the way to -convert them into universities for prætorian bands. He protested -against taking the defence of the nation from our brave fleet and -conferring it on military garrisons; tearing the ensign of British -glory from the mast-head, and fixing a standard on the ramparts of -a fort. The Bill was rejected, Fox, Sheridan, Windham, and all the -leading Oppositionists declaiming against it. - -On the 21st of March a Committee which had been appointed early -in the Session to inquire into the public income and expenditure, -and to suggest what might in future be calculated on as the clear -revenue, presented its report through Mr. Grenville, their chairman. -On the 29th, Pitt, in a Committee of the whole House, entered upon -the subject, and detailed the particulars of a plan to diminish -progressively and steadily the further debt. It appeared from the -report of the Select Committee that there was, at present, a clear -surplus revenue of nine hundred thousand pounds sterling, and that this -surplus could, without any great additional burthen to the public, be -made a million per annum. This he declared to be an unexpected state of -financial vigour after so long and unfortunate a war. The plan which -he proposed was to pay two hundred and fifty thousand pounds quarterly -into the hands of Commissioners appointed for the purpose to purchase -stock to that amount, which was under par, or to pay stock above par, -and thus cancel so much debt. In addition to this, the annuities for -lives, or for limited terms, would gradually cancel another portion. -All dividends arising from such purchases were to be similarly applied. -Pitt calculated that by this process, and by the compound interest -on the savings to the revenue by it, in twenty-eight years no less -than four millions sterling per annum of surplus revenue would be -similarly applied, or employed for the exigencies of the State. By -this halcyon process he contemplated the eventual extinction of that -enormous debt, to pay the mere interest of which every nerve had been -stretched, and every resource nearly exhausted. In a delightful state -of self-gratulation, Pitt declared that he was happy to say that all -this was readily accomplishable; that we had nothing to fear, except -one thing--the possibility of any Minister in need violating this fund. -Had the original Sinking Fund, he said, been kept sacred, we should -have had now very little debt. To prevent the recurrence of this fatal -facility of Ministers laying their hands on this Fund, he proposed -to place it in the hands of Commissioners, and he declared that "no -Minister could ever have the confidence to come down to that House and -desire the repeal of so beneficial a law, which tended so directly to -relieve the people from their burthens." He added that he felt that he -had by this measure "raised a firm column, upon which he was proud to -flatter himself that his name might be inscribed." He said not a word -about the name of Dr. Price being inscribed there, to whom the whole -merit of the scheme belonged; he never once mentioned his name at all. -On his own part, Dr. Price complained not of this, but that he had -submitted three schemes to Pitt, and that he had chosen the worst. - -The greater part of the House, as well as the public out of doors, were -captivated with the scheme, which promised thus easily to relieve them -of the monster debt; but Sir Grey Cooper was the first to disturb these -fairy fancies. He declared that the whole was based on a fallacious -statement; that it was doubtful whether the actual surplus was as -described; but even were it so, that it was but the surplus of a -particular year, and that it was like the proprietor of a hop-ground -endeavouring to borrow money on the guarantee of its proceeds in a -particularly favourable year. Fox, Burke, and Sheridan followed in the -same strain. They argued that, supposing the assumed surplus actually -to exist, which they doubted, it would immediately vanish in case of -war, and a fresh mass of debt be laid on. Sheridan said, the only mode -of paying off a million a year would be to make a loan of a million a -year, for the Minister reminded him of the person in the comedy who -said, "If you won't lend me the money, how can I pay you?" On the 14th -of May he moved a string of fourteen resolutions unfavourable to the -report of the Committee, which he said contained facts which could not -be negatived; but the House did negative them all without a division, -and on the 15th of May passed the Bill. In the Lords it met with some -proposals from Earl Stanhope, which were to render the violation of the -Act equivalent to an act of bankruptcy, but these were negatived, and -the Bill was passed there on the 26th. It was not until 1828 that the -fallacy on which the Bill rested was finally exposed by Lord Grenville, -who, curiously enough, had been chairman of the Committee which -recommended its adoption. - -In order to enable the revenue to furnish the required million surplus -for the Sinking Fund, Pitt found it necessary to propose to extend -the excise laws to foreign wine, which had hitherto been under the -jurisdiction of the Custom House. He contended that, on a moderate -calculation, the sum lost to the revenue by the frauds in the trade -in wine amounted to upwards of two hundred and eighty thousand pounds -per annum. To remedy this, and to prevent at once smuggling and the -adulteration of wine, the excise officers were to have free access to -the cellars of all who sold wine, but not into private ones. To abate -that repugnance to the law which excise laws awaken in the public mind, -Pitt stated that the change would not amount to more than thirteen -thousand pounds a year, and that not more than one hundred and seventy -additional officers would be required, who could add little to the -influence of the Crown, as they were by law incapable of voting at -elections. He carried his Bill with little difficulty through the -Commons; but in the Lords, Lord Loughborough made a decided set against -it, and pointed out one most shameful provision in it--namely, that in -case of any suit against an exciseman for improper seizure, a jury was -prohibited giving more damages than twopence, or any costs of suit, -or inflicting a fine of more than one shilling if the exciseman could -show a probable cause for such a seizure. Lord Loughborough declared -justly that this was a total denial of justice to the complaint -against illegal conduct on the part of excisemen, for nothing would -be so easy as for the excise to plead false information as a probable -cause. It was a disgraceful infringement of the powers of juries, and -Lord Loughborough called on Lord Camden to defend the sacred right of -juries as he had formerly done. Camden was compelled to confess that -the clause was objectionable; but that to attempt an alteration would -destroy the Bill for the present Session, and so it was suffered to -pass with this monstrous provision. - -The commercial treaty with France, Pitt's greatest achievement as a -financier, was not signed until the recess--namely, in September. It -was conceived entirely in the spirit of Free Trade, and was an honest -attempt to establish a perpetual alliance between the two nations. Its -terms were:--That it was to continue in force for twelve years; with -some few exceptions prohibitory duties between the two countries were -repealed; the wines of France were admitted at the same rate as those -of Portugal; privateers belonging to any nation at war with one of the -contracting parties might no longer equip themselves in the ports of -the other; and complete religious and civil liberty was granted to the -inhabitants of each country while residing in the other. One result of -the treaty was the revival of the taste for light French wines which -had prevailed before the wars of the Revolution, and a decline in the -sale of the fiery wines of the Peninsula. But the treaty was bitterly -attacked by the Opposition. Flood reproduced the absurd argument that -wealth consists of money, and that trade can only be beneficial to -the country which obtains the largest return in gold. Fox and Burke, -with singular lack of foresight, declaimed against Pitt for making a -treaty with France, "the natural political enemy of Great Britain," and -denounced the perfidy with which the French had fostered the American -revolt. In spite of the illiberality of these arguments, Pitt, with -the acquiescence of the commercial classes, carried the treaty through -Parliament by majorities of more than two to one. - -But, in spite of the importance of these measures, there was one -question which engrossed the attention of both parliament and the -public far more than any other. This was the demand by Burke for the -impeachment of Warren Hastings, late Governor-General of Bengal, -for high crimes and misdemeanours there alleged to have been by him -committed. It therefore becomes necessary at this point to resume our -narrative of Indian affairs from the year 1760, which our connected -view of the events of the American war necessarily suspended. - -At the point at which our former detail of Indian affairs ceased, -Lord Clive had gone to England to recruit his health. He had found us -possessing a footing in India, and had left us the masters of a great -empire. He had conquered Arcot and other regions of the Carnatic; -driven the French from Pondicherry, Chandernagore, and Chinsura; and -though we had left titular princes in the Deccan and Bengal, we were, -in truth, masters there; for Meer Jaffier, though seated on the throne -of Bengal, was our mere instrument. - -The English having deposed Suraja Dowlah, the nabob of Bengal, and set -up their tool, the traitor Meer Jaffier, who had actually sold his -master, the nabob, to them, the unfortunate Nabob was soon assassinated -by the son of Meer Jaffier. But Meer Jaffier, freed thus from the -fear of the restoration of the Nabob, soon began to cabal against his -patrons, the English. Clive was absent, and the government conducted by -Mr. Henry Vansittart, a man of little ability in his course of policy. -All discipline ceased to exist amongst the English; their only thought -was of enriching themselves by any possible means. Meer Jaffier was not -blind to this. He saw how hateful the English were making themselves -in the country, and was becoming as traitorous to them as he had been -to his own master. Early, therefore, in the autumn of 1760, Vansittart -and Colonel Caillaud marched to Cossimbazar, a suburb of Moorshedabad, -where Meer Jaffier lived, at the head of a few hundred troops, and -offered certain terms to him. Meer Jaffier appeared to shuffle in his -answer; and, without more ceremony, the English surrounded his palace -at the dead of night, and compelled him to resign, but allowed him to -retire to Fort William, under the protection of the British flag; and -they then set up in his stead Meer Cossim, his son-in-law. - -Meer Cossim, for a time, served their purpose. They obtained, as -the price of his elevation, a large sum of money and an accession -of territory. But he was not a man of the obsequious temper of Meer -Jaffier. He removed his court from Moorshedabad to Monghyr, two hundred -miles farther from Calcutta. He increased and disciplined his troops; -he then made compulsory levies on the English traders, from which -they had always claimed exemption. There was a loud outcry, and a -determined resistance on the part of the English; but Meer Cossim not -only continued to compel them to pay the same revenue dues as others, -but imprisoned or disgraced every man of note in his dominions who -had ever shown regard to the English. It was clear that he chafed -under the impositions of his elevators, and meant to free himself from -them and their obligations together. It was in vain that the English -Council in Calcutta uttered warning and remonstrance; there was the -most violent controversy between the English factory at Patna and Meer -Cossim. Vansittart hastened to Monghyr, to endeavour to arrange matters -with Cossim. He consented to the payment, by the English, of the inland -revenue to the amount of nine per cent.; and on his part he accepted a -present for himself from Cossim of seven lacs of rupees, or upwards of -seventy thousand pounds. But on this occasion, though Vansittart had -pocketed this large bribe from Meer Cossim, the council in Calcutta, -who got nothing, voted the terms most dishonourable, and sent a fresh -deputation to Cossim at Monghyr. This deputation was headed by Mr. -Amyott; but as it went to undo what Vansittart had just done, Cossim, -who saw no end of exactions, and no security in treating with the -English, caused his troops to fall on the unfortunate deputation as -they passed through Moorshedabad, and they were all cut to pieces. Here -was an end to all agreement with this impracticable man, so the Council -immediately decreed the deposition of Meer Cossim, and the restoration -of the more pliant puppet, Meer Jaffier. - -The English took the field in the summer of 1763 against Meer Cossim -with six hundred Europeans and one thousand two hundred Sepoys. Major -Adams, the commander of this force, was vigorously resisted by Meer -Cossim, but drove him from Moorshedabad, gained a decided victory -over him on the plains of Geriah, and, after a siege of nine days, -reduced Monghyr. Driven to his last place of strength in Patna, and -feeling that he must yield that, Meer Cossim determined to give one -parting example of his ferocity to his former patrons, as, under -their protection, he had given many to his own subjects. He had taken -prisoners the English belonging to the factory at Patna, amounting to -one hundred and fifty individuals. These he caused to be massacred by a -renegade Frenchman in his service, named Sombre. On the 5th of October -his soldiers massacred all of them except William Fullarton, a surgeon -known to the Nabob. The mangled bodies of the victims were thrown -into two wells, which were then filled up with stones. This done, the -monster Cossim fled into Oude, and took refuge with its Nabob, Sujah -Dowlah. The English immediately entered Patna, which was still reeking -with the blood of their countrymen, and proclaimed the deposition of -Meer Cossim, and the restoration of Meer Jaffier as Nabob of Bengal. - -[Illustration: DEPOSITION OF MEER JAFFIER. (_See p._ 316.)] - -The Nabob of Oude zealously embraced the cause of Meer Cossim. He -possessed not only great resources in his own province, but he -possessed additional authority with the natives from having received -also at his court the titular emperor of Delhi, Shah Allum, who, though -driven from his throne and territory by the Mahrattas, was still in the -eyes of the people the Great Mogul. With the Great Mogul in his camp, -and appointed vizier by him, Sujah Dowlah advanced at the head of fifty -thousand men against Major Adams and his little army, now numbering -about one thousand two hundred Europeans and eight thousand Sepoys. -Before the two armies came in sight of each other Adams died, and the -command was assumed by Major, afterwards Sir Hector Munro. Munro led -his army to Buxar, more than a hundred miles higher up the Ganges. -There, in the month of October, 1764, he came into conflict with the -army of Oude, and put it thoroughly to the rout, killing four thousand -men and taking one hundred and thirty pieces of cannon and much spoil. - -The next day the Great Mogul went over to the stronger party. He had -no further hope of assistance from Sujah Dowlah, and so he rode, with -a few followers, to the British camp. He was received most willingly, -for, though the British had shown no disposition to recognise his -authority, now he was in their hands they acknowledged him as the -rightful sovereign of Hindostan, and lost no time in concluding a -treaty with him; and, on condition of his yielding certain territories -to them, they agreed to put him in possession of Allahabad and the -other states of the Nabob of Oude. After this, Munro continuing the -war against Sujah Dowlah, endeavoured to take the hill fort of Chunar, -in which all the treasures of Cossim were said to be deposited, -but failed. On his part, Sujah Dowlah had obtained the assistance -of Holkar, a powerful Mahratta chief, and, with this advantage, -endeavoured to make a better peace with Munro; but that officer -declined treating, unless Cossim and the assassin, Sombre, were first -given up to him. Dowlah proposed, instead of this surrender of those -who had sought his protection, the usually triumphant argument with -the English, a large sum of money. But Munro replied that all the -lacs of rupees in Dowlah's treasury would not satisfy him without the -surrender of the murderers of his countrymen at Patna. Dowlah, though -he would not surrender the fugitives, had no objection to give a secret -order for the assassination of Sombre; but Munro equally spurned this -base proposal, and the war went on. Munro was victorious, and early in -1765, having reduced the fort of Chunar and scattered Dowlah's army, he -entered Allahabad in triumph, and put the Mogul in possession of it. - -In 1765 Clive embarked for India for the third and last time. He -went out with the firm determination to curb and crush the monster -abuses that everywhere prevailed in our Indian territories. He -had made a fortune of forty thousand pounds a year, and he was, -therefore, prepared to quash the system by which thousands of others -were endeavouring to do the same. No man was sharper than Clive in -perceiving, where his own interest was not concerned, the evils which -were consuming the very vitals of our power, and making our name odious -in Hindostan. The first and most glaring abuse of power which arrested -his attention was as regarded his old puppet, Meer Jaffier. He had -lately died, and his own court had proposed to set up his legitimate -grandson; but the Council preferred his natural son, Nujeem-ul-Dowlah, -a poor spiritless youth, who agreed that the English should take the -military defence of the country, and also appoint a Prime Minister to -manage the revenue and other matters of government. The Council agreed -to this, and received a present from the nabob of their creation of -one hundred and forty thousand pounds, which they divided amongst -themselves. This was directly in opposition to the recent order of the -Court of Directors, not to accept any presents from the native princes; -but, as Clive states, he found them totally disregarding everything but -their own avarice. - -Nujeem-ul-Dowlah, their new puppet, proposed to have one Nuncomar as -his Prime Minister, but Nuncomar was too great a rogue even for them. -He had alternately served and betrayed the English, and his master, -Meer Jaffier, and the Council set him aside, and appointed to that -office Mohammed Reza Khan, a Mussulman of far better character. Clive -confirmed the appointment of Mohammed, but compelled Nujeem-ul-Dowlah -to retire from the nominal office of Nabob, on a pension of thirty-two -lacs of rupees. - -The very name of Clive brought the war with Oude to a close. Sujah -Dowlah was encamped on the borders of Bahar, strongly reinforced by -bands of Mahrattas and Afghans, and anxious for another battle. But no -sooner did he learn that Clive was returned, than he informed Cossim -and Sombre that as he could no longer protect them, they had better -shift for themselves. He then dismissed his followers, rode to the -English camp, and announced that he was ready to accept such terms -of peace as they thought reasonable. Clive proceeded to Benares to -settle these terms. The council of Calcutta had determined to strip -Sujah Dowlah of all his possessions, but Clive knew that it was far -more politic to make friends of powerful princes. He therefore allowed -Sujah Dowlah to retain the rank and title of vizier, and gave him back -all the rest of Oude, except the districts of Allahabad and Corah, -which had been promised to Shah Allum as an imperial domain. On Shah -Allum, as Great Mogul, he also settled, on behalf of the Company, an -annual payment of twenty-six lacs of rupees. Thus the heir of the great -Aurungzebe became the tributary of the East India Company. - -In return for this favour, Clive obtained one of infinitely more -importance. It was the transfer of the sole right of dominion -throughout the provinces of Bengal, Orissa, and Bahar. All that vast -territory was thus made the legal and valid property of the East -India Company. The conveyance was ratified by public deed, which was -delivered by the Great Mogul to Clive in presence of his court, the -throne on which he was elevated during this most important ceremony -being an English dining-table, covered with a showy cloth. And of this -prince--who was entirely their own puppet--the British still continued -to style themselves the vassals, to strike his coins at their mint, -and to bear his titles on their public seal! Clive saw the immense -importance of maintaining the aspect of subjects to the highest native -authority, and of avoiding alarming the minds of the native forces by -an open assumption of proprietorship. By this single treaty, at the -same time that he had freed the Company from all dependence on the -heirs of Meer Jaffier, he derived the Company's title to those states -from the supreme native power in India; and he could boast of having -secured to his countrymen an annual revenue of two millions of money. -Thus began a system which has played a leading part in our Indian -history. - -Having thus arranged with the natives, Clive came to the far more -arduous business of compelling the Europeans to conform to the orders -of the Company, that no more presents should be received. In his -letters home he recommended that to put an end to the examples of -corruption in high places, it was necessary that the Governor of Bengal -should have a larger salary; that he and others of the higher officers -should be prohibited from being concerned in trade; that the chief seat -of government should be at Calcutta; and the Governor-General should -have the authority, in cases of emergency, to decide independently of -the Council. These were all sound views, but to carry them out required -the highest exercise of his authority. He exacted a written pledge -from the civil servants of the Company that they would receive no -more presents from the native princes. To this there was considerable -objection, and some resigned; but he carried this through, nominally -at least. To sweeten the prohibition of civil servants engaging in -trade, he gave them a share in the enormous emoluments of the salt -monopoly--two hundred per cent. being laid on the introduction of salt, -one of the requisites of life to the natives, from the adjoining state -of Madras into that of Bengal. - -With the military he had a far more violent contest. After the -battle of Plassey, Meer Jaffier had conferred on the officers of the -army what was called double batta, meaning an additional allowance -of pay. Clive had always told the officers that it was not likely -that the Company would continue this; and, now that the territories -of Jaffier were become virtually their own, he announced that this -must be discontinued. The Governor and Council issued the orders for -this abolition of the double batta; he received in reply nothing but -remonstrances. The officers, according to Burke's phrase, in his speech -of December 1st, 1783, "could not behold, without a virtuous emulation, -the moderate gains of the civil service." Clive was peremptory, and -found his orders openly set at defiance by nearly two hundred officers, -headed by no less a person than his second in command, Sir Robert -Fletcher. These gentlemen had privately entered into a bond of five -hundred pounds to resign on the enforcement of the order, and not -to resume their commissions unless the double batta was restored. -To support such as might be cashiered, a subscription was entered -into, to which the angry civilians of Calcutta are said to have added -sixteen thousand pounds. The conspirators flattered themselves that, -in a country like India, held wholly by the sword, Clive could not -dispense with their services for a single day. They were mistaken. On -receiving the news of this military strike, Clive immediately set off -for the camp at Monghyr. He was informed that two of the officers vowed -that if he came to enforce the order, they would shoot or stab him. -Undaunted by any such threats, although in failing health, and amid -drenching rains, he pursued his journey, and, on arriving, summoned -the officers of the army, and, treating the threats of assassination -as those of murderers, and not of Englishmen, he reasoned with them on -the unpatriotic nature of their conduct. His words produced the desired -effect on many; the privates showed no disposition to support their -officers in their demand, and the sepoys all shouted with enthusiasm -for Sabut Jung, their ideal of a hero. The younger officers, who had -been menaced with death if they did not support the conspiracy, now -begged to recall their resignation, and Clive allowed it. He ordered -Sir Robert Fletcher and all who stood out into arrest, and sent them -down the Ganges to take their trial at Calcutta. Many are said to have -departed with tears in their eyes. By this spirited conduct Clive -crushed this formidable resistance, and averted the shame which he -avowed not all the waters of the Ganges could wash out--that of a -successful mutiny. - -Whilst showing this firmness towards others, Clive found it necessary -to maintain it in himself. In face of the orders of the Company which -he had been enforcing, that the British officials should receive -no more presents, the Rajah of Benares offered him two diamonds of -large size, and the Nabob-vizier, Sujah Dowlah, on the conclusion of -his treaty, a rich casket of jewels, and a large sum of money. Clive -declared that he could thus have added half a million to his fortune; -and our historians have been loud in his praises for his abstinence -on this occasion. Lord Mahon observes:--"All this time the conduct of -Clive was giving a lofty example of disregard of lucre. He did not -spare his personal resources, and was able, some years after, to boast -in the House of Commons that this his second Indian command had left -him poorer than it found him." Ill-health compelled him to return to -England in January, 1767. - -[Illustration: THE GREAT MOGUL ENTERING THE ENGLISH CAMP. (_See p._ -317.)] - -Whilst Clive had been reducing our enemies in Bengal and Oude, a -more powerful antagonist than any whom we had yet encountered in -India was every day growing more formidable in Mysore, and combining -several of the petty chiefs of the different States of Madras as -his allies against us. He was now far more considerable than when he -had appeared against us as the ally of the French general, Lally, in -the neighbourhood of Pondicherry. Hyder Ali was a self-made man. He -was originally the grandson of a wandering fakir; then the captain -of banditti; then at the head of an army composed of freebooters; -continually growing in the number of his followers, and in the wealth -procured by plunder, he at length became Commander-in-Chief of the -Rajah of Mysore. Soon rising in his ambition, he seized the Rajah, -his master, pensioned him off with three lacs of rupees, and declared -himself the real Rajah. In 1761 he was become firmly established -on the throne of Mysore, but this distinction did not satisfy him. -He determined to be the founder of Mysore as a great kingdom, and -extended his power to near the banks of the Kistnah. There he was -met and repulsed by the Peishwa of the Mahrattas, who crossed the -Kistnah, defeated him repeatedly, seized some of his newly-acquired -territory, and levied on him thirty-two lacs of rupees. Hyder returned -to Seringapatam, which he had made his capital, and had strongly -fortified, and he thence conducted an expedition against Malabar, which -he conquered, and put the chiefs to death to make his hold of it the -more secure. It is unnecessary to go minutely into the history of the -next few years. Hyder organised an army of 100,000 men, officered by -Frenchmen, and sometimes in confederation with the Nizam of the Deccan, -sometimes in conjunction with the Mahrattas of the Western Ghauts, -waged perpetual war on the English. In 1769 Indian Stock fell sixty per -cent. The resources of the Company were fast becoming exhausted, when -Hyder Ali, by an artful feint, drew the English army, in the spring -of 1769, a hundred and forty miles to the south of Madras. Then, by a -rapid march, he suddenly appeared, with a body of five thousand horse, -on the heights of St. Thomas, overlooking Madras. The whole of the city -and vicinity, except the port of St. George itself, lay at his mercy. -The terrified Council, in all haste, offered most advantageous terms -of peace, which it was the very object of Hyder to accept, and that, -too, before the English commander, Colonel Smith, could arrive and -intercept his retreat. Hyder gladly consented to the terms, which were -those of mutual restitution, and of alliance and mutual defence: the -last, a condition which, with Hyder's disposition to aggrandisement, -was sure to bring the English into fresh trouble. - -[Illustration: WARREN HASTINGS.] - -This was immediately made evident. The treaty was concluded on the 4th -of April, 1769, and the first news was that Hyder had quarrelled with -the Mahrattas, and called on the Presidency of Madras to furnish the -stipulated aid. But the Presidency replied that he had himself sought -this war, and therefore it was not a defensive but an offensive war. -The Peishwa of the Mahrattas invaded Mysore, and drove Hyder to the -very walls of Seringapatam, dreadfully laying waste his territory. -Hyder then sent piteous appeals to his allies, the British, offering -large sums of money; but they still remained deaf. At another time, -they were solicited by the Mahratta chief to make an alliance with -him, but they determined to remain neutral, and left Hyder and the -Peishwa to fight out their quarrels. In 1771 the Mahrattas invaded the -Carnatic, but were soon driven out; and in 1772 the Mahrattas and Hyder -made peace through the mediation of the Nabob of the Carnatic, or of -Arcot, as he was more frequently called. Hyder had lost a considerable -portion of Mysore, and besides had to pay fifteen lacs of rupees, with -the promise of fifteen more. The refusal of the English to assist him -did not fail to render him more deeply hostile than ever to them. - -During this period--from 1769 to 1772--Warren Hastings had been second -in the Council at Madras; but in the latter year he was promoted -to the head of the Council in Bengal. During this period, too, the -British had been brought into hostilities with the Rajah of Tanjore. -The history of these proceedings is amongst the very blackest of the -innumerable black proceedings of the East India Company. The Rajah of -Tanjore was in alliance with the Company. In 1762 they had guaranteed -to him the security of his throne; but now their great ally, Mohammed -Ali, the Nabob of the Carnatic, called to the English for help against -the Rajah. The conduct of honourable men would have been to offer -themselves as mediators, and so settle the business; but not by such -means was the whole of India to be won from the native princes. The -Rajah of the Carnatic offered to purchase the territory of Tanjore from -the British for a large sum. The latter, however, had guaranteed the -defence of these territories to the Rajah of Tanjore by express treaty. -No matter, they closed the bargain with the Rajah of the Carnatic; -they agreed to seize Tanjore, and make it over to Mohammed Ali. An -army assembled at Trichinopoly on the 12th of September, 1771, invaded -Tanjore, seized the Rajah and his family, and invested the whole of -Tanjore in the name of the Nabob of the Carnatic. - -When these infamous doings were known in England, a feeling of horror -and indignation ran through the country. The East India Company was -compelled to send out Lord Pigot to Madras to do what Clive had so -vigorously done in Bengal--control and reverse the acts of the Council. -Pigot most honourably acquitted himself; liberated the outraged -Nabob of Tanjore and his family, and restored them. But Pigot had -not the same overawing name as Clive. The Council of Madras seized -him and imprisoned him, expelling every member of the Council that -had supported him. This most daring proceeding once more astonished -and aroused the public feeling of England. An order was sent out -to reinstate Lord Pigot, but, before it arrived, his grief and -mortification had killed him. Sir Thomas Rumbold, a most avaricious -man, was appointed to succeed him, and arrived in Madras in February, -1778, Major-General Hector Munro being Commander-in-Chief, and the army -of Hyder, one hundred thousand in number, already again menacing the -frontiers. - -But we have far overshot the contemporary history of Bengal. The -Presidency thought it had greatly benefited by the reforms of Clive; -yet it had since been called upon to furnish large supplies of men and -money to support the unprincipled transactions at Madras, which we -have briefly detailed, and the India House, instead of paying the usual -dividends, was compelled to reduce them. Further, a terrible famine -devastated Bengal, and more than half the population are said to have -been swept away. This state of things compelled Parliament to turn its -attention to India. General Burgoyne, now active in the Opposition, -moved and carried, on the 13th of April, 1772, a resolution for the -appointment of a Select Committee of thirteen members to inquire into -Indian affairs; and Burgoyne, who was extremely hostile to Clive, was -appointed chairman. The committee went actively to work, and presented -two reports during the Session. After Parliament met again in November, -Lord North, who had conversed with Clive during the recess, called for -and carried a resolution for another and this time a secret committee. -As the Company was in still deeper difficulties, and came to Lord North -to borrow a million and a half, he lent them one million four hundred -thousand pounds, on condition that they should keep their dividends at -six per cent. until this debt was repaid, and afterwards at eight per -cent. He at the same time relieved them from the payment of the four -hundred thousand pounds per annum, imposed by Lord Chatham, for the -same period. This was done in February, 1773, and in April he brought -in a Bill at the suggestion of Clive, who represented the Court of -Proprietors at the India House as a regular bear-garden, on account of -men of small capital and smaller intelligence being enabled to vote. -By North's Bill it was provided that the Court of Directors should, in -future, instead of being annually elected, remain in office four years; -instead of five hundred pounds stock qualifying for a vote in the Court -of Proprietors, one thousand pounds should alone give a vote; three -thousand pounds, two votes; and six thousand pounds, three votes. The -Mayor's Court in Calcutta was restricted to petty cases of trade; and a -Supreme Court was established, to consist of a Chief Justice and three -puisne judges, appointed by the Crown. The Governor-General of Bengal -was made Governor-General of India. These nominations were to continue -for five years, and then to return to the Directors, but subject to the -approval of the Crown. Whilst the Bill was in progress, the members of -the new Council were named. Warren Hastings was appointed the first -Governor-General; and in his Council were Richard Barwell, who was -already out there, General Clavering, the Honourable Colonel Monson, -and Philip Francis. Another clause of Lord North's Bill remitted the -drawback on the Company's teas for export to America, an act little -thought of at the time, but pregnant with the loss of the Transatlantic -colonies. By these "regulating acts," too, as they were called, the -Governor-General, members of Council, and judges, were prohibited from -trading, and no person in the service of the king or Company was to -be allowed to receive presents from native princes, nabobs, or their -ministers or agents. Violent and rude, even, was the opposition raised -by the India House and all its partisans to these two Bills. - -The passing of these Acts was marked by attacks on Lord Clive. Burgoyne -brought up a strong report from his Committee, and, on the 17th of -May, moved a resolution charging Clive with having, when in command of -the army in Bengal, received as presents two hundred and thirty-four -thousand pounds. This was carried; but he then followed it by another, -"That Lord Clive did, in so doing, abuse the power with which he was -entrusted, to the evil example of the servants of the public." As -it was well understood that Burgoyne's resolutions altogether went -to strip Clive of the whole of his property, a great stand was here -made. Clive was not friendless. He had his vast wealth to win over -to him some, as it inflamed the envy of others. He had taken care to -spend a large sum in purchasing small boroughs, and had six or seven -of his friends and kinsmen sitting for these places in Parliament. -He had need of all his friends. Throughout the whole of this inquiry -the most persistent and envenomed attacks were made upon him. He was -repeatedly questioned and cross-questioned, till he exclaimed, "I, your -humble servant, the Baron of Plassey, have been examined by the Select -Committee more like a sheep-stealer than a member of Parliament." Then -the House thought he had suffered enough, for nothing was clearer -than that justice required the country which was in possession of the -splendid empire he had won to acknowledge his services, whilst it -noted the means of this acquisition. Burgoyne's second resolution was -rejected, and another proposed by Wedderburn, the Solicitor-General, -adopted, "That Robert, Lord Clive, did, at the same time, render -great and meritorious services to this country." This terminated the -attack on this gifted though faulty man. His enemies made him pay the -full penalty of his wealth. They had struck him to the heart with -their poisoned javelins. From a boy he had been subject to fits of -hypochondriacal depression; as a boy, he had attempted his own life in -one of these paroxysms. They now came upon him with tenfold force, and -in a few months he died by his own hand (November 22, 1774). - -From Clive, events cause us to pass at once to one accused of much -greater misdemeanours, and one whose administration terminated in -a more formal and extraordinary trial than that of Clive; a trial -made ever famous by the shining abilities and eloquence of Burke and -Sheridan, and the awful mysteries of iniquity, as practised by our -authorities in India, which were brought to the public knowledge by -them on this grand occasion. Hastings commenced his rule in Bengal -under circumstances which demanded rather a man of pre-eminent humanity -than of the character yet lying undeveloped in him. In 1770, under the -management of Mr. Cartier, a famine, as we have mentioned, broke out -in Bengal, so terrible that it is said to have swept away one-third of -the population of the state, and to have been attended by indescribable -horrors. The most revolting circumstance was, that the British were -charged with being the authors of it, by buying up all the rice in the -country, and refusing to sell it, except at the most exorbitant prices. -But the charge is baseless. Macaulay says, "These charges we believe to -have been utterly unfounded. That servants of the Company had ventured, -since Clive's departure, to deal in rice, is probable. That, if they -dealt in rice, they must have gained by the scarcity, is certain. But -there is no reason for thinking that they either produced or aggravated -the evil which physical causes sufficiently explain." Hastings promptly -introduced a change in the land-tax by means of which more revenue -was obtained with less oppression, and he also freed the country from -marauders. - -Besides succeeding to the government of a country whose chief province -was thus exhausted, the finances of the Company were equally drained, -both in Calcutta and at home, and the Directors were continually crying -to Hastings for money, money, money! As one means of raising this -money, they sent him a secret order to break one of their most solemn -engagements with the native princes. When they bribed Meer Jaffier to -depose his master, by offering to set him in his seat, and received in -return the enormous sums mentioned for this elevation, they settled -on Meer Jaffier and his descendants an annual income of thirty-two -lacs of rupees, or three hundred and sixty thousand pounds. But Meer -Jaffier was now dead, and his eldest son died during the famine. The -second son was made Nabob, a weak youth in a weak government, and as -the Company saw that he could not help himself, they ordered Hastings -to reduce the income to one-half. This was easily done; but this was -not enough, disgraceful as it was. Mohammed Reza Khan, who had been -appointed by the Company the Nabob's Minister, on the ground that he -was not only a very able but a very honest man, they ordered to be -arrested on pretended pleas of maladministration. He and all his family -and partisans must be secured, but not in an open and abrupt way, -which might alarm the province; they were to be inveigled down from -Moorshedabad to Calcutta, on pretence of affairs of government, and -there detained. Nuncomar, the Hindoo, who had been displaced, in order -to set up Mohammed, who was a Mussulman, and who had been removed on -the ground of being one of the most consummate rogues in India, was to -be employed as evidence against Mohammed. Hastings fully carried out -the orders of the secret committee of the India House. He had Mohammed -seized in his bed, at midnight, by a battalion of sepoys; Shitab Roy, -the Minister of Bahar, who acted under Mohammed at Patna, was also -secured; and these two great officers and their chief agents were sent -down to Calcutta under guard, and there put into what Hastings called -"an easy confinement." In this confinement they lay many months, all -which time Nuncomar was in full activity preparing the charges against -them. Shitab Roy, like Mohammed, stood high in the estimation of his -countrymen of both faiths; he had fought on the British side with -signal bravery, and appears to have been a man of high honour and -feeling. But these things weighed for nothing with Hastings or his -masters in Leadenhall Street. He hoped to draw large sums of money from -these men; but he was disappointed. Though he himself arranged the -court that tried them, and brought up upwards of a hundred witnesses -against them, no malpractice whatever could be proved against them, -and they were acquitted. They were therefore honourably restored, -the reader will think. By no means. Such were not the intentions of -the Company or of Hastings. Whilst Mohammed and Shitab Roy had been -in prison, Hastings had been up at Moorshedabad, had abolished the -office of Minister in both Patna and Moorshedabad, removed all the -government business to Calcutta, cut down the income of the young -Nabob, Muharek-al-Dowla, to one half, according to his instructions, -and reduced the Nabob himself to a mere puppet. He had transferred the -whole government to Calcutta, with all the courts of justice, so that, -writes Hastings, "the authority of the Company is fixed in this country -without any possibility of competition, and beyond the power of any but -themselves to shake it." - -The manner in which Hastings had executed the orders of the Directors -in this business showed that he was prepared to go all lengths in -maintaining their interests in India. He immediately proceeded to -give an equally striking proof of this. We have seen that when the -Mogul Shah Allum applied to the British to assist him in recovering -his territories, they promised to conduct him in triumph to Delhi, -and place him firmly on the grand throne of all India; but when, in -consequence of this engagement, he had made over to them by a public -grant, Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa, they found it inconvenient to fulfil -their contract, and made over to him Allahabad and Corah instead, with -an annual payment of twenty-six lacs of rupees--two hundred and sixty -thousand pounds. The payment of this large sum, too, was regarded by -the Company, now in the deepest debt, as unnecessary, and Hastings had -orders to reduce it. It appears that the money was at no time duly -paid, and had now been withheld altogether for more than two years. The -Mogul, thus disappointed in the promises of restoration by the English, -and now again in the payment of this stipulated tribute, turned to the -Mahrattas, and offered to make over the little provinces of Allahabad -and Corah, on condition that they restored him to the sovereignty of -Delhi. The Mahrattas gladly caught at this offer, and by the end of the -year 1771 they had borne the Mogul in triumph into his ancient capital -of Delhi. This was precisely such a case as the Directors were on the -watch for. In their letter to Bengal of the 11th of November, 1768, -they had said: "If the Emperor flings himself into the hands of the -Mahrattas, or any other Power, we are disengaged from him, and it may -open a fair opportunity of withholding the twenty-six lacs of rupees we -now pay him." The opportunity had now come, and was immediately seized -on by Hastings to rescind the payment of the money altogether, and he -prepared to annex the two provinces of Allahabad and Corah. These were -sold to the Nabob of Oude for fifty lacs of rupees. This bargain was -settled between the vizier and Hastings at Benares, in September, 1773. - -[Illustration: BENARES. (_From a Photograph by Frith and Co._)] - -But the Nabob of Oude held out new temptations of gain to Hastings. The -Rohillas, a tribe of Afghans, had, earlier in the century, descended -from their mountains and conquered the territory lying between the -Ganges and the mountains to the west of Oude. They had given it the -name of Rohilcund. These brave warriors would gladly have been allies -of the British, and applied to Sujah Dowlah to bring about such an -alliance. Dowlah made fair promises, but he had other views. He hoped, -by the assistance of the British, to conquer Rohilcund and add it to -Oude. He had no hope that his rabble of the plains could stand against -this brave mountain race, and he now artfully stated to Hastings that -the Mahrattas were at war with the Rohillas. If they conquered them, -they would next attack Oude, and, succeeding there, would descend the -Ganges and spread over all Bahar and Bengal. He therefore proposed -that the British should assist him to conquer Rohilcund for himself, -and add it to Oude. For this service he would pay all the expenses of -the campaign, the British army would obtain a rich booty, and at the -end he would pay the British Government besides the sum of forty lacs -of rupees. Hastings had no cause of quarrel with the Rohillas, but for -the proffered reward he at once acceded to the proposal. In April, -1774, an English brigade, under Colonel Champion, invaded Rohilcund, -and in a hard-fought field defeated the Rohillas. In the whole of -this campaign nothing could be more disgraceful in every way than the -conduct of the troops of Oude. They took care to keep behind during -the fighting, but to rush forward to the plunder. The Nabob and his -troops committed such horrors in plundering and massacreing not only -the Rohillas, but the native and peaceful Hindoos, that the British -officers and soldiers denounced the proceedings with horror. It was -now, however, in vain that Hastings called on the Nabob to restrain his -soldiers, for, if he did not plunder, how was he to pay the stipulated -forty lacs of rupees? and if he ruined and burnt out the natives, how -were they, Hastings asked, to pay any taxes to him as his new subjects? -All this was disgraceful enough, but this was not all. Shah Allum now -appeared upon the scene, and produced a contract between himself and -the Nabob, which had been made unknown to Hastings, by which the Nabob -of Oude stipulated that, on condition of the Mogul advancing against -the Rohillas from the south of Delhi, he should receive a large share -of the conquered territory and the plunder. The Nabob now refused to -fulfil the agreement, on the plea that the Mogul ought to have come and -fought, and Hastings sanctioned that view of the case, and returned to -Calcutta with his ill-gotten booty. - -But Hastings had scarcely terminated these proceedings, when the new -members of Council, appointed under the Regulating Act, arrived. On the -19th of October, 1774, landed the three Councillors, Clavering, Monson, -and Francis; Barwell had been some time in India. The presence of the -three just arrived was eminently unwelcome to Hastings. He knew that -they came with no friendly disposition towards him, and that Philip -Francis, in particular, was most hostile. The letter of the Court of -Directors recommended unanimity of counsels, but nothing was further -from the views of the new members from Europe. As they were three, -and Hastings and Barwell only two, they constituted a majority, and -from the first moment commenced to undo almost everything that he had -done, and carried their object. They denounced, and certainly with -justice, the Rohilla war; they demanded that the whole correspondence -of Middleton, the agent sent to the court of Oude by Hastings, should -be laid before them. Hastings refused to produce much of it, as -entirely of a private and personal nature; and they asserted that this -was because these letters would not bear the light, and that the whole -of Hastings' connection with Sujah Dowlah was the result of mercenary -motives. In this they did the Governor-General injustice, for, though -he drew money sternly and by every means from the India chiefs and -people, it was rather for the Company than for himself. They ordered -the recall of Middleton from Oude, deaf to the protests of Hastings -that this was stamping his conduct with public odium, and weakening the -hands of government in the eyes of the natives. Still, Middleton was -recalled, and Mr. Bristow sent in his place. Hastings wrote home in the -utmost alarm both to the Directors and to Lord North, prognosticating -the greatest confusion and calamity from this state of anarchy; and -Sujah Dowlah, regarding the proceedings of the new members of Council -as directed against himself, and seeing in astonishment the authority -of Hastings apparently at an end, was so greatly terrified that he -sickened and died. - -The Council now recalled the English troops from Rohilcund; and Bristow -demanded, in the name of the Council, from Asaph-ul-Dowlah, the young -Nabob, a full payment of all arrears; and announced that, Sujah Dowlah -being dead, the treaty with him was at an end. Under pressure of these -demands, Bristow, by instructions from the new regnant members of -the Council, compelled the young Nabob to enter into a fresh treaty -with them; and in this treaty they introduced a clause to the full as -infamous as anything which Hastings had done. In return for renewing -the possession of the provinces of Corah and Allahabad, they compelled -him to cede to them the territory of Cheyte Sing, the Rajah of Benares, -though this did not at all belong to the Nabob of Oude, and was, -moreover, guaranteed to Cheyte Sing by Hastings, in solemn treaty. The -revenue of Cheyte Sing, thus lawlessly taken possession of, amounted to -twenty-two millions of rupees; and the Nabob of Oude was also, on his -own account, bound to discharge all his father's debts and engagements -to the Company, and to raise greatly the pay to the Company's brigade. -Hastings utterly refused to sanction these proceedings; but the -Directors at home, who cared not how or whence money came, warmly -approved of the transactions. - -At Calcutta, Francis, Clavering, and Monson were deeply engaged in -what appeared to them a certain plan for the ruin of Hastings. The -Maharajah Nuncomar, who styled himself the head of the Brahmins, came -forward and laid before them papers containing the most awful charges -against Hastings. These were that Hastings had encouraged him, at the -command of the Secret Committee, to produce charges against Mohammed -Rheza Khan and Shitab Roy, when they were in prison, in order to extort -money from them; and that Hastings had accepted a heavy bribe to allow -Mohammed to escape without punishment. Hastings broke up the Council, -declaring that he would not sit to be judged by his own Council. If -they had charges to prefer against him, they might form themselves -into a committee, and transmit such evidence as they received to -the Supreme Court of Justice at Calcutta, or to the Directors at -home. But the three declared themselves a majority, voted their own -competence to sit and try their own chief, and preferred another huge -charge introduced by Nuncomar--namely, that Hastings had appropriated -to himself two-thirds of the salary of the Governor of Hooghly, a -post formerly held by Nuncomar himself. They determined to introduce -Nuncomar to confront Hastings at his own Council board. Hastings -declared the Council not sitting; the three declared it sitting and -valid, and called in Nuncomar, who proceeded to detail his charges, -and ended by producing a letter from the Munny Begum, now Governor of -Oude, expressing the gratitude which she felt to the Governor-General -for her appointment as guardian of the Nabob, and that in token of this -gratitude she had presented him with two lacs of rupees. Immediately on -hearing that, Hastings declared the letter a forgery, and that he would -prove it so; and he was not long in procuring an absolute denial of -the letter from the Begum. Things being driven to this pass, Hastings -commenced an action against Nuncomar, Mr. Fowke, one of the most active -agents of the trio, and others, as guilty of a conspiracy against -him. This was supported by native witnesses, and the Supreme Court -of Justice, after a long and careful examination of the case, held -Nuncomar and Fowke to bail, and bound the Governor-General to prosecute. - -But, on the 6th of May, a blow fell on Nuncomar from an unexpected -quarter. He was arrested and thrown into prison at the suit of a -merchant named Mohun Persaud. The charge was, that he had forged a -bond five years before. He had been brought to trial for this before -the Mayor's Court at Calcutta--the Supreme Court not then being in -existence. On this occasion, being in favour with Hastings, he had -procured his release; but now, the merchant seeing that Hastings' -favour was withdrawn, and that, therefore, he might have a better -chance against him, the charge was renewed. Hastings, on the trial, -declared before the Supreme Court that neither directly nor indirectly -had he promoted the prosecution. The opposition members were highly -incensed at this proceeding. Three days after Nuncomar's committal they -realised their threat of dismissing the Munny Begum, and appointed -Goordas, the son of Nuncomar, to her office. They sent encouraging -messages to Nuncomar in his prison, and made violent protests to -the judges against the prosecution. Their efforts were useless. The -trial came on in due course. One of the judges, Sir Robert Chambers, -had endeavoured to have Nuncomar tried on an earlier statute, which -included no capital punishment, for forgery was no capital crime by -the native laws. But Sir Elijah Impey and the other judges replied -that the new Act compelled them to try him on the capital plea, and -he had been, on this ground, refused bail. Nuncomar knew nothing of -our estimate of forgery, and he could not comprehend how a man of his -rank, and a Brahmin of high dignity, should be tried for his life on -such a charge. But he was found guilty, and condemned to be hanged. -Strong efforts were then made to have him respited till the judgment of -the Court of Directors could be taken on the question, but Impey and -the other judges declared that it could not be done unless they could -assign some sufficient reasons, and they contended that there were no -such reasons. Yet the new Acts expressly gave them this power, and, -what made it more desirable, was that no native of any rank had been -tried by the Supreme Court and the British law, and only one native -had ever been capitally convicted for forgery in any of our Indian -courts. Moreover, the indignity of hanging a high-caste Brahmin was so -outraging to the native feeling that it was deemed most impolitic to -perpetrate such an act. All was pleaded in vain; on the 5th of August, -1775, Nuncomar was brought out and publicly hanged, amid the terrified -shrieks and yells of the native population, who fled at the sight, and -many of them rushed into the sacred Ganges to purify them from the -pollution of ever witnessing such a scene. The death of Nuncomar put -an end to all hope of procuring any further native evidence against -Hastings. The natives were so terrified at this new kind of execution, -that nothing could convince them but that, in spite of the opposition -of his colleagues, Hastings was all powerful. - -When the news of this distractedly hopeless condition of the Council in -Calcutta reached London, Lord North called upon the Court of Directors -to send up to the Crown an address for the recall of Hastings, without -which, according to the new Indian Act, he could not be removed till -the end of his five years. The Directors put the matter to the vote, -and the address was negatived by a single vote. The minority then -appealed to the Court of Proprietors, at the general election in the -spring of 1776, but there it was negatived by ballot by a majority of -one hundred, notwithstanding that all the Court party and Parliamentary -Ministerialists who had votes attended to overthrow him. This defeat -so enraged Lord North that he resolved to pass a special Bill for the -removal of the Governor-General. This alarmed Colonel Maclean, a friend -of Hastings, to whom he had written, on the 27th of March. 1775, -desiring him, in his disgust with the conduct of Francis, Clavering, -and Monson, and the support of them by the Directors, to tender his -resignation. Thinking better of it, however, he had, on the 18th of the -following May, written to him, recalling the proposal of resignation. -But Maclean, to save his friend from a Parliamentary dismissal, which -he apprehended, now handed the letter containing the resignation to the -Directors. Delighted to be thus liberated from their embarrassment, -the Directors accepted the resignation at once, and elected Mr. Edward -Wheler to the vacant place in the Council. - -But matters had greatly changed at Calcutta before this. Maclean did -not present the letter of resignation till October, 1776; but, in -September of that year, Colonel Monson had died, and, the members -in the Council being now equal, the Governor-General's casting vote -restored to him his lost majority. Hastings was not the man to defer -for a moment the exercise of his authority. He began instantly to -overturn, in spite of their most violent efforts, the measures of -Francis and friends. He dismissed Goordas from the chief authority -in Oude, and reinstated his "dear friend, Nat Middleton," as he -familiarly termed him. He revived his land revenue system, and was -planning new and powerful alliances with native princes, especially -with the Nabob of Oude, and the Nizam of the Deccan, not omitting to -cast a glance at the power of the Sikhs, whose dangerous ascendency -he already foresaw. In the midst of these and other grand plans for -the augmentation of British power in India--plans afterwards carried -out by others--he was suddenly astounded by the arrival of a packet -in June, 1777, containing the news of his resignation, and of its -acceptance by the Directors. He at once protested that it was invalid, -as he had countermanded the resignation before its presentation; but -General Clavering, as next in succession, at once claimed the office -of Governor-General, and Francis, in Council, administered the oath -to him. Clavering immediately demanded the keys of the fort and the -treasury from Hastings; but that gentleman refused to admit his own -resignation, much less Clavering's election to his post. Here, then, -were two would-be Governor-Generals, as Europe had formerly seen two -conflicting Popes. To end the difficulty, Hastings proposed that the -decision of the question should be referred to the Supreme Court. It -is wonderful that Clavering and Francis should have consented to this, -seeing that Impey, Hastings' friend, and the judge of Nuncomar, was -at the head of that Court; but it was done, and the Court decided in -Hastings' favour. No sooner was Hastings thus secured, than he charged -Clavering with having forfeited both his place in the Council, and -his post as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, by attempting to seize -on the Governor-Generalship. Clavering and Francis were compelled to -appeal once more to the Supreme Court, and this time, to his honour, -Impey decided in favour of Clavering. Clavering, who had been deeply -mortified by his defeat, died a few days after this occurred, in -August, 1777. By this event the authority of Hastings in the government -was sufficiently restored, notwithstanding that Wheler generally sided -with Francis, for him to carry his own aims. - -It was at this crisis, when Hastings was just recovering his authority -in the Council, that the news arrived in India, and spread amongst the -native chiefs, that in Yenghi Dunia, or the New World, the Company -Sahib--for the East Indians could never separate the ideas of the East -India Company and England itself--there had been a great revolution, -and the English driven out. This, as might be expected, wonderfully -elated the native chiefs, and especially those in the south. There the -French of Pondicherry and Chandernagore boasted of the destruction -of the British power, and that it was by their own hands. Hastings, -who was as able and far-seeing as he was unprincipled in carrying -out his plans for the maintenance of the British dominion in India, -immediately set himself to counteract the mischievous effects of these -diligently-disseminated rumours, and of the cabals which the French -excited. These were most to be feared amongst the vast and martial -family of the Mahrattas. The Mahrattas had risen on the ruins of the -great Mogul empire. They now extended their tribes over a vast space of -India from Mysore to the Ganges. The Peishwa, as head of these nations, -held his residence at Poonah. Besides his, there were the great houses -of Holkar and Scindia; the Guicowar, who ruled in Guzerat; the Bonslah, -or Rajah of Berar, a descendant of Sivaji. The Mahrattas were, for the -most part, a rude, warlike race, rapacious and ambitious, and living -in the most primitive style. To destroy the confidence of these fierce -warriors in the French, Hastings gave immediate orders, on receiving -the news of the proclamation of war in Europe, for the seizure of the -French settlements. This was on the 7th of July, 1778; on the 10th -he had taken Chandernagore, and ordered Sir Hector Munro to invest -Pondicherry. That was soon accomplished, and the only remaining -possession of France, the small one of Mahé, on the coast of Malabar, -was seized the next spring. - -[Illustration: SURRENDER OF BAILLIE TO HYDER ALI. (_See p._ 330.)] - -Hastings then mustered fresh regiments of sepoys; demanded and received -three battalions from Cheyte Sing, the Rajah of Benares; armed -cruisers; laid up stores of ammunition and provisions for three months -in Fort William; enrolled a thousand European militia at Calcutta, -and stood ready for any French invasion from sea. He then despatched -Colonel Leslie with a strong force into the very heart of the Mahratta -country. Leslie appeared to have lost his energy, made four months' -delay in the plains of Bundelcund, and the next news was that he was -dead. Colonel Goddard was sent to take his command, and advanced into -Berar; but there hearing that successive revolutions were taking place -at Poonah, he waited the result of them. Meanwhile, the presidency of -Bombay, desirous of anticipating the expeditions from Calcutta, now -undertook to reinstate Ragunath Rao, a deposed peishwa, whom they had -lately left to his fate, and taking him along with him, the British -commander, Colonel Egerton, marched into the Mahratta country with four -thousand men. The army, when it had reached within sixteen miles of -Poonah, was surrounded by hosts of Mahratta cavalry, and was compelled -to surrender. The Mahrattas, as conditions--which the British were -in no position to decline--insisted on the restoration of all the -territory won from them by the British since 1756, and the surrender to -them of Ragunath Rao. But Hastings refused to recognise this treaty. -He ordered Colonel Goddard to advance. The title of general was -conferred on him, and he well justified the promotion. In that and the -succeeding campaign he won victory on victory; stormed Ahmedabad; took -the city of Bassein; gained a splendid victory over forty thousand of -the combined forces of Holkar and Scindia, and, in a great measure, -retrieved all the losses, and restored the fame of the British arms. In -another quarter the success against the Mahrattas was equally decisive. -Captain Popham with a small body of troops stormed and took the city of -Lahore, and the huge fortress of Gwalior, which the Mahrattas deemed -impregnable. - -To assist the Governor-General, the British Government had sent out -Sir Eyre Coote in 1780 to the scene of his former fame, not only as -Commander of the Forces in place of Clavering, but also as member -of Council. Coote usually supported Hastings in the Council, but he -greatly embarrassed him by the insatiable spirit of avarice which -had grown upon him with years; and in making arrangements with the -Nabob of Oude and others to supply the means of accommodation to the -old commander, Hastings largely augmented the grounds of his future -persecutions. The war with the Mahrattas and the announcement of the -speedy arrival of a French armament on the coast of Coromandel induced -the Company's old enemy, Hyder Ali, to think it a good opportunity -to recover some of his territory from the Company. He saw that the -present opportunity was most favourable for taking a signal revenge on -the English. For years he had concerted with the French a grand plan -for the destruction of the British power; and even whilst he remained -quiet, he was preparing with all his energies for its accomplishment. -He had squeezed his treasurers and collectors to the utmost for the -accumulation of money, and mustered an army of nearly ninety thousand -men, including twenty-eight thousand cavalry and two thousand artillery -and rocketmen, besides four hundred engineers, chiefly French. Hyder -suddenly poured down from his hills with this host into the plains of -Madras. To the last moment the authorities there appear to have been -wholly unconscious of their danger. Besides this, the army in the -presidency did not exceed six thousand men, and these were principally -sepoys. This force, too, was spread over a vast region, part at -Pondicherry, part at Arcot, part in Madras, but everywhere scattered -into cantonments widely distant from each other, and in forts capable -of very little defence. As for the forces of their ally, the Nabob of -Arcot, they ran at the first issue of Hyder's army through the ghauts. -On came the army of Hyder like a wild hurricane. Porto Novo on the -coast, and Conjeveram near Trichinopoli, were taken; and Hyder advanced -laying all waste with fire and sword, till he could be seen--a dreadful -apparition--with his host from Mount St. Thomas, his progress marked by -the flames and smoke of burning villages. - -The inhabitants, men, women, and children, fled in terror from their -splendid villas, around the city, into the fort of St. George. -A fast-sailing vessel was dispatched to Calcutta, to implore the -Governor-General to send them speedy aid of men and money. The forces -were called together from different quarters, and Sir Hector Munro at -the head of one body, and Colonel Baillie at the head of another, were -ordered to combine, and intercept Hyder. First one place of rendezvous -and then another was named, but, before the junction could take place, -Baillie had managed to allow himself to be surrounded by the whole host -of Hyder, and after a brave defence was compelled to surrender, one -half of his troops being cut to pieces. The insults and cruelties of -the troops of Hyder to their captives were something demoniac. Munro -had sent to demand troops from the Nabob of Arcot, for whom the British -were always fighting, and received a message of compliments, but no -soldiers. On the defeat of Baillie he made a hasty retreat to Mount St. -Thomas. Meanwhile, the call for aid had reached Calcutta, and Hastings -instantly responded to it with all his indomitable energy. He called -together the Council, and demanded that peace should be made at once -with the Mahrattas; that every soldier should be shipped off at once to -Madras; that fifteen lacs of rupees should be sent without a moment's -delay to the Council there; that the incompetent governor, Whitehill, -should be removed; and Sir Eyre Coote sent to perform this necessary -office, and take the command of the troops. Francis, who was just -departing for England, raised as usual his voice in opposition. But -Hastings' proposals were all carried. The troops, under Sir Eyre Coote, -were hurried off, and messengers dispatched in flying haste to raise -money at Moorshedabad, Patna, Benares, Lucknow--in short, wherever the -authority of Hastings could extort it. At the same time, other officers -were sent to negotiate with the Mahrattas for peace. - -Coote landed at Madras at the beginning of November. A council was -immediately called, Whitehill was removed from the government of the -Presidency, and the member of Council next in seniority appointed. -Coote had brought with him only five hundred British troops and six -hundred Lascars. The whole force with which he could encounter Hyder -amounted only to one thousand seven hundred Europeans and five thousand -native troops. Coote, whose name as the conqueror of the French at -Wandewash and Pondicherry struck terror into Hyder, soon resumed his -triumphs on his old ground, driving the enemy from Wandewash. Hearing -then of the arrival of the French armament off Pondicherry, he marched -thither, and posted himself on the Red Hills. The French fleet, -consisting of seven ships of the line and four frigates, was anchored -off the place. But the French squadron having sailed away for the Isle -of France, from apprehension of the approach of a British fleet, Hyder -retreated, and, entering the territory of Tanjore, laid it waste, -while his son, Tippoo, laid siege again to Wandewash. Hyder was again -encouraged to advance, and on the 6th of July, 1781, Coote managed to -bring him to action near Porto Novo, and completely routed him and his -huge host, though he had himself only about eight thousand men. Hyder -retired quite crestfallen to Arcot, and ordered Tippoo to raise the -siege of Wandewash. - -Notwithstanding that Hyder had established his camp soon after in a -strong position near the village of Pollilore, he was attacked on -the 27th of August by Eyre Coote. On this occasion Sir Hector Munro -warned Coote of the disadvantages of ground under which he was going to -engage, and the inevitable sacrifice of life. Coote replied angrily, -"You talk to me, sir, when you should be doing your duty!" His warning, -however, was just. Coote did not succeed in driving Hyder from his -post without severe loss. But again, on the 27th of September, another -battle was fought between them in the pass of Sholinghur, near Bellore, -in which Coote defeated Hyder with terrible loss. This battle relieved -the English garrison in Bellore, and the rainy season put an end to -operations, but the Carnatic was saved. - -On the 22nd of June, 1781, Lord Macartney arrived at Madras to take -the place of Whitehill as Governor. He brought the news of the war -having broken out between the British and the Dutch, and he determined -to take advantage of it to seize the Dutch settlements on the coast of -Coromandel and in Ceylon. But Sir Eyre Coote had lately had a stroke -of palsy; his faculties were failing, and his temper had grown morose. -Finding he could obtain no assistance from the Commander-in-chief, -Macartney called out the militia of Madras, and at their head reduced -the Dutch settlements of Sadras and Pulicat. Finding Sir Hector Munro -waiting at Madras for a passage to England, in consequence of the -insulting conduct of Sir Eyre Coote, he induced him to take the command -of an expedition against Negapatam. Admiral Hughes landed the troops -near Negapatam on the 21st of October; they then united with a force -under Colonel Braithwaite, and on the 12th of November Negapatam was -taken, with large quantities of arms and military stores. Leaving -Braithwaite to make an expedition in Tanjore, where, in February of the -coming year, he was surrounded by Tippoo and Lally, the French general, -and taken prisoner, Admiral Hughes sailed across to Ceylon, a most -desirable conquest, because of its secure harbour of Trincomalee, as -well as the richness and beauty of the island, and also on account of -its position, for it lay only two days' sail from Madras. On the 11th -of January, 1782, Trincomalee was won. - -But in February the long-expected armament from France arrived on -the Coromandel coast. Suffren, the admiral, was one of the ablest -sea-commanders of France. On his way he had secured the Cape of Good -Hope against the English, and he now landed at Porto Novo two thousand -French soldiers to join the army of Hyder Ali. Tippoo, flushed with the -recent capture of Colonel Braithwaite, invited the French to join him -in an attack on Cuddalore, an important town between Porto Novo and -Pondicherry. This was done, and Cuddalore was wrested from the English -in April. Whilst these events were taking place on land, repeated -engagements occurred with the British fleets on the coasts. That of -Admiral Hughes was reinforced by fresh ships from England, and between -February, 1782, and June, 1783, the British and French fleets fought -five pitched battles with varied success. In none of these was any -man-of-war captured by either side, nor any great number of men lost; -but, eventually, Suffren succeeded in retaking Trincomalee, in Ceylon, -from the British. - -From Cuddalore, Tippoo and Bussy, the French general, turned their -forces against Wandewash; but they were met by Coote, though he was -now sinking and failing fast. They retreated, and he attempted to make -himself master of the strong fort of Arnee, where much of the booty -of Hyder was deposited; but Hyder made show of fighting him whilst -Tippoo carried off all the property. Tippoo was obliged to march -thence towards Calicut, where the Hindoo chiefs, his tributaries, were -joining the British under Colonel Mackenzie. Hyder at this moment -was confounded by the news of the peace made by Hastings with the -Mahrattas, and expected that those marauders would speedily fall on -Mysore. His health was fast declining, and yet he dared not introduce -his allies, the French, into his own territory, lest he should not so -readily get them out again. Besides his suspicions of the French, he -had constant fears of assassination. Hyder died in December, 1782. - -At the time that Tippoo heard of the death of his father, he was, -assisted by the French, eagerly pressing on the most inferior force -of Colonel Mackenzie, not very far from Seringapatam. Mackenzie being -obliged to retire, was suddenly set upon, before daylight, near -Paniany, about thirty-five miles from Calicut, by the whole force; -but he repulsed them with great slaughter. Tippoo then fell back and -made the best of his way to his capital to secure his throne and the -treasures of Hyder Ali. He found himself at the age of thirty master -of the throne, of an army of nearly one hundred thousand men, and of -immense wealth. With these advantages, and the alliance of the French, -Tippoo did not doubt of being able to drive the British out of all the -south of India. Yet, with his vast army, accompanied by nine hundred -French, two thousand Sepoys, and nearly three hundred Kafirs, Tippoo -retreated, or appeared to be retreating, before General Stuart, with a -force of only fourteen thousand men, of whom three thousand alone were -British. He was, in fact, however, hastening to defend the north-west -districts of Mysore from another British force on the coast of Canara. -This force was that of Colonel Mackenzie, joined by another from -Bombay, under General Matthews, who took the chief command in that -quarter. - -News now arrived of peace concluded between Britain and France. The -French, to whom their possessions were restored, at once ceased -hostilities and went to occupy their reacquired settlements. But Tippoo -continued the war, bent on taking Mangalore. Nothing could now have -prevented the English from completely conquering but the stupidity of -the Council of Madras. They sent commissioners to treat with Tippoo, -who, once getting them into his camp, made them really prisoners, -kept all information from them, and induced them to issue orders to -the English officers to cease hostilities. By these orders a junction -between Stuart and Colonel Fullarton, and the immediate investment and -seizure of Seringapatam, Tippoo's capital, were prevented. Fullarton -had overrun a great portion of the southern districts of Mysore, and -had entered into close alliance with the Zamorin of Calicut, the Rajah -of Travancore, and other rajahs, tributary to Tippoo, all the way from -Cochin to Goa. With ample supplies of provisions and other aids from -these chiefs, Fullarton was in full march to join Stuart, and laid -siege to Seringapatam, when he received peremptory orders to give up -the enterprise, as the British were about concluding terms with Tippoo. -Exceedingly disconcerted by these commands, which thus frustrated -the results of this wonderful campaign, Fullarton, however, had no -alternative but to obey, and Tippoo thus held on till he had starved -out Campbell, and gained the fort of Mangalore. Then he concluded peace -on condition of mutual restitution of all conquests since the war. This -peace was signed on the 11th of March, 1784. - -Warren Hastings had saved Madras and the Carnatic, but only at the -cost of extortion. To obtain the necessary money, he began a system of -robbery and coercion on the different princes of Bengal and Oude. The -first experiment was made on Cheyte Sing, the Rajah of Benares, who had -been allowed to remain as a tributary prince when that province was -made over to the British by the Nabob of Oude. The tribute had been -paid with a regularity unexampled in the history of India; but when the -war broke out with France, Hastings suddenly demanded an extraordinary -addition of fifty thousand pounds a year, and as it was not immediately -paid, the Rajah was heavily fined into the bargain. This was rendered -still more stringent in 1780, when the difficulties in Madras began. -Cheyte Sing sent a confidential agent to Calcutta, to assure Hastings -that it was not in his power to pay so heavy a sum, and he sent him -two lacs of rupees (twenty thousand pounds), as a private present to -conciliate him. Hastings accepted the money, but no doubt feeling the -absolute need of large sums for the public purse, he, after awhile, -paid this into the treasury, and then said to Cheyte Sing that he must -pay the contribution all the same. He compelled the Rajah to pay the -annual sum of fifty thousand pounds, and ten thousand pounds more as -a fine, and then demanded two thousand cavalry. After some bargaining -and protesting, Cheyte Sing sent five hundred horsemen and five hundred -foot. Hastings made no acknowledgment of these, but began to muster -troops, threatening to take vengeance on the Rajah. In terror, Cheyte -Sing then sent, in one round sum, twenty lacs of rupees (two hundred -thousand pounds) for the service of the State; but the only answer he -obtained for the munificent offering was, that he must send thirty lacs -more, that is, altogether, half a million. - -[Illustration: ARREST OF THE RAJAH OF BENARES. (_See p._ 334.)] - -Following his words by acts, he set off himself, attended only by a few -score sepoys, for Benares. Cheyte Sing came out as far as Buxar to meet -the offended Governor, and paid him the utmost homage. He continued his -journey with the Rajah in his train, and entered the Rajah's capital, -the great Mecca of India, the famed city of Benares, on the 14th of -August, 1781. He then made more enormous demands than before; and the -compliance of the Rajah not being immediate, he ordered Mr. Markham, -his own-appointed resident at Benares, to arrest the Rajah in his -palace. Cheyte Sing was a timid man, yet the act of arresting him in -the midst of his own subjects, and in a place so sacred, and crowded -with pilgrims from every part of the East, was a most daring deed. -The effect was instantaneous. The people rose in fury, and pouring -headlong to the palace with arms in their hands, they cut to pieces -Markham and his sepoys. Had Cheyte Sing had the spirit of his people -in him, Hastings and his little party would have been butchered in -half an hour. But Cheyte Sing only thought of his own safety. He got -across the Ganges, and whole troops of his subjects flocked after him. -Thence he sent protestations of his innocence of the _émeute_, and of -his readiness to make any conditions. Hastings, though surrounded and -besieged in his quarters by a furious mob, deigned no answer to the -suppliant Rajah, but busied himself in collecting all the sepoys in -the place. But the situation of Hastings was at every turn becoming -more critical. The sepoys, sent to seize Cheyte Sing in the palace -of Ramnuggur, were repulsed, and many of them, with their commander, -killed. The multitude were now more excited than ever, and that night -would probably have seen the last of Warren Hastings, had he not -contrived to escape from Benares, and to reach the strong fortress -of Chunar, situated on a rock several hundred feet above the Ganges, -and about seventeen miles below Benares. Cheyte Sing, for a moment, -encouraged by the flight of Hastings, put himself at the head of the -enraged people, and, appealing to the neighbouring princes as to his -treatment, declared he would drive the English out of the country. -But troops and money were speedily sent to Hastings from Lucknow, -others marched to Chunar from their cantonments, and he found himself -safe amid a sufficient force commanded by the brave Major Popham, -the conqueror of Gwalior, to defy the thirty thousand undisciplined -followers of Cheyte Sing. From the 29th of August to the 20th of -September there were different engagements between the British and the -forces of Cheyte Sing; but on every occasion, though the Indians fought -bravely they were worsted, and on the last-named day, utterly routed -at Pateeta. Cheyte Sing did not wait for the arrival of the British -troops; he fled into Bundelcund, and never returned again to Benares. -Hastings restored order, and set up another puppet Rajah, a nephew of -Cheyte Sing, but raised the annual tribute to forty lacs of rupees, or -four hundred thousand pounds a year, and placed the mint and the entire -jurisdiction of the province in the hands of his own officers. - -Hastings next determined to experiment on the Nabob of Oude. This -Nabob, Asaph-ul-Dowlah, was an infamously dissipated prince, spending -his own money in licentious pleasures, and extorting what he could -from the Begums, his mother and grandmother. The old ladies lived at -the palace of Fyzabad, or the "Beautiful Residence," situated in a -charming district, amid hills and streams, about eighty miles from -Lucknow. The Nabob's father had left them large sums of money and -extensive estates, so that they kept a handsome court, and yet had the -reputation of having accumulated about three million pounds sterling. -The Nabob had compelled them, by coercive means, to let him have, at -different times, about six hundred thousand pounds, and he thirsted -exceedingly for more. Hastings determined to anticipate him. He sent -for the Nabob of Oude while he was still in the fortress of Chunar, -and there reminding him of his debts to the British Government, which -were considerable, coolly proposed to him the robbery of his mother -and grandmother. The proposal was so barefaced that, when Hastings -came to make it to the Nabob, he felt that he really required some -pretended reason for thus arbitrarily laying hands on the property of -these innocent women, and therefore unblushingly asserted that they had -been concerned in stirring up the insurrection at Benares--a matter, -besides that it was so notoriously the result of Hastings' own daring -arrest of Cheyte Sing, the Begums had neither motive for meddling in -nor time for doing it. Till now they had regarded the British as their -only protectors. They were living quietly at Fyzabad, one hundred -and fifteen miles from Benares, when the insurrection broke out from -very obvious causes. This infamous bargain being concluded at Chunar, -Hastings relying on his agent at Lucknow, Mr. Middleton, compelling the -Nabob to carry it out, retreated to Benares, and thence to Calcutta. -The Nabob returned to Lucknow to enforce the diabolical scheme; but he -found his mother and grandmother determined to resist the iniquitous -order, and so shameful was it that even the needy and debauched Nabob -felt compunctions in proceeding with it. He left it to Middleton -to execute it, but Middleton, in his turn, recoiled from the odious -business. Not so Hastings; cold and resolute, he wrote to Middleton, -that if he could not rely upon his firmness he would free him from his -charge, and himself proceed to Lucknow and enforce his own orders. To -induce Middleton to abandon his scruples of conscience and honour, the -ever-ready friend of Hastings, the Chief Justice of Bengal, Sir Elijah -Impey, it appears, wrote to Middleton, and inculcated the necessity of -obedience. Middleton and the Nabob, therefore, seized on the estates of -the Begums, and suddenly surrounded Fyzabad and the palace with troops, -and made themselves masters of both. But the old ladies had not been so -inattentive to the approaches of the storm as to neglect the hiding of -their treasures; they could not be found. Thus cruelly disappointed of -the expected hoard, and the Begums remaining firm in their refusal to -produce any part of it, Middleton seized on their two chief ministers, -the eunuchs, Jewar Ali Khan and Behar Ali Khan. They were now thrown -into prison, put in irons, and orders were given to starve and torture -them till they revealed the secret of the concealment of the treasure -of their mistresses. At the same time, the two ladies were placed in -rigorous confinement themselves. This system was continued till they -had extorted upwards of a million sterling from the Begums, and found -that they might kill both them and their aged ministers, but could -get no more. When the Begums and the two old men were liberated, they -were told by the Resident--not now Middleton, but Bristow--that they -owed this favour to the Governor-General, who had determined to have -them "restored to their dignity and honour." There was another name -connected with these events, and with almost equal disadvantage, that -of Sir Elijah Impey, the Chief Justice. Impey, who had no jurisdiction -in Oude, was found up there in the midst of these transactions, -volunteering his assistance in getting up charges against the Begums. -These charges were supported by a host of venal witnesses, and -affidavits of their evidence were made out, and sent down to Calcutta, -to justify the dark doings of Hastings. - -But the violent proceedings of Hastings and his Council, partly -against each other, and still more against the natives, did not -escape the authorities at home. Two committees were appointed in the -House of Commons in 1781, to inquire into these matters. One of them -was headed by General Richard Smith, and the other by Dundas, the -Lord Advocate of Scotland. In both of these the conduct of Hastings, -especially in the war against the Rohillas, was severely condemned, -and the appointment of Impey to the new judicial office was greatly -disapproved. In May, 1782, General Smith moved an address praying his -Majesty to recall Sir Elijah Impey, which was carried unanimously, and -he was recalled accordingly. Dundas also moved and carried a resolution -declaring it to be the duty of the Court of Directors to recall Warren -Hastings, on the charge of his "having, in sundry instances, acted in -a manner repugnant to the honour and policy of the nation." The Court -of Directors complied with this suggestion; but Lord Rockingham dying, -his Ministry being dissolved, and Burke, the great opponent of Indian -oppressions, being out of office, in October the Court of Directors, -through the active exertions of the friends of Hastings, rescinded his -recall. The succeeding changes of administration, and their weakness, -first that of the Shelburne, and then that of the Coalition Ministry, -enabled Hastings to keep his post in India, and finish the war in -Madras. It was the India Bill of Pitt in 1784, which, by creating -the Board of Control, and enabling the Government to take immediate -cognisance of the proceedings of the Governors-General, and other chief -officers in India, broke the power of Hastings, and led him to resign, -without, however, enabling him to escape the just scrutiny which his -administration needed. - -Hastings embarked on the 8th of February, 1785, and arrived in England -in June, 1786. He had sent home before him his wife, whose health -had begun to suffer from the climate of India, and she had been most -graciously received by King George and Queen Charlotte. He had been -accompanied to his ship, on leaving Calcutta, by all the authorities, -and by all people of distinction; he had received the most enthusiastic -addresses of regret and of admiration as the saviour of India. In -London, not only at Court, but in Leadenhall Street, he met with the -same gratifying honour. He spent the autumn at Cheltenham with his -wife, where he was courted and fêted in a manner to warrant his writing -to a friend, "I find myself everywhere and universally treated with -evidences, apparent even to my own observation, that I possess the good -opinion of my country." He was busy trying to purchase Daylesford, the, -old family estate, and anticipating a peerage. - -But this was only the lull before the storm. Burke and Francis were -living, and the thunder-bolts were already forged which were to -shatter his pleasing dream of approval. His agreeable delusion was, -indeed, soon ended. On the 24th of January, 1787, Parliament met, -and Major Scott, an officious friend of Hastings, unfortunately for -the ex-Governor-General, relying on the manifestation of approbation -of Hastings by the Court and fashionable circles, got up and asked -where now was that menace of impeachment which Mr. Burke had so long -and often held out? Burke, thus challenged, on the 17th of February -rose and made a call for papers and correspondence deposited in the -India House, relative to the proceedings of Hastings in India. He -also reminded Pitt and Dundas of the motion of the latter on the 29th -of May, 1782, in censure of the conduct of Hastings on the occasions -in question. This was nailing the ministers to their opinions; but -Dundas, now at the head of the Board of Control, repeated that he still -condemned the conduct of Hastings, but taken with the services which -he had rendered to the country in India, he did not conceive that this -conduct demanded more than censure, certainly not impeachment. Fox -supported Burke, and Pitt defended Hastings, and attacked Fox without -mercy. There was a feeling abroad that the king was determined to -support Hastings, and the proceedings of Pitt confirmed this. Burke's -demand for papers was refused, but this did not deter Burke. On the -4th of April he rose again and presented nine articles of impeachment -against Hastings, and in the course of the week twelve more articles. -To these a twenty-second article was afterwards added. - -The affair was now becoming serious, and Hastings demanded to be heard -at the bar, where he appeared on the 1st of May, and read a long and -wearisome defence, which did not go to a denial of the charges, but a -justification of them, from the need of money to save India, and from -the approbation awarded to these actions both in India and at the India -House. On the 1st of June Burke brought forward his first charge--the -Rohilla war. The debate was not finished till seven o'clock on the -morning of the 3rd. The motion was rejected by one hundred and nineteen -against sixty-seven, and it was fondly hoped that the proceedings -against Hastings were altogether crushed. Lord Thurlow advised the king -to carry out his intention to make Hastings Baron Daylesford, and the -talk in the clubs and West End assemblies was the triumph of Hastings. -But the rejoicing was premature. On the 13th of June Fox took up the -second charge--the treatment of Cheyte Sing and Francis, with all the -bitterness of his character, and of his hatred of Hastings, supported -it. So black were the facts now produced that Pitt was compelled to -give way. He defended the Governor-General for calling on Cheyte Sing -to contribute men and money for the war against Mysore; he lauded the -firmness, decision and ability of Hastings, but he was forced to admit -that he had been excessive in his demands, and must support the charge. - -This was a thunderstroke to Hastings and his friends. Fifty of Pitt's -followers immediately wheeled round with him; Dundas voted with Pitt, -and the motion was carried by an exact inversion of the numbers which -had negatived the former article on the Rohilla war, one hundred and -nineteen against sixty-seven. The Session closed on the 11th of July -with the rest of the charges hanging over the ex-Governor's head in -ominous gloom. - -In the interval, the character and conduct of the Prince of Wales came -prominently before the public. The two great friends of the prince were -Fox and Sheridan. If the intellectual qualities of these two remarkable -men had been equalled by their moral ones, no fitter companions for -a young prince could have been found. But, unfortunately, they were -as distinguished for their drinking and dissipation, and Fox for his -reckless gambling, as for their talents. Pitt and they were in violent -opposition, and as Pitt, with his cold, unimpulsive nature, stood -firmly by the king, Fox and Sheridan were, as matters of party, warmly -the advocates of the prince. Hence the king and his son, sufficiently -at strife on the ground of the prince's extravagance and debauchery, -were rendered doubly so by the faction fire of their respective -adherents. Pitt, who might have softened greatly the hostile feeling -between the royal father and son, by recommending less parsimony on -the part of the king, and kindly endeavouring to induce the prince to -exhibit more respect for his father, never displayed the slightest -disposition to act so generous and truly politic a part. Sheridan and -some others of the Whig party mentioned the prince's debts, and urged -the propriety of something being done to save the honour of the Heir -Apparent; but Pitt turned a deaf ear, and the king informed the prince -that he could not sanction the payment of his debts by Parliament, nor -was he disposed to increase his allowance from the Civil List. On -this the prince determined to break up his household, which had been -appointed by the king, and cost the prince twenty thousand pounds, -to sell his horses and carriages, and to live in a few rooms like a -private gentleman. This he did; his fine horses were paraded through -the streets on their way to Tattersall's to be sold, and he stopped the -building of Carlton House. All this would have been admirable had it -proceeded from a real desire to economise on the part of the prince, in -order to satisfy his clamorous creditors, and to commence a real reform -of his habits; but the whole was only a mode of mortifying the king and -Court party by thus exhibiting the Heir Apparent as compelled, by the -refusal of a proper allowance, to abandon the style befitting his rank, -and sink himself into that of a mere lodger of scanty means. If this -grand manœuvre did not accomplish its object at Court, it, however, -told on his own party, who resolved in the next Session to make a grand -effort for the liquidation of his debts. - -[Illustration: RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN. (_After the Portrait by Sir -Joshua Reynolds._)] - -The great question of the Prince of Wales's debts was brought on by -Alderman Newnham, who had been selected by the prince's set for that -purpose, to give it more an air of independence. Newnham, on the 20th -of April, asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Majesty's -Ministers proposed to make any arrangement for this purpose. He praised -the prince for his generous conduct in breaking up his establishment -to facilitate the payment of his debts; but declared it disgraceful -to the nation that he should remain in that condition. Not receiving -any satisfactory answer, the alderman gave notice of a motion on the -subject for the 4th of May. Pitt then endeavoured to deter the alderman -from bringing in the motion, by saying that it was not his duty to -do so except by command of the king. Newnham, however, persisted in -his motion, and in the course of the debate Mr. Rolle, the member for -Devonshire, pointedly alluded to the rumours that were afloat as to the -marriage of the prince with Mrs. Fitzherbert, a Roman Catholic lady. As -a matter of fact, these rumours were true: the prince had been secretly -united to her by a Protestant clergyman on December 21st, 1785, in -the presence of several witnesses. The marriage placed the prince in -this dilemma: by the Act of Settlement, marriage with a Roman Catholic -invalidated all claims to the throne; but by the Royal Marriage Act, -any marriage contracted without the royal consent was null. He could -therefore annul the action of the first Act by pleading the second, but -by so doing he would obviously take away the character of his wife. -The prince saw a better way out of the difficulty--namely, a denial -that the marriage had taken place at all. Fox, completely duped by the -mendacious assurances of his royal friend, was induced to get up and -contradict the rumour, "by direct authority." The revulsion of feeling -in the House was immediate. On the 23rd of May Pitt laid before the -members a schedule of the prince's debts, amounting to one hundred -and ninety-four thousand pounds. Of this sum a hundred and sixty-one -thousand were voted, together with twenty thousand for the completion -of Carlton House, and the king was induced to add ten thousand a year -from the Civil List to the prince's income. He was thus placed for the -time being in affluence, and only had to reckon with Mrs. Fitzherbert. -This he did by disavowing Fox, whom he declared to have spoken without -authority. But the lady appears to have urged some public explanation. -The prince naturally avoided Fox, but sent for Grey, who, however, -declined to have anything to do with the dirty business. "Then," -said the prince, "Sheridan must say something." Accordingly, a few -days later, Sheridan got up and paid a few vapid compliments to Mrs. -Fitzherbert, which assuaged her wrath, without exposing the royal liar. - -On the 1st of February the inquiry into the crimes of Warren Hastings -was renewed. The third charge of the impeachment, the treatment of the -Begums, was undertaken by Sheridan, as the first was by Burke, and the -second by Fox. We have stated the facts of that great oppression, and -they were brought out in a most powerful and dramatic light by Sheridan -in a speech of nearly six hours. Sheridan had little knowledge of -India; but he was well supplied with the facts from the records of the -India House and the promptings of Francis, who was familiar with the -country and the events. The effect of Sheridan's charge far exceeded -all that had gone before it. When he sat down almost the whole House -burst forth in a storm of clappings and hurrahs. Fox declared it the -most astounding speech that he had ever heard, and Burke and Pitt gave -similar evidence. The wit and pathos of it were equally amazing; but it -was so badly reported as to be practically lost. The following remark, -however, seems to be reported fairly accurately:--"He remembered to -have heard an honourable and learned gentleman [Dundas] remark that -there was something in the first frame and constitution of the Company -which extended the sordid principles of their origin over all their -successive operations, connecting with their civil policy, and even -with their boldest achievements, the meanness of a pedlar and the -profligacy of pirates. Alike in the political and the military line -could be observed auctioneering ambassadors and trading generals; and -thus we saw a revolution brought about by affidavits; an army employed -in executing an arrest; a town besieged on a note of hand; a prince -dethroned for the balance of an account. Thus it was they exhibited a -government which united the mock majesty of a bloody sceptre and the -little traffic of a merchant's counting-house--wielding a truncheon -with one hand, and picking a pocket with the other." The debate was -adjourned to the next day, for the House could not be brought to listen -to any other person after this most intoxicating speech. The motion was -carried by one hundred and seventy-five votes against sixty-eight. - -The other charges having been voted, on the 25th of April Burke brought -up the articles of impeachment. There was a long debate, in which -Wilkes, who had completely changed his politics, and had cultivated a -friendship with Warren Hastings and his wife, made a very effective -speech in his defence. He tried to shift the blame from Hastings to the -Company. Pitt again pointed out the fact that honourable members had -not been showing the innocence of Hastings, but raising all manner of -set-offs for his crimes--a course which he had before said he had hoped -would have been abandoned; that for his part, without going to the -length of all the charges brought forward, he saw sufficient grounds -for an impeachment. He could conceive a State compelled by sudden -invasion and an unprovided army, to lay violent hands on the property -of its subjects, but then such a State must be infamous if it did not, -on the first opportunity, make ample satisfaction. But was this the -principle on which Mr. Hastings had acted? No; he neither avowed the -necessity nor the exaction. He made criminal charges, and, under colour -of them, levied immoderate penalties, which, if he had a right to take -them at all, he would be highly criminal in taking in such a shape; but -which, having no right to take, the mode of taking rendered much more -heinous and culpable. - -The report was agreed to, the impeachment was voted, and Burke, -attended by the majority of the House, on the 10th of May, carried it -up to the Lords. On the motion of Burke, Warren Hastings was then taken -into custody, and delivered over to the Lords, who bound him to appear -to take his trial, when called upon, in a bond of twenty thousand -pounds himself, and Messrs. Sullivan and Sumner as his sureties in ten -thousand pounds each. - -In this Session the first step was taken in one of the greatest -achievements of humanity which adorn the name of Britain. It was the -grand preliminary towards annihilating the slave trade. The spirit -of revolt against this odious trade had been gaining rapidly in the -British mind. One of the earliest stabs given to it was by the pathetic -story of Inkle and Yarico, in the "History of Barbadoes," by Lygon, -which was taken up and amplified in the _Spectator_, and afterwards -elaborated into an effective drama by Colman. Defoe, Dr. Johnson, -Warburton in his "Divine Legation of Moses," and in his sermons so -early as 1766, Voltaire, and other writers, had diffused a strong and -sound feeling on the subject. It had been early attempted to establish -the legal maxim, that a slave becomes a freed man in England; but in -1729 this had been positively pronounced against by Talbot and Yorke, -then the highest legal authorities. But a more successful essay was -made by Granville Sharp in 1772, in the case of James Somerset, and -the principle was established, that the moment a slave set his foot on -English ground he became free. In 1782 the Friends presented a petition -to Parliament for the abolition of the slave trade. In 1785 Thomas -Clarkson, then a student at the University of Cambridge, competed for -and won the first prize for an essay on "The Slavery and Commerce in -the Human Species," and this, which was undertaken as an academical -exercise, led him to devote himself to the great work of the utter -extinction of this evil. Mr. Ramsay, a clergyman of Kent, who had lived -in St. Kitts, published a pamphlet on the same subject. The friends -of Ramsay, Lady Middleton and Mrs. Bouverie, became zealous advocates -of the cause, and finally Wilberforce resolved to make it the great -object of his life. A society was now established in London, consisting -only originally of twelve individuals, including the benevolent Mr. -Thornton, and having Granville Sharp for its chairman. The members, -however, were opulent merchants and bankers, and they set agents to -work to collect information on the subject. The feeling rapidly spread; -committees were formed in Manchester and other provincial towns for -co-operation. - -It was resolved to make the first attack only on the trade in slaves, -not on the whole gigantic subject, with all its widely-ramified -interests. Nay, it was deemed prudent by the committees, seeing well -that the abolition of the monstrous practice of slave-holding must be -a work of many years, in the first place to limit their exertions to -the ameliorating of the sufferings of the negroes, in their passage -from Africa to the scenes of their servitude. Numerous petitions had -now reached the Houses of Parliament on the subject of the trade in -and the sufferings of slaves, and a Committee of the Privy Council was -procured to hear evidence on the subject. This commenced its sittings -on the 11th of February, 1788. Before this committee were first heard -the statements of the slave merchants of Liverpool. According to -these gentlemen, all the horrors attributed to the slave trade were -so many fables; so far from instigating African sovereigns to make -war upon their neighbours and sell them for slaves, the oppressions -of these despots were so horrible that it was a real blessing to -bring away their unfortunate victims. But very different facts were -advanced on the other side. On the part of the Liverpool merchants -was the most palpable self-interest to colour their statements; on -the other, was disinterested humanity. Amongst the gentlemen brought -forward to unfold the real nature of the African traffic was Dr. Andrew -Sparrman, Professor of Natural Philosophy at Stockholm, who had, with -Mr. Wadström, been engaged in botanical researches in Africa. This -information put to flight the pleasant myths of the Liverpool traders, -and produced a profound impression. - -It was resolved to bring the matter before Parliament. Wilberforce gave -notice of motion on the subject, but falling ill at Bath, Clarkson -applied to Pitt and Mr. Grenville, and was strongly supported by -Granville Sharp and the London committee. Pitt had not considered the -subject till it was forced on his attention by the evidence before -the Privy Council; but he had come to the conclusion that the trade -was not only inhuman, but really injurious to the interests of the -nation. He consented to introduce the question, and, on the 9th of -May, gave notice that early in the next Session Parliament would take -into consideration the allegations against the slave trade, made in -upwards of a hundred petitions presented to it. He recommended this -short delay in order that the inquiries before the Privy Council might -be fully matured. But both Fox and Burke--the latter of whom had been -thinking for eight years of taking up the question--declared that the -delay would be as cruel as it was useless; that it did not become the -House to wait to receive instructions from the Privy Council, as if it -were dependent upon it, but that it ought to originate such inquiries -itself. Sir William Dolben supported this view of immediate action, -contending that at least a Bill should be brought in to restrain the -cruelties of the sea-passage, which would otherwise sacrifice ten -thousand lives, as hundreds of thousands had been sacrificed before. -This was acceded to. Pitt's resolution was carried by a considerable -majority; and Sir William Dolben, on the 21st of May, moved to bring -in a Bill to regulate the transport of slaves. Sir William stated that -there was no law to restrain the avarice and cruelty of the dealers, -and that the mortality from the crowding of the slaves on board was -frightful. - -The slave merchants of Liverpool and London demanded to be heard -against even this degree of interference. On the 2nd of June counsel -was heard on their behalf at the bar of the House of Commons. These -gentlemen endeavoured to prove that the interest of the merchants was -the best guarantee of the good treatment of the slaves; and they called -witnesses to prove that nothing could be more delightful and salubrious -than the condition of slaves on the voyage; and that the negroes passed -their time most charmingly in dancing and singing on the deck. But, -on cross-examination, these very witnesses were compelled to disclose -one of the most revolting pictures of inhuman atrocity ever brought -to the light of day. It was found that no slave, whatever his size, -had more room during the whole voyage than five feet six inches in -length, and sixteen inches in breadth; that the floor of every deck was -thus densely packed with human beings; between the floor and the deck -above were other platforms or broad shelves packed in the same manner! -The height from the floor to the ceiling seldom exceeded five feet -eight inches, and in some cases not four feet. The men were chained -together two and two by their hands and feet, and were fastened by -ringbolts to the deck or floor. In this position they were kept all the -time they remained on the coast--often from six weeks to six months. -Their allowance was a pint of water daily and two meals of yams and -horse-beans. After eating they were ordered to jump in their irons -to preserve their health, and were flogged if they refused. When the -weather was wet they were often kept below for several days together. -The horrors of what was called the "middle passage" were terrible and -fatal beyond description. It was calculated that up to that time the -Europeans had consumed ten millions of slaves, and that the British -alone were then carrying over forty-two thousand Africans annually. - -Besides the truths drawn by cross-examination from the witnesses for -the slave-dealing merchants, who contended that even Sir William -Dolben's Bill would nearly ruin Liverpool, Captain Parry, who had been -sent by Pitt to Liverpool to examine some of the slave-ships, brought -the directest proofs that the representations of these witnesses were -false, and the accommodation for the slaves was most inhuman; Sir -William Dolben himself had examined a slave-ship then fitting out in -the Thames, and gave details which horrified the House. This Bill -went to prohibit any ship carrying more than one slave to a ton of -its register; the only matter in which the House gave way was that -none should carry more than five slaves to every three tons, and a -very few years proved that this restriction had been the greatest -boon to the dealers as well as the slaves in the preservation of the -living cargoes. The Bill met with some opposition in the Lords, and -there Admiral Rodney and Lord Heathfield, both naturally humane men, -were amongst its strongest opponents. The measure, however, passed, -and received the Royal Assent on the 11th of July. Some well-meaning -people thought that by legalising the freightage of slaves, England -had acknowledged the lawfulness of the trade; but the advocates of the -abolition made no secret of their determination to persevere, and this -victory only quickened their exertions. - -[Illustration: THE TRIAL OF WARREN HASTINGS. (_See p._ 342.)] - -On the day appointed for the trial of Warren Hastings there was a -wonderful crowding into the great hall at Westminster. The walls had -been in preparation hung with scarlet, and galleries raised all round -for the accommodation of spectators. The seats for the members of the -House of Commons were covered with green cloth, those for the lords and -all the others with red. Galleries were set apart for distinguished -persons, and for the members of the foreign embassies. When the lords, -nearly one hundred and seventy in number, entered in procession, the -vast hall presented a striking scene, being crowded, with the exception -of the space in the centre for the peers, with all who were noted in -the land, from the throne downwards. The lords were all in their robes -of gold and ermine, marshalled by the king-at-arms and the heralds. -First entered Lord Heathfield, the brave old Elliot of Gibraltar, -as the junior baron, and the splendid procession was closed by the -Earl Marshal of England, the Duke of Norfolk, and by the brothers and -sons of the king, the Prince of Wales last of all. The twelve judges -attended to give their advice on difficult points of law, and the -Managers were attended also by their counsel, Drs. Scott and Lawrence, -and Mr. Mansfield, Mr. Pigot, Mr. Burke, and Mr. Douglas. The galleries -blazed with the rich array of ladies and foreign costumes. There were -seen the queen with her daughters, and the Princesses Elizabeth, -Augusta, and Mary, the Duchess of Gloucester, Mrs. Fitzherbert, the -beautiful Duchess of Devonshire, Sheridan's handsome wife, and the -great actress, Mrs. Siddons. Gibbon the historian, Dr. Parr, Mr., -afterwards Sir, James Mackintosh, and numbers of distinguished artists, -amongst them Sir Joshua Reynolds and Gainsborough, were also present. - -Warren Hastings was summoned to the bar, and there kneeling, the Lord -Chancellor, Thurlow, intimated the charge against him, and assured him -that, as a British subject, he would receive full justice from the -highest British court. Hastings replied, in a clear and firm voice, -that he had the highest confidence in the justice and integrity of -that august court. The clerks of the court then commenced reading the -charges against him, and the answers to them, and this reading occupied -the whole of that day and the following one; and on the third, Burke -rose to deliver his opening speech. This occupied the whole of four -days, beginning on the 15th, and terminating on the 19th of February. -The effect of that speech, notwithstanding its enormous length, was -such as had scarcely ever been witnessed in a court of justice before. -As he detailed the horrors practised by Hastings on the princes and -people of India, both the orator and his audience were convulsed with -terror and agitation. Ladies fainted away in the galleries; Mrs. -Sheridan, amongst others, had to be carried out insensible: the faces -of the strongest men, as well as of the more sensitive women, were -flushed with emotion, or bathed in tears. In his peroration Burke far -exceeded even himself. He appeared raised, enlarged into something -ethereal by his subject, and his voice seemed to shake the very walls -and roof of that ancient court. Finally, he exclaimed:--"I impeach -Warren Hastings, Esquire, of high crimes and misdemeanours. I impeach -him in the name of all the Commons of Great Britain in Parliament -assembled, whose parliamentary trust he has betrayed. I impeach him -in the name of the people of India, whose laws, rights, and liberties -he has subverted, whose properties he has destroyed, whose country he -has laid waste and desolate. I impeach him in the name, and by virtue -of those eternal laws of justice which he has violated. I impeach him -in the name of human nature itself, which he has cruelly outraged, -injured, and oppressed, in both sexes, in every age, rank, situation, -and condition of life. And I conjure this high and sacred court to let -not these proceedings be heard in vain." Such was the effect of this -wonderful torrent of eloquence that Hastings himself said, "For half -an hour I looked up at the orator in a reverie of wonder; and during -that space I actually felt myself the most culpable man on earth; but I -recurred to my own bosom, and there found a consciousness that consoled -me under all I heard and all I suffered." - -When the intense agitation had in some degree subsided, Fox rose and -proposed the mode in which the trial should be conducted, which was -that the evidence on both sides should be gone through on each separate -charge, and that charge immediately decided, whilst all the facts -were fresh in the minds of the lords, who were the judges. But this -was opposed by the counsel of Hastings, who knew well the advantage -of leaving the decision till the vivid impression of the events was -worn off. They succeeded in carrying their object, and when the trial -terminated eight years afterwards, the result was quite according to -their hopes. The Managers complained loudly, but there was no remedy. -Fox, therefore, proceeded to open the Benares case, which occupied -five hours. Grey took it up, and completed it the next day. Several -succeeding days were employed in reading papers and hearing witnesses, -and then Anstruther summed up and commented on the charge. - -The court then adjourned to the 15th of April. The case of the Begums -was opened by Mr. Adams, and concluded the next day by Mr. Pelham. -Then sixteen days were occupied by the evidence, and at length, on the -3rd of June, Sheridan began to sum up the evidence, and, in a speech -which lasted three days, he kept the court in the highest state of -excitement. The place was crowded to suffocation during the whole time, -and as much as fifty guineas is said to have been paid for a single -seat. Greatly as this speech of Sheridan's was admired, it was felt to -be too ornate and dramatic: there was not the deep and genuine feeling -of Burke in it, and the effect was so evidently studied, that, on -concluding, Sheridan fell back into the arms of Burke, as if overcome -by his own sensations. The prorogation of Parliament was now at hand, -and only two out of the twenty charges had been gone through: neither -of them had yet been replied to, and yet other causes of engrossing -interest arising, the trial was entirely suspended till the 20th of -April of the following year! Then it was taken up languidly and at -uncertain intervals, and rapidly became a mere exhibition of rhetoric. -Further, Burke's unlawyer-like style and intemperance of language drew -upon him the censure of the Lord Chancellor, and even of the House of -Commons. A revulsion of public feeling took place, and was seen in the -acquittal of Stockdale who was tried for libelling the promoters of the -trial. Three years afterwards Burke himself renounced sixteen of his -charges, and all popular interest in the trial gradually disappeared. - -But the public attention was now freely withdrawn from Warren Hastings -to much more exalted personages. On the 11th of July the king in person -prorogued Parliament. He then appeared in his usual health, but soon -afterwards it was whispered about that he was far from well, and had -gone to Cheltenham by the advice of his physicians. When he returned -in the autumn, the opinion of his derangement had gained ground, and, -to remove this, a Drawing-room was held at St. James's on the 24th of -October. Every means had been taken to secure the impression of his -Majesty's saneness, but they failed, and the contrary impression was -confirmed. Still, the king returned to Windsor, and the endeavours -were strenuously maintained by the queen to conceal the melancholy -fact from the public; but this was too positive to be long suppressed. -On the 5th of November he met his son, the Duke of York, after he had -been riding about Windsor Forest for five hours in a state of frenzy, -and, bursting into tears, wished that he was dead, for that he felt he -should go mad. No doubt he remembered his old sensations when he had a -short but sharp fit of lunacy in 1764. The time was hurrying on which -must reveal the whole truth; the prorogation of Parliament terminated -on the 20th of November; the House would meet, and the king would -not be able to attend and open the Session. Pitt was in a state of -indescribable anxiety, having no precedents to guide him. - -The 20th of November arrived; the two Houses met, and Lord Camden -in the Peers, and Pitt in the Commons, were obliged to announce -the incapacity of the king to open the Session, and to move for an -adjournment till the 4th of December, in order that the necessary -measures for transferring the royal authority, temporarily, might be -taken. Fox, at this important crisis, was abroad, and had to hurry -home with headlong speed, in order to join his party in their anxious -deliberations preparatory to the great question of the regency. In the -meantime, the king's physicians had been examined before the Privy -Council, and had given their opinion that the royal malady would prove -only temporary. This in particular was the opinion of Dr. Willis, a -specialist who had the chief management of the case, and whose mild -treatment, in contrast to the violent means previously employed, had -already produced a marked improvement. From this moment Pitt appears -to have taken his decision--namely, to carry matters with a high hand, -and to admit the Prince of Wales as regent only under such restrictions -as should prevent him from either exercising much power himself, or -conferring much benefit on his adherents. When, therefore, Parliament -met, after the adjournment, and that in great strength--for men of -all parties had hurried up to town,--Lord Camden moved in the Lords, -and Pitt in the Commons, that, in consequence of the king's malady, -the minutes of the Privy Council containing the opinions of the royal -physicians should be read, and that this being done, these opinions -should be taken into consideration on the 8th of December. - -This being done, Mr. Vyner suggested that the physicians should -rather be examined by the House itself, a proposal supported by -Fox. Pitt replied that this was a matter requiring much delicacy, -and that the opinions of the physicians before the Council being on -oath, he imagined that they had greater force than any given before -Parliament, where they would not be on oath. But, during the four -days' adjournment, he had ascertained, to his satisfaction, that the -majority of the physicians were of opinion that the king would pretty -soon recover, and that especially Dr. Willis was of this opinion, under -whose more immediate care he was; and no sooner did the Commons meet, -than Pitt most judiciously acquiesced in the suggestions of Vyner and -Fox; and the physicians were examined by a committee of twenty-one -members, of which he himself was chairman. On the 16th of December Pitt -brought up the report of the committee, in which a majority of the -physicians had expressed the opinion that the malady of the king would -not be of long duration; and he then moved for another committee to -search for precedents as to the power to be exercised by a regent. Fox -declared that Pitt knew very well that there were no precedents to be -found while there existed an Heir Apparent, at the time, of full age -and capacity; that he was seeking only the means of delaying what ought -to be done at once; that the failure of the mind of the sovereign was -a case of natural demise, and that the Heir Apparent succeeded to the -exercise of the royal authority from the period of that failure, as a -matter of course; that the Parliament had, indeed, the authority to -decide that such failure had actually taken place, and to sanction the -assumption of the powers of regency, as the other two Estates of the -realm, but nothing more. When Fox made this astounding assertion, Pitt -slapped his thigh and exclaimed to a colleague sitting near him, "I'll -_unwhig_ the gentleman for the rest of his life." - -He immediately made use of the opportunity with great skill. In his -reply he urged that Fox was announcing a doctrine destructive of the -Constitution; that he was denying the right by which Parliament had -placed the present family on the throne, and he asserted that the -Prince of Wales had no more natural right to assume the regency than -any other individual. This led to the severest censures of the Premier -by Burke, who declared that Pitt was making himself a dictator, and -changing the succession to the regal power in England from hereditary -to elective. The same doctrine was announced and combated in the Lords; -but there, though Thurlow was silent, waiting to see how matters would -go before he hazarded an opinion, Loughborough boldly supported Fox's -doctrine, and declared that had the derangement of the king taken place -during the non-existence of Parliament, the prince undoubtedly would -have been warranted in issuing writs and summoning one. On the 15th of -December the Duke of York and his uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, both -spoke on the question, expressing their sense of the inexpediency of -pressing the delicate question of right, and stating that Parliament -could proceed to invest the Prince of Wales with the powers of the -regency without waiting, as they certainly could not appoint any -one else. Thurlow had by this time found that he had no chance with -the Whigs, and he now, with unblushing assurance, took the part of -Pitt, though every one knew why he had been hanging back till this -moment. He declared that he could not see how Parliament could avoid -coming to some conclusion on the question of right, seeing that it -had been raised. At the same time, he made a most pretendedly pious -defence of the rights of the king against the prince and the Whigs, -exclaiming--"When I forget my king, may God forget me!" John Wilkes, -who was standing in a knot of spectators near the throne, and within -a few feet of Thurlow, expressed his disgust at this duplicity in his -characteristically vigorous fashion. - -Pitt, in a series of motions and violent debates on them--which did -not terminate till the 23rd of January, 1789--not only carried his -point, that Parliament should assert the whole right of appointing a -regent, but he contrived to tie down the prince completely. On the 16th -of December Pitt moved three resolutions--the third and most material -of which was, that it was necessary that both Houses should, for the -maintenance of the constitutional authority of the king, determine the -means by which the royal assent might be given to an Act of Parliament -for delegating the royal authority during the king's indisposition. -After most determined opposition by the Whigs, he carried the whole of -these resolutions, and it was then moved that the proper mode of doing -this was to employ the Great Seal just as if the king were in the full -exercise of his faculties. To prepare the way for this doctrine, the -lawyers in Pitt's party had declared that there was a broad distinction -between the political and the natural capacity of the king; that, as -the king could do no wrong, so he could not go politically, though he -might go naturally, mad; that therefore the king, in his political -capacity, was now as fully in power and entity as ever, and therefore -the Great Seal could be used for him as validly as at any other time. -In vain did Burke exclaim that it was "a phantom," "a fiction of -law," "a mere mummery, a piece of masquerade buffoonery, formed to -burlesque every species of government." In the midst of the debate -Mr. Rushworth, the young member for Newport, in Hampshire, standing -on the floor of the House, exclaimed, in a loud and startling tone, -"I desire that gentlemen of more age and experience than myself will -refer to the glorious reign of George II. Let them recall to their -memory the year 1745. Suppose that great and good king had lain under a -similar affliction of madness at that period, where are the men, much -less a Minister, that would have dared to come down to that House, and -boldly, in the face of the world, say that the Prince of Wales had no -more right to the regency than any other subject? The man or Minister -who could have dared to utter such language must henceforward shelter -in some other place than in the House of Commons, and in some other -country than England!" The Prince of Wales, by letter, complained of -the want of respect shown to him, but Pitt carried the resolution -regarding the Great Seal, that it should be appended to a commission -for opening Parliament, it now occupying the position of a convention, -and that the commission should then affix the royal assent to the -Bill for the regency. This done, he consented to the demand for the -appearance of the physicians again before proceeding with the Bill, and -the physicians having expressed hopes of the king's speedy recovery, -on the 16th of January Pitt moved the following resolutions:--That the -Prince of Wales should be invested with the royal authority, subject, -however, to these restrictions, namely, that he should create no peers; -that he should grant no place or pension for life, or in reversion, -except such place as in its nature must be held for life, or during -good behaviour; that the prince should have no power over the personal -property of the king, nor over the king's person or household; that -these two latter powers should be entrusted to the queen, a council -being appointed to assist her in these duties by their advice, but -subject to her dismissal, and without any power of alienation of -any part of the property. The bad character of the prince, combined -with the rumours of his indecent jests at the expense of his unhappy -parents, rendered the restrictions universally popular. - -[Illustration: CARLTON HOUSE, LONDON (1780).] - -These resolutions being carried, it then became a question whether the -prince would accept this restricted regency. Burke had warned the House -that perhaps, after all, the prince would not accept such a shadow of -his own natural powers, and he warned them likewise that the British -Parliament might find itself electing the prince as regent, whilst the -Irish Parliament was nominating him as by right. But it would appear -that the Whigs were so anxious to seize on office, even under such -cramping restrictions, and to see Pitt dethroned, that they advised the -prince to accept. A joint committee of Lords and Commons waited on him -on the 30th of January, the anniversary of the execution of Charles -I., and another joint-committee the same day waited on the queen, -and the next day their answers, accepting their respective offices, -were communicated to Parliament. The prince, indeed, qualified his -acceptance by declaring that he did it only as a temporary arrangement, -and in the hope, notwithstanding the peculiar and unprecedented -circumstances, of preserving the interests of the king, the crown, and -the people. - -A commission was then moved for, under the Great Seal, by Lord -Camden, and in this commission were included the names of the Prince -of Wales, the Dukes of York, Gloucester, and Cumberland. These royal -personages, however, declined to be named in it. With these remarkable -omissions, Camden's motion was passed, and the result was communicated -to the Commons, on which Pitt, on the 2nd of February, moved for the -concurrence of that House. This again brought up the question of the -prince's right. Lord North, who, though now blind, had mixed in these -debates with his usual moderation, and with a great display of good -sense, based on official experience, expressed his pleasure that the -prince had condescended to accept the regency, notwithstanding its -limitations. This prudence, he observed, had given the country an -agreeable surprise, considering the temptations to stand upon his -right, which must have produced inconceivable embarrassments. Pitt -could not resist the impulse to arise and again deny the right, and -observe that he believed those who had advocated that right were now -really ashamed of it. This immediately called up Burke, for Fox was -ill, and away at Bath, and he exclaimed, "I assert that the Prince -of Wales's right is clear as the sun, and that it is the duty of the -House to appoint him regent, with the full powers of sovereignty." He -asserted with equal warmth, that Ministers were about to purloin the -Great Seal, and commit an act of forgery. A stormy debate followed, in -which Burke's violence was met with moderation and dignity. - -On the 3rd of February the Commons attended to hear the commission -read at the bar of the Lords, which was done by Earl Bathurst, in the -absence of Thurlow. On returning to their House now as an authorised -Parliament, the Commons read the Bill for the first time without a -division, but on the second reading, on the 6th of February, Burke -attacked it with unabated ferocity. He wanted to know how they were to -determine when the king was sane again. Who was to inform them of it? -Who was to certify it? He asserted the utter impossibility of adducing -proof whether a person who had been insane were perfectly recovered -or not. If this doctrine had been established, the regency must have -become permanent. But this mode of reasoning was too metaphysical for -the House of Commons; the debate passed on, and the Bill was committed. -The clause providing against the non-residence of the prince, and -against his marrying a papist, again brought up Mr. Rolle. He said that -he had given his assent to the appointment of the prince regent on the -assurance of his friends, that he was not married to a certain lady, -either in law or in fact; but that he had since read a famous pamphlet, -which affirmed that the facts were in opposition to those avowals. -This was a _brochure_ of Horne Tooke's, in the shape of a letter to a -friend, in which he declared his positive knowledge of the prince's -marriage with "the late Mrs. Fitzherbert," who, he contended, in spite -of the Marriage Act, was his lawful wife. Rolle was answered by Lord -North, who declared that the object of the pamphleteer was simply -to make mischief by throwing out assertions that he never meant to -prove, and Welbore Ellis called for the reading of the Royal Marriage -Act, and showed that no royal marriage could be valid without the -king's consent, and that, therefore, whatever was the case, all those -objections were a mere waste of words. Rolle did not press the question -to a division. The other clauses of the Bill raised much debate, but -were all passed, and on the 10th of February the council was appointed -to assist the queen in her charge, and Pitt named as members of it the -four principal officers of the household, the Lord Chamberlain, the -Lord Steward, the Master of the Horse, and the Groom of the Stole, with -the addition of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Chancellor Thurlow, -the Archbishop of York, and Lord Kenyon. The names of the Prince of -Wales, the Duke of York, several of the other princes, the Lord Mayor -of London, and the Speaker of the House of Commons, were all strongly -urged upon Parliament as persons who ought to be members of this -council, but they were, to a man, rejected by a majority of about fifty. - -Pitt had not forgotten the difficulty started by Burke, as to the -recognition of the return to entire sanity of the king, and he now met -it by proposing that when five out of the eight councillors appointed -to assist the queen should declare the king's health restored, they -should notify this to the political servants of the regent, and -announce it in the _London Gazette_, as well as communicate it to the -Lord Mayor; that the king should then summon nine of his Privy Council, -who, sitting in council with him should be able to observe whether he -were perfectly restored or not; and if six of the nine agreed that he -was so, these six should sign a proclamation to that effect, on which -the regency should cease and determine. Various amendments on this -motion were made, but without effect, and it was carried. On the 12th -of April the Regency Bill finally passed the Commons, and was carried -up to the Lords, with the addition of a clause limiting the restriction -on the making of peers to three years. - -Reports that the king was rapidly recovering now began to fly about -Court, daily gaining strength. The Whigs, impatient to seize on -office, were in a state of strange excitement; but to go in with the -prospect of being immediately dismissed by the king, did not accord -with the dignity of the leaders. On the other hand, there were so many -good things to be given away--one or two bishoprics, the office of -Chief Justice in Eyre, sundry commissions of Major-General, besides -expectations of promotions to the rank of Field-Marshal--that the -dependents of the party grew impatient. Neither the Whigs nor Pitt -knew well what to do. The Lords did not commit the Bill till the 17th, -when they made two important additions to it, namely, to place all the -palaces, parks, houses, and gardens of the king under the control of -the queen, and to give her the care of all the royal children under the -age of twenty-one. But, at that very crisis, the king was pronounced -convalescent. On the 19th, Lord Thurlow announced this, on the -certificate of the physicians; and it was declared by him that their -lordships could not, in these circumstances, proceed with the Bill, -but had better adjourn till Tuesday next. The Duke of York observed -that he should most gladly have corroborated the statement of the Lord -Chancellor, but could not, having called the day before at Kew, to -desire that he might see his father, but had not been permitted. The -House, however, adjourned, and on Tuesday, the 24th, Thurlow informed -it that he had seen his Majesty, had found him perfectly recovered, and -therefore he moved another adjournment to the Monday following, which -was agreed to. - -On the very next day took place what Burke had foreseen. A deputation -from the two Irish Houses of Parliament arrived in London, with an -address to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, requesting him -to assume the regency as his right. Though the English Bill was now -certain to be abandoned, this address was presented on the 26th of -February, the day after the arrival, and was received by the prince -in a manner likely to mark his sense of his treatment by Pitt and his -party. The deputies were entertained at a splendid banquet; the walls -of the dining-room at Carlton House were adorned with Irish harps, -the shamrock, and other Irish emblems; the arms of Ireland, encircled -by a glory, blazed in the centre of the table, and the richest wines -flowed in torrents. But these banquetings had not been confined to -this more auspicious day. Whilst the great contest had been going on -in Parliament, dinners had been given on the Saturdays and Sundays of -every week at Carlton House, to which about thirty of the members of -both Houses had been invited, and at which the prince and the Duke of -York had presided. Besides these, the attractions and persuasive powers -of the great ladies on both sides had been enthusiastically called -into play. The fascinating Duchess of Devonshire, who, in 1784, had -so successfully canvassed for Charles James Fox in Westminster, had -now thrown open her house, and employed all her amiabilities to win -supporters to the prince's party. On the other hand, the more bold and -vigorous Duchess of Gordon had feasted, entreated, and almost commanded -adherence to Pitt, through whom it was said her husband had obtained -the Great Seal of Scotland, and his brother, Lord William Gordon, the -sinecure Rangerships of St. James's and Hyde Parks. The rivalries -of these parties had been carried on in the most public manner, by -caricatures, lampoons, ballads, and popular jests. Westminster was -pre-eminently Whig; but London, which had formerly been so democratic, -had become essentially loyal. The Coalition had given the first shock -to the popularity of the Whigs in the City, and the sympathy for the -calamity of the king, combined with disgust at the prince's levity and -heartlessness, had produced a wonderful degree of loyalty there. - -[Illustration: WILLIAM PITT. (_After the Portrait by John Hoppner, -R.A._)] - -Both Houses adjourned, by successive motions, to the 10th of March; -they then met, and were informed by the Lord Chancellor that, by -the blessing of Providence, his Majesty being recovered from his -severe indisposition, and able to attend to the public affairs of -his kingdom, had issued a commission authorising the holding and -continuing of Parliament; and the commission having been read, the -Chancellor declared himself commanded to convey to them his Majesty's -warmest acknowledgments for the additional proofs they had given of -their attachment to his person. Addresses were then moved, as at the -commencement of a Session, by both Houses, and also addresses of -congratulation to her Majesty the queen; and the same evening the -capital was illuminated, and the most sincere joy was evidenced in -the happy event of the royal convalescence. On the 8th of April Pitt -informed the House that the king had appointed Thursday, the 23rd -of that month, as a day of public thanksgiving for his recovery, -and that it was his Majesty's intention to go in procession to St. -Paul's Cathedral on that day, to return thanks to Almighty God. The -House voted thanks for his Majesty's having taken measures for their -accommodation on the occasion, and passed a resolution to attend. - -On the appointed day the two Houses of Parliament, the officers of -State, the judges, all in their robes of state, the queen, and princes -and princesses, attended the king on this solemn occasion. The streets -were crowded with the inhabitants; the Lord Bishop of London, and the -Dean and Canons of St. Paul's received him at the door. His entrance -was announced by the sound of martial music from military bands on the -outside, and the roar of the organs and the voices of five thousand -children of the City charity schools inside, singing the Hundredth -psalm. On walking across the area, under the great dome, the king was -deeply affected, and observed to the Bishop of London and the Dean of -St. Paul's, "I now feel that I have been ill." After the singing of -the Te Deum, and the firing of the Tower and Park guns, the procession -returned to St. James's as it had come. The popularity of the king was -unbounded, and so was that of the great Minister who had stood by him -in the hour of his adversity. Pitt was now at the zenith of his career. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Unsettled Condition of Europe--Machinations of Russia and - Austria against Turkey--Disasters of the Austrians--Capture - of Oczakoff--Further Designs of Catherine--Intervention - of Pitt--Gustavus of Sweden invades Russia--His Temporary - Check--He remodels the Diet and pursues the War--Joseph renews - the War--Disaffection in Hungary--Revolution in the Austrian - Netherlands--Abolition of the _Joyeuse Entrée_--The Emperor - declared to have forfeited the Crown--The Austrian Troops - retired to Luxembourg--Death of Joseph--Outbreak of the French - Revolution--Efforts of Turgot and his Successors to introduce - Reforms--Loménie de Brienne--Recall of Necker--Assembly of the - States General--The Third Estate becomes the National Assembly--The - Meeting in the Tennis Court--Contemplated _Coup d'État_--Project - of a City Guard--Dismissal of Necker--Insurrection in Paris--The - City Guard--Capture of the Bastille--The Noblesse renounce their - Privileges--Bankruptcy and Famine--"_O Richard, O Mon Roi!_"--The - Women and the National Guard march on Versailles--The King brought - to Paris--Effect of the Revolution in England--Different Views - of Burke and Fox--Rejection of Flood's Reform Bill--The Nootka - Sound Affair--Satisfaction obtained from Spain--Motions of Reform - in the Irish Parliament--Convention of Reichenbach--Continuance - of the War between Sweden and Russia--Renewal of the War with - Tippoo Sahib--Debates in Parliament--Discussions on the Eastern - Question--The Canada Bill--It is made the occasion of speeches - on the French Revolution--Breach between Fox and Burke--Abuse - of Burke by the Whigs--Wilberforce's Notice for Immediate - Emancipation--Colonisation of Sierra Leone--Bill for the Relief - of Roman Catholics--Fox's Libel Bill--Burke's "Reflections on the - French Revolution"--Replies of Mackintosh and Paine--Dr. Price--Dr. - Priestley--The Anniversary of the taking of the Bastille--The - Birmingham Riots--Destruction of Priestley's Library--Suppression - of the Riots--Mildness of the Sentences. - - -Whilst the war of parties had been raging in England, matters abroad -had been rapidly assuming a shape which threatened the tranquillity of -all Europe. In France the elements of revolution had been fermenting, -and had already burst into open fury with a character which, to -observant eyes, appeared to bode inevitably their spread into every -surrounding country. At the same time, the sovereigns of these -countries, instead of discerning the signs of the times, and taking -measures to guard their people from the contagious influence, were -some of them acting so as certainly to invite the specious anarchy. -In others, they were wasting their strength on schemes of conquest -which only too much enfeebled them for opposition to the dangers thus -preparing. Some of these warlike movements seem, at first sight, to -have little connection with the history of England, but, more or less, -they all are necessary to our comprehension of our own position in the -time of those marvellous subversions which were at hand. - -Least of all did the ambitious designs of the Czarina Catherine against -Turkey seem menacing to us; yet these designs speedily drew into -their current the whole power of Austria, endangered our relations -with the countries on the Baltic, and attracted the revolutionary -torrent over the fertile plains of the Netherlands, opposite to our -own shores, menacing the stability of our allies, the Dutch. Catherine -had found the Turks not so easily to be overcome as she imagined, -feeble and tottering as she considered their empire. The absorption -of the Ottoman kingdom and the establishment of the Muscovite throne -at Constantinople had been her confident dream. But the Turks, though -in a condition of decline and disorganisation which promised an easy -subjugation of them, had still their spirit of fanatic fatalism, which -could rouse them to deeds of impetuous valour. The whole organisation -and regulations of their army were in the worst condition. The -janissaries, which had been amongst the finest infantry in the world, -were now thoroughly demoralised and in insolent insubordination towards -their own government. Their cavalry was numerous, but wretchedly -disciplined. The commissariat was in the worst state conceivable, and -their artillery, though it had received the energetic attentions of -the French Baron De Toff, was contemptible. It might have appeared -that nothing was necessary but to enter Turkey and drive the army, as -a disorganised rabble, before the foe. But Catherine had not found -it so. Her favourite, Potemkin, had been repeatedly defeated in his -attempts to advance into Turkey from the Crimea, and Catherine had been -glad to engage Joseph II. of Austria in the enterprise by a promise of -an ample share of the spoil. In fact, the pair contemplated something -like a partition of Europe. In their meeting at Cherson in 1787, -Joseph had engaged to send one hundred thousand men to the campaign -against Turkey. He had no quarrel with the Sultan, and though a zealous -advocate for national reforms, he paid very little regard to national -or international justice. In all his reforms, Joseph, with true -Austrian spirit, showed the despot still. He did not attempt to carry -such reforms as his subjects desired, but such as he thought proper for -them; and he was always ready to force what he deemed liberalism and -improvement upon them at the point of the bayonet. In attacking Turkey, -he did not wait to proclaim war, much less to have a pretence for it, -but he suddenly made a rush upon the neighbouring city and frontier -fortress of Belgrade. The Turks, though taken by surprise, defended the -place victoriously; and Joseph's subsequent assault on the fortress of -Gradiska was equally unsuccessful and equally disgraceful. - -In prosecution, however, of his unrighteous engagement to Catherine, -he mustered the large army he had engaged to bring against Turkey, and -in February, 1788, he made a formal proclamation of war, having no -cause of hostility to assign of his own, but merely that his alliance -with Russia demanded that he should support that power in its equally -lawless invasion of Turkey. The Prince of Saxe-Coburg, who commanded -one division of Joseph's army, entered Moldavia, and spent the whole -campaign nearly in the siege and reduction of the fortress of Choczim. -The Emperor himself accompanied another division, the destination of -which was the renewal of the siege of Belgrade. He had been led by -Catherine to hope, as his reward for the co-operation, the recovery -of Bosnia and Servia, the acquisition of Moldavia and Wallachia, and -the extension of his boundaries to the Dnieper. But, having waited -some time for the junction of the Russians, Joseph's army assembled on -the banks of the Danube in February, and occupied itself in securing -the banks of that river and of the Save. Joseph himself joined it in -April, accompanied by his favourite marshal and counsellor, Lacy, -and having also with him, but paying little attention to him or his -advice, the brave and able Laudohn, who had so successfully coped -with Frederick of Prussia in Silesia. On the 24th he took the little -fortress of Szabatch, whilst another part of his army suffered a -defeat from the Turks at Dobitza. He then sat down before Belgrade, -but carried on the siege with such slackness as to disgust his own -troops and astonish all Europe. He was at length roused by the advance -of the vizier, Yussuff, who was coming rapidly down upon him. At his -approach, Joseph precipitately retreated behind the Save, while Yussuff -threw bridges over the Danube at Cladova, broke the Austrian cordon by -the defeat of a portion of the forces of General Wartesleben on the -heights of Meadiha, and swept through the banat of Temeswar, Joseph's -own territory, which he held, and threatened to invade Hungary. Joseph -hastened with forty thousand men to support Wartesleben, leaving -General Laudohn to conduct the war in Croatia. The army was delighted -to have Laudohn at their head instead of the Emperor. He led it on -the very day of his arrival against the fortress of Dobitza, which he -took; he then passed the Save, drove the Turks before him, defeated -seven thousand of the enemy before Novi, and took that place, where his -operations were suspended by the winter. Joseph gained little credit by -his junction with Wartesleben. The Turks attacked him, and, though they -were for the moment repulsed, the Emperor retreated in a dark night, -and Turks and Austrians resumed their former positions. After taking -Verplanka, the campaign ended with a three months' truce. But the -Austrians had suffered more severely from the miasma of the marshes of -the Danube and Save than from the Turks. - -Meanwhile, the Russians had been occupied with the siege of Oczakoff, -near the mouth of the Dnieper. There the Turks had endeavoured to burn -their flotillas and flat-bottomed boats, in the shallows, at the mouth -of the river; but besides Potemkin, they had the able Suvaroff to -contend with. This sagacious general drew the Russian flotilla under -the forts of Kinburn, nearly opposite to Oczakoff, of which they were -in possession. Thus safe himself, he swept the broad liman with his -guns, destroyed many of the boats of the Turks, as they got entangled -in the sands of the shallows, and compelled the admiral, who commanded, -to withdraw his fleet. After several vain attempts, Oczakoff was -stormed on St. Nicholas' Day, the 17th of November. But this success -was only obtained at the last moment, in the very desperation of -despair, and when the campaign had cost Russia twenty thousand men, of -whom five thousand perished in the final assault. - -But the Czarina, though mistress of Oczakoff, was far from the end -of her designs. She contemplated nothing but the subjugation of the -Turkish empire. For this purpose she determined to excite insurrection -in all the tributary states of that empire. Her agents had excited -the Montenegrins to an outbreak; they had prepared the Greeks for the -same experiment, and the Mameluke Beys in Egypt. She determined to -send a powerful fleet into the Mediterranean to co-operate with these -insurgents, to seize on the island of Crete, to ravage the coasts of -Thrace and Asia Minor, and to force the passage of the Dardanelles, -or, if that were not practicable, to blockade them. Thus opening the -communication between her forces in the Mediterranean and in the Black -Sea, she considered that Turkey would lie helpless at her feet. To give -the necessary ascendency to her fleet, she had long been encouraging -English naval officers to take commands in it. At the famous battle of -Chesmé, it was the British Admirals Elphinstone, Greig, and others who -had made Potemkin victorious. Greig was now at the head of the fleet -that was being prepared at Cronstadt for this Mediterranean enterprise. -She had also managed to engage eighteen British ships to serve as -transports of troops, artillery, and stores. - -If Pitt had possessed the far-seeing genius of his father Chatham, it -was at this moment in his power, as the ally of Turkey, to have stepped -in and given a blow to the ambitious designs of Russia which would -have saved a far more arduous and costly effort for that very purpose -afterwards. Russia had spared no pains to insult Britain, especially -since the unfortunate contest on account of America. It was certain -that if she once obtained Turkey she would become a most troublesome -power in the Mediterranean; and it now required only the dispatch of -a tolerable fleet to the Baltic, and of another to the Black Sea, to -annihilate in a few days every vestige of her maritime force. Such a -check would have caused her to recoil from her Eastern aggressions -for the purpose of defending her very existence at home. Holland was -bound to us by the re-establishment of the Prince of Orange, our fast -friend, whom Pitt, with the assistance of Prussia, had restored to -the throne, whence he had been driven by his democratic subjects, in -spite of the assistance given to the rebels by France; we were at peace -with Prussia; France was engrossed inextricably with her own affairs; -Denmark was in terror of us; and Sweden longed for nothing so much as -to take vengeance for Russian insults and invasions. Catherine's fleets -destroyed, Sweden would have full opportunity to ravage her coasts, -and to seek the recovery of her Finnish dominions. But Pitt contented -himself with diplomacy. Instead of destroying the Russian fleet in the -Baltic, or of attacking it in the Mediterranean the moment it commenced -its operations on the Turkish dependencies, and then clearing the Black -Sea of their ships, he contented himself with issuing a proclamation in -the _London Gazette_, forbidding English seamen to enter any foreign -service, and commanding the owners of the vessels engaged by Russia to -renounce their contracts. Thus the fleet before Oczakoff was left to -operate against the Turks, and the fleet in the Baltic was detained -there. - -To insure a powerful diversion, the Sultan had engaged the military -co-operation of Sweden. Sweden had been forcibly deprived of Finland by -Peter the Great, and she longed to recover it. She had a brave army, -but no money. The Grand Turk, to enable her to commence the enterprise, -had sent her a present of about four hundred thousand pounds sterling. -Sweden put her fleet in preparation in all haste, and had Pitt merely -allowed the Russian fleet to quit the Baltic, there was nothing to -prevent the execution of the Swedish design on Finland, nor, indeed, of -marching directly on St. Petersburg in the absence of the army. - -But the English measures detained the Russian fleet in the Baltic with -Greig at its head, and Russia was saved from her due chastisement. -The King of Sweden, indeed, landed an army of thirty-five thousand -men in Finland; and his brother, the Duke of Sudermania, appeared -in the Baltic at the head of a strong fleet. Nothing could have -prevented Gustavus from marching directly on the Russian capital, and -St. Petersburg was consequently thrown into the wildest alarm. But -Gustavus was only bent on recovering the provinces which Russia had -reft from Sweden. He advanced successfully for some time, the Russians -everywhere flying before him; but Russian gold and Russian intrigue -soon altered all this. Catherine ordered her fleet, which was in the -Gulf of Finland, with Greig at its head, to bear down on the Swedish -fleet, and, at the same time, emissaries were despatched amongst the -officers of Gustavus's army with plenty of gold, and letters were sent -to the States of Sweden, calling on them to disavow the proceedings of -the king. Before Gustavus had left Sweden with his army, her Minister, -passing over the king himself, had made similar communications to -Gustavus's proud and disaffected nobles, and Gustavus had ordered him -out of the country. The Russian and Swedish fleets now came to an -engagement in the straits of Kalkbaden. The battle was desperate; the -Swedes fought with their wonted valour; and the Russians, under the -management of Greig and the British officers, showed that they were -apt scholars. The two fleets separated, after doing each other great -mischief, each claiming the victory. Catherine immediately rewarded -Greig with a letter of thanks, written by her own hand, and with the -more substantial present of a large sum of money, and a good estate in -Livonia. Moreover, the partial success of Russia by sea had the effect -of encouraging the corrupted officers of Gustavus to refuse to proceed -farther in Finland. - -Gustavus despatched the chief mutineers under arrest to Stockholm; but -he found those who remained equally infected. In fact, the whole of -the Swedish aristocracy had long aimed at usurping the entire powers -of the State, and of dictating to the king. Whilst thus suddenly -disabled, the men themselves in a great measure assuming the language -of their officers, Gustavus found that Sweden itself was menaced with -an invasion of the Danes from the side of Norway, at the instigation -of Russia. It was necessary to hurry home, leaving the portion of the -army in Finland, which remained subordinate, under the command of his -brother. On arriving, Gustavus issued an earnest proclamation to his -people to follow him to the defence of their country. But to lose no -time he hastened on to Dalecarlia, the brave inhabitants of which had -first placed his great ancestor, Gustavus Vasa, on the throne. They -speedily mustered to his aid, and he led them directly against the -Danes, who, under the Prince of Hesse, were already in possession of -Strömstad and Uddevalla, and in full march on Gothenburg, the chief -commercial town of Sweden. - -His arrival gave great joy and confidence to the people of Gothenburg; -and at this moment, seeing the consequence of their too easy conduct, -the British Government sent a peremptory demand to Copenhagen through -Mr. Elliot, their ambassador there, that Denmark should desist from -this invasion of Sweden, the ally of Britain, or, in default of this, -that a powerful British fleet should be dispatched to the Baltic. The -Danes evacuated Sweden, again retiring into Norway, but Gustavus was -left to continue his contest with Russia. His broken army, under his -brother in Finland, took up their winter quarters at the strong seaport -of Sveaborg; and he himself prepared to make some decisive movement -against his haughty and refractory nobles. Besides the Order of -nobility, three other Orders sat in the General Assembly of the States; -and Gustavus, confident of their affection to him, determined to throw -himself upon them for protection against the nobles. He therefore, in -the first place, sent for the chief magistrates, clergy, and citizens, -and laid before them forcibly his position. He showed them how the -recovery of the ancient Swedish provinces on the other side of the -Baltic had been prevented by the defection of the aristocracy, and how -the country had been invaded by the Danes through this encouragement. -Made certain of their support, he then summoned a Diet, which met on -the 26th of January, 1789. - -The nobles rose in a body and quitted the Assembly; but Gustavus -continued his speech to the three remaining Orders. He declared it -necessary, for the salvation of the country, for him to assume almost -despotic powers, and he called on the three Estates to support him in -punishing the traitorous nobles, promising to secure the liberties -of the country as soon as this was accomplished. Not only the three -Orders, but the public at large zealously supported him. Stockholm was -in a state of high excitement. Gustavus surrounded the houses of the -chief nobility with his brave Dalecarlians; secured twenty-five of -the principal nobles, including the Counts Brahé, Fersen, Horne, and -others, who were consigned to the castle. He had already arrested nine -of the leaders of the insurrection in the army in Finland, and these -officers were now also confined in the castle; others had escaped -and fled to their patroness in St. Petersburg. To intimidate the -king, nearly all the officers of the army, the fleet, and the civil -department threw up their commissions and appointments, believing that -they should thus completely paralyse his proceedings. But Gustavus -remained undaunted. He filled up the vacancies, as well as he could, -from the other Orders of the State; he brought the nobles and officers -to trial, and numbers of them were condemned to capital punishment, -for treason and abandonment of their sworn duties. Some few examples -were made; the rest, after a short confinement, were liberated, and -they hastened to their estates in the country. But it was found -there, as everywhere else, that rank confers no monopoly of talent. -The three other Orders warmly supported Gustavus, and he remodelled -the Diet, excluding from it almost all the most powerful nobles, and -giving greater preponderance to the other three Orders. In return for -this, these Orders sanctioned an act called the Act of Safety, which -conferred on the king the same power which is attached to the British -Crown, namely, that of making peace or war. They granted him liberal -supplies, and he quickly raised an army of fifty thousand men. As he -considered the reduction of the restless and lawless power of Russia -was equally essential to Britain, Holland, and Prussia, as to Sweden, -Gustavus called on them to second his efforts. But Pitt would do -nothing more than guarantee the neutrality of Denmark; and even this -guarantee he permitted to become nugatory, by allowing the Danish -fleet to give protection to the Russian fleet in the Baltic. A second -Russian squadron, commanded by Dessein, a French admiral, descended -from Archangel, entered the Baltic, menaced Gothenburg, and by the aid -of the Danish ships was enabled to join the other Russian fleet at -Cronstadt. - -[Illustration: EXPULSION OF THE PROFESSORS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF -ANTWERP. (_See p._ 355.)] - -The Swedes cursed the less than half assistance of their British -allies, and Gustavus endeavoured to fight his way without them. He -continued to win victory after victory on land; but Catherine soon -brought down on his squadron of galleys, which attended his march along -the coast to keep up his supplies, an overwhelming fleet of galleys of -her own. A desperate battle ensued, but the Swedish galley-fleet was at -length overcome. Gustavus was thus greatly embarrassed, and compelled -to stand merely on the defensive, till it was time to go into winter -quarters. He continued for twelve months to do battle with Russia, and, -though with insufficient forces, threatened the very capital of that -country. A little support from Britain, Prussia, and Holland, would -have enabled Sweden to regain its territories on the eastern shores of -the Baltic, to curb the power of Russia, and to assume that station in -the North which is essential to the peace of Europe. These countries, -however, had not the statesmanship to appreciate this point, or the -friendly feeling to effect it, and Gustavus was left to struggle on -alone. - -The Emperor Joseph of Austria had returned from the campaign of 1788 -against Turkey greatly chagrined, and with fast-failing health. Had he -been wise, he would have accepted the overtures for peace made to him -by the Sultan, and have spent the few remaining days of his existence -in tranquillity. But his ambitious and persuasive ally, Catherine, -prevailed upon him to make another effort. He mustered fresh troops. -A hundred and fifty thousand men were marched against the Turkish -frontier, early in the year of 1789, in different divisions. It was -a circumstance very much in their favour that the able Sultan, Abdul -Hamid, died suddenly in April, and was succeeded by his nephew, Selim, -a young, rash, and unprincipled man. The acts of Selim, in murdering -and dismissing his father's best ministers and commanders, and the -unruly condition of the janissaries, rendered Turkey especially open -to the attacks of its enemies. Marshal Laudohn, supporting his earlier -fame, took the fortress of Gradiska, and stormed Belgrade. But this was -not accomplished till the 8th of October, and an attempt was then made -to reduce Orsova, but this failed. Coburg and Suvaroff having joined, -won a great victory over the new Vizier, Martinitzi, in Wallachia, on -the 22nd of September, and the remains of the Turkish army retired to -the pass of Shumla, on the Balkan mountains. Potemkin, on his part, had -greatly increased his forces after the reduction of Oczakoff, and after -a desperate resistance took Bender, famous as the abode of Charles XII. -of Sweden, after the battle of Pultawa. Before winter, the Russians -had made decided progress in their inroads into the Turkish dominions -on the Black Sea. They had gained possession of Akerman, at the mouth -of the Dniester; of Keglia Nova, on the northern banks of the Danube, -and of other places on the Black Sea. They had also extended their -frontier to the left bank of the Danube, and they had actually reduced -every important place between the Bug and Dniester and that river. Had -Catherine had a sufficient fleet in the Black Sea, Constantinople might -have trembled for its safety. - -But Catherine's ally, Joseph, was fast sinking, and his mortal sun was -going down amid storm clouds, all collected by his reckless disregard -of the rights of his subjects, great reformer as he desired to be. -He had wantonly invaded the ancient constitution of Hungary; and on -this the high-spirited and martial Hungarians had expressed their -determination not to submit to it. They insisted that he should restore -the regalia of their ancient kingdom, which he had carried off from -Buda, the old capital, and where the Austrian emperors, as kings of -Hungary, were always expected to be crowned, and to take the oath to -observe the constitution. The Turks, already in possession of the banat -of Temeswar, invited their alliance, offering to assist them in driving -out the Austrians, and establishing their independence. Joseph, alarmed -at this prospect, made haste to avert the danger by conceding the -restoration of the Hungarian constitution and of the regalia, and the -generous Hungarians were at once appeased. - -But far different was the issue of the troubles with his Flemish -subjects, which, with an unaccountable folly and absence of good faith, -he had excited. He sent into the Netherlands Count Trautmansdorff -as Governor, and General Dalton, a brutal Irishman, as commander. -The latter ordered the professors of theology at Louvain to give -way to the Emperor's reforms, and, as they refused, Dalton turned -them out by force, shut up the colleges, and Joseph sent back again -the German professors, who had been before recalled, to appease the -popular indignation. But the colleges remained empty; not a student -would attend the classes of the Germans. As the volunteer corps had -disbanded themselves, in reliance on the Emperor's wish, Trautmansdorff -calculated on an easy compulsion of the people, and he called on the -Grand Council at Brussels to enforce the decrees of the Emperor. The -Council paid no regard to the order. - -The people having collected in great crowds in the neighbourhood of -the Council House, Dalton ordered out a company of soldiers, under -a young ensign, to patrol the streets, and overawe any attempts at -demonstrations in support of the Council. The young ensign, having a -stone flung at him, without further ceremony ordered his men to fire -into the crowd, and six persons were killed, and numbers of others -wounded. No sooner did Joseph hear of this rash and cruel act, than he -wrote highly approving of it, and promoting the ensign. The people, -greatly enraged, rose in the different towns, and were attacked by the -Imperial troops, and blood was shed in various places. With his usual -disregard of consequences, Joseph was at this moment endeavouring to -raise a loan in the Netherlands, to enable him to carry on the war -against Turkey. But this conduct completely quashed all hope of it; -not a man of money would advance a stiver. Trautmansdorff continued to -threaten the people, and Dalton was ready to execute his most harsh -orders. It was determined to break up the University of Antwerp, and -on the 4th of August, 1789, troops were drawn up, and cannon planted -in the public square, to keep down the populace, whilst the professors -were turned into the streets, and the college doors locked. Here there -occurred an attack on the unarmed people, as wanton as that which took -place at Brussels, and no less than thirty or forty persons were killed -on the spot, and great numbers wounded. This Massacre of Antwerp, as it -was called, roused the indignation of the whole Netherlands, and was -heard with horror by all Europe. The monks and professors who had been -turned out became objects of sympathy, even to those who regarded with -wonder and contempt their bigotry and superstition. But Joseph, engaged -in his miserable and disgraceful war against the Turks, sent to Dalton -his warmest approval of what he called these vigorous measures. - -Joseph, in the face of these things, passed an edict sequestrating all -the abbeys in Brabant. The States of Brabant therefore refused the -voting of any subsidies, and Joseph, irritated to deeper blindness, -determined to abolish the Great Charter entitled the _Joyeuse Entrée_, -so called because granted on the entry of Philip the Good into -Brussels, and on which nearly all their privileges rested. To compel -them to vote a permanent subsidy, the military surrounded the States -of Hainault, forcibly dissolved their sitting, and then calling an -extraordinary meeting of the States of Brabant, Trautmansdorff ordered -them to pass an Act sanctioning such a subsidy. But the deputies -remained firm, and thereupon the _Joyeuse Entrée_ was annulled by -proclamation, and the House of Assembly dissolved. Joseph vowed that he -would extinguish the rebellion in blood, and reduce the Netherlands to -the same despotism which ruled all his other states, except Hungary and -the Tyrol. - -Trautmansdorff declared that, if necessary, forty thousand troops -should be marched into the country; but this was an empty boast, for -Joseph had so completely engaged his army against Turkey, that he could -only send a thousand men into the Netherlands. On the contrary, the -French Revolutionists offered the oppressed Netherlands speedy aid, -and the Duke d'Aremberg, the Archbishop of Malines, and other nobles -and dignitaries of the Church, met at Breda on the 14th of September, -and proclaimed themselves the legitimate Assembly of the States of -Brabant. They sent the plainest remonstrances to the Emperor, declaring -that unless he immediately repealed his arbitrary edicts, and restored -their Great Charter, they would assert their rights by the sword. In -proof that these were no empty vaunts, the militia and volunteers -again flew to arms. Scarcely a month had passed after the repeal of -the _Joyeuse Entrée_ before a number of collisions had taken place -between these citizen soldiers and the Imperial troops. In Tirlemont, -Louvain, Antwerp, and Mons blood was shed. At Diest, the patriots, led -on by the monks, drove out the troops and the magistrates. Dalton and -Trautmansdorff, instead of fulfilling their menace, appeared paralysed. - -Numbers of persons fled from the different towns to the frontiers of -Holland, trade became stagnant, manufactories stood empty; the whole -country began to assume a melancholy and ruinous aspect. Many of the -refugees, formed into revolutionary clubs by French emissaries, were -prepared not merely to oppose Joseph's despotism, but all monarchical -government whatever. A powerful body of these placed themselves under -the leadership of Van der Noot, a lawyer, who assumed the title of -plenipotentiary agent of the people of Brabant; and of Van der Mersch, -an officer who had served in the Seven Years' War, who was made -their commander-in-chief. These two men were in league with the new -Assembly of Breda, and issued their proclamations. These Trautmansdorff -caused to be burnt by the executioner. The patriots in Brussels who -sympathised with those in arms were, many of them, arrested; the -citizens were disarmed, the fortifications strengthened by palisades, -and every means of defence was resorted to. - -But in October the patriots of Breda surprised the forts of Lillo and -Liefkenshoek, on the Scheldt. Dalton dispatched General Schröder with -a strong force, who retook the forts; but on Schröder's venturing to -enter Turnhout after the insurgents, a body of three thousand of them, -under Van der Mersch, armed with pitchforks, bludgeons, and staves, -attacked and drove him out. General Bender, who had been dispatched -against the insurgents at Tirlemont, was driven out in the same manner. -General Arberg was compelled to retreat behind the Scheldt, and the -people were victorious in Louvain, Ghent, Bruges, Ostend, and most -towns of the district. Both Joseph and his Governor and Commander in -the Netherlands now fell into the utmost alarm. The news which Marie -Antoinette sent from Paris to her Imperial brother only rendered -this consternation the greater. Joseph, with that sudden revulsion -which he had manifested on other occasions, after equally astonishing -rashness, now issued a conciliatory proclamation, offering to redress -all grievances on the condition of the Netherlanders laying down their -arms. But they were not likely, after former experience, to trust any -such promises of Joseph. On the 20th of November the States of Flanders -assumed the title of the High and Mighty States; they declared the -Emperor to have forfeited the Crown by tyranny and injustice; they -proclaimed their entire independence, and ordered a levy of twenty -thousand men. - -Trautmansdorff now hastened to conciliate in earnest. He issued -two-and-twenty separate proclamations, made all kinds of fair promises, -restored the arms of the citizens, and liberated the imprisoned -patriots. But it was too late. The insurgents, under Van der Mersch, -were fast advancing towards Brussels, and Dalton marched out to meet -them; but he was confounded by the appearance of their numbers, and -entered into an armistice of ten days. But this did not stop the -progress of insurrection in Brussels. There the people rose, and -resolved to open the gates to their compatriots. Women and children -tore up the palisades, and levelled the entrenchments. The population -assumed the national cockade, and the streets resounded with cries of -"Long live the Patriots!" "Long live Van der Noot!" Dalton retreated -into Brussels, but found no security there. The soldiers began to -desert. The people attacked those who stood to their colours, and -Dalton was glad to secure his retreat by a capitulation. In a few days -the insurgents from Breda entered, Trautmansdorff having withdrawn -at their approach, and the new federal union of the Netherlands was -completely established. The State of Luxembourg was the only one -remaining to Joseph, and thither Dalton retired with his forces, five -thousand in number. - -But Joseph did not live to see the full extent of the alienation of -the Netherlands. He had despatched Count Cobentzel to Brussels on the -failure of Trautmansdorff's efforts. Cobentzel was an able diplomatist, -but all his offers were treated with indifference. On the last day of -1789 the States of Brabant, in presence of the citizens of Brussels, -swore to stand by their new freedom--an act which was received by the -acclamations of the assembled crowds. They soon afterwards ratified -their league with the other States, and entered into active negotiation -with the revolutionists of France for mutual defence. On the 20th of -February, 1790, Joseph expired, leaving a prospect full of trouble to -his brother Leopold, the new Emperor. - -At the period at which we have now arrived France was in a state of -the wildest and most awful convulsion. A revolution had broken out, -more terrible and furious than had ever yet appeared in the history -of nations. The French people, so long trodden down by their princes, -their aristocracy, and their clergy, and reduced to a condition of -wretchedness and of ignorant brutality, almost unparalleled, seizing -the opportunity of the distresses of the impoverished Government, and -encouraged by a new race of philosophers who preached up the equality -of the human race, had broken through their ancient subserviency, -and were pulling down all the old constituted powers, ranks, and -distinctions, with a rapidity which electrified the whole world. - -The people might have dragged on a considerable time still in their -misery; but the Government was in its death-throes for want of revenue, -and Louis XVI., who ascended the throne in 1774, had but little -political sagacity. The administration groaned beneath a mountain -of debts; the mass of the people were exhausted in their resources; -trade was ruined by these causes; and the nobility and clergy clung -convulsively to their prescriptive exemptions from taxation. Long -before the American war the State was in reality bankrupt. The Prime -Minister of Louis XVI., the Count de Maurepas, was never of a genius -to extricate the nation from such enormous difficulties; but now he -was upwards of eighty years of age; and, besides that, steeped in -aristocratic prejudices. Still, he had the sense to catch at the wise -propositions of Turgot, who was made Comptroller-General, and had -he been permitted to have his way, might have effected much. Turgot -insisted that there must be a rigid and inflexible economy introduced -into all departments of the State, in order gradually to discharge -the debts. The excellent Malesherbes being also appointed Minister of -Justice, these two able and good men recommended a series of reforms -which must have struck the old and incorrigible courtiers and nobility -with consternation. They prevailed in having the Parliament restored, -and they recommended that the king should himself initiate the business -of reform, thus preventing it from falling into less scrupulous hands, -and so attaching the body of the people to him by the most encouraging -expectations. Turgot presented his calculations and his enlightened -economic plans, and Malesherbes drew up his two memoirs "On the -Calamities of France, and the Means of Repairing them;" but they had -not a monarch with the mind and the nerve to carry out the only reforms -which could save the monarchy. Turgot, who was of the modern school of -philosophy himself, and well knew the heads of the school, recommended -that they should be employed by Government. Had this been done, the -voices that were raised so fatally against the king and Crown might -have been raised for them, and the grand catastrophe averted. But Louis -could not be brought to listen to any measures so politic; indeed, he -was listening, instead, to the cries of fierce indignation which the -privileged classes were raising against all reform. Turgot succeeded -in abolishing the _corvées_, the interior custom-houses between one -province and another, and some other abuses, but there the great plan -was stopped. Both Louis and his Minister, Maurepas, shrank from the -wrath of the noblesse and the clergy, and desisted from all further -reform. - -[Illustration: NOTRE DAME, PARIS.] - -By a still greater fatality, Louis was persuaded to comply with the -solicitations of the American colonists, to assist them in throwing off -their allegiance to Britain. To rend these colonies from Britain, which -had deprived France of Canada and Nova Scotia, was too flattering to -French vanity and French desire of revenge. Turgot in vain protested -that the first cannon that was fired would insure revolution; Louis -consented to the American alliance, and thus set the seal to his own -destruction. Bitterly did he rue this afterwards, still more bitterly -was it rued by his queen when they both saw the fatal infection of -Republicanism brought back from America by the army. When Turgot saw -that this fatal war was determined upon, he retired before the wild -rage of the noblesse and clergy, and from the ruinous weakness of the -king. Minister after minister rapidly succeeded each other in the -vain endeavour to keep up the old partial laws and privileges, the -old extravagance and encumbrances, at the command of the king, and -yet avert revolution. In turn Clugny, Necker, and Calonne withdrew -discomfited. - -The next person to attempt the impossible in the vain endeavour to -keep the vessel of the old French monarchy afloat with all its leaks -and rottenness, was the Archbishop of Toulouse, Loménie de Brienne. He -had vigorously opposed Calonne; but there was no way of raising the -necessary revenue but to adopt some of the very proposals of Calonne, -and tax the privileged classes, or to attempt to draw something still -from the exhausted people. As the less difficult experiment of the two, -he was compelled to cast his eyes towards the property of the nobles -and the Church; but he found the nobles and the clergy as ready to -sacrifice him as they had been to sacrifice Calonne. When one or two of -the more pliant or more enlightened members of those classes ventured -to remark on the vast amount of untaxed property, and particularly -of tithes, there was an actual tempest of fury raised. Tithes were -declared to be the voluntary offerings of the piety of the faithful, -and therefore not to be touched. As further loans were out of the -question, some one ventured to assert that the only means of solving -the difficulty was to assemble the States General. "You would convoke -the States General?" said the Minister in consternation. "Yes," replied -Lafayette, who was bent on revolutionising France, as he had helped -to revolutionise America--"yes, and something more than that!" These -words were taken down as most exceptionable and dangerous. All that -the Assembly of Notables could be brought to do was to confirm the -abolition of the _corvée_, and to pass a stamp act. They would not move -a step further, and they were dismissed by the king on the 25th of May, -1787. The Parliament, or Chief Court of Justice, adopted a similar -course, and it also was dismissed. The king then promulgated a new -constitution, but it fell hopelessly to the ground. - -Events now rushed on with accumulating force and accelerated pace. -There had been a long drought, withering up the prospects of the -harvest, and now, in July, came a terrible hailstorm, which extended -one hundred and fifty miles round Paris, destroying the nearly ripe -corn, the fruit on the trees, and leaving all that extent of country a -desert, and the inhabitants the prey of famine. In such circumstances -the people could not, those in other quarters would not, pay taxes; the -Treasury was empty, and the king was compelled to promise to convoke -the States General in the following May; Brienne endeavoured to amuse -the active reformers by calling on men of intelligence to send in plans -for the proper conduct of the States General, as none had been held for -one hundred and seventy-two years. The public was impatient for a much -earlier summons, but probably they would not have been much listened -to, had Loménie de Brienne known how to keep things going. His empty -exchequer, however, and the pressing demands upon him, drove him to -solicit the king to recall Necker and appoint him once more Comptroller -of the Finances. He imagined that the popularity of Necker would at -least extend the public patience. The queen energetically opposed the -reinstatement of Necker; the position of affairs was, however, too -desperate, and Necker was recalled. His triumphant return was speedily -followed by the meeting of the States. - -On the 4th of May, 1789, Versailles was crowded by immense masses of -people from Paris and the country round, to see the grand procession -of the deputies of the three Orders advancing from the church of Notre -Dame to that of St. Louis. The whole of the costumes, the order of -march, and the spectacle had been carefully studied by the Court, so -as to impress deeply the distinctions of the three Orders, and to -humiliate the Tiers État. The evening before, the deputies had waited -on the king, and even then he had greatly incensed those of the Tiers -État who came most favourably disposed to him. Even whilst he hoped -to obtain essential advantages from the people against the presumption -of the privileged orders, Louis or his advisers could not refrain from -humiliating the Third Estate. Instead of receiving the deputies in -one body, they had been carefully separated; the clergy were received -first, the nobles next, and then, not till after a considerable -pause, the Tiers État. Now, on the great morning, all Paris and the -vicinity--thousands from distant towns--was astir. The streets of -Versailles were lined with French and Swiss guards and made gay with -garlands of flowers, and from the windows hung rich tapestries. The -balconies and windows were crowded with spectators of all ages and both -sexes--the handsomest ladies gorgeously attired. The deputies, instead -of one thousand, amounted to one thousand two hundred. First marched -the members of the Tiers État, six hundred in number, all clad in plain -black mantles, white cravats, and slouched hats. Next went the nobles -in black coats, but the other garments of cloth of gold, silk cloak, -lace cravat, plumed hat turned up _à la_ Henry IV.; then the clergy, -in surplice, with mantle, and square cap; the bishops in their purple -robes, with their rochets. Last came the Court, all ablaze with jewels -and splendid robes; the king in good spirits, the queen anxious, and -dimly conscious even then of the miseries that were to follow. Her -eldest son, the Dauphin, was lying at the point of death in the palace, -and her reputation was being daily murdered by atrocious calumnies. -Yet still Marie Antoinette, the daughter of the great Maria Theresa, -the once light-hearted, always kind and amiable woman, was the perfect -queen in her stately beauty. Two things were remarked--the absence of -Siéyès, and the presence of Mirabeau, two men who had already become -popular leaders. Siéyès had not yet arrived; Mirabeau drew all eyes. -His immense head of hair; his lion-like appearance, marked by an -ugliness quite startling, almost terrifying; the spectators seemed -fascinated by his look. He marched on visibly a man; the rest, compared -with him, were mere shadows. - -It was not long before the Third Estate was discovered to be in -hopeless antagonism with the Court and privileged Orders, and they -resolved to act separately. They must act for themselves and for the -people at large, or, by further delays, lose all the advantages of the -moment. They resolved to assume the character of the representatives of -the entire nation. Siéyès declared that the Commons had waited on the -other Orders long enough. They had given in to all the conciliations -proposed; their condescensions had been unavailing; they could delay no -longer, without abandoning their duty to the country. A great debate -arose regarding the name that the body of deputies which resolved to -become the real legislative power should choose. Mirabeau proposed, -the "Representatives of the People;" Mounier, "The Deliberative -Majority in the absence of the Minority;" and Legrand, "The National -Assembly." The proposal of Mounier was soon disposed of; but there -was a strong inclination in favour of "The National Assembly," and -Mirabeau vehemently opposed it. The name of "National Assembly" had, -it is said, been recommended to Lafayette by Jefferson, the American -Minister, and as Lafayette had not yet ventured to move before his -Order, and join the Tiers État, Legrand, an obscure member, and lately -a provincial advocate, was employed to propose it. But Siéyès had, -in his famous _brochure_ on the "Rights of Man," long before thrown -out these words:--"The Tiers État alone, it will be said, cannot form -a States General. So much the better; it will constitute a National -Assembly!" On the 15th of June, Siéyès proposed that the title should -be "The National Assembly of Representatives, known and verified by the -French Nation." Mirabeau indignantly repelled the title in any shape. -He declared that such a title, by denying the rights and existence of -the other two Orders, would plunge the nation into civil war. Legrand -proposed to modify the name by making it "The General Assembly." Siéyès -then came back to his original title of simply "The National Assembly," -as devoid of all ambiguity, and Mirabeau still more violently opposed -it. But it was soon seen that this name carried the opinion of the mob -with it; the deputies cried out loudly for it; the galleries joined -as loudly in the cries. Mirabeau in a fierce rage read his speech, -said to have been written by his friend Dumont, before the president -Bailly, and withdrew, using violent language against the people who -had hooted him down, declaring that they would soon be compelled to -seek his aid. He had protested in his speech that the veto, which some -of the deputies wished to refuse to the king, must be given to him; -that without the royal veto he would rather live in Constantinople -than in France; that he could conceive nothing more dreadful than the -sovereignty of six hundred persons; that they would very soon declare -themselves hereditary, and would finish, like all other aristocracies -that the world had ever seen, by usurping everything. These words, only -too prophetic, had brought down upon him a tempest of execration; and -writhing under it he had hastened to the Court and had an interview -with Necker, warning him of the danger of the crisis, and offering to -use his influence in favour of the king's authority. Necker received -him coldly, and thus Mirabeau was thrown back on the people. Siéyès's -motion was carried by a majority of four hundred and ninety-one -against ninety; and the National Assembly was proclaimed amid loud -acclamations, mingled with cries of "_Vive le Roi!_" - -[Illustration: THE FRENCH REVOLUTION: COSTUME OF LADY OF THE PERIOD.] - -This alarming event produced an instant and zealous union of the Court -and the nobles. The heads of the aristocracy and of the dignified -clergy threw themselves at the feet of the king, declaring the -monarchy lost if he did not at once dismiss the States. The utmost -confusion reigned in the palace. The unhappy Louis, never able to -form a resolution of his own, was made to sway to and fro like a -pendulum between opposite recommendations. The Assembly had adjourned -on the 19th to the next day, and Bailly, on reaching the door of the -hall, attended by many other deputies found it not only closed, but -surrounded by soldiers of the French Guard, who had orders to refuse -admittance to every one. Some of the fiercer young spirits amongst the -deputies proposed to force their way in; but the officer in command -ordered his men to stand to their arms, and showed that he would make -use of them. Bailly induced the young men to be patient, and obtained -leave from the officer to enter a court and write a protest. A brisk -conference was then held, while standing in the Avenue de Paris, in the -midst of pouring rain, as to whither they should betake themselves. The -deputy Guillotin recommended that they should go to Old Versailles, to -the Jeu de Paume, or Tennis Court, and this plan was adopted. - -[Illustration: THE FRENCH REVOLUTION: COSTUME OF 1790.] - -Before leaving, the courteous officer permitted Bailly and about -half-a-dozen deputies to enter and bring out their papers. The -carpenters were already at work making preparations for the royal -séance, which was intended for a counter-manifestation, and as the -body of the deputies, now nearly completing their six hundred, marched -through the streets, they heard the heralds proclaiming it for Monday, -the 22nd. Bailly felt that there was more indignity intended than even -that of turning them so unceremoniously out of their house, for a -message had been sent to him from the king, announcing the séance, but -it had not been delivered to him, as etiquette required, at the hall, -but at his private house, and not by a written dispatch, but verbally -by De Brézé, the master of ceremonies. When the deputies, with their -president at their head, reached the Tennis Court, they found it a very -spacious apartment, but naked, unfurnished, and desolate. There were no -seats for the deputies, and a chair being offered to Bailly he declined -it, saying he would not sit whilst the other members were standing. -A wooden bench was brought, and served for a desk, two deputies were -stationed as doorkeepers, and the keeper of the Court appeared and -offered them his services. Great numbers of the populace crowded in, -and the deliberations commenced. There were loud complaints of the -interruption of their sitting, and many proposals to prevent such -accidents in future. It was proposed to adjourn to Paris, where they -would have the support of the people, and this project was received -with enthusiasm; but Bailly feared that they might be attacked on -the way, and, moreover, that such a measure would give an advantage -to their enemies, looking like a desertion of their ground. Mounier -then proposed that the deputies should bind themselves by an oath -never to separate till they had completed the Constitution. This was -hailed with enthusiasm. The oath was drawn up, and Bailly, standing -on the bench, read it aloud:--"You solemnly swear never to separate, -and to re-assemble whenever circumstances shall require it, until the -Constitution of the kingdom is founded and established on a solid -basis." As he read this all the deputies held up their right hands, -and repeated after him the words, "We swear!" The formula was read so -loud that not only the spectators within but numbers without heard it, -and all joined in the cry, "We swear!" Then followed loud acclaims of -"_Vive l'Assemblée!_" "_Vive le Roi!_" - -[Illustration: THE FRENCH REVOLUTION: COSTUME "À LA ROBESPIERRE."] - -[Illustration: TRICOTEUSE, OR KNITTING WOMAN, OF THE NATIONAL -CONVENTION.] - -After this the royal sitting was useless, as the king's authority was -disregarded by the Third Estate. The Court had to learn that the Tiers -État had remained in their seats after the king and the nobles had -retired. The Assembly then, on the motion of Mirabeau, declared its -members inviolable, and that whoever should lay a hand on any one of -them was a traitor, infamous, and worthy of death. - -"Thus," says Thiers, "was effected the first revolution. The Tiers -État had recovered the Legislature, and its adversaries had lost it -by attempting to keep it entirely to themselves. In a few days this -legislative revolution was completely consummated." But it was not -consummated without a violent fermentation of the populace. - -The Court and the nobles were greatly alarmed, and secretly preparing -for war. The nobles had joined the Assembly with the utmost repugnance, -and many only on the assurance that the union would not continue. The -members of that Order continued to protest against the proceedings of -the Assembly, rather than join in its deliberations. The king himself -had consented to the union, in the hope that the nobles would be able -to put a check on the Tiers État. King and nobles saw now that all such -hopes were vain. And whilst Necker was retained to satisfy the people -for the present, and whilst Mounier, Lally Tollendal, and Clermont -Tonnerre were consulting with him on establishing a Constitution -resembling that of Britain, the Court was preparing to put down the -insurrection and the Assembly by force. Marshal Broglie was placed at -the head of the troops which surrounded both Paris and Versailles. -He judged of both soldiers and citizens by the recollections of the -Seven Years' War, and assured the king that a little grape-shot would -soon disperse the rioters. Fifteen regiments, chiefly foreign, had -been gradually drawn round the capital. The headquarters of Broglie -were at Versailles, where he had a brilliant staff and a formidable -train of artillery, some of which commanded the very hall in which the -Assembly sat. There was a battery at the bridge of Sèvres, commanding -the road to Paris, and in Paris itself there were strong batteries -on Montmartre, which overlooked the city, and which, moreover, were -carefully entrenched. Besides these preparations, there were French -regiments quartered at St. Germain, Charenton, St. Cloud, and other -places. Altogether, fifty thousand troops were calculated to be -collected. The old noblesse were impatient for the king to give the -order to disperse the people both in Paris and Versailles; to surround -the Assembly, seize the chief members, put them in prison, and send -the rest adrift; to treat the ringleaders of the electors in the same -manner; to dissolve formally the States General, and restore the old -order of things. Had the reins of government been in the hands of a -Bonaparte, the whole plan would have been executed, and would for the -time, without doubt, have succeeded. But Louis XVI. was not the man -for a _coup-d'état_ of that rigorous nature. He shuddered at the idea -of shedding his subjects' blood; and instead of doing that for which -the troops had been assembled, he now listened to Necker, who reminded -him that when the people were put down or shot down, and the States -General dispersed, the old debts and difficulties would remain, and -without States General or Parliament there would be no authority to -impose or collect taxes. To Necker's arguments, the more timid and -liberal nobles added that the excitement would soon wear itself out; -that nothing serious could be done in the presence of such forces, and -that the Constitution, once completed, all would right itself, and -that he would have to congratulate himself on his bloodless patience -in a new and happier reign. This was humane but fatal advice in the -circumstances. The soldiers, allowed to remain inactive in the very -midst of the hotbed of sedition, were sure to become infected with -the spirit of revolution. The debates in the National Assembly were -actively distributed in print, and the soldiers read them eagerly. - -Whilst the Court had been conspiring, the people had conspired too. The -electors at the Hôtel de Ville listened with avidity to a suggestion -of Mirabeau, thrown out in the National Assembly, which passed at the -time without much notice. This was for organising the citizens into a -City Guard. The plan had originated with Dumont and his countryman, -Duroverai, both Genevese. Mirabeau had adopted and promulgated it. -Fallen unnoticed in the Assembly, on the 10th of July Carra revived -it at the Hôtel de Ville. He declared that the right of the Commune -to take means for the defence of the city was older than the Monarchy -itself. The Parisian people seconded, in an immense multitude, this -daring proposition, and desired nothing more than a direct order to -arm themselves and to maintain their own safety. Thus encouraged, -Mirabeau renewed his motion in the National Assembly. He demanded that -the troops should be withdrawn from the neighbourhood of Versailles -and Paris, and a burgher guard substituted. He also moved that the -"discussion on the Constitution should be suspended till the security -of the capital and the Assembly were effected." He moved for an -address to the king, praying him to dismiss the troops, and rely on -the affections of his people. The motion was carried, and a committee -appointed to draw up the address. The address was presented by a -deputation of twenty-four members. The king replied that the troops -had been assembled to preserve public tranquillity and to protect the -National Assembly; but that if the Assembly felt any apprehension, he -would send away the troops to Noyon or Soissons and would go himself to -Compiègne. This answer was anything but satisfactory, for this would -be to withdraw the Assembly much farther from Paris, and the movement -would thus weaken the influence of the Assembly, and at the same time -place the king between two powerful armies--the one under Broglie, at -Soissons, and another which lay on the river Oise, under the Marquis -de Bouillé, a most determined Royalist. The Assembly was greatly -disconcerted when this reply was reported. - -At this very moment Necker was receiving his dismissal. His situation -at Court had been most painful. The people surrounded the palace, -crying, "Vive Necker!" "Vive le Ministre du Peuple!" He was more -popular than ever, because he had had no part in the insult to the -Tiers État on the 23rd of June. At the same time, when the queen -appeared on the balcony with a child in her arms, the fiercest -execrations were uttered amid curses on the aristocrats. This made -Necker all the more unpopular within the palace. He was accused of -having produced all the mischiefs by advising the king to summon the -States General. He retorted that the nobles and bishops were the cause, -by preventing the king from following the plans he had laid down. -Necker, therefore, begged to resign; but he had been always desired to -remain, for the Court apprehended an outbreak if he were dismissed. But -now, matters being deemed sufficiently safe--the army being in grand -force--the king, on the 11th of July, took him at his word. Necker -was just sitting down to dinner when he received the king's note, -which begged him to keep his retirement secret, and to get across the -frontier as expeditiously as possible. - -On the morning of the next day, Sunday, the 12th of July, the news -was all over Paris that Necker was dismissed. The alarm was intense. -Paris was in an uproar. The Palais Royal was choked with people in -a frenzy of excitement. All at once a young man leaped upon a table -and shouted, "To arms! to arms! Whilst we are talking, foreign troops -are gathering round us to massacre us!" This orator, whose loud voice -and dramatic action stopped in a moment the buzz of tongues and the -voices of lesser orators, mounted on chairs and tables, was Benoit -Camille Desmoulins, already a favourite orator of the people on this -spot. This fanatic revolutionist now held up a brace of pistols; and, -snatching a green twig from a tree, stuck it into his hat as a cockade. -There was an instantaneous imitation of the act by the whole mass of -people. The trees were all stripped, and a woman brought out a great -roll of green ribbon, and cut off cockades for the patriots as far as -it would go. The mob, armed with pistols, clubs, swords, and axes, -continued their procession along the Rue Richelieu; then turning on the -Boulevard, along the Rues St. Martin, St. Denis, St. Honoré, to the -Place Vendôme. There a German squadron was drawn up before the hotel of -the farmers of the taxes, and attacked the crowd, destroyed the busts, -and killed a soldier of the French Guard who stood his ground. The -commandant, Besenval, remained inactive in the École Militaire; he was -without orders from Broglie; and, besides, dared not trust the French -Guard, but kept them close in their barracks. But he had three foreign -regiments at his disposal, one of Swiss and two of German cavalry. -Towards afternoon, seeing the disorder increase, he sent the Swiss -into the Champs Elysées with four pieces of cannon, and the German -cavalry into the Place Louis Quinze, adjoining. As Prince Lambesc, -with the Germans, was marching along the Chaussée d'Antin, he was met -by a body of the French Guard, who had escaped from their barracks -to avenge their slain comrade. They fired on him and killed three of -the German cavalry, and wounded numbers more. They then advanced with -fixed bayonets to the Place Louis Quinze, where the Swiss Guard were -posted. There they and the Swiss remained facing each other under arms -all night, the people feasting and encouraging the French Guard; who, -however, did not come to blows with the Swiss. Lambesc had continued -his route to St. Cloud, leaving the city all night in the hands of -the mob, who burnt the barriers at the different entrances, so as to -allow free access to the people from the country; and broke open the -gunsmiths' shops, and carried off the arms. During the whole of the -next day the city was in the hands of the mob. - -Whilst these scenes were going on all around, and the city was -menaced every moment by troops, by the raving multitude, and by whole -squadrons of thieves and assassins, the electors were busily employed -in organising a City Guard. But, previous to entering on this task, -it was necessary to establish some sort of municipal authority more -definite and valid than that of the electors at large. A requisition -was then presented to the provost of trades (prévôt des marchands) to -take the head. A number of electors were appointed his assistants. Thus -was formed a municipality of sufficient powers. It was then determined -that this militia, or guard, should consist of forty-eight thousand -men furnished by the districts. They were to wear not the green, but -the Parisian cockade, of red and blue. Every man found in arms, and -wearing this cockade, without having been enrolled in this body by his -district, was to be apprehended, disarmed, and punished. And thus arose -the National Guard of Paris. - -During these proceedings, the National Assembly was sitting at -Versailles in the utmost agitation. On the morning of the 13th, Mounier -had risen and censured the dismissal of the Ministers, and had been -seconded by Lally Tollendal, who had pronounced a splendid panegyric -on Necker, and recommended an address to the king for his recall. M. -de Virieu, a deputy of the noblesse, proposed to confirm by oath the -proceedings of the 17th of June; but Clermont Tonnerre declared that -unnecessary, as the Assembly had sworn to establish a constitution, and -he exclaimed, "The Constitution we will have, or we will perish!" In -the midst of this discussion came the news of the rising of the people -of Paris, on the morning of the 13th, and an address was immediately -voted to the king, beseeching him to withdraw the foreign troops, -and authorise the organisation of the Civic Guards. The Duke de la -Rochefoucauld said, the foreign troops in the hands of despotism were -most perilous to the people, who were not in any one's hands. The -address was sent, and the king returned a curt answer, that Paris was -not in a condition to take care of itself. The Assembly then assumed a -higher tone, asserted that the present counsellors of the king would be -responsible for all the calamities which might take place, and declared -itself in permanent session, that is, that it would sit day and night -till the crisis was over. It appointed M. de Lafayette vice-president, -in the place of the aged Bishop of Vienne, who was not capable of much -exertion. - -But the Court had hesitated too long. The people had taken the start -of them, and now came sounds which paralysed the Court party with -consternation. Scarcely was midnight passed on this eventful 14th of -July, when the throngs increased rapidly around the Bastille, and the -cries grew fiercer, "Down with it!" "Let us storm it!" De Launay, the -governor, had made all necessary preparations, charged a dozen long -guns on the towers with balls of a pound and a half each, and disposed -his little force to the best advantage. While the democratic leaders -were negotiating with the garrison, the crowd grew first impatient, -then furious. They advanced impetuously against the first drawbridge. -Two men mounted the roof of the guard-house, and, with axes, cut the -chains of the bridge, which fell down. The mass of assailants rushed -forward towards the second bridge, but were met by a discharge of -musketry, which did deadly execution amongst them and brought them to -a stand. The firing proceeded at once from the towers and from the -loop-holes below. A number of the assailants fell, whilst only two -of the muskets fired by the people during the whole day took effect. -De Launay now gave orders to fire on the assailants with grape. This -drove them back to some distance, but they soon came on more furious -than ever. De Launay looked in vain for the promised succour from -Besenval or Broglie, and seeing the ever-increasing and ever more -raging thousands around, he lost his head, was seized with despair, and -resolved to blow up the prison and a great part of the old town near -it. Six hundred and thirty-five barrels of gunpowder were deposited in -the magazine. Seizing a match, he ran to cast it into an open barrel, -and thus send into the air the horrible old fortress, himself, and -garrison. With it must inevitably have been destroyed all the quarter -of the Bastille, all the Marais, and a great part of the Faubourg St. -Antoine. Two uncommissioned officers stopped him by crossing their -bayonets. He then attempted to kill himself, but was secured. His head -was wholly gone--he was no longer capable of issuing an order. - -The Bastille surrendered almost immediately after the governor had been -seized with despair. The French Guard began to cannonade the fortress; -the captain of the Swiss, who might undoubtedly have held out much -longer, saw that no rescue came, and that prolonged resistance would -only lead in the end to sanguinary vengeance, he therefore hoisted -a white flag. The captain of the Swiss demanded to be allowed to -capitulate, and to march out with the honours of war; but the furious -mob cried out, "No capitulation! no quarter! The rascals have fired -upon the People!" The Swiss captain then said that they would lay -down their arms, on condition that their lives should be spared. Then -the gates of the old prison were thrown open, and the furious and -triumphant mob burst in. The news of the fall of the Bastille came as a -thunder-clap. The king, who had not been so confident, was gone to bed. -The Duke de Liancourt, Grand Master of the Wardrobe, by virtue of his -office went to his bedside, awoke him, and told him the amazing fact. -"What!" exclaimed Louis, "is it, then, really a revolt?" "Say, rather, -sire," replied the Duke, "a revolution!" - -[Illustration: THE CONQUERORS OF THE BASTILLE. (_After the Picture by -François Flameng._)] - -The king agreed to visit the Assembly in the morning; and he went, -attended by his two brothers. He addressed them in a kind and -conciliatory tone. He said, "You have been afraid of me; but, for my -part, I put my trust in you." This avowal was received with applause, -in one of those bursts of sentiment, so sudden and so soon over, which -mark French history one moment with tearful emotions and the next with -savage bloodshed. The deputies surrounded the monarch, and escorted him -back to the palace with tears in their eyes. The queen, from a balcony, -saw this enthusiastic procession. She stood with the little dauphin in -her arms, and her daughter holding by her dress; and herself, greatly -moved, was hailed for the moment also by the senators. For the time all -seemed to be forgotten. The king consented to the recall of Necker. -The Duke de Liancourt was appointed president of the Assembly, in the -place of Bailly; and the nobles, who had hitherto absented themselves -from the sittings, now attended and voted. Thus was the Assembly -apparently amalgamated, and the revolution completed. A sudden fit -of generosity seemed to seize the nobles in the Assembly--which, in -fact, was a fit of terror--for they had come to the conclusion that no -protection was to be expected from the Assembly against the fury and -cupidity of the people. They saw that the Assembly was the slave of the -people; that the army had fraternised with the people; and that they -were at the mercy of the merciless populace. The Viscount de Noailles -and the Duke d'Aiguillon declared that it would be wicked and absurd -to employ force to quiet the people. They must destroy the cause of -their sufferings, and all would be accomplished. The nobles hastened to -renounce their privileges. They crowded round the table to enumerate -what they surrendered. The Commons, having nothing of their own to give -up, surrendered the privileges and charters of towns and provinces. -Some offered up their pensions; and one deputy, having nothing else, -surrendered his personal convenience, pledging himself to devote his -energies to the public welfare. The whole Assembly was in a ferment and -fever-heat paroxysm of renunciation, such as could only be witnessed -in France. Lally Tollendal, unable to approach the tribunal, sent -up a note to the President--"Everything is to be apprehended, from -the enthusiasm of the Assembly. Break up the sitting!" Lally moved -that the king should be proclaimed the restorer of French liberty, -which was carried by acclamation; that a Te Deum should be performed -for this joyful event; and the Assembly broke up about midnight in a -bewilderment of rapture and wonder at its own deed. - -The Assembly had, on this memorable night of the 4th of August, -decreed nothing less than--the abolition of all serfdom; the right -of compounding for the seignorial dues, and the abolition of -seignorial jurisdictions; the suppression of exclusive rights of -hunting, shooting, keeping warrens, dovecotes, etc.; the abolition -of tithes; the equality of taxes; the admission of all citizens to -civil and military employments; the abolition of the sale of offices; -the suppression of all the privileges of towns and provinces; the -reformation of wardenships; and the suppression of pensions obtained -without just claims. The Assembly then continued the work of the -constitution. - -In the midst of this constitution-making, famine was stalking through -the country, and bankruptcy was menacing the exchequer. The first loan -of thirty millions had proved a total failure; a second of eighty, -according to a fresh plan of Necker's, was equally a blank. With the -necessities of the Government, the necessities of the people kept pace. -The whole country was revolutionising instead of working; destroying -estates instead of cultivating them. Farmers were afraid of sowing -what they might never reap; trade and manufactures were at an end, for -there was little money and no confidence. The country was not become -unfruitful, but its people had gone mad, and the inevitable consequence -was an ever-increasing famine. This, instead of being attributed to the -true causes, was ascribed by the mob orators to all kinds of devilish -practices of the Court and the aristocracy. - -The Court was soon alarmed by the report that the National Guard -intended to march from Paris to Versailles, and, after removing the -Bodyguard, to do duty at the palace themselves, in order to prevent -the royal family from escaping abroad. Lafayette, now head of the -National Guard, on the 17th of September wrote to St. Priest, one of -the Ministers, to assure him that there was no truth in the report, -and therefore no danger. D'Estaing, the commander of the Bodyguard, -however, to whom Lafayette's letter was communicated by St. Priest, -did not feel satisfied, and proposed to bring the regiment of Flanders -to Versailles, and the Assembly being applied to for its sanction, -declared it was no business of theirs; and thus, neither encouraging -nor discouraging the measure, the regiment was sent for. It arrived on -the 23rd of September; and, at the sight of the long train of waggons -that followed, alarm seized both the people of Versailles and the -Assembly. Mirabeau, who, by a word, could have prevented the coming of -the regiment, now denounced it as dangerous. News flew to Paris that -a counter-revolution was preparing, and that the foreigners would be -marched on the city. All this terror of one single regiment showed -a disposition to feign alarm, rather than the real existence of it; -but the Court committed the great folly of creating fresh reasons for -jealousy. The officers of the Life Guard showed a most lively desire -to fraternise with those of the Flanders regiment, and the courtiers -were equally attentive to them. The officers of the Flanders regiment -were not only presented at the king's levee, but invited to the queen's -drawing-room, and treated in the most flattering manner. The Gardes du -Corps gave a grand dinner to welcome them; and, what was extraordinary, -they were allowed to give it in the theatre of the palace. This took -place on the 2nd of October. The boxes were filled by people belonging -to the Court. The officers of the National Guard were amongst the -guests. After the wine had circulated some time amongst the three -hundred guests, the soldiers, both of the Flanders regiment and of the -other corps, the company, with drawn swords, and heated by champagne, -drank the health of the royal family; the toast of the nation was -rejected or omitted. The grenadiers in the pit demanded to be allowed -to drink the royal healths, and goblets of wine were handed to them, -and they drank the health of the king, the queen, the dauphin, and the -rest of the royal family amid mutual shaking of hands and loud shouts -of "_Vive le Roi! Vive la Reine!_" The band of the Flanders regiment -then struck up the very expressive and celebrated song of Blondel when -seeking his captive king, Cœur de Lion-- - - "O Richard! o mon Roi! - L'univers t'abandonne--" - -The whole company caught the royal infection. They vowed to die for -the king, as if he were in imminent danger. Cockades, white or black, -but all of one colour, were distributed; and it is said the tricolour -was trodden under foot. In a word, the whole company was gone mad with -champagne and French sentiment, and hugged and kissed each other in -a wild frenzy. At this moment a door opened, and the king and queen, -leading the dauphin by the hand, entered, and at the sight the tumult -became boundless. Numbers flung themselves at the feet of the royal -pair, and escorted them back to their apartments. - -All this was little less than madness on the part of the royal family. -They knew that the army at large was disaffected to royalty, and of -what avail were two regiments? If they really sought to escape, it -could only have been done by the utmost quiet and caution. The Flanders -regiment could have guarded them. But now the certain consequence must -be to rouse all the fury of Paris, and bring it down upon them. This -was the instant result. Paris, in alarm, cried, "To Versailles!" On -the night of the 4th of October the streets were thronged with excited -people; the National Guard were under arms everywhere, and maintained -some degree of order. On the morning of the 5th the women took up the -matter. They found no bread at the bakers', and they collected in -crowds, and determined to march to the Hôtel de Ville, and demand it -of the mayor. The women had refused to allow the men to join them, -declaring that they were not fit for the work they were going to do; -but numbers had followed them, better armed than themselves, and they -now assisted them to break open doors, where they obtained seven or -eight hundred muskets, three bags of money and two small cannon. As -they were proceeding to make a bonfire of the papers, which would -probably have burnt the whole place down, the commander of the National -Guard gave up the matter in despair; but one Stanislas Maillard, -a riding-messenger of the municipality, with more address, called -out to them to desist; that there was a much better thing to do--to -march at once to Versailles, and compel the Court to furnish bread, -and that he would be their leader. He seized a drum and beat it; the -women cried lustily, "To Versailles!" Some ran to the tower of the -Hôtel and sounded the tocsin. The bells soon began to ring out from -every steeple in Paris; the whole population was afloat; the men and -women, armed with all sorts of weapons, followed their new leader, who -had been one of the heroes of the Bastille, and he marched them to -the Champs Elysées. There he arranged his motley and ever-increasing -army: the women in a compact body in the middle, the men in front and -rear. Horses, waggons, carriages of all kinds, were seized on wherever -they were seen; some of these were harnessed to the cannon, and then -Maillard, drumming at their head, put his army in motion, and on they -went towards Versailles, stopping every carriage that they met, and -compelling even ladies to turn again and accompany them. - -Meanwhile, Lafayette and Bailly, summoned by this strange news, had -hurried to the Hôtel de Ville, where they found the National Guard and -the French Guard drawn up, and demanding to be led to Versailles. The -French Guard declared that the nation had been insulted by the Flanders -regiment--the national cockade trampled on; and that they would go -and bring the king to Paris, and then all should be well. Bailly and -Lafayette attempted to reason with them; but they, and thousands upon -thousands of armed rabble again collected there, only cried, "Bread! -bread! Lead us to Versailles!" There was nothing for it but to comply; -and at length Lafayette declared that he would conduct them there. He -mounted his white horse, and this second army, about three o'clock in -the afternoon, marched in the track of the amazons who had already -reached Versailles. - -"It was on foot," says Mounier, "in the mud, and under a violent storm -of rain. The Paris women intermixed with a certain number of men, -ragged and ferocious, and uttering frightful howlings. As we approached -the palace, we were taken for a desperate mob. Some of the Gardes du -Corps pricked their horses amongst us and dispersed us. It was with -difficulty that I made myself known, and equally difficult it was to -make our way into the palace. Instead of six women, I was compelled -to admit twelve. The king received them graciously, but separated -from their own raging and rioting class, the women were overcome by -the presence of the king, and Louison Chabry, a handsome young girl -of seventeen, could say nothing but the word 'Bread!' She would have -fallen on the floor, but the king caught her in his arms, embraced and -encouraged her; and this settled completely the rest of the women, who -knelt and kissed his hand. Louis assured them that he was very sorry -for them, and would do all in his power to have Paris well supplied -with bread. They then went out blessing him and all his family, and -declared to those outside that never was there so good a king. At -this the furious mob exclaimed that they had been tampered with by -the aristocrats, and were for tearing them to pieces; and, seizing -Louison, they were proceeding to hang her on a lamp-post, when some -of the Gardes du Corps, commanded by the Count de Guiche, "interfered -and rescued her." One Brunout, an artisan of Paris, and a hero of -the Bastille, having advanced so as to be separated from the women, -some of the Guard struck him with the flat of their swords. There was -an instant cry that the Guard were massacring the people; and the -National Guard of Versailles being called on to protect them, one of -them discharged a musket, and broke the arm of M. de Savonières, one -of the Life Guard. The firing on the Life Guard by the National Guard -then continued, and the Life Guard filed off, firing as they went. The -mob, now triumphant, attempted to fire two pieces of cannon, which -they turned upon the palace; but the powder was wet and would not -explode. The king, having meanwhile heard the firing, sent the Duke -of Luxembourg to order that the Guard should not fire, but retire to -the back of the palace. The mob then retired into Versailles in search -of bread, which Lecointre, a draper of the town, and commander of its -National Guard, promised to procure them from the municipality. But -the municipality had no bread to give, or took no pains to furnish it, -and the crowds, drenched with rain, sought shelter wherever they could -for the night. The women rushed again into the Hall of the Assembly, -and took possession of it without any ceremony. Soon after midnight -the roll of drums announced the arrival of Lafayette and his army. -An aide-de-camp soon after formally communicated his arrival to the -Assembly; that they had been delayed by the state of the roads; and -that Lafayette had also stopped them to administer to them an oath of -fidelity to the nation, the law, and the king; that all was orderly, -and that they had nothing to fear. Lafayette soon after confirmed -this by leading a column of the National Guard to the doors of the -Assembly, and sending in this message. The Assembly being satisfied, -adjourned till eleven o'clock the next day. Lafayette then proceeded -to the palace, where he assured the king and the royal family of the -loyalty of the Guard, and that every precaution should be taken for -tranquillity during the night. On this the king appeared to be at ease -and retired to rest. The mob attacked the palace in the night, but -Lafayette prevented an assault on the royal family, though two of the -Guard were butchered. The king during the night repeatedly sent to -inform the deputies of his intention to go to Paris. - -[Illustration: THE BASTILLE.] - -The Assembly had not paid him the respect to wait on him; but, at the -last moment, they passed a resolution that the Assembly was inseparable -from the person of the king, and appointed one hundred deputies to -attend him. Amongst them was Mirabeau. It was about one o'clock when -the king quitted Versailles amid a general discharge of musketry, -falsely, on this occasion, termed a _feu-de-joie_. The king and queen, -the dauphin, and the little daughter, Monsieur, the king's brother, and -Madame Elizabeth, the king's sister, went all in one great State coach. -Others of the royal household, with the ladies of honour, and the one -hundred deputies, followed in about a hundred vehicles of one kind or -other. The Mayor, Bailly, received them at the barrier of Paris, and -conducted them to the Hôtel de Ville. So soon as they had passed the -barrier, the numerous procession were joined by the whole leviathan mob -of Paris, calculated at two hundred thousand men! It was night, and the -crushing and shouting throngs prevented the royal carriage from more -than merely moving all the way from the barrier to the Place de Grève. -At the Hôtel de Ville, Moreau de St. Mery addressed the king in a long -speech, congratulating him on his happy arrival amongst his people--his -"loving children of the capital." The poor tired and dispirited king -replied that he always came with confidence amongst his people. Bailly -repeated the words in a loud tone to the people, but omitted the words -"with confidence," whereupon the queen said, with much spirit, "Sir, -add 'with confidence';" so Bailly replied, "Gentlemen, in hearing it -from the lips of the queen you are happier than if I had not made -that mistake." The king was then exhibited on the balcony to the mob, -with a huge tricolour cockade in his hat, at which sight, in French -fashion, the people hugged and kissed each other and danced for joy. It -was eleven o'clock at night before the miserable royal captives were -conducted by Lafayette to their appointed prison--for such it was, in -fact--the great palace of their ancestors, the Tuileries, which had -been uninhabited for a century, and had not been prepared for their -reception. The Assembly followed, and proceeded to work under the eyes -of the Paris commune and the people. Power was fast slipping from their -hands. - -In such circumstances closed the year 1789. The intense excitement -which the rapid course of these French events had produced in England -had nearly superseded all other topics of interest. At first there -was an almost universal jubilation over this wonderful revolution. -The dreadful state of misery and oppression to which France had been -reduced; the fearful exactions; the system of popular ignorance -maintained by priestcraft; the abominable feudal insolence; the abuse -of _lettres de cachet_; and the internal obstructions of customs -and barriers between one province and another, made every friend of -freedom desirous of seeing all these swept away. The early progress -of their destruction was hailed with enthusiasm in England. Even the -retired and timid poet, Cowper sang a triumphal note on the fall of the -Bastille; but soon the bloody fury of the populace, and the domineering -character of the Assembly, which did not deign to stop at the proper -constitutional limits, began to create distrust and alarm. Amongst the -first to perceive and to denounce this work of anarchy rather than -of reform, was Burke. In common with Fox and Pitt, and many other -statesmen, he had rejoiced in the fall of the corrupt government of -France; but he soon began to perceive that the people were displaying -the same ferocious character as in all their former outbreaks. "If," -he wrote to M. Menonville, a moderate Member of the Assembly, "any of -these horrid deeds were the acts of the rulers, what are we to think -of the armed people under such rulers? But if there be no rulers in -reality, and the chiefs are driven before the people rather than lead -them; and if the armed corps are composed of men who have no fixed -principle of obedience, and are moved only by the prevalence of some -general inclination, who can repute himself safe amongst a people so -furious and so senseless?" As he continued to gaze, he was compelled -to confess that he saw no great and wise principles of legislation -displayed by the Assembly; but that it went on destroying, without -knowing how to rebuild in a manner likely to last or to work any one -any good. The whole of the constitution-making, which annihilated -the royal power, which erected no second chamber, but absorbed all -authority into the Assembly, a mixed and heterogeneous body, he -declared to be a bungling and monstrous performance. On the other -hand, Dr. Price, Dr. Priestley, and numbers of equally enthusiastic -men, saw nothing but what was animating in the progress of the French -Revolution. "The Revolution Society," including many of the highest -names of the Whig aristocracy, which was accustomed to meet on the 5th -of November, to celebrate the anniversary of the landing of William -III., and the English Revolution of 1688, this year presented a glowing -address of congratulation to the French National Assembly, which was -carried over by Lord Stanhope and Dr. Price. Of course, they and the -address were received with great acclamation by the Assembly. The -admiration of the French Revolution spread over Britain. Clubs were -established, both in London and in the country, in sympathy with it, -and the press became very Gallican and Republican in its tone, and -there was much corresponding with admirers of the revolution in France, -especially with Thomas Paine, who had now transferred himself from -America, with a political fanatic destined to acquire considerable -attention, calling himself Anacharsis Clootz, the "orator of mankind," -and with many others. - -We must open the year 1790 by reverting to the affairs of Britain, -and of other countries having an influence on British interests. The -Parliament met on the 21st of January; and, in the course of the debate -on the Address in the Commons, Fox took the opportunity to laud the -French Revolution, and especially the soldiers for destroying the -Government which had raised them, and which they had sworn to obey. -Burke, in reply, whilst paying the highest compliments to the genius -of Fox, and expressing the value which he placed on his friendship, -endeavoured to guard the House and country against the pernicious -consequences of such an admiration as had been expressed by Fox. -He declared the conduct of the troops disgraceful; for instead of -betraying the Government, they ought to have defended it so far as to -allow of its yielding the necessary reforms. But the so-called reforms -in France, he said, were a disgrace to the nation. They had, instead -of limiting each branch of the Government for the general good and for -rational liberty, destroyed all the balances and counterpoises which -gave the State steadiness and security. They had pulled down all things -into an incongruous and ill-digested mass; they had concocted a digest -of anarchy called the Rights of Man, which would disgrace a schoolboy; -and had laid the axe to the root of all property by confiscating that -of the Church. To compare that revolution with our glorious one of -1688, he said, was next to blasphemy. They were diametrically opposed. -Ours preserved the Constitution and got rid of an arbitrary monarch; -theirs destroyed the Constitution and kept a monarch who was willing -to concede reforms, but who was left helpless. Fox replied that he had -been mistaken by his most venerated and estimable friend; that he was -no friend to anarchy and lamented the cruelties that had been practised -in France, but he considered them the natural result of the long and -terrible despotism which had produced the convulsion, and that he had -the firmest hopes that the French would yet complete their Constitution -with wisdom and moderation. Here the matter might have ended, but -Sheridan rose and uttered a grand but ill-considered eulogium on -the French Revolution, and charged Burke with being an advocate of -despotism. Burke highly resented this; he made a severe reply to -Sheridan; and instead of the benefits which he prognosticated, Burke, -with a deeper sagacity, declared that the issue of that revolution -would be not only civil war but many other wars. - -The Whig party were in consternation at this sudden disruption of the -union of the heads of their party. A meeting was held on the night -of the 11th of February at Burlington House, which did not separate -till three in the morning. The result did not appear to have been very -satisfactory, and the fears of the Whigs were greatly augmented by -finding Pitt, who had hitherto praised the Revolution, now express the -great obligations of the country to Mr. Burke, for the able warning -which he had given against revolutionary principles. The king made no -secret of his abhorrence of these principles. He considered the French -Revolution as the direct result of the American one; and having come -to the conclusion that he had himself erred by too much concession, -he now censured the concessions of Louis XVI. as fraught with certain -calamity. All this boded a decided resistance to the spirit of reform -at home. There was a new schism amongst the organs of the press. -Many of the newspapers still fostered in their columns the wildest -hopes of universal advantage to the cause of liberty from the French -Revolution; but others adopted the opinions and views of Burke--and no -few of the Whig and Foxite papers were of this class. The effect of -the alarm at the wild conduct of the French was speedily seen in the -refusal to consider the repeal of the Test and Corporation Act, which -was brought forward by Fox, on behalf of the Dissenters, and a motion -for parliamentary reform, introduced by Mr. Flood. Both were strongly -opposed, on the ground that this was not the time to make any changes -whilst so riotous a spirit of change was near us, and was so warmly -admired by many of our own people. Both motions were rejected by large -majorities. - -On the 31st of March Dundas introduced the Indian Budget, and soon -afterwards Pitt congratulated the country on the fact that, so far from -the American war having injured the trade or the power of Britain, -the fact was that our shipping had increased considerably more than -one-third since 1773, and we had been continually gaining strength -even during the American war, and had relieved ourselves of a load -of expense always incurred by the government of the States. This was -an admirable argument for declaring all our colonies independent, if -it meant anything; but Pitt went on seconding, and even surpassing -Dundas in the prognostications of a long peace. What such ministerial -speeches were worth was shown on the 5th of May, only a month and -five days since the prophecy of Dundas, and not three weeks since his -own prophecy, by Pitt announcing that the peace was already disturbed -with Spain. It appeared that the high prices obtained by the crews of -Captain Cook's ships, the _Discovery_ and _Resolution_, at Canton, -on his exploring voyages in the South Seas, for the ill-selected, -half-worn furs brought from the north-west coast of America, had -attracted the attention of adventurers under the direct protection -of the East India Company. Mr. Mears, who had been a lieutenant in -the royal navy, and a Mr. Tippin, were sent out in command each of -a vessel. Tippin was wrecked on the coast of Kamtschatka; but Mears -reached Prince William's Sound and wintered there, opening a good trade -with the natives. In the spring of 1788 he discovered Nootka Sound, -a fine bay on the west side of a small island on the west coast of -Vancouver's Island. There he formed a settlement, making a bargain -with the chief for it. He went to Canton with furs and was opening a -fine trade, when the Spaniards came down on the settlement, seized -four British vessels, but permitted two United States' vessels to -remain unmolested. Part of the English crew were shipped in one of the -American vessels to China, and the rest suffered to depart in one of -their own ships after it had been plundered. The Spanish commander then -settled himself in the new colony, and Spain set up a general claim to -all coasts and islands, and the whole Pacific as far as China. - -Pitt, on the day mentioned, announced these facts, and declared that -his Majesty had demanded satisfaction from the Court of Spain for the -insult to our flag and for the usurpation of our settlement; but that -considerable armaments were making in the ports of Spain. He called -upon the House to address his Majesty, imploring him to take all -necessary measures for the vindication of our honour and our rights. -Fox naturally expressed his surprise at this announcement, after the -high assurances of such profound prospects of peace little more than a -fortnight before. He moreover asserted that not only were the Ministers -fully aware of all these circumstances at the very moment when the -Premier made these statements, but that he had himself been aware of -them a considerable time before that. Pitt endeavoured to explain that -all the circumstances were not known when he professed such confidence -in peace; but these assertions were clearly as little true as the -former, for the British Government had received information from -the Spanish Government itself, as early as the 10th of the previous -February. Notwithstanding, the House supported the Government warmly -in its determination to resist the enormous claims of Spain and to -compel her to make satisfaction. Lord Howe was desired to have a fleet -in readiness, and the Spanish Court having taken a high tone to Mr. -Merry, our Minister at Madrid, Mr. Fitzherbert was dispatched thither -as our plenipotentiary. He arrived at Madrid in the beginning of June. -At first the Spanish Court were very high, and applied to France for -co-operation, according to treaty; but France, in the throes of the -Revolution, had no money to spend in such armaments and, on second -thoughts, Spain dreaded introducing French revolutionary sailors -amongst their own. They soon, therefore, lowered their tone, agreed to -surrender Nootka Sound, make full compensation for all damages, and -consented that British subjects should continue their fisheries in the -South Seas, and make settlements on any coasts not already occupied. -Captain Vancouver, who had been with Cook as a midshipman in his -last two voyages, being present at his tragical death, was sent out -in the following year to see that the settlement of Nootka Sound was -duly surrendered to England. He saw this done, the Spanish commander, -Quadra, behaving in a very friendly manner; and he proceeded then, -during the years 1792 and 1793, to make many accurate surveys of the -western coasts of North and South America, in which the Spaniards gave -him every assistance. The British took formal possession not only of -Nootka Sound, but of the fine island called after Vancouver. Pitt was -highly complimented for his firmness and ability in the management of -this business. - -Wilberforce, on the 27th of January, had obtained a committee of -inquiry into the slave trade. He, Clarkson, and the anti-slavery -committees, both in London and the provinces, were labouring with -indefatigable industry in collecting and diffusing information on -this subject. The Committee of the Commons found strong opposition -even in the House, and, on the 23rd of April, Lord Penrhyn moved that -no further evidence should be heard by the Committee; but this was -overruled, and the hearing of evidence continued through the Session, -though no further debate took place on the question. - -In Ireland, the influence of the free notions of France was already -become broadly manifest, and though it resulted in no unconstitutional -act, it wonderfully invigorated the resentment of the Irish against -corruptions of Government. These truly demanded reprehension and -reform; but the Government of Pitt was strong, and set both Ireland and -reform at defiance. The Marquis of Buckingham, the Lord-Lieutenant, -was recalled, because he had not been able to repress the movement in -the Irish Parliament on the Regency question. The Earl of Westmoreland -was sent in his place; but the Parliament still showed its resentment -as strongly as ever, and proceeded to delve vigorously into the sink -of Government corruption, and demand numerous corrections of abuses. -Direct motions on the subject were made in both Houses; in the Peers -by Lord Portarlington, in the Commons by Grattan, and, in truth, -the ministerial abuses of the Irish Government were disgraceful. -Grattan, on the 1st of February, pointed out the increased number of -commissioners of revenue, and moved that his Majesty be addressed to -inquire by whose advice this had been done. Next the increase of the -Pension List came under discussion; then the granting of no less than -fourteen Government offices to members of the Irish Commons. Lastly -was noticed the paltry withdrawal of Lord Strangford's pension of -four hundred pounds, which had been granted him at the request of the -Irish House of Lords, in consequence of his small income, because he -had voted against Ministers on the Regency Bill, at the same time that -numbers of men who were not Irishmen, and had never done anything for -Ireland or any other country, were saddled on the Irish revenue in a -variety of sinecure posts and pensions. All these motions, however, -were rejected by large Ministerial majorities. - -[Illustration: CAPTAIN COOK. - -(_After the Portrait by Dance, in Greenwich Hospital._)] - -Before returning to the progress of the French Revolution, we must pass -a hasty glance over the affairs of the Netherlands and the north of -Europe. On the accession of Leopold, the brother of Joseph, a sweeping -change was made in Austrian policy. Leopold had ruled his dominions, -as Grand Duke of Tuscany, with remarkable wisdom and benevolence. He -had introduced many admirable reforms, and had abolished the punishment -of death--a grand example to the other nations of Europe, and proved -to be as sound as it was striking by its results. He now made haste to -assure the Netherlanders that all their grievances should be redressed, -and their old charters and constitution restored. There had always -been a considerable party in favour of the Imperial Government, and -this party was now greatly increased by these wise assurances, which -were relied on from the known magnanimous character of the Emperor. -A Congress met at Reichenbach to endeavour to make a peace between -Austria and the Sultan, and this was accomplished by the mediation of -Britain, Prussia, and Holland, backed up by the threat of an immediate -invasion by Prussia, which was instigated by Pitt. The Ministers of -the three Powers that had brought about this peace of Reichenbach, -next guaranteed to Leopold all the possessions of Austria in the -Netherlands, on condition that he should restore all the ancient -privileges and constitution. On the other hand, the democratic party -had a congress of the United Belgic States, and this congress, infected -by the French Republican principles, declared still for independence, -in which they were at first encouraged by the democrats in France. -Lafayette reverted to the idea of a republic in the Netherlands, which -should form a barrier between Austria and France, in case that Austria -should attempt to invade France and crush the Revolution, as appeared -probable. Dumouriez was sent to Brussels to inquire into the real -state of the Netherlands, as the Belgians had sent deputies to Paris -to make certain overtures. The result of Dumouriez's inquiries was so -extremely unfavourable that the French Government gave up all idea -of meddling in Netherland affairs. To Dumouriez, Van der Noot, the -leader of the revolutionary party, appeared a regular adventurer and -impostor, the people to be ignorant and bigoted; and the army, though -full of courage, yet destitute of good officers, money, clothing, -and discipline. Dumouriez, therefore, shrewdly concluded that France -had better make no present engagements with the Belgian reformers, -but leave the destinies of the country to be decided by the Congress -at Reichenbach, where the British, Dutch, and Prussian Ministers -had guaranteed the restoration of the government to Leopold, on the -renewal of the ancient institutions. Here again Pitt's foreign policy -was completely successful. Leopold easily crushed the rebellion, -and, having crushed it, proceeded to carry out the conditions of the -Convention of Reichenbach. - -The Pitt Ministry figured with less success as regarded the -encroachments of Russia on the Turkish empire. The undisguised policy -of Catherine was to press on her operations against Turkey till she -had planted herself in Constantinople. Pitt continued as inactive as -if there were no danger at all, and the same policy actuated Holland -and Prussia. The least support given by these Powers to Gustavus of -Sweden would have effectually checked the Russian designs in the East, -and have raised Sweden into a position capable of acting as a dead -weight on Russian aggression. By very little aid Gustavus would have -been able to recover all the territories on the eastern side of the -Baltic which had been wrested from Sweden by Russia, and would thus -have kept a formidable power always, as it were, at the very gates of -St. Petersburg. But Gustavus was left, with his brave heart but limited -forces, to contend with Russia alone. He kept down his disaffected -nobles by cultivating the interests of the people at large, and -maintained a determined struggle with Russia. He sent over the Prince -of Anhalt with a small army of about three thousand men at so early a -season that the ground was covered with ice and snow. The prince pushed -on boldly towards St. Petersburg, and made himself master of the strong -forts and defences at Karnomkoski, on the Lake Saima, within two days' -march of that capital. In April they were encountered by ten thousand -Russians under the command of General Ingelstrom, whom they defeated -after a desperate battle, leaving two thousand Russians dead on the -field. But the Prince of Anhalt was killed, and the Swedes were not -able, with a handful of men, to advance on St. Petersburg, which was in -fearful panic. Gustavus was more successful at sea. He and his brother, -the Duke of Sudermania, fought the Russians with a very inferior force -of ships off Revel, and afterwards off Svenskasund. A considerable -number of English officers were serving in the Swedish fleet, amongst -them one destined to rise to high distinction, Sidney, afterwards Sir -Sidney, Smith. After two days' sanguinary fight at the latter place, -Gustavus beat the Russian Admiral Chitschakoff so completely that he -took four thousand prisoners, destroyed several of the largest Russian -ships, and took or sank forty-five galleys. Catherine was now glad -to make peace, which was concluded at Warela, near the river Kymen, -but with very different results to what would have been obtained had -Gustavus found that support which it was the obvious interest of the -whole civilised world to afford him. He agreed that each Power should -retain what it possessed before the war, thus conferring on Russia -the provinces torn from Sweden. Gustavus complained bitterly of his -treatment, and with ample cause. - -During this campaign Catherine had made great progress in her road -to Constantinople. Suvaroff had reduced Ismail, a remarkably strong -place, which was the key of the lower Danube and the only obstruction -of any importance to the Russian advance to the Balkan mountains and -to Constantinople. This city had been taken by storm, after a most -desperate defence, on the 25th of December, and when, with a little -more resistance, the Russians would have been compelled to quit the -field by the severity of the season. The carnage on this occasion -was of the most frightful kind. The Russians themselves lost nearly -ten thousand men, and the Turks thirty thousand people--men, women, -and children, who were indiscriminately butchered by the orders of -Suvaroff, who said to his soldiers, "Brothers, no quarter to-day, for -bread is scarce." Every horror possible in war, especially between -barbarians, was perpetrated by the Russian hordes in Ismail, who -were guilty of the most diabolical atrocities, such as burning whole -streets, mosques, and serais. Suvaroff sat down and wrote in Russian -rhyme the words quoted by Lord Byron in "Don Juan," "Glory to God and -the Empress, Ismail is ours." When Sir Charles Whitworth, the British -ambassador, next saw Catherine, she said, in allusion to some strong -remonstrances from Britain and Prussia, which took care not to go -beyond remonstrances, which were cheap--"Since the king, your master, -wishes to drive me out of Petersburg I hope he will permit me to retire -to Constantinople." The Czarina Catherine still continued her war -on the Ottoman empire. The Turks gained several advantages over the -Russians on the shores of the Black Sea, and near the Danube, but they -were severely repulsed in an attempt to drive the Russians from their -conquests between the Black and Caspian Seas, and suffered a terrible -slaughter on the banks of the River Kuban. Then Britain, Prussia, -Holland, and Austria, from the Congress of Reichenbach, announced to -Catherine that they were resolved not to permit further encroachments -on Turkey, but Catherine paid not the slightest attention to their -remonstrances. - -A fresh war had broken out with us in India. Tippoo Sahib had resumed -hostilities. He conceived the idea of obtaining the aid of an army -from France, and of thus driving us, according to his vow, entirely -out of India. He opened communications with M. du Fresne, the Governor -of Pondicherry, which Britain had very imprudently restored to France -at the peace after the American war. M. Leger, civil administrator in -England, brought Tippoo's proposals to Paris. Louis replied to the -proposal that the matter too keenly reminded him of the endeavour to -destroy the power of Britain in America, in which advantage had been -taken of his youth, and which he should never cease to regret. He had -learned too deeply the severe retribution which the propagation of -Republicanism had brought upon him. But, without waiting the arrival -of the hoped-for French troops, Tippoo had broken into the territories -of the British ally, the Rajah of Travancore, and by the end of 1789 -had nearly overrun them. Lieutenant-Colonel Floyd, suddenly attacked -by Tippoo with an overwhelming force, had been compelled to retire -before him, with severe losses amongst his sepoys. But General Medows -advanced from Trichinopoly with fifteen thousand men, and following -nearly the route so splendidly opened up by Colonel Fullarton, took -several fortresses. Tippoo retreated to his capital, Seringapatam; but -there he again threatened Madras; and General Medows was compelled to -make a hasty countermarch to prevent that catastrophe. In the meantime, -General Abercrombie landed at Tellicherry with seven thousand five -hundred men from the presidency of Bombay; took from the Mysoreans all -the places which they had gained on the Malabar coast; restored the -Hindoo Rajahs, who, in turn, helped him to expel the forces of Tippoo -from the territories of the Rajah of Travancore, who was completely -re-established. This was the result of the war up to the end of the -year 1790; but Tippoo still menaced fresh aggressions. - -The new British Parliament met on November 26, and Ministers were seen -to have a powerful majority. The king announced, in his speech from the -throne, that hostilities had broken out in India with Tippoo, and that -a peace had been effected between Russia and Sweden, and he mentioned -the endeavours that were in progress for restoring amity between the -Emperor of Austria and his subjects in the Netherlands. In the debate -on the Address in the Commons, Fox appeared inclined still to laud -France, and to condemn our interference in the Netherlands. His eyes -were not yet opened to the real danger from France, whose example was -indeed exciting popular disturbances in the Netherlands and in Poland. -Already the doctrines of Liberty and Equality had reached the ears of -the negroes in St. Domingo, who had risen to claim the rights of man so -amiably proclaimed by France, and the troops of France were on their -way thither to endeavour to put them down, in direct contradiction of -their own boasted political philosophy. In the Lords, Earl Grey--the -father of the Whig statesman--on the 13th of December, called for -the production of papers relating to Nootka Sound. The motion was -negatived by two hundred and fifty-eight against one hundred and -thirty-four votes. But the Marquis of Lansdowne contended that Spain -had a right to the whole of the North American coast on which Nootka -Sound is situated, and had had it since the reign of Queen Elizabeth. -He asserted that we had insulted the weakness of Spain; and that Mr. -Mears and the other projectors of the trading settlement of Nootka -Sound were a set of young men of letters, seeking for novelties. He -completely overlooked the provocations which Spain had lately given -us, and her endeavours to enter into a conjunction with France against -us. He condemned Ministers for having alienated France, Spain, Russia, -Denmark, and Sweden, overlooking the fact that they had made alliances -with Prussia, Austria, Holland, and the Netherlands. Pitt's cousin, -Lord Grenville, replied to this one-sided view of things, and proudly -contrasted the position of Britain at this moment to what it was at the -conclusion of the American War, when Lord Lansdowne himself, as Lord -Shelburne, had been in the Ministry. Pitt, on the 15th of December, -stated that the expenses of the late armament, and the sums necessary -to keep up the increased number of soldiers and sailors for another -year, before which they could not be well disbanded, owing to certain -aspects of things abroad, would amount to something more than three -millions, which he proposed to raise by increasing the taxes on sugar, -on British and foreign spirits, malt, and game licences, as well as -raising the assessed taxes, except the commutation and land taxes. -He stated that there was a standing balance of six hundred thousand -pounds to the credit of the Government in the Bank of England, which -he proposed to appropriate to the discharge of part of the amount. -He, moreover, introduced a variety of regulations to check the frauds -practised in the taxes upon receipts and bills of exchange, which he -calculated at three hundred thousand pounds per annum. With this, -Parliament adjourned for the Christmas recess, and thus closed the -eventful year of 1790. - -The Parliamentary Session of 1791 was opened, after the Christmas -recess, by Sir Philip Francis denouncing the war against Tippoo Sahib -in India, and eulogising that prince. He moved thirteen resolutions -condemnatory of the war; but they were all rejected, and Dundas, as -head of the Board of Control, moved three counter-resolutions declaring -that Tippoo had voluntarily broken the treaty made with him in 1784, -and that faith must be kept with the Rajah of Travancore, whom he -had attacked, as well as with the Nizam and the Mahrattas, and these -resolutions were carried without a division. - -The British Ministry was at length becoming aware of the mischief of -allowing the Empress of Russia to make continual inroads on the Turkish -Empire. The British Ambassador, Mr. Fawkener, had been instructed to -inform Catherine that Britain could not quietly acquiesce in these -usurpations, which were seriously disturbing the balance of power in -Europe. Catherine replied, haughtily, that she did not recognise the -right of Britain to interfere, and that she should keep possession -of Oczakoff, and all her conquests between the Bug and the Dniester. -On the 28th of March Pitt communicated this answer to the House, in -a message from his Majesty, and that he had deemed it necessary to -come to an understanding with his allies, Prussia and Austria, on -the subject, and to maintain the fleet in its augmented condition. -He moved, the next day, an address to his Majesty, thanking him for -his care in these respects. The Whigs, almost to a man, condemned -this policy. Coke of Norfolk, Lord Wycombe, Mr. Lambton, afterwards -Earl of Durham, and others, stoutly opposed it. Fox treated the idea -of Russia having become a power formidable to the peace of Europe -as ludicrous. Both he and Burke contended that there was nothing in -the aggressions of Russia to occasion any alarm; that Turkey was a -decaying nation, which it was useless to attempt to support; and that -to bolster it up was only to maintain a barbarous people in domination -over Christian populations. Fox upbraided the Government with their -folly and inconsistency, if such were their fears of Russia, in having -till recently encouraged her in her plan of aggressions in that -direction. He reminded them that, twenty years ago, Great Britain, on -war breaking out between Russia and the Porte, had aided Catherine -in sending a fleet to the Mediterranean, and had thus enabled her to -acquire a maritime force in the Black Sea. The truth, however, was that -it was not the present Ministry that had committed this folly, but a -Whig Ministry, of which Fox was one. He confessed to this, and also -to the fact that in 1782, when Catherine seized more completely on -the Crimea and Kuban Tartary, France and Spain had urged us to unite -with them in preventing this, but that we had declined, and these -countries had become permanently united to Russia. Now all this was, -in truth, a simple confession of the incapacity of the Whigs, and of -Fox himself included, to see the dangerous tendency of the Russian -policy, and the only circumstance on which he could justly condemn the -Ministry of Pitt was for not strenuously supporting Turkey and Sweden, -the ally of Turkey against Russia, when they did see this tendency. -By mean and parsimonious conduct they had allowed Sweden to be driven -out of her territories on the eastern shore of the Baltic by Russia, -when, had they given her but moderate support, that Power would have -become a permanent check on the aggressive spirit of Russia. The motion -of Pitt was carried by a large majority. A few days afterwards Mr. -Grey renewed the subject in a series of resolutions, condemning all -interference on behalf of Turkey, and contending that Russia was only -weakening instead of strengthening herself by extending her dominions. -But Pitt, in reply, showed the very obvious facts that the retention -of Oczakoff opened the way to Constantinople, and that the possession -of Constantinople prepared the way for the seizure of Egypt, and the -supremacy of the Mediterranean, with the most formidable consequences -to our commerce. The resolutions of Grey were negatived; but twice -again during the session the Whigs returned to the charge--on the 15th -of April and on the 25th of May,--but with no better success. The -armament was maintained, but the isolated threats of England had little -effect on Catherine. Pitt was accordingly compelled to change his -policy, and acquiesce in a peace by which she retained the territory -between the Bug and the Dniester, and the fortress of Oczakoff. - -[Illustration: SCENE IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS: BREACH BETWEEN BURKE AND -FOX. (_See p._ 379.)] - -On the opening of the Session, the king called the attention of -Parliament to the state of Canada. That colony had flourished since it -had come into the possession of Britain, especially since the passing -of the Bill of 1774, which had given freedom to the Roman Catholic -church there, the church of the French inhabitants. But one part of -the colony was still inhabited by the descendants of the French, and -another by those of the English and Americans. It was, therefore, -found desirable to put an end to the competition which still existed, -from differences of faith and of national sentiments and customs, -between the two races, by dividing the colony into two provinces, the -one inhabited by the French to be called Lower Canada, and the other, -inhabited by the British, to be called Upper Canada. On the 25th of -February the king sent a message to Parliament, proposing to carry out -this division; and on the 4th of March Pitt moved to bring in a Bill -for that purpose, and stated the intended plan of arrangement. Besides -an elective assembly, each province was to have a Council, the members -of which were to be appointed for life, with hereditary succession to -the descendants of such as should be honoured with hereditary titles, -which titles were to confer on an inhabitant of either province the -dignity of a member of the Council. Landed property was to be held -according to English law, in soccage tenure; the Habeas Corpus was to -be established in both provinces. An allotment of lands was to be made -for the Protestant clergy; but, as the majority of the inhabitants -in the Lower Province would be Catholic, the Council and Assembly -were empowered to allot lands also to their clergy, which allotment, -on sanction of the Crown, was to be valid without intervention of -Parliament. No taxes were to be imposed by the British Government -except such as were necessary for the regulation of commerce, and -these were to be levied by the provincial legislature to prevent any -heartburnings like those which had occurred in the American States. - -This Bill made it obvious that a great light had broken on the -British Government from the American Revolution; it was discovered -that the best way to govern and retain our colonies was to allow -them to govern themselves. This knowledge was worth all the loss and -annoyance of the American Revolution. Fox expressed his approbation -of the principle, and all appeared favourable to the passing of the -measure. It was allowed to proceed without opposition through its -first and second reading, and through the committee; but when it was -reported, then came a scene of violent contention, arising not so much -from the Bill itself as from the state of parties, and the making a -peg of this question on which to hang the conflicting opinions of -different members on a very different question--that of the French -Revolution. Not only had Fox and Burke and Sheridan broken up their -old friendship on this question, Sheridan being as enthusiastic about -the Revolution as Fox, but it had split up the whole Whig party. Burke -had published his eloquent "Reflections on the French Revolution," and -subsequently, in February of this year, a "Letter to a Member of the -National Assembly," in which he had repeated and extended his opinions -upon it. The Duke of Portland and Mr. Windham took Burke's view of -the nature of the French principles. However, it was not merely in -Parliament, but also throughout the country that opinions were divided -on the subject. Societies were formed to recommend the introduction of -French Revolutionary principles into Great Britain, and many eminent -men, especially among the Dissenters, took the lead in them, as we -shall presently see. The tendency to despotic government in Britain, -and a spreading conviction that Parliament was not truly elected by -the people, rendered large numbers favourable to these views. In -Parliament, however, the great shock of battle took place between the -so long united friends and fellow-labourers in reform, Fox and Burke, -and because the Canada Bill affected a French people, it was thought a -proper occasion by these statesmen to indulge in a lengthy and violent -discussion of their clashing views, in which the proper question before -Parliament, the Quebec Bill, was soon lost sight of. - -On the motion for taking this Bill into further consideration, on the -8th of April, Mr. Hussey presented various petitions from merchants -regarding the measure, and moved that the Bill required recommittal. He -was seconded by Fox, who now, though approving of the main principles -of the Bill, took occasion to contend for the development of the -advanced doctrines of political liberty inculcated by the French -revolutionists, and to urge the insertion of clauses in the Bill, in -accordance with them. When the day for the debate on the Bill arrived, -Fox called on Burke, though he had not done so for some time, and, -in the presence of a common friend, entered into explanations which -appeared satisfactory. Fox then proposed that the answer of Burke -should not take place on the discussion of the Quebec Bill, though this -was the Bill on which this topic had been introduced. Burke refused -to comply; but the two old friends walked to the House together, -displaying the last show of friendship which was to take place between -them. Accordingly, on the 6th of May, when the chairman of the -Committee put the question, that the Quebec Bill be read paragraph by -paragraph, Burke rose, and determined to have a fair hearing on the -question of the French Revolution, and proceeded to inveigh strongly -against it. Then there were loud cries of "Order!" and "Question!" -and Mr. Baker declared that the argument of Mr. Burke was calculated -to involve the House in unnecessary altercation, and perhaps with the -Government of another nation. Fox said his right honourable friend -could scarcely be said to be out of order, for it seemed to be a day of -privilege, when any gentleman might stand up and take any topic, and -abuse any Government, whether it had reference to the point in question -or not; that not a word had been said of the French Revolution, yet -he had risen and abused it. He might just as well have abused that -of China or Hindostan. This taunt came with ill grace from Fox, who -had himself introduced this extraneous topic into the debates on this -very Bill, and seized that occasion to attack Burke's opinions in his -absence. - -Burke proceeded amidst constant interruption to review the many scenes -and debates in which Fox and himself had acted, as well as those on -which they had differed, especially their difference of opinion on -the Royal Marriage Act; but no difference of opinion had ever before -affected their friendship. He alluded to his own long services and his -grey hairs, and said that it was certainly an indiscretion, at his -time of life, to provoke enemies, or induce his friends to desert him; -but that, if his firm and steady adherence to the British Constitution -placed him in that dilemma, he would risk all, and, as public -duty required, with his last breath exclaim, "Fly from the French -Constitution!" Here Fox whispered that there was no loss of friends; -that there could be no loss of friendship between them; but Burke -said--"Yes, there was a loss of friends: he knew the penalty of his -conduct; he had done his duty at the price of his friends--there was an -end of their friendship." It was some time before Fox could answer; he -was completely overcome by his emotion; and it was only after a free -flow of tears that he could proceed. He then said: "Painful as it was -to listen to such sentiments as those just delivered by one to whom -he owed so many obligations, he could never forget that, when little -more than a boy, he had been in the habit of receiving instructions -and favours from his right honourable friend. Their friendship had -grown with their life; it had continued for upwards of five-and-twenty -years; and he hoped, notwithstanding what had happened that day, that -his right honourable friend would think on past times, and would give -him credit for not intending anything unkind. It was quite true that -they had before now differed on many subjects, without lessening their -friendship, and why should they not now differ on the French Revolution -without a severance of friendship? He could not help feeling that the -conduct of his right honourable friend tended to fix upon him the -charge of Republican principles, whereas he was far from entertaining -such principles. His friend had heaped very ignominious terms upon him -that day." Here Burke said aloud, he did not recollect having used such -terms; and Fox promptly observed that "if his friend did not recollect -those epithets--if they are out of his mind, then they were for ever -out of his mind, too; they were obliterated and forgotten." He then -denied that there was any marshalling of a party on this subject; that -not one gentleman who had risen to call his right honourable friend to -order had done it by his desire; on the contrary, he had entreated his -friends not to interrupt him. After again dwelling for some time on the -merits of the French Revolution, he once more lamented the breach in -the unanimity of his friend and himself, and said he would keep out -of the way of his right honourable friend till he had time to reflect -and think differently, and that their common friends might bring them -together again; that he would endeavour to discuss the question on -some future day, with all calmness, if his friend wished, but for the -present he had said all that he desired to say. - -With this debate terminated the friendship of Fox and Burke. Fox -disclaimed any premeditated attack on Burke, but the severe things -which he himself had said of his old friend, the contempt which he -expressed for Burke's "Reflections on the French Revolution," and -the private conversations which he invariably dragged into these -public debates, give us less confidence in this assertion; whilst the -co-operation of his party with him bore all the marks of a systematic -assault. On the one side stood Fox, expressing much feeling and regret, -but uttering the most cutting things, taunting Burke with his age and -his enthusiastic temperament, and backed by a violent and insulting -crew; on the other side stood Burke, deserted by those, and they -were numerous, who thought entirely with him. Not a few expressed to -Burke, in private, their agreement of opinion and admiration of his -conduct; but to make this expression of any value it should have been -open and bold. As it was, the great master who had taught the whole -generation of politicians their principles, was left to stand alone -in the conflict. He sustained his part nobly, and time was not long -in justifying his accuracy of calculation and his prescience. All the -results, however, which he declared inevitable, were already rushing -into open day, and the enamoured lovers of the French Revolution were -forced to hang their heads. In the meantime, the newspapers had poured -on the head of Burke their vials of abuse. On the very day on which -the Quebec debates terminated, the _Morning Chronicle_, the organ of -the Whigs, published this paragraph:--"The great and firm body of -the Whigs of England, true to their principles, have decided on the -dispute between Mr. Fox and Mr. Burke; and the former is declared to -have maintained the pure doctrines by which they are bound together, -and upon which they have invariably acted. The consequence is that -Mr. Burke retires from Parliament." They were not contented with this -premature announcement; they charged him with corruption and apostacy, -and described his life, one of honour and generosity, as a long series -of basenesses. - -Whilst these violent dissensions had sprung up from the French -Revolution, Wilberforce and his coadjutors had been active in their -exertions to abolish the Slave Trade. Thomas Clarkson, now devoted -heart and soul to this object, was, with Dr. Dickson, sent out by the -parent Anti-Slavery Society through the country, to call into life -provincial societies and committees, and found themselves zealously -supported and warmly welcomed by philanthropists, and especially by -the Society of Friends. They circulated the evidence taken before -the House of Commons' Committee, and made a great impression. On -the other hand, the French Revolution proved as antagonistic to the -cause of the abolitionists as it had to the friendship of Burke and -Fox. The dreadful insurrection in St. Domingo was attributed to the -formation of the Society in Paris of _Les Amis des Noirs_, and many -otherwise enlightened men took the alarm, lest similar scenes in our -West Indian colonies should be the result of the doctrines of the -abolitionists. Few persons could be found willing to entertain the -idea of immediate abolition of the trade in slaves; and even Dr. Parr, -though a great Whig and adherent of Fox, declared that these Utopian -schemes of liberty to blacks were alarming to serious men. Wilberforce -was earnestly entreated to reconsider his plan; he was assured that -immediate abolition would not pass the Commons, nor even gradual -abolition the Lords. Wilberforce, however, could not be deterred from -bringing on the question. On the 18th of April he moved for leave to -bring in a Bill to prevent the introduction of any more slaves into our -colonies. Besides showing the cruelties practised in the collection -and transmission of negroes, he brought forward evidence to prove -that, so far from this trade being, as had been represented before the -Committee of the Commons, the nursery of British seamen, it was their -grave. He showed that of twelve thousand two hundred and sixty-three -men employed in it, two thousand six hundred and forty-five had been -lost in twelve months. This was calculated to produce far less effect -than the surrender of hundreds of thousands of negroes, inasmuch as -profit and loss was a more telling argument with the slave traders -than mere humanity; and they exerted all their influence in defence of -their traffic. Wilberforce added that even had this trade really been -a beneficial one as regarded mere political economy, there was a smell -of blood about it that all the perfumes of Arabia could not disguise. -He was ably supported by Fox and Pitt; but, on this occasion, the Prime -Minister could not command his large majority; the motion was lost by -one hundred and sixty-three against eighty-eight. - -[Illustration: WILLIAM WILBERFORCE. (_After the Portrait by G. -Richmond._)] - -During the Session, however, a Bill was passed sanctioning the -establishment of a company which had been formed several years before, -for trading to the new settlement of Sierra Leone, on the coast of -Africa. In 1787 this settlement was begun by philanthropists, to show -that colonial productions could be obtained without the labour of -slaves, and to introduce civilisation into that continent through the -means of commerce carried on by educated blacks. In that year four -hundred and seventy negroes, then living in a state of destitution in -London, were removed to it. In 1790 their number was increased by one -thousand one hundred and ninety-eight other negroes from Nova Scotia, -who could not flourish in so severe a climate. Ten years after the -introduction of the blacks from Nova Scotia, five hundred and fifty -maroons were brought from Jamaica, and in 1819 a black regiment, -disbanded in the West Indies, was added. The capability of this -settlement for the production of cotton, coffee, sugar, etc., was fully -demonstrated; but no spot could have been selected more fatal to the -health of Europeans. It is a region of deep-sunk rivers and morasses, -which, in that sultry climate, are pregnant with death to the white man. - -During this Session, also, an important Bill was passed for the relief -of Roman Catholics. The Bill was introduced by Mr. Mitford and seconded -by Mr. Windham. Mr. Mitford showed that the enactments still in force -against them occupied, by mere recital of their penalties, seventy -pages of "Burn's Ecclesiastical Law." Priests were still guilty of -high treason and liable to death for endeavouring to convert people -to the tenets they deemed essential to salvation; and the laity were -liable to heavy penalties for not going to church, and for hearing -Mass at their own chapels. The Bill was supported by Pitt and Fox, by -Lord Rawdon, by the Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. Moore), and by Dr. -Horsley, Bishop of St. David's. It passed. By this Act all the severe -restrictions and penalties were removed from those Roman Catholics -who would comply with its requisitions, to appear at one of the -courts of Westminster, or at quarter sessions, and make and subscribe -a declaration that they professed the Roman Catholic religion, and -also an oath exactly similar to that required by the Statute of 1778. -On this declaration and oath being duly made, they were enabled to -profess and perform the offices of their religion, to keep schools, -to exercise parochial or other offices in person or by deputy, and -the ministers of that religion were exempt from serving on juries -and from parochial offices. Their congregations were protected from -disturbance; but their priests were restrained from officiating in -places consecrated to the burial of Protestants, and from wearing their -habits anywhere but in their own places of worship. They were also -restrained from establishing religious orders; and the endowment of -schools and colleges was still to be deemed unlawful. No person could -in future be summoned to take the Oath of Supremacy and the declaration -against Transubstantiation; nor were Roman Catholics who had qualified -removable from London and Westminster, or punishable for coming into -the presence or palace of the king or queen. They were no longer -obliged to register their names and estates, or enrol their deeds and -wills; and every Roman Catholic who had duly qualified might act as -barrister, attorney, or notary. - -On the 20th of May Fox moved for a Grand Committee on courts of -justice, to inquire into some late decisions of the courts in cases of -libel. Thomas Erskine, the eloquent advocate, had lately, in the case -of the Dean of St. Asaph, delivered a most brilliant and effective -speech on the right of juries to decide both on fact and on law in such -cases, the duty of the judge being only to explain the law. Fox adopted -this doctrine of Erskine, and framed his speech in the most glowing -terms. He complained, however, that such was not the practice of the -courts, and he particularly animadverted on the custom and the doctrine -of Lord Mansfield on this subject. He observed that in murder, in -felony, in high treason, and in every other criminal indictment, it -was the admitted province of the jury to decide both on law and fact. -The practice in the case of libel was an anomaly, and clearly ought -not to be so. He said that the doctrine which he recommended was no -innovation; it had been asserted by John Lilburne, who, when prosecuted -for a libel under the Commonwealth, declared that the jury were the -real judges, and the judges themselves mere cyphers, so far as the -verdict was concerned; and Lilburne had been acquitted, in spite of -the judge and of the influence of Cromwell. He reviewed the doctrines -of the Stuarts regarding libel, and observed that these could not be -wrong then and right now. He contended that the late practice had been -a serious inroad on the liberty of the press, and noted the case of -the printer of the _Morning Herald_, who had been tried for merely -commenting strongly on the sending of an armament to Nootka Sound, and -on the conduct of Parliament in granting supplies for this purpose. -He had been condemned to a year's imprisonment and to stand in the -pillory. Pitt observed that he had always, since he had had a place in -the Ministry, condemned the use of the pillory, and that there could be -no difficulty in remitting that part of the sentence in this particular -case. He supported Fox's view of the law, and recommended him to bring -in two short Bills, instead of going into committee on the subject. Fox -followed this advice, and brought in two Bills--one to remove doubts -respecting the rights and functions of juries in criminal cases; and -the other to amend the Act of the 9th of Queen Anne for rendering the -proceedings upon writs of Mandamus and informations in the nature of -a Quo Warranto more speedy and effectual. The first Bill passed the -Commons on the 2nd of June, but was thrown out in the Lords, through -the influence of Chancellor Thurlow, who had never forgiven Pitt his -contempt of his conduct on the Regency question during the king's -malady. This defeated the object of Fox during this Session, but it -was carried in the next, and Lord Thurlow's opposition lost him his -position. The Great Seal was put into commission. - -Meanwhile, the publication of Burke's "Reflections on the French -Revolution" had caused an immense sensation. It went through edition -after edition, and elicited a warm and wide response in hearts already -convinced of, or beginning to see, the real tendency of the French -outbreak. On the other hand, it greatly exasperated the ultra-admirers -of French republicanism, and produced a number of vindications of it -by men who, for the most part, were exceedingly bitter against Burke, -and denounced him as an apostate, a renegade, and a traitor to liberty. -Amongst the most conspicuous of those who took the field against Burke -in books were Sir James Mackintosh, Thomas Paine, Dr. Price, and Dr. -Priestley, the two latter of whom also made free use of the pulpit for -the propagation of their political ideas. Ladies also distinguished -themselves in this contest, such as Mary Wollstonecraft, and Mrs. -Macaulay, the historian. - -Mackintosh, who was a young lawyer of excellent education, but yet -entirely unknown, this year published his "Vindiciæ Gallicæ," in reply -to Burke; but he did it with the behaviour of a gentleman, and evident -admiration of the genius and political services of the great man whom -he opposed. His book was immensely admired, and at once lifted him into -notice. But it was not long before he began to see the correctness of -Burke's views and prophecies as to the French Revolution, and he did -not shrink from avowing the change of his sentiments in the _Monthly -Review_ and in conversation. His talents and this alteration of his -views recommended him to the Ministers, and he was appointed by Pitt -and Loughborough a professor of Lincoln's Inn, where, in a course of -lectures on the Constitution of England, he exhibited himself as an -uncompromising censor of the doctrines he had approved in his "Vindiciæ -Gallicæ." For this he was classed, by the vehement worshippers of -French ideas, with Burke, as a venal turncoat. Mackintosh did not -content himself with recanting his opinions on this topic from the -platform and the press; he wrote directly to Burke, who was now fast -sinking under his labours and his disappointments, and expressed his -undisguised admiration of his sagacity as a politician, and of his -general principles and political philosophy. Burke invited him down to -Beaconsfield, where a closer view of the philosopher and orator greatly -increased his esteem and admiration of the man. - -Paine, in his "Rights of Man," was far from restricting himself to the -courtesies of life in attacking Burke. He had been most hospitably -received by Burke on many occasions at his house, and had corresponded -with him, and must therefore have seen sufficient of him to know that, -though he might become extremely enthusiastic in his championship of -certain views, he could never become mean or dishonest. Yet Paine -did not hesitate to attribute to him the basest and most sordid -motives. He branded him as the vilest and most venal of apostates. -Paine had, in fact, become a monomaniac in Republicanism. He had been -engaged to the last in the American Revolution, and was now living in -Paris, and constantly attending the Jacobin club. He was hand-in-hand -with the most rabid of the Republicans, and was fast imbibing their -anti-Christian tenets. Paine fully believed that the French were -inaugurating something much finer than any millennium; that they -were going to establish the most delightful liberty, equality, and -fraternity, not simply throughout France but throughout the world. -Before the doctrines of the French clubbists and journalists, all -superstition, all despotism, all unkindness were to vanish from amongst -mankind, and a paradisiacal age of love and felicity was to commence. -To those who pointed to the blood and fury already too prominently -conspicuous in this business, he replied that these were but the dregs -of corrupt humanity, which were working off in the great fermentation, -and all would become clear and harmonious. - -Amongst those who hailed enthusiastically the French Revolution, and -gave credit to its promises of benefit to humanity, were a considerable -number of the Dissenting body, and especially of the Unitarian class. -Amongst these, Drs. Price, Priestley, Kippis, and Towers were most -prominent. Dr. Price--who furnished Pitt with the theory of the Sinking -Fund, and with other propositions of reform,--on the breaking out -of the French Revolution was one of the first to respond to it with -acclamation. He was a member of the Revolution Society, and in 1789 he -preached before it a sermon on "The Love of our Country," and in this -drew so beautiful a picture of the coming happiness of man from the -French Revolution, that he declared that he was ready to exclaim with -Simeon, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine -eyes have seen thy salvation." At the dinner on the same occasion he -moved that a congratulatory address be sent to the National Assembly on -that glorious event, which was seconded by Lord Stanhope the chairman, -and which was sent, and received with great acclamation by the National -Assembly. Burke, in his "Reflections on the French Revolution," was -very severe on Price, as well as on his coadjutors; and as Price died -this year it was said that the "Reflections" had killed him, which, -were it true, could not be said to have done it very prematurely, for -the doctor was in his seventieth year. - -But far more remarkable were the effects of the championship of -French principles in the celebrated Dr. Joseph Priestley. Priestley -was now nearly sixty years of age--a time of life when men rarely -become great enthusiasts in any cause. He was a Unitarian minister, -and was now the pastor of a congregation at Birmingham. He was well -known for various theological writings, in which he had announced -his doubts of the immateriality of the sentient principle in man, -especially in his "Disquisition on Matter and Spirit." He had been -tutor to Lord Shelburne, first Lord Lansdowne; but had quitted that -post, as supposed, in consequence of the objection of Lord Shelburne -to these principles, retaining, however, an annuity of one hundred and -fifty pounds a-year. But Priestley was far more known and esteemed -for his researches and discoveries in natural philosophy, especially -in electricity, chemistry, and pneumatics. Orthodoxy and Toryism were -extremely rampant in Birmingham, and Priestley was regarded as the very -patriarch and champion of Socinianism and Republicanism. There wanted -only a spark to fire trains of fierce intolerance against Priestley -and his party, and, unfortunately, this was furnished by themselves. -They resolved to celebrate, by a dinner, the anniversary of the taking -of the Bastille, on the 14th of July. Before the dinner took place, -such were the rumours of impending riots that the party proposed to -defer the celebration to a future day; but the landlord had prepared -the dinner, and declared his opinion that there would be no danger -if the party dispersed early, without stopping to drink many toasts. -Darbley, the innkeeper, curiously enough, was a Churchman, and in good -odour with the Tory party. Satisfied by his representations, about -eighty persons determined to hold the dinner on the appointed day, -though a considerable number stayed away, and amongst those Priestley -himself. The company were hooted as they entered the inn, but chiefly -by a crowd of dirty lads, who cried "Church and King!" On the table -were ranged three figures: a medallion of the king encircled with -a glory, an emblematical figure of British Liberty, and another of -French Slavery bursting its chains. In the evening a fierce riot broke -out, instigated--according to Priestley's account--by some prominent -magistrates, though the statement was never proved. The mob rushed -to Darbley's hotel after the dinner was over and most of the people -were gone. There they raised the cry of "Church and King!" and began -to throw stones. Some one cried out, "Don't break Darbley's windows; -he is a Churchman!" But the Church-and-King people and their set, -now flushed with wine and loyalty, waved their handkerchiefs from -the windows of the opposite inn, and hurrahed the mob on. With this -encouragement, which seemed to the crowd to legalise their proceedings, -the mob rushed into the house, declaring that they wanted to knock -the powder out of Dr. Priestley's wig. They did not find the doctor, -so they smashed most of the furniture in the house, and dashed in the -windows, notwithstanding the host's orthodoxy. Some one then cried, -"You have done mischief enough here; go to the meetings!" and the mob -rolled away, first to the new meeting-house, where Priestley preached, -which they soon demolished and set fire to. They then proceeded to the -old meeting-house, and destroyed that too, being hounded on by people -of decent station in the place, and made furious by the beer which was -distributed among them. - -This destruction accomplished, the mob marched away to the house of -Priestley, which was at Fair Hill, where they utterly burned and -destroyed all the invaluable library, philosophical instruments, -and manuscripts, containing notes of the doctor's further chemical -experiments and discoveries. Fire-engines were called out to prevent -the flames of the meeting-houses from spreading to the adjoining -houses, but they were not suffered to play on the meeting-houses -themselves, nor does any effort appear to have been made to save -Priestley's house. The doctor and his family had made a timely retreat. -He himself passed the first two nights in a post-chaise, and the two -succeeding on horseback, but less owing to his own apprehensions of -danger than to those of others. An eye-witness said that the high road -for fully half a mile from his house was strewed with books, and that, -on entering the library, there were not a dozen volumes on the shelves; -while the floor was covered several inches deep with torn manuscripts. -This was the work of the night of the 14th of July, and the riots -continued from Thursday to Sunday; among the buildings destroyed being -the paper warehouse of William Hutton, the historian of the place, and -the author of several antiquarian treatises. Hutton was a man who had -raised himself from the deepest poverty, for his father was a poor -stocking-weaver of Derby. He had found Birmingham without a paper -warehouse; had opened one, and, by that shrewdness and carefulness in -business, which are so conspicuous in his "Autobiography," and afford -a valuable study for young men, had acquired a competence. He was not -only an honour to the town by his upright character, and reputation -as a self-taught author, but he had been an active benefactor to it. -He had been the first to establish a circulating library in the town; -was always an advocate and co-operator in works and institutions of -improvement, and was the most active and able commissioner of the Court -of Requests. His only crime was that of being a Nonconformist, and an -advocate of advanced principles. - -[Illustration: THE PRIESTLEY RIOTS AT BIRMINGHAM (_see p._ 384)] - -During these disgraceful days the Church-and-King party took no -measures to prevent the destruction of the property of Dissenters. -Noblemen, gentlemen, and magistrates rode in from the country on -pretence of doing their duty, but they did little but sit and drink -their wine, and enjoy the mischief. They could have called out the -militia at once, and the mob would have been scattered like leaves -before the wind; but they preferred to report the outbreak to the -Secretary-at-War, and, after the time thus lost, three troops of -the 15th Light Dragoons, lying at Nottingham, were ordered to march -thither. But the arrival of the Light Dragoons showed what might have -been done at first if the magistrates had been so minded. The mob -did not stay even to look at the soldiers; at their very name they -vanished, and Birmingham, on Monday morning, was as quiet as a tomb. -Government itself took a most indifferent leisure in the matter. It -did not issue a proclamation from the Secretary of State's office till -the 29th, when it offered one hundred pounds for the discovery and -apprehension of one of the chief ringleaders. - -At the ensuing assizes in August, those rioters who had been -apprehended were tried; some at Worcester for participating in the -outrages, but there only one prisoner was committed. Of those tried at -Warwick, on the 25th of the month, four received sentence of death. -Of these five rioters condemned, only three actually suffered, while -two received his Majesty's gracious pardon. The victims of this riot -thought the penalty much too trivial! Such, indeed, was the perverted -state of public feeling in and around Birmingham, that the sufferers -were regarded as men seeking the lives of innocent men who had only -shown their loyalty to Church and King. They were declared to be no -better than selfish murderers. Whilst they attended at the assizes, -their lives scarcely seemed safe. They were publicly abused in the -streets, or menaced and cursed wherever they appeared. In the very -assize-hall there were persons who, on seeing Priestley, cried, "Damn -him! there is the cause of all the mischief!" He was followed in the -streets, especially by an attorney, who cursed him furiously, and -wished he had been burned with his house and books. The favourite toast -of the Church-and-King party was, "May every Revolutionary dinner be -followed by a hot supper!" The damages awarded to the sufferers were, -in most cases, ludicrously inadequate. Hutton was a heavy loser; -Priestley received three thousand and ninety-eight pounds, but he -complained that this was two thousand pounds short of the extent of his -loss. But this deficiency was made up by sympathising friends. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Progress of the French Revolution--Death of Mirabeau--Attempted - Flight of the King from Paris--Attitude of the Sovereigns - of Europe--The Parties of the Right and of the Left--The - Girondists--Decrees against the Emigrants--Negotiations - between Marie Antoinette and Pitt--Condition of the French - Army--Session of 1792; Debates on Foreign Affairs--Marriage - of the Duke of York--The Prince of Wales's Allowance--The - Budget--The Anti-Slavery Movement--Magistracy Bill--Attempts at - Reform--The Society of the Friends of the People--Proclamation - against Seditious Writings--Fox's Nonconformist Relief - Bill--Prorogation of Parliament--Associations and - Counter-Associations--Lord Cornwallis's War against Tippoo - Sahib--Capture of Seringapatam--Peace with Tippoo--Embassy to - China--Designs of the Powers against Poland--Catherine resolves - to strike--Invasion of Poland--Neutrality of England--Conquest - of Poland--Imminence of War between France and Austria--It is - declared--Failure of the French Troops--The Duke of Brunswick's - Proclamation--Insurrection of the 10th of August--Massacre of the - Swiss--Suspension of the King--Ascendency of Jacobinism--Dumouriez - in the Passes of the Argonne--Battle of Valmy--Retreat of - the Prussians--Occupation of the Netherlands by the French - Troops--Custine in Germany--Occupation of Nice and Savoy--Edict - of Fraternity--Abolition of Royalty--Trial and Death of the - King--Effect of the Deed on the Continent--The Militia called - out in England--Debates in Parliament on War with France--The - Alien Bill--Rupture of Diplomatic Relations with France--War - declared against Britain--Efforts to preserve the Peace--They are - Ineffectual. - - -While these things had been passing in England, the Revolution in -France had been making great strides. The Assembly, after its removal -to Paris, passed completely under the influence of the violent Jacobin -Club, and the work of destruction and reconstitution proceeded with -startling rapidity. By the division of France into Departments all the -old territorial arrangements and provincial Assemblies were abolished; -the judicial system was re-established on a popular basis, and its -dependence on the Crown swept away; the Church was made a department -of the State, and its vast property sold, chiefly by means of bills -payable in Church lands and called _assignats_. The position of the -king became well-nigh intolerable. There was a chance, indeed, that -Mirabeau might extricate him from the toils of his enemies. That -great man, now reconciled to the Court, advised him to withdraw from -the capital, and throw himself upon the conservatism of the country -districts. But the death of Mirabeau in April, 1791, deprived Louis -of his only wise adviser, and in June he adopted the ill-judged -course of flying from Paris, with the object of making his way across -the frontier and joining the enemies of his country. The flight was -ill-managed, the royal family were arrested at Varennes and brought -back as prisoners to Paris, where they were placed under the strictest -surveillance. - -Had the sovereigns of Europe been in earnest in behalf of the King -of France, and had they at once marched into the country, they could -scarcely have failed to make themselves masters of Paris; though -they might have precipitated the deaths of the king and queen. But, -in truth, the kings of Europe were in no such chivalrous mood; they -were thinking more of their own interests, and actually, some of -them, planning the most disgraceful robberies of their neighbours. -Spain, seeing no sign of coalition amongst the northern sovereigns, -expressed its friendly disposition towards the French Government, and -prevented an attempt on its southern provinces, in which the Knights -of Malta were to assist with two frigates. The French Emigrants at -Brussels and Coblenz were in a state of agitation, declaring that -Monsieur, who had now joined them, was the Regent of the kingdom, -seeing that the king was a prisoner and had no will of his own. The -poor king was compelled by the Assembly to write to them, disavowing -these proceedings. As to the Powers in general, Leopold of Austria, -who had the most direct interest in the rescue of his sister and her -family, was, notwithstanding his recent declarations, desirous rather -of peace and by no means pleased with the Emigrants. A declaration -of allied sovereigns was, indeed, made at Pillnitz, that Prussia and -Austria and Russia would advance to the rescue of Louis XVI.; but the -more immediate object of the agreement made there was the dismemberment -of Poland, which was determined in secret articles. Any concerted -action on the part of the Powers was, in fact, rendered impossible -by the action of Pitt, who, true to his policy of neutrality and of -holding aloof from any interference in the domestic concerns of France, -declined to sanction any appeal to arms. - -In September, 1791, the Assembly, having completed the Constitution, -which was accepted by the king, dissolved. Its place was taken by the -National Legislative Assembly, which met on the 1st of October. As the -Jacobins had expected, the elections of the Departments had occupied -but little attention. The public gaze had been fixed on the acts of the -Assembly about to retire, so that a race of new men appeared, which -seemed at first to divide itself into two parties--the _Coté Droit_, -or Constitutional party, and the _Coté Gauche_, or Democratic party; -but the latter party soon divided itself into two, the Mountain and -the Gironde. It is difficult to discern the distinguishing traits of -these two Revolutionary parties. At first they all worked together, -clearly for the downfall of the monarchy. Robespierre, Petion, -Marat, Danton, were associated with those who afterwards divided -themselves into the Gironde, with Condorcet, Brissot, the Rolands, -and Vergniaud. Though Robespierre, Petion, and Danton were no longer -in the Assembly, they ruled the Jacobin party there from the clubs. -It was not till the question of war arose that the split took place. -The Jacobins and Girondists were for war, Robespierre was obstinately -against it. At first he stood nearly alone, but by degrees, though -he did not draw the Jacobins very soon to his views, he drew them -speedily away from the Girondists. This party of the Girondists had -been growing and forming for some time. It took its rise originally at -Bordeaux, the great commercial city of the department of the Gironde. -Bordeaux was of Roman origin. It had always displayed a warm love of -independence, which its Parliaments had continually kept alive. It had -of late years become the chief commercial link between France and the -revolutionised United States. It had early, too, become leavened with -the new philosophy; it was the birthplace of Montaigne and Montesquieu. -The Gironde sent up to the new Assembly twelve deputies, all as yet -unknown, but all deeply imbued with the new principles. These, on -arriving in Paris, soon found themselves mixed up, at the house of -Condorcet and the Rolands, with Robespierre, Danton, Petion, Buzot, -Brissot, Carra-Louvet, Thomas Paine, and, in fact, nearly all the -thorough Revolutionists. The active centre of the whole party, up to -the period of the question of the war against the Emigrants, was Madame -Roland, and such she continued to be of the Girondists after their -separation into a distinct party, and after that they had become the -antagonists of the Mountain or Jacobin party. - -The Emigrants had continued to flock to Coblenz, and their number, -with their families, now amounted to nearly one hundred thousand of -the most wealthy and influential class in France. They continued to -make preparations for war, and it is no wonder that the people of -France beheld their menacing attitude with uneasiness. Though the -king publicly wrote letters to the Emigrants, desiring them to return -to their country, and employ themselves as good citizens under the -Constitution, there was a strong suspicion that he privately gave them -different advice. That the king did maintain a secret correspondence -with some of the insurgents is certain; but it is neither proved, nor -does it appear probable, that he sanctioned their intention of making -war on the country. But their obstinate absence drove the Assembly now -to such severe measures against them as compelled Louis to exercise -his veto in their favour, and he thus destroyed his popularity with -the public, and caused himself to be considered as really in league -with the Emigrants. Nevertheless, it was the advice of all the king's -Ministers, as well as it appears to have been his own feeling, that -they should return, for they might have added immensely to the -influence in favour of the throne. Louis, therefore, again exhorted -the Emigrants to return; but they continued inflexible. He next wrote -to the officers of the army and navy, deploring the information that -he had received that they were quitting the service, and that he could -not consider those his friends who did not, like himself, remain at -their posts; but this was equally ineffectual, and the Minister of War -reported to the Assembly that one thousand nine hundred officers had -deserted. The Assembly was greatly incensed; the Girondists deemed it -a good opportunity to force the king to deal a blow at the nobility -and at his own brothers. On the 20th of October Brissot ascended the -tribune, and demanded measures of severity against the Emigrants. -At the close of the debate a decree was passed requiring the king's -brothers to return to France within three months, on pain of forfeiting -all their rights as citizens, and their claims as princes on the -succession to the Crown. On the 9th of November a second decree was -passed, declaring that all Frenchmen assembled on the frontiers were -suspected of conspiracy against the country; that all such as should -continue there till the 1st of January should be treated as traitors; -that princes and public functionaries should become amenable to the -same punishments; that the incomes of all such Emigrants, from lands, -moneys, or offices, should from the present moment be sequestrated; -that a court should be appointed in January to try them; and that any -Frenchman, after this, crossing the frontiers, or found guilty of -endeavouring to seduce the people from their allegiance, should be put -to death. - -Whilst the nation was growing every day more Jacobinical, and the -danger was becoming more imminent, the queen sent a secret agent to -London to sound Pitt. She hoped to win him to an announcement of -supporting the throne of France in conjunction with the Continental -sovereigns; but Pitt showed his usual reserve. He declared that England -would not allow the Revolutionary spirit to put down the monarchy, but -he said nothing expressly of supporting the monarch himself; and the -queen, who was always suspicious that the Duke of Orleans was aiming at -the Crown, and that he had made himself a party in England, was filled -with alarm, lest Pitt's words only concealed the idea of such a king. -Still the attitude of the Continental Powers became more menacing. -The troops of the Emperor, in Belgium and Luxembourg, pressed upon -the very frontiers of France, and the numbers of the Emigrants were -constantly increasing in the territories of the Electors of Treves, -Mayence, and Spires. Two hundred thousand men, in fact, formed a line -along the French frontiers from Basle to the Scheldt. - -The French, exasperated beyond further endurance, on the 22nd of -November entered on the question of war in the Assembly in earnest. -Koch, of Strasburg, the well-known historian, declared that no time -was to be lost; that the German nations were every day violating the -frontiers of France, and that the Minister for Foreign Affairs was -not to be trusted. Three armies were formed. Rochambeau, who was now -ailing, and out of humour, was appointed to that stationed in Flanders, -and called the army of the north; Lafayette was put in command of the -central division stationed at Metz, and Luckner of the one stationed -in Alsace. Narbonne, the new Minister, made a rapid journey, and -returning, announced to the Assembly that the different fortresses were -fast assuming a creditable condition, and that the army, from Dunkirk -to Besançon, presented a mass of two hundred and forty battalions, one -hundred and sixty squadrons, with artillery requisite for two hundred -thousand men, and supplies for six months. This report was received -with acclamations. So closed the year 1791. - -The year 1792 opened in England with a state of intense anxiety -regarding the menacing attitude of affairs in France. There were all -the signs of a great rupture with the other Continental nations; yet -the king, in opening Parliament, on the 31st of January, did not -even allude to these ominous circumstances, but held out the hope of -continued peace. George III. stated that he had been engaged with -some of his allies in endeavouring to bring about a pacification -between the Russians and Austrians with Turkey, and that he hoped for -the conclusion of the war in India against Tippoo Sahib, ere long, -through the able management of Lord Cornwallis. He also announced the -approaching marriage of the Duke of York with the eldest daughter of -the King of Prussia. Grey and Fox, in the debate upon the Address, -condemned strongly our interference on behalf of Turkey--a state which -they contended ought, from its corruption, to be allowed to disappear. -They also expressed a strong opinion that the war in India would not -be so soon terminated. Fox was very severe on the treatment of Dr. -Priestley and the Dissenters at Birmingham, declaring the injuries -done to Priestley and his friends equally disgraceful to the nation and -to the national Church. He passed the highest encomiums on the loyalty -of the Dissenters. Pitt regretted the outrages at Birmingham, but slid -easily over them to defend the support of Turkey as necessary to the -maintenance of the balance of power in Europe; and he concluded the -debate by stating that the revenue of the last year had been sixteen -million seven hundred and seventy thousand pounds, and that it left -nine hundred thousand pounds towards the liquidation of the National -Debt. - -[Illustration: THE COUNT DE MIRABEAU.] - -Grey and Fox then made an equally brisk attack on the support of Turkey -by Ministers. They greatly applauded the Czarina, and Fox affirmed -that so far from Turkey soliciting our interference, it had objected -to it. On the same day, in the Lords, Lord Fitzwilliam opened the same -question. He contended that we had fitted out an expensive armament to -prevent the conquest by Russia of Oczakoff, and yet had not done it, -but had ended in accepting the very terms that the Czarina had offered -in 1790. Ministers replied that, though we had not saved Oczakoff, -we had prevented still more extensive attempts by Russia. Though the -Opposition, in both cases, was defeated, the attack was renewed on the -27th of February, when the Earl Stanhope--an enthusiastic worshipper -of the French Revolution--recommended, as the best means of preventing -aggression by Continental monarchs, a close alliance on our part with -France. Two days afterwards Mr. Whitbread introduced a string of -resolutions in the Commons, condemning the interference of Ministers -between Russia and Turkey, and the needless expenditure thus incurred, -in fact, going over much the same ground. A strenuous debate followed, -in which Grey, Fox, Windham, Francis, Sheridan, and the whole Whig -phalanx, took part. On this occasion, Mr. Jenkinson, afterwards Earl -of Liverpool, first appeared, and made his maiden speech in defence of -Ministers. He showed that the system of aggression had commenced with -Russia, and menaced the profoundest dangers to Europe; that Britain -had wisely made alliance with Prussia to stem the evil, and he utterly -repudiated all notion of the moderation of the Czarina, whose ambition -he asserted to be of the most unscrupulous kind. - -Prussia having been introduced into the debate, on the 1st of March -it was renewed by Mr. Martin, followed by Francis, Fox, and others, -who argued that the secret was thus out; we were fighting again on -account of the old mischief--German alliances. Pitt defended the -policy of Ministers. He asked whether Russia was to be permitted to -drive the Turks from Europe and plant herself in Constantinople, with -Greece as part of her empire? In that case, Russia would become the -first maritime power in the world, for her situation in the heart of -the Mediterranean, and with Greeks for her sailors--the best sailors -in that sea--would give her unrivalled advantages, and make her the -most destructive opponent of British interests that had ever arisen. -Pitt drew a dark character of the Czarina--the Messalina of the -North; reminded the House of her endeavours to strike a mortal blow -at us during the American war; of her arrogance and insolence on many -occasions, and said that he did not envy Fox the honour of having his -bust ordered by this notorious woman from Nollekens, the sculptor. Fox -well deserved this hard blow, for he had shown a strange blindness to -the grasping designs of Russia, and confessed that, whilst in office, -he had refused to concur in remonstrances to Russia against the seizure -of the Crimea. The motion of Whitbread was rejected by a majority of -two hundred and forty-four against one hundred and sixteen. - -On the 7th of March the House of Commons went into committee on the -establishment of the Duke of York, on account of his marriage. Fox -united with Pitt in supporting the recommendation that twenty-five -thousand pounds _per annum_ should be added to the twelve thousand -pounds which the duke already had; besides this the duke had a private -yearly revenue of four thousand pounds, making altogether forty-one -thousand a year, in addition to the bishopric of Osnaburg, in Germany, -which had been conferred on the duke, though a layman and a soldier. -Notwithstanding the union of Whigs and Tories on this occasion, -the vote did not pass without some sharp remarks on the miserable -stinginess of the King of Prussia, who only gave his daughter the -paltry sum of twenty-five thousand pounds as a dowry, and stipulated -that even that should be returned in case of the duke's death, though -in that case his daughter was to have a permanent allowance of eight -thousand pounds a year. - -Fox, on this occasion, also introduced the subject of the Prince of -Wales's allowance, who, he contended, had far less than had been -granted to a Prince of Wales since the accession of the House of -Hanover, that allowance being one hundred thousand pounds a-year; and -the present parsimony towards the prince being grossly aggravated -by the royal Civil List having been raised, in this reign, from six -hundred thousand pounds to nine hundred thousand pounds, and the Privy -Purse from six thousand pounds to sixty thousand pounds. Fox's remarks -were rendered all the more telling because, when the House went into -committee on the finances, Pitt had made a most flourishing statement -of the condition of the Exchequer. He took off the taxes which pressed -most on the poorer portion of the population--namely, on servants, the -late augmentations on malt, on waggons, on inhabited houses, etc.,--to -the amount of two hundred thousand pounds and appropriated four hundred -thousand pounds towards the reduction of the National Debt. Still blind -to the storm rising across the strait of Dover, he declared that these -were mere trifles compared with what he should be able to do shortly, -for never was there a time when a more durable peace might be expected! - -But besides nascent war, the Anti-Slavery movement of Wilberforce, -Pitt's friend, was decidedly adverse to the expected increase of -income. The Abolitionists had now begun to abandon the use of -slave-grown sugar, and they proposed to extend this to all the produce -of the West India islands, till the slave trade should be extirpated. -This alarmed Pitt, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, and he prevailed -on Wilberforce to discourage this project for awhile. The Abolition -cause received serious injury from the frightful insurrection -which had broken out in St. Domingo, and from the outrages which -the insurgent blacks had perpetrated on the whites. Such were held -up by the friends of slavery as the natural consequences of novel -doctrines of philanthropy. What made the matter more serious was, -that Brissot and the worst of the Jacobins were the authors of these -bloody tragedies, by their violent advocacy of the universal adoption -of the Rights of Man. All these men were enthusiastic applauders of -the English Abolitionists. Paine was a prominent Abolitionist; and -Clarkson, the right hand of Wilberforce, was an equal admirer of the -French Revolution, and gave serious offence by attending a dinner at -the "Crown and Anchor," to celebrate the taking of the Bastille. These -circumstances had a great effect when Wilberforce, on the 2nd of April, -brought in his annual motion for the immediate abolition of the slave -trade. Fox and Pitt eloquently supported him; but Dundas, now become -Secretary of State, prevailed to introduce into the motion the words -"gradual abolition." The Wilberforce party managed to carry a motion in -the Commons, for the abolition of the trade to the West Indies, on the -1st of January, 1796; but this was thrown out in the Lords, where it -was opposed by the Duke of Clarence, who had been in the West Indies, -and thought the descriptions of the condition of the slaves overdrawn. -It was also opposed by Thurlow, by Horsley, Bishop of St. Davids, and a -considerable majority. - -During this Session a very important Bill was introduced, and passed -both Houses, for the improvement of the police, and the administration -of justice in London. The old unpaid and very corrupt magistrates were -set aside. The metropolis was divided into five districts, each having -its police office, at which three justices were to sit, each having -a salary of three hundred pounds per annum. They were not allowed to -take fees in their own persons, and all fines paid in the courts were -to be put in a box towards defraying the salaries and other official -expenses. Constables and magistrates were empowered to take up persons -who could not give a good account of themselves, and commit them as -vagabonds. - -A great raid of reform was made in the Opposition, and it fell first -on the corruption of the boroughs, both in Scotland and England. The -subject was brought on, as it were, incidentally. An Enclosure Bill, -affecting some parts of the New Forest, Hampshire, was attacked, as -a job intended to benefit Pitt's staunch supporter, George Rose, who -had rapidly risen from an obscure origin to the post of Secretary to -the Treasury. Rose had a house and small estate in the Forest, and -there was a universal outcry, both in Parliament and in the public -press, that, in addition to the many sinecures of the fortunate -Rose, there was also a sop intended for him at the cost of the -Crown lands. The reformers were successful in casting much blame on -Ministers, and they followed it up by charging Rose with bribing one -Thomas Smith, a publican in Westminster, to procure votes for the -Ministerial candidate, Lord Hood. Though the motion for a committee of -the House to inquire into the particulars of this case was defeated, -yet the debates turned the attention of the country on the scandalous -bribery going on in boroughs. The Scots, the countrymen of Rose, -petitioned for an inquiry into the condition of their boroughs. Of -the sixty-six boroughs, petitions for such inquiry came from fifty. -They complained that the members and magistrates of those corporations -were self-elected, and by these means the rights and property of the -inhabitants were grievously invaded. - -Sheridan introduced the subject on the 18th of April, and Fox ably -supported him; but the motion was negatived. But this defeat only -appeared to stimulate the reformers to higher exertions. On the 28th -of April a new Reform society, entitled the Society of the Friends -of the People, was formally inaugurated by the issue of an address, -which was signed by no less than twenty-eight members of the House of -Commons, and a considerable number of Lords, amongst them the Lords -Lauderdale, John Russell, Stanhope, and Fitzgerald. Their title was -unfortunate, for, though they were united only for Parliamentary -reform, this cognomen was so much in the French style as to create -suspicion and alarm. Many of the members were known to be admirers of -the French Revolution, and about the same time another and decidedly -French-admiring society was started, calling itself the Corresponding -Society, and prosecuting a zealous intercourse with the Girondists -and Jacobins. The admiration of French political principles rendered -the conservative portion of the population quite determined to resist -all innovations; and as this Society of the Friends of the People -was regarded as a direct imitation of the Jacobin Club, it was -violently opposed and stigmatised. On the 30th of April Mr. Grey, as -representative of this Society, rose to announce that in the next -Session he meant to introduce a regular measure for the reform of -Parliament; that it was necessary, he said, had long been asserted by -the two leading men of the House--Pitt and Fox. Pitt rose on this, and -declared himself still the friend of Reform; but he contended that this -was not the time to attempt it. He had only, he said, to point to -the state of things in France, and to the effervescence which those -principles of anarchy had produced in Britain, to show the necessity of -remaining quiet for the present; neither did he believe that the mass -of the English people would support any change in our Constitution. -Fox upbraided Pitt with the abandonment of his former sentiments, and -contended that we had only to look at the money spent lately in the -armament against Russia, money thus spent without any consent of the -people, to perceive the necessity of reform in our representation. -He referred to Pitt's remarks on revolutionary books and pamphlets -recently published, and declared that he had read very few of them. -He had only read one of the two books of Thomas Paine, the "Rights of -Man," and did not like it. Burke replied to him, and drew a most dismal -picture of the condition of France under her Revolutionists. He said -that the French Assembly was composed of seven hundred persons, of whom -four hundred were lawyers, and three hundred of no description; that he -could not name a dozen out of the whole, he believed, with one hundred -pounds a-year; and he asked whether we should like a Parliament in -Great Britain resembling it. In this debate, the further dissolution of -the Whig party became obvious when Windham and others took the side of -Burke. - -Immediately after this debate the Government took active steps to crush -that spirit of free discussion in books, pamphlets and associations, -which no doubt had been greatly stimulated by the excitement of the -French Revolution, and which they professed to believe was aiming at -the same object--the destruction of the monarchy. But in attempting to -check this spirit, they adopted the un-English plan of fettering the -press and individual opinion. Pitt's Government issued a proclamation -against seditious books, and societies corresponding with the -Republicans across the water; and magistrates were desired to make -diligent inquiries as to the authors of seditious books and pamphlets, -to put down all mischievous associations, and to take the promptest -means of suppressing and preventing riots and disturbances. An Address -in approbation of this proclamation was moved by Mr. Pepper Arden, -the Master of the Rolls, in the Commons, and a short debate was the -consequence. In this Grey and Fox declared that the proclamation was -unconstitutional, mischievous, and oppressive; that it was a stimulus -given to hot-headed and bigoted magistrates all over the country to -invade the freedom of the press and of private life, on pretence of -preventing disturbance; that the true constitutional remedy for any -wrong opinions promulgated by the press was their regulation by right -and sound opinions; that the blow was aimed against the Society of -the Friends of the People, and intended to crush Reform, and divide -the Whig party; that, in truth, the riots and instigations to anarchy -came not from the Reformers, but from the Church, the magistracy, and -the Tories; and they appealed for the truth of this to the disgraceful -scenes which had occurred at Birmingham. They reminded Government that -in 1782 Pitt had joined the Duke of Richmond, Major Cartwright, and -Horne Tooke, in a meeting, at the Thatched House Tavern, for Reform; -that they, the Whigs, had never gone to the length of Cartwright and -Horne Tooke in their principles of Reform, as Pitt had done; and -they reproached the Minister with his shameful inconsistency. Lord -John Russell, Francis, Lambton, and others, supported Grey and Fox; -and Windham, Lord North, Dundas, etc., supported Pitt. The Address -was carried; and when sent up to the Lords produced another striking -exhibition of the change going on in the Whig party; for the Prince of -Wales, who had hitherto been in such close union with them, and had -been so zealously supported by them, now rose and gave his decided -approbation to the Address, declaring that he had been educated in -admiration of the established Constitution, and was determined, so far -as in him lay, to support it. These words were received with triumph by -the Government party, the Address was carried almost unanimously, and -was followed by an immediate prosecution of the "Rights of Man," by the -Attorney-General, which caused it to be far more generally read than it -otherwise would have been. - -It appeared to be the design of the Whigs to agitate this Session a -series of questions connected with freedom of opinion, which, from -the spirit of the times, they could not have the slightest chance of -carrying, but merely to maintain the cause of liberty and liberality -against the spirit of alarm and the spirit of tyranny that dogged -its steps. On the 11th of May Fox moved for leave to bring in a Bill -to repeal certain old statutes affecting the Dissenters, but his -principal remarks were directed against the outrages perpetrated on Dr. -Priestley and the Unitarians at Birmingham, his tone being taken from -a petition from that body presented a few days before. Burke replied -to him, and asserted that this body of so-called Religionists was -rather a body of political agitators. He noticed, in proof, the close -connection of Drs. Price and Priestley, and their adherents, with the -French Revolutionists. He quoted Priestley's own writings to show that -they avowed a desire to destroy the National Church. He expressed -his conviction that, from the intolerance shown by this party in the -prosecution of their views, they would, did they succeed in destroying -the Church and the Constitution, prove worse masters than those whom -the English nation then had. He had no desire to see the king and -Parliament dragged after a National Assembly, as they had been by the -admired reforms of Priestley, Price, and that party, and much preferred -to live under George III. or George IV. than under Dr. Priestley or Dr. -Kippis. Pitt expressed his unwillingness to give more power to a party -that declared its desire to overturn both Church and Constitution; and -Fox, in reply, attacked Burke's "Reflections on the French Revolution," -saying that Paine's "Age of Reason" was a libel on the Constitution -of Great Britain, but that Burke's book was a libel on every free -Constitution in the world. The motion was rejected by one hundred and -forty-two votes against sixty-three. - -[Illustration: GOVERNMENT HOUSE, CALCUTTA. (_From a Photograph by Frith -& Co._)] - -Lord Rawdon again attempted to mitigate the condition of debtors -imprisoned by their creditors, but did not succeed; and after Dundas -had drawn a very flattering picture of the condition of India in -presenting his annual statement of Indian finance, and had procured -some regulations for insuring the payment of seamen's wages to -themselves or their families, the king prorogued Parliament on the 15th -of June, still congratulating the country on the prospect of peace and -of reducing substantially the National Debt. - -During the recess of Parliament there was an active contest between -the new French opinions and the old constitutional ones. One called -forth and provoked the other. Clubs and societies for Reform were -more after the model of the wholesale proceedings of France than the -old and sober ones of England. The Society of the Friends of the -People was compelled to disclaim all connection with the Society for -Constitutional Information in London, which was in open correspondence -with the Jacobins of Paris. It was forced to disown societies in the -country of the same stamp, and especially to check a branch of the -Society for Constitutional Information in Sheffield, which, in May of -the present year, called on the Society of the Friends of the People to -establish a Convention in London. To allow of no mistake as to their -principles, the Society of the Friends of the People held a great -meeting on the 5th of May, in which they announced that they had no -other object but to obtain Parliamentary Reform by strictly legal and -constitutional means, and that after this end had been secured they -should dissolve themselves. Yet, notwithstanding this, there were those -in the Society who deemed that they were in connection with persons -and associations whose views went farther than their own, and, on this -ground, on the 9th of June, Mr. Baker, who had been the chairman at the -late meeting at the Freemasons' Tavern, Lord John Russell, who had been -deputy-chairman, Dudley North, Mr. Curwen, and Mr. Courtney, withdrew -from it. - -On the other hand, the Corresponding Society and the Society for -Constitutional Information kept up an open correspondence with the -National Convention of France, even after the bloody massacres of -September of this year, which we have yet to mention. Unwarned by these -facts, they professed to see, in the example of Frenchmen, the only -chance of the liberation of the English nation from the oppressions -of the Crown and of an overgrown aristocracy. They made no secret -of their desire to establish a Republic in Great Britain; and the -Society for Constitutional Information included amongst its members -a number of red-hot Americans. These Societies and the Revolutionary -Society in London continued to send over glowing addresses to the -French Convention, declaring their desire to fraternise with them for -liberty and equality, and their determination never again to fight with -Frenchmen at the command of despots. - -These proceedings called forth an opposite class of Associations, in -which the clergy of the Establishment took the lead. The bishop and -clergy of Worcester, and Dr. Watson, the bishop, and the clergy of -Llandaff, met and presented addresses to the king, expressing their -abhorrence of the doctrines of these Associations, which made no -secret of their demand for "the rights of man--liberty and equality, -no king, no Parliament;" and they expressed their conviction that this -country already possessed more genuine liberty than any other nation -whatever. They asserted that the Constitution, the Church, and State -had received more improvements since the Revolution in 1688 than in -all previous ages; that the Dissenters and Catholics had been greatly -relieved, the judges had been rendered independent, and the laws in -various ways more liberalised since the accession of his present -Majesty than for several reigns previously. They asserted boldly that -in no country could men rise from the lowest positions to affluence -and honour, by trade, by the practice of the law, by other arts and -professions, so well as in this; that the wealth everywhere visible, -the general and increasing prosperity, testified to this fact, in -happy contrast to the miserable condition of France. They concluded -by recommending the formation of counter-associations in all parts of -the country, to diffuse such constitutional sentiments and to expose -the mischievous fallacies of the Democratic societies. This advice -was speedily followed, and every neighbourhood became the arena of -conflicting politics. The Democrats, inoculated by the wild views of -French licence, injured the cause of real liberty and progress by their -advocacy of the mob dominion of Paris; and the Constitutionalists, -urged by the alarm and the zeal inspired by opposition, grew intolerant -and persecuting. The eyes of thousands who had at first hailed the -French Revolution as the happy dawn of a new era of liberty and -brotherhood, were now opened by the horrors of the massacres of the -French clergy in September of this year, and by the sight of swarms -of priests, who had fled for security to London and were everywhere -to be seen in the streets, destitute and dejected. A public meeting -was called at the London Tavern towards the close of 1792, and a -subscription entered into for their relief. - -In March of this year Lord Cornwallis had brought a war in India with -the implacable enemy of the British to a very successful close. Early -in the preceding year, 1791, he had reinstated our ally, the Rajah -of Travancore, in his dominions, and had further seized nearly all -Tippoo's territories on the Malabar coast. He then determined to strike -a decisive blow, by marching upon Tippoo's capital, Seringapatam. In -February he took the city of Bangalore, and early in May he was on -his route for Seringapatam. Tippoo was in the deepest consternation. -Lord Cornwallis arrived in the neighbourhood of Seringapatam on the -13th of May, and immediately attacked Tippoo, who was drawn up with a -large force. The Mysoreans broke and fled before the British bayonets. -The British army was in full view of the capital, and expected a rich -booty, when Cornwallis was compelled to order a retreat. The forces -of General Abercromby, who had to make his way from another quarter -through the mountains, had not come up; neither had the Mahrattas, -who were to join with twenty thousand men. The rains had set in, and -the army was without provisions, for Tippoo had laid all the country -waste. In these circumstances, Lord Cornwallis somewhat precipitately -destroyed his battering guns, and retired from before Seringapatam. -He sent word to Abercromby, who was now approaching, to retire also. -On the 26th of May, the very first day of his retreat, the Mahrattas -arrived; but as the rains continued and his soldiers were suffering -from illness, he determined to retreat to Bangalore, where he procured -four battering trains; and having laid in plentiful stores and obtained -strong reinforcements, as soon as the season was favourable he again -set out for Seringapatam. After taking different forts on his way, he -appeared before that wealthy city on the 5th of February, 1792, in -company with General Abercromby and a native force belonging to our -ally, the Nizam. Tippoo was drawn up before the city, having between -it and himself the rapid river Cauvery, and the place extremely well -fortified and defended by batteries. He had forty thousand infantry -and five thousand horse; but he was speedily defeated, and driven -across the river into the city. There the British followed him, and, -under the guidance of the brave generals, Medows and Abercromby, they -soon penetrated so deeply into the place that Tippoo was compelled to -capitulate. In these actions the British were said to have lost about -six hundred men, Tippoo four thousand. - -The conditions proposed by Lord Cornwallis were, that Tippoo should -cede one-half of his territories; that he should pay three crores and -thirty lacs of rupees; that he should restore all the prisoners taken -since the time of his father, Hyder Ali; and that two of his eldest -sons should be given up as hostages for the faithful fulfilment of -the articles. On the 26th the boys, who were only eight and ten years -old, were surrendered, and part of the money was sent in. Cornwallis -received the little princes very kindly, and presented each of them -with a gold watch, with which they were delighted. When, however, it -came to the surrender of the territory, Tippoo refused and began to -make preparations for resistance; but Lord Cornwallis's active firmness -soon compelled him to submit. He ordered the captive children to be -sent away to Bangalore, and prepared to storm the town, for which both -our soldiers and those of the Nizam were impatient. Tippoo gave way; -and the surrender of territory according to the treaty was completed. - -These acquisitions were more valuable for the defence which they -afforded the British than for the direct income, which did not amount -to more than half a million sterling a year; but they included all -Tippoo's dominions on the coast of Malabar, thus cutting off his -mischievous communications with the French by sea. It would have been -easy at this time to have stripped Tippoo of the whole of Mysore, but -it was not deemed politic. We were far from having great faith in the -continued fidelity of the Mahrattas, and it was thought necessary -not to remove the check which the existence of Tippoo's power, and -his desire for revenge on the Mahrattas, presented. Besides, the -finances of India were in a very embarrassed state, and the question of -Indian war was unpopular in Britain. With all the territory resigned -to the Indian allies, Lord Cornwallis could not avoid giving deep -offence to the Mahrattas, who desired to obtain a regiment of British -troops in pay. The ill-concealed jealousy between them and the Nizam -made an outbreak between these States very possible; and the moody -resentment of Tippoo, who writhed under his humiliation, added greatly -to the uncertainty of long-continued peace. On the other hand, the -soldiers were highly discontented at not having had the opportunity -of plundering the opulent city of Seringapatam; and to soothe them -Cornwallis and General Medows, the second in command, surrendered to -them their shares of prize money, and the former ordered them, besides, -six months' batta out of the money paid by Tippoo. - -It was during Lord Cornwallis's campaign in Mysore that Lord Macartney -made his celebrated embassy to China, to endeavour to induce the -Chinese to open their ports to trade with Britain; but his lordship -succeeded in very little beyond making the Chinese and their country -better known in the work written by his secretary, afterwards Sir John -Barrow. - -Very important events had during this time been taking place in Europe. -In the north, Russia, checked in its encroachments on Turkey for the -present, turned its eyes on the inviting region of Poland. Poland, -after neglecting its own internal improvement, and the raising of -the condition of its people, so as to give them a real interest in -the defence of the country, had suddenly set about establishing a -new Constitution, very much on the model of the French Revolutionary -one. The Diet declared the throne hereditary, and not elective, as -hitherto; and Stanislaus Augustus, the king--that is, Poniatowski, the -former lover and favourite of Catherine of Russia--was wholly agreeable -to this. The Diet proposed the Elector of Saxony as Poniatowski's -successor, the king having no children. It also admitted the burgher -class into its body. As there was a strong party, however, in -opposition to the popular party, the patriots met secretly, and not -only pledged themselves to the new Constitution, but to pass it _en -masse_ and at once, without canvassing the particular articles of it. -The king, being privy to this, on the 3rd of May, 1791, entered the -hall of the Diet. The new Constitution was read, passed by a majority, -and signed by the king. Stanislaus then led the way to the cathedral, -where he was followed by all the nuncios except twelve, and there both -he and they swore to maintain this new Constitution. An unexpected -difficulty was found in persuading the Elector of Saxony to accept the -Crown; for, though both Russia and Prussia still professed friendship -for Poland, he was too well aware of the designs of Russia on Poland to -accept the dangerous post without much hesitation. At length, in the -month of April, 1792, the Elector gave his reluctant consent, but not -without stipulating that they should give more power to the sovereign, -and limit more that of the Diet; that the right of determining peace -and war should belong to the king, as well as the authority over the -army. He objected to a number of things, evidently borrowed from the -revolutionary French, such as the oath taken to the nation, and the -education of the heir by the Diet, just as the National Assembly had -claimed the right to educate the Dauphin. - -But now Catherine of Russia had concluded her entanglements with -Turkey. It was the August of 1791, and her eyes turned immediately -on Poland, and she pretended to take great offence and alarm at the -new Constitution, as full of French and Revolutionary principles, and -therefore intolerable to any neighbouring state. She began to negotiate -with Sweden, and Prussia, and Austria, to co-operate with her in her -design against Poland. Prussia was easily led to adopt her ideas, for -the king was like herself, greedy of his neighbour's dominions, and had -been repulsed by the Poles in grasping at Thorn and Dantzic. Leopold -of Austria was, by his connection with the royal party of France, -through his sister, naturally ready to put down any influence from the -French Revolution in a neighbouring country; but he was indisposed to -war, and too just and moderate for aggression. His death, on the 1st -of March, 1792, removed this obstacle, and Francis, his successor, was -found to be more accessible to the Czarina's selfish arguments. Russia, -Prussia, and Austria were all agreed on the plunder of Poland, whilst -they still preserved the most hypocritical appearance of caring only -for its unity and national interests. As for Gustavus III., of Sweden, -brave and honest as he was, he was of such chivalrous and, to a certain -degree, insane character, that he was easily led on by the artful -Empress of Russia to lend himself to her designs, without being aware -of them. He had declared himself the knight of Marie Antoinette, and -had sworn to rescue her. He was avaricious of military glory, and, like -his predecessor, Charles XII., he was desirous only of conducting some -great and brilliant enterprise. He desired to lead an army against the -French, now bursting out under the Revolutionary general, Custine, on -Germany, and, joining with the army of the Emigrants, eighteen thousand -in number, to beat back the Democratic general, to march into France, -and restore the throne of Louis and Marie Antoinette. But he had no -money; the Empress of Russia, who wished him employed at a distance, -and especially in keeping back the French Democrats, whilst she carved -up Poland, offered him both money and arms. But the Empress was -relieved of the high-minded Gustavus in a manner which she had by no -means contemplated. He fell, on the 16th of March, in his own capital, -by the hand of an assassin called Ankarström. - -Catherine of Russia, thus rid of the only two monarchs who were -likely to trouble her with scruples, hastened her grand design of -absorbing Poland. She professed to be much scandalised and alarmed -at the proceedings of the king, who had attended a dinner given by -the municipality of Warsaw on the anniversary of the passing of their -new Constitution, at which he had not only responded to the toast -of his health by drinking to the nation and the municipality, thus -sanctioning them as great powers, as the French had done, but had sat -complacently amid the loud cries of "Long live Liberty! Long live the -nation, and our citizen king, the friend of the Rights of Man!" The -Poles had certainly become enthusiastic imitators of the French; they -had established clubs in imitation of the clubs of Paris, had sent -a deputation to congratulate the French on their Revolution, and had -passed various decrees of a Jacobin character. Neither did she lack -a sanction from the Poles themselves. There had always been violent -parties in that kingdom; and at this time a number of nobles, who -opposed the new Constitution, sent a deputation with a memorial to the -Empress, at St. Petersburg, inviting her to assist them in restoring -the old Constitution. Catherine gave them a ready promise, and, on -the 14th of May, Felix Potocki, Branicki, Rzewinski, and eleven other -nobles, met at Targowica, and entered into a confederacy for this -purpose. This confederacy was followed, only four days after its -signing, by a protest issued by Bulgakoff, the Russian Minister, at -Warsaw, against the whole of the new institutions and decrees. On the -18th of May, the same day that this proclamation was issued at Warsaw, -a hundred thousand Russian troops marched over the Polish frontiers, -attended by some of the pro-Russian confederates, and assumed the -appearance of an army of occupation. - -[Illustration: VIEW IN OLD PARIS: RUE DE PIROUETTE, NORTH SIDE OF LES -HALLES. (_After Martial._)] - -The Diet issued a counter-proclamation rebutting Catherine's long -catalogue of charges _seriatim_, and denying the right of any nation, -under any pretence whatever, to interfere with the internal changes of -another nation executed by the proper authorities and representatives -of the people. Stanislaus Augustus issued an address to the Polish -army, calling upon it to defend the national rights from the domination -of Russia. But, unfortunately, Poland was in no condition to cope with -the might of Russia. No pains had been taken to organise the army -in years past on any scale capable of defending the nation; the new -rights conferred on the people were too new to have given them yet any -interest in them. Poland, therefore, in all haste, made solicitations -for help to Prussia, Austria, Britain, Sweden, and Denmark; but in -vain. Sweden and Denmark had, now that Gustavus was dead, determined -to have no concern in wars resulting in any way from the French -Revolution. Frederick William of Prussia pretended to have foreseen -this offence to Russia in the alarming measures of the Diet, and -protested that had it not been for these, Russia would never have taken -the decided step which she had now done. He, however, coldly professed -himself ready to unite with Russia and Austria to restore the former -state of things in Poland. As for Austria, she lay cold and neutral -in appearance; but though Poland was not aware of it, both Prussia -and Austria were in the secret league for the dismemberment of that -unfortunate country. - -Britain was anxiously appealed to for aid; but Pitt, who had raised -so powerful an armament to check the attacks of Russia on Turkey, was -not disposed to denounce the attempts of Russia on Poland. He might -be blamed for refraining from exerting the moral power of Britain in -condemnation of the unprincipled aggression of Russia, but he could -not be expected to take arms in defence of Poland, so far removed from -the influence of a maritime nation. Colonel Gardiner, our Minister -at Warsaw, was instructed by our Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Lord -Grenville, to express a friendly interest towards Poland, but to -take care to avoid raising hopes of assistance. The Poles, repelled -by Prussia and Austria, and finding no warmth of sympathy in the -agent of Britain, dispatched Count Bukaty in June to London to plead -for aid. But Pitt was cold and immovable, though he saw with regret -that the absorption of this large country, in the centre of Europe, -would formidably increase that preponderance of Russia, which he had -attempted to prevent when there was a question of the absorption -of Turkey. He adopted an attitude of strict neutrality. No motion -condemnatory of Russia's grasping schemes was made in Parliament; it -seemed to Britain a matter of no moment that one of the chief nations -of Europe should be torn in pieces by rapacious Powers, contrary to -all moral and international law. The Whigs, those warm advocates of -revolution and of popular freedom, were dumb. In fact, what could -they say? Fox and his admirers had all along been lauding the Russian -Empress as one of the greatest, ablest, and most innocent of monarchs, -simply in opposition to Pitt and his endeavours to repress her schemes -of aggrandisement. Fox had even sent Mr. Adair as his emissary to St. -Petersburg, to congratulate her on her successes, and to assure her of -the admiration of Englishmen. Such are the perversities into which men -are driven by party spirit! At this very moment Fox and the Whigs were -flattering and patting Catherine on the back, when her bandit armies -had already their feet on the doomed soil of Poland, and they were -still applauding the Revolutionists of France, when they were already -beyond the Rhine, on that crusade of conquest which plunged Europe -into more than twenty years of the most horrible bloodshed. They saw -all this when too late. For the present, what was done for Poland was -to call a meeting at the Mansion House and open a subscription for the -suffering Poles. - -Poland, abandoned to her own resources, made a brave but ineffectual -defence. The Russians received several severe checks in their advance. -At Zadorsk, at Palorma, and finally at Dulienska, the Poles fought -them gallantly. At the last-named battle, on the 17th of July, the -heroic Kosciusko made terrible havoc of the Russian lines, and was -only prevented from utterly routing them by his flank being turned by -another arrival of Russians, whom the Emperor Francis, of Austria, had -allowed to march through Galicia. The Russians advanced to Warsaw, -took regular possession of it, and of all the towns and military -forts throughout the country. They dismissed the patriot officers -of the army, and dispersed the army itself in small divisions into -widely-separated places. They abolished the new Constitution, thrust -the burgher class again out of their newly-acquired privileges, and -put the press under more ignominious restrictions than before. They -confiscated the estates of nobles who had advocated the new reforms. -Both Catherine and her Ministers treated the idea of any partition of -Poland as the most groundless and ridiculous of notions. They pointed -to the invasion of Germany already by Custine, the French Revolutionary -general, and justified the temporary occupation of Poland as necessary -to the security of both Poland and the neighbouring states. We must -leave the three robber Powers, Russia, Prussia, and Austria, therefore, -gloating over their prey, and ready to rend it asunder, in order to -continue the narrative of the wild explosion of France. - -The Girondists were, at the opening of the year 1792, vehemently urging -on war against the Emigrants and the Emperor of Germany. Just at this -crisis, as we have seen, Leopold of Austria died, and was succeeded by -his nephew, Francis II.; and war became more inevitable, for Francis -had not the same pacific disposition as Leopold, and the Gironde was -bent on war. The internal condition of France also seemed to indicate -that there must soon be war abroad or civil war at home. The Ministers -were at variance; the Jacobins and Girondists were coming to an open -and desperate feud; the people, both in Paris and throughout the -country, were excited by the Jacobin publications to the utmost pitch -of fury against the Royalists and the priests. - -Whilst the Gironde was thus weakened by this implacable and incurable -feud with the Jacobins, Austria was making unmistakable signs of -preparations for that war which Leopold had often threatened, but never -commenced. Francis received deputations from the Emigrant princes, -ordered the concentration of troops in Flanders, and spoke in so firm a -tone of restoring Louis and the old system of things, that the French -ambassador at Vienna, M. De Noailles, sent in his resignation, stating -that he despaired of inducing the Emperor to listen to the language -which had been dictated to him. Two days afterwards, however, Noailles -recalled his resignation, saying he had obtained the categorical answer -demanded of the Court of Vienna. This was sent in a dispatch from Baron -von Cobentzel, the Foreign Minister of Austria. In this document, which -was tantamount to a declaration of war, the Court of Vienna declared -that it would listen to no terms on behalf of the King of France, -except his entire restoration to all the ancient rights of his throne, -according to the royal declaration of the 23rd of June, 1789; and the -restoration of the domains in Alsace, with all their feudal rights, to -the princes of the Empire. Moreover, Prince Kaunitz, the chief Minister -of Francis, announced his determination to hold no correspondence with -the Government which had usurped authority in France. - -Dumouriez, the new Foreign Minister, advised the king to communicate -this note to the Assembly without a moment's delay. There was immediate -dissension in the royal council. This was the commencement of the -division in the Gironde Ministry, which quickly destroyed it. Dumouriez -proceeded, in the presence of the king, the rest of the Ministers, and -a number of courtiers, on the 20th of April, to make that announcement -which was to decide the fate of France and of Europe. Roland and -the more determined Girondists had recommended that the king should -himself make the declaration of war; but as the war itself was most -repugnant to the king, Dumouriez had advised that he should only -consult with the Assembly on the necessity of this declaration, and -thus throw the responsibility on that body. There had been division of -opinion amongst Ministers, and now Dumouriez read a detailed account -of the negotiations with Austria, and then Louis, who looked jaded -and anxious, stated that he had followed the recommendations of the -Assembly, and of many of his subjects in various parts of France, in -these negotiations, and, as they had heard the results, he put it to -the Assembly whether they could any longer submit to see the dignity -of the French people insulted, and the national security threatened. -The speech was received with loud acclamations and cries of "_Vive le -Roi!_" The President said they would deliberate, and the result was -that a decree was passed resolving upon war. This resolve the Assembly -justified by the declaration that the Emperor of Austria had concerted -with the Emigrants and foreign princes to threaten the peace and the -constitution of France; that he had refused to abandon these views -and proceedings, and reduce his army to a peace establishment, as -demanded of him by a vote of the 11th of March of this year; that he -had declared his intention to restore the German princes by force to -the possessions they had held in Alsace, although the French nation -had never ceased to offer them compensation; and that, finally, he -had closed the door to all accommodation by refusing to reply to the -dispatches of the king. - -Dumouriez had no sooner come into office than he laid down a great -military plan. He proposed that wherever France extended to what -he called her natural limits--that is, to the Rhine, the Alps, the -Pyrenees, and the sea--they should act only on the defensive; but in -the Netherlands, where the territory did not extend to the Rhine, and -in Savoy, where it did not extend to the Alps, there they should act -on the offensive, and carry France to what he called its boundaries by -the genuine laws of nature. This plan was adopted. The Austrians had -only thirty thousand men in Belgium, and Lafayette was to make a dash -on that division of the Netherlands. From Namur he was to push on for -Liége, which would make him complete master of the country, and was -to be strengthened by a reinforcement of thirty thousand infantry, so -that he would be seventy-five thousand strong before the Emperor could -advance to his attack. Further, while Lafayette was marching from Givet -on Namur, a division of his army of ten thousand men, under General -Biron, was to march upon Mons, where Beaulieu, the Austrian general, -was posted with only two thousand five hundred men. On the same day -Major-General Theobald Dillon was to advance with three thousand six -hundred men from Lille, in Tournay, and to surprise that place. The -French calculated on the support of the Belgians who had been strongly -inoculated with the spirit of the Revolution. The two smaller divisions -were punctual in their movements; but Lafayette, instead of marching -simultaneously, remained strengthening himself in his position at -Givet. General Biron set out from Valenciennes, and, on the 29th of -April, crossed the Belgian frontiers, and the next day marched towards -Mons. But no sooner did the French cavalry come in sight of some light -troops, said only to amount to about five hundred men, than they fled, -crying that they were betrayed. Beaulieu's horse pursued and captured -Biron's baggage and military chest. On the very same day, Dillon's -division, on their march from Lille to Tournay, fled with the very same -cry from nine hundred Austrians who had issued from Tournay. The French -officers in vain endeavoured, in both cases, to rally their forces, -and Dillon was murdered by his own men on re-entering Lille with a -lieutenant-colonel and an unsworn priest. Lafayette, hearing this -strange news, did not venture to quit Givet. - -The news of this astonishing cowardice of the soldiery caused great -consternation in Paris. Lafayette and Rochambeau wrote complaining -of Dumouriez and the Gironde Ministry; the Girondists accused the -Jacobins of inciting the troops to this conduct; and the Jacobins -blamed the incompetence of the Gironde. The king proceeded to dismiss -his Girondist Ministry, and to rule with something like independence. -In the early part of July it was known at the Tuileries that the -Prussians, having joined the Austrians, had marched on Coblenz, to the -number of eighty thousand men, all old soldiers of the great Frederick, -and commanded by the Duke of Brunswick, the nephew of Frederick, who -had won so much distinction in the Seven Years' War. Marshal Luckner, -not deeming himself strong enough to resist this force, had retired -upon Lille and Valenciennes. The Court was in high spirits; the queen -told her ladies, in confidence, that the Allies would be in Paris in -six weeks. The king wrote to the allied camp recommending moderation. -In this moment of effervescence appeared the proclamation of the Duke -of Brunswick as commander of the allied armies, and in the name of the -allied monarchs. This proclamation arrived in Paris on the 28th of -July, though it was dated Coblenz, July 25th. It was far from being -of the reasonable nature which the king had recommended, and was -calculated to do the most fatal injuries to his interests. It stated -that the Emperor and the King of Prussia, having seen the manner in -which the authority of the King of France had been overturned by a -factious people, how his sacred person and those of his family had been -subjected to violence and restraint, in which those who had usurped -his Government had, besides destroying the internal order and peace -of France, invaded the Germanic Empire, and seized the possessions of -the princes of Alsace and Lorraine, had determined to march to his -assistance, and had authorised himself, a member of the Germanic body, -to march to the aid of their friend and ally; that he came to restore -the king to all his rights, and to put an end to anarchy in France; -that he was not about to make war on France, but on its internal -enemies, and he called on all the well-disposed to co-operate in this -object; that all cities, towns, villages, persons, and property would -be respected and protected, provided that they immediately concurred -in the restoration of order. He summoned all officers of the army and -the State to return to their allegiance; all Ministers of Departments, -districts, and municipalities were likewise summoned, and were to be -held responsible, by their lives and properties, for all outrages and -misdemeanours committed before the restoration of order; and all who -resisted the royal authority, and fired on the royal troops or the -Allies, should be instantly punished with all rigour, and their houses -demolished or burned. Paris, in case of any injury done to the royal -family, was to be delivered up to an exemplary and ever-memorable -vengeance; that no laws were to be acknowledged as valid but such -as proceeded from the king when in a state of perfect liberty. -[Illustration: THE ROYAL FAMILY OF FRANCE ON THEIR WAY TO THE ASSEMBLY. -(_See p._ 403.)] - -This was an announcement of the utter overthrow of the Revolution, -and the restoration of the ancient condition of France, with its -aristocracy and its slaves. The sensation which it produced was -intense. The king was immediately accused of secretly favouring this -language, though it was far from being the case. It was in vain that he -disavowed the sentiments of this haughty and impolitic proclamation to -the Assembly; he was not believed, and the exasperation against him was -dreadfully aggravated. - -The crisis was at hand. The efforts of the Jacobins had culminated in -the great blow which should crush this ancient monarchy to the earth. -The Federates called a meeting of the Committee of Insurrection to -arrange the final plans, and it was resolved that the insurrection -should take place on the 10th of August. - -On this day all Paris was astir. The drums were beating in all -quarters; the National Guard were assembling at their different posts; -the Insurrectional Committee had divided itself into three sections. -One took its station in the Faubourg St. Marceau, with Fournier at its -head; another in the Faubourg St. Antoine, headed by Westermann and -Santerre; whilst Danton, Camille Desmoulins, and Carra, were at the -Cordeliers. About twelve o'clock the tocsin began to ring out from -the Hôtel de Ville, and was quickly followed by the bells in every -church tower in Paris. By one o'clock the palace was surrounded by -vast throngs of armed people. They could be seen by the inmates of the -palace through the old doors of the courts, and from the windows. Their -artillery was visibly pointed at the palace, and the noise of their -shouting, beating of drums, and singing of insurrectionary songs, was -awful. The king had issued an order that the Swiss and Guards should -not commence the attack, but should repel force by force. It was now -recommended that the king also should go down, and by showing himself, -and addressing a few words to them, should animate them in their duty. -The queen, her eyes inflamed with weeping, and with an air of dignity, -which was never forgotten by those who saw her, said also, "Sire, it is -time to show yourself." She is said to have snatched a pistol from the -belt of old General d'Affry, and to have presented it in an excitement -that scarcely allowed her to remain behind. Could she have changed -places, had she been queen in her own right, there would soon have -been a change of scene. As for Louis, with that passive courage which -he always possessed, and so uselessly, he went forward and presented -himself to view upon the balcony. At the sight of him, the Grenadiers -raised their caps on the points of their swords and bayonets, and -there were cries of "_Vive le Roi!_" the last that saluted him in his -hereditary palace. Even at this cry, numbers of the National Guard took -alarm, imagining that they were to be surrendered to the knights of -the dagger, and that they had been betrayed. The gunners, joining in -the panic, turned their guns towards the palace, but the more faithful -Guard drove them from the guns, disarmed them, and put them under watch. - -The king, undeterred, descended into the court, and passing along the -ranks, addressed them from time to time, telling them he relied on -their attachment, and that in defending him they defended their wives -and children. He then proceeded through the vestibule, intending to -go to the garden, when he was assailed by fierce cries from some of -the soldiers: "Down with the veto!" "Down with the traitor!" "Vive la -nation!" Madame Campan, who was at a window looking into the garden, -saw some of the gunners go up to the king, and thrust their fists in -his face, insulting him in the most brutal language. He was obliged -to pass along the terrace of the Feuillants, which was crowded with -people, separated from the furious multitude merely by a tricolour -line, but he went on in spite of all sorts of menaces and abuse. He -saw the battalions file off before his face, and traverse the garden -with the intention of joining the assailants in the Place du Carrousel, -whilst the gensdarmes at the colonnade of the Louvre and other places -did the same. This completely extinguished all hope in the unhappy -king. The Viscomte Du Bouchage, seeing the situation of Louis from -the palace, descended in haste with another nobleman, to bring him -in before some fatality happened to him. He complied, and returned -with them. When the gunners thrust their fists in his face, Madame -Campan says Louis turned as pale as death; yet he had shown no want -of courage, had it been of the right sort. He had, indeed, refused to -wear a kind of defensive corset which the queen had had made for him, -saying, on the day of battle it was his duty to be uncovered, like the -meanest of his servants. When the royal family came in again, Madame -Campan says, "The queen told me all was lost; that the king had shown -no energy, and that this sort of review had done more harm than good." -The royal family, amidst insults and reproaches, walked on fast to the -Assembly, and placed themselves under its protection. Vergniaud, the -president, assured them of safety. - -Hardly had they arrived, when a discharge of cannon was heard. The -Assembly was horror-struck; and the king exclaimed, "I assure you I -have forbidden the Swiss to fire!" But he was interrupted by fresh -reports of cannon, showing that a fierce conflict was taking place at -the Tuileries. No sooner was the royal family gone than the gensdarmes -and the National Guard fraternised with the people, and breaking open -the chief gate with hatchets rushed into the court. They then formed -in column, and turning the guns which had been left in the court on -the palace, they called out to the Swiss within to give up the place -to them, and they would be friends. The Swiss, to show their amicable -disposition, threw cartridges out of the windows, but remained firm to -their duty. Some of the mob, with long poles and hooks at the end, then -dragged some of the Swiss out of the vestibule and murdered them. They -next fired three of the cannon right into the palace, and the Swiss -thereupon returned a smart fire of musketry. Those of the servants -and courtiers that still remained in the palace now made haste to -escape, if possible. Cléry, one of the king's valets-de-chambre, who -has left a vivid narrative of these events, escaped by dropping from -a window upon the terrace. At the same moment the mob was breaking -in at the grand entrance. They found a stout piece of timber placed -as a barrier across the staircase, and the Swiss and some of the -National Guard entrenched behind it; then commenced a fierce struggle; -the barrier was forced, and the throng pushed back the Swiss up the -staircase. These now fired a sharp volley, and the crowd fled, crying -that they were betrayed. They were struck by another volley in their -retreat, and the Swiss then descended into the court, made themselves -masters of the cannon, and, firing, killed a great number. Had the -Swiss followed their advantage and scoured the streets of the city, -they would have completely trodden out this insurrection, releasing -the royal family, and, had there been any one in command capable of -it, he would have ended the Revolution as promptly as Buonaparte did -afterwards. Buonaparte, then a poor lieutenant of artillery, was -himself a spectator of the scene; and it was his opinion that the Swiss -only wanted an adequate commander to crush the whole rebellion. But, by -that fatality which attended all Louis XVI.'s affairs, at this moment -arrived M. d'Hervilly from the Assembly with the king's order not to -fire on the people, but to follow d'Hervilly to the Assembly. This was, -in fact, to leave the palace at the mercy of the mob. Such as were in -the court did follow d'Hervilly to the Assembly, where he promised them -their lives and security under the protection of that body. At this -sight the populace recovered their courage. The palace was attacked -on both sides; the crowds every moment became greater, and the Swiss -poured successive volleys upon them from the windows. Numbers fell -dead before they forced an entrance; but this once effected, the crowd -not only rushed in a dense mass up the great staircase, but dragged up -cannon by main force to blow open the interior doors. For some time -the Swiss made a stout stand against this raging mob; but being few -against tens of thousands, and having exhausted their cartridges, they -grounded their arms and called for quarter. They called in vain; the -bloodthirsty sansculottes commenced a relentless massacre of them; -women and children, armed with knives, assisted in their slaughter. The -unhappy men, fixing their bayonets, drove the furious mass before them, -resolving to cut their way through the Champs Elysées to Courbevoie, -where was another detachment of their countrymen in barracks; but no -sooner were they outside than they were surrounded and shot and cut -down without mercy. Vainly did they cry for quarter; none was given. -They then broke and fled in small parties, one of them seeking to gain -the Assembly for protection; but they were butchered, nearly to a man, -their heads stuck on pikes and paraded through the city. - -The butcheries were not terminated till late at night; but the shouts -of victory had, so early as eleven o'clock in the morning, informed the -Assembly that the people were masters of the Tuileries. Numbers of -the insurrectionists had appeared at the Assembly from time to time, -crying, "_Vive la Nation!_" and the members replied with the same cry. -A deputation appeared from the Hôtel de Ville, demanding that a decree -of dethronement should be immediately passed, and the Assembly so far -complied as to pass a decree, drawn up by that very Vergniaud who had -assured the king that the Assembly was prepared to stand to the death -for the defence of the constituted authorities. This decree suspended -the royal authority, appointed a governor for the Dauphin, stopped -the payment of the Civil List, but agreed to a certain allowance to -the royal family during the suspension, and set apart the Luxembourg -for their residence. The Luxembourg Palace being reported full of -cellars and subterranean vaults and difficult of defence, the Temple, a -miserable dilapidated old abbey, was substituted, and the royal family -were conveyed thither. - -The triumph of the mob had consummated the triumph of Jacobinism. -The Republic was at length established, but not to the benefit of -the Girondists. The ruin of royalty, for which they had so zealously -laboured, was in reality their own ruin. The Jacobins, and at their -head the sanguinary Robespierre, were left without a rival, except -in that mob by which they worked, and which was destined to destroy -them too. Danton appeared before the Assembly on the morning of -the 10th, at the head of a deputation of the Commune, to state -what had been done, and said plainly, "The people who send us to -you have charged us to declare that they think you worthy of their -confidence, but that they recognise no other judge of the extraordinary -measures to which necessity has forced them to recur than the French -nation--our sovereign and yours--convoked in primary Assemblies." -This was announcing without disguise that the Clubs were the supreme -authorities. The Assembly felt its weakness and professed to approve of -everything. Next, the new Ministers were chosen; Roland, as Minister -of the Interior; Servan, as War Minister; and Clavière as Minister -of Finance. But to these were added Danton as Minister of Justice, -Mongé as Minister of the Marine, and Le Brun as Minister of Foreign -Affairs. They were to receive instructions, not from Louis, but from -the Assembly. And now came into full light the mortal antagonism of -the Assembly and the Clubs, and the real ascendency of the latter. -The Assembly voted for the education of the Dauphin; the Clubs called -for the utter removal of royalty. The Assembly recommended an active -campaign against Foreign Powers, but mercy to the vanquished; the -Clubs called for instant and universal vengeance on all supporters of -royalty, who, they said, had intended to massacre the people and bring -in the Prussians. They declared that there was no need of electoral -bodies to form a new Assembly, but that every man, and some said every -woman, was entitled to vote; and they insisted that the people ought to -come in arms to manifest their wishes to the legislative body. This was -plainly-avowed mob rule. Marat argued loudly for this and for purging -France, as he called it, by cutting off every man, woman, and child -that was not for mob rule; and Robespierre demanded the removal of the -Assembly as effete and the summoning of a Convention. His advice was -adopted, and the National Democratic Convention was convoked for the -21st of September. In the interval the Royalists were murdered in the -prisons, and the Revolutionary Commune established at Paris. News of -the most alarming character arrived from the frontier, Lafayette had -gone over to the enemy, and the Prussians had taken Longwy. - -At this point the advance of the Prussians was unexpectedly checked. -After the capture of Verdun, on the 2nd of September, they had spread -themselves over the plains of the Meuse, and occupied, as their -main centre, Stenay. Dumouriez and his army lay at Sedan and in its -neighbourhood. To reach him and advance on Châlons in their way to -Paris, the Allies must pass or march round the great forest of Argonne, -which extends from thirteen to fifteen leagues, and was so intersected -with hills, woods, and waters, that it was at that time impenetrable -to an army except through certain passes. These were Chêne-Populeux, -Croix-aux-Bois, Grand Pré, La Chalade, and Islettes. The most important -were those of Grand Pré and Islettes, which however were the two most -distant from Sedan. The plan therefore was to fortify these passes; -and in order to do this Dumouriez immediately ordered Dillon to march -forward and occupy Islettes and La Chalade. This was effected; a -division of Dillon's forces driving the Austrian general, Clairfayt, -from the Islettes. Dumouriez followed, and occupied Grand Pré, and -General Dubouquet occupied Chêne-Populeux, and sent a detachment to -secure Croix-aux-Bois between Grand Pré and Chêne-Populeux. - -[Illustration: LOUIS XVI. AND MARIE ANTOINETTE IN THE PRISON OF THE -TEMPLE. - -FROM THE PAINTING BY E. M. WARD. R.A.] - -On the 10th of September the Prussians began to examine the passes -of the forest; and finding them defended, they attacked the French -entrenchments but were everywhere repulsed. On the 11th, they -concentrated their efforts on the pass of Grand-Pré, defended by -Dumouriez himself, and were again repulsed by General Miranda at -Mortaume, and by General Stengel at St. Jouvion. The Allies, thus -unexpectedly brought to a check, for they had been led by the Emigrants -to expect a disorganised or as yet undisciplined army, determined to -skirt the forest and endeavour to turn it near Sedan. Whilst engaged in -this plan, the Austrians discovered the weakness of the force in the -defile of Croix-aux-Bois, where only two battalions and two squadrons -of volunteers were posted, for Dumouriez had not examined the pass -himself and was assured that this force was amply sufficient. Once -aware of this mistake, the Austrians, under the Duke de Ligne, briskly -attacked the position and drove the French before them. Dumouriez, -informed of this disorder, ordered forward General Chasot with a strong -force, who defeated the Austrians, killed De Ligne, and recovered the -pass. But the advantage was but momentary; the Austrians returned to -the charge with a far superior force, and again cleared the pass and -remained in possession of it. Thus Dumouriez saw his grand plan of -defence broken up; and finding that Chasot, who had fallen back on -Vouziers, was cut off from him on his left along with Dubouquet, he -saw the necessity of falling back himself into the rear of Dillon, -on his right, who was yet master of the Islettes and the road to -St. Menehould. He then sent messages to Chasot, Dubouquet, and to -Kellermann, to direct their march so as to meet him at St. Menehould. - -[Illustration: MARIE ANTOINETTE (1783.)] - -At the same time, the Duke of Brunswick was approaching from the rear, -and Kellermann from Metz, but both with equal tardiness. Dumouriez -dispatched a courier to order Kellermann, on arriving, to take his -position on the heights of Gisancourt, commanding the road to Châlons -and the stream of the Auve; but Kellermann, arriving in the night of -the 19th, instead of reaching the heights of Gisancourt, advanced -to the centre of the basin at Valmy, where, on the morning of the -20th, he found himself commanded by the Prussians, who had come up -and formed on the heights of La Lune, when, had Kellermann taken the -position assigned him on Gisancourt, he would have commanded La Lune. -The Prussians had been in full march for Châlons when they took post -here, and discovered Kellermann below them by the mill of Valmy, and -Dumouriez above on the heights of Valmy. Kellermann, perceiving the -error of his position, and that the Prussians would soon seize on the -heights of Gisancourt, which he ought to occupy, sent to Dumouriez for -assistance to extricate himself. The King of Prussia, perceiving that -forces were thrown forward towards Kellermann's position, imagined that -the French meant to cut off his march towards Châlons, and immediately -commenced firing. From the heights of La Lune and of Gisancourt, which -he now occupied, he poured a deadly fire of artillery on Kellermann; -and the Austrians, about to attempt to drive the French from the -heights of Hyron, if they succeeded, would leave him exposed on all -sides. The battle now was warmly contested, but only through the -artillery. A shell falling into one of Kellermann's powder waggons -exploded it, and occasioned much confusion. The King of Prussia thought -this the moment to charge with the bayonet, and now, for the first -time, the Revolutionary soldiers saw the celebrated troops, bearing -the _prestige_ of the great Frederick, marching down upon them in -three columns, with the steady appearance of victory. Kellermann, to -inspirit his inexperienced soldiers, shouted, "_Vive la Nation!_" The -troops caught the enthusiasm of the cry, replied with a loud "_Vive -la Nation!_" and dashed forward. At this sight the Duke of Brunswick -was astonished; he had been led to expect nothing but disorder and -cowardice; he halted, and fell back into his camp. This movement raised -the audacity of the French; they continued to cannonade the Prussians, -and after one or two more attempts to reach them with the bayonet, -Brunswick found himself, as night fell, in anything but a victorious -position. About twenty thousand cannon shots had been exchanged, whence -the battle was called the cannonade of Valmy. Yet there stood the -French, who, according to the reports of the Emigrants, were to have -run off at the first smell of powder, or to have come over to them -in a body. The next morning it was worse. Kellermann, in the night, -had recovered himself from his false position; had gained the heights -of Gisancourt which he should have occupied at first; had driven the -Prussians thence, and now commanded them in La Lune. - -The condition of the Prussian camp was daily growing worse; the troops -were compelled to kill their horses for food; they were drenched with -heavy rains and decimated by dysentery. The King of Prussia and the -Duke of Brunswick were full of resentment at the false representations -of the Emigrants, who had assured them that they would have little to -do but to march to Paris, loaded with the welcomes and supplies of the -people. Europe was surprised at the easy repulse of the Prussians; -with their reputation, it was expected that they would march rapidly -on Paris, and disperse the Republican troops with scarcely an effort. -But they were no longer commanded by old Frederick; and even he would -have found it difficult to make his way through a country which refused -the barest food for an army, and which almost to a man was in arms to -resist the foe. On the 24th of September overtures were made by the -Prussians for an exchange of prisoners, to which Dumouriez agreed, -refusing, however, to give up a single Emigrant captive. This led -to discussions on the general question, and having bargained for a -safe retreat, the Allies hurried homeward with all speed. Oppressed -by famine and disease, and disgusted with the Emigrants, who had led -them to suffering and disgrace, they made the best of their way to the -Rhine, and, at the end of October, reached Coblenz, a sorry spectacle, -reduced from eighty thousand, who had entered France three months -before confident of victory and fame, to fifty thousand humbled and -emaciated men. If Dumouriez had had unity and subordination amongst -his generals he would have been able by a forced march to outstrip the -Allies, cut them off from the Rhine, and scarcely a thousand of them -would have escaped. The blame thrown upon him for not thus inflicting a -terrible chastisement appears unmerited. - -After a visit to Paris, Dumouriez arrived at Valenciennes on the -27th of October, and prepared to follow the Austrian commander, -Saxe-Teschen, who had been in vain bombarding Lille. On the 5th of -November he overtook Saxe-Teschen at Jemappes. The Austrians were -strongly posted, but were only about fifteen thousand men opposed to -the sixty thousand French; yet they made a vigorous resistance. The -battle raged from early in the morning till two in the afternoon, -when the Austrians gave way. They retired, however, in good order; -and Dumouriez, who had led his forces into the field singing the -Marseillaise hymn, did not make much pursuit. Upwards of two thousand -men are said to have fallen on each side. The battle placed all -Flanders at the mercy of the French; Tournay opened its gates to -Labourdonnais, and Courtrai, Menin, and Bruges sent deputies to welcome -Dumouriez. Other towns rapidly followed their example. The country -had been already Jacobinised, and now fancied it was going to enjoy -liberty and equality in alliance with the French. The people were -soon undeceived. The French had no intention of anything but, under -those pretences, of subduing and preying on the surrounding nations. -Flanders had speedy proofs of what every country where the French came -had to expect. Jacobin Commissioners arrived from the Convention to -levy contributions for the maintenance of the army, as if they were a -conquered people. Dumouriez issued an order on entering Mons for the -clergy to advance one year's income for the same purpose. Saxe-Teschen -and old Marshal Bender evacuated Brussels, and on the 14th Dumouriez -entered and took up his headquarters there. He there made heavy forced -loans, and soon after arrived what was styled a Committee of Purchases -from Paris, headed by Bidermann, the banker, and partner of Clavière, -Minister of Finance. This Committee, on which were several Jews, made -all the bargains for the army, and paid for them--not in gold but in -the worthless _assignats_ of France. The Belgians remonstrated and -resisted, but in vain. Dumouriez advanced to Mechlin, having dispatched -Labourdonnais to lay siege to Antwerp and Valence, and to reduce -Namur. At Mechlin he found a great store of arms and ammunition, which -enabled him to equip whole flocks of volunteers who came after him from -France. On the 22nd, at Tirlemont, he again overtook Saxe-Teschen, who -made another stout resistance, and then retired to Liége, where the -Austrians made another stand on the 27th. They were repulsed, but with -heavy loss on both sides; and soon afterwards, Antwerp and Valence -having surrendered, all the Austrian Netherlands, except Luxembourg, -were in the hands of France within a single month. Dumouriez sent -forward Miranda, a Peruvian, who had superseded Labourdonnais at -Antwerp, to reduce Roermond, and to enter Holland by the seizure of -Maestricht; but the Convention were not yet prepared for this invasion -of Holland, and Dumouriez pushed on to Aix-la-Chapelle, where he again -defeated the Austrians on the 7th of December, and levying heavy -contributions there, took up his winter quarters in the ancient city of -Charlemagne, and within little more than a day's march of the Rhine. - -Whilst Dumouriez had thus overrun the Netherlands, other French -generals had been equally pushing on aggressions. Custine, with about -twenty thousand men, had marched upon the German towns on the Rhine; -had taken Spires, Worms, and Mayence by the 21st of October. These -towns abounded with Democrats, who had imbibed the grand doctrine -of the Rights of Man, and laboured, to their cost, under the same -delusion as the Belgians--that the French were coming solely for their -liberation and advantage. Custine advanced to Frankfort-on-the-Main, -which he plundered without mercy. Custine called loudly for -co-operation from Kellermann; but Kellermann not complying, he was -superseded by Beurnonville, who was ordered to take Trèves. He -attempted it, but too late in the season, and failed. Custine, who had -advanced too far from the main army to support his position, still, -however, garrisoned Frankfort with two thousand men, and took up his -own quarters at Ober-Ursel and Homburg, a little below Frankfort, in -the commencement of December. - -This was a broad indication of the French seizing, under the pretence -of propagating liberty, on what had been called the natural boundaries -of France in the time of Louis XIV.,--namely, the Rhine and the -Alps, thus including Belgium, part of Holland, Nice, and Savoy. -They dispatched emissaries to Victor Amadeus, the King of Sardinia, -offering to drive the Austrians out of Italy, and give Italy to the -Italians. As they had, however, previously sent numbers of their -Jacobin propagandists to inoculate his people with Republicanism, the -king refused their offers, and forbade General Semonville to enter -the country. On this, the Convention proclaimed war against him, and -ordered Montesquieu to invade Nice and Savoy. With an army of fifteen -thousand men and twenty pieces of artillery, Montesquieu entered -Savoy, and the few Savoyard troops being unable to compete with him, -the people, moreover, being already prepared by French Republicans, -he overran the country, entered Chambéry in triumph, and occupied -the province to the foot of Mont Cenis. Elated by the successes of -these campaigns, the French Convention passed a decree, declaring -that it would grant succour and fraternity to all peoples desirous of -recovering their liberty; it ordered its generals to give such aid -to all citizens who were, or might be, harshly treated on account of -their desire for liberty; and the generals were instructed to post this -decree in all public places to which they should carry the arms of the -Republic. Two days afterwards Savoy was formed into a new department as -the Department of Mont Blanc. - -On the 21st of September the Convention had met in the Tuileries. The -first act of the Convention was to send to the Legislative Assembly the -notification of its formation, and that the existence of that body was, -as a matter of course, at an end. They then marched in a body to the -Salle de Manege, and took possession of it. The Girondists now appeared -on the Right, the Jacobins on the Left, under the name of the Mountain, -and the Centre, or Moderates, took the name of the Plain. The first -speech and motion was made by Manuel, proposing that the President -of the Convention and of France should be lodged in the Tuileries, -attended by all the state which had accompanied the king, and that, -whenever he appeared in the House, all the members should receive him -standing. The motion was received with a storm of reprobation, and -dismissed. The second motion, made by Collot d'Herbois, was for the -immediate abolition of royalty. He was seconded by the Abbé Gregoire, -and it was unanimously abolished accordingly. No time was lost in -communicating this fact to the royal family in the Temple. - -The Convention proceeded to debate the question of Louis's trial. On -the 6th of November Valazé, a Girondist, presented to it the report of -the Committee of Twenty-Four. This report charged Louis Capet with high -treason against the nation, and declared that his punishment ought to -be more than simple deposition. The next day Mailhé, another Girondist, -presented the report of the Committee of Legislation, and accompanied -it by a speech, in which he accused Louis of all the crimes which had -been committed during the Revolution, and recommended the trial of -Charles I. as the model for his trial. The queen, he said, ought to -be tried by an ordinary tribunal, observing that the heads of queens -were no more inviolable than other women's heads. This was as plainly -intimating the wishes of the Girondists for the execution of the king -and queen as any Jacobins could do. In fact, so completely did his -remarks coincide with the views of the Jacobins, that he was applauded -by Jacobins, Girondists, and Plain. It was voted that the report should -be printed and circulated through the Departments; that a committee -should be appointed to collect the necessary papers and other evidence; -that these should be submitted to Louis, or his counsel; that the -Convention should fix the day of trial, and should pronounce sentence -by every member voting separately, and aloud. It was decreed that -Louis should be brought to the bar of the Convention on the 26th of -December. The king's demand to be allowed counsel having been conceded, -he began to prepare his defence. In the afternoon of the 16th, four -commissioners, who had been members of the Committee of Twenty-Four, -appeared, and presented him with a copy of his impeachment, and also -submitted to him a number of papers that were to be produced against -him. At half-past nine in the morning of the 26th all Paris was again -under arms, and Chambon, the mayor, appeared at the Temple, attended -by Santerre with a strong force. Louis was conducted to the mayor's -carriage, and was thus guarded to the Feuillants, the House of the -Convention. - -At the close of an admirable defence by his counsel Desèze, Louis rose -and read the following few remarks, which he had prepared:--"My means -of defence are now before you. I shall not repeat them. In addressing -you--perhaps for the last time--I declare that my conscience reproaches -me with nothing, and that my defenders have told you the truth. I was -never afraid that my conduct should be publicly examined; but it wounds -me to the heart to find, in the act of accusation, the imputation that -I caused the blood of the people to be spilt; and, above all, that the -calamitous events of the 10th of August are attributed to me. - -"I confess that the multiplied proofs which I have given at all times -of my love for the people, and the manner in which I have always -conducted myself, ought, in my opinion, to demonstrate that I was not -afraid to expose myself in order to prevent bloodshed, and ought to -clear me for ever from such an imputation." - -On the 14th of January, 1793, the members of the Convention met, amid a -mob surrounding the House, and demanding, "Death to the tyrant! Death -to him or to us!" Other crowds crammed the galleries. The debate, which -had begun immediately after the king's speech, was renewed, and furious -menaces and recriminations between the Girondists and the Mountain were -uttered. At length the Convention reduced all the questions to these -three: 1st. Is Louis Capet guilty of conspiring against the liberty -of the nation and the safety of the State? 2nd. Shall the judgment, -whatever it be, be referred to the sanction of the people? 3rd. What -punishment shall be inflicted on him? - -[Illustration: VIEW IN OLD PARIS: THE PORTE AU BLÉ, FROM THE END OF -THE OLD CATTLE MARKET TO THE PONT NOTRE DAME. (_From a Print by De -l'Espinasse in_ 1782.)] - -The debates and voting on these three questions occupied the -Convention till late in the evening of the 17th. On the first question -thirty-seven pronounced Louis guilty, but proposed only that he should -be taken care of for the general safety; six hundred and eighty-three -declared him guilty simply; and, as the Assembly consisted of seven -hundred and forty-nine members altogether, there was a majority -affirming his guilt of the whole, except twenty-nine members. He was -therefore declared, by the President, guilty of conspiracy against -the liberty and safety of of State. On the second question thirty-one -members were absent: four refused to vote; eleven voted conditionally; -two hundred and eighty--and these almost exclusively were members of -the Girondist section--for the appeal to the people; and four hundred -and twenty-three rejected it. The President, therefore, proclaimed that -the appeal to the people was declined. The last fatal question of death -to the monarch was put on the 16th. By this time the excitement was as -intense all over Paris as within the walls of the Convention itself. -It was found, that of the seven hundred and forty-nine members, three -hundred and eighty-seven voted in favour of death unconditionally, -while three hundred and thirty-four voted in favour of Louis' -detention, or imprisonment, or death under defined conditions and in -certain circumstances. Twenty-eight votes were not accounted for. -Either they were lost amidst the excitement of the hour, or members to -that number took no part in the decision. The king's death, therefore, -was carried by a majority of only fifty-three votes. Then came the -question of a reprieve. - -On the 20th, at three o'clock in the morning, the voting on this point -terminated, and the President declared that there was a majority of -three hundred and eighty votes against three hundred and ten, and that -there could be no reprieve; the execution must take place without -delay. Louis met his death with dignity on the 21st of January, 1793. - -For a short time quiet prevailed, as if the nation, and Europe, too, -were stunned by the news of the execution of the king. In spite of the -loud talk of the Jacobins and sansculottes throughout France, there -was a startled sense of terror--a foreboding of calamity. In La Vendée -there was intense horror and indignation. Abroad, every monarchy seemed -thrown into a new attitude by the death of Louis. Spain and England, -which had maintained a careful neutrality, assumed a threatening -aspect. Germany, which had not yet federally allied itself with the -movements of Austria and Prussia, became agitated with resentment; -and Holland, by the fear of suffering the fate of Belgium. The axe -which severed the head of Louis from his body seemed to sever every -international sympathy with France. In England, the sensation on the -news of the execution was profound. People in general had not believed -that the French would proceed to such an extremity with a monarch of so -inoffensive a character. The crime seemed to verify all the predictions -and the denunciations of Burke. There was, except amongst a certain -class of almost frantic Republicans, a universal feeling of abhorrence -and execration. There was a gloomy sense of approaching war; a gloomy -sense, as if the catastrophe was a national rather than a foreign one. -Pitt had hitherto maintained a position of neutrality. He had contrived -to avoid giving any support to the royal family of France, which must -have produced immediately hostile consequences, but he had not failed, -from time to time, to point out in Parliament the atrocious conduct of -the French revolutionists, which justified all the prophecies of Burke, -and threw shame on the laudatory language of Fox. - -Whilst the fate of Louis XVI. was drawing to a crisis, the question -of danger menaced by the French revolution had been warmly discussed -in the British Parliament. The Government had already called out the -militia when Parliament met on the 13th of December, 1792. The speech -from the throne attributed this to the attempts of French incendiaries -to create disturbance in the country, coupled with the doctrines of -aggression promulgated by the French Convention, and their invasion -of Germany and the Netherlands, which had already taken place. The -latter country was overrun with French armies, and Holland, our ally, -was threatened. The Address to the Speech, in the Commons, was moved -by Mr. Wallace and seconded by Lord Fielding in the same tone. Fox, -on the other hand, strongly opposed the warlike spirit of the speech. -He declared that he believed every statement in the royal speech was -unfounded, though the invasion of Germany and of the Netherlands -was no myth. Fox had not yet, despite the horrors perpetrated by -the French revolutionists, given up his professed persuasion of -the good intentions of that people--a wonderful blindness--and he -recommended that we should send a fresh ambassador to treat with the -French executive. Grey and Sheridan argued on the same side; Windham -and Dundas defended the measures of Government, declaring that not -only had the French forced open the navigation of the Scheldt, the -protection of which was guaranteed by Britain, but that they were -preparing for the regular subjugation of Holland. Burke declared -that the counsels of Fox would be the ruin of England, if they could -possibly prevail. He remarked that nothing was so notorious as the -fact that swarms of Jacobin propagandists were actively engaged in -disseminating their levelling principles in Great Britain, and were in -close co-operation with Republican factions. These factions had sent -over deputations to Paris, who had been received by the Jacobin society -and by the Convention. He read the addresses of Englishmen and Irishmen -resident in Paris, and of Joel Barlow and John Frost, deputies of the -Constitutional Society of London. Burke said the question was, if they -permitted the fraternising of these parties with the French Jacobins, -not whether they should address the throne, but whether they should -long have a throne to address, for the French Government had declared -war against all kings and all thrones. Erskine replied, ridiculing the -fears of Burke, and denouncing the prosecution of Paine's "Rights of -Man" by Government. The Address was carried by a large majority. Fox, -however, on the 14th of December, moved an amendment on the Report; -and in his speech he rejoiced in the triumph of the French arms over -what he called the coalition of despots, Prussia and Austria. He -declared the people of Flanders had received the French with open -arms; that Ireland was too disaffected for us to think of going to -war; and that it was useless to attempt to defend the Dutch, for the -people there would go over to France too. He again pressed on the House -the necessity of our acknowledging the present French Government, -and entering into alliance with it. He said France had readily -acknowledged the Revolution in England, and entered into treaty with -Cromwell. Burke again replied to Fox, declaring that France had no real -Government at all to enter into terms with. It was in a condition of -anarchy, one party being in the ascendency one day, another the next; -that such was not the condition of England under Cromwell. There was -a decided and settled Republican Government, but a Government which -did not menace or overthrow all monarchies around it, any more than -Switzerland or the United States of America did now. Dundas reminded -the House that we were bound by treaties to defend Holland if attacked, -and that we must be prepared for it. Whigs, who had hitherto voted -with Fox, now demanded to whom we were to send an ambassador--to the -imprisoned king, to the Convention, or to the clubs who ruled the -Convention? Fox's amendment was rejected without a division. - -Undismayed, Fox renewed the contest on the following day, December -15th, by moving that an humble address should be presented to his -Majesty, praying him to send an ambassador to France to treat with the -persons constituting the existing executive Government. He said that -he did not mean to vindicate what had taken place in that country, -although, if we condemned the crimes committed in France, we must also -condemn those of Morocco and Algiers, and yet we had accredited agents -at the courts of those countries. - -Grey followed, contending that we ought to avoid the calamities of war -by all possible means. A long debate ensued, in the midst of which Mr. -Jenkinson declared that on that very day, whilst they were discussing -the propriety of sending an ambassador to France, the monarch himself -was to be brought to trial, and probably by that hour was condemned to -be murdered. All the topics regarding Holland and Belgium were again -introduced. Fox was supported by Grey, Francis, Erskine, Whitbread, and -Sheridan; but his motion was negatived without a division. - -On Monday, the 17th, Fox renewed the discussion, supported by Mr. Grey, -who complained that at a so-called loyal meeting held at Manchester, -the people had been incited to attack the property of those of more -liberal views; and that an association had been formed in London, at -the "Crown and Anchor" Tavern, which had issued a paper called "A -Pennyworth of Truth from Thomas Bull to his Brother John," containing -most unfounded censures on the Dissenters, whom it charged as being the -authors of the American war. He declared that this paper was far more -inflammatory than Paine's "Rights of Man," and he desired that it might -be read at the table. Fox severely criticised the conduct of the loyal -associations, and the means taken by the subscription papers to mark -out those who maintained Liberal opinions; all such marked persons, -he said, were in danger, on any excitement, of having their persons -or houses attacked. He mentioned one paper concluding with the words, -"Destruction to Fox and all his Jacobin crew!" This was, he thought, -pretty plainly marking him out for such treatment as Dr. Priestley and -Mr. Walker had received. The motion was rejected. - -Immediately after this, Fox encouraged the formation of a Society -of Friends of the Liberty of the Press, of which Erskine and Horne -Tooke were members. As several French emissaries were traversing the -country disseminating their opinions, Lord Grenville, on the 19th of -December, 1792, introduced a bill into the House of Lords, subjecting -aliens to certain regulations not included in the ordinary Alien Bill. -All foreigners were to announce themselves on their arrival, and -surrender any arms brought with them; they were to take out passports, -and to have them viséd on every fresh removal through the country, -so that their movements might be known to the authorities; those who -had arrived during the year 1792 to be particularly observed, and -the motives for their coming ascertained; all such foreigners as -received allowances from the British Government to be distributed -into particular districts, under the eye of the authorities. With -some opposition, this Bill was carried. The Marquis of Lansdowne -forthwith moved that a negotiation should be immediately opened with -the French Government, requiring it to receive back the numerous -Frenchmen driven into exile, or to provide for their support, and at -the same time to endeavour to save Louis XVI. from the terrible fate -which threatened him. This was negatived on the declaration of other -lords, who said that both propositions would be useless; the latter -one would in all probability hasten, rather than avert, the fate of -the French king. In the Commons, Fox and Sheridan strenuously resisted -the new Alien Bill, and Burke as vehemently supported it. He declared -that no measures of precaution could be too strict; that thousands of -daggers had been manufactured in Birmingham for France, and intending -to produce a startling effect he drew an actual dagger from his bosom, -and flinging it on the floor of the House exclaimed, "That is what you -are to obtain from an alliance with France. You must equally proscribe -their tenets and their persons; you must keep their principles from -your minds, and their daggers from your hearts!" In the French -Convention such an action would have created a sensation, but in the -matter-of-fact British Parliament it produced only surprise followed -by laughter. Fox endeavoured as much as possible to weaken the sense -of danger of French principles, though he expressed his abhorrence of -the September massacres. The Bill was passed, and was succeeded by one -prohibiting the circulation of French _assignats_, bonds, promissory -notes, etc., and another, prohibiting the exportation of naval stores, -saltpetre, arms, and ammunition. - -On the 30th of January, 1793, Dundas announced to the House of Commons -a message from the throne, communicating the news of the execution of -the French king. This was accompanied by copies of a correspondence -with M. Chauvelin, the late plenipotentiary of Louis, and of an order -for his quitting the kingdom, in consequence of this sanguinary -act. The message made a deep impression on the House, though the -circumstances were already well known. It was agreed to take these -matters into consideration on the 2nd of February, when Pitt detailed -the correspondence which had for some time taken place between the -British Cabinet and the French Government. He said that Britain, -notwithstanding many provocations, had carefully maintained an attitude -of neutrality, even when, in the preceding summer, France was at war -with Austria and Prussia, and was menacing our Dutch allies. The -French, on their part, had, he said, made similar professions. They had -publicly renounced all aggression, and yet they had annexed Saxony, -overrun Belgium, and now contemplated the invasion of Holland. They -had done more: they had plainly menaced this country with invasion. -So recently as the last day of the year, their Minister of Marine had -addressed a letter to the seaports of France, in which this was the -language regarding England:--"The King and his Parliament mean to make -war against us. Will the English Republicans suffer it? Already these -free men show their discontent, and the repugnance they have to bear -arms against their brothers, the French. Well, we will fly to their -succour; we will make a descent on the island; we will lodge there -fifty thousand caps of liberty; we will plant there the sacred tree; we -will stretch out our arms to our Republican brethren, and the tyranny -of their Government shall soon be destroyed!" There was a strong war -spirit manifest in the House. Fox and his diminished party combated -it in vain. The same prevailing expression was exhibited in a similar -debate in the House of Lords, in which Lord Loughborough--who, on the -20th of January, succeeded Thurlow as Lord Chancellor--supported the -views of Ministers. But there was little time allowed for the two -Houses to discuss the question of peace or war, for on the 11th of -February Dundas brought down a royal message, informing the Commons -that the French had declared war on the 1st of February, against both -Britain and Holland. On the following day Pitt moved an Address to his -Majesty, expressing a resolve to support him in the contest against -France. In the debate, Burke declared the necessity of war against a -nation which had, in fact, proclaimed war against every throne and -nation. At the same time, he declared that it would be a war in defence -of every principle of order or religion. It would not be the less a -most desperate war. France was turning almost every subject in the -realm into a soldier. It meant to maintain its armies on the plunder -of invaded nations. Trade being ruined at home by the violence of mob -rule, the male population was eager to turn soldiers, and to live on -the spoils of the neighbouring countries. Lyons alone, he said, had -thirty thousand artisans destitute of employment; and they would find -a substitute for their legitimate labour in ravaging the fields of -Holland and Germany. He deemed war a stern necessity. A similar Address -was moved and carried in the Peers. - -On the 18th of February, however, Fox moved a string of resolutions -condemnatory of war with France. They declared that that country -was only doing what every country had a right to do--reorganise its -internal Constitution; that, as we had allowed Russia, Prussia, and -Austria to dismember Poland, we had no right to check the aggressions -of France on these countries; as we had remained quiescent in the one -case, we were bound to do so in the other, and not to make ourselves -confederates of the invasion of Poland; and his final resolution went -to entreat his Majesty not to enter into any engagements with other -Powers which should prevent us from making a separate peace with -France. Burke did not lose the opportunity of rebuking Fox for his long -advocacy of the Empress Catherine, whose unprincipled share in the -partition of Poland he was now compelled to reprobate. The resolutions -of Fox were negatived by two hundred and seventy votes against -forty-four. Not daunted by this overwhelming majority, Fox again, on -the 21st of February, brought forward his resolution in another form, -declaring that there were no sufficient causes for war. The motion was -negatived without a division. - -[Illustration: TRIAL OF LOUIS XVI. (_See p._ 409.)] - -During these debates, Ministers detailed the proceedings which had -for some time past taken place between the Governments of France and -Britain, to show that the maintenance of peace was impossible. The -chief of these transactions were briefly these:--From the date of the -conferences at Pillnitz in 1791, when Prussia and Austria resolved to -embrace the cause of the French king, and invited the other Powers to -support them, Britain declared, both to those Powers and to France, -her intention of remaining neutral. It was no easy matter to maintain -such neutrality. To the Jacobin leaders, every country with an orderly -Government, and still more a monarchy, was an offence. Against Britain -they displayed a particular animus, which the most friendly offices -did not remove. When, towards the end of 1791, the Declaration of -the Rights of Man having reached St. Domingo, the negroes rose in -insurrection to claim these rights, Lord Effingham, the Governor of -Jamaica, aided the French Colonial Government with arms and ammunition, -and the fugitive white people with provisions and protection. When -this was notified to the National Assembly, with the King of Britain's -approval of it, by Lord Gower, the ambassador at Paris, a vote of -thanks was passed, but only to the British nation, and on condition -that not even Lord Effingham's name should be mentioned in it. Other -transactions on the part of the French still more offensive took place -from time to time, but Britain still maintained her neutrality. When -war was declared by France against Austria, in April, 1792, Chauvelin -announced the fact to the British Government, and requested that -British subjects should be prohibited from serving in any foreign army -against France. Government at once issued an order to that effect. -In June the French Government, through Chauvelin, requested the good -offices of Britain in making pacific proposals to Prussia and Austria; -but find that France expected more than friendly mediation--actual -armed coalition with France--the British Government declined this, as -contrary to existing alliances with those Powers. The proclamations of -the French Government were already such as breathed war to Europe; all -thrones were menaced with annihilation. At this time Mr. Miles, who -exerted himself to maintain a friendly feeling between the nations, -records, in his correspondence with the French Minister Lebrun and -others, that Roland declared to one of his friends that peace was out -of the question; that France had three hundred thousand men in arms, -and that the Ministers must make them march as far as ever their legs -could carry them, or they would return and cut all their throats. - -This was the state of things when, on the 17th of August, 1792, the -French deposed Louis, and prepared for his death. Lord Gower was -thereupon recalled, on the plain ground that, being accredited alone to -the king, and there being no longer a king, his office was at an end; -he was, however, ordered to take a respectful leave, and to assure the -Government that Britain still desired to maintain peaceful relations. -Yet at this very time London was swarming with paid emissaries of the -French Government, whose business was to draw over the people to French -notions of republican liberty. Nay, more, Lebrun, the Foreign Minister, -took no pains to conceal the assurance of the French that Ireland would -revolt and that France would secure it. On the 18th of November a -great dinner was given at White's Hotel in Paris, at which Lord Edward -Fitzgerald and other Irish Republicans, Thomas Paine, Santerre, and a -host of like characters, English, Irish, French, and others, toasted -the approaching National Convention of Great Britain and Ireland, and -amid wild acclamations drank the sentiment, "May revolutions never be -made by halves!" The very next day, the 19th, the National Convention -issued its decree, declaring war against all thrones and proclaiming -the enfranchisement of all peoples. This was immediately followed by -Jacobinised deputations of Englishmen, thanking the Convention for -this proclamation; and the President, in reply, said, "Citizens of -the world! Royalty in Europe is utterly destroyed, or on the point of -perishing on the ruins of feudality; and the Rights of Man, placed by -the side of thrones, are a devouring fire which will consume them all. -Worthy Republicans! Congratulate yourselves on the festival which you -have celebrated in honour of the French Revolution--the prelude to the -festival of nations!" - -Before the close of 1792 the French resolved to send an ambassador to -the United States to demand a return of the aid given to the Americans -in their revolution, by declaration of war against Great Britain. -M. Genet was dispatched for this purpose at the beginning of 1793. -Still neutrality was maintained, though our ambassador was withdrawn -from Paris, and M. Chauvelin was no longer recognised in an official -capacity by the British Court. This gentleman, however, continued in -London, ignoring the loss of his official character, and officiously -pressing himself on the attention of Ministers as still French -plenipotentiary. Lord Grenville was repeatedly obliged to remind him -that he had no power to correspond with him officially. He, however, -informed him privately that, if the French Government wished to be -duly recognised in Great Britain, they must give up their assumed -right of aggression on neighbouring countries and of interference with -established Governments. The French Girondist Ministers took advantage -of this letter which Chauvelin transmitted to them to send a reply, in -which, however, having now invaded Holland, they gave no intimation -of any intention of retiring. They even declared that it was their -intention to go to war with Britain; and if the British Government did -not comply with their desires, and enter into regular communication -with them, they would prepare for war. Lord Grenville returned this -letter, informing Chauvelin again that he could receive no official -correspondence from him in a private capacity. This was on the 7th of -January, 1793; Chauvelin continued to press his communications on Lord -Grenville, complaining of the Alien Bill, and on the 18th presented -letters of credence. Lord Grenville informed him, in reply, that his -Majesty in the present circumstances could not receive them. These -circumstances were the trial and conviction of Louis XVI. On the 24th -arrived the news of Louis's execution, and Chauvelin immediately -received passports for himself and suite, and an order to quit the -kingdom within eight days. This order created the utmost exultation -in the French Convention, for the Jacobins were rabid for war with -all the world, and on the 1st of February the Convention declared war -against Britain, and the news reached London on the 4th. Such was the -Ministerial explanation. - -The declaration of war against Britain by the Convention was unanimous. -The decree was drawn up by the Girondists, but it was enthusiastically -supported by the Jacobins, including Robespierre and Danton. A vote -creating _assignats_ to the amount of eight hundred million livres was -immediately passed, a levy of three hundred thousand men was ordered, -and to aggravate the whole tone of the affair, an appeal to the -people of Great Britain was issued, calling on them to act against and -embarrass their own Government. - -It must be confessed that it was impossible to keep peace with a nation -determined to make war on the whole world. Perhaps on no occasion had -the pride of the British people and their feelings of resentment been -so daringly provoked. War was proclaimed against Britain, and it was -necessary that she should put herself in a position to protect her -own interests. The country was, moreover, bound to defend Holland -if assaulted. But though bound by treaty to defend Holland, Great -Britain was not bound to enter into the defence of all and every one -of the Continental nations; and had she maintained this just line of -action, her share in the universal war which ensued would have been -comparatively insignificant. Prussia, Russia, and Austria had destroyed -every moral claim of co-operation by their lawless seizure of Poland, -and the peoples of the Continent were populous enough to defend their -own territories, if they were worthy of independence. There could be -no just claim on Britain, with her twenty millions of inhabitants, to -defend countries which possessed a still greater number of inhabitants, -especially as they had never been found ready to assist us, but on the -contrary. But Britain, unfortunately, at that time, was too easily -inflamed with a war spirit. The people as well as the Government were -incensed at the disorganising and aggressive spirit of France, and -were soon drawn in, with their Quixotism of fighting for everybody or -anybody, to league with the Continental despots for the purpose not -merely of repelling French invasions, but of forcing on the French a -dynasty that they had rejected. - -Fox and his party still maintained a vigorous and persevering endeavour -to remain at peace; but he weakened his efforts by professing to -believe that we might yet enter into substantial engagements with -the French, who had at this moment no permanent settled Government -at all, but a set of puppet Ministers, ruled by a Convention, and -the Convention ruled by a mob flaming with the ideas of universal -conquest and universal plunder. If Fox had advocated the wisdom of -maintaining the defensive as much as possible, and confining ourselves -to defending our Dutch allies, as we were bound, his words would have -had more weight; but his assurance that we might maintain a full and -friendly connection with a people that were butchering each other at -home, and belying all their most solemn professions of equity and -fraternity towards their dupes abroad, only enabled Pitt to ask him -with whom he would negotiate--Was it with Robespierre, or the monster -Marat, then in the ascendant? "But," added Pitt, "it is not merely to -the character of Marat, with whom we would now have to treat, that I -object; it is not to the horror of those crimes which have stained -their legislators--crimes in every stage rising above one another in -enormity,--but I object to the consequences of that character, and -to the effect of those crimes. They are such as render a negotiation -useless, and must entirely deprive of stability any peace which could -be concluded in such circumstances. The moment that the mob of Paris -comes under a new leader, mature deliberations are reversed, the most -solemn engagements are retracted, or free will is altogether controlled -by force. All the crimes which disgrace history have occurred in one -country, in a space so short, and with circumstances so aggravated, as -to outrun thought and exceed imagination." In fact, to have made an -alliance with France at that moment, and for long afterwards, would -have been to sanction her crimes, and to share the infamy of her -violence and lawlessness abroad. - -In the presence of this great exciting cause the remaining business -of the Session of the British Parliament appeared tame. Mr. R. Smith -introduced a petition for Parliamentary reform from Nottingham, and -this was followed by a number of similar petitions from other places: -but whilst French emissaries and English demagogues were preaching up -revolution, nobody would listen to reform, and a motion of Mr. Grey, -to refer these petitions to a committee, was rejected by two hundred -and eighty-two votes to forty-one. On the 25th of February Dundas -introduced an optimistic statement of the affairs of India, declaring -that dependency as very flourishing, in spite of the continuance of the -war with Tippoo; and this was preparatory to a renewal of the charter -of the East India Company, which was carried on the 24th of May. -Francis, Fox, and others, opposed the Bill, and made very different -statements in vain. The real condition of India was not destined to -force itself on the nation till it came in the shape of a bloody -insurrection, and seventy million pounds of debt, more than sixty years -afterwards. - -On the 6th of March the first blessings of war began to develop -themselves in the announcement, by Pitt, that his Majesty had engaged a -body of his Hanoverian troops to assist the Dutch; and, on the 11th, -by his calling on the House to form itself into a Committee of Ways and -Means to consider the propriety of raising a loan of four millions and -a half, and of issuing four millions of Exchequer Bills, in addition -to the ordinary revenue, to meet the demands of the year. Resolutions -for both these purposes were passed; and, on the 15th, a Bill was -introduced, making it high treason for any one to sell to the French -any muniments of war, bullion, or woollen cloth. Fox and his party -opposed this Bill, but it was readily carried through both Houses. - -The repulse of the French in their attack on Holland, and their -repeated defeats in Belgium, which will be mentioned in the next -chapter, induced the French Government to make overtures for peace -with Britain, but in a secret and most singular way. Instead of an -open proposal through some duly-accredited envoy, the proposals came -through a Mr. John Salter, a public notary of Poplar. This notary -delivered to Lord Grenville two letters from Lebrun the French Foreign -Minister, dated the 2nd of April, stating that France was desirous to -accommodate its differences with Britain, and, provided the idea was -accepted, M. Marat should be sent over with full powers, on passports -being duly forwarded. A Mr. John Matthews, of Biggin House, Surrey, -attested that these notes were perfectly genuine, and had been signed -in the presence of himself and Mr. John Salter. Lord Grenville, -suspecting a correspondence coming through so extraordinary a medium, -and believing that the design of the French was only to gain time, in -order to recover their losses, took no notice of the letters. Moreover, -as the Jacobins were then following up their attacks on the Girondists -from day to day, he saw no prospect of any permanence of this party in -power. In fact, they were expelled by the 2nd of June, and on the 22nd -of that month Lebrun was in flight to avoid arrest. Marat arrived, but -held no communications with Grenville, and very shortly returned to -France. Soon afterwards came indirect overtures through Dumouriez to -our ambassador, Lord Auckland, but they were too late. War had been -declared. - -Before the close of April a great commercial crisis had taken place in -England, and Ministers were compelled to make a new issue, by consent -of Parliament, of five millions of Exchequer Bills, to assist merchants -and manufacturers, under proper security. The sudden expansion of -industry which was met by an undue increase of the paper currency -rather than bullion, combined with reckless banking, produced the -crisis. It was calculated that out of the 350 provincial banks 100 -failed. In the circumstances the issue of Exchange Bills was a most -successful makeshift. - -[Illustration: ROBESPIERRE.] - -Fox did not suffer the Session to close without another powerful -effort to avoid war with France. A petition had been handed to him for -presentation to the Commons, drawn up by Mr. Gurney of Norwich, and -signed by the Friends and other inhabitants of that city, praying that -peace with France might be concluded. Fox not only agreed to present it -and support its prayer, but he earnestly exhorted Mr. Gurney and his -friends to promote the sending of petitions from other places for this -object, as the only means of influencing the House, bent determinedly -on war. On the 17th of June, only four days before the close of the -Session, Fox moved an Address to the Crown, praying that, as the French -had been driven out of Holland, peace should be made. In pursuance of -his object--a great one, if attainable--he did not spare his former -favourite, the Empress of Russia, and the other royal robbers of -Poland. Burke replied that Fox knew very well that the defence of -Holland was but a very partial motive for the war. The real obstacles -to peace were the avowed principles of the French--those of universal -conquest, of annexation of the kingdoms conquered, as already Alsace, -Savoy, and Belgium; their attempts on the Constitution of Great Britain -by insidious means; the murder of their own monarch held up as an -example to all other nations. To make peace with France, he said truly, -was to declare war against the rest of Europe, which was threatened -by France; and he asked with whom in France should we negotiate for -peace, if so disposed? Should it be with Lebrun, already in a dungeon, -or with Clavière, who was hiding from those who were anxious to take -his head? or with Egalité, who had been consigned to a dungeon at -Marseilles? Burke declared that you might as well attempt to negotiate -with a quicksand or a whirlwind as with the present ever-shifting and -truculent factions which ruled in France. - -The motion of Fox was negatived by a large majority, and on the 21st of -June the king prorogued Parliament. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Invasion of Holland by Dumouriez--He is defeated at Neerwinden - and goes over to the Enemy--Second Partition of Poland--The - Campaign in the Netherlands--And on the Rhine--The English - Fleets in the Channel and West Indies--Siege of Toulon--First - appearance of Napoleon Buonaparte--Fall of Lyons--The Reign of - Terror--Insurrection in La Vendée--Its brutal Suppression--Worship - of the Goddess of Reason--Opposition to the War in - England--Prosecutions for Sedition--Trials in Scotland--Discussions - on the subject in Parliament--Arrests of Horne Tooke, Thelwall, - Hardy, and others--Battle of the First of June--The War in the - West Indies--Annexation of Corsica--The Campaign of 1794--The - Prussian Subsidy--Successes of Pichegru against the Austrians--The - Struggle for the Sambre--Loss of Belgium--Danger of Holland--The - War in the South--The Reign of Terror continues--The Festival of - the Supreme Being--Death of Robespierre and his Associates--The - Thermidorians--Final extinction of Poland--The Portland Whigs - join the Ministry--Trials of Hardy, Horne Tooke, and their - Associates--Opening of Parliament--The Budget--Attempts at - Reform--Marriage of the Prince of Wales--His Allowance--The - French occupy Holland--It becomes a Republic--Prussia and Spain - leave the Coalition, but the War continues--Campaigns on the - Rhine and in Italy--The War in La Vendée and in Brittany--The - Expedition from England planned--Destruction of the Expedition - at Quiberon--Extinction of the War in La Vendée--Establishment - of the Directory--Attack on George the Third--The Budget--Pitt's - first Negotiations for Peace--Failure of Lord Malmesbury's - Mission--Successes in the West Indies and Africa--Expedition to - Bantry Bay--The Campaign of 1796--Retreat of the French--Napoleon's - Italian Campaign--The Battles of Arcole--A new British - Loan--Suspension of Cash Payments--Grievances of the Seamen--Mutiny - at Portsmouth--Its Pacification--Mutiny at the Nore--Descent on the - Welsh Coast--Campaign of 1797--Preliminaries of Leoben--Treaty of - Campo Formio--Lord Malmesbury's Mission to Lille. - - -Dumouriez was now making his projected attack upon Holland. On the -17th of February, 1793, he entered the Dutch territory, and issued a -proclamation, promising friendship to the Batavians, and war only to -the Stadtholder and his British allies. His success was brief, and he -was soon forced back at all points. He received peremptory orders from -the Convention to retire into Belgium. He obeyed with reluctance. On -Dumouriez' return to Belgium, he was greatly incensed at the wholesale -rapacity of the Commissioners of the Convention. They had plundered -the churches, confiscated the property of the clergy and the wealthy -inhabitants, and driven the people, by their insolence and violence, -into open revolt. He did not satisfy himself by simply reproving these -cormorants by words; he seized two of the worst of them, and sent them -to Paris under a military guard. General Moreton-Chabrillant, who -defended the Commissioners, he summarily dismissed; he restored the -plate to the churches, as far as he was able, and issued orders for -putting down the Jacobin clubs in the army. On the 16th of March he -was attacked at Neerwinden by the Prince of Saxe-Coburg, and after a -sharply-fought field, in which both himself and the Duke of Chartres -fought bravely, he was routed with a loss of four thousand killed and -wounded, and the desertion of ten thousand of his troops, who fled at -a great rate, never stopping till they entered France, and, spreading -in all directions, they caused the most alarming rumours of Dumouriez' -conduct and the advance of the enemy. The Convention at once dispatched -Danton and Lacroix to inquire into his proceedings, and, roused by -all these circumstances, no sooner had these two envoys left him than -he entered into communication with the Prince of Saxe-Coburg. Colonel -Mack, an Austrian officer, was appointed to confer with Dumouriez, -and it was agreed that he should evacuate Brussels, and that then the -negotiation should be renewed. Accordingly, the French retired from -Brussels on the 25th of March, and on the 27th they encamped at Ath, -where Dumouriez and Mack again met. The result of this conference was -the agreement of Dumouriez to abandon the Republic altogether, to march -rapidly on Paris, and disperse the Convention and the mother society -of the Jacobins. His designs, however, were suspected by the Jacobins, -and he was eventually compelled to go over to the enemy almost alone. -Dampierre, who had been appointed by the Convention to supersede -Dumouriez, took the command of the army, and established himself in -the camp at Famars, which covered Valenciennes. He was there attacked, -on the 8th of May, by the combined armies of Austrians, Prussians, -English, and Dutch, under Clairfayt, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg, and the -Duke of York. He was defeated with terrible slaughter, four thousand -men being killed and wounded, whilst the Allies stated their loss at -only eight hundred men. Dampierre himself lost a leg and died the -next day. Lamarque, who succeeded him, might have easily been made -to retreat, for the French were in great disorder; but the Allies -had resolved to advance no farther till Mayence should be retaken. -Lamarque, therefore, fortified himself in his camp at Famars, and -remained unmolested till the 23rd of the month. He was then attacked -and beaten, but was allowed to retire and encamp again between -Valenciennes and Bouchain. The Allies, instead of pushing their -advantages, waited the advance of the King of Prussia upon Mayence. -Custine, who was put in command of the Rhine, was enabled to keep back -the Prince of Hohenlohe, who had but an inconsiderable force, the King -of Prussia having been compelled to send a large force to Poland, -instead of forwarding it according to agreement to the Rhine. - -In fact, whilst these events had been proceeding on the frontiers of -France, Russia, Prussia, and Austria had been dividing Poland amongst -them. The King of Prussia, when contemplating his participation in -this vile business, issued a proclamation assigning the most virtuous -reasons for it. It was to check the spread of French principles in -Poland, which had compelled himself and his amiable allies, the -Empress of Russia and the Emperor of Germany, to invade Poland. But -these pretences were merely a cloak for a shameless robbery. Poland -abutted on Prussia with the desirable ports of Thorn and Dantzic, and -therefore Great Poland was especially revolutionary in the eyes of -Frederick William of Prussia. The Polish Diet exposed the hollowness -of these pretences in a counter-manifesto. This produced a manifesto -from Francis of Austria, who declared that the love of peace and -good neighbourhood would not allow him to oppose the intentions of -Prussia, or permit any other Power to interfere with the efforts of -Russia and Prussia to pacify Poland; in fact, his love of peace would -not allow him to discountenance an aggressive war, but his love of -good neighbourhood would allow him to permit the most flagrant breach -of good neighbourhood. As for the Empress of Russia, she had a long -catalogue of ingratitude against the Poles, in addition to their -Jacobinical principles, and for these very convenient reasons she had -now taken possession of certain portions of that kingdom, and called -on all the inhabitants of these districts to swear allegiance to -her immediately. The Empress having thus broken the ice of her real -motives, the King of Prussia no longer pretended to conceal his, but -called on all the inhabitants of Great Poland to swear allegiance to -him forthwith. The Russian Ambassador at Grodno commanded the Poles -to carry these orders of Russia and Prussia into effect by a circular -dated the 9th of April. The great Polish Confederation, which had -invited the interference of Russia in order to carry out their own -party views, were much confounded by these announcements of their -friends. They reminded the marauders of the engagements entered into by -Russia, Prussia, and Austria, at the time of the former partition, to -guarantee the integrity of the remainder. But this was merely parleying -with assassins with the knife at their throats. The aggressive Powers -by force of arms compelled poor King Poniatowski and the nobles to -assemble a Diet, and draw up and sign an instrument for the alienation -of the required territories. By this forced cession a territory, -containing a population of more than three millions and a half, was -made over to Russia; and another territory to Prussia, containing a -million and a half of inhabitants, together with the navigation of the -Vistula, with the port of Thorn on that great river, and of Dantzic -on the Baltic, so long coveted. As for the small remainder of what -once had been Poland, which was left to that shadow-king, Poniatowski, -it was bound down under all the old oppressive regulations, and had -Russian garrisons at Warsaw and other towns. But all these Powers were -compelled to maintain large garrisons in their several sections of the -appropriated country. - -[Illustration: VIEW IN THE OLD TOWN, WARSAW.] - -Thus it happened that the King of Prussia, with hands full of -aggression, did not appear on the Rhine to chastise the aggressions of -France, before the month of April. He brought with him about fifty -thousand men, Prussians, Saxons, Hessians, and Bavarians. He was joined -by fifteen or twenty thousand Austrians, under Wurmser, and five or six -thousand French Emigrants under the Prince of Condé. But the French -had on the Rhine one hundred and forty thousand men at least, of whom -twenty thousand were within the walls of Mayence. The Prussians laid -siege to that city, and the Austrians and British to Valenciennes. On -the 21st of July the French engaged to give up Mayence on condition -that they should be allowed to march out with the honours of war, and -this the King of Prussia was weak enough to comply with. They must, -of necessity, have soon surrendered at discretion; now they were at -liberty to join the rest of the army and again resist the Allies. -Valenciennes did not surrender until the 28th of July, and not till -after a severe bombardment by the Duke of York. Thus three months of -the summer had been wasted before these two towns, during which time -the French had been employed in drawing forces from all quarters to -the frontiers of Belgium, under the guidance of Carnot. The Duke of -York was recalled from Valenciennes to Menin, to rescue the hereditary -Prince of Orange from an overwhelming French force, against which his -half-Jacobinised troops showed no disposition to act. Having effected -his deliverance, the Duke of York marched on Dunkirk, and began, -towards the end of August, to invest it; but he was left unsupported by -the Prince of Orange, and being equally neglected by the Austrians, he -was compelled to raise the siege on the 7th of September, and retreated -with the loss of his artillery. The Prince of Orange was himself not -long unassailed. Houchard drove him from Menin, and took Quesnoy from -him, but was, in his turn, routed by the Austrian general Beaulieu, and -chased to the very walls of Lille. According to the recent decree of -the Convention, that any general surrendering a town or post should be -put to death, Houchard was recalled to be guillotined. There continued -a desultory sort of warfare on the Belgian frontiers for the remainder -of the campaign. On the 15th and 16th of October Jourdain drove the -Duke of Coburg from the neighbourhood of Maubeuge across the Sambre, -but the Duke of York coming up with fresh British forces, which had -arrived at Ostend under Sir Charles Grey, the French were repulsed, and -the Netherland frontiers maintained by the Allies for the rest of the -year. - -[Illustration: RETREAT OF THE ROYALISTS FROM TOULON. (_See p._ 423.)] - -On the Rhine, the war was carried on quite into the winter. The King of -Prussia did not stay longer than to witness the surrender of Mayence; -he then hurried away to look after his new Polish territory, and left -the army under the command of the Duke of Brunswick. Brunswick, in -concert with Wurmser and his Austrians, attacked and drove the French -from their lines at Weissenburg, took from them Lauter, and laid -siege to Landau. Wurmser then advanced into Alsace, which the Germans -claimed as their old rightful territory, and invested Strasburg. But -the Convention Commissioners, St. Just and Lebas, defended the place -vigorously. They called forces from all quarters; they terrified the -people into obedience by the guillotine, Lebas saying that with a -little guillotine and plenty of terror he could do anything. But he did -not neglect to send for the gallant young Hoche, and put him at the -head of the army. Wurmser was compelled to fall back; Hoche marched -through the defiles of the Vosges, and, taking Wurmser by surprise, -defeated him, made many prisoners, and captured a great part of -Wurmser's cannon. In conjunction with Pichegru, Dessaix, and Michaud, -he made a desperate attack, on the 26th of December, on the Austrians -in the fortified lines of Weissenburg, whence they had so lately -driven the French; but the Duke of Brunswick came to their aid, and -enabled the Austrians to retire in order. Hoche again took possession -of Weissenburg; the Austrians retreated across the Rhine, and the -Duke of Brunswick and his Prussians fell back on Mayence. Once there, -dissatisfied with the Prussian officers, he resigned his command, he -and Wurmser parting with much mutual recrimination. Wurmser was not -able long to retain Mayence; and the French not only regained all -their old positions, before they retired to winter quarters, but Hoche -crossed the lines and wintered in the Palatinate, the scene of so many -French devastations in past wars. The French also repulsed the enemy on -the Spanish and Sardinian frontiers. - -Though war had long been foreseen with France, when it took place we -had no fleet in a proper condition to put to sea. It was not till the -14th of July that Lord Howe, who had taken the command of the Channel -fleet, sailed from Spithead with fifteen ships of the line, three of -which were first-rates, but none of them of that speed and equipment -which they ought to have been. He soon obtained intelligence of a -French fleet of seventeen sail of the line, seen westward of Belleisle. -He sent into Plymouth, and had two third-rate vessels added to his -squadron. On the 31st of July he caught sight of the French fleet, but -never came up with them, the French ships being better sailers. After -beating about in vain, he returned to port, anchoring in Torbay on the -4th of September. At the end of October Howe put to sea again with -twenty-four sail of the line and several frigates, and several times -came near the French fleet, but could never get to engage. He, however, -protected our merchant vessels and disciplined his sailors. One French -ship was taken off Barfleur by Captain Saumarez of the _Crescent_, and -that was all. - -In the West Indies a small squadron and some land troops took the -islands of Tobago, St. Pierre, and Miquelon. At the invitation of the -planters, we also took possession of the western or French portion of -St. Domingo; but in Martinique, where we had had the same invitation, -the Royalist French did not support our efforts according to promise, -and the enterprise failed from the smallness of the force employed. -Besides these transactions, there occurred a severe fight between -Captain Courteney, of the frigate _Boston_, with only thirty-two -guns and two hundred men, and the _Ambuscade_, a French frigate of -thirty-six guns and four hundred picked men, in which both received -much damage, and in which Captain Courteney was killed, but in which -the Frenchman was compelled to haul off. In the East Indies we again -seized Pondicherry, and all the small factories of the French. - -The great maritime struggle of the year was at Toulon. The south of -France was then in active combination against the Convention and the -Jacobin faction. There was a determination in Toulon, Marseilles, -and other places on the coast to support the Royalist party in Aix, -Lyons, and other cities. For this purpose they invited the British to -co-operate with them. Lord Hood, having obtained from the people of -Toulon an engagement to surrender the fleet and town to him, to be held -for Louis XVII., arrived before that port in July, with, however, -only seven ships of the line, four frigates, and some smaller vessels. -Nearly all the old Royalist naval officers were collected in Toulon, -and were so eager for revenge on the Jacobin officers and sailors--who -had not only superseded them, but had persecuted them with all the -savage cruelty of their faction--that they were all for surrendering -their fleet to Lord Hood, and putting him in possession of the forts -and batteries. There was a firm opposition to this on the part of -the Republicans, both in the fleet and the town, but it was carried -against them. Besides the Royalist townsmen, there were ten thousand -Provençals in arms in the town and vicinity. As General Cartaux had -defeated the Royalists at Marseilles, taken possession of the town, -and, after executing severe measures on the Royalists there, was now in -full march for Toulon, there was no time to be lost. Lord Hood landed -a body of men under Captain Elphinstone, to whom the forts commanding -the port were quietly surrendered. Lord Hood was thus at once put into -possession of the best French port in the Mediterranean, and a great -fleet, with all the stores and ammunition. But he knew very well that -the place itself could not long be maintained against the whole force -of Republican France. He resolved, however, to defend the inhabitants, -who had placed themselves in so terrible a position with their -merciless countrymen, to the utmost of his power. He therefore urged -the Spaniards to come to his assistance, and they sent several vessels, -and three thousand men. He received reinforcements of ships and men -from Naples--the queen of which was sister to Marie Antoinette--and -from Sardinia. Fresh vessels and men also arrived from England. Lord -Mulgrave arrived from Italy, and at Lord Hood's request assumed -command, for the time, of the land forces. - -General Cartaux arrived and took up his position in the villages -around Toulon. He was reinforced by General Doppet, from the Rhone, -and General Dugommier, from the Var; and the latter had in his -corps-d'armée a young lieutenant of artillery, who contained in his yet -unknown person the very genius of war--namely, Napoleon Buonaparte. -Cartaux was a man who had risen from the ranks; Doppet had been a -physician in Savoy; and Dugommier was acting on a plan sent from the -Convention. Buonaparte suggested what he thought a much superior -plan. "All you need," he said, "is to send away the English; and to -do that, you have only to sweep the harbour and the roadstead with -your batteries. Drive away the ships, and the troops will not remain. -Take the promontory of La Grasse, which commands both the inner and -outer harbour, and Toulon will be yours in a couple of days." On this -promontory stood two forts, Equilette and Balaquier, which had been -much strengthened by the English. It was resolved to assault these -forts, and batteries opposite to them were erected by the French under -Buonaparte's direction. After much desperate fighting, vast numbers of -troops being pressed against the forts, that of Balaquier was taken. -This gave the French such command of the inner harbour, that Lord Hood -called a council of war, and showed the necessity of retiring with the -fleet, and thus enabling the Royalists to escape, who would otherwise -be exterminated by their merciless countrymen. This was agreed to, and -it was resolved to maintain the different forts till the ships had -cleared out. The Neapolitans behaved very ill, showing no regard for -anything but their own safety. They held two forts--one at Cape Lebrun, -and the other at Cape Lesset; these, they said, they would surrender -as soon as the enemy approached. They made haste to get their ships -and men out of harbour, leaving all else to take care of themselves. -The Spaniards and Piedmontese behaved in a much nobler manner. They -assisted willingly all day in getting on board the Royalists--men, -women, and children. All night the troops began to defile through a -narrow sallyport to the boats under the guns of the fort La Malaga. -This was happily effected; and then Sir Sidney Smith, who had recently -arrived at Toulon, and had volunteered the perilous office of blowing -up the powder-magazines, stores, arsenals, and the ships that could not -be removed, began his operations. He succeeded in setting fire to the -stores and about forty ships of war that were in the harbour. - -After the departure of the British fleet, the Jacobin troops, townsmen, -and galley convicts, were perpetrating the most horrible scenes on the -unfortunate Toulonese. Even the poor workmen who had been employed by -the English to strengthen the defences, were collected in hundreds, -and cut down by discharges of grape-shot. Three Jacobin commissioners, -the brother of Robespierre, Barras, and Freron, were sent to purge the -place, and besides the grape-shot the guillotine was in daily activity -exterminating the people. The very mention of the name of Toulon was -forbidden, and it was henceforth to be called Port de la Montagne. - -The troops of the Convention were equally successful against Lyons. -It was speedily invested by numerous troops, under the command of -Dubois-Crancé, one of the Commissioners of the Convention. On the 21st -of August he summoned the place to surrender, but the Lyonese held out -till the 2nd of October, when Couthon, one of the most ruthless of the -Jacobin deputies, arrived, with twenty-eight thousand armed peasants, -from Auvergne. He demanded that the city should be instantly bombarded, -and, if necessary, reduced to ruins. Dubois-Crancé said there was -no need for this merciless alternative, as the place must very soon -yield from famine. Couthon thereupon obtained an order from the -Convention to supersede Dubois-Crancé, as devoid of proper Republican -zeal; and on the 7th of October commenced a terrible bombardment. The -inhabitants came to a parley with Couthon, and agreed to surrender -without conditions. Couthon immediately appointed a committee to try -all rebels, and he sent his opinion of the population at large to the -Convention, describing the people as of three kinds--the wicked rich, -the proud rich, and the ignorant poor, who were too stupid to be good -Republicans. He proposed to guillotine the first class, to seize the -property of the second, and to remove the last into different quarters -of France. The Convention adopted his views cordially, and passed a -decree that Lyons should be destroyed; that nothing should be left but -the houses of the poor, the manufactories, the hospitals, the school of -arts, the public schools, and public monuments; that the name of Lyons -should be buried for ever, and that on its ruins should be erected a -monument bearing this inscription:--"Lyons made war against liberty: -Lyons is no more!" The name of the spot ever afterwards was to be the -Liberated Commune. The massacres were carried out by Collot d'Herbois. - -The same scenes, but on a still larger scale, were exhibiting in -the capital. The Reign of Terror was fully inaugurated, and rapidly -extending itself. At first, on the expulsion of the Girondists from the -Convention--that is, in June--the guillotinings were only fourteen. In -July the number was about the same; but in August Robespierre became -a member of the Committee of Public Safety, which carried on the -machinery of government, and then the work went on swimmingly. From the -moment that Robespierre took his place on the Committee, the stream -of blood flowed freely and steadily. His friend--if such monsters can -be said to have any friends--Barrère, who belonged to the timid Plain -till the Girondists were overthrown, now became his active agent. He -proposed, on the 7th of August, that William Pitt should be proclaimed -the enemy of the whole human race, and that a decree should be passed -that every man had a right to assassinate him. On the 9th it was -announced that the Republic was completed; that Hérault de Séchelles -had produced a new and perfect constitution, which was at once adopted -by the Convention. It was a constitution containing all the doctrines -of the Mountain, in the bombast of that truculent faction. As it -was quickly set aside, we need not detail its principles. Then this -constitution was celebrated on the 10th of August, the anniversary -sacred to the downfall of monarchy. Next followed fresh executions, -among the most notable victims being Marie Antoinette (October 16) and -Madame Roland (November 9), while most of the prominent Girondists were -hunted down and killed. - -Whilst blood was thus flowing by the guillotine, not only in Paris, -but, under the management of Jacobin Commissioners, in nearly all -the large towns of France, especially Lyons, Bordeaux, and Nantes, a -terrible work of extermination was going on against the royalists of La -Vendée. The simple people of that province, primitive in their habits -and sincere in their faith, desired no Republic. Their aristocracy, for -the most part of only moderate possessions, lived amongst them rather -like a race of kindly country squires than great lords, and the people -were accordingly cordially attached to them. In March of the year 1793 -the Convention called for a conscription of three hundred thousand, and -the Vendéans, to a man, refused to serve under a Government that had -persecuted both their priests and their seigneurs. This was the certain -signal of civil war. Troops were ordered to march into La Vendée, -and compel obedience. Then the peasants flew to arms, and called on -the nobles and priests to join them. At first they were entirely -successful, but matters changed when Kleber was put in practical -command. - -Their general, Lescure, was killed, and most of their other leaders -were severely wounded. Kleber triumphed over them by his weight of -artillery, and they now fled to the Loire. Amongst a number of royalist -nobles who had joined them from the army of the Prince of Condé on the -Rhine, was Prince de Talmont, a Breton noble, formerly of vast property -in Brittany, and now of much influence there. He advised them, for -the present, to abandon their country, and take refuge amongst his -countrymen, the Bretons. The whole of this miserable and miscellaneous -population, nearly a hundred thousand in number, crowded to the edge of -the Loire, impatient, from terror and despair, to cross. Behind were -the smoke of burning villages and the thunder of the hostile artillery; -before, was the broad Loire, divided by a low long island, also crowded -with fugitives. La Roche-Jaquelein had the command of the Vendéans -at this trying moment; but the enemy, not having good information of -their situation, did not come up till the whole wretched and famished -multitude was over. On their way to Laval they were attacked both -by Westermann and Léchelle; but being now joined by nearly seven -thousand Bretons, they beat both those generals; and Léchelle, from -mortification and terror of the guillotine--now the certain punisher of -defeated generals--died. The Vendéans for a time, aided by the Bretons, -appeared victorious. They had two courses open before them: one, to -retire into the farthest part of Brittany, where there was a population -strongly inspired by their own sentiments, having a country hilly and -easy of defence, with the advantage of being open to the coast, and -the assistance of the British; the other, to advance into Normandy, -where they might open up communication with the English through the -port of Cherbourg. They took the latter route, though their commander, -La Roche-Jaquelein, was strongly opposed to it. Stofflet commanded -under Jaquelein. The army marched on in great confusion, having the -women and children and the waggons in the centre. They were extremely -ill-informed of the condition of the towns which they approached. -They might have taken Rennes and St. Malo, which would have greatly -encouraged the Bretons; but they were informed that the Republican -troops were overpowering there. They did not approach Cherbourg for -the same cause, being told that it was well defended on the land side; -they therefore proceeded by Dol and Avranches to Granville, where they -arrived on the 14th of November. This place would have given them open -communication with the English, and at the worst an easy escape to the -Channel Islands; but they failed in their attempts to take it; and -great suspicion now having seized the people that their officers only -wanted to get into a seaport to desert them and escape to England, -they one and all protested that they would return to the Loire. In -vain did La Roche-Jaquelein demonstrate to them the fatality of such a -proceeding, and how much better it would be to make themselves strong -in Normandy and Brittany for the present; only about a thousand men -remained with him; the rest retraced their long and weary way towards -the Loire, though the Republicans had now accumulated very numerous -forces to bar their way. Fighting every now and then on the road, and -seeing their wives and children daily drop from hunger and fatigue, -they returned through Dol and Pontorson to Angers: there they were -repulsed by the Republicans. They then retreated to Mons, where -they again were attacked and defeated, many of their women, who had -concealed themselves in the houses, being dragged out and shot down -by whole platoons. At Ancenis, Stofflet managed to cross the Loire; -but the Republicans got between him and his army, which, wedged in at -Savenay, between the Loire, the Vilaine, and the sea, was attacked by -Kleber and Westermann, and, after maintaining a desperate fight against -overwhelming numbers and a terrible artillery, was literally, with the -exception of a few hundred who effected their escape, cut to pieces, -and the women and children all massacred by the merciless Jacobins. -Carrier then proceeded to purge Nantes in the same style as Collot -d'Herbois had purged Lyons. - -[Illustration: NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE, LIEUTENANT OF ARTILLERY. - -(_After the Portrait by J. B. Greuze._)] - -These godless atrocities, these enormous murders, beyond all historic -precedent, proclaimed a people which had renounced God as well as -humanity; and they soon proceeded to avow this fact, and to establish -it by formal decree. In their rage for destroying everything old, there -was nothing that escaped them. They altered the mode of computing -time, and no longer used the Gregorian calendar, but dated all deeds -from the first year of Liberty, which they declared to have commenced -on the 22nd of September, 1792. The next and greatest achievement -was to dethrone the Almighty, and erect the Goddess of Reason in His -place. Under the auspices of the Goddess of Reason they did a very -unreasonable thing: they deprived all working people and all working -animals of one rest-day in every month. Instead of having the four -weeks and four Sundays in a month, they decimalised the months, -dividing them each into three decades, or terms of ten days each, so -that there were only three rest-days, instead of four, in the month. - -The British Parliament met on the 21st of January, 1794. The -Opposition, on the question of the Address, made a strong remonstrance -against the prosecution of the war. They urged the miserable conduct -of it, and the failures of the Allies, as arguments for peace. They -did not discourage the maintenance of a proper system of self-defence, -and therefore acceded to the demands of Ministers for raising the navy -to eighty-five thousand men. The production of the Budget by Pitt, on -the 2nd of February, gave additional force to their appeals for peace. -He stated that the military force of England, including fencibles -and volunteers, amounted to a hundred and forty thousand men, and he -called for nineteen million nine hundred and thirty-nine thousand -pounds for the maintenance of this force, and for the payment of sixty -thousand German troops. Besides this, he asked for a loan of eleven -million pounds, as well as for the imposition of new taxes. This was an -advance in annual expenditure of fifteen million pounds more than only -two years ago; and when the manner in which the money was spent was -inquired into, the objections became far more serious. It thus appeared -that we were not only fighting for Holland and Belgium, but that we -were subsidising German princes to fight their own battles. There had -been a large subsidy to the King of Prussia, to assist him, in reality, -to destroy Poland. We were, in fact, on the threshold of that system -of Pitt's, by which Britain engaged to do battle all over Europe with -money as well as with men. But remonstrance was in vain. Fox, Grey, and -Sheridan, and their party in the Commons, the Marquis of Lansdowne, -the Duke of Bedford, and the Whigs in the Peers, made amendment after -amendment on these points, but were overwhelmed by Pitt's majorities. -Burke, in the Commons, was frantic in advocacy of war, because France -was revolutionary and impious. - -The anti-Gallic spirit was at the same time made violent use of to -crush opinion at home. It is true that there was a foolish zeal on -behalf of the French Revolution in a certain portion of the British -public, which ought, by this time, to have been cooled by the too -obvious nature and tendency of that Revolution; but this might readily -have been prevented from doing harm by a fair exposure of the folly -of the admirers of so bloody and dishonest a system as that of the -French Jacobins. But it was more in accordance with the spirit of -Government at that time to endeavour to crush the freedom of the press -and of speech, under cover of the repression of a Gallic tendency. The -persecution began in Scotland. - -The first indictment was preferred against James Tytler, a chemist, of -Edinburgh, for having published an address to the people, complaining -of the mass of the people being wholly unrepresented, and, in -consequence, being robbed and enslaved; demanding universal suffrage, -and advising folk to refuse to pay taxes till this reform was granted. -However strange such a charge would appear now, when the truth of -it has long been admitted, it was then held by Government and the -magistracy as next to high treason. Tytler did not venture to appear, -and his bail, two booksellers, were compelled to pay the amount of his -bond and penalty, six hundred merks Scots. He himself was outlawed, -and his goods were sold. Three days afterwards, namely, on the 8th of -January, 1793, John Morton, a printer's apprentice, and John Anderson -and Malcolm Craig, journeymen printers, were put upon their trial for -more questionable conduct. They were charged with endeavouring to -seduce the soldiers in the castle of Edinburgh from their duty, urging -them to drink, as a toast, "George the Third and Last, and Damnation -to all Crowned Heads;" and with attempting to persuade them to join -the "Society of the Friends of the People," or a "Club of Equality -and Freedom." They were condemned to nine months' imprisonment, and -to give security in one thousand merks Scots for their good behaviour -for three years. Next came the trials of William Stewart, merchant, -and John Elder, bookseller, of Edinburgh, for writing and publishing a -pamphlet on the "Rights of Man and the Origin of Government." Stewart -absconded, and the proceedings were dropped against the bookseller. -To these succeeded a number of similar trials, amongst them those of -James Smith, John Mennings, James Callender, Walter Berry, and James -Robinson, of Edinburgh, tradesmen of various descriptions, on the -charges of corresponding with Reform societies, or advocating the -representation of the people, full and equal rights, and declaring the -then Constitution a conspiracy of the rich against the poor. One or two -absented themselves, and were outlawed; the rest were imprisoned in -different towns. These violent proceedings against poor men, merely for -demanding reforms only too much needed, excited but little attention; -but now a more conspicuous class was aimed at, and the outrageously -arbitrary proceedings at once excited public attention, and, on the -part of reformers, intense indignation. - -The persons now indicted were Thomas Muir and the Rev. Thomas Fyshe -Palmer. Muir was a young advocate, only eight-and-twenty years of age. -He was brought to trial at Edinburgh, on the 30th of August, 1793. -He was charged with inciting people to read the works of Paine, and -"A Dialogue between the Governors and the Governed," and with having -caused to be received and answered, by the Convention of Delegates, a -seditious address from the Society of United Irishmen in Dublin, to -the Delegates for promoting Reform in Scotland. He was also charged -with having absconded from the pursuit of justice, and with having been -over to France, and with having returned in a clandestine manner by way -of Ireland. To these charges Muir replied that he had gone to France -after publicly avowing his object, both in Edinburgh and London, that -object being to endeavour to persuade the French Convention not to -execute Louis XVI.; that when in Paris he urged this both on the ground -of humanity and good policy, as tending to make constitutional reform -easier, as well as the keeping of peace with England; that the sudden -declaration of hostilities whilst there had warned him to return, but -had closed up the direct way; that that was the reason of his taking a -vessel from Havre to Ireland; that he had, however, returned publicly, -and surrendered himself for trial at the earliest opportunity. - -The most respectable witnesses testified in his favour, that he -had always argued that the monarchy of the country was good; the -government far superior to that of France; that many opinions of Paine -were unsound and untenable; that an equal division of property was -a chimera, and that we here wanted no revolution, but only moderate -reform. The chief witness against him was a woman-servant, who had -lived in his father's family, who deposed to his telling people to -read the "Rights of Man;" to giving an organ-man something to play -"_Ça ira!_" and the like. It is clear that Mr. Muir was what would now -be considered a very moderate reformer indeed. But the Lord Advocate -treated him with the most scurrilous indignity, calling him "that -unfortunate wretch at the bar;" "that demon of mischief;" "that pest of -Scotland." The very proofs of Muir's moderation were turned by the Lord -Justice Clerk into crimes; it was only "policy;" and he proceeded to -pass on him the monstrous sentence of transportation for fourteen years! - -This base and disproportionate sentence startled the people of England. -In Scotland then party spirit ran furiously high. As there were clubs -for advocating thorough reform, so there were others for discouraging -and crushing it. The Tory arbitrary principle was rampant, and Muir was -the victim of it. - -Mr. Fyshe Palmer was not tried till the 12th of September. He was then -brought before the Circuit Court of Justiciary at Perth, and charged -with writing and publishing an "Address to the People," which had been -issued by the Society of the Friends of Liberty, at Dundee. Palmer was -an Englishman of good family, in Bedfordshire. He had taken his degree -at Cambridge, and obtained a fellowship at Queen's College; but he had -afterwards joined the Unitarians, and had resided and preached some -time at Montrose and Dundee, and had delivered lectures on Unitarianism -in Edinburgh and Forfar. It appeared that Palmer was not the author -of the Address, but had only been asked to correct the proof of it, -and that he had, whilst so doing, struck out some of the strongest -passages. One Mealmaker, a weaver, acknowledged himself the author -of the Address; but Palmer was a Unitarian, and this, to the bigoted -Presbyterianism of his judges, was rank poison. His advocate pleaded -that he was not quite sane, but neither did this avail; the jury -brought in an instant and unanimous verdict of guilty, and the judges -condemned him to be transported for seven years. This was a still more -outrageous sentence than that of Muir, for Palmer had corresponded with -no French or Reforming societies whatever; he had simply corrected a -proof! - -Not at all dismayed by this unrighteous severity, the Scottish Friends -of the People met in convention, in Edinburgh, on the 9th of October. -At this Convention delegates appeared, not only from most of the large -towns of Scotland, but also from London, Sheffield, and Dublin. Letters -were also received from the Societies in England. Mr. William Skirving, -a friend of Muir and Palmer, as secretary to the Convention, read these -letters, and other papers, demanding annual parliaments and universal -suffrage. As the British Parliament was considered, and truly, merely a -corrupt clique of the representatives of boroughmongers, they proposed -to apply directly to the king, that he might urge those necessary -reforms on the Legislature. In Scottish fashion, the Reformers opened -and closed their sittings with prayer, presenting a striking contrast -to the French Revolutionists. On the 6th of November delegates appeared -from the Society of United Irishmen, and Margarot and Gerald from -the Society of the Friends of the People in London. Margarot stated -that five hundred constables had beset the meeting in London, to -prevent delegates from getting away to this Convention, but that the -manufacturing towns of England were almost all in favour of Reform; -that in Sheffield alone there were fifty thousand; that a general union -of the Reformers of the United Kingdom would strike terror into their -enemies, and compel them to grant annual parliaments and universal -suffrage. - -The Irish delegates described the condition of Ireland as most -deplorable. They said that the Government interest, through the landed -aristocracy, was omnipotent; that the manufacturers were unemployed; -that an infamous coalition had taken place between the Irish Opposition -and Ministry; that the Catholics had been bought up so that all parties -might combine to crush Reform; that the United Irishmen were everywhere -persecuted, and that one of them had only just escaped from a six -months' imprisonment. - -Amongst these, for the most part working men, sat a number of -gentlemen, and even one lord, Lord Dacre, who had lived in Paris -and was a regular Revolutionist. The Convention sat unmolested till -the 5th of December, arranging for a future meeting in England, and -organising committees and correspondents in different towns. They also -recommended to all Reform clubs and societies to invoke Divine aid on -their endeavours for just reform. On meeting on the morning of the 5th, -the president, Paterson, announced that himself, Margarot, and the -delegates had been arrested, and were only out on bail. Immediately -after this, the Lord Provost appeared with a force to disperse the -meeting, and though Skirving informed him that the place of meeting was -his own hired house, and that they had met for a purely constitutional -purpose, the Lord Provost broke up the meeting and drove out the -members. That evening they met again at another place, but only to be -turned out again. Still they did not disperse before Gerald had offered -up a fervent prayer for the success of Reform. Mr. Skirving then issued -a circular inviting the delegates to meet in his private house, and for -this he was arrested on the 6th of January, 1794, brought before the -Court of Justiciary, and sentenced to fourteen years' transportation. -On the 13th Margarot received the same sentence; and, in the month of -March, Gerald likewise. - -Muir and Palmer, on the 19th of December, 1793, had been conveyed on -board the hulks at Woolwich, before being shipped off to the Antipodes, -and were put in irons; but before they were sent off, the matter was -brought before Parliament. It was introduced by Mr. Adams, on the 14th -of February, 1794, moving for leave to bring in a bill to alter the -enactment for allowing appeals from the Scottish Court of Justiciary in -matters of law. This was refused, and he then gave notice of a motion -for the revision of the trials of Muir and Palmer. Sheridan, on the -24th, presented a petition from Palmer, complaining of his sentence -as unwarranted by law. Pitt protested against the reception of the -petition, and Dundas declared that all such motions were too late; the -warrant for Palmer's transportation was already signed and issued. -Wilberforce moved that Palmer's being sent off should be delayed till -the case was reconsidered, but this was also rejected by a large -majority. Such was the determined spirit of Pitt and his parliamentary -majority against all Reform, or justice to Reformers. On the 10th -of March Mr. Adams again moved for a revision of the trials of Muir -and Palmer, declaring that "leasing-making" (verbal sedition), their -crime by the law of Scotland, was punishable by fine, imprisonment, -or banishment, but not by transportation, and that their sentence -was illegal. Fox exposed the rancorous spirit with which the trials -had been conducted, and to which the judges had most indecently lent -themselves; that the Lord Justice Clerk, during Muir's trial, had said, -"A government in every country should be just like a corporation; and, -in this country, it is made up of the landed interest, which alone has -a right to be represented. As for the rabble, who have nothing but -personal property, what hold has the nation on them? They may pack -up all their property on their backs, and leave the country in the -twinkling of an eye!" Lord Swinton said, "If punishment adequate to -the crime of sedition were to be sought for, it could not be found in -our law, now that torture is happily abolished." The Lord Advocate was -in his place to defend his conduct and doctrine, but Pitt and Dundas -supported these odious opinions. The House also sanctioned them by a -large majority, and Adams's motion was rejected. In the Upper House, -similar motions, introduced by Lords Lansdowne and Stanhope, were -similarly treated. - -[Illustration: THE TOLBOOTH, EDINBURGH.] - -The success of the Scottish courts in sentencing Reformers encouraged -the Ministers to try the experiment in England; but there it did not -succeed so well. First, one Eaton, a bookseller, of Bishopgate, was -indicted for selling a seditious libel, called "Politics for the -People; or, Hog's-wash." On the 2nd of April, Thomas Walker, a merchant -of Manchester--was, with six others, indicted at the Lancaster assizes; -but Eaton, in London, and these Manchester men, were acquitted. Rather -irritated than discouraged by these failures, Pitt and Dundas made a -swoop at the leaders of the Corresponding Society, and the Society -for Constitutional Information in London; and, in the month of May, -Horne Tooke, John Thelwall--a celebrated political lecturer--Thomas -Hardy, Daniel Adams, and the Rev. Jeremiah Joyce--private secretary to -the Earl of Stanhope, and tutor to his son, Lord Mahon--were arrested -and committed to the Tower on a charge of high treason. No sooner was -this done, than, on the 12th of May, Dundas announced to the House of -Commons that, in consequence of the Government having been informed -of seditious practices being carried on by the above-named societies, -they had seized their papers, and he now demanded that a committee of -secrecy should be appointed to examine these papers. This was agreed -to; and on the 16th Pitt brought up the report of this committee, which -was so absurd in its results that nothing but the most blind political -desperation could have induced the Government to make it known. The -committee found nothing amongst these papers but the reports of the -societies since the year 1791, which had been annually published and -made known to every one. Yet on this miserable evidence Pitt called -for the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, and it was accordingly -granted, Burke--who now seems to have grown quite politically mad -by dwelling on the horrors of the French Revolution--believing it -the only measure to insure the safety of the country. Windham and -others asserted that the mere suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act -was hardly sufficient: there required yet more stringent measures. -Similar language was held in the Lords, but did not pass without some -severe comments from the Duke of Bedford, and the Lords Stanhope, -Lauderdale, and Albemarle, who declared that Ministers, instead of -suppressing, were creating a veritable reign of terror. The Bill was, -notwithstanding, readily passed; and on the 13th of June an Address -was carried to his Majesty, expressing the determination of their -lordships to punish the men who had been concerned in the so-called -conspiracy. Fox and Lambton condemned this course energetically in the -Commons, declaring that, if there were any conspiracy, the ordinary -laws and tribunals were amply sufficient for their punishment. Fox -moved that all that part of the Address which expressed a conviction of -the existence of a conspiracy should be struck out, but it was carried -entire; and such was the alarm of the country at the reverses of the -Allies on the Continent and the successes of France, that far more -violent measures would have been readily assented to. - -Meanwhile Lord Howe had been on the look-out some time for the French -fleet, which, it was understood, was about to leave Brest, in order -to meet a convoy of merchant ships from the West Indies, and aid it -in bringing that trade fleet into port. On reaching Brest, however, -he discovered that the French fleet had sailed, and it was not till -the 28th of May that he caught sight of it out at sea, opposite the -coast of Brittany. The French fleet, commanded by Admiral Villaret -Joyeuse, was greatly superior to Howe's in ships, number of seamen, -and weight of metal. Howe had twenty-five sail of the line and five -frigates, carrying two thousand and ninety-eight guns, in weight -of metal twenty-one thousand five hundred and nineteen pounds, and -sixteen thousand six hundred and forty-seven men. Joyeuse, now joined -by Admiral Neilly, had twenty-six line-of-battle ships and smaller -vessels, carrying two thousand one hundred and fifty-eight guns, in -weight of metal twenty-five thousand five hundred and twenty-one -pounds, and nineteen thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight men. After -some skirmishing, on the 1st of June--"the glorious first"--Howe came -to close quarters with the enemy, who was compelled to fight by the -presence of the Conventional Commissioner Bon St. André. He ordered his -fleet to follow his ship, the _Charlotte_, in cutting right through -the enemy's line. Only five ships, however, accomplished this so as -to engage the French to the leeward, and prevent them from escaping. -Howe afterwards complained that some of his captains had not obeyed -his orders, and threatened them with a court-martial; but some replied -that their ships were in such bad sailing condition that they could -not effect this movement, and others that they did not understand -the signal. Thus, five vessels fighting to the leeward, and the rest -to the windward, the battle raged furiously from nine in the morning -till three in the afternoon, when the French admiral sheered off for -Brest, leaving behind seven of his finest vessels in the hands of the -British. The British lost in the action two hundred and seventy-nine -men, and had eight hundred and seventy-seven wounded. The French lost -in six of the captured ships alone six hundred and ninety men, and had -five hundred and eighty wounded. The seventh, the _Vengeur_, went down -almost as soon as the British flag was hoisted on her, with, it is -supposed, three hundred men in her. Altogether, it is likely that the -French did not lose less than fifteen hundred men, besides wounded, -and two thousand three hundred prisoners. The British lost a number of -officers, who were either killed in the battle or died afterwards of -their injuries Amongst these were Sir Andrew Douglas, second captain -of Howe's own ship; Captains Montagu of the _Montagu_, Hutt of the -_Queen_, and Harvey of the _Brunswick_; Rear-Admirals Pasley of the -_Bellerophon_, and Bowyer of the _Barfleur_. Admiral Graves and Captain -Berkeley were severely wounded. Howe made every effort to pursue and -bring the French admiral again to action; but, owing to the bad sailing -qualities of English ships at that time, and the shattered state of -many of them, he could not overtake Villaret, who made the best of -his way to Brest. During the remainder of the year there were various -engagements between small squadrons in different quarters, in which the -advantage generally remained with the British, besides the training -thus afforded to the officers and sailors for the mighty victories -which awaited them. - -During the spring of 1794 the British, under Lieutenant-General Sir -Charles Grey, took the French island of Martinique, in which attempt -the Duke of Kent, father of Queen Victoria, distinguished himself. They -also took St. Lucia, Guadeloupe, and its dependencies, Marie-Galante, -Deseada, and the Saintes. But they were not so successful in assisting -the French Royalists in St. Domingo to expel the Republicans. They -beat the French in three successive battles, but our troops were -then attacked by the yellow fever. General Whyte made himself master -of the French capital, Port-au-Prince; but General Dundas, who was -appointed governor, was carried off by the fever, as also were numbers -of the troops. The French general also fell a victim to the fever; -but at this juncture arrived the Jacobin Commissioner, Victor Hugues, -with a reinforcement of from fifteen hundred to two thousand men. He -immediately assumed the command, proclaimed freedom to all the blacks, -and the plunder of the Royalists. The Royalists, terrified, submitted, -or only feebly supported their British allies, who were thereupon -compelled to yield them to their fate. Hughes, one of the bloodiest -of the French revolutionists, set the guillotine to work in the hands -of the negroes. The Royalists were beheaded or fusilladed in troops, -their houses burnt, and their estates ravaged. Before the end of the -year this monster had reduced the island to a dreadful desert. In -his ferocious fury, he had caused the very sick and wounded in the -hospitals to be massacred, and the dead to be thrown out of their -graves. Amongst these were the remains of General Dundas, and the -other dead British officers, which were flung into the river. Hugues -also recovered Guadeloupe, and perpetrated the same cruelties and -abominations there. - -During this summer the island of Corsica fell into our hands, and that -by conduct as brilliant on the part of Nelson and the troops and seamen -under him, as was at the time the formal inefficiency of our generals -there. The Corsicans soon experienced the insolence and rapacity of -the godless French Republicans, and rose in general insurrection. The -patriot Paoli was the first to advise them to renounce all connection -with such a race of fiends, and was, in consequence, proscribed by -the Convention, but at the same time appointed General-in-Chief and -President of the Council of Government by his own people. As he well -knew that little Corsica was no match for France, he applied to the -British for assistance. Lord Hood was then engaged in the defence of -Toulon, but he sent a few ships and troops during the summer and autumn -to Paoli's aid, and by this assistance the French were driven out -of every part of the island except San Fiorenzo, Calvi, and Bastia. -The mother of Buonaparte, and part of the family, who were living -at Ajaccio, fled to France, imploring the aid of the Convention for -her native island. Lord Hood, however, having evacuated Toulon, made -haste to be beforehand with them. By the 7th of February, 1794, he -had blockaded the three ports still in the hands of the French, and -had landed five regiments, under the command of General Dundas, at -San Fiorenzo. The French were soon compelled to evacuate the place, -but they retreated to Bastia, without almost any attempt on the part -of Dundas to injure or molest them. Lord Hood now urged the immediate -reduction of Bastia, but Dundas, an incompetent officer, and tied up by -all the old formal rules of warfare, declared that he could not attempt -to carry the town till the arrival of two thousand fresh troops from -Gibraltar. But there was a man of very different metal and notions -serving there, namely, Nelson, who was indignant at this timid conduct. -He declared that if he had five hundred men and the _Agamemnon_ -ship-of-war, he could take the place. Lord Hood was resolved that -he should try, whilst he himself blockaded the harbour. Nelson, who -declared his own seamen of the _Agamemnon_ were of the right sort, and -cared no more for bullets than for peas, had one thousand one hundred -and eighty-three soldiers, artillerymen, and marines, with two hundred -and fifty sailors, put under his command, with the title of brigadier. -They landed on the 4th of April, dragged their cannon up to the tops of -the rocks overhanging Bastia, to the astonishment of French, Corsicans, -and the timid Dundas. On the 10th Nelson was aloft with his whole -force, and with all his cannon in position. A body of Corsicans rather -kept guard than gave any active assistance on another side of the town; -for they had no cannon, or could not drag them up precipices like -British seamen. On the 11th Lord Hood summoned the town to surrender; -but the French commander and Commissioner, Lacombe-Saint-Michel, -replied that he had red-hot shot for the ships and bayonets for -the British soldiers, and should not think of yielding till he had -two-thirds of his garrison killed. But Nelson, ably seconded by Colonel -Vilettes, plied his artillery to such purpose, that, on the 10th of -May, Lacombe-Saint-Michel made offer of surrender, and on the 19th the -capitulation was completed. The French forces and the Corsicans in -their interest were shipped off to Toulon, after the signing of the -capitulation on the 21st; and now General D'Aubant, who had succeeded -General Dundas, but who had continued lying at San Fiorenzo instead of -assisting at the siege, came up with his troops and took possession -of Bastia. The whole loss of the British in this brilliant affair was -only fourteen men killed and thirty-four wounded. Calvi, the most -strongly-situated and fortified place, still remained to be taken. By -the middle of June it was thoroughly invested, both by sea and land, -and Nelson again serving on shore, assisted by Captains Hallowell and -Serecold, was pouring shells and red-hot shot into the fort. Captain -Serecold was killed at the very outset; but Nelson and Hallowell, -chiefly with the sailors and marines, continued the bombardment through -the terrible heat of the dog-days, and the enervating effects of -malaria from stagnant ponds in the hills, and compelled the surrender -on the 10th of August, but not before one-half of the two thousand men -engaged were prostrated by sickness. The island was now, by the advice -of Paoli, offered to the British Crown and by it accepted; but a gross -blunder was made in not appointing Paoli Governor, as was expected -both by himself and his compatriots. Instead of this most proper and -conciliatory measure, Sir Gilbert Elliot was appointed Governor, to -the disappointment and disgust of the Corsicans. Sir Gilbert attempted -to gratify the islanders by framing a new Constitution for them, and -granting them trial by jury; but neither of these institutions was -adapted to their ideas, and both failed to heal the wound which the -ignominious treatment of their great patriot occasioned. - -[Illustration: CALVI, CORSICA.] - -But this little episode of the war presented one bright spot amid -the vast picture of miserable mismanagement, want of concert and of -activity, amongst the Allies engaged against France. The campaign -of 1794 was most disgraceful and discouraging. The plan still was -for the different armies of the Allies to advance from the different -frontiers, north, west, east, and south, and concentrate themselves on -Paris; but all the activity and concentration were on the side of the -French. In the very commencement of it, it was observed that Prussia -was not bringing by any means the stipulated amount of forces into the -field. The king, thinking much more of securing his Polish robberies -than of co-operating against France, remained in Poland, and was even -discovered to be secretly negotiating with the French Convention for -peace. Britain was alarmed at this symptom of Prussian defection and -made strong remonstrances. Frederick William coolly replied that it was -impossible for him to go on without a large sum of money. The hint of -Prussia was not lost; money was promised, and in April of this year a -subsidy of two millions two hundred thousand pounds was paid to Prussia -to secure her more active operation, and on condition that she brought -into the field sixty thousand men. The bulk of this money was paid by -Britain, a small fraction by Holland; and what was the result? The King -of Prussia sent very few troops into the field, but employed the money -in paying and maintaining armies to keep down the invaded provinces of -Poland, and to invade more! Thus Britain was duped into the disgraceful -business of riveting the fetters of unhappy Poland; and it would have -been well had this taught the British Government wisdom. But it was now -intent on that astonishing career of subsidising almost all the nations -of Europe against France; of purchasing useless German soldiers at -astounding prices; of pouring out the wealth and blood of Britain like -water to enable the Germans and Russians to defend their own hearths -and homes, and in vain. The results of this subsidy ought to have -satisfied Britain, and would have satisfied any other nation; for it -did not long retain Prussia as an ally, even in name. - -[Illustration: ST. JUST. (_After the Portrait by David._)] - -Belgium, this summer, was the great battle-ground. In it were -Austrians, Dutch, British, and Hanoverians. At the opening of the -campaign the Allies had probably two hundred thousand men scattered -along the frontiers, and the French upwards of three hundred thousand. -But whilst the French were united in one object, and the Convention -kept pouring fresh masses of men in, the Allies were slow and -disunited. The Duke of York, who commanded the English and Hanoverians, -about thirty thousand men, was completely tired of the sluggish -formality of the Austrian general, Clairfait, and refused to serve -under him. To remove the difficulty, the Emperor of Austria agreed to -take the command of his forces in the Netherlands in person, so that -the Duke of York would serve under him. Francis II. arrived in April, -and great expectations were excited by his presence. Instead of urging -all the different divisions of the allied armies to concentrate in -large masses against the able generals, Pichegru and Jourdain, Francis -sat down before the secondary fortress of Landrecies, though the Allies -already held those of Valenciennes, Condé, and Quesnoy. This enabled -Pichegru to advance on West Flanders, and take Courtrai and Menin in -the very face of Clairfait. At the same time Jourdain had entered the -country of Luxembourg with a large force, and whilst the Austrians were -wasting their time before Landrecies, he was still further reinforced -from the army of the Rhine, which the absence of the King of Prussia -left at leisure, and he now fell upon the Austrian general, Beaulieu; -and though Beaulieu fought bravely for two days, he was overwhelmed by -successive columns of fresh troops, and driven from his lines. Jourdain -then advanced upon the Moselle, where the Prussians ought to have been, -and were not, in spite of the subsidy. - -Pichegru, on his part, having driven back Clairfait, turned round -on the Duke of York, who lay at Tournay. There he met with a severe -repulse, and fell back with heavy loss; but Clairfait having again -advanced to regain Courtrai, Pichegru once more engaged and defeated -him. Clairfait then fell back into Flanders, to cover Ghent, Bruges, -and Ostend. Pichegru, urged on against his better judgment by St. -Just, who was the Commissioner from the Convention, sent Kleber and -Marceau across the Sambre to attack General Kaunitz; but Kaunitz gave -the French a severe defeat, killing four thousand of them; and had the -Austrians been as rapid as they were brave, they might have nearly -exterminated the whole of the French division. This success inspirited -the Allies to advance actively, but the Duke of York, not taking into -account the habitual slowness of German troops, shot ahead, expecting -to fall in with Clairfait's columns at Turcoing; but there he only -found the French, under Souham and Bonnaud, who well nigh enveloped -him by their vast numbers, totally defeated, and nearly took him -prisoner. This gave such a panic to the Austrians, that the entire -army fell back, and Francis II., thoroughly discouraged, withdrew from -the command and left it to the Prince of Coburg. The Duke of York -rallied, and maintained his ground at Tournay against Pichegru, and -Kaunitz followed up his advantage against Kleber and Moreau, driving -them across the Sambre; but these were only temporary successes. -Jourdain, finding no Prussians in the Moselle, drew nearer to the camp -of Pichegru. There were various conflicts at Ypres, Charleroi, and on -the plains of Fleurus. The Allies drove the French three times across -the Sambre, but they returned with fresh and never-ending forces, and -compelled the Allies to a general retreat. Bruges opened its gates to -the French; Pichegru, aided by Moreau, compelled the Duke of York to -retire successively on Oudenarde, Tournay, and Antwerp, places filled -with the fame of Marlborough. At Antwerp the Duke of York was joined by -Lord Moira, with ten thousand men, intended originally for La Vendée, -but too late to prevent the massacre of Savenay. The English garrison -quitted Ostend, and came round to Antwerp; and the British occupied -that town, whilst Clairfait lay at Louvain, and the two armies, -unitedly, protected Mechlin. - -The French allowed the retreating Allies no rest. There was no want -of men. The Convention, by the menace of the guillotine at home, and -the promises of plunder and licence abroad, could raise any number of -thousands of men, could find millions of money, and they had not a -single feeling of humanity, as the streaming axes of the executioners -all over the country showed. They could also fight and daunt their -enemies by the same unhesitating ferocity. They had long published -to all their armies that no quarter was to be given to British or -Hanoverians--they were to be massacred to a man; and they now sent word -to the fortresses of Valenciennes, Condé, Quesnoy, and Landrecies, that -unless the garrisons surrendered every soul on their being taken should -be butchered. The fortresses were immediately surrendered, for the -menace was backed by one hundred and fifty thousand men--the combined -troops of Pichegru and Jourdain. Besides, the fortresses in the hands -of the Allies were so badly supplied both with ammunition and stores, -that they were but dens of famine and impotence. On the 5th of July -Ghent opened its gates to the French; on the 9th the French entered -Brussels, having driven the Duke of Coburg out of his entrenchments in -the wood of Soignies, near which the battle of Waterloo was afterwards -fought. They next attacked the Duke of York and Lord Moira at Mechlin, -and after a sharp conflict drove them thence. The very next day -Clairfait was defeated and obliged to abandon both Louvain and Liége. -General Beaulieu was driven out of Namur, solely because he had no -provisions there for his army, though otherwise the place could have -made a long defence. The Duke of York was compelled to abandon the -strong and important citadel of Antwerp from the same cause, and to -cross the Scheldt into Dutch territory, leaving the French to make -their triumphant entry into Antwerp on the 23rd of July. Such was the -brilliant campaign of the French in the Netherlands in the summer of -1794--such the ignominious defeat of the Allies, with an army of two -hundred thousand men. Pitt, however, bravely struggled to keep up the -Coalition. A loan of four million pounds was granted to Austria. At the -same time, in addition to the Hessian soldiers engaged, the Duke of -Brunswick, the king's relative, was to furnish two thousand two hundred -and eighty-nine men on the same liberal terms, and was himself to have -an annual allowance of sixteen thousand pounds sterling. - -Those princes that did bring men into the field, such as the Hessians, -Brunswickers, etc.--the Menschen-Veräufer, or man-sellers, as they -were styled by their own people--were rapacious beyond example. During -the American war we had employed these Hessians, Brunswickers, and the -like, at a cost that excited general indignation. Besides paying seven -pounds ten shillings and a penny for every man, the Duke of Brunswick, -who furnished only four thousand and eighty-four men, had had an annual -subsidy of fifteen thousand five hundred and nineteen pounds. The -Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, who furnished twelve thousand men, had ten -thousand two hundred and eighty-one pounds a year. - -It was towards the end of May before Marshal Möllendorf, the Prussian -general, began the campaign. He then attacked the French, and drove -them out of their entrenchments at Kaiserslautern with great slaughter. -There, however, his activity seemed to cease; and on the 12th of July -the French again fell upon him. He fought bravely for four whole days, -supported by the Austrians; but both these Powers were compelled to -retreat down the Rhine, the Prussians retiring on Mayence and the -Austrians crossing the river for more safety. The French marched -briskly after the Prussians, took Trèves, and then sent strong -detachments to help their countrymen to make a complete clearance -of Belgium and to invade Holland. Clairfait, who was still hovering -in Dutch Flanders, was attacked by overwhelming numbers, beaten -repeatedly, and compelled to evacuate Juliers, Aix-la-Chapelle, and -finally Cologne. The French were so close at his heels at Cologne that -they shouted after him that "that was not the way to Paris." Coblenz, -where the Royalist Emigrants had so long made their headquarters, -though strongly fortified, soon after surrendered. The stout fortress -of Venloo, on the Meuse, and Bois-le-Duc, as promptly surrendered, and -the French marched on Nimeguen, near which the Duke of York lay, hoping -in vain to cover the frontiers of Holland. The people of Holland, like -those of Belgium, were extensively Jacobinised, the army was deeply -infected by French principles, and to attempt to defend such a country -with a mere handful of British was literally to throw away the lives -of our men. Yet the duke stood stoutly in this hopeless defence, where -half Holland ought to have been collected to defend itself. - -On the 19th of October the French attacked the duke with sixty thousand -men, and though his little army fought with its usual dogged bravery -it was compelled to give way. It did this, however, only to assume -a fresh position, still covering Nimeguen, where, on the 27th, the -French again attacked it, and compelled it to retire from the contest. -The duke led the wreck of his army across the Waal and the Rhine, and -posted himself at Arnhem in Guelderland, to throw some impediment -in the path of Pichegru, who was advancing, at the command of the -Convention, to reduce Holland. Nimeguen, full of Dutch traitors, soon -opened its gates; Maestricht did the same to Kleber; and at the end of -the campaign the gloomiest prospects hung over Holland. - -In the south great successes had been won by the French. A formidable -attack was made on the territories of the King of Sardinia and the -position of Saorgio was turned. But another division of these French -descended from the Alps. It was the month of May when General Dumas, -with the army of the Alps, had forced his way through the defiles of -Mont Cenis. The Piedmontese garrisons of the forts there had fled -without much resistance, astonished and confounded at seeing the French -appear on the loftiest heights around them. The French pursued their -retreating troops as far as Susa, led on by Jacobinised Savoyards, -who hated the Piedmontese. But Dumas, finding that strong forces of -Piedmontese and Austrians, under the King of Sardinia and the Austrian -General Wallis, were drawn up at the foot of the Alps, did not venture -to descend into the plains. Another body of the army of Italy was -delayed some time in the Genoese territory, whilst Buonaparte was -employed in sounding the condition and intentions of the people of -Genoa. All the Alpine passes were in their hands, and Italy was doomed -to drink the cup of misery to the very dregs. - -Whilst the French armies had been carrying bloodshed and misery into -the countries around them, their brethren at home had been equally -busy in pushing forward those mutual hatreds which appeared likely -to end in the extermination of the whole race of revolutionists. The -Girondists being destroyed, new divisions showed themselves in those -who had hitherto been allies--Robespierre and his coadjutors. Hébert, -Chaumette, Clootz, Ronsin, and others, began to raise their heels -against their chief, and their chief doomed every one of them to the -guillotine. His most important victim was Danton, a man by no means -contemptible (guillotined April 5th, 1794). - -Robespierre believed that there was a majority of the Republicans who -thought they had gone too far in abolishing the Deity and setting up -the Goddess of Reason. He declared that the people needed festivals, -and immediately it was decreed that every decade should be celebrated -as a festival. A festival in honour of the Supreme Being inaugurated -this series of special holidays, and it was to be followed by festivals -to the Human Race, the French People, the Love of Country, Agriculture, -Necessity, Misfortune, Posterity, and various other qualities and -sentiments, each having one decade in the year. The first festival -to the Supreme Being was fixed for the 20th of Prairial, or 8th of -June. The painter David was commissioned to prepare the scenes and -ceremonies of the festival, which was enacted in the gardens of the -Tuileries. Robespierre, in his sky-blue coat and most showy waistcoat, -and carrying in his hand a grand bouquet of flowers mixed with ears of -wheat, led the procession and officiated as high priest. But though -Robespierre had proclaimed the reign of the Supreme Being, he had not -the least intention that it should on that account be any the more a -reign of mercy. In his speech at the festival of the Supreme Being, -he declared that the Republic must be still further purged--that they -must remain inexorable. On this point he and all his colleagues were -agreed, but they were agreed in nothing else. They immediately broke -into fresh schisms, as would necessarily be the case with such men, -who must go on exterminating one another to the last. Robespierre, St. -Just, and Couthon still hung together; but Barrère, Collot d'Herbois, -Billaud-Varennes, and most of the other members of the Committees of -Public Welfare and Public Safety, were in the very act of rushing into -opposition, and beginning a struggle with the triumvirate--Robespierre, -Couthon, and St. Just--to the death. St. Just advised Robespierre to -anticipate them, but he, relying on his authority with the Convention, -remained inactive. It was a fatal mistake. Barrère and his faction -determined to strike a decisive blow at Robespierre; and Tallien -volunteered to commence the attack on Robespierre in the Convention. -To Robespierre's utter astonishment, his friends were outnumbered, and -decrees were immediately passed for the arrest of Couthon, Lebas, St. -Just, Robespierre and his brother. He escaped and fled to the Commune. -For a moment it seemed as if a revolution would have restored him -to power. But the Parisians were weary of their tyrant, and on the -following day Robespierre with twenty members of the Commune perished -on the scaffold (July 28th, 1794). - -No sooner had Collot d'Herbois, Barrère, and that party triumphed -over Robespierre than they summoned the members of the tribunal to -their bar--ay, on the very morning of the day of his execution--and -voted them honours amid much applause. The tribunal replied, that -though a few traitors like Coffinhal and Dumas had found their way -into the tribunal, the majority of them were sound and devoted to the -Convention. Accordingly, the next day the Convention handed over to -Fouquier-Tinville and his colleagues a list of fresh proscriptions of -sixty-nine municipals, and a few days afterwards--namely, the 12th of -Thermidor, being the 30th of July--they added twelve more, completing -eighty-one victims! These were all executed within twenty-four hours. -The Convention then fell into new divisions, some members contending -for its being time to cease these tragedies, others insisting on -maintaining them. Billaud-Varennes, Barrère, and Collot d'Herbois -defended the guillotine and Fouquier-Tinville, but the greater number -of the enemies of Robespierre denounced them, declared themselves the -overthrowers of Robespierre, and assumed the name of Thermidorians, -in honour of the month in which they had destroyed him. For the -Thermidorians saw that the better part of the public had become sick -of blood, and they set about contracting the Reign of Terror. They -reduced the powers of the two governing Committees; they decreed that -one-fourth of the members should go out every month; they reduced -the revolutionary sections of Paris from forty-eight to twelve, and -abolished the forty sous a day to the sansculotte patriots for their -attendance. A month after the execution of Robespierre, Tallien made a -fierce onslaught on the Terrorist system, and declared that there were -numbers yet living who had been equally merciless with Robespierre, -Couthon, and St. Just; and the next day Lecointre denounced by name -Barrère, Billaud-Varennes, and Collot d'Herbois. To put an end to the -Jacobin resistance, the Convention closed the Jacobin Club altogether, -which had thus only survived the fall of Robespierre about four -months. Thereupon the Jacobins began to denounce the Thermidorians as -anti-Republicans, but they retorted that they were Republicans of the -purest school--that of Marat. - -[Illustration: PARIS UNDER THE REIGN OF TERROR: A VAIN APPEAL. (_After -the Picture by Paul Svedomsky_)] - -Whilst these frightful horrors were taking place, Russia, Prussia, and -Austria had been completing the extinction of Poland. An ill-advised -attempt by the Poles for the recovery of their country had precipitated -this event. The Russian Minister in Poland had ordered the reduction -of the little army of that country, under its now almost nominal king, -Stanislaus Augustus, from thirty thousand to fifteen thousand. The -Poles resented this, without considering that they were unable, at the -moment, to resist it. Kosciusko was appointed Commander-in-Chief, and -he issued an order for the rising of the people in every quarter of -Poland, and for their hastening to his flag. At first, the enthusiasm -of the call to liberty and to the rescue of the common country gave -some brilliant successes. Kosciusko, on his march from Cracow to -Warsaw, at the head of only four thousand men, encountered a Russian -army of upwards of twelve thousand, and defeated it with a slaughter -of three thousand of the enemy. On the 17th of March, 1794, the Polish -troops in Warsaw attacked the Russian garrison, eight thousand strong, -and slaughtering more than half of them, drove the rest out of the -city, and Kosciusko marched in soon afterwards. A week later the -population of Lithuania, Kosciusko's native province, rose, and drove -the Russians with much slaughter from Wilna, its capital. But this -could not save Poland: its three mighty oppressors were pouring down -their multitudinous legions on every portion of the doomed country. The -Emperor of Austria marched an army into Little Poland at the end of -June, and an army of fifty thousand Russians and Prussians was in full -march on Warsaw. For a time, Kosciusko repulsed them, and committed -great havoc upon them on the 27th of July; again, on the 1st and -3rd of August. At the same time, Generals Dombrowski, Prince Joseph -Poniatowski, and other Polish generals, were victorious in different -quarters, and the King of Prussia was compelled to draw off his army, -forty thousand strong, from Warsaw, in order to recover Great Poland. -This gleam of success on the part of the Poles, however, was but -momentary. Their army in Lithuania, commanded by corrupt, gambling, -and gormandising nobles, was beaten at all points by the Russians, -and driven out of Wilna on the 12th of August. At the same time, the -savage Suvaroff, the man who had cried "Glory to God and the Empress!" -over the ruthless massacre of Ismail, was marching down on Warsaw. -Kosciusko had unwisely weakened his army by sending a strong detachment -under Dombrowski into Great Poland, and, attacking a Russian force -under Count Fersen, at Macziewice, about fifty miles from Warsaw, on -the 17th of September, he was utterly routed. He had only about twenty -thousand men, whilst Fersen had at least sixty thousand. But Kosciusko -was anxious to prevent the arrival of Suvaroff before the engagement, -and thus rushed into battle with this fatal inequality of strength. He -was left for dead on the field, but was discovered to be alive, and -was sent prisoner to St. Petersburg, where he was confined till the -accession of the Emperor Paul, who set him at liberty. The fall of -Kosciusko was the fall of Poland. Not even Kosciusko could have saved -it; but this catastrophe made the fatal end obvious and speedy. Still -the Poles struggled on bravely against such overwhelming forces for -some months. The ultimate partition treaty was at length signed on the -24th of October, 1795; some particulars regarding Cracow, however, not -being settled between Prussia and Austria till the 21st of October, -1796. Stanislaus Augustus was compelled to abdicate, and he retired, -after the death of Catherine, to St. Petersburg, with a pension of two -hundred thousand ducats a year. He died there in the month of February, -1798, only about fifteen months after his former mistress, the Czarina. -And thus Poland was blotted out of the map of nations. - -In England there had been a coalition of what was called the Portland -section of the Whigs, with Pitt's Ministry. These Whigs had not only -separated from Fox and his friends, but they had, from the first -outbreak of the French Revolution, followed the lead of Burke and -supported all Pitt's measures. The Duke of Portland, therefore, was, in -July, made Third Secretary of State; Lord Fitzwilliam, President of the -Council, and, in December, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland; Earl Spencer was -made, at the same time, Lord Privy Seal, and, in December, First Lord -of the Admiralty; Pitt's elder brother, Lord Chatham, being removed for -him, and made Privy Seal; and Windham became Secretary of War in place -of Sir George Yonge. - -But this large infusion of Whiggery did not render the Administration -any the more liberal. It was determined to bring the politically -accused, now out on bail, to trial. On the 6th of October true bills -were found by the grand jury of Middlesex against Thomas Hardy, -the secretary of the Corresponding Society, John Horne Tooke, John -Augustus Bonney, Stewart Kyd, the Rev. Jeremiah Joyce, Thomas Wardle, -Thomas Holcroft, John Richter, Matthew Moore, John Thelwall, Richard -Hodgson, and John Baxter, for high treason. Hardy was put upon his -trial first at the Old Bailey, October 29th, before Chief Justice -Eyre, a judge of noted severity, Chief Baron Macdonald, Baron Hotham, -Mr. Justice Buller, and Mr. Justice Grose, with other judges. Sir -John Scott, afterwards Lord Eldon, as Attorney-General, opened the -case against him in a speech of nine hours. In this he laboured to -represent the Corresponding Society, and Hardy as its secretary, as -guilty of a treasonable intercourse with the French revolutionists, -and read numbers of documents expressing great admiration of the -French institutions. But these were merely the documents which had -long and openly been published by the Society, and were well known -through insertion in the newspapers. There was nothing clandestine -about them, nothing suggestive of a concealed and dangerous conspiracy. -Their invariable burthen was the thorough reform of Parliament, and -the utter disfranchisement of the rotten boroughs, by which the whole -representation of the country was transferred to the aristocracy. Next -a strong attempt was made to connect the secretary of the Society with -the men lately condemned in Scotland, especially Margarot, with whom, -as all undoubtedly engaged in the same object of Reform, Hardy, as -secretary, had considerable correspondence. The whole failed to impress -an English jury, and Hardy was acquitted after a trial of eight days. - -The next who took his trial was Horne Tooke. The evidence was much -the same, but the man was different. Tooke was one of the keenest -intellects of the time, full of wit and causticity, by which he had -worsted even Junius. He summoned as witnesses the Prime Minister -himself, the Duke of Richmond, Master-General of the Ordnance, and -others of the Cabinet, who had all in their time been ardent Reformers, -and cross-questioned them in a style which, if he were guilty, showed -that they had once been as much so. Tooke's trial was very damaging to -the Government, and he was also acquitted after a trial of six days, -during the whole of which the jury had not been allowed to separate, -that they might not receive any popular impressions from without--a -course which was not calculated to put them in a particularly good -humour with the prosecutors. - -On the 1st of December Bonney, Joyce, Kyd, and Holcroft were brought -up, but the evidence was precisely the same against them as against -Tooke; they were discharged without trial. Holcroft would have made -a speech condemnatory of these prosecutions, but was not allowed. -As these gentlemen were removed from the bar, John Thelwall, the -well-known elocutionist and political lecturer, was brought up. As -the Government thought there were some other charges against him, the -trial went on, and lasted four days, but with the same result; and as -it was found that it was hopeless to expect verdicts of guilty from -English juries for mere demands of Reform, the rest of the accused were -discharged. To the honour of the nation, people of all parties appeared -to rejoice at the independent conduct of the juries. - -This noble independence was in bright contrast to that of Scottish -juries. In this very autumn, fresh trials of accused seditionists -had taken place at Edinburgh, in which the conduct of Government and -the servility of the Scottish juries were equally reprehensible. -One Robert Watt, a ruined tradesman of that city, was put upon his -trial, on the 14th of August, charged with eighteen overt acts of high -treason--in exciting many individuals to arm themselves, and to meet -in convention to concoct plans for the overthrow of the Government. -But it appeared on the trial that Watt had long been a Government spy, -employed to instigate people to these courses, by direct orders from -Mr. Secretary Dundas and the Lord Advocate of Scotland. Letters from -these gentlemen containing these orders, and proofs of Watt being in -the pay of Government for these purposes, were produced by Mr. Henry -Erskine, the prisoner's counsel. It was shown unanswerably that he -had been encouraged to have arms made and distributed, and to tempt -soldiers in Edinburgh. He had been thus employed to mislead and ensnare -unsuspecting persons from August, 1792, to October, 1793--more than -twelve months; and it was shown that after this the Government had -abandoned him, and that he had then joined the Reformers in earnest. -Notwithstanding this display of the infamous conduct of the Government, -Watt was condemned to be hanged, drawn, and quartered. - -One Samuel Downie was next arraigned on the same charges, on the -5th of September, as an accomplice of Watt. But it appeared that he -had been rather the dupe of Watt and the spy-employing Government -than anything else; and though the jury pronounced him guilty, they -recommended him to mercy. He was respited and eventually pardoned; but -Watt underwent his sentence, so far as being hanged and beheaded,--a -warning to spies how they trusted a Government equally faithless to the -people and to the tools by which they sought to betray them. - -The last act of this year, 1794, was the opening of Parliament on the -30th of December. The king, in his speech, was compelled to confess the -deplorable defeat of our Allies, and of our own army under the Duke -of York. He had to admit that, Robespierre having fallen, there might -possibly be a more pacific spirit in France; that Holland, the only -ally for whom we were verbally bound to take up arms, was negotiating -a peace with the French; that the United States of America had refused -to coalesce with the French against us, and had, on the contrary, made -a treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation with us. Here, then, was -an end of all real causes for anything more than a mere defensive war -on our part. Yet the speech breathed a most warlike spirit, and made a -great deal of the secession of the island of Corsica from France and -its adhesion to England. In the same spirit were the Addresses from -both Houses carried by overwhelming Ministerial majorities. - -Canning, now rising into note, and Windham, declared that there were no -motives for peace, but everything to necessitate the active prosecution -of the war; and Windham could not help severely condemning the -acquittal of Horne Tooke, Hardy, Thelwall, and the rest of the accused -Reformers. He was called to order for thus impugning the conduct of -independent juries, and reminded that no legal proofs of the guilt of -the prisoners had been produced--on which he replied that they ought to -have been condemned, then, on moral proofs. - -Sheridan marked the opening of the year 1795 by moving, on the 5th of -January, for the repeal of the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. -He showed that the very grounds on which this suspension had been -based had miserably given way on the trials of Tooke, Hardy, and the -rest; that the whole amount of arms and money on which the so-called -"formidable" conspiracy had rested had been shown to be one pike, nine -rusty muskets, and a fund of nine pounds and one bad shilling! He -said that the great thing proved was the shameful conspiracy of the -Government against the people, and their infamous employment of spies -for that end; that eight thousand pounds had been spent on the Crown -lawyers, and a hundred witnesses examined, only to expose the guilt of -the Ministry. Windham defended the measures of Government, and charged -the juries with ignorance and incapacity, for which Erskine severely -reprimanded him. But the standing majorities of Pitt were inaccessible -to argument, and the continuance of the suspension was voted by a -majority of two hundred and thirty-nine against fifty-three. A like -result attended the debate in the Lords, where, however, the Dukes -of Norfolk and Bedford, the Marquis of Lansdowne, and the Earls of -Lauderdale and Guildford strongly opposed the suspension. - -These debates were immediately followed by the opening of the Budget -on the 23rd of February--an opening which was enough to have made any -men but such as were then at the head of British affairs pause in their -ruinous career. There was a call for one hundred thousand seamen, -for one hundred and sixty thousand regulars, and fifty-six thousand -militia--total, two hundred and sixteen thousand soldiers, besides -volunteers, fencibles, and foreign troops in British pay, amounting, by -land and sea, to at least four hundred thousand men! For their support -there were demanded sixteen million and twenty-seven thousand pounds, -in addition to other taxes to make up deficiencies and interest on the -Debt; the whole revenue demanded was twenty-seven million five hundred -thousand pounds. Besides this there was an annual subsidy to the King -of Sardinia of two hundred thousand pounds, although there was no -prospect whatever of saving him. To raise all this, new duties had to -be laid on tea, coffee, raisins, foreign groceries and fruits, foreign -timber, insurances, writs, affidavits, hair-powder, licences, etc., and -the revenue from the Post Office, while the privilege of franking had -to be abridged. The only tax that the compliant aristocracy protested -against was that on the powdered pates of their menials; but the -country cried lustily and in vain against the increase of taxation, -which, gross as it was, was but the beginning of their burdens and of -the burden of posterity. - -The Reformers made repeated and strenuous efforts to obtain a -parliamentary expression of the desirableness of this country -refraining from interfering with the internal affairs of France, and of -making specific arrangements with that country. Earl Stanhope made such -a motion in the Lords on the 6th of January, and the Duke of Bedford -made a similar one on the 27th of February. Lord Grey had moved the -same thing on the day before, but all these endeavours were rendered -abortive by Pitt's standing majority. It was replied that France had -no government that could be treated with, and Lord Mansfield asserted -that we had a right to interfere in the internal affairs of any country -that acted on principles dangerous to its neighbour. Fox, on the 24th -of March, moved for a committee of the whole House to inquire into the -state of the nation, but this was rejected on the ground that the times -were too critical, and Canning adduced the condition of Ireland, just -on the verge of rebellion, as a sufficient cause for not ascertaining -our actual state. - -[Illustration: THE PALACE OF THE TUILERIES, PARIS.] - -The only attempts at reform were in the commissariat and discipline -of the army. The soldiers were allowed an extra quantity of bread and -meat, and the militia regiments were permitted to have artillery, -and to increase their force and improve their staffs. But even these -reforms were made unconstitutionally by the dictum of the Ministers, -without the authority of Parliament, and occasioned smart but -ineffectual remonstrances from the House. Every motion for inquiry or -censure was borne down by the Ministerial majority. - -The remainder of the parliamentary session was occupied with royal -marriages and settlements. George III. and his queen, though pious and -decorous in their own lives, had the misfortune to have amongst their -sons some of the most dissolute and debauched men that ever figured in -the corrupt atmosphere of courts. The Prince of Wales was become a very -byword for his profligacy and extravagance. The Duke of York was but -little better, so far as his means allowed him; and the Duke of Sussex, -wishing to marry a woman to whom he was really attached, found the -Royal Marriage Act standing in his way. - -The marriage of the Prince of Wales with Mrs. Fitzherbert was -notorious; but as it was not openly avowed by the Prince, no steps were -taken to dissolve it. But in 1794 the Prince had got a new favourite, -the Lady Jersey, already a grandmother, but a young one. For her Mrs. -Fitzherbert was dismissed, showing how little the Prince thought of -the reality of the marriage with that fair lady, and he now lived -openly and ostentatiously with Lady Jersey, Lord Jersey being well -contented with the arrangement for the sake of the good things he hoped -to gain by it, being at once appointed Master of the Horse to the -Prince. But the Prince's extravagance and gambling, by the practice -of which, notwithstanding his own losses, he reduced his friends, one -after the other, as the Earl of Moira, Sir Wallace Porter, and others, -to beggary, had now brought him into extreme difficulties. His debts, -after having been more than once paid off by Parliament, now again -amounted to six hundred and thirty thousand pounds! Another appeal -to Parliament was absolutely necessary, for his creditors were grown -excessively clamorous. The king seized the opportunity to induce the -Prince to marry a foreign princess, representing it as the only plan -by which they could apply to Parliament for such an increase of means -as would enable him to liquidate his debts. But instead of allowing -the Prince to go abroad and make his own selection, so that there -might be possibly some degree of freedom of choice in the matter, the -queen was anxious to have her own niece, the Princess Louisa Augusta -Amelia of Mecklenburg, selected for him. This Princess, afterwards the -popular Queen of Prussia, was a good creature, and might possibly have -wrought some favourable change even in so depraved a nature as that -of the Prince of Wales. But the king was equally determined to secure -the unenviable post for his own niece, Caroline Amelia Elizabeth, the -second daughter of the Duke of Brunswick, who was one of the petty -princes of Germany. To effect this arrangement, an attachment between -the Crown Prince of Prussia and this Princess Caroline had to be rent -asunder. The Prince was ready to fall in with any such bargain, on -condition that he was liberated from his debts. It was certain that he -would please himself as to the lady or ladies with whom he would really -live. All obstacles of nature, or of nearness of consanguinity, or of -private attachments were overborne by diplomacy, and by the promise of -the discharge of the Prince's debts. The Princess Caroline of Brunswick -was selected--a young lady of not unpleasing person in her youth, -according to the descriptions of the time, but of defective education, -and coming to this country with the repugnance of a prior and -rudely-sundered attachment. She landed at Greenwich on Sunday, the 5th -of April, 1795, and the marriage ceremony was performed at St. James's, -by the Archbishop of Canterbury, on the 8th. The Princess had not -been ignorant of the dissolute character of her appointed husband, and -his mode of receiving her was not calculated to inspire any brilliant -hopes of his improvement. He had sent his mistress, the Lady Jersey, -to meet her on landing, and he made no disguise of his connection with -her before or after the marriage. The Memoirs of the time assert that -Lady Jersey omitted no arts to render the Princess ridiculous and even -disgusting to the Prince; but what chagrined him far more deeply was -the breach of the promises held out to him of the discharge of his -debts by a parliamentary grant or grants. - -On the 27th of April Pitt introduced a message from the king, -recommending the settlement of a suitable provision on the Prince of -Wales on his marriage. The Prince expected that Pitt would propose and -carry, by means of his compliant majority, which had readily voted -away millions to foreign monarchs, a vote for the immediate discharge -of his debts. His astonishment may therefore be imagined, when Pitt -proposed that Parliament should grant him such an income as should -enable him, by decent economy, to defray these debts by instalments -through a course of years. Having stated these debts at six hundred and -thirty thousand pounds, he proposed to increase the Prince's allowance -from seventy-five thousand to one hundred and forty thousand pounds, -an increase of sixty-five thousand pounds a-year. Twenty-five thousand -pounds of this were to be set apart every year for the liquidation -of the debts in the course of twenty-seven years. This was, in fact, -only giving him an increase on his marriage of forty thousand pounds -per annum; but so unpopular was the Prince that not even that amount -of money could be obtained. The question was warmly debated during -two months, and it was not till the 27th of June that it was finally -settled in still worse terms for the Prince, namely, that his allowance -should be one hundred and twenty-five thousand pounds per annum, with -the income of the Duchy of Cornwall, about fifteen thousand pounds -more, thus making up the one hundred and forty thousand pounds; but out -of this seventy-five thousand pounds per annum were appropriated to the -payment of his debts, leaving him only sixty-seven thousand pounds a -year clear for his own expenditure, or eight thousand pounds per annum -less than his previous allowance. With the grant to the Prince this -Session closed, namely, on the 27th of June. - -The first transactions of the campaign of 1795 which demand our -attention, are those of Holland. To the British army these were most -disastrous, and came to an end before the winter closed. The Duke of -York had returned to England early in December, 1794, leaving the chief -command to General Walmoden, a Hanoverian, second to whom was General -Dundas. Walmoden had gone quietly into winter quarters in the isle of -Bommel, forgetting that the firmness of the ice would soon leave him -exposed with his small force to the overwhelming swarms of the French, -under Pichegru, who, in the middle of December, crossed the Waal with -two hundred thousand men, and drove in his lines. General Dundas -advanced against him with eight thousand men, and, for the time, drove -the French back, on the 30th of December, across the Waal. But this -could not last with such disproportionate forces, especially as our -troops were left with the most wretched commissariat, and an equally -wretched medical staff; in fact, there were neither surgeons to attend -the greater part of the wounded, nor medicines for the sick. On the -4th of January, 1795, the French came back with their overpowering -numbers, and on the 6th the British were compelled to retire across -the Leck, and continue their retreat, suffering indescribable miseries -from the want of food, tents, and proper clothes, in the horrors of a -Dutch winter. Notwithstanding this, the British repeatedly turned and -drove back the enemy with heavy slaughter. But on the 11th of January -Pichegru attacked them in a defile between Arnhem and Nimeguen, with -a condensed force of seventy thousand men, and took every measure to -destroy, or compel the surrender of, the whole British army. They, -however, fought their way through and continued their march for the -Elbe, the only quarter open to them. During this retreat they were less -harassed by the French, who fell off to occupy Utrecht and Rotterdam, -than by the fury of the winter and the hostility of the Jacobinised -Dutch, who cursed them as the cause of all the sufferings of their -country. Such was the end of Britain's campaign for the defence of -her Dutch allies. Holland was proclaimed a free Republic under the -protection of France, and Britain immediately commenced operations for -indemnifying herself, by seizing the ships and colonies of her late -ally in every quarter of the globe. They intercepted the homebound -Dutch Indiamen, and when the Council of Government sent deputies to -London to reclaim them, Lord Grenville, the Foreign Minister, asked -them in what character they came. They replied, that they came as -representatives of the sovereign people of Batavia. The Foreign -Minister said he knew of no such Power, and declined to receive them. -No time was lost in seizing the Dutch colonies and factories. On -the 14th of July Admiral Sir G. Keith Elphinstone appeared in Table -Bay, and landed a considerable force under command of Major-General -Craig. They possessed themselves of Simon's Town and the strong fort -of Muyzenberg, and in the beginning of September, being reinforced by -another body of troops, under Major-General Alured Clarke, on the 23rd -of that month they were masters of Cape Town. A similar activity was -displayed in the East Indies; and in the course of the year, or early -in 1796, all the Dutch possessions in Ceylon, Malacca, Cochin, Amboyna, -and other places were surrendered to the British. The same seizures -were in course of execution on the settlements of the Dutch in the West -Indies, and on the coast of South America. - -But though we punished the Dutch for their French predilections, -the tide of French success was rolling on in various quarters, and -presenting a prospect of a single-handed conflict with France. The -powers on whose behalf we had armed were fast, one after another, -making terms with the Republicans. Holland was in their hands, and the -King of Prussia, on the 5th of April, concluded a peace with them at -Basle, in which he agreed to surrender to France all his possessions -on the left bank of the Rhine, on condition of retaining those on the -right. There was a mutual exchange of prisoners, including the troops -of such other German States as had served with Prussia. Spain hastened -to follow the example of Prussia. A peace was concluded at the same -place--Basle--on the 22nd of July, by which she gave up all the Spanish -part of San Domingo. To purchase the French evacuation, the Ministers -of Spain itself recognised the Batavian Republic--which was become, in -reality, a province of France--and promised to intercede with Portugal, -Naples, Parma, and Sardinia. The Grand Duke of Tuscany followed with -a proclamation of a treaty of neutrality with France, on the 1st of -March. Sweden and the Protestant Cantons recognised the French Republic -and the Batavian one, its ally; and the Duke of Hesse-Cassel, and even -George III., as Elector of Hanover, were compelled to an agreement to -furnish no more troops to the Emperor of Germany. Whilst the Allies -were thus falling away in rapid succession before the forces of -Republican France, Britain, instead of taking warning, and resolving -to mind only her own business, went madly into fresh treaties with -Continental Powers. Russia and Austria were received into fresh -treaties of mutual defence. Russia we were to assist with ships, and -Austria with twenty thousand foot and six thousand horse, or to pay -each month ten thousand florins for every thousand infantry, and -thirty thousand florins for every thousand of cavalry. To complete the -circle of treaties, Sir Gilbert Elliot, British Governor of Corsica, -entered into a treaty with the Dey of Algiers, by which, on payment -of a hundred and seventy-nine thousand piastres, he was to restore -all the Corsicans captured and enslaved by him, and was to enjoy the -strange privilege of carrying all his piratical prizes into the ports -of Corsica, and to sell them there--which was, in fact, licensing this -chief of sea-robbers to plunder all the other Italian States. - -On the Rhine there was a good deal of sharp fighting between the -French and Austrians. General Bender had been compelled to surrender -Luxembourg, on the 7th of July, and allowed to retire with his army of -ten thousand men into Germany, on condition of not serving again till -exchanged. There then remained little on either bank of the Rhine to -restrain the advance of the French, except Mayence on the left bank, -and Manheim and Düsseldorf on the right. Pichegru, in August, made -himself master of both Düsseldorf and Manheim, and was advancing to -the reduction of Heidelberg when he was met by old General Wurmser, -and driven back to Manheim. He was, in fact, meditating treachery. -Jourdain, who was advancing in another direction to co-operate with -Pichegru in the reduction of Mayence, was encountered by Clairfait, and -driven back to Düsseldorf. Clairfait then attacked the French forces -already investing Mayence, and the garrison making a sally at the -same time, the French were completely dispersed, and part retreated -north and part south. Wurmser then invested Manheim, and compelled its -surrender on the 22nd of November. Pichegru signed an armistice with -the Austrians before joining them. Jourdain also retreated. - -In Italy nothing was done till late in the year. Towards the end of -November, the French army, under Massena, commenced operations in -earnest. The Austrians and Piedmontese being scattered over a wide -extent of country, defending various passes, the French attacked and -beat them from different points. The right and centre of the Allies -were ere long routed; and the left, posted on the shores of the bay St. -Pier d'Arena, near Genoa, was attacked, both from the land and from the -water, by gunboats, which Nelson, who had been detached to co-operate -with the Austrians, had no means of coping with, except by letting -loose a far greater number of armed vessels, and was also compelled -to flight. Nelson managed to keep open the Bochetta pass for them, or -from eight thousand to ten thousand prisoners would have been made, -including the Austrian General Devins himself, who was laid up at Novi, -at the foot of the Apennines. The French were then in a position to -open the campaign against Italy in the spring. - -The massacre of Savenay had not settled La Vendée. In the spring of -1794 armed parties were again on foot. The largest body was that -under Charette, posted on the Isle Noirmoutier, to which many of the -fugitives who escaped from the massacre of Savenay betook themselves. -Amongst these was the wounded General D'Elbée, with his wife, and a -brother of Cathelinau. Charette quitted the isle to make an attack on -some of the Republican troops left in small bodies in the country, -consigning the care of the sick and wounded to the protection of a -garrison of one thousand eight hundred men. This garrison was soon -corrupted by the Republican general, Turreau; it surrendered, and -D'Elbée and his wife were both shot, and the sick and wounded treated -with merciless cruelty. This was about the only place of any strength -left the Vendéans; but a worse misfortune was at hand. The young and -chivalrous Henri La Roche-Jaquelein, marching, at the head of a body of -his own peasantry, between Trementine and Nouaillé, met two Republican -soldiers. The count generously offered them quarter; but, instead of -accepting it, one of them instantly levelled his musket and shot him -through the head. The two soldiers were immediately dispatched by his -followers and, supposing that a Republican column must be at hand, -they buried the three hastily in one grave and fled. The young count -was only in his twenty-first year, and with him died the hopes and -confidence of his peasantry. Stofflet succeeded him in the command of -his people, but Charette might be considered the Commander-in-Chief of -the Vendéans. - -The fall of Robespierre produced a marked change in the policy of -the Convention towards the Royalists of this district, and they were -promised, on laying down their arms, that they should enjoy their -country and their religion in peace. On this assurance, Charette -signed a treaty of pacification with the agents of the Government at -Nantes, in February, 1795. But scarcely was the peace signed, when -Charette received a letter from Monsieur--brother of the late king, -and now appointed by the Royalist party Regent to the Dauphin, now -styled by them Louis XVII.--assuring him of his confidence, declaring -him the second founder of the monarchy, and appointing him his -Lieutenant-General. Charette wrote back to inform him that he had been -compelled to sign a peace, but that his submission was only apparent, -and when the Royalist affairs were somewhat reinstated, he should be -ready to take up arms and die in the service of his prince. The young -General Hoche, who was sent to reduce the insurgents of Brittany, -whilst Canclaux reduced those of La Vendée, did not for a moment -believe in the sincerity of the peace. He was aware that Puisaye, -the chief of the insurgents in Brittany, was gone to England, to -endeavour to induce Pitt to do what all the efforts and importunities -of the Bourbon princes and Emigrant nobles had failed to do--to send -an expedition to the coast of Brittany, with another to the coast -of La Vendée, in which the British fleet should support the bodies -of Emigrants who had, in England and the Channel Islands, formed -themselves into regiments for the purpose. Aware of this, he still did -all he could to reconcile the peasantry to the peace, and very soon -they would have been pacified by this judicious treatment, and been -averse from rising again, with a prospect of re-experiencing their -former sufferings; but the Bourbon princes and the tribes of Emigrants -now driven from the Rhine did not allow them that chance. - -[Illustration: LA ROCHE-JAQUELEIN AND THE REPUBLICAN SOLDIERS. -(_See p._ 444.)] - -Puisaye's mission to London had been successful. Pitt was weak enough -to fall into the plan of sending over the Emigrants in our ships--as -if any such force could do more against the Republican armies than -create fresh miseries to all parties, and bring down worse vengeance -on the unfortunate Vendéans and Bretons. Puisaye, with the aid of -the Counts d'Hervilly, d'Hector, du Dresnay, Colonel Routhalier, and -other Royalist officers, had mustered a most miscellaneous body of -three thousand Emigrants, most of whom had been soldiers, and who -were accompanied by four hundred artillerymen of Toulon, commanded by -Routhalier. Besides these men, of whom the Count d'Artois, for the -time, gave the command to Puisaye, intending himself to follow, Puisaye -carried over ten thousand pounds, furnished by the Count d'Artois, -twenty-seven thousand muskets, six hundred barrels of gunpowder, -uniforms for seventeen thousand infantry and four thousand cavalry, -as well as provisions for three months. These troops and stores were, -after many delays, conveyed in a little squadron of three ships of -the line and six frigates, attended by transports, and commanded by -Sir John Borlase Warren. They sailed from the Isle of Wight in the -beginning of June, another squadron being sent to take up the Emigrant -troops in the Channel Islands, and land them at St. Malo, where they -were to co-operate with bodies of Chouans. These Chouans were smugglers -and bandits, who had led a life of plunder, and had been easily -collected into a sort of guerilla force, and their mode of warfare -still bore a strong resemblance to their old habits. These men, under -their different chiefs, had been excited by Puisaye to combine for a -strong resistance to the Republicans. They were dressed in green coats -and pantaloons, with red waistcoats. During his absence, Puisaye had -deputed the chief command of the Chouan bands to the so-called Baron -Cormatin, or Sieur Désoteux, who had assumed the title of Baron de -Cormatin from an estate of his wife's. Cormatin was a vain, weak man, -and by no means trustworthy, being ready, at any moment, to supersede -his chief, Puisaye, and act for himself. If the expedition against St. -Malo did not succeed, it was to join Puisaye and his detachment in the -Bay of Quiberon; and transports were also sent to the mouth of the -Elbe, to fetch thence the Emigrant regiments with the black cockade, -and bring them to join Puisaye. If all went well, the Count d'Artois -was to follow with British troops. The grand error of the whole was, -that the French prince did not put himself at once at the head of -the expedition, and see the different squadrons united in the Bay of -Quiberon before making the descent, though, even then, it could have -effected no great success. - -On the passage, the squadron of Sir John Warren came in sight of the -French fleet of Villaret-Joyeuse, of nine ships of the line, but it -bore away, and left them to pursue their course. They entered the -Bay of Quiberon on the 25th of June and, after much wrangling as to -the best situation for landing, they put the troops ashore at the -village of Carnac. There they were immediately joined by Georges -Cadoudal, d'Allègre, Dubois-Berthollet, and other Chouan chiefs, with -about four thousand or five thousand of their wild and bandit-looking -soldiers. Along with the Chouans came troops of peasants, crying -"_Vive le Roi!_" and bringing in abundance of fresh eggs, poultry, and -other provisions. Puisaye was delighted, and felt confident that all -Brittany was ready to rise. But this delusion was soon dissipated. The -Emigrants, accustomed to regular armies, looked with contempt on this -wild and ragged band, and they, on their part, were not restrained, on -the landing of the arms and uniforms, from seizing and carrying them -off, without much exertion on the part of Puisaye. There was danger -of bloodshed. At length, in about a couple of days, ten thousand of -them were put into red coats, and furnished with muskets. But fatal -dissensions prevented all operations. Puisaye proposed to march up the -country, seize different towns, such as Vannes and Rennes, and take up -their position behind the Mayenne; but d'Hervilly refused to march till -the troops were formed into regular regiments, and the Emigrants joined -him in despising the Chouans, and in complaining that they had not -been taken to La Vendée to join Charette. Puisaye and d'Hervilly also -disputed the supreme command, and Puisaye had to dispatch letters to -London, to Count d'Artois, on the subject. At length, after five days -had been wasted in this contention, Puisaye proposed that they should -endeavour to carry Fort Penthièvre, which stood on a small peninsula on -Quiberon Bay, and was united to the main land by a sandy isthmus. To -this d'Hervilly consented, and Sir John Warren agreed to support him in -the attempt. On the 1st of July Warren began to bombard the fort, and -on the 3rd, the place being warmly assailed by both the British and the -Chouans, the Republicans surrendered. Meanwhile, Puisaye had sent off -emissaries all over Brittany, to rouse Scépeaux, Charette, Stofflet, -and the rest of the insurgent chiefs. The news of the landing had flown -all over Brittany in a few days, and the Royalists were full of joy. - -But the Convention sent to Hoche two extraordinary Commissioners to -stimulate him to the utmost activity. Hoche immediately wrote to the -Committee of Public Welfare to assure them that nothing was wanting -to his success but for Government to support him with "provisions, of -which we are in want, and the twelve thousand men whom you promised me -so long ago." He posted his generals on every frontier, and in every -strong place. Thus he had enveloped Brittany on all sides; instead of -the Bretons rising _en masse_, as was expected, they kept quiet, and -only the Chouans appeared in arms. Even they demanded that the Count -d'Artois should come and put himself at their head; and the Emigrants -asked to be re-embarked, and taken to La Vendée to support Charette. -On their part, the able arrangements of Hoche and Canclaux prevented -the Vendéans from operating in favour of the Bretons, and Puisaye saw -himself paralysed by the vigour of his opponents and the dissensions -of his followers. The different bodies of Chouans were repulsed by the -Republicans as they advanced towards Quiberon Bay, and they complained -that d'Hervilly had withdrawn the four hundred men of the line who had -been ordered to support them. D'Hervilly replied that he had recalled -them to assist at the taking of Penthièvre. Thus favoured by the -wranglings of the Royalists, Hoche, on the 5th of July, found himself -established on the heights of St. Barbe, commanding the Isthmus of -Falaise. On the 7th d'Hervilly, supported by his regulars and by two -hundred British marines, endeavoured to drive him thence, but was -repulsed with great slaughter. Hoche then bore down from the heights, -and drove all the miscellaneous forces of Emigrants and Chouans, -mingled with women and children, to the promontory, and under the guns -of Fort Penthièvre. But for the well-directed fire from Warren's boats -the mass, nearly twenty thousand fugitives, must have surrendered at -once, having no outlet of escape. There, however, for some days they -stoutly defended themselves. - -On the 15th the British squadron brought in the Emigrant troops from -the Elbe, under the young and gallant Count de Sombreuil; but they -amounted only to eleven thousand men. Puisaye now ordered the Count -de Vauban to advance against Hoche with twelve thousand Chouans, and, -whilst they attacked on the right, he himself attacked his lines in -front. After some desperate fighting they were driven back, and lost -most of their cannon in the deep sand of the isthmus. Their misfortunes -were completed, on the 20th, by the garrison of the fort of Penthièvre -going over to the enemy, surrendering the fort to them, and helping to -massacre such of their officers and comrades as refused to follow their -example. The English admiral exerted himself to receive the remainder -of the troops who remained true on board his ships; but the storminess -of the weather and the impatience of the fugitives rendered this a -most difficult task. About fourteen thousand regulars and two thousand -four hundred Chouans were got on board; but Sombreuil, exposed to the -murderous fire from the enemy whilst waiting on the beach, surrendered -on promise of life. No sooner, however, were they in the hands of the -Republicans than all the officers and gentlemen were led out and shot; -and the common men enrolled in Hoche's regiments. - -Sir John Warren put the two thousand four hundred Chouans on shore -near Lorient, and left them to return to their own predatory mode of -warfare. He then located himself on two small neighbouring islands, -and waited for a fresh squadron carrying four thousand British troops, -which arriving in September, he bore away with them for La Vendée, and -thus terminated the miserable descent on the coast of Brittany. The -descent on the coast of La Vendée was still more unsatisfactory. On -arriving there, it was found that fifteen thousand Republicans were -in possession of the Isle Noirmoutier, formerly the stronghold of -Charette. The British, therefore, disembarked on the little desolate -Isle Dieu, about five leagues from Noirmoutier, and there awaited the -arrival of Count d'Artois, who did not come till the 10th of October, -and then, alarmed at the fusillading of the officers at Quiberon, -declined to land. On hearing this, Charette exclaimed--"We are lost! -To-day I have fifteen thousand men about me; to-morrow I shall not have -five hundred!" And, in fact, chagrined at the pusillanimous conduct of -the prince, and the approach of Hoche with his victorious troops from -Brittany, his followers rapidly dispersed, and at the end of the year -the British armament returned home, having done nothing. From this -day may be dated the extinction of the war in La Vendée. Stofflet, in -January, 1796, was defeated, and in February was betrayed to the enemy, -and on the 26th of that month was executed at Angers with four of his -companions. Charette was captured a month afterwards, and was shot at -Nantes on the 29th of March. With him died the last Vendéan general of -mark. By this time, the spring of 1796, not a fifth part of the male -population of La Vendée remained alive; and Hoche himself calculated -that the Vendéan war had cost France a hundred thousand men. - -Meanwhile the Convention determined to proceed to the abolition of the -Constitution of '93, and to the establishment of one more accordant -with their own tendencies. In 1793 the Revolutionists were as violent -against aristocracy as against monarchy, and had allowed only one -legislative body. The precipitate acts of the last three years had -now persuaded them that at least a second, if not an aristocratic, -chamber might be useful, as a balance against legislation under violent -impulses. They proposed, then, to have two chambers--one called the -Council of Five Hundred, composed of that number of members of at least -thirty years of age, having exclusively the right of proposing laws, -of whom one-third should be renewed every year; the second, called the -Council of the Ancients, to consist of two hundred and fifty members, -of at least forty years of age, all either widowers or married, -having the sanctioning of the law, and also to be annually renewed -by one-third. No sooner were these decrees passed than there was a -violent outburst of discontent. On April 1st, and again on May 20th, -the Parisian mob rose in insurrection, but were completely suppressed. -This was the death-blow of the Democratic party. Then came the turn of -the Royalists. A meeting took place in the Odéon theatre, on the 3rd -of October, under protection of some battalions of National Guard. The -Duke of Nivernois presided. The Committees of Public Safety and Welfare -gave the alarm to the Convention, and the Convention sent a force to -disperse the meeting, but it had already dissolved itself. The Sections -had committed the mistake of refusing to allow the ultra-Jacobins to -vote, and the Convention now embodied and armed one thousand eight -hundred of these, ready, in their indignation, to do anything. On the -4th, the Section Lepelletier beat to arms, and the committee held its -meeting in the convent of Filles St. Thomas, in the Rue Vivienne. -General Menou was summoned from the camp at Sablons, and ordered to -disperse the meeting. He proceeded to the convent, found the committee -of the Section armed, and, instead of dispersing them, agreed to retire -on a promise that they would withdraw of themselves. The Convention -immediately arrested Menou as a traitor, and deprived him of his -command. They forthwith appointed Barras general of the interior in -the place of Menou, and ordered him to clear the streets, and place -troops in a position to insure the safety of the Convention. Barras -was a general of brigade, but he was not too fond of exposing himself -and, fortunately for him and for another, he had his eye on one who -would execute the orders of the Convention without shrinking. This was -Napoleon Buonaparte. The Convention had about five thousand troops; -but the decision of the conflict must depend on the cannon. These were -in the camp at Sablons. Buonaparte instantly dispatched Murat to secure -them, and received the insurrectionists with such a shower of grape -that after a short resistance they were completely defeated. - -During this time Britain was suffering severely from the effects of -the war. The nation was indignant under the disgrace of the complete -defeat of its army on the Continent, at the defection of those very -Allies who had been so profusely subsidised, at the perfidy by which -these despot Powers had made Britain the efficient party in the -dismemberment of Poland, and at the heavy taxes imposed in consequence. -Political meetings were held in most large towns and in the metropolis, -expressing the most decided disapprobation of the policy of Ministers -and at the refusal of all reforms. At the end of June a monster meeting -had been held in St. George's Fields, and on the 26th of October, -another, of fifty thousand people, near Copenhagen House, at which the -lately prosecuted but acquitted agitators, Thelwall, Gale Jones, and -others, were the speakers. The numbers and tone of these meetings, -which were accompanied with loud cries of "Bread! Bread!" and "Down -with Pitt!" greatly alarmed Government, and there was a summons of -Parliament at the unusually early date of October 29th, only three -days after the meeting in Copenhagen Fields. On going to the House to -open the session, the king--who had become very unpopular from his -eager support of the war, and his going about saying, "The French won't -leave a single crowned head in Europe!"--was shot at with an air-gun in -Margaret Street, opposite to the Ordnance Office, the ball from which -passed through the windows of the carriage, between his Majesty and the -Earl of Westmoreland. The king on entering the House, exclaimed to the -Lord Chancellor, "My lord, I have been shot at!" As the king returned, -he was again furiously hissed; there was the same vociferous shouting -of "Bread! Bread!" and "No Pitt!" Stones were thrown at the royal -carriage; and, in the haste and confusion to escape into the palace -of St. James's, one of the royal grooms was thrown to the ground, and -had his thigh broken. The king got into a private coach to regain -Buckingham House, where his family was; but he was recognised, and -pursued by the same cries of "Bread! Bread!" and "Peace!" That evening -the king, who had behaved throughout with great courage, accompanied -the queen and three of his daughters to Covent Garden Theatre, where -he was received with zealous acclamations; the actors sang "God save -the king!" three times over. Some of the people in the gallery were, -however, pretty vehement in their hisses, but were attacked and turned -out. - -[Illustration: ATTACK ON THE ROYAL CARRIAGE. (_See p._ 448.)] - -The Ministers, instead of making rational concessions to the demands -of the people for Reform, proceeded without delay to fresh aggressions -on their liberties. Not contented with the existing suspension of the -Habeas Corpus Act, and with introducing into the Lords a Bill for the -protection of the king's person and Government, they passed a law -prohibiting all political meetings, and another to extend the law of -treason; they recommenced arrests and prosecutions, and sent out shoals -of spies and informers, so that all the safeguards of public liberty -were completely annihilated. These despotic measures did not pass -without energetic opposition and a good deal of violent language from -Fox; but all remonstrance was useless against Pitt's majority. Still -the alarm of the Government was not allayed. On the 8th of December -the king sent a message to both Houses, reiterating his assurance of -an earnest desire to negotiate peace with France. The Opposition very -properly pointed out that, so far as France was concerned, victorious -in its armies, and as anti-monarchical in its government as ever, -there were less hopes of any consent on its part to peace than when -the Opposition had so repeatedly urged the same measure. In this -unsatisfactory state closed the year 1795. - -Mr. Grey seized the professed desire of peace by Government, so soon -as Parliament met after the Christmas recess, to bind them to it by a -resolution. He complained that, so far from any intentions of peace, -Ministers were making fresh preparations for the prosecution of the -war. Pitt denied this, and asserted that the Government was really -anxious for peace, but could not consent to it unless France agreed -to yield up its conquests of Belgium, Holland, Savoy, and Nice. On -the 10th of March Mr. Grey moved for an inquiry into the state of the -kingdom. He showed that this contest, so unsuccessful, had already, in -three years, added seventy-seven millions to the national debt; more -than the whole expense of the American war, which had cost sixty-three -millions. He commented severely on the wasteful manner in which this -money had been thrown away on monarchs who had badly served the cause, -or had perfidiously betrayed it; and on the plunder of the country by -jobbers, contractors, commissaries, and other vampires, who had left -the poor soldiers to neglect, starvation, and death, amid the horrors -of winter, and inhospitable, pretended friends, for whom they had been -sent to fight. Grey and Fox followed this up by fresh resolutions and -motions condemning Ministers for their misconduct of the war, and -enormous waste of the public money; but all these were triumphantly got -rid of by overwhelming majorities; and in the face of this ineffectual -assault, Pitt introduced his Budget, calling for fresh loans, amounting -to no less than twenty-five million five hundred thousand pounds, and -for supplies to the amount of upwards of forty-five millions. Some -of the items of this sum were--navy, seven million five hundred and -twenty-two thousand five hundred and fifty-two pounds; army, eleven -million nine hundred and eleven thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine -pounds; ordnance, one million nine hundred and fifty-four thousand -six hundred and sixty-five pounds; miscellaneous and extraordinary, -thirteen million eight hundred and twenty-one thousand, four hundred -and thirty pounds. The last item alone amounted to more than the whole -national expenditure before the commencement of this war, yet the whole -of these startling sums were readily voted away by the Ministerial -majority; and with these funds in hand for renewed prosecution of the -war, the Session ended, on the 19th of May. - -In March, 1796, Mr. Wickham, the British envoy to Switzerland, asked -of M. Barthélemy, by direction of Pitt, whether the French Directory -were desirous of entertaining the question of peace. Barthélemy -replied that the Directory would enter into negotiations on the basis -of France retaining all the Netherlands won from Austria, which were -now annexed to the Republic, and which France would never restore. -The reply was certainly insincere. France was as busy as ever by her -emissaries undermining the loyalty of all the populations around her -on pretence of liberating them. She had worked upon the Swiss, so that -it was evident that they would soon fall into her net. She had entered -into a treaty with the disaffected in Ireland, namely, Lord Edward -Fitzgerald, Wolfe Tone, Arthur O'Connor, and their fellow-conspirators, -and the treaty was already signed, and a large fleet and force -preparing for the invasion of Ireland. Not only was France on the -very eve of invading Ireland, but she had issued a decree prohibiting -the introduction of all British manufactures into Holland, Belgium, -and the German states on the Rhine, as well as into any of the French -colonies, on the severest penalties. Yet, in the face of all these -hostile demonstrations, did Pitt send over Lord Malmesbury to endeavour -to negotiate a peace. Lord Malmesbury arrived in Paris, on the 22nd of -October, with a splendid retinue. The Directory received him haughtily, -and commissioned M. Delacroix to discuss the matter with him. Lord -Malmesbury insisted on the restoration of the Netherlands to Austria, -a point on which the French Government had declared there could be -no treaty, and which rendered the embassy, from the first moment, -utterly absurd. Delacroix communicated the proposal to the Directory, -and the Directory immediately published it, contrary to all the rules -of diplomacy, in the _Moniteur_, Instead of proceeding further with -Britain, the Directory immediately dispatched General Clarke, an -officer of Irish extraction, and afterwards made Duke of Feltre, under -Buonaparte, to Vienna, to treat separately with Austria. This failed, -and, of course, with it all failed; though there was much talk between -Malmesbury and the Directory on the subject of Britain restoring the -French colonies in the East and West Indies, since the restoration of -Belgium and Holland was a _sine quâ non_. Thus, as might have been seen -from the first, the negotiation was at a deadlock. The King of Sardinia -was already in negotiation for peace for himself; and therefore British -Ministers did not add to his difficulties by demanding the restoration -of Savoy and Nice. - -At the very moment that these negotiations on the part of Britain were -going on, Buonaparte, who had been appointed to the command of the army -of Italy, was achieving there victory after victory. Genoa had shut her -ports against our ships, Naples had concluded peace with France, Spain -had been induced to proclaim war against us, and Hoche had sailed for -Ireland with twenty-five thousand troops. On the 19th of December Lord -Malmesbury received a message to quit Paris within forty-eight hours, -with the additional assurance, that whenever Great Britain was prepared -to accept the terms of France, an ordinary courier would answer the -same purpose as well as a lord. The blame of continuing the war thus -lay entirely with the French. - -During the year 1796 strong forces were sent to the West Indies, and -the Island of Grenada was recovered by General Nichols; St. Lucia, -by General Abercromby, whilst General Whyte conquered the Dutch -settlements of Demerara, Berbice, and Essequibo; but some of these -possessions were dearly purchased by the number of the troops who -perished from the unhealthiness of their climate. The Dutch made -an effort to recover the Cape of Good Hope. They were to have been -assisted by the French in this enterprise, but their allies not keeping -their engagement, they sailed alone, and reached Saldanha Bay on the -3rd of August, when Rear-Admiral Sir George Elphinstone surprised and -captured the whole of their vessels, consisting of two sixty-four-gun -ships, one fifty-four, five frigates and sloops, and a store-ship. A -squadron then proceeded from the Cape to Madagascar, and destroyed a -French settlement there, seizing five merchant vessels. - -During the summer a French squadron stretched away across the Atlantic -with six sail of the line, and finding our Newfoundland coasts almost -wholly unprotected, destroyed and plundered the fishermen's huts and -fishing stages, as well as their vessels, and then, returning, picked -up a considerable number of our merchantmen at sea, and was lucky -enough to make a retreat, by favour of a fog, through our watching -squadrons, into Brest. After this clever exploit, they joined the great -Brest fleet, which sailed for Ireland on the 15th of December. This -consisted of no fewer than forty-three sail, seventeen of them of the -line, four frigates, six corvettes and brigs, with six transports. On -board the transports were twenty-five thousand men, who had been well -tried in the war of La Vendée, and abundance of arms and ammunition, as -well as extra arms to put into the hands of the disaffected Irish, for -to Ireland the armament was bound. General Hoche, who had terminated -the Vendéan war, was appointed to terminate all the woes of Ireland, -and convert that sacred island into another French paradise. Besides -Hoche, Generals Grouchy, Hombert, and Bruix were attached to the -expedition. The fleet sailed out and anchored in Camaret Bay, but no -British fleet was visible to intercept them. But no sooner did the -armament put out to sea again the next day, than it was assailed by -a tempest and the ships were driven different ways. One of them was -forced immediately on the Grand Stenet rock, and wrecked--out of one -thousand four hundred souls on board only sixty were rescued. Seven -ships of the line, and ten of the vessels commanded by Rear-Admiral -Bouvet, managed to reach Bantry Bay on the 24th of December, but -there the storms continued to batter them. There being no sign of an -insurrection, and no other part of the fleet appearing, they sailed -back and reached Brest on the 1st of January, 1797. When they were -gone, another portion of the fleet arrived in Bantry Bay, but only to -be tossed and driven about without rest, to lose several of the ships, -and to put back again. As for Hoche, he never saw Ireland; the greater -part of the fleet being driven about and swamped in the Channel. Of -the forty-three sail, only thirty-one returned, and thousands of the -soldiers were drowned in the foundering transports. Sir Edward Pellew, -in the _Indefatigable_, of forty-four guns, and Captain Reynolds, in -the _Amazon_, of thirty-six guns, fell in with the _Droits de l'Homme_, -of seventy-four guns, and after a severe fight close in Audierne Bay, -south of Ushant, left her a wreck aground, where, of the one thousand -eight hundred men aboard, scarcely more than three hundred were saved, -notwithstanding the greatest exertions of the British seamen to rescue -them. - -The Directory began its campaigns of 1796 with much spirit and ability. -The plans which had been repeatedly pointed out by Dumouriez, Pichegru, -Moreau, and more recently by Buonaparte, of attacking the Austrians -in Germany and Italy simultaneously, and then, on the conquest of -Italy, combining their armies and marching them direct on the Austrian -capital, were now adopted. Pichegru, who had lost the favour of the -Directory, was superseded by Moreau, and that general and Jourdain were -sent to the Rhine. Jourdain took the command of sixty-three thousand -foot and eleven thousand horse, at Coblenz, and immediately invested -the famous fortress of Ehrenbreitstein, on the opposite bank of the -river. Moreau was sent to lead the army at Strasburg, consisting of -seventy-two thousand foot and nearly seven thousand horse. Jourdain -found himself soon menaced by the Archduke Charles, the Emperor's -brother, the ablest and most alert general that the Austrians possessed -at that period. He advanced rapidly on Jourdain's position with seventy -thousand foot and twenty thousand horse, defeated a division of -Jourdain's army under General Lefebvre, and compelled Jourdain himself -to raise the siege. But the archduke, out of too much anxiety for -Wurmser, who was opposed to Moreau with much inferior forces, ascended -the Rhine to support him, and Jourdain immediately availed himself of -his absence to advance and seize Frankfort on the Main, Würzburg, and -other towns. Moreau advanced to drive back Wurmser and the archduke, -till a union with Jourdain would enable them to fall conjointly on -the Austrians. But the archduke perceived that, in consequence of the -orders of the Directory, Moreau was spreading his army too wide, and he -retreated so as to enable Wurmser to join him. This retrograde movement -was mistaken, both by friends and enemies, for a sign of weakness; -and whilst Moreau advanced with increased confidence, many of the raw -contingents of the archduke's army deserted, and several of the petty -States of Germany sued to the Directory for peace. But the moment for -the action of the archduke had now arrived. Whilst Moreau was extending -his lines into Bavaria, and had seized Ulm and Donauwörth, and was -preparing to occupy the defiles of the Tyrol, the Archduke Charles -made a rapid detour, and, on the 24th of August, fell on Jourdain, and -completely defeated him. He then followed him to Würzburg, and on the -3rd of September routed him again. With a velocity extraordinary in an -Austrian, the archduke pushed on after Jourdain's flying battalions, -and on the 16th of September gave him a third beating at Aschaffenburg, -and drove his army over the Rhine. Moreau--left in a critical position, -so far from the frontiers of France, and hopeless of any aid from -Jourdain, who had lost twenty thousand men and nearly all his artillery -and baggage--made haste to retrace his steps. Thus both of the French -armies were beaten back to the left bank of the Rhine, and Germany was -saved. - -But meanwhile in Italy the French had been completely successful. -Buonaparte reached the French headquarters at Nice on the 26th of -March, and immediately set himself to organise and inspirit the -forces, which were in great disorder; he found the commissariat also -in a deplorable condition. The troops amounted to fifty thousand; -the Austrians, under the veteran General Beaulieu, to considerably -more. The united army of the Sardinians and Austrians, Beaulieu on -the left, d'Argenteau in the centre, and Colli with the Piedmontese -division on the right, hastened to descend from the Apennines, to which -they had retreated at the end of the last campaign. Beaulieu met the -French advanced guard at Voltri, near Genoa, on the 11th of April, and -drove it back. But d'Argenteau had been stopped in the mountains by -the resistance of a body of French, who occupied the old redoubt of -Montenotte. Buonaparte, apprised of this, hurried up additional forces -to that point, and defeated d'Argenteau before Beaulieu or Colli could -succour him. Having now divided the army of the Allies, Buonaparte -defeated a strong body of Austrians under General Wukassowich; and -having left Colli and the Piedmontese isolated from their Allies, -debouched by the valley of Bormida into the plains of Piedmont. -Beaulieu retreated to the Po, to stop the way to Milan; and Buonaparte, -relieved of his presence, turned against Colli, who was compelled to -retreat to Carignano, near Turin. Trembling for his capital, and with -his means exhausted, Victor Amadeus made overtures for peace, which -were accepted; the terms being the surrender of all the Piedmontese -fortresses and the passes of the Alps into the hands of the French, -and the perpetual alienation of Nice and Savoy. This humiliation broke -the heart of the poor old king, who died on the 16th of October. -Buonaparte, however, did not wait for the conclusion of this peace; -the truce being signed, he hastened on after Beaulieu whom he defeated -and drove across the Po. Beaulieu next posted himself at Lodi, on the -Adda; but Buonaparte, after a fierce contest, drove him from the bridge -over the Adda on the 10th of May, and with little further opposition -pursued him to Milan. Beaulieu still retreated, and threw himself into -the fastnesses of the Tyrol. On the 15th Buonaparte made a triumphal -entry into Milan, and immediately sent troops to blockade Mantua. -Buonaparte then advanced into the Papal States, rifling the Monti de -Pietà at Bologna and Ferrara. Everywhere contributions were demanded -at the point of the bayonet, and French authorities superseded the -native ones. Pius VI. made haste to sue for peace, and it was granted -on the most exorbitant terms. Fifteen millions of francs must be paid -down in cash, six millions in horses and other requisites for the army. -A great number of paintings and statues were to be selected from the -galleries of art, and five hundred manuscripts from the library of the -Vatican. The provinces of Ferrara and Bologna must be ceded; the port -and citadel of Ancona, and all the Papal ports, must be closed against -the British. This most costly peace was signed on the 23rd of June, -and Buonaparte hastened northward to stop the advance of the army of -Wurmser, which had been sent through the Tyrol to compete with the -rising Corsican. - -[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL OF MILAN.] - -Wurmser advanced down the valley of Trent with fifty thousand men, -whose number was increased, by the remains of the army of Beaulieu, to -sixty thousand. With such a force well conducted, the Austrians might -have worsted Buonaparte, whose troops were not more than forty-five -thousand, and already greatly harassed by rapid marches. But there was -no comparison between the genius of the commanders. The conduct of the -Austrians was a series of fatal blunders. Had the Archduke Charles -been there it might have been different; but the first thing which -Wurmser did was to weaken himself by dividing his forces, and sending -one detachment under Quasdanowich along the western shore of the Lake -of Garda, and marching along the eastern bank himself with the other. -The quick eye of Buonaparte instantly saw his advantage; neither of the -divisions was now equal to his own, and he beat them both in detail. He -raised the blockade of Mantua, defeated Quasdanowich at Lonato, chased -him back into the mountains, and then engaged and routed him twice -near Castiglione, on the 3rd and 5th of August. Wurmser had to make a -hasty retreat into the mountains, leaving behind his artillery and many -thousand men slain. Buonaparte pursued him into the very gorges of the -Tyrol, and inflicted fresh losses upon him. The sturdy but not very -bright old Austrian, however, made a detour in the hills, and again -issued on the plains from the valley of the Brenta. With remarkable -address and agility for him, he made his way to Mantua, and threw -himself into the fortress with the wretched remains of his army, about -eighteen thousand men. - -There was still a fair chance for the Austrians--Britain had furnished -them with money--and two fresh armies were descending from the hills. -One of these, amounting to thirty thousand, was led by a brave officer, -General Alvinzi; the other of twenty thousand, under Davidowich, was -marching from the Tyrol to meet Alvinzi near Verona, who was coming -from Carinthia by Belluno. Buonaparte did not allow them to meet. -He attacked Alvinzi on the 6th of November, and met with a terrible -repulse. A detachment of French under Vaubois had been dispatched to -impede the march of Davidowich, but was also in retreat. Buonaparte -again attacked Alvinzi near Verona, and again was repulsed. Had the -Austrians united their two new armies before entering Italy, or had -Wurmser marched from Mantua to support Alvinzi, the French must -have been utterly annihilated. As it was, Napoleon was dreadfully -disheartened, and wrote a despairing letter to the Directory, saying -his best officers were killed, and his men exhausted from fighting -and severe marches. But his pride and dogged pertinacity came to his -aid. He made a rapid march and got into the rear of Alvinzi, but found -himself stopped by a narrow bridge over the Alpone at Arcole. The -country on each side was a marsh, and the only approach to the bridge -was by long narrow causeways. As the French advanced along the causeway -on their side to storm the bridge, they were swept down by hundreds -by the Austrian cannon. Time after time, Buonaparte drove his columns -along the causeway, but only to see them mown down by grape shot. His -men fled into the very marshes to save themselves, and he himself was -thrown from his horse into the marsh, and had to be dragged from the -mire. Bodies of Hungarians and Croats made a final sally along the -causeway, cutting down all before them, and it was marvellous that he -escaped them. By this time Alvinzi had brought up his main body to the -neighbourhood of the bridge, and the battle raged obstinately there -for three days. Seeing it impossible to carry the bridge against that -solid mass of troops, Buonaparte dispatched General Guyeuse to cross -the Adige at the ferry of Albaredo, below the confluence of the Alpone, -and take Alvinzi in flank. Guyeuse succeeded in crossing, but was -repulsed on the other side by the Austrians. Buonaparte again, on the -16th, made one more desperate rush at the bridge, but only to receive -another bloody defeat. The next day he threw a bridge over the Alpone, -just above its confluence with the Adige, and sent over Augereau with -a powerful force, whilst he again assailed the bridge from his side. -These combined operations succeeded. Alvinzi was compelled to retreat -to Vicenza and Bassano. Scarcely had he given way, when Davidowich, -who ought to have joined him long before, came down the right bank of -the stream. He now came only to experience a severe defeat, whereas -his timely arrival might have insured a complete victory. He again had -recourse to the security of the hills. The belligerents then went into -winter quarters, leaving the French victorious. - -Whilst the French had been thus beating the Austrians out of Italy, -and thus rendering abortive our new and lavish subsidy to the Emperor, -Ministers had been busy in the election of a new Parliament. This new -Parliament assembled on the 6th of October, and was full of patriotism. -As Hoche's army had not yet sailed, and as nobody seemed to know its -destination, Pitt represented that it probably was for the coast of -England, and called for the enrolment of fifteen thousand men from -the parishes, half of whom were to be sent into the navy, and for -sixty thousand militia and twenty thousand more yeomen cavalry, all -which were carried. On the 26th of October Windham, as Secretary at -War, announced the whole military force of the country at home and -abroad, apart from the troops in the East Indies, which were raised and -maintained by the Company, to be one hundred and ninety-six thousand -men, and he demanded for their payment five million one hundred and -ninety thousand pounds. On the 7th of November Pitt opened his Budget, -requiring no less than twenty-seven million nine hundred and forty-five -thousand pounds for the total expenditure of the year. There was -another loan called for of eighteen million pounds, and though the -terms were then considered low, such was the spirit of the nation that -the amount was subscribed within two days. - -The year 1797 was opened by the suspension of cash payments. The -Bank of England had repeatedly represented to Pitt, as Chancellor of -the Exchequer, that his enormous demands upon it for specie, as well -as paper money, had nearly exhausted its coffers and could not long -be continued. The payment of our armies abroad, and the advances to -foreign kings, were necessarily made in cash. The Government, in spite -of enormous taxation, had already overdrawn its account eleven million -six hundred and sixty-eight thousand eight hundred pounds, and the sole -balance in the hands of the Bank was reduced to three million eight -hundred and twenty-six thousand eight hundred and ninety pounds. Pitt -was demanding a fresh loan for Ireland, when a message came from the -Bank to say that, in existing circumstances, it could not be complied -with. Thus suddenly pulled up, the Privy Council was summoned, and -it was concluded to issue an order for stopping all further issue of -cash, except to the Government, and except one hundred thousand pounds -for the accommodation of private bankers and traders. Paper money was -made a legal tender to all other parties, and the Bank was empowered -to issue small notes for the accommodation of the public instead of -guineas. A Bill was passed for the purpose, and that it might not -be considered more than a temporary measure, it was made operative -only till June; but it was renewed from time to time by fresh Acts of -Parliament. The system was not abolished again till 1819, when Sir -Robert Peel brought in his Bill for the resumption of cash payments, -and during the whole of that time the depreciation of paper money was -comparatively slight. - -At the same time, our seamen--who were the real and proper defenders -of the country but were so miserably paid and so abominably treated -in many ways, that they could only be compelled into the service by -the odious operation of pressgangs--now burst forth into mutiny. Their -complaints and resistance compelled a small advance and improvement. -None since then had taken place. This advance of wages did not amount -to more than eightpence-halfpenny a day to able seamen and sevenpence -to ordinary seamen. And the low pay was but the smallest part of the -complaint of these brave men. They complained that a most unfair -system of prize-money had prevailed, by which the admirals and chief -officers swept off most of the money and left little or nothing to -the petty officers and the men; that their treatment on board was -barbarous, unfeeling, and degrading; that their provisions were of the -vilest description, being the direct consequence of the contracts with -villainous purveyors, through equally rascally Navy Commissioners, so -that, in fact, they were served with such salt beef, salt pork, and -biscuit as no dog would touch. Nor did their list of grievances only -too real end here. Instead of Government paying the pursers direct -salaries, they were paid by deducting two ounces from every pound -of provisions served out to the men. Thus, instead of sixteen ounces -to the pound, they received only fourteen ounces; and the same rule -applied to the measurement of liquids--beer and grog--served out to -them. Things had come to such a pass from these causes, and the neglect -of their complaint was so persevering, that the whole fleet determined -on a mutiny. - -Accordingly, petitions were sent in from several of the principal -men-of-war lying at Portsmouth, to Lord Howe, the commander of the -Channel fleet, praying him to intercede with the Admiralty for the same -liberality towards the seamen of the royal navy and their families as -had been shown to the army and militia, in increase of pay and better -provisions. Lord Howe, instead of complying with this reasonable -desire, sent the petitions to the port-admiral, Sir Peter Parker, and -to Lord Bridport, who commanded the Channel fleet under Howe. They -treated the petitions as the work of some ill-disposed person, and -therefore of no consequence; but Parker was very soon compelled to -inform Lord Spencer, the head of the Admiralty, that he had discovered -that there was a general conspiracy to take the command of the ships -from the officers on the 16th of April. To test this, orders were -immediately issued to put out to sea; and the moment that Lord Bridport -signalled this order to the fleet, the effect was seen. The sailors -all ran up into the rigging and gave several tremendous cheers. They -instantly followed up this by taking the command from the officers, -and sending two delegates from each ship to meet on board the _Queen -Charlotte_, Lord Howe's flag ship. They thence issued orders for all -the seamen to swear fidelity to the cause, and the next day they all -swore. They kept part of the officers on board as hostages, and put -others, whom they accused of oppression, on shore. They next passed -resolutions to maintain order, and treat the confined officers with -all due respect. They then drew up a petition to the Admiralty stating -their grievances, and respectfully praying for redress. This brought -down to Portsmouth Lord Spencer, and other lords of the Admiralty, -where they met in council with Bridport and other admirals. Had these -admirals shown a proper attention to the health and claims of these -men, their grievances must long ago have ceased; but though they -were perfectly well aware of them, they now proposed, along with the -Admiralty, to recommend the granting of part of their demands. The -deputies replied that they sought nothing but what was reasonable, -and would never lift an anchor till those terms were granted. This -Admiralty committee then offered some of the terms, but left out -the proposal that the pensions of the Greenwich veterans should be -raised from seven pounds to ten pounds, and the crews of men-of-war -should have vegetables when in port. The sailors, indignant at this -miserable parsimony, returned on board and hoisted the red flag at -every mast-head. This was a sign that no concession would be made. -Yet, on the 22nd, the delegates addressed letters to the Admiralty, -and to Lord Bridport, firm, but respectful. Government then tried its -usual resource, the proclamation of a pardon, but without taking notice -of the necessary concessions. With this proclamation, Lord Bridport -went the next day on board the _Royal George_, and assured the seamen -that he had brought a royal pardon, and also the redress of all their -grievances. On this assurance, the crew hauled down the red flag, and -all the other ships did the same. - -News now came that the Brest fleet was putting to sea. On the 7th of -May Lord Bridport went on board and ordered anchor to be weighed. Not -a man stirred; nor was it likely. No sooner had Lord Bridport told -them what was not true, that their demands were acceded to, than, in -the House of Lords and the House of Commons, Ministers had spoken -of the subject in very ambiguous terms, and the Board of Admiralty -had only ended the ambiguity by issuing an order on the 1st of May, -commanding, in consequence of "the disposition lately shown by the -seamen of several of his Majesty's ships," that the arms and ammunition -of the marines should be kept in readiness for use in harbour, as -well as at sea; and that on the first appearance of mutiny the most -vigorous measures should be taken to quell it. This was ordering the -officers of marines to fire on the sailors who should refuse to be thus -shamefully juggled out of their promised rights by the Government. On -board the _London_, Vice-Admiral Colpoys pushed the matter so far that -his men resisted orders; and as one was unlashing a gun, Simpson, the -first-lieutenant, told him that if he did not desist he would shoot -him. The man went on unlashing, and Simpson shot him dead! On this, -the sailors, in a rage, disarmed the officers and proceeded to hang -Simpson at the yard-arm. Colpoys then begged for the lieutenant's -life, assuring them that the order was his own, and that Simpson had -only done his duty in obeying it. The chaplain and surgeon joined in -the entreaty; and the men, far more merciful and reasonable than -their commanders, complied. They ordered, however, Colpoys and all -the officers to their respective cabins, and put the marines, without -arms, below deck. Similar scenes took place on the other ships, and the -fleet remained in the hands of the sailors from the 7th to the 11th -of May, when Lord Howe arrived with an Act of Parliament, granting -all their demands. Howe, who was old and infirm, persuaded them to -prepare a petition for a full pardon. They, however, accompanied this -petition by an assurance that they would not serve again under the -tyrannical officers whom they had put on shore; and this was conceded. -Admiral Colpoys was included in this list of officers proscribed by -their oppressed men, along with four captains, twenty-nine lieutenants, -seventeen masters' mates, twenty-five midshipmen, five captains of -marines, three lieutenants, four surgeons, and thirteen petty officers -of marines. The whole being arranged on the 15th of May, the red flag -was struck; and the deputies waited on Lord Howe to express their -obligations to him for his kind services on behalf of the oppressed -seamen. His lordship gave them luncheon, and then was escorted by -them, along with Lady Howe, on board the fleet. On their return, they -carried Lord Howe on their shoulders to the Governor's House. Sir Roger -Curtis's squadron had just come in from a cruise, and on learning what -had passed, declared themselves ready to support the rest of the fleet; -but the news which Howe had brought at once satisfied them, and all -eagerly prepared to set sail, and demonstrate their loyal zeal by an -encounter with the Brest fleet. - -But the fleet at Sheerness, which sympathised with that at Portsmouth, -did not think fit to accept the terms which had satisfied the seamen -of Portsmouth. They were incited by a sailor, named Richard Parker, -to stand for fresh demands, which were not likely to meet with the -sympathy of either sailors or landsmen, being of a political character -and including a revision of the Articles of War. On the 20th of May, -the ships at the Nore, and others belonging to the North Sea fleet, -appointed delegates, and sent in their demands, in imitation of the -Portsmouth men. The Admiralty flatly rejected their petition. On the -23rd of May the mutineers hoisted the red flag; and all the ships of -war lying near Sheerness dropped down to the Nore. On the 29th, a -committee from the Board of Admiralty went down to Sheerness, to try to -bring them to reason, but failed. The mutineers then drew their ships -in a line across the Thames, cutting off all traffic between the sea -and London. On this, the Government proceeded to pull up the buoys at -the mouth of the river, to erect batteries along the shores for firing -red-hot balls; and a proclamation was issued declaring the fleet in -a state of rebellion, and prohibiting all intercourse with it. This -soon brought some of the mutineers to their senses. They knew that -every class of people was against them. On the 4th of June, the king's -birthday, a royal salute was fired from the whole fleet, as a token of -loyalty; the red flag was pulled down on every ship but the _Sandwich_, -on board of which was Parker, and all the gay flags usual on such -occasions were displayed. Several of the ships now began to drop away -from the rest, and put themselves under protection of the guns of -Sheerness. On the 13th of June the crew of the _Sandwich_ followed this -example, and delivered up the great agitator, Richard Parker, who was -tried, and hanged at the yard-arm of that ship on the 30th. Some others -of the delegates were executed, and others imprisoned in the hulks; and -thus terminated this mutiny, as disgraceful to the sailors as that at -Portsmouth was reasonable and honourable. - -[Illustration: THE MUTINY AT SPITHEAD: HAULING DOWN THE RED FLAG ON THE -"ROYAL GEORGE." (_See p._ 456.)] - -Early in this year Admiral Sir John Jervis fell in with the great -Spanish fleet, which was intended to co-operate with the French in the -invasion of Ireland, and defeated it. Nelson had predicted that the -Spanish fleet would not take much destroying. Admiral de Langara had -had a fortunate escape in the Mediterranean, in venturing to Corsica. -He had now been superseded by Don Juan de Cordova, and Jervis, on -the 14th of February, met with him off Cape St. Vincent. Cordova -had twenty-seven sail of the line, Jervis only fifteen; but he had -Nelson in his fleet, which more than counterbalanced the inequality of -numbers; and the discipline on board the Spanish ships was far below -that of the British. Nelson broke through the Spanish line, and chiefly -by his exertions and manœuvres four of the largest vessels were taken, -including one of one hundred and twelve guns. The rest escaped into -Cadiz, and there the British blockaded them. The news of this brilliant -victory arrived in London when the public was greatly dispirited by -the exhausted state of the Bank of England, and helped to revive -confidence. Sir John Jervis was made Earl of St. Vincent, and Nelson, -the real hero, a Knight of the Bath. - -A still more signal victory was won by Admiral Duncan in the autumn. -On the 11th of October, the Admiral, who had been watching the Dutch -fleet in the Texel, found that during a storm it had stolen out, and -was on its way to join the French fleet at Brest. There were eleven -sail of the line, and four fifty-six gun ships, commanded by Admiral -de Winter. Duncan had sixteen sail of the line. Notwithstanding our -superiority of numbers, the Dutch fought with their accustomed valour, -but Duncan ran his ships between them and the dangerous coast, to -prevent their regaining the Texel, and so battered them that they were -compelled to strike. Eight sail of the line, two fifty-six gun ships, -and two frigates remained in our hands; but the Dutch had stood it -out so stoutly, that the vessels were few of them capable of being -again made serviceable. The loss in killed and wounded on both sides -was great. Duncan was elevated to the peerage for this victory of -Camperdown, and the danger of immediate invasion was at an end. - -On the 10th of February, 1797, the French made a descent on the Welsh -coast, which created much alarm at the time, and no less speculation -as to its meaning. Four armed vessels, containing about fourteen -hundred men, had appeared in the Bristol Channel, off Ilfracombe, in -north Devon. They did not attempt to land there, but stood over to the -Welsh coast, and landed in a bay near Fishguard. They were commanded -by General Tate, and commenced marching inland, and the whole country -was in alarm. Lord Cawdor marched against them with three thousand men, -including a considerable body of militia, and they at once laid down -their arms and surrendered without a shot. Many were the conjectures -as to the object of this descent, and historians have much puzzled -themselves about a matter which appears plain enough. The men looked -ragged and wild, more like felons than soldiers, and were apparently -not unwilling to be made prisoners. They were, no doubt, a part of the -great Brest fleet meant for Ireland, which had been driven about by the -tempests ever since they quitted that port on the 17th of December, and -were only too glad to set foot on any land at all, and probably were -by this time so famished and bewildered that they did not know whether -they were in England or Ireland. Many of their comrades of the same -unfortunate expedition never did see land again. - -The opening of the campaign on the Rhine in 1797 restored the positions -of the French. On the lower part of the river, Hoche, who now commanded -them, defeated General Kray; on the upper Rhine Moreau retook the -fortress of Kehl, opposite to Strasburg; and such was the alarm of -Austria that she began to make overtures of peace. The fortunes of her -army in Italy made these overtures more zealous; Alvinzi was defeated -at Rivoli on the 14th of January, and Provera soon after surrendered -with four thousand men, and Wurmser capitulated at Mantua. The Archduke -Charles was now sent into Italy with another army, but it was an -army composed of the ruins of those of Beaulieu, Alvinzi, Wurmser, -and Davidowich, whilst it was opposed by the victorious troops of -Buonaparte, now supported by a reinforcement of twenty thousand men -under Bernadotte. The archduke, hampered by the orders of the Aulic -Council in Vienna, suffered some severe defeats on the Tagliamento -in March, and retreated into Styria, whither he was followed by -Buonaparte. But the danger of a rising in his rear, where the Austrian -General Laudon was again collecting numerous forces, induced Buonaparte -to listen to the Austrian terms for peace. The preliminaries were -signed on the 18th of April at Leoben, and Buonaparte, to bind the -Emperor to the French cause, and completely to break his alliance -with Britain, proposed to hand over to the Austrians the territory -of Venice. This being effected, Buonaparte hurried back to seize and -bind the promised victim. He took a severe vengeance on the people -of Verona, who had risen against the French in his absence, and then -marched to Genoa, where, under pretence of supporting the people in -their demands for a Republic, he put down the Doge and Senate, set -up a democratical provisional government, seized on all the ships, -docks, arsenal, and stores--in fact, took full possession. All further -pretence of regard for the neutrality of Genoa was abandoned. - -On the 17th of October the peace between France and Austria was -definitively signed at Campo Formio. To France Austria ceded Belgium, -the left bank of the Rhine, including Mayence, the Ionian islands, and -the Venetian possessions in Albania, both of which really belonged to -Venice. Venice itself, and its territory as far as the Adige, with -Istria and Venetian Dalmatia on the other side of the Adriatic, were -made over to Austria without ceremony. The Milan and Mantuan states -were given up by Austria, with Modena, Massa, Carrara; and the papal -provinces of Bologna, Ferrara, Ravenna, and the rest of them, as far -as the Rubicon, were included in a new so-called Cisalpine Republic -belonging to France. Tuscany, Parma, Rome, and Naples were still called -Italian, but were as much, Naples excepted, in the power of France as -the rest. In fact, except Venetia, which Austria secured, all Italy -except Naples was subjected to the French, and the regular process of -democratising was going on, in the latter kingdom, for an early seizure. - -Before the conclusion of this treaty Pitt had made another effort to -obtain peace with France. The fact that one ally, Austria, was engaged -in separate negotiations gave him a fair excuse, and Lord Malmesbury -was once more sent to negotiate. He went to Lille, presented his plan -of a treaty, and at first all went well. Britain promised to restore -all her conquests with the exception of Ceylon, the Cape of Good Hope, -and Trinidad. But the Directory suffered the negotiations to drag on, -and when intestine struggles in France had been terminated in the -triumph of the Republican party on the 18th Fructidor (September 4), -the negotiations were suddenly broken off on the ground that Malmesbury -had not full authority. Once more the war party in France had gained -the day, and the weary contest was resumed. - -[Illustration: THE DOGE'S PALACE, VENICE.] - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Sympathy in Ireland for the French Revolution--Intrigues with the - French--Attitude of the Roman Catholics--Failure of Fitzwilliam's - Efforts at Reform--Open Rebellion begins--The Mission of Fitzgerald - and O'Connor to France--Disclosure of the Conspiracy--Arrest of - Fitzgerald and his Confederates--Outbreak of the Rebellion--Battle - of Vinegar Hill--Arrival of Humbert's Expedition--Its brief Success - and Surrender--Suicide of Wolfe Tone--Desire of France to invade - England--Napoleon advises the Expedition to Egypt--He gives Nelson - the slip--His gigantic Projects--Surrender of Malta--Nelson's - Pursuit--Napoleon's Campaign--Battle of the Pyramids--Surrender - of Cairo--Battle of the Nile (or Aboukir Bay)--Pitt's second - Coalition--The Income Tax--Projected Union of Great Britain and - Ireland--Proclamation of the Parthenopean Republic--Italy regained - by the Coalition--Suppression of the Revolution in Naples--The - Allies in Holland--Napoleon's March into Syria--His Defeat at - Acre--Battle of Aboukir--Napoleon returns to France--_Coup - d'État_ of the 18th Brumaire--Death of Tippoo Sahib--Napoleon's - Letter to the King--The Union with Ireland--Means by which it - was carried--Its Reception in England--Napoleon Crosses the - Alps--Battle of Marengo--The French recover Lombardy--Battle - of Hohenlinden--Treaty of Lunéville--Corn Riots--Breach - with Russia--Pitt's Resignation--The King's Illness--The - Addington Ministry--Revival of the Armed Neutrality--Battle of - Copenhagen--Peace between Britain and the Northern Powers--The - Expedition to Egypt--Battle of Alexandria--Evacuation of Egypt by - the French--Negotiations for Peace--Treaty of Amiens. - - -Britain had seen her Continental Allies fall away one by one. The -time was now approaching when some good allies might have been very -useful to herself, if such people were ever to be found. We have seen -that, during the American Revolution, the rebellious colonists found -admirable allies in the Irish. They had no difficulty in exciting -disturbances amongst that ardent Celtic race, and thus greatly to -augment our difficulties. No sooner did the French commence the work -of revolution than the Irish became transported with admiration of -their doings. Not all the bloodshed and horrors of that wild drama -could abate their delight in them, and their desire to invite them -over to liberate Ireland, as they had liberated Belgium. These views -found expression in the north of Ireland, especially in Belfast and -other places, where the population was Presbyterian and to a certain -extent Republican. The Roman Catholics were inert, and disposed to -wait patiently. Ever since the American revolt the necessity of -conciliating the Irish had been impressed on the British Government, -and many important concessions had been granted them. They had not -yet obtained Catholic emancipation, but the public mind was ripening -for it, and the chief difficulty was the opposition of the extreme -Protestant party in the Irish Parliament. Whatever were the evils which -England had inflicted on Ireland, they were nothing compared with -those which French fraternity would have perpetrated. But the United -Irishmen, as the revolutionaries called themselves, could see nothing -of this, not even after all the world had witnessed the French mode of -liberating Belgium, and French waggons, guarded by soldiers, were day -after day, and month after month, bearing over the Alps the priceless -_chefs-d'œuvre_ of the arts from ravaged Italy. In the spring of 1798 -the preparations of the French Directory for the invasion of Ireland -were too open and notorious to be overlooked by anybody. - -The British Government had employed the best portion of the Session of -Parliament between the commencement of November and Christmas, 1797, -in receiving the report of the insults of the French Commissioners at -Lille to our Ambassador, and his summary dismissal from the place of -meeting without any chance of peace, and in voting money to carry on -the war at our own doors. Pitt called for the grant of twenty-five -million five hundred thousand pounds, and for trebling all the assessed -taxes. All this was readily granted. In April, 1798, he called for -three millions, and that was as freely conceded. In fact, by that -time, the Irish were on the very verge of appearing in arms to cast -off the yoke of England and accept the boasted fraternity of France. -Lord Edward Fitzgerald, brother of the Duke of Leinster, one of the -leading members of the Society of United Irishmen, had spent some time -in France during the Revolution. He had married Pamela, the daughter of -Madame de Genlis. To him, on his return to Ireland, French emissaries -of revolution were secretly sent over, and he introduced them to -the leading members of the projected revolt. In 1794 a Jacobinised -Irishman, the Rev. William Jackson, came over from Paris, at the time -of the fiercest raging of the Reign of Terror, to concert with Wolfe -Tone and his fellow-conspirators the plans of insurrection. At the -very time that some of these--Bond, Simon Butler, and Hamilton Rowan--were -tried as accomplices of the Scottish reformers, Muir and the -rest, and acquitted as men only seeking reform of Parliament, they were -deep in this scheme of French invasion. Jackson was arrested in Dublin, -was tried and convicted of high treason, but anticipated his sentence -by suicide. The most public display of sympathy with his views and -mission was made by a vast attendance of carriages at his funeral, and -the features of rebellion became so undisguised that a stop was put to -all questions of political concession and amelioration. - -[Illustration: DUBLIN CASTLE. (_From a Photograph by W. Lawrence, -Dublin._)] - -Hitherto the United Irishmen had obtained little support from the -Catholics, who were entirely out of sympathy with the Protestantism -of one section of the party, and the irreligion of Wolfe Tone and his -immediate associates. They preferred to look to the British Government, -and especially to Pitt who was known to be favourable to the Catholic -claims. But the Protestants in the Irish Parliament were too strong -for him, and only a few remedial measures were passed and those -inconsiderable in extent. In 1792 Sir Hercules Langrishe, with the -consent of the Government, succeeded in carrying a Bill which admitted -Catholics to the profession of the law, removed restrictions on their -education, and repealed the Intermarriage Act. In 1793 the Irish -Secretary, Major Hobart, succeeded, after much Government pressure, -in carrying a second Catholic Relief Bill, admitting Catholics to the -grand juries, magistracy, and finally to the franchise, though not to -Parliament. Further than that Pitt could not be induced to go. He would -neither consent to the admission of Catholics to Parliament, nor would -he consent to a measure of Parliamentary reform, though the state of -the representation was about as rotten as could possibly be conceived. -From an inquiry instituted some years earlier it appeared that out of -a House of 300 members 124 were nominated by 53 peers, while 91 others -were chosen by 52 commoners. The British ascendency was, in fact, -maintained by a system of organised corruption and place-holding, which -failed only when religious bigotry carried the day. - -Disappointed in their hopes from England, educated Roman Catholic -opinion in Ireland began to drift towards the United Irishmen, in -spite of the peasants' war that was rife in various parts of the -country between the members of the two religions. Suddenly their -expectations received an unlooked-for impulse. During the spring of -1794 Pitt determined to send over Lord Fitzwilliam, who was heir to the -Marquis of Rockingham and a prominent member of the Portland Whigs, as -Lord-Lieutenant. It was clearly understood that Fitzwilliam should be -allowed to inaugurate a policy of reform, but Pitt wished that reform -to be gradual and cautious. It is plain that he gave Grattan intimation -to that effect, and that Grattan thought the stipulation a reasonable -one, but it is equally clear that he somehow or other failed to make -much impression upon Fitzwilliam. No sooner had the new Lord-Lieutenant -arrived in Ireland than he proceeded to dismiss Castle officials before -he could possibly have had time to inquire into the rights and wrongs -of their cases, and with equal abruptness turned out the Attorney, and -Solicitor-General, and Mr. Beresford, the Commissioner of Revenue, the -head of the most powerful of the Protestant families. The result was a -violent outcry, which was increased when he proceeded, in conjunction -with Grattan, to draw up a Bill for the immediate granting of the -Catholic claims. The Ascendency party clamoured for his recall, and -the Lord Chancellor Fitzgibbon represented to the king that to admit -Roman Catholics to Parliament would be to violate his Coronation Oath. -Pitt was obliged to give way, and on March 25th, 1794, Fitzwilliam -left Ireland, amidst every sign of national mourning. The incident is -a melancholy one, but a calm review of the circumstances produces the -conclusion that the indiscretion of Lord Fitzwilliam was very much the -cause of it. - -After the departure of Fitzwilliam an open rebellion began. But the -measures of his successor, Lord Camden, were at once moderate and -prompt. A vigilant eye was kept on the agents of sedition and the -Democratic clubs, which swarmed all over Ireland, as much in the -Presbyterian north as in the Catholic south. Wolfe Tone and Hamilton -Rowan had escaped to the United States; but there they fell in with Dr. -Reynolds, Napper Tandy, and other enthusiastic Irish revolutionists. -Tone was supplied with money, and dispatched to France to stimulate the -Directory to the Irish invasion. He arrived at Havre in February, 1796, -and on reaching Paris he presented letters from M. Adet, the French -Minister to the United States, and was warmly received by Carnot, -General Clarke, acting as Minister of War, and the Duke de Feltre. He -was assured that General Hoche should be sent over with a resistless -army as soon as it could be got ready, but the Directory desired to -see some other of the leading members of the United Irishmen before -engaging in the enterprise. Tone promised General Clarke one thousand -pounds a year for life, and similar acknowledgments to all the other -officers, on the liberation of Ireland; and he solicited for himself -the rank of Brigadier-General, with immediate pay, and obtained it. - -Lord Edward Fitzgerald and Mr. Arthur O'Connor, nephew of Lord -Longueville, went over to Paris to arrange the invasion. In London, -Fitzgerald, his French wife, who accompanied him, and O'Connor, were -entertained by members of the Opposition, and dined at the house of a -peer in company with Fox, Sheridan, and several other leading Whigs; -and Thomas Moore, in his Life of Fitzgerald, more than hints that -he made no secret to these patriots of the object of his journey, -for he was of a very free-talking and open Irish temperament. The -friends of Fox have been inclined to doubt this discreditable fact, -but no one was more likely than Moore to be well informed about it; -and when Fitzgerald and O'Connor were on their trial, not only Fox, -but Sheridan, Lord John Russell, the Dukes of Suffolk and Norfolk, -Lords Thanet and Oxford came forward, and gave them both the highest -character as excellent, honourable men. These emissaries reached -Basle, by way of Hamburg, in the spring of 1797, and there, through -Barthélemy, negotiated with the Directory. The Directory objected to -receive Lord Edward Fitzgerald at Paris, on account of his connection -with the Orléans family through his wife, lest the people should -imagine that it was with some design on the Orléans estate; he -therefore returned again to Hamburg, and O'Connor proceeded to Paris -and arranged for the expedition under General Hoche, whose disastrous -voyage we have already related. Fitzgerald and O'Connor did not reach -Ireland again without the British Government being made fully aware -of their journey and its object, from a lady fellow-traveller with -Fitzgerald to Hamburg, to whom, with a weak and, as it concerned the -fate of thousands, unpardonable garrulity, he had disclosed the whole. -Almost simultaneously the arrest of the revolutionary committee of the -North disclosed a systematic and well-organised conspiracy. In March, -1797, General Lake proceeded to disarm the revolutionaries in Ulster, -and accomplished his task with ruthless severity. - -Still, emissaries continued to pass to and fro, and notwithstanding -that the promised armament had failed to reach Ireland, the impatient -Irish were determined to rise. In February, 1798, they sent appeals -to the French to come over, assuring them that they had three hundred -thousand men banded to receive them, who only wanted arms; and -Talleyrand sent them word that a fresh armament was preparing. But -on the 28th of that month, O'Connor, one O'Coigley, an Irish priest, -and Burns, a leading member of the London Corresponding Society, were -arrested at Margate as they were about to embark for France. Papers -found on O'Coigley, or Quigley, proved his treason. One was a direct -invitation to the French to send an army into England, as certain to -prevent the sending of British forces into Ireland, and thus to make -the descent there sure. He was condemned and executed, but Burns was -acquitted, and O'Connor remanded for fresh evidence. That was soon -forthcoming; for one Thomas Reynolds, who had been the treasurer for -the insurgents in his county, and also a colonel in the intended -revolutionary army, being pressed for money, betrayed his associates. -In consequence of the information which he gave, a number of the -conspirators were arrested at their place of meeting. The four chief -leaders, however, were not there, as expected, namely, Lord Edward -Fitzgerald, Emmet, Sampson, and MacNevin, but they were afterwards -secured. Lord Edward Fitzgerald was surprised at one Murphy's, 153, -Thomas Street, Dublin, and made a desperate resistance. He attacked -Major Swan, who presented the warrant, with a dagger, and, being a -powerful man, was very formidable. Major Swan discharged a pistol at -him, but missed. Captain Ryan, next entering, was stabbed mortally -by Lord Edward, and a bloody struggle ensued, Captain Ryan, who -was, practically speaking, unarmed, behaving with great courage and -self-sacrificing heroism. Major Sirr, who had surrounded the house -with soldiers, then rushed in and fired at Fitzgerald, and wounded him -in the shoulder. He was then overpowered and secured by the soldiers, -and conveyed first of all to Dublin Castle and then to Newgate. This -took place on the 19th of May. Captain Ryan died of his wounds on the -30th. Lord Edward died of fever, the consequence of his wounds, and of -mortification at the failure of the enterprise (June 4). - -On the 23rd, the day fixed for the rising, the insurgents turned out -in many places, notwithstanding the arrest of their leaders. They did -not succeed at Carlow, Naas, and Kilcullen. But, on the 25th, fourteen -thousand of them, under one Father Murphy, attacked Wexford, defeated -the garrison which came out to meet them, took a considerable number -of prisoners, whom they put to death, and frightened the town into a -surrender on the 30th. They treated such Protestants as remained in the -place with the utmost barbarity. They took Enniscorthy and, seizing -some cannon, encamped on Vinegar Hill. On the 31st they were attacked -by General Lake, who drove them from their camp, made a great slaughter -of them, and then retook Wexford and Enniscorthy. General Johnson -attacked another party which was plundering the town of New Ross, -killing and wounding two thousand six hundred of them. On this news -reaching Scullabogue, the insurgents there massacred about one hundred -Protestant prisoners in cold blood. These massacres of the Protestants, -and the Presbyterians in the north having been too cautious to rise, -after the betrayal of the plot, caused the whole to assume the old -character of a Popish rebellion. Against this the leading Catholics -protested, and promptly offered their aid to Government to suppress -it. Of the leaders, MacCann, Byrne, two brothers named Sheares, the -sons of a banker at Cork, were executed. The success of the soldiers -was marked by worse cruelty than that of the rebels; for instance, -at Carlow about 200 persons were hanged or shot. Arthur O'Connor, -Emmet, MacNevin, Sampson, and a number of others, were banished. Lord -Cornwallis was appointed Lord-Lieutenant in place of Lord Camden, and -pardons were assured to those who made their submission. All now seemed -over, when in August there appeared at Killala three French frigates, -which landed nine hundred men, who were commanded by General Humbert. -Why the French should send such a mere handful of men into Ireland, -who must inevitably be sacrificed or made prisoners, can perhaps only -be accounted for by the assurances of the disaffected Irish, that the -whole mass of the people, at least of the Catholics, were ready to -rise and join them. But if that were true--if, as Wolfe Tone assured -them, there were three hundred thousand men already disciplined, and -only in need of arms, it would have been sufficient to have sent them -over arms. But then Tone, who had grown as utterly reckless as any -sansculotte Frenchman, described the riches of Ireland, which were -to repay the invaders, as something prodigious. In his memorial to -the Directory he declared that the French were to go shares with the -nation whom they went to liberate, in all the church, college, and -chapter lands, in the property of the absentee landlords, which he -estimated at one million pounds per annum, in that of all Englishmen, -and in the income of Government, which he calculated at two millions -of pounds per annum. General Humbert, who had been in the late -expedition, and nearly lost his life in the _Droits de l'Homme_, no -doubt expected to see all the Catholic population flocking around him, -eager to put down their oppressors; but, so far from this, all classes -avoided him, except a few of the most wretched Catholic peasants. At -Castlebar he was met by General Lake, with a force much superior in -numbers, but chiefly yeomanry and militia. Humbert readily dispersed -these--the speed of their flight gaining for the battle the name of -the Castlebar Races--and marched on through Connaught, calling on the -people to rise, but calling in vain. He had made this fruitless advance -for about seventeen days when he was met by Lord Cornwallis with a -body of regular troops, and defeated. Finding his retreat cut off, he -surrendered on the 8th of September, and he and his followers became -prisoners of war. But the madness or delusion of the French Government -had not yet reached its height; a month after this surrender Sir John -Warren fell in with a French line-of-battle ship and eight frigates, -bearing troops and ammunition to Ireland. He captured the ship of the -line and three of the frigates, and on board of the man-of-war was -discovered the notorious Wolfe Tone, the chief instigator of these -insane incursions, and who, before sailing, had recorded in his diary, -as a matter of boast, that every day his heart was growing harder, that -he would take a most dreadful vengeance on the Irish aristocracy. He -was condemned to be hanged, but he managed to cut his throat in prison -(November 19, 1798). And thus terminated these worse than foolish -attempts of France on Ireland, for they were productive of great -miseries, both at sea and on land, and never were conducted on a scale -or with a force capable of producing any permanent result. - -Meanwhile, Buonaparte, summoned by the Directory to take the command -of the army of England, had arrived in Paris on the 5th of December, -1797, and had taken up his abode in his former residence, in the Rue -Chantereine, which the Commune immediately changed, in honour of the -conquest of Italy, into the Rue de la Victoire. But it was necessary -that Buonaparte should prepare for the invasion of England, for which -purpose he had been called home. All France was in transports of joy -at the thought of seeing England at last overrun. The Directory had -raised their cry of "_Delenda est Carthago!_" "It is at London," they -said, "that all the misfortunes of Europe are manufactured; it is in -London that they must be terminated." On the 8th of February, 1798, -Napoleon left Paris to obtain information as to the coasts of the -English Channel, preparatory to the sailing of the armament. He visited -Étaples, Ambleteuse, Boulogne, Calais, Dunkirk, Furnes, Nieuwport, -Ostend, and Walcheren, making at these different ports the necessary -surveys, and holding long and earnest conversations with sailors, -pilots, smugglers, and fishermen. He returned to Paris on the 22nd, -having, in a fortnight, quite satisfied himself that the attempt had -better be relinquished so long as England commanded the sea. - -But though the abandonment, for the present, of this enterprise, -so fondly cherished by France, was calculated to cast a damp on -the country, Buonaparte had another project ready which flattered -the French pride of conquest. This was to seize on Egypt, as the -preliminary to the fall of Britain. He had for some time entertained -this idea, and had written from Italy to the Directory on the subject -in the previous September. To insure the real destruction of England, -he said, they must make themselves masters of Egypt. Malta and Corfu -must be seized first, and for this purpose he conceived eight or ten -sail of the line and twenty-five thousand men would suffice. The -possession of Egypt, he contended, would draw all the commerce of -the East thither, instead of taking the circuitous route by the Cape -of Good Hope. He had thoroughly inspired Talleyrand with his scheme. -Egypt was imagined to be much more wealthy than it was, and there were -monuments of ancient art for Buonaparte and his right-hand bandit, -Monge, to lay hands on. The Directory, which was extremely unpopular, -uneasy at the presence of so popular and daring a person, were glad -to be rid of him anywhere, the farther off the better. There were not -wanting counsellors who already advised him to perpetrate a _coup -d'état_, and place himself at the head of affairs; but Buonaparte, not -at all averse from the prospect, replied, "The pear is not ripe." He -knew that, however popular with his own army, he was looked on with -jealousy by the army of the Rhine, which served under, and prided -themselves in, Moreau. He knew that the middle classes hated him for -sweeping them away with grape-shot in the affair of the Sections. He -hoped to make himself yet more popular and more necessary, and that -in the meantime the Directory would have completed their full measure -of odium. He now therefore plunged into arrangements for this grand -conquest of the East. - -[Illustration: CAPTURE OF WOLFE TONE. (_See p._ 464.)] - -The preparations for invasion turned the attention of the British -Government to ports where it was supposed the troops would be embarked. -Ostend was regarded with particular suspicion, and Sir Home Popham was -sent in May with a small squadron, conveying a thousand men, under -Colonel Coote, to destroy the ships and sluices of the Bruges canal -there. The troops were landed, and did their work, but found themselves -unable to regain the ships from the violence of the wind and the surf, -and were surrounded and compelled to surrender. In the autumn of this -year Admiral Duckworth sailed for Minorca, and landed eight hundred -men, under Sir Charles Stuart, who readily made themselves masters of -the island. - -Meanwhile, the fleet which was to bear Buonaparte to Egypt was lying in -various squadrons in the ports of Genoa, Civita Vecchia, and Bastia, -ready, when any adverse wind should drive the British fleet from -the coast, where it blockaded them, to drop down to Toulon and join -the main body. On board of these vessels were thirty thousand men, -chiefly from the army of Italy. Nelson, with a numerous fleet, was -maintaining the blockade, though the secret of the fleet's destination -had been so well kept that it was only surmised that Egypt might be its -destination. Buonaparte himself had been recalled to Paris. A sudden -message sent him back to Toulon. A gale had driven Nelson's fleet -from the coast, and so much damaged it that he was obliged to make -for Sardinia to repair. The moment was come; the different squadrons -joined from the Italian ports, and the Egyptian armament issued on -the 19th of May from Toulon. Napoleon was on the mission destined, -he believed, to conquer Egypt, and thus to place not only a powerful -barrier between us and our Indian possessions, but, having established -a strong empire in Egypt and Syria, to enable France to maintain a -large fleet in the Persian Gulf, and to accomplish the invasion and -conquest of British India by land or sea, with the aid of Tippoo Sahib, -who was once more at war with Britain. Nay, like another Alexander, -the boundless ambition of Buonaparte--an ambition which was his final -ruin--contemplated the conquest of all Asia and the founding of a giant -empire there. "If St. Jean d'Acre," he said to Las Cases, "had yielded -to the French arms, a great revolution would have been accomplished in -the East. The general-in-chief would have founded an empire there, and -the destinies of France would have undergone different combinations -from those to which they were subjected." He would have come back and -proceeded to the conquest of Europe. - -With such chimerical fancies, the young Corsican saw the fleet, on a -splendid morning, stand out into the Mediterranean, the line-of-battle -ships extending for a league, and the semicircle formed by the convoy -six leagues in extent. On their way to Malta, the first object of -their enterprise, they were joined by a large fleet of transports, -bringing the division of General Desaix. On the 10th they were before -Valetta, a fortress which, properly defended, would have set the French -at defiance for months, before which time the British Admiral would -have been upon them, and destroyed the whole scheme of the expedition, -and probably its commander and projector with it; but the surrender -of the place had been bargained for with the Grand Master, Hompesch, -before starting. The once formidable Knights of Malta were now sunk -in indolence and sensual sloth, and the French agent had agreed for -the surrender for a bribe of six hundred thousand francs to the Grand -Master. As General Caffarelli passed through the most formidable -defences with Napoleon on their way to the house of the Grand Master, -he said to him, "It is well, General, that there was some one within to -open the gates for us. We should have had more trouble in entering if -the place had been altogether empty." - -A strong garrison was left in Malta, under General Vaubois, and on -the 16th the fleet was again under sail. As they were off the coast -of Crete, and the savants were gazing on the birthplace of Jupiter, -and speculating on the existence of the remains of the celebrated -labyrinth, Nelson, who had missed the French fleet, and had sailed in -quest of it, was near enough to be perceived by some of the frigates -on the look-out, and created a terrible panic. But Nelson, not having -frigates to send out as scouts, did not observe them, and suspecting -that Egypt was their destination he made all sail for Alexandria. -Finding no traces of them there, in his impatience he returned towards -Malta. If he had but waited a while they would have come to him; but on -reaching Malta and finding that they had taken and manned it, he again -put about and made for Alexandria. He had actually been seen by some -of the French frigates as he was crossing their track on his return -from Alexandria, and Napoleon was impatient to reach land before he -could overtake them again. On the 1st of July the French fleet came in -sight of Alexandria, and saw before them the city of the Ptolemies and -Cleopatra with its pharos and obelisks. The landing was effected at -Marabout, about a league and a half from Alexandria. - -As soon as five or six thousand of his troops were landed, Buonaparte -commenced his march on Alexandria. The Turks manned the walls, and -resisted furiously, incensed at this invasion by a Power with which -they were nominally at peace. But the walls were ruinous; the French -forced their way over several breaches, and commenced an indiscriminate -massacre. The place was abandoned to pillage for four hours. As the -Mamelukes were hated by the Arabs and the Copts, and were the military -mercenaries of the country, chiefly recruited from Georgia and -Circassia, Buonaparte determined to destroy them. He considered that he -should thus rid himself of the only formidable power in Egypt, and at -the same time conciliate the Bedouins and Fellahs. On the 7th of July -he set out on his march for Cairo with his whole force. He marched up -the bank of the Nile, but at such a distance as to prevent the soldiers -from getting any water to quench their burning thirst. It was all that -Buonaparte could do to keep his troops in subordination. For fourteen -days this melancholy march was continued, when they came at once in -sight of the Pyramids, not far distant from Cairo, and of the army of -the Mamelukes, drawn up across their way, headed by Murad Bey. This -force consisted of five thousand cavalry--Mamelukes, mounted on the -finest Arabian horses in the world, trained to obey the slightest touch -of the rein, to advance, wheel, or fly with wonderful rapidity. The -riders were all fine men, armed with sabres, pistols, and blunderbusses -of the best English workmanship. They were deemed invincible and were -ruthlessly cruel. They presented in appearance the finest body of -cavalry in the world, the plumes of their turbans waving in the air, -and their arms glittering in the sun. There were, moreover, twenty -thousand infantry lying in a slightly-entrenched camp on their right; -but these were a mere rabble--fellaheen, or, in other words, peasantry, -brought from their fields, and armed with matchlocks. They had forty -pieces of cannon to defend the camp, but these had no carriages, being -mounted on clumsy wooden frames. Buonaparte drew up his army so as to -keep out of gunshot of the camp, and to deal only with the cavalry -first. He formed his troops into squares to resist the onslaught of -the cavalry; and as he saw the Mamelukes come on, he called to his -men, "From yonder Pyramids twenty centuries behold your actions!" The -Mamelukes came thundering on like a whirlwind, and sending before them -the most horrible yells. Murad Bey said he would cut up the French -like gourds. One of the French squares was thrown into confusion, but -it recovered itself, and the battle was instantly a scene of the most -desperate fury. The Mamelukes fought like demons; but, finding that -they could not break the French ranks, whilst they and their horses -were mown down by musketry and artillery, in despair they flung their -pistols at their foes, backed their horses up to them to break them by -kicking, and finding all unavailing, fled. Such as were left wounded -on the ground crept forward to cut at the legs of the French soldiers. -Both cavalry and infantry then, by swimming their horses, or in boats, -attempted to cross the Nile, but the greater part were drowned in the -attempt. Murad Bey, with the residue of his Mamelukes, escaped into -Upper Egypt. - -To give to this action greater importance in the eyes of the world, -Buonaparte called it the Battle of the Pyramids. He then marched to -Cairo, which surrendered without opposition. Napoleon called together -a council of about forty of the most distinguished sheiks, who were to -continue the government of all Lower Egypt, as before his arrival. He -professed to listen to their counsels, and in fact to be a Mahometan; -he said he was not come to destroy the practice of the doctrines of the -Koran, but to complete the mission of Mahomet; he celebrated the feast -of the Prophet with some sheik of eminence, and joined in the litanies -and worship enjoined by the Koran. - -But Nelson had now tracked the French to their goal, and was preparing -to annihilate their fleet. Admiral Brueys, unable to enter the harbour -of Alexandria, had anchored his ships in the Bay of Aboukir, in a -semicircular form, so close in shore that he deemed it impossible for -ships of war to thrust themselves between him and the land. He had -altogether thirteen ships of war, including his own flagship of one -hundred and twenty guns, three of eighty, and nine of seventy-four, -flanked by four frigates and a number of gunboats, with a battery of -guns and mortars on an island in the van. Nelson had also thirteen -men-of-war and one five-gun ship, but the French exceeded his by about -forty-six guns, three thousand pounds' weight of metal, considerably -more tonnage, and nearly five thousand men. No sooner did Nelson -observe the position of the French fleet than he determined to push -his ships between it and the shore. No sooner was this plan settled -than Nelson ordered dinner to be served, and on rising from table -said, "Before this time to-morrow I shall have gained a peerage, or -Westminster Abbey." It was half-past five o'clock on the afternoon of -the 1st of August, 1798, when this celebrated battle was commenced. -As the British vessels rounded a shoal, to take up their position, -the battery of the island played upon them; but this ceased as they -came near the French line of vessels, lest they should damage their -own countrymen. Unfortunately, Nelson lost the use of the _Culloden_, -a seventy-four, commanded by Captain Trowbridge, which struck on a -ledge of rocks, and could not be got off in time for the engagement. -Nelson's own vessel was the first that anchored within half pistol-shot -of the _Spartiate_, the third ship of the French line. The conflict -immediately became murderous, and Nelson received a severe wound -on the head, which compelled him to go below. The battle continued -with a terrible fury till it was so dark that the only light the -combatants had to direct their operations was the flashes of their own -broadsides. At ten o'clock the _Orient_, Admiral Brueys' own great -ship, was discovered to be on fire. He himself had fallen, killed by a -cannon-shot. The stupendous ship continued to burn furiously, lighting -up the whole scene of action. At eleven it blew up, with an explosion -which shook the contending fleets like the shock of an earthquake, and -with a stunning noise that caused the conflict instantly to cease. A -profound silence and a pitchy darkness succeeded for about ten minutes. -Nelson, wounded as he was, had rushed upon deck before the explosion, -to order every possible succour to be given to the shrieking sufferers -in the burning ship, and many of the crew had been got into boats and -saved. The cannonade was slowly resumed, but when morning dawned two -French ships and two frigates only had their colours flying and were -able to get away, none of the British vessels except the _Zealous_ -being in a condition to give chase. The two ships of the line and -one of the frigates were afterwards intercepted by our Mediterranean -fleet, so that of all this fine fleet only one frigate escaped. Had -Nelson not been wounded, and had Captain Trowbridge been able to bring -up his ship, probably not even that frigate would have got away. The -British took eight vessels of the line; the rest were destroyed in -one way or other. The loss of the British, in killed and wounded, was -eight hundred and ninety-five; of the French, in killed, wounded, -and prisoners, was nine thousand eight hundred and thirty. Brave -Brueys, as has been stated already, was slain. Captain Westcott, of -the _Majestic_, was the only commander of a ship who fell. Such was -the victory of Aboukir; but "victory," said Nelson, "is not a name -strong enough for such a scene--it is a conquest!" Fortunately for the -French, Admiral Brueys had secured the transports and store-ships in -shallow water in the port of Alexandria, where Nelson could not come -at them for want of small craft. Half-a-dozen bomb ships would have -destroyed them all, and have left Buonaparte totally dependent on the -Egyptians for supplies. And these he must have collected by force, for -now the news of the destruction of his fleet was spread over all Egypt -by bonfires, kindled by the Arabs, along the coast and far inland. He -was cut off from communication with France. On the 22nd of October -the people of Cairo rose on the French, and endeavoured to massacre -them; but the French took a bloody vengeance, sweeping them down with -grape-shot, pursuing them into their very mosques, and slaughtering in -one day five thousand of them. - -Nelson, having blockaded the port of Alexandria, sailed to Naples -to repair. There he received the news of the intense rejoicing his -victory had spread through England, and that he was raised to the -peerage by the title of Baron Nelson of the Nile. He found Ferdinand -of Naples already collecting an army to drive the French from Rome and -Tuscany. Austria, Switzerland, and other countries were again in arms. -The Treaty of Campo Formio was at an end by the French violation of -it everywhere, and as it was supposed that Buonaparte would never be -allowed to get back again, the spirit of Europe had revived. Nelson, -allowing himself as little repose as possible, in November had made -himself master of the Island of Gozo, separated only by a narrow -channel from Malta. He had blockaded Malta itself, and it must soon -surrender. Pitt, elated by Nelson's success, and in consequence of -the death of the old czarina, Catherine, some two years earlier, now -entered into a treaty with her successor, Paul, who was subsidised by a -hundred and twelve thousand pounds a month, and great expectations were -raised of the effect of his victorious general, Suvaroff, leading an -army into Italy. The other members of the second grand coalition were -Austria, the Princes of Germany, and the Ottoman Empire. Prussia weakly -held aloof. When the British Parliament met on the 20th of November, -the late victory and this new alliance with Russia were the themes of -congratulation from the throne. Twenty-nine million two hundred and -seventy-two thousand pounds were granted with alacrity for the ensuing -year, and the nation willingly submitted to the imposition of a new -impost--the income tax. - -The year 1799 opened by the discussion of this new scheme of revenue. -It was a mode of making every man tax himself by stating the amount -of his income, on which he was to be charged ten per cent., with the -exception only of such persons whose incomes were less than two hundred -pounds per annum, who were to be charged less than ten per cent. It was -to include all who had more than sixty pounds a-year. Pitt calculated -the income of the nation at a hundred and two million pounds, which -would thus produce a revenue of ten million pounds. To make this -excellent device the more palatable, the increase in the assessed taxes -made in the preceding Session was to be repealed. To such a degree did -the nation trust the great Minister, that this tax was carried through -both Houses with comparatively little difficulty. - -A still more important proposition was laid before Parliament by royal -message, on the 22nd of January--the union of Ireland with Great -Britain. It was argued that the late attempts to bring in a French -army, and to alienate Ireland from Great Britain altogether, showed the -necessity of drawing closer the bonds between the two countries. On -the 31st of January a series of resolutions was agreed to as the basis -of this union, but for the present year the matter ended in a joint -address on the subject from both Houses being presented to the king. - -[Illustration: LADY HAMILTON WELCOMING THE VICTORS OF THE NILE. - -FROM THE PICTURE BY ROBERT HILLINGFORD.] - -On the Continent the struggle against the French was renewed. The -King of Naples and the Emperor of Austria, in alliance with Russia, -determined to free Italy of them in the absence of Buonaparte; but -without waiting for the arrival of the Austrians and Russians, -Ferdinand mustered nearly forty thousand men, badly disciplined, and -worse officered, and set out to drive the French from Rome. General -Mack, still in high repute, was sent from Vienna to command this army, -and Ferdinand, a most self-indulgent and unwarlike monarch, was advised -to march with them in person. Nelson was employed, with an addition -of some Portuguese ships, to land a division of five thousand men -of this army at Leghorn. Mack, in true Austrian style, then divided -the remaining thirty-two thousand men into five columns, and marched -them by different routes towards Rome. Nelson had narrowly watched -the manœuvres of Mack, and pronounced him incompetent, and that the -whole would prove a failure. This was speedily realised. Ferdinand, -with a portion of his forces, entered Rome in triumph on the 29th of -November; but Championnet, the French general, who evacuated Rome to -concentrate his forces at Terni, soon defeated the other divisions of -the Neapolitan army in detail, and Ferdinand fled from Rome back to -Naples. But there was now no security for him there. Championnet was -marching on that capital with twenty thousand veteran soldiers, and -Ferdinand availed himself of Nelson's fleet to get over to Palermo. The -lazzaroni defended the deserted city for three days with incredible -bravery against the French, but they were betrayed by a republican -party in the city, which hoisted the tricolour flag, surrendered the -forts to the enemy, and fired on the defenders from the Castle of St. -Elmo, which commands the town. Championnet took possession of Naples on -the 23rd of January, 1799, and proclaimed a republic under the title of -"Respublica Parthenopea." - -[Illustration: LORD NELSON. (_After the Portrait by Sir William -Beechey, R.A._)] - -The Austrians and Russians by this time were in full march for Italy. -Leaving the Archduke Charles to cope with Jourdain, who had made -himself master of the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein in January, and -menaced a march on the Danube, an army of Austrians, under Generals -Bellegarde and Hotze, entered Switzerland, re-occupied the Grisons -country, drove the French from the St. Gothard, and menaced Massena at -Zurich. Another army of Austrians, under old General Mélas, issued from -the Tyrol and drove the French General, Scherer, from post to post in -Upper Italy, till he took refuge behind the Mincio. Moreau was then -sent to supersede Scherer, but found himself in April confronted not -only by Mélas, but by Suvaroff, with an addition of fifty thousand men. -On the 27th of that month he was attacked by this combined force and -beaten. Brescia and Peschiera surrendered, Mantua was invested, and -Suvaroff entered Milan. Moreau was compelled to retreat upon Genoa, and -await the arrival of Macdonald, who was rapidly marching from Naples to -his aid. But Macdonald was confronted on the banks of the Trebia, and -after a fierce battle of three days he was routed, and escaped only to -Moreau with the remnant of his army. Moreau now stationed himself in -the entrance of the Bochetta Pass, in the Apennines, behind the town -of Novi; but there he was superseded by General Joubert, the Directory -having lost faith in him. Joubert, however, had no better success than -Moreau. Suvaroff attacked him on the 16th of August, routed his army -and killed him; the French abandoning nearly all their artillery on the -field, and flying in disorder towards Genoa. - -Leaving Mélas to complete the subjection of Italy, Suvaroff then turned -his army towards Switzerland, where Massena had effectually opposed -the Austrians under Bellegarde and Hotze, and defeated a Russian force -under Korsakoff, sent to reinforce them. But Suvaroff found himself -unable to unite with Korsakoff till after much fighting with Massena; -and the two Russian generals retreated to Augsburg, leaving Massena -master of Switzerland. - -The French were driven again out of Naples by the end of July. Cardinal -Ruffo brought down a wild army of Calabrians, and an army made up of -Russians, Turks, Portuguese, and British, completed the expulsion of -the Republicans and restored the king. In this restoration Nelson -and his squadron took a most effective part; but unfortunately for -his fame, he at this time became acquainted with Lady Hamilton, the -wife of the British ambassador, and gave himself up entirely to her -fascinations. Lady Hamilton was the friend of the Queen of Naples (a -sister of the unfortunate Marie Antoinette), and she was said to have -instigated Nelson to take a melancholy part in the savage retaliations -of the court on the Neapolitan Republicans, but the charge has since -been completely disproved. Nelson sent Commodore Trowbridge to Civita -Vecchia to blockade it, and both that port and the castle of St. Angelo -soon surrendered, and Captain Lewis rowed up the Tiber in his barge, -hoisted the British colours on the Capitol, and acted as Governor of -Rome till Pius VI., ejected by the French in the previous year, was -nominally restored. The poor old man, however, never returned to his -kingdom; he died at Valence, on the Rhône, on the 29th of August of -this year. The election of the new Pope, Pius VII., did not take place -till March, 1800. Before the end of the year, nearly all Italy, except -Genoa, was cleared of the French. - -While these changes were being made in Italy, the British, with their -new allies, the Russians, made an abortive attempt to drive the French -from Holland. An army of seventeen thousand Russians and thirteen -thousand British was assembled on the coast of Kent, and Sir Ralph -Abercromby, who was destined to fall on a more memorable field, taking -the command of a division of twelve thousand men, Admiral Mitchell -put them across to the coast of Holland. Abercromby landed, and took -the fort of the Helder, and our fleet, occupying the Texel, compelled -the Dutch fleet to surrender and mount the Orange flag. So long as -Abercromby commanded, he repelled all the attacks of the French -general, Brune, with a force more than double in number; but on the -13th of September the Duke of York arrived with the remainder of the -Anglo-Russian army and took the chief command. From that moment all -went wrong. The old want of success followed the royal duke, who, -whatever his courage, certainly possessed no abilities as a general. -By the 17th of October, notwithstanding the bravery of his troops, -he was glad to sign a convention by which he was allowed to withdraw -his army, on condition of the liberation of eight thousand French -and Dutch prisoners of war in England. In Switzerland, too, Massena -defeated Korsakoff at Zurich, and Suvaroff, believing himself to have -been betrayed by the Austrians, effected a brilliant retreat over the -mountains. - -Buonaparte in Egypt, now cut off from all communication with France, -soon found himself threatened by the attack of two Turkish armies, one -assembling at Rhodes, and one in Syria. To anticipate this combination, -he determined to march into Syria, where he expected to startle the -Turks by the progress that he should make there. He therefore commenced -his march through the desert at the head of ten thousand men, easily -routed a body of Mamelukes, and took the fort of El Arish, reckoned one -of the keys of Egypt. He set out in February and, passing the desolate -wilderness, not without experiencing some of the sufferings which might -be expected, entered Gaza, where he found plenty of provisions. He then -attacked Jaffa, the Joppa of the Gospels, carried it, and put three -thousand Turks to the sword, giving up the town to licence and plunder -and brutally massacring some two thousand prisoners. - -He next marched to St. Jean d'Acre, and summoned it to surrender. The -pacha, named, from his fierce cruelties, Djezzaar, or the Butcher, -instead of returning an answer, cut off the head of the messenger. -Buonaparte vowed an awful revenge. But the pacha had warned Sir Sidney -Smith, who was off the coast ready to convey the Turkish army to -Egypt, of the appearance of the French before Acre; and Sir Sidney, so -famous already for his exploits at Toulon, where he and Buonaparte had -met, sailed into the port with two ships of the line, the _Tigre_ and -the _Theseus_. Scarcely had Sir Sidney arrived, when he heard of the -approach of a French frigate flotilla bringing to Buonaparte artillery, -ammunition, and machines for the siege. He captured seven vessels out -of the nine, and turned the artillery on the walls against the French -themselves. A French royalist officer, General Phillippeaux, took -charge of these cannon. The siege began on the 17th of March, and ended -on the 21st of May--a period of sixty-five days, during which eight -desperate assaults had been made, and eleven as desperate sallies. At -one time Buonaparte had to march to Mount Tabor to disperse an army of -Moslems; at another, he succeeded in making himself master of a tower -which commanded the rest of the fortifications; but Sir Sidney Smith, -himself leading on a body of his seamen armed with pikes, drove the -French, in a hand-to-hand fight, from the tower. Buonaparte, one day -walking on the hill still called Cœur de Lion's Mount, pointing to -Acre, said to Murat, "The fate of the East depends upon yonder petty -tower." Buonaparte had now, however, lost several of his best generals, -and retreat was inevitable; but he endeavoured to cover the disgrace -of it by asserting that it was the plague raging at Acre that drove him -from it. On the march he proposed to Desgenettes, the surgeon, to end -the lives of some of the wounded who encumbered him, by poisoning them -with opium. Desgenettes replied indignantly that his art was employed -to save, and not to kill. But the proposal soon grew into a rumour that -it had been carried into execution, and that not on a few dozens, but -on several hundreds--a rumour which continued to be believed for many -years, not only by the other European nations, but by Buonaparte's -own army. He continued his march back to Cairo, burning the crops and -villages by the way, in revenge for the hostility of the natives. He -reached Cairo on the 14th of June, his reputation much diminished by -his repulse. - -Buonaparte found that, during his absence in Syria, Egypt had been -disturbed by insurrections, which Desaix had put down, and had again -defeated, and driven back into Upper Egypt, Murad Bey, who had made a -descent thence. Soon after his return, however, Murad was once more in -motion, descending the Nile in two bodies, and Ibrahim Bey was moving -on the frontiers of Syria, as if to form a union with Murad. Lagrange -was despatched against Ibrahim, and Murat against Murad. Scarcely -were they repulsed when the cause of their manœuvres became evident. -A Turkish fleet, containing eighteen thousand men, appeared in the -Bay of Alexandria, commanded by Mustapha Pacha. They seized the fort, -and, landing, began to fortify themselves, expecting the arrival of -the Mamelukes, as had been concerted. On the 25th of July Buonaparte -attacked them, and drove in all their outposts; but on coming within -reach of their batteries and their gunboats in the bay, the French -were checked, and the Turks, rushing out, with their muskets slung -at their backs, made terrible havoc amongst them with their sabres, -poniards, and pistols. The defeat of Napoleon must have been complete -had not the Turks stopped to cut off the heads of the slain, for which -they were offered a reward. This gave time for the French to rally. -It was now the turn of the Turks to give way, and Murat, who had -fought at the head of the troops, followed them so impetuously with -the bayonet that the confusion and panic became general. The Turks -threw themselves _en masse_ into the sea to regain their ships; and by -drowning and the bayonets and bullets of the French, ten thousand out -of the eighteen thousand perished. Mustapha Pacha himself was taken, -and carried in triumph before Buonaparte. This battle had been fought -at Aboukir, near the spot where Nelson had so signally triumphed over -them. The victory was the event which Buonaparte needed to enable him -to return with credit to France. He immediately embraced it. All his -plans and brilliant visions of empire in the East had perished for -the present, and private letters from his brothers in Paris, and a -number of newspapers, which Sir Sidney Smith had furnished him with to -mortify him, roused him to instant action. From these he learnt that -the Directory had, as he expected, consummated their unpopularity; -that Italy, which he had won to France, was again lost by the other -generals. To remain in Egypt was to sink into a sort of provincial -or proconsular general; to return to Paris was, by a bold and adroit -stroke, to make himself the master of France. He immediately ordered -Admiral Gantheaume to have ready a couple of frigates, which lay in the -harbour of Alexandria; and, taking with him his favourite generals, -Murat, Lannes, Marmont, Berthier, Desaix, Andréossy, and Bessieres, and -the two principal _savants_, Monge and Denon, to give an account of -the scientific results of the expedition, he rushed on board. He had -left the care of the army to Kleber and Menou; and he issued a short -proclamation, saying that events in Paris demanded his presence there, -but that he would return with all possible expedition. He arrived in -Paris without mishap. - -Though Buonaparte had been absent, his family had taken care to keep -public opinion alive to his importance. His wife, Josephine, lived at -great expense, and collected around her all that was distinguished in -society. His brother Lucien had become President of the Council of Five -Hundred; and Joseph, a man much respected, kept a hospitable house, and -did much to maintain the Buonaparte prestige. Talleyrand and Fouché -were already in Napoleon's interest, and Bernadotte, now Minister of -War, Jourdain, and Augereau, as generals, were prepared to act with -him. The Abbé Siéyès, with his perpetual constitution-making, had also -been working in a way to facilitate his schemes. He had planned a new -and most complicated constitution, known as that of the year Eight, -by which the executive power was vested in three Consuls. Of the five -Directors Buonaparte left in office, the most active had been removed; -Abbé Siéyès had succeeded Rewbell, and two men of no ability, Gohier -and Moulins, had succeeded others. Roger Ducos, also in the interest -of Buonaparte, made the fifth. All measures being prepared, on the -18th Brumaire, that is, the 10th of November, Buonaparte proceeded -to enact the part of Cromwell, and usurp the chief authority of the -State, converting the Republic into a military dictatorship. The army -had shown, on his return, that they were devoted to his service. -Jourdain, Bernadotte, Moreau, and Augereau were willing to co-operate -in a _coup-de-main_ which should make the army supreme. He therefore -assembled three regiments of dragoons on pretence of reviewing them, -and, everything being ready, he proceeded to the Council of Ancients, -in which the moderate, or reactionary, party predominated, on the -evening of the 10th of November. They placidly gave way in the midst -of a most excited debate on the menaced danger, and every member, -including Lucien Buonaparte, who was the President, had just been -compelled to take an oath to maintain inviolable the Constitution of -the year Three, when Napoleon entered, attended by four grenadiers of -the Constitutional Guard of the Councils. The soldiers remained near -the door, Napoleon advanced up the hall uncovered. There were loud -murmurs. "What!" exclaimed the members, "soldiers--drawn swords in -the sanctuary of the laws!" They rushed upon him, and seized him by -the collar, shouting, "Outlawry! outlawry! proclaim him a traitor!" -For a moment he shrank before them, but soon at the instigation of -Siéyès returned, and quietly expelled them. Thus Buonaparte, with an -army at his back, was openly dictator. He removed to the Palace of the -Luxembourg, and assumed a state little inferior to royalty. He revised -the Constitution of the Abbé Siéyès, concentrating all the power of the -State in the First Consul, instead of making him, as he expressed it, -a personage whose only duties were to fatten, like a pig, upon so many -millions a-year. - -[Illustration: NAPOLEON'S COUP DE MAIN: SCENE IN THE HALL OF THE -ANCIENTS. (_See p._ 472.)] - -In concluding the remarkable events of this year, we must turn to -India, and witness the termination of the career of Tippoo Sahib. -This prince, for ever restless under the losses which he had suffered -from the British, though nominally at peace with them, was seeking -alliances to help him once more to contend with them. He sought to -engage the Afghans in his favour, and to bring over the British ally, -the Nizam of the Deccan. Failing in this, he made overtures to the -French Republic through the Governor of the Isle of France. Buonaparte, -as we have said, had Tippoo in his mind when he proposed to march to -India and conquer it, but only a few hundreds of French of the lowest -caste reached Seringapatam from the Isle of France. Lord Mornington, -afterwards the Marquis of Wellesley, determined to anticipate the plans -of Tippoo, and dispatched General Harris with twenty-four thousand men -into Mysore, at the same time ordering another force of seven thousand, -under General Stuart, from Bombay, to co-operate with him. To these -also was added a strong reinforcement of British troops in the pay of -the Nizam, and some regiments of sepoys, commanded by English officers. -The united forces of Harris and the Nizam came into conflict with -Tippoo's army on the 22nd of March, 1799, when within two days' march -of Seringapatam. In this action, Colonel Wellesley, afterwards the -Duke of Wellington, greatly distinguished himself, and the success of -the action was ascribed to his regiment, the 34th. On the 5th of April -General Harris invested Seringapatam, and on the 14th General Stuart -arrived with the Bombay army. Tippoo soon made very humble overtures -for peace, but the British, having no faith in him, continued the -siege, and the city was carried by storm on the 4th of May, and Tippoo -himself was found amongst the slain. Two of his sons fell into the -hands of the victors; his territories were divided between the British -and the Nizam. The former retained Seringapatam and the island on which -it is situated, and the whole of his territory on the Malabar coast, -with Coimbra, and all the rest of his possessions stretching to the -Company's territories west and east, thus completing their dominion -from sea to sea. The Nizam received equally valuable regions in the -interior, and a province was bestowed on the descendant of the Hindoo -rajah who had been dispossessed of it by Hyder Ali, Tippoo's father. -Thus was the British empire of India freed from its most formidable -enemy, and thus was it enabled, soon afterwards, to send an armament up -the Red Sea to assist in driving the French from Egypt. - -The year 1800 opened in the British Parliament by a debate on an -Address to the king, approving of the reply to an overture for peace -by Buonaparte, as First Consul of France. The letter addressed -directly to the king was a grave breach of diplomatic etiquette, and -was answered by Lord Grenville, the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, in -a caustic but dignified tone. A correspondence ensued between Lord -Grenville and M. Talleyrand, as French Minister for Foreign Affairs; -but it ended in nothing, as the British Minister distinctly declined -to treat. If Buonaparte had been sincerely desirous of peace, he must -have withdrawn the French army from Egypt, as it was there with the -open declaration of an intention to make that country a stepping-stone -to India. But, so far from this, Buonaparte was, at the same moment, -preparing to make fresh and still more overwhelming invasions of Italy, -Switzerland, and Germany, and the proposal was simply made to gain time. - -In July of the present year the Union of Ireland with Great Britain -was carried. Pitt and Lord Cornwallis had come to the conclusion -that a double Government was no longer possible, and that unless the -Irish were to be allowed to exterminate one another, as they had -attempted to do during the late rebellion, the intervention of the -British Parliament was absolutely necessary. A resolution had passed -the British Parliament in 1799, recommending this union, and the -news of this created a tempest of indignation in Protestant Ireland. -In January, 1799, the speech on the Address to the throne in the -Irish Parliament was, on this account, vehemently opposed, and an -amendment was carried against the Government by a majority of one; yet -in January, 1800, a motion was carried, at the instigation of Lord -Castlereagh, the Secretary, in favour of the union, by a majority of -forty-two. Whence this magical change in twelve months? On the 5th of -February the whole plan of the union was detailed by Lord Castlereagh, -the principal Secretary of State for Ireland, in the Irish Commons. -He stated that it was intended to give to Ireland in the Parliament -of the United Kingdom four lords spiritual sitting in rotation of -sessions, and twenty-eight lords temporal elected for life by peers -of Ireland, and that the Irish representatives in the united House of -Commons should be a hundred. The motion for this plan was carried in -the Irish Commons by a majority of forty-two in spite of a magnificent -speech from Grattan, and by a great majority in the House of Lords; but -this was in the face of the most unmitigated amazement on the part of -the opposition, and of the people, who were not in the secret. Their -rage was beyond description. On the 13th of March Sir John Parnell -declared that this measure had been effected by the most unexampled -corruption, and moved for an Address to his Majesty, imploring him to -dissolve this Parliament, and present the question to be decided by -a new one. But the Solicitor-General declared that this motion was -"unfurling the bloody flag of rebellion;" and Mr. Egan replied that the -Solicitor-General and other members of the administration had already -"unfurled the flag of prostitution and corruption." But the measure -was now passed, and that by the same Parliament which, only a year -before, had rejected the proposition _in toto_. But what were the means -employed by the British Government to produce this change? The answer -is simple; a million and a quarter was devoted to the compensation -of borough owners, lawyers who hoped to improve their prospects by -entering the House, and the Dublin tradesmen. - -The names and prices of all the purchased members of the Irish -Parliament were preserved in the Irish Black and Red lists. A selection -of a few of them will interest the reader:-- - - J. Bingham, created Lord Clanmorris; £8,000 for two seats, and - £15,000 compensation for Tuam. Had first offered himself for sale - to the anti-Unionists. - - Joseph H. Blake, created Lord Wallscourt. - - Sir J. G. Blackwood, created Lord Dufferin. - - Sir John Blaquiere, created Lord de Blaquiere, with offices and - pensions. - - Lord Boyle, son of Lord Shannon, father and son received each - £15,000 for their boroughs. - - Charles H. Coote, created Lord Castlecoote, with a regiment, - patronage in Queen's County, and £7,500 in cash. - - James Cuffe; his father made Lord Tyrawley. - - Lord Fitzgerald, a pension and peerage. - - Luke Fox, made judge of Common Pleas. - - William Fortescue, a pension of £3,000 a year. - - J. Galbraith, a baronetage. - - Richard Hare, made Lord Ennismore, with patronage. - - Colonel B. Heneker, a regiment, and £3,500 a-year for his seat. - - Hon. J. Hutchinson, made Lord Hutchinson, and a general. - - Hugh Howard, made Postmaster-General. - - William Handcock, an extraordinary instance. He made and sang songs - against the Union, in 1799, at a public dinner, and made and sang - songs for it in 1800; for which he was made Lord Castlemaine. - - W. G. Joscelyn, promotion in the army, and his brother made Bishop - of Lismore. - - William Johnson, according to his own statement, "returned to - Parliament by Lord Castlereagh, to put an end to it;" a judgeship. - - Rt. Hon. Sir H. Langrishe, £15,000 for his patronage of - Knocktopher, and a commissionership of revenue. - - T. Lingray, £1,500, and a commissionership of stamps. - - T. Lingray, junior, £1,500, and made usher at the Castle. - - J. Longfield, made Lord Longville. - - Lord Loftus, £30,000 for boroughs, and made an English marquis. - - H. D. Massey, £4,000 in cash. - - Rt. Hon. Lodge Morris, made a peer. - - Sir R. Musgrove, made receiver of customs, with £1,200 a year. - - James M'Cleland, made Baron of Exchequer. - - Sir W. G. Newcomen, a peerage for his wife, etc. - - H. F. Prittle, made Lord Dunally. - - Sir Richard Quin, made a peer. - - The Hon. H. Skeffington, made clerk of Paper Office at the Castle, - with £7,500 for his patronage. - - H. M. Sandford, made Lord Mount Sandford. - - John Stewart, made Attorney-General and a baronet. - -Hon. B. Stratford, £7,500, as half compensation for Baltinglass. - -Hon. J. Stratford, £7,500 for the other half of Baltinglass, and -paymaster of foreign troops, with £1,300 a year. - -Rt. Hon. J. Toler, a peerage and chief justiceship. - -Hon. R. Trench, made a peer and ambassador. - -This is a mere fragment of a list of a hundred and forty persons thus -bought up. Amongst the most prominent pickings were those of-- - - Lord Shannon, for his patronage in the Commons £45,000 - The Marquis of Ely " " 45,000 - Lord Clanmorris " " 45,000 - Lord Belvidere " " 45,000 - Sir Hercules Langrishe " " 45,000 - -Then follows a long list of lawyers. We may select a few of the most -lavishly paid:-- - - Mr. Charles Osborne, made judge of the King's Bench £3,300 - Mr. St. John Daly, ditto 3,300 - Mr. Williams, made Baron of the Exchequer 3,300 - Mr. M'Cleland, ditto 3,300 - Mr. Robert Johnson, made judge of Common Pleas 3,300 - Mr. William Johnson, ditto 3,300 - Mr. Torres, ditto 3,300 - Mr. Vandeleur, made judge of Queen's Bench 3,300 - Mr. Charles Ormsby, counsel to commissioners, value 5,000 - Mr. Henry Deane Grady, ditto ditto 5,000 - Mr. Jemison, as commissioner for distributing a million and a - half of this compensation money! 1,200 - -Besides this, there remains a number of other lawyers, amounting, in -the whole, to thirty-four, bought up at from four and five hundred to -six and eight hundred a year. - -Such were the means by which the union of Ireland with Great Britain -was accomplished, and it would be idle to argue that a majority in -the Irish Parliament was not purchased by places, pensions, peerages, -and compensation for suppressed seats. But it was a bargain, made -above-board, and in the open market. It was, moreover, in agreement -with the sentiment of the age, a borough-owner was thought to have a -right "to do what he willed with his own," and Pitt, in one of his own -Reform bills, had acted on the theory that boroughs were a species of -property. Lord Cornwallis, though he acknowledged that he was engaged -in dirty work, declared that the union was imperatively necessary, and -could be accomplished only by those means. The Irish Parliament was -profoundly corrupt, and from no point of view could its extinction be -regretted, but that extinction could be accomplished only by further -corruption. Nor is there any proof that the Irish nation as a whole -were opposed to the union. It was, of course, hard on a pure patriot -like Grattan to be involved in the fate of a corrupt gang of placemen, -but, as a Protestant, he only represented the minority. The Catholics -were either indifferent, with the indifference resulting from long -oppression, or in favour of the measure. They knew that from the Irish -Parliament it had become, since the Rebellion, hopeless to expect -Catholic emancipation; they believed the assurances of Pitt that a -measure for their relief would speedily be introduced in the British -Parliament. Had he been able to fulfil his promise, the Union would -have been--to use Macaulay's familiar phrase--a Union indeed. - -The British Parliament accepted the measure without much debate, -regarding it as a simple case of necessity. It passed the House of -Lords with only three non-contents--Lords Derby, King, and Holland. In -the Commons it was passed by a majority of two hundred and thirty-six -against thirty. Mr. Grey moved an amendment, praying his Majesty to -suspend the question till the sentiments of the Irish people at large -could be ascertained regarding this measure. He said that twenty-seven -counties had petitioned against the measure; that seven hundred and -seven thousand persons had petitioned against it, and only three -thousand for it. But this amendment was swept away by a vast majority; -the Act was passed, and received the royal assent on the 2nd of July. -This and the vote of the necessary moneys being the great business of -the Session, Parliament was prorogued on the 29th of the same month. - -Napoleon Buonaparte, who had appeared so anxious for peace with -Britain, was, in truth, greatly rejoiced at the rejection of his -proposals, for it furnished him with the pleas which he desired, -for the still more extended schemes of military ambition that he -entertained. He issued a proclamation complaining of the obstinate -hostility of Britain, and called on the people to furnish men and arms -to conquer peace by force. Having placed Moreau at the head of the -army on the Rhine, Buonaparte prepared for his favourite project of -reconquering Italy. He had judged right in sending Moreau to Germany, -who took care to prevent the Austrians from sending reinforcements to -Italy to increase Buonaparte's difficulties; and another circumstance, -most auspicious to the Chief Consul, was the fact that Paul of Russia, -offended at the Austrians for not better supporting his generals, -Korsakoff and Suvaroff, had withdrawn his army from the campaign. -The Austrians, under Mélas, in the north of Italy, amounted to one -hundred and forty thousand men. They had spent the winter on the plains -of Piedmont, and contemplated, in the spring, reducing Genoa, by -assistance from the British fleet, and then, penetrating into Provence, -to join the Royalists there, ready to take arms under Generals Willot -and Pichegru. Massena, freed by the retreat of the Russians from his -confinement at Zurich, lay, with an army of forty thousand, between -Genoa and the Var; but his troops had suffered great distress from -want of provisions, and whole regiments had abandoned their posts, -and, with drums beating and colours flying, had marched back into -France. Buonaparte first arrested their desertion by several stirring -appeals to the soldiers, and then prepared to march with a strong -army of reserve through the Alps, and to take Mélas unexpectedly in -the rear. To effect this it was necessary to deceive the Austrians -as to his intentions; and for this purpose he assembled a pretended -army of reserve at Dijon, as if meaning to obstruct the march of the -Austrians southward. To favour the delusion, Buonaparte went to Dijon, -and reviewed the pretended army of reserve with much display, he then -got quietly away to Lausanne, and pushed across the Great St. Bernard, -amidst incredible difficulties. - -Mélas, who had been besieging Genoa, had left part of his army to -reduce that city, defended by a strong French division under Massena -and Soult, and advanced to Nice, which he had entered, and was -contemplating his descent on Provence, when the news of Buonaparte's -entrance of Piedmont reached him. He directed his march now to meet -him. In the meantime, Massena and Soult, worn out by famine, the -fort being blockaded by Admiral Lord Keith, had surrendered Genoa to -General Otto, whom Mélas had ordered to raise the siege and join him. -Mélas summoned his scattered forces to make head against Buonaparte, -and was himself pursued from the neighbourhood of Nice by Suchet. -Buonaparte deceived Mélas by false movements, making him imagine that -his object was Turin, and so entered Milan in triumph on the 2nd of -June. After various encounters and manœuvres between Buonaparte and -Mélas, the First Consul crossed the Po at Piacenza, drove back the -advanced guard of the Austrians, and took up a position on the plains -of Marengo, on the right bank of the little stream, the Bormida, and -opposite to Alessandria, where Mélas was lying. The next day--the -14th of June--Mélas drew out his forces, and attacked the French -with great spirit. The Austrians amounted to about forty thousand, -including a fine body of cavalry, for which the ground was highly -favourable; the French were not more than thirty thousand, posted -strongly in and around the village of Marengo, in three divisions, -each stationed about a quarter of a mile behind the other. After two -or three attempts the Austrians drove the French out of the village -of Marengo, threw the second division, commanded by Lannes, into -confusion, and put to rout the left wing of Buonaparte's own division, -threw his centre into disorder, and compelled him to retreat as far as -St. Juliano. The whole tide of battle was running against Buonaparte, -and a short time must have completed his rout, when the strength of -the old general, Mélas--more than eighty years of age--gave way, for -he had been many hours on horseback. He retired from the field quite -secure of the victory, and left General Zach to finish it. But, at -this moment, General Desaix, who had lately arrived from Egypt, and -had been sent by Buonaparte to make a diversion at Rivolta, came back -with his detachment of twenty thousand men. Kellermann, also, who was -posted in the rear with a body of reserve, marched up at the same -time. A new and desperate charge was made on the fatigued Austrians, -and they were broken and put to the rout. They retreated across the -Bormida, towards Alessandria, in a panic, the horse galloping over the -infantry. Mélas, dispirited by his defeat, but more by his age, gave up -the struggle and on the 16th of June concluded an armistice, resigning -not only Alessandria, where he might have stood a longer siege, but -Genoa, which had just surrendered to the Austrians, and all the Genoese -territory, agreeing to retire behind the line of Mantua and the Mincio, -and leaving to the French all Lombardy as far as the Oglio. The French -themselves could scarcely believe the reality of such a surrender. - -[Illustration: GENOA.] - -During this brilliant campaign in Italy, Moreau, in Germany, had -beaten General Kray in several engagements, advanced to Ulm, and -there, crossing the Danube, had overrun a great part of Bavaria, and -had made himself master of Munich and menaced Vienna. On hearing of -the armistice in Italy, the Emperor demanded one for Austria, to -continue till September; and Buonaparte, seeing that the Czar Paul -had ceased to support Austria, recommended the Emperor to make peace -with France. The Emperor required that Britain should be included -in it. But Napoleon demanded a separate negotiation, which Austria -was afraid to grant. No sooner was this answer received in Paris than -Buonaparte gave the word for renewed and vigorous action, both in -Italy and Germany. Moreau advanced by Salzburg towards Vienna, whilst -Brune drove the Austrians from the Mincio, and over the Adige and the -Brenta to the very vicinity of Venice, whilst Macdonald occupied the -passes of the Tyrol, ready to march to the support of the army either -in Italy or Germany. The Archduke John met Moreau near Haag, and for a -moment worsted him; but on the 2nd of December the two armies came to -a general engagement at Hohenlinden, between the rivers Iser and Inn, -in which the Austrians were routed, with a loss of ten thousand men. -Moreau advanced and occupied Salzburg, and trembling for the safety -of Vienna itself, the Emperor hastened to make peace. An armistice -was signed on the 25th of December, and the treaty was concluded -at Lunéville on the 9th of February, 1801. By this treaty all the -conditions of the Treaty of Campo Formio were renewed, and the frontier -of the Rhine was again ceded to France. - -In Britain there were terrible outcries in consequence of the scarcity -of bread. There were rioting and plundering of corn-factors' and -bakers' shops, and Government passed a number of Acts giving premiums -on the importation of grain, and forbidding the making of any but -mixed and coarse breads. Had not large subscriptions been raised, and -private benevolence been called forth to an immense extent for the -relief of the distress, the consequences would have been more terrible. -Pitt was in favour of remedial legislation, but Grenville was against -interfering with the laws of supply and demand. - -On the 22nd of January, 1801, the first Imperial Parliament met, -and Addington was re-elected Speaker. The king did not meet this -Parliament till the whole of its members had been sworn; his opening -of it for business took place on the 2nd of February, and his speech -had no cheering topics to give spirit to its first proceedings; on the -Continent there had been nothing but defeat on the part of the Allies, -of triumph on that of France. Our late ally, Paul, had not only seized -our merchant vessels in the ports of the Baltic, and the property of -our merchants in the Russian towns, but he had entered into a league -with Sweden and Denmark to close the Baltic altogether to us, and to -compel us to relinquish the right of search. This confederacy, by -stopping the supplies of corn from the North, threatened us with great -aggravation of the distresses at home; and some members advocated the -surrender of the right of search, or the acceptance of the principles -of an armed neutrality, such as Catherine of Russia had endeavoured -to establish. But Pitt plainly showed that to allow neutral vessels -to carry arms, ammunition, and commodities of life into the ports -of our enemies would render all blockades of their forts useless, -and enormously increase our difficulties during war. Orders were -immediately issued to send a powerful fleet into the Baltic to chastise -the insane Czar. - -But there was another topic started in this first Imperial Parliament -which was as odious to George III. as the perfidious conduct of his -late Russian ally. As one means of bringing about the union with -Ireland, Pitt held out to the Irish Catholics the argument that by -having Irishmen in the united Parliament they would be most likely -to obtain a repeal of the Catholic disabilities. Both he and Lord -Cornwallis had sent circulars to this effect, anonymous, it is true, -but with a secret avowal of their authorship, amongst the leading -Catholics, which had a great effect in procuring their assent to the -Union. Lord Castlereagh, who as Secretary of State for Ireland had -helped to carry the Union, claimed the redemption of this pledge. -The matter was talked over in the Cabinet during the autumn of 1799, -and again in September, 1800. Pitt introduced the subject about the -middle of January in the Privy Council. But in the interval the -Chancellor, Lord Loughborough, had betrayed the plan to the king, and -in conjunction with Lord Auckland had convinced his Majesty that it -would involve a violation of the Coronation Oath. George was indignant, -and almost furious. At the levee on the 28th of January, when Lord -Castlereagh was presented, he said to Dundas, "What is this which this -young lord [Castlereagh] has brought over to fling at my head?" He -alluded to a plan for Catholic emancipation, and added, "I shall reckon -every man my personal enemy who proposes any such measure! This is -the most jacobinical thing I ever heard of." Dundas replied that his -Majesty would find amongst those friendly to the measure some whom he -had never supposed to be his enemies. On the 31st of January Pitt wrote -to the king, assuring him that the union with Ireland would render it -absolutely necessary that important questions regarding the Catholics -and Dissenters should be discussed; but, as he found how extremely -such topics were disliked by his Majesty, and yet how just it was -that Catholics should be admitted to Parliament as well as Protestant -Dissenters, who were already admitted, he begged to be permitted to -resign. At the same time, not to inconvenience his Majesty, he was -willing to hold office till his Majesty had reconstructed a Cabinet -wholly to his mind. George replied, the very next day, that Mr. Pitt's -letter had occasioned him the liveliest concern; that, so far from -exposing him to the agitation of this question, he had flattered -himself that the Union, by uniting the Protestants of both kingdoms, -would for ever have excluded the question of Catholic emancipation. -He expressed his ardent wish that Pitt should continue to be his -Minister as long as he lived; and he only required, as a condition, -that he should stave off this question. Pitt replied, on the 3rd of -February, that his Majesty's determined tone on the subject of Catholic -emancipation left him no alternative but to resign, in compliance -with his duty; and that, as his Majesty's resolve was taken, it -would certainly be best for the country that his retirement should -be as early as possible. On the 5th the king wrote, accepting Pitt's -resignation, though with expressions of deep regret. - -Five days after this, February 10th, the matter was made public by Lord -Darnley rising in the Upper House, and moving for an inquiry into the -conduct of the Ministry. This roused up Lord Grenville, who candidly -avowed that, in consequence of their failure to introduce the question -of Catholic emancipation, the Ministers had resigned and only held -office till a new Cabinet was formed. On this, Lord Darnley postponed -his motion. On the same day, in the Commons, a letter from Addington, -the Speaker, was read, announcing his resignation of the Speakership -in consequence of the king's proposal to nominate him to a situation -incompatible with that post. Pitt then rose and confirmed this, and -proposed an adjournment till the next day in order to prepare for -the nomination of the new Speaker. The House adjourned accordingly, -and next day, the 11th of February, elected Sir John Mitford, the -Attorney-General, as Speaker. Before the House could resume business, -it was announced that the king was ill--confined to the house by a -severe cold; but it was soon known that it was a return of his old -malady, lunacy, in consequence of his extreme agitation on the proposal -of the Catholic question and the resignation of Pitt. The report was -soon augmented into the startling rumour that the king was dangerously -ill, and that a regency must take place--if not superseded by his -death. At this news Fox, who had for some time absented himself from -Parliament, on the plea that all endeavours to carry sound and prudent -measures were hopeless with Pitt's great martial majority, hastened up -to town from St. Anne's Hill; and the Whig body was in a flutter of -expectation that he would soon be the Minister of the prince regent, -or of George IV. But all these hopes were speedily overthrown by the -news of the rapid improvement of the king, and on the 12th of March -the royal physicians announced him perfectly recovered. He attributed -his illness to Pitt's conduct, and the ex-Premier thereupon wrote and -promised never to re-open the question again. - -The new Ministry consisted of Addington, son of Chatham's old -physician, Dr. Addington, as First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor -of the Exchequer: the Duke of Portland, President of the Council; Lord -Eldon, Chancellor; Earl St. Vincent, First Lord of the Admiralty; the -Earl of Chatham, Master-General of the Ordnance; Lord Pelham, Secretary -of the Home Department; Lord Hawkesbury, the eldest son of the Earl of -Liverpool, Secretary for Foreign Affairs; Lord Hobart, Secretary for -the Colonies. Several of Pitt's Ministers remained, but the important -members, Grenville, Dundas, Woodham and Spencer retired with him. -It was soon seen, however, that though Pitt was out of office his -principles dominated in it, and that there was no chance of a change of -system. The Cabinet was one of mediocrities, and was probably regarded -by Pitt as a convenient makeshift until he could return to power. - -[Illustration: NELSON AT THE BATTLE OF COPENHAGEN. (_See p._ 481.)] - -But long before this--as early, indeed, as the 15th of April--news -had reached London of the death of the erratic Emperor Paul, and of -the bombardment of Copenhagen by the British fleet. Paul had been won -over by Buonaparte to his views, and had been flattered by him by -being elected--though irregularly and illegally--Grand-Master of the -Knights of Malta. He had been persuaded that the conquest of Malta -by the British was an invasion of his rights, and by these and other -flatteries Buonaparte had influenced his weak mind to become the -agent of his plans in destroying the British ships in the Baltic, and -in closing that sea to British commerce. Paul pretended that we had -captured Danish convoys, these same convoys being engaged in guarding -vessels loaded with materials of war for France, and that thus the -independence of the North was menaced by us. On this ground, and on -that of the invasion of Malta, he immediately laid an embargo on all -British vessels in Russian ports, and as two vessels in the harbour -of Narva resisted the attempts to seize them, in consequence of the -embargo, he ordered all the British vessels in that port to be burned. -In consequence of this sudden and unwarrantable order, contrary to all -the laws of nations, about three hundred British vessels were seized, -and the officers and crews dragged on shore, put into irons, and sent -up the country under menaces of Siberia. Paul next ordered all property -of Englishmen in Russia to be seized and sold. Denmark--with whom we -had various rencontres, on account of its men-of-war convoying vessels -laden with stores for French ports--soon joined Russia. We sent Lord -Whitworth to Copenhagen to endeavour to come to some understanding on -these matters in 1800, but though a convention was signed, it was not -satisfactory. Sweden followed the example of Denmark, and the three -Northern Powers entered into a treaty of armed neutrality to resist our -search of their vessels in any circumstances. As the consequence of -this policy would be to shut us out of all trade with the ports of the -Baltic, it was resolved to send a fleet to chastise these Powers and -break up their co-operation with France. Mr. Vansittart was despatched -to Copenhagen, accompanied by a fleet of eighteen sail of the line, -with several frigates and smaller vessels, under command of Admiral -Sir Hyde Parker, with Vice-Admiral Nelson as second. The fleet left -the Yarmouth Roads on the 12th of March, 1801, and arriving at the -mouth of the Sound, Nelson recommended that they should sail directly -up to Copenhagen, and be prepared, on the refusal of our proposals, to -bombard the place, as this would not allow them time to get ready their -batteries, and thus do all the more damage to our ships and men. But -this was deemed too offensive before any attempt at negotiation, and -accordingly Mr. Vansittart was sent forward in a frigate with a flag -of truce, leaving the fleet at the Scaw. He returned without effecting -anything more than what Nelson anticipated. Sir Hyde Parker wasted time -in making the needless inquiry by a flag of truce of the Governor -of Elsinore, whether the passage of the Sound would be disputed, who -replied that it would. It was then proposed to enter by the Belt. -Nelson said:--"Let it be by the Sound, or the Belt, or anyhow--only -don't let us lose an hour." - -[Illustration: COPENHAGEN.] - -On the 30th of March the British cast anchor before Copenhagen, between -it and the island of Huen. On reconnoitring, the defences of the place -were found to be very formidable. Nelson was appointed to make the -attack with twelve line-of-battle ships, and some smaller craft. He -had asked for ten. The next morning--the 2nd of April--the wind was -favourable, and Nelson weighed and drew nearer to the town--Sir Hyde -Parker on the outside threatening the batteries and vessels at the -mouth of the harbour. At ten o'clock the firing commenced, and at -eleven it was general. Three of the British vessels--the _Agamemnon_, -the _Bellona_, and the _Russell_--stuck fast on the shoal. For three -hours the battle raged fiercely, for the Danes fought with their -well-known valour. It was necessary for Nelson to silence or destroy -the floating batteries and gunboats before he could come at the ships -of the line and the great land batteries. He had ordered five hundred -seamen, under the Hon. Colonel Stuart and Captain Freemantle to storm -the Kroner Battery as soon as it was silenced; but at this moment Sir -Hyde Parker, seeing the signals of distress flying at the mast-heads -of the three vessels aground, and that three others, which he had sent -forward as a reinforcement, were making but slow way to the front, -signalled for the fleet to draw off, and cease the engagement. But -Nelson took no notice of the signal: he continued to walk the deck, -and asked if his signal for close action was still hoisted, and, being -told it was, said:--"Mind you keep it so." About half-past one o'clock -the fire of the Danes slackened, and by two it had nearly ceased. But -the vessels that had struck their flags recommenced firing on our boats -sent to take possession of them, and the fire of the batteries on land -and on Amager Island struck these surrendered vessels on one side, -and that of our ships on the other. To prevent the destruction of the -unhappy Danes placed in this fatal situation, Nelson sent on shore -Sir Frederick Thesiger with a flag of truce, and a letter to the Crown -Prince, entreating him to put an end to a contest that was uselessly -wasting the lives of the brave Danes. Within half an hour after -Thesiger's departure, the firing from the Kroner Battery ceased, and -Adjutant-General Lindholm came on board to learn the precise object of -Nelson's note. Nelson replied that his object was humanity. He demanded -that the action should cease, and that the wounded Danes should be -taken on shore; that then he would burn or carry away the surrendered -vessels, as he should think fit. It was agreed that the combat -should cease for twenty-four hours, during which negotiations should -be entered into. After five days' arduous discussion, an armistice -was concluded for fourteen weeks, during which the treaty of armed -neutrality with Russia was to be suspended. Nelson was to have full -liberty to purchase any necessaries for his fleet, in Copenhagen or -along the coast, and in case of renewal of hostilities all the Danish -prisoners were to be again surrendered. - -The ships being got afloat again, on the 12th of April Parker sailed -away with the main body of the fleet, leaving the _St. George_ (with -Nelson) and a few other ships to repair their damages. Sir Hyde Parker -went in quest of the Swedish fleet, which consisted only of six ships, -and which had taken refuge behind the forts of Karlskrona. Parker sent -in a flag of truce, informing them of the armistice with Denmark, and -demanding an answer as to the intentions of Sweden. Gustavus, the -King of Sweden, hastened to Karlskrona, and on the 22nd informed the -English admiral that he was ready to treat with an envoy accredited to -the Northern Powers. Admiral Parker then proceeded towards the Gulf -of Finland to attack the Russian fleet, but was soon overtaken by a -dispatch boat from the Russian ambassador at Copenhagen, announcing -that the Emperor Paul had been murdered by his courtiers, and that his -son, Alexander, had accepted the proposals of Britain to treat. Parker -considered the news of Paul's death as tantamount to the conclusion -of peace, and proposed sailing down the Baltic again; but Nelson, who -had joined him at Karlskrona, thought very differently. He had blamed -Parker's slowness and easiness all through the affair of Copenhagen, -and he now wanted to push on to Revel, and destroy the Russian fleet -before the ice allowed it to retire into Cronstadt. Sir Hyde Parker -refused; and the fleet was on its way down the Baltic when an order -came recalling Parker and giving the command to Nelson. He immediately -put about and proceeded to Revel, but the thaw had allowed the Russian -fleet to get into Cronstadt. Nelson, however, opened communications -with the Emperor Alexander, and proposed to land and terminate a -convention with him at once. Alexander, not liking to have Nelson's -fleet too near, declined the proposal in terms of courtesy, and Nelson -took his leave in no complimentary mood. The emperor thought it best -to send after him Admiral Tchitchagoff, to assure him that Alexander -regretted that any misunderstanding had ever taken place between Russia -and Britain; that all the British subjects seized by Paul should be -immediately liberated, all their property restored, and that the Czar -would be glad to see Nelson at St. Petersburg in any style which he -liked to assume. But Nelson had now resolved to return at once to -Britain, his shattered health ill bearing the severity of the northern -climate; nor was his presence necessary, for on the 17th of June, two -days before Nelson went on board the brig which took him to Britain, -Lord St. Helens, who had proceeded to St. Petersburg as ambassador, had -signed a convention, by which all subjects of dispute between the two -countries were ended. Denmark and Sweden came into the convention as a -matter of course. - -General Kleber, whom Buonaparte had left in command of the Egyptian -army, was an excellent officer, and he had improved the condition of -the forces there. Instead of the French army in Egypt being weaker -than when Buonaparte left it, it was much stronger. In 1800 Kleber was -attacked at the fort of El Arish, in the Desert, by a strong Turkish -force, supported by the British squadron under Sir Sidney Smith. Being -defeated, he agreed to a convention, by which he promised to evacuate -Egypt, on condition of his army being allowed to return unmolested to -Europe; but no sooner were these terms communicated to the British -Government than they disavowed them, declaring that Sir Sidney had no -authority to propose them. Kleber, therefore, resumed hostilities and -returned towards Cairo; but being attacked by the Turks, he fought and -routed them with great slaughter, on the 20th of March, 1800, near -the ruins of the ancient city of Heliopolis. The Moslems of Cairo, -encouraged by Murad Bey, who still hovered about with his Mameluke -cavalry, rose on the French there, and massacred such as could not -escape into the citadel. Kleber hastened to Cairo, relieved the forces -in the citadel, and entered into a truce with Murad Bey, but whilst -thus busily engaged he was assassinated by an Arab, who declared -he was commissioned by Allah to free the country of the infidels. -The command was taken by Menou, whose administration of the army and -general affairs was far inferior to that of Kleber. At the time that -matters were changing thus for the worse, amongst the French, Dundas, -now Lord Melville, urged upon Ministers the good policy of sending an -army to Egypt and compelling the surrender of the French. He contended -that, whilst one army was sent from Britain, another should be -brought across the Persian Gulf from India, and success made certain. -The plan was much too bold, even for Pitt; and the king opposed it -energetically, as "a dangerous expedition against a distant province." -But the danger of having this French army transferred to Europe at some -critical moment--as it would have been had the Convention of El Arish -been carried out, by which these twenty thousand seasoned men could -have been landed in Italy to act against Suvaroff--at length brought -the British Ministry to dare the attempt. - -On the 8th of March, 1801, General Sir Ralph Abercromby landed in -Egypt, where Nelson had fought the battle of Aboukir. Menou brought -down against the British twelve or fourteen thousand men, including -a fine body of cavalry. Sir Ralph Abercromby landed only about ten -thousand in effective order, but these were men full of ardour and -disciplined to perfection. On the 8th of March they landed in face of -the French, five thousand being put on shore at once, these returning -no single shot whilst in the boats, though assailed by fifteen pieces -of artillery from the opposite hill, and by grape-shot from Aboukir -Castle. They were led on by General (afterwards Sir John) Moore; and -running, or climbing on hands and knees, up the steep sand-hills, -they drove the French from their cannon, and seized them. The French -retreated, and posted themselves on some heights between Aboukir and -Alexandria. On the 19th, having compelled Fort Aboukir to surrender, -General Abercromby advanced, and found Menou had concentrated all his -forces between them and Alexandria. On the 21st of March a general -engagement took place. It commenced as early as three o'clock in the -morning, whilst quite dark, by an attack on the British left, which -was meant to draw all attention to that quarter, then a desperate -charge was made on the right by the main body of the French cavalry, -which hoped to get into the rear of the British infantry; but the -attempted surprise failed: the French were driven back with great -loss. As the day dawned the battle became general, and the French found -themselves opposed not only by accustomed British doggedness, but by a -precision of fire and an adroitness of manœuvre which astonished them. -By ten o'clock the French were in full flight for Alexandria, leaving -seventeen hundred men on the field. The loss of the British was stated -at fourteen hundred killed and wounded; and, unfortunately, the brave -Abercromby was killed. To complete the success, the Capitan Pacha's -fleet in a few days brought a Turkish army of between five and six -thousand men, and the Grand Vizier, posted at El Arish, began to march -towards Cairo. General Hutchinson, now chief in command of the British -army, hastened to join the Grand Vizier; but before he could accomplish -this, he had to drive four thousand French from a fortified camp at -Ramaneeh, and meanwhile five thousand French rushed out of Cairo and -attacked the Grand Vizier. On the 27th of June Cairo capitulated, -General Belliard obtaining the condition that his troops should be -conveyed to the ports of France on the Mediterranean with their arms -and baggage; yet they left behind them three hundred and thirteen heavy -cannon and one hundred thousand pounds of gunpowder. On the 8th of June -General Baird had landed at Cosseir on the Red Sea with his Indian -army, and was marching through the burning desert for Cairo. Menou, -cooped up at Alexandria, found it useless to contend further and, -before Baird could join the main army, capitulated on the same terms -as Belliard, and the Egyptian campaign was at an end. The news of the -French expulsion reached France sooner than it did England, and created -a strong sensation. - -[Illustration: SIR RALPH ABERCROMBY. (_After the Portrait by J. -Hoppner, R.A._)] - -Britain was everywhere successful on the sea, and Lord Nelson, on -the 1st of August, made an attempt on the French flotilla lying at -Boulogne for the invasion of England. He was furnished with a flotilla -of gunboats for the purpose, and he was able to destroy two floating -batteries and a few gunboats, but found the fleet too strongly posted -under the batteries of the harbour to make further impression. However, -Napoleon saw that for the present an invasion was out of the question, -and the autumn of this year was employed in endeavours to arrange a -peace. Lord Cornwallis proceeded to Paris for this object, and went -to Amiens, which was appointed as the place for the conference. The -preliminaries were signed on the 1st of October, and General Lauriston, -the schoolfellow and first aide-de-camp of Buonaparte, brought them -over to London. The negotiations progressed slowly, being arrested -now and then by the conduct of the First Consul. Without waiting for -the ratification of peace, he sent off, on the 14th of December, 1801, -only ten days after the signing of the preliminaries, a strong fleet -and army to the West Indies to reduce the independent black Republic -in St. Domingo. Britain was obliged to send reinforcements to her own -West Indian fleet by Admiral Martin--so that it looked much more like -war than peace. Again, in January, 1802, came the news of the election -of Buonaparte to the Presidency of the Cisalpine Republic, directly -contrary to the Treaty of Lunéville, and betraying the ambitious aims -of Napoleon. Immediately followed the news that Buonaparte had exacted -from Spain a treaty by which Parma and the island of Elba were made -over to France on the death of the present, already aged, duke; that -Spain had been compelled to cede part of the province of Louisiana -in North America, by the same treaty; and that Portugal, though the -integrity of her dominions had been carefully guaranteed by the -preliminaries of peace, had by a secret article given up to France her -province of Guiana. A Republican constitution was forced on Holland, -and in Switzerland instructions were given to the French Minister to -thwart all efforts at the formation of a stable constitution. These -revelations startled the British Ministers, but did not deter them -from concluding the peace, with the full approbation of Pitt. It was -not that the First Consul, who every day betrayed some fresh symptom -of an insatiable ambition, was disposed to offer them tempting terms; -on the contrary, though we were never more able to dictate measures -at sea, and he never less so, he was as haughty and dictatorial in his -demands as if Great Britain had been completely under his feet. Yet -the treaty went on, and was concluded and signed on the 27th of March, -1802. It settled nothing, as Britain refused to acknowledge the newly -organised Republics, and declined to entertain Napoleon's preposterous -suggestion that Malta was to be occupied by Neapolitan troops, under a -neutrality guaranteed by all the chief European Powers; since it was -well known that Napoleon, when it suited him, would cease to respect -the conditions, and would readily dispossess the troops of Naples. -Though Pitt believed him to have been sincere, Grenville, Windham, and -Spencer saw that the ambition of the "Little Corporal" was insatiable, -and denounced the treaty. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Napoleon's Plans of Conquest--Sebastiani's Report--Napoleon's - Complaints against the British Press--Espionage and - Confiscation--He continues his Continental Aggressions--Napoleon's - Interview with Lord Whitworth--Imminence of War--Negotiations for - Pitt's Return to Office--War Declared--Napoleon Arrests British - subjects in France--Seizure of Hanover--Emmett's Rebellion--Naval - Attacks on the French Coast--The Mahratta War--Battle of - Assaye--Successes of General Lake--Battle of Laswaree--Battle - of Argaum--Conclusion of the War--Renewed Illness of George - III.--Increasing Opposition of Pitt--He offers to undertake the - Government--He forms a Tory Ministry--Wilberforce's Abolition - Motion--The Additional Force Bill--Scheme for blowing up the - French Fleet--War with Spain--The Georges Conspiracy--Murder - of the Duke D'Enghien--Napoleon becomes Emperor--His - Letter to the British King--The Condition of Europe--Lord - Mulgrave's Reply to the Letter--Ministerial Changes--Weakness - of the Ministry--Attack on Lord Melville--Whitbread's - Motion--Melville's Defence--His Impeachment voted--Secession of - Lord Sidmouth--The European Coalition--Hastened by Napoleon's - Aggressions--Rashness of Austria--Invasion of Bavaria--Napoleon - marches on the Rhine--Capitulation of the Austrian Army at - Ulm--Occupation of Vienna--Battle of Austerlitz--Treaties of - Schönbrunn and Pressburg--The Baltic Expedition--Expedition to - Naples--Naval Affairs--Nelson's Pursuit of Villeneuve--Calder's - Engagement--Battle of Trafalgar--Death of Nelson--Continuation - of the Mahratta War--Lord Lake's Engagements with Holkar--Siege - of Bhurtpore--Defeat of Meer Khan--The Rajah of Bhurtpore makes - Peace--Treaties with Scindiah and Holkar--Death of Pitt--Payment of - his Debts by the Nation. - - -The Peace of Amiens, instead of turning the attention of Buonaparte -to internal improvements, seemed to give it opportunity to range, in -imagination, over the whole world with schemes of conquest and of the -suppression of British dominion. There was no spot, however remote, -that he did not examine on the map with reference to plans of conquest. -Louisiana and Guiana, obtained from Spain and Portugal, were viewed -as ports whence conquest should advance to Nova Scotia, Canada, the -Brazils, Mexico, and Peru. Every station in the West India Isles was -calculated as a point for this purpose, and for seizing some day all -the British islands there. The Cape of Good Hope, Madagascar, the isles -of France and Bourbon, the Dutch spice isles, and their settlements -in Java, Sumatra, etc., were regarded as a chain of ports which would -enable Buonaparte to become master of India. He sent out expeditions, -under different officers, to examine every island and region where the -British had a settlement, or where he might plant one, to oppose them. -One of these expeditions sailed in a couple of corvettes, commanded -by Captain Baudin, who was accompanied by a staff of thirty-three -naturalists, geologists, _savants_, etc., the ostensible object being -science and discovery--the real one the ascertaining of the exact -possessions of Britain, and of the best means of becoming master of -them. The head of the scientific staff was M. Péron. On their return -their report was published, and it is singular that in this report -St. Helena, destined to be the prison of Napoleon, is described in -rapturous terms as an earthly paradise. - -Another expedition was that of Colonel Sebastiani, a Corsican, who -was despatched to Egypt, Syria, and other countries of the Levant. -Sebastiani reported to Buonaparte that the British were so detested -in Egypt that six thousand men would suffice to re-take it; that -Buonaparte's name was so venerated that it had procured him the utmost -honour everywhere, and especially with Djezzar Pacha, Viceroy of Egypt. -He asserted that General Stuart, the British envoy, had endeavoured to -excite the Turks to assassinate him. He harangued the natives in the -Ionian Isles, and assured them of the protection of Buonaparte, and -besides many calumnies against the British officers, he told Napoleon -that so hateful was the British rule that both Greeks and Venetians in -those islands were ready to rise against them at the first word from -France. On the appearance of this base report, our ambassador at Paris -made a strong remonstrance; but Napoleon only replied by complaining -of the late account of the campaign in Egypt by Sir Robert Wilson, in -which he had detailed the butchery of the Turks and Arnauts at Jaffa, -and Napoleon's command to poison his own wounded on the retreat from -Acre. Through M. Otto, the French envoy in London, Napoleon demanded -that statements injurious to his character made by the British press -should be stopped by Government, that all French emigrants should be -expelled from England, that Georges Cadoudal should be transported to -Canada, and such princes of the House of Bourbon as remained there -should be advised to repair to Warsaw, where the head of their house -now resided. To these peremptory demands the British Government, -through Lord Hawkesbury, replied that his Britannic Majesty did not -possess the absolute power necessary for these acts, and that whilst -the statements charging upon a British Ambassador instigations to -murder were published in the _Moniteur_, the official organ of the -French Government, the statements by the British press were protected -by the freedom of that press guaranteed in Great Britain, which the -king was not disposed to invade, but from which any man, British or -foreign, might claim redress by an action at law. To show the First -Consul how this might be done, the British Government commenced an -action against M. Peltier, a French emigrant, for a libel on Napoleon -in a newspaper published by him in London, called the _Ambigu_. Peltier -was found guilty; but this by no means answered Buonaparte's object. -He wanted the accounts of his darkest actions suppressed by a power -above the law, not thus made more public by the action of the law. As -Sir Walter Scott has observed, he wanted darkness, and the British -Government gave him light. - -The audacity of Buonaparte still further excited the indignation of the -British Government. Under the name of consuls, he sent over to England -and Ireland a number of military officers, whose real business was to -act as privileged spies, to prepare plans of all the chief ports, -with soundings, and an exact account of the winds with which vessels -could go out or come in with most ease, and also at what draught of -water the harbours might be entered by large vessels. These agents -had been instructed to maintain the utmost secrecy as to their real -objects, but they became known, and Ministers announced that any person -coming in such a character to this country should be ordered instantly -to quit it. Neither was the temper of the nation at all improved by -the irritating proceedings of the French authorities on the coasts of -France. A law had been passed by the Jacobins, in the most rabid time -of the Revolution, condemning any vessel under a hundred tons burden -found within four leagues of the French shores, having on board British -merchandise. It was taken for granted that this decree was virtually -annulled by the Peace of Amiens; but repeated seizures were now made -of British merchant vessels driven by stress of weather on the French -coasts, and the mere fact of having plates, knives, and forks for the -crew, of British make, was used as a plea for confiscation of ships. -It was in vain that remonstrances were made to the First Consul: they -passed without notice. Such a peace it was evident could not last long. -Napoleon was in a mood to brook no control from any quarter; he at this -time showed how completely he would crush any creature who offended him -when he had the power. - -The Treaty of Amiens did not for a moment, even in appearance, -interrupt the unlimited plans of aggression which Buonaparte had -formed. Whether these plans tended to alarm Britain or not gave him no -concern whatever. The encroachments on Italy never paused. Before the -signing of the Peace of Amiens, Buonaparte had made himself President -of the Cisalpine Republic; and though he had pledged himself to -Alexander of Russia that he would not interfere further with Piedmont, -because Alexander would not entertain the scheme of co-operating with -France in the march to India, as his father had done, Buonaparte seized -on all Piedmont in September of this year, annexed it to France, -and divided it into six Departments. Charles Emmanuel, the King of -Piedmont, retired to his island of Sardinia, and then abdicated in -favour of his brother Victor Emmanuel. But Victor Emmanuel would not -have been left long king, even of that small territory, had it not -been for the protection of Britain. In October he annexed Parma and -Placentia. He next made an agreement with the King of Naples for Elba, -and took possession of it. Every movement of this restless being showed -his intention to drive Britain out of the Mediterranean, and convert it -into a French lake. But on the mainland he was equally active. There -was no country on the Continent in which Buonaparte did not presume -to dictate, as if he already were universal monarch. In the Diet of -Germany his influence was prominently conspicuous, and he prevailed to -have towns and districts transferred as he pleased. To have all the -territory on the left bank of the Rhine secured to France, Prussia -received valuable compensation at the expense of the German empire for -the cession of the Duchy of Cleves and other provinces transferred to -France. Bavaria and other minor States were benefited in the same way, -because Napoleon already meant to use these States against Austria and -Russia, as he afterwards did. Every endeavour was made, contrary to the -articles of the Peace of Amiens, to shut out the trade of Britain, not -only with France--as he had a right to do--but with Holland, Belgium, -and Germany. It was in vain that Britain remonstrated. Buonaparte, -through his official organ, the _Moniteur_, declared that "England -should have the Treaty of Amiens, the whole Treaty of Amiens, and -nothing but the Treaty of Amiens"; but he interpreted this treaty -to give every advantage to France to the exclusion of Britain. Half -Europe was closed to British trade. It was a condition of the Treaty -of Lunéville that the independence of Switzerland should be respected, -and this was guaranteed by the Batavian, Cisalpine, and Ligurian -Republics, as well as by France and Austria. But Buonaparte had already -absorbed all these republics into France, and Austria he set at -defiance. He had never withdrawn the French troops from Switzerland, -but whilst they remained French emissaries had continued to foment -the feuds between the people and the nobles, between one canton and -another. He now declared this state of things must end, and he assumed -the office of umpire, to settle the affairs of the Swiss for them. -He had no right to assume this office--if needed, it belonged to the -other Powers of Europe as well as France; but he knew that he had the -might--and he used it. At the end of September he sent General Rapp to -issue a manifesto announcing that Napoleon was determined to put an -end to all their differences. This manifesto was immediately followed -by the appearance of General Ney at the head of forty thousand men, -in addition to those already in the country. Thus Switzerland was -invaded, and its constitution trodden out by an armed occupation. -Buonaparte assumed the title of Mediator of the Helvetic League, and -dictated his own terms to the deputies of the French party who were -sent to Paris. - -The king's speech at the opening of Parliament, and the martial tone -of the speeches by the members of both Houses, exceedingly exasperated -Napoleon; for though preparing for war he was scarcely ready, and meant -to have carried on the farce of peace a little longer. Talleyrand -demanded of Lord Whitworth the reason of this ebullition of the -British Parliament and of the Press. Lord Whitworth replied, as he had -done regarding the comments on the trial of Peltier, that it was the -direct result of the insulting articles in the _Moniteur_, which was -known to be the organ of the French Government; whereas, in Britain, -the Government had no direct control, either over the speeches in -Parliament or over the press. Talleyrand and Whitworth again discussed -all the vexed questions of the retention of Malta, the conduct of -Colonel Sebastiani in the East, the aggressions of Napoleon in Italy, -Germany, and Switzerland, in violation of the Treaty of Amiens; and -Lord Whitworth declared that all Britain wanted was, that the Treaty -should be faithfully carried out on both sides; that we were ready to -evacuate Malta, and recall our complaints, on that being done. But -this was what Napoleon was resolved never to do, and he therefore -resorted to the most extraordinary insults to the British Ambassador. -He requested Lord Whitworth to call at the Tuileries at nine o'clock -in the evening of the day on which he had had his conference with -Talleyrand. Napoleon had, by an assumption of extreme hauteur and -impetuosity, frightened the Austrian Ambassador at Campo Formio, and -he probably thought of frightening the British one; but Britain had -not been beaten like Austria, and such a proceeding could only enrage -the British people. In this interview, Buonaparte ran over, in a -rapid and excited harangue of two hours' length, scarcely permitting -Lord Whitworth to interpose a word of reply, all the alleged causes -of dissatisfaction with England; at one moment threatening to invade -it, if it cost him his life; at another, proposing that France and -England should unite to rule the Continent, and offering to share -with it all the benefits of such an alliance. Lord Whitworth replied, -as before, that the British Government desired nothing but the _bonâ -fide_ execution of the Treaty of Amiens, and could not for a moment -entertain such schemes of aggression and domination as the First Consul -proposed to her. He began to comment gravely on the aggressions in -Switzerland and Italy, but Buonaparte cut him short angrily, saying -those things were no business of his and that he had no right to -talk of them. There was a fresh interview with Talleyrand, and fresh -notes from him and Andreossi of the same character. A similar though -more violent scene occurred at a levee on the 13th of March, in which -Napoleon passionately accused Britain of driving France into war. A -shrewd observer, Madame de Rémusat, was of opinion that his rage was -simulated. - -Everything in Parliament and in Ministerial movements now denoted the -near approach of the renewal of war. On the 8th of March a message was -received by both Houses of Parliament from his Majesty, stating that -great military preparations were going on in Holland and France, and -that his Majesty deemed it highly necessary to take measures for the -security of his dominions. It added that negotiations were going on -with France, the issue of which was uncertain, but it neither stated -what these negotiations were, nor the measures called for. The message -was taken for what it was--a note of war, and both in the Lords and -Commons strong expressions of defiance were used to France. This -seemed to have encouraged Ministers to a plainer expression of their -intentions, for only two days later another message came down, calling -for an increase of the navy. The next day, the 11th, the Commons formed -themselves into a committee, and voted an addition of ten thousand -seamen to the fifty thousand already voted. The militia were embodied. -Sheridan was very zealous for war; Ministers, however, professed to -desire the continuance of peace if possible. - -There were rumours of negotiations going on for a return of Pitt to -power; but as Mr. Addington showed no disposition to resign altogether -in favour of Pitt, these came to nothing. Already in the previous -November Canning and Lord Malmesbury, two of Pitt's most zealous -supporters, had set on foot an address to Addington begging him to -resign. But this plan was abruptly stopped by Pitt himself, who felt -that he was to a certain extent the creator of the Ministry. Now -Addington made overtures to Pitt through Dundas, become Lord Melville. -But his propositions were absurd. He stipulated that Greville and -Windham, who had opposed the Peace of Amiens, should be excluded from -the arrangements. He also wished that Pitt's brother, Lord Chatham, -should be the nominal Prime Minister, while he and Pitt should be equal -secretaries. At this, Pitt put a stop to the envoy's conversation. -"Upon my word," he said afterwards, "I had not the curiosity to ask -what I was to be." So England engaged in war, with her greatest -statesman excluded from office. - -On the 6th of May Lord Pelham communicated to the Lords, and Mr. -Addington to the Commons, another message from his Majesty, informing -them that he had ordered Lord Whitworth, our Ambassador, to quit Paris -immediately, unless he saw a prospect of closing the negotiations -with the First Consul within a certain date; and that M. Andreossi, -the French Ambassador, had applied for his passport, in order to quit -London when Lord Whitworth should quit Paris. In consequence of the -uncertainty of the result there was an adjournment, and then a second; -but on the 16th of May all suspense was terminated by the announcement -of Ministers that Lord Whitworth had quitted Paris, and M. Andreossi -London. The papers which had passed between this Government and France, -in the late negotiations, were ordered to be produced, and an Order -in Council was issued, directing reprisals to be granted against the -ships, goods, and subjects of the French Republic, and also for an -embargo not only on all French ships in British ports, but on all Dutch -vessels, and vessels of any Power under the military rule of France. -Britain was once more at war. On the 17th of June the king announced, -by message, that, in consequence of the Batavian Republic refusing to -order the French troops to quit Holland--which, indeed, would have -paid no attention to such orders--he had recalled his Ambassador from -the Hague and had issued letters of marque and reprisals against that -Republic. Thus, we were also at war with Holland. At the same time a -demand was made for a grant of sixty thousand pounds, and a pension -of sixteen thousand pounds per annum to the Prince of Orange, the -ex-Stadtholder, on the plea that he was an exile and destitute; and the -grant was voted. Parliament was now daily occupied in passing fresh -measures for the defence of the country. It was voted, on the 20th of -June, that a reserve army of fifty thousand should be raised by ballot, -like the militia; and, indeed, it was no other than the extension of -the militia: for during the war this division was to serve only in -Great Britain, Ireland, and the Channel Islands. On the 18th of July it -was proposed to pass a Bill enabling his Majesty to raise a levy _en -masse_ in case of invasion. Pitt strongly supported it, and proposed -fresh fortifications on the coasts. - -[Illustration: NAPOLEON AND HIS SUITE AT BOULOGNE. (_See p._ 490.)] - -On the declaration of war, Buonaparte resorted to a proceeding that -had never been practised before, and which excited the most violent -indignation in England. He ordered the detention of British subjects -then in France, as prisoners of war. Talleyrand previously assured some -British travellers, who applied to him for information, that they had -nothing to fear; that their persons would be safe under the protection -of a Government which, unlike that of Britain, observed the laws of -nations, and Buonaparte caused his well-known agent, Louis Goldsmith, -the editor of a French paper, the _Argus_, published in London, to -insert the same assurance in that journal. Thus thrown off their guard, -all the British in France were seized by authority of a proclamation -of the 22nd of May. Numbers of these were families and individuals not -resident in France, but merely hurrying home from Italy, Switzerland, -etc. They numbered some 12,000, and were kept confined till the close -of the wars. The pretext was the capture of two ships before war -was declared, but they were not captured until the Ambassadors had -withdrawn, or until an embargo had been laid by Napoleon on British -shipping. - -There was another point, besides the seizure of unsuspecting British -travellers, on which Buonaparte could deeply wound the honour of the -British monarch, and at the same time furnish himself with considerable -materials of war--the seizure of Hanover. George III. held this -hereditary territory distinct from his Crown of Britain, as a State of -the German federation. It was impossible to defend this against France -with the forces kept there, and Napoleon ordered General Mortier to -cross the Dutch frontier, and march into the Electorate with twenty -thousand men. The Duke of Cambridge, who was Viceroy there, and General -Walmoden, at first, put themselves in an attitude of resistance; they -called on the chief Powers of Germany to protest against this invasion -of the German Empire, and to come to their aid, if this remonstrance -was disregarded. The Duke of Cambridge, seeing himself totally deserted -by Germany, thought it best to surrender Hanover to France, by -agreement that the troops should retire behind the Elbe, and not serve -again till exchanged. This was done at the end of May; the different -towns made their submission on the 3rd of June, and on the 5th Mortier -entered Hanover; the Duke of Cambridge had quitted the country; and the -British Cabinet refusing to ratify the Convention previously made with -him, he called on the Hanoverian army to surrender as prisoners of war. -Walmoden would have resisted with anything like equal forces, but as -that was impossible, he made the best terms he could, which were that -his army should give up their arms and disband themselves. - -Napoleon also exerted himself to excite a rebellion in Ireland. He was -the more bent on this, because he saw that it was hopeless to make a -direct descent on England itself. He had collected a great fleet in -the harbours of Boulogne, Dieppe, Havre, Dunkirk, Ostend, and other -smaller ports, many of them capable only of receiving the gunboats in -which he proposed to transport his soldiers. He had assembled a very -fine army on the heights above Boulogne, called the Army of England, -and there continually exercised it, under the inspection of Soult, -Ney, Davoust, and Victor--men, the pride of his army; but he saw such -powerful fleets crowding the Channel, blockading his very ports, -cutting out, every now and then, some of his gunboats under the very -batteries, and the war-ships of Britain even standing in and firing -at him and his suite as they made observations from the cliffs, that, -combined with the information that England was almost all one camp, -he abandoned the project, for the present, in despair. But Ireland he -deemed vulnerable, from the treason of her own children. He assembled -all the Irish refugees in Paris, formed the Irish Brigade into the -Irish Legion, and sent over active agents to arouse their countrymen -in Ireland. Amongst these were Quigley and Robert Emmett, who had -been engaged in the Rebellion of 1798. Quigley had been outlawed, -and Emmett had been so deeply implicated in that Rebellion with his -brother Thomas, who was banished, that he had found it necessary to -quit the country. These emissaries soon collected around them, in -Dublin, disaffected associates, amongst them being Dowdall, Redmond, -and Russell. They formed a central committee, and corresponded with -others in different towns, and especially with one Dwyer, who had also -been in the former Rebellion, and had ever since maintained himself -and a knot of desperate followers in the mountains of Wicklow. The -Government received, from time to time, information of the proceedings -of these foolish men--Emmett being a rash youth of only twenty-two or -twenty-three years of age--but they took no precautions; and when, -on the 23rd of July, the eve of the Festival of St. James, these -desperadoes rushed, at evening, into the streets of Dublin, armed with -pikes, old guns, and blunderbusses, the authorities were taken entirely -by surprise. There were from two thousand to three thousand soldiers -in the Castle, but neither police, soldier, nor officer appeared till -the mob had murdered Colonel Brown, who was hastening to the Castle -to arouse the troops, and Lord Kilwarden, the Chief Justice, whom -they dragged from his carriage as it passed, and killed, along with -his nephew, but, at the same time, they allowed the Chief Justice's -daughter, who was with them, to depart. Soon after this--but not before -the insurgents had severely wounded a Mr. Clarke, a manufacturer, who -was riding to alarm the Castle--the soldiers appeared, and the mob fled -at their very sight. The same day Russell had turned out at Belfast, -and Quigley at Kildare, but with as little success. Emmett had escaped -to the Wicklow mountains to join Dwyer; but having assumed the fatal -disguise of French officers, the country people, who hated the French -since their appearance under General Humbert, when they had ridiculed -the Catholic religion, drove him and twelve of his companions back. In -a short time, Emmett, Russell, Redmond, and others were all secured -and executed. Dowdall escaped, with Allen and others, out of Ireland; -Quigley and Stafford, one of his companions, were admitted as king's -evidence, and thus escaped. The project of Napoleon had thus entirely -failed, with the sacrifice of some of his leading agents. - -During this year Great Britain held that position which properly -belonged to her, and which showed how unassailable she was whilst -employed in self-defence. Her fleets covering the Channel, and at the -same time plying in the most distant regions for that money which -for years had been wasted on helpless and ungrateful Continental -nations, were calculated to make her invincible on the ocean. So far -from permitting Buonaparte to set foot on her coasts, she continually -insulted his. She entered the ports and roadsteads of Hâvre, St. -Valery, and other places, and brought away ships and gunboats; she -attacked Dieppe, and destroyed its batteries; she bombarded Granville, -and demolished its pier, under the eyes of some of Napoleon's most -distinguished officers. Her fleet amounted to nearly six hundred -vessels of different kinds, and she began rapidly to recapture the -colonies which she had so tamely, and without compensation, surrendered -at the strange Peace of Amiens. St. Lucia was retaken by Commodore -Hood and General Grinfield on the 22nd of June. In one day, the 30th -of June, were retaken Tobago, in the West Indies, and St. Pierre and -Miquelon, on the coast of Newfoundland. Demerara, Essequibo, and -Berbice were soon after reconquered, and Guadeloupe was invested, and -destined to fall into our hands ere long. - -But our military achievements in the East Indies were on a scale to -throw even these successes far into the shade. Lord Wellesley, the -Governor-General, was entreated by the Peishwa of Poonah to assist him -against the other Mahratta chiefs, Scindiah and Holkar. The Peishwa had -been driven out of his territory by these chiefs, aided principally by -the military talents of M. Perron, a Frenchman, who had for many years -entered, with several other French officers, on the fall of the Mysore -power, into the service of Scindiah. He had been extremely successful, -and had been rewarded with a wide territory on the Jumna; and when, -in 1793, Shah Allum, the Mogul, had been made prisoner, he had been -consigned to the custody of M. Perron. The Frenchman had now given -his aid to expel the Peishwa, and Lord Wellesley, in sending General -Lake to restore the Peishwa, authorised him to attempt to win over M. -Perron to the British interest by very brilliant offers of property and -distinction, for Perron was deemed avaricious. The temptation, however, -failed, both with Perron and his French officers. He took the field in -support of Scindiah, with seventeen thousand infantry, from fifteen to -twenty thousand Mahratta horse, and a numerous train of artillery. - -The conjuncture was most critical, for the incompetent and -short-sighted Addington had, by the Peace of Amiens, restored the -French possessions which had cost us so much to make ourselves masters -of in India; and had Buonaparte conceived the idea of supporting -Perron there with strong reinforcements, the consequences might have -been serious. Fortunately, he seemed too much engrossed with his plans -nearer home, and as fortunately also for us, we had now rising into -prominence in India a military chief, destined not only to dissipate -the hostile combination of the Mahrattas, but also to destroy the -dominion of Buonaparte himself. Major-General Wellesley, the younger -brother of the Governor-General, and afterwards Duke of Wellington, by -a rapid march upon Poonah surprised and drove out the Mahratta chief, -Holkar, and saved the city from a conflagration which Scindiah's troops -endeavoured to effect. Holkar fled to join Scindiah and the Rajah of -Berar, and the Peishwa entered his own capital in the month of May. -General Wellesley, being put into full command of all the troops -serving under the Peishwa and the Nizam of the Deccan, and being also -director of the civil affairs of the British in those provinces, made -arrangements for their security, and then marched after Scindiah and -the Rajah of Berar. After various marchings and counter-marchings, in -consequence of their movements to avoid him, he came up with them near -the village of Assaye, or Assye. General Stevenson, who had repulsed -them from the territory of the Nizam, was also encamped only eight -miles off. On coming in sight of them, Wellesley found them fifty -thousand strong, with a splendid body of Mahratta cavalry, whilst he -had only four regiments of cavalry, three of them being native, and -seven battalions of infantry, five of them Sepoys. He determined, -however, to attack them at once, and, sending word to Stevenson to come -up, he crossed the river at a ford in face of the artillery of the -enemy, and, after a sharp encounter, routed them before Stevenson could -arrive. The Mahrattas had ninety pieces of artillery, with which they -did terrible execution till the cavalry could come to close quarters -with them, and the infantry reach them with their bayonets; then they -fled headlong, leaving behind all their cannon (September 23rd, 1803). -The Mahrattas rallied in the village of Assaye, and it required a -desperate effort to expel them. It was dark before it was accomplished. -General Stevenson had been prevented from crossing the river, and did -not come up till the next day, when Wellesley sent him in pursuit of -the enemy's infantry, which had been abandoned by the cavalry, and was -thus exposed to attack. - -In the meantime, General Lake had made a march on Delhi, continuing, as -he went, his correspondence with M. Perron. As General Lake approached -the fortress of Allyghur, the stronghold of Perron, the Frenchman came -out with fifteen thousand men, but again retreated into the fortress. -This was on the 29th of August. Perron made a strong resistance, and -held out till the 4th of September, when the place was stormed by a -party headed by Colonel Monson and Major Macleod. The success was -somewhat clouded by the surprise and surrender of five companies of -General Lake's sepoys, who had been left behind to guard an important -position, but with only one gun. This accident, however, was far more -than counterbalanced by the withdrawal of Perron from the service of -the Mahrattas. He had found so much insubordination amongst his French -officers, and saw so clearly that there was no chance of competing -with the British, that he had at length closed with General Lake's -offers, and, abandoning his command, had obtained a passport for -himself, family, suite, and effects, and retired to Lucknow. This being -accomplished, General Lake continued his march on Delhi, in order -to release Shah Allum, the Mogul, and drew near it on the 11th of -September. He there found that the army previously commanded by Perron, -but now by Louis Bourquien, nineteen thousand strong, had crossed the -Jumna and was posted between him and the city. Bourquien had posted his -army on a rising ground, flanked on both sides by swamps, and defended -in front by strong entrenchments and about seventy pieces of cannon. As -Lake had only four thousand five hundred men, to attack them in that -position appeared madness. The British were briskly assailed before -they could pitch their tents, and General Lake, feigning a retreat, -succeeded in drawing the enemy down from their commanding situation -and out of their entrenchments; he then suddenly wheeled, fired a -destructive volley into the incautious foe, and followed this rapidly -by a charge with the bayonet. The enemy fled, and endeavoured to regain -their guns and entrenchments; but Lake did not leave them time--another -volley and another bayonet charge completely disorganised them, and -they fled for the Jumna and the road by which they had come. The troops -of Scindiah, which had held the Mogul prisoner, evacuated the city, -and on the 16th General Lake made a visit of state to the aged Shah -Allum, who expressed himself as delighted at being delivered from his -oppressors and received under the protection of the British. - -[Illustration: THE JUMMA MUSJID, DELHI. (_From a Photograph by Frith & -Co._)] - -General Lake had no sooner seen Delhi clear of the enemy than he -marched to Agra, which he reached on the 4th of October, and carried -on the 17th. But Scindiah had availed himself of his absence, and made -a sudden rush on Delhi, with seventeen well-disciplined battalions -of infantry and between four thousand and five thousand cavalry. The -Mahratta troops had been well trained by the French, who hoped, by -their means, to crush the power of the British in India, and had shown -throughout this war wonderfully increased efficiency, yet General Lake -did not hesitate, with his small force, to go in quest of them. He -started on the 27th of October, and after marching in heavy rains and -through dreadful roads--the country having been purposely inundated -by Scindiah's officers cutting down the banks of reservoirs--he came -upon the Mahrattas on the 31st, near the village of Laswaree, their -left flanked by that village, their right by a stream, and their front -protected by seventy-two pieces of cannon. A furious battle took place, -in the course of which Lake's troops were repeatedly repulsed, but -returned to the attack undauntedly, and the successive charges by the -bayonet, and the gallant conduct of the cavalry, at length, in the face -of terrible discharges of grape-shot and canister, drove the Mahrattas -from all their positions. The enemy had fought desperately, and step by -step only had given way, but in the end the rout was complete--cannon, -baggage, and almost everything, being left in the hands of the British -(November 1st, 1803). This division of Scindiah's army was thus -annihilated, and all the territory watered by the Jumna left in the -hands of the British. - -[Illustration: THE CHASE AT ARGAUM. (_See p._ 493.)] - -This blow induced Scindiah to sue for peace from General Wellesley in -November, and a truce was accordingly entered into with him; but as the -Rajah of Berar still kept the field, Wellesley marched against him, -and encountered him on the plains of Argaum, about one hundred and -twenty miles north of the Purna river. He was surprised to find the -treacherous Scindiah, notwithstanding the truce, also encamped with -him. Wellesley attacked the allies on the 28th of November, though -it was evening when he was ready for action, and there remained only -twenty minutes of daylight. But it proved a brilliant moonlight night, -and he routed the whole army, and his cavalry pursued the fugitives -for several miles, taking many elephants, camels, and much baggage. -He captured all their cannon, thirty-eight pieces, and all their -ammunition. This done, he hastened to reduce the formidable fortress -of Gawilgarh, situated on a lofty rock. On the 15th the outer walls -were carried, and the 94th regiment, led on by Captain Campbell, -scaled the inner one, opened the gate, and the whole place was soon -in possession of the British. This closed the opposition of the Rajah -of Berar. On the 17th of December he came to terms, and surrendered -to Wellesley the important province of Cuttack and the district of -Balasore. Immediately afterwards Scindiah was compelled to treat in -earnest. He consented to surrender all the country between the Jumna -and the Ganges, with numerous forts and other territories, and agreed -to recognise the right of the Peishwa to the domains which the British -had conferred upon him. Both he and the Rajah of Berar stipulated to -send away all Frenchmen or other Europeans and Americans, and not to -employ them again, nor even to employ British subjects, native or -European, without the consent of the British Government. - -Sir Arthur Wellesley, brilliantly seconded by General Lake, Stevenson, -and others, had thus worked out the plans of the Governor-General, Lord -Wellesley. With small forces, and those principally native ones, but -admirably disciplined, they had beaten two hundred and fifty thousand -men in four pitched battles and eight sieges. They had taken from them -upwards of one thousand pieces of cannon, besides an enormous amount of -ammunition, baggage, and other spoil. They had made themselves masters -of all the Mahratta territory between the Jumna and the Ganges; of -Delhi, Agra, Calpee, the greater part of the province of Bundelcund, -the whole of Cuttack, and a territory in Gujerat, which secured us -all the ports by which France could have entered, so that we enjoyed -the whole navigation of the coast from the mouth of the Ganges to the -mouth of the Indus. They had added most important acquisitions to the -territories of our allies, the Peishwa and the Nizam of the Deccan, and -to the Company itself a stronger frontier in the latter region; and all -this had been achieved in the short space of four months. The French -influence was completely annihilated, and every part of India placed in -greater strength and security than it had ever known before. - -The year 1804 opened by an announcement that his Majesty was suffering -under a return of his old malady. On the 14th of February an official -bulletin was issued at St. James's Palace, informing the public of the -royal indisposition; and the repetition of it from day to day, without -specifying the nature of the illness, left no doubt of its real -character. Still, on the 29th, Addington assured the House that there -was no necessary suspension of the royal functions, and the bulletins -grew more favourable; but it was well known that he was not really in a -condition to transact business till the following September, though at -times, as on the 9th, 10th, and 11th of May, he drove about in public, -in company with the queen and princesses. Probably his advisers thought -that the hearty cheers with which he was received might have a bracing -effect on his mind, which had been cruelly harassed by the separation -of the Prince of Wales from his wife, the king's niece, amid grave -public scandals. Such a circumstance was exactly calculated to throw -the royal mind off the balance; but besides this, the unsatisfactory -state of his Cabinet and of parties in Parliament was such as greatly -to aggravate his anxiety. - -The Ministry of Addington was felt to be utterly inadequate to the -difficulties of the times. The country felt that Pitt or Fox must soon -be called to the helm. Addington had shown a desire to strengthen -his administration by bringing into it George Tierney, whom he had -appointed Treasurer of the Navy and a Privy Councillor. Pitt, who -had an intense dislike to Tierney--with whom he had, in 1798, fought -a duel--showed increasing determination, from the introduction of -Tierney to the Cabinet, to oppose the Ministry of Addington with all -his vigour. An opportunity was given him on the 27th of February. The -Hon. Sir Charles Yorke, the Secretary-at-War, had introduced a Bill -for consolidating all the existing laws respecting the volunteers. In -the debate on the second reading of this Bill on this day, a question -was incidentally introduced by Sir Robert Lawley as to the exact -state of the king's health, which, he said, concerned the safety of -the country as much as the affairs of the volunteers. Fox followed -up this idea, and demanded more perfect information on this subject -from Ministers. He declared that the House had no information on this -important subject, and he asked whether the Chancellor of the Exchequer -really had any. He supported the motion for an adjournment which -Sir Robert Lawley had made, in order that the House might be put in -possession of the truth. Fox made it felt that he was looking forward -to the fact of a regency. Addington, on this, declared that there was -no necessity for any serious measures, that he was persuaded that the -king's indisposition would be of short duration. Pitt made some strong -observations on the conduct of Ministers in keeping Parliament in the -dark on this head, though he opposed the adjournment. - -On the 15th of March he took a more decided position of hostility to -the Cabinet, by moving for an inquiry into the state of the navy. The -Earl St. Vincent was now First Lord of the Admiralty, and he proved -quite incompetent. Many gunboats had been broken up from motives of -economy, and naval stores sold, for the most part, to the French. Pitt -declared that only twenty-three gunboats had been built since January, -1803, and that the whole management of the navy was inert. - -After accepting an offer from the Irish militia serving in England -during the war, and agreeing that ten thousand should be the number, -and that this number should be reinstated in Ireland by a new levy, the -House adjourned on the 29th of March for the Easter recess. But during -the recess Pitt was planning fresh measures of opposition, and in fact -driving out Addington and taking his place. On the re-assembling of the -House on the 23rd of April, Fox moved that it should resolve itself -into a committee of inquiry regarding the measures of defence necessary -for the country. Addington opposed the inquiry as unnecessary, but -Pitt declared that it was never more necessary; that though there -were a hundred and eighty-four thousand troops of the line, and -four hundred thousand volunteers, the measures of Government were -not of that vigorous character which the times demanded. Yorke, the -Secretary-at-War, and Spencer Perceval defended Addington, who asserted -that great exertions had been made to bring up members to vote for Mr. -Pitt's views, and that he did not see how the present Ministry could -remain in office if this measure was carried against them. It was not -carried; but Addington's majority had sunk to only fifty-two, the -numbers being for Fox's motion two hundred and four, against it two -hundred and fifty-six. Wilberforce, who had much respect for Addington, -as he had a great admiration for Pitt, exerted himself to reconcile -the two and to get Pitt into the Cabinet with Addington. He consulted -with Lord Chancellor Eldon on the plan for bringing in Pitt to join -Addington. - -But Pitt was already doing his own work and paving his own way. He -wrote to the king on the 25th of April, informing him of the determined -opposition he felt himself called upon to make to Addington's mode -of administration, but assuring him that he would never attempt to -force Fox upon him. This was saying, as plainly as he could speak to -the king, that he was ready to resume the helm himself, and that, -with the opposition that he could exert, the Government of Addington -could not go on. Accordingly, Pitt received a notice that his Majesty -would soon call for him to attend on him. On the 30th of April the -Marquis of Stafford, in the House of Lords, gave notice of a motion -identical with that of Fox in the Commons--namely, for inquiry into the -national defences. Lord Hawkesbury immediately entreated the marquis -to postpone his motion, for reasons which, he assured the House, it -would deem fully satisfactory if he were at liberty to state them. It -was at once understood that negotiations were on foot for a change of -Administration. Lord Grenville, who was a relative of Pitt, but at the -same time pledged to include Fox in any offers to himself of entering -the Ministry, called upon Lord Hawkesbury to be more explicit; but he -declined, and after some discussion the motion was postponed. Pitt, -in fact, had received a message from the king, and on the 2nd of May, -through Lord Chancellor Eldon, presented a letter sketching a plan of a -new Cabinet, in which he included not only Lord Grenville but Fox also. -On the 7th he had, for the first time, an interview with the king, -which lasted three hours, and Pitt then more fully stated his views, -and recommended a mixed Cabinet on the ground that there was every -prospect of a long war, and that it was desirable that they should -have a strong administration. Whether such a coalition would have been -strong is more than doubtful, opposed as the views and tempers of Fox -and Pitt were. But the king would not allow the name of Fox to be in -the list. On the other hand, Lord Grenville refused to become part of -an Administration from which Fox was excluded. He said he could not -accept office in a Cabinet formed on the basis of exclusion, being -convinced that an effective government could only be secured by uniting -in it as large a proportion as possible of the weight, talents, and -character to be found in public men of all descriptions. Pitt was thus -forced to form a Government on a narrow Tory basis. On the 11th of May -the Marquis of Stafford said, in the House of Lords, that he understood -that a certain right honourable gentleman, who had turned his great -abilities to the subject of the national defences, was about to take -the management of public affairs, and that he therefore withdrew his -motion. The next day the public announcement was made that Addington -had resigned, and that Pitt had accepted the Chancellorship of the -Exchequer. Of the Addington Ministry Pitt retained--Lord Chancellor -Eldon; the Duke of Portland, President of the Council; the Earl of -Westmoreland, Lord Privy Seal; his own brother, the Earl of Chatham, -Master-General of the Ordnance; and Lord Castlereagh, President of -the Board of Control. To these he added Dundas, now Lord Melville, as -First Lord of the Admiralty; Lord Harrowby as Secretary of Foreign -Affairs, in place of Lord Hawkesbury; and Lord Camden as Secretary of -the Colonies, in place of Lord Hobart. Lord Mulgrave became Chancellor -of the Duchy of Lancaster, in place of Lord Pelham. George Canning, -now becoming a marked man, was made Treasurer of the Navy, in place -of Tierney, but this gave him no seat in the Cabinet. Huskisson was -Secretary to the Treasury, and Mr. Perceval remained Attorney-General. - -The first measure of importance after the appearance of Pitt in the -House of Commons as Prime Minister was the annual motion of Wilberforce -for leave to bring in a Bill for the abolition of the Slave Trade. -Pitt and Fox both supported it, and it was carried by seventy-five -against forty-nine. The second reading was carried by a still larger -majority--one hundred against forty-two--but on going into committee -upon it, it was postponed to the next Session. War and preparations for -war were the all-absorbing business of those times. - -On the 5th of June, the day after the king's birthday, Pitt introduced -his plan of military defence. It was to leave the militia what it was, -but to increase the regular army by making it compulsory on parishes -to furnish each a certain number of men to what was called the Army -of Reserve--a body called out for five years, and only to be employed -within the United Kingdom. He desired to break down the distinctions -between this and the regular army by attaching the Reserve to the -Regulars as second battalions, and encouraging volunteering thence -into the Regulars. This was known as the Additional Force Bill, which -was denounced by the Opposition as veiled conscription. In other ways, -notably by the erection of his martello towers, Pitt set himself to -rouse the spirit of the nation, in face of the very real danger of -invasion. - -In the autumn of this year the British Admiralty tested a plan to -blow up and destroy the French invasion flotilla in the harbour of -Boulogne. It consisted of a chest, pitched outside and made waterproof, -containing forty barrels of gunpowder, which was to be ignited by -a certain contrivance when it struck smartly against a solid body. -This machine was called a catamaran. The experiment was tried by -Lord Keith on the 2nd of October. There were one hundred and fifty -French gunboats, praams, and floating batteries anchored outside the -pier of Boulogne. Lord Keith anchored opposite to them with three -line-of-battle ships and several frigates, covering a number of -bomb-ships and fire-ships and the catamarans. Four fire-ships were -towed into the neighbourhood of the French flotilla and exploded with -a terrific noise, but did no injury whatever to the flotilla or the -French, beyond wounding some half-dozen men. The catamarans exploded, -for the most part, with the same failure of effect. - -Though a declaration of war had been issued both against France and -Holland, there had been none against Spain. But Ministers hearing that -a strong Spanish armament was being equipped in the port of Ferrol, and -that French soldiers were expected to join and sail in it, despatched -Captain Graham Moore, the brother of Sir John Moore, with four frigates -to intercept four Spanish treasure-ships. The proceeding was certainly -high-handed, but Ministers were justified by their knowledge that -Spain paid subsidies to France. The Spaniards were furious in their -indignation; an order was speedily issued to make reprisals on British -ships and property, and on the 12th of December war was formally -proclaimed against us. - -[Illustration: - - _Reproduced by André & Sleigh, Ld., Bushey, Herts._ - -NELSON'S CHASE AFTER THE FRENCH FLEET, 1805. - -BY THOMAS DAVIDSON.] - -At this juncture Napoleon proceeded to set all Europe against him. -A conspiracy had been set on foot against his Government by the -Royalists, notably by one Lajolais, who had formerly fought under -Pichegru, and in 1794 had assisted him in his intrigues with the -Bourbon princes. On arriving in London he had interviews with Pichegru, -Georges Cadoudal, the Chouan chief, the Polignacs, the Count d'Artois, -the Duke of Berry, etc., and assured them that such was the feeling -against Buonaparte in France, that it only needed the appearance of -the Royalist leaders, and their forming a league with Moreau, the -victor of Hohenlinden, whom he truly represented as greatly disgusted -with Buonaparte, to produce a revolution and crush the aspiring First -Consul. The statements of Lajolais were listened to, and a vessel, -under the command of Captain John Wesley Wright, was despatched to -the coast of Brittany, with General Georges Cadoudal, the Marquis de -la Rivière, the brothers Armand and Jules Polignac, and some others, -whom he put safely ashore in the autumn of 1803. Pichegru, Georges -Cadoudal, the Polignacs, de la Rivière, and the rest of the Royalists, -about thirty in number, had made their way to Paris, and were -living there secretly, endeavouring to learn the real state of the -public mind, and Pichegru and Cadoudal had been introduced to Moreau. -Pichegru saw Moreau at least twice, and on one of these occasions he -took with him Georges Cadoudal; but Moreau seemed taken by surprise by -their communications with him, and was so horrified by the language and -proposals of the daring Chouan, that he desired Pichegru not to bring -that irrational savage again into his company. It appeared pretty clear -that there was some mistake somewhere; and that Moreau, however much -dissatisfied with Napoleon, was by no means disposed to enter into any -Royalist conspiracy. Had the delegates found things ripe for such a -revolution, they were to inform the Bourbon princes in London, and they -were to make a strong descent on the coast of Brittany; but they all -felt so satisfied that Lajolais had given them false information, that -they were about to quit the capital, and to return to England, Captain -Wright having been lingering with his frigate on the Breton coast for -that purpose, when Fouchè the Minister of Police, pounced upon them. -He had been keeping a strict watch on all their movements; he had now -established their intercourse with Moreau, and trusted to be able to -make sufficient use of that fact to destroy both them and him. It was -asserted, although there is no proof whatever of the fact, that the -plan included the murder of the First Consul. Further, in order to -bring odium upon England, Buonaparte succeeded, by means of his agents, -in entrapping Messrs. Drake and Spencer Smith, our Ministers at the -courts of Bavaria and Würtemberg, into consenting to the conspiracy. -They knew nothing of the real plot, but being informed that a Royalist -conspiracy was on foot, gave it a certain amount of countenance. -Napoleon thereupon accused them of being accomplices in a diabolical -plot to assassinate him, forced the Courts to which they were -accredited to expel them, and circulated throughout Europe a violent -attack on the British Government. In an exceedingly able and dignified -reply Lord Hawkesbury pointed out that Britain was at war with France, -and had a right, which she intended to use, to take advantage of the -political situation in that country. Napoleon gained little by his -Machiavellian manœuvre. - -[Illustration: KIDNAPPING OF THE DUKE D'ENGHIEN. (_See p._ 498.)] - -The Georges conspiracy, as it is commonly called, was followed by a -still more startling act of violence. As the Bourbons still continued -to watch for the overthrow of his power, Buonaparte determined to -take a deep revenge on the persons of any of that family whom he -could by any means get into his hands. Could he have inveigled the -Count d'Artois and the Duke of Berry, as he attempted, to leave -London and land in Brittany, he would have seized them and put them -to death without ceremony or mercy. But there was another member of -the family, though the farthest off from succession to the throne, -who was living on the French frontiers, within a tempting reach of -his soldiers in Alsace, and him he determined to kidnap and kill. -This proposed victim of a most lawless and wicked vengeance was -Antoine-Henri de Bourbon, Duke d'Enghien, the son of the Prince of -Condé. The project was so odious, so certain to cover both Napoleon -and France with inextinguishable infamy, that it startled the not very -sensitive mind of Talleyrand, who, it is said, gave the duke secret -warning of his danger, and advised him to remove farther from the -Rhine. In consequence, the duke applied to Sir Charles Stuart to get -him a passport from the Austrian Minister, to enable him to cross the -Austrian territory to rejoin his grandfather, then at Warsaw with Louis -XVIII. Sir Charles Stuart applied to M. de Cobenzl for this purpose, -and had the Austrian Court been quicker in its movements, the duke -would have been safe enough from the myrmidons of Buonaparte; but, -whilst lingering at Ettenheim in Baden for the necessary passport, the -duke had so little suspicion of the prompt and deadly nature of the -usurper's design against him, that he took no means to conceal himself, -or he might still have escaped. But in the middle of the night of -the 14th of March he was aroused by the sound of horses' hoofs, and, -looking out, saw that the château was surrounded by a troop of French -cavalry. Buonaparte had despatched his aide-de-camp, Caulaincourt, to -Strasburg to effect this capture, and he had sent on Colonel Ordenner -to bring the duke away from the heart of a neutral territory. The duke -was summarily tried by a military tribunal and shot (March 21, 1804) at -Vincennes. The news of this most audacious crime soon transpired, and -filled Europe with horror and execration against its perpetrators. - -In the midst of these deeply-planned manœuvres Buonaparte proceeded to -make his last move in his great game. He had intimidated the Royalists -by the seizure and fusilading of the Duke d'Enghien; he had deprived -the Republicans of their leader in Moreau, who was exiled; the nation -was passive; all its branching lines of authority were in his hands; -and there remained only to erect a throne and seat himself upon it. -It must not be a regal throne, because that would too much remind -the world of the claims of the Bourbons: it should, therefore, be an -imperial one, and mark a totally new era in France. It was one which -was especially calculated to flatter the French vanity. Accordingly, -on the 30th of April, Curée--a man of no particular note, and perhaps -selected on that account for the occasion, as his proposal might be the -more easily disavowed, if it were resisted--rose in the tribunate, and -proposed that Napoleon Buonaparte should be invested with the title of -Emperor. - -No sooner had the tribunate sent up its decision to the Senate, signed -by all except Carnot, than the Senate hastened at once to adopt it, and -to sign the answer to the message of the First Consul, which had been -drawn up by Fouché for the Committee of Ten appointed by the Senate. -In July Napoleon went to Boulogne to review the grand army of England, -on the heights above the town, overlooking the English Channel, and -from which the white cliffs of England were conspicuous. Everything -had been elaborately got up for this occasion, on which the enthusiasm -of the soldiers was to be raised to the highest pitch. The common -people believed that he was going to lead the army at once across the -Channel, and return loaded with the enormous wealth of London, and with -the king, queen, royal family, William Pitt, and the leading members -of the aristocracy as prisoners in his train. Buonaparte had no such -wild idea; but since the Duke d'Enghien's murder the Powers of almost -all Europe had manifested unequivocally their abhorrence of the act, -and of the man who perpetrated it, and he now designed, by the display -of enthusiasm in his army, at once to awe his own people and the -sovereigns of other nations. - -From Boulogne, Buonaparte proceeded to Brussels, Ostend, Antwerp, and -so through Belgium, where Josephine met him, to the Rhine. Wherever he -appeared, the authorities of the towns, both then and on his return -through France, presented him with the most adulatory addresses. One -would no longer believe it the same people who had, for ten years, -committed such unexampled horrors to destroy the royalty they were now -again adoring. The Mayor of Arras, Robespierre's own town, put the -climax to all this civic incense by declaring, in his address, that -"God made Napoleon, and then rested!" - -Buonaparte now prepared for his coronation. Whilst at Mayence, on the -Rhine--where the German princes flocked to pay abject homage to him -as their protector, no nations, except Great Britain, Russia, and -Sweden, keeping aloof--he despatched one of his aides-de-camp, General -Caffarelli, an Italian, to invite the Pope to go to Paris to crown the -new emperor and empress. Pius VII. had already been compelled to submit -to the terms of the Concordat, which had made such inroads into the -ancient power of the Church; and he knew very well that to refuse this -request would bring down upon him fresh humiliations. Buonaparte, who -affected to imitate Charlemagne as the founder of the French nation, -passing over all the kings of France as unworthy of notice, determined -to inaugurate the Second Empire by a still bolder stretch of authority -than Charlemagne himself. That monarch had condescended to make the -journey to Italy to receive the privilege of coronation from Pope -Leo; but Buonaparte resolved that poor old Pope Pius VII. should come -to him in France. His desire was carried out to the letter, and Pius -arrived at Fontainebleau on the 25th of November. The 2nd of December -having been fixed for the coronation, the Cathedral of Notre Dame was -gorgeously decorated for the occasion, and the ceremony was performed -amidst the utmost pomp and magnificence, Napoleon himself putting the -crown on his head and then placing the Empress's diadem on the head of -the kneeling Josephine. During the whole proceedings the Pope was made -to play a secondary part. He simply "assisted" at the function. The -ceremony was followed by a profuse creation of marshals and nobles. - -The year 1805 was opened by Buonaparte addressing a second letter to -George III. Its tenor may be gathered from the concluding paragraph. -"Alas! what a melancholy prospect to cause two nations to fight, merely -for the sake of fighting. The world is sufficiently large for our two -nations to live in it, and reason is sufficiently powerful to discover -means of reconciling everything, when the wish for reconciliation -exists on both sides. I have, however, fulfilled a sacred duty, and one -which is precious to my heart. I trust your Majesty will believe in the -sincerity of my sentiments, and my wish to give you every proof of -it.--NAPOLEON." - -Nothing could be more just or more excellent than the sentiments and -arguments of this letter; but, unfortunately, circumstances on both -sides were such as really precluded any hope of making peace. Great -Britain foresaw Italy under the foot of France; Holland and Belgium -in the same condition; Bavaria, Baden, Würtemberg, and other smaller -German States, allied with France against the other German States. It -was impossible for her to conclude a peace without stipulating for the -return of these States to the _status quo_; and was Buonaparte likely -to accede to such terms? On the contrary, at this very moment, besides -being in possession of Hanover, George III.'s patrimony, he had been -exercising the grossest violence towards our Ambassadors in various -German States, was contemplating making himself king of Italy, and was -forcibly annexing Genoa, contrary to the Treaty of Lunéville, to the -Cisalpine Republic--that is, to the French State in Italy. Whilst he -was thus perpetuating want of confidence in him, on the other hand a -league for resistance to his encroachments was already formed between -Great Britain, Russia, Sweden, and Austria. Peace, therefore, on -diplomatic principles was impossible, and Napoleon must have known it -well. True, we had no longer any right to complain of the expulsion of -the Bourbons from France, seeing that the nation had ostensibly chosen -a new government and a new royal family, any more than France had a -right to attack us because we had expelled the Stuarts and adopted the -line of Brunswick. But the very nature of Napoleon was incompatible -with rest; for, as Lord Byron says, "quiet to quick bosoms is hell." -Buonaparte had repeatedly avowed that he must be warlike. "My power," -he said, "depends upon my glory; my glory on my victories. My power -would fall if I did not support it by fresh glory and new victories. -Conquest has made me what I am, and conquest alone can maintain me. -A newly-born government, like mine, must dazzle and astonish. When -it ceases to do that, it falls." With such an avowal as that, in -entire keeping with his character, there must be constant aggressions -by him on the Continent which intimately concerned us. Accordingly, -the British Government replied to Buonaparte by a polite evasion. -As Britain had not recognised Napoleon's new title, the king could -not answer his letter himself. It was answered by Lord Mulgrave, the -Secretary for Foreign Affairs, addressed to M. Talleyrand, as the -Foreign Secretary of France, and simply stated that Britain could not -make any proposals regarding peace till she had consulted her Allies, -and particularly the Emperor of Russia. The letter of Buonaparte and -this curt reply were published in the _Moniteur_, accompanied with -remarks tending to convince the French that the most heartfelt desires -of peace by the Emperor were repelled by Great Britain, and that a -storm was brewing in the North which would necessitate the Emperor's -reappearance in the field. - -Pitt had returned to office in anything but promising circumstances. -Britain was at war with a great nation, and as yet the coalition which -he was laboriously building up was far from being complete. Pitt's -health was failing: his energies were prematurely worn out by the -gigantic task that was forced upon him; his end was fast approaching, -and his majority was shrunk and attenuated to an alarming degree. -The Fox and Grenville opposition held together firmly, and Addington -had carried a strong party along with him on retiring. Pitt felt his -situation keenly and the king was sensibly alarmed at it. He attempted -to conciliate Grenville, but, as Fox could not be accepted too, that -failed. He then turned to Addington, and as the king was favourably -disposed to his old minister, he warmly recommended this coalition. -It was effected, and Addington was made a peer--Viscount Sidmouth, -of Sidmouth. This was one of those rapid political promotions of -George III.'s reign in which politics were made to ennoble men of -no particular mark or abilities; and certainly the son of Pitt's -father's doctor had never shown those splendid talents or rendered -those brilliant services which justified such an elevation. But, as -Pitt would take the lead in the Commons, it was, no doubt, felt more -convenient that one who had lately been Prime Minister should not serve -under the present Prime Minister, but should represent the Cabinet in -the Upper House. There were some other changes at the same time. The -Duke of Portland, who was growing old and infirm, retired from the post -of President of the Council, which Sidmouth took up. Lord Harrowby, -a warm friend of Pitt, retired, in consequence of continued illness, -from the Foreign Department, and Lord Mulgrave took it, the Earl of -Buckinghamshire succeeding to Lord Mulgrave's post as Chancellor of the -Duchy of Lancaster. - -But the Ministry of Pitt contained many elements of weakness and -discord. Addington and Melville were violently opposed to each other. -Wilberforce found this to his cost when he returned to his annual vote -for the abolition of the Slave Trade. Addington and Melville, hostile -to each other, were both hostile to him and to his project. Pitt warned -him of this, and begged him to let his usual motion lie over this -Session; but Wilberforce had been so fortunate in carrying it last -Session through the Commons, that he was sanguine of succeeding now -with both Commons and Lords. He introduced the Bill, obtained a first -reading on the 10th of February, and had the second reading fixed for -the 28th, but then it was thrown out by seventy-seven against seventy. -The Scots members, who the preceding year were neutral, now, probably -influenced by Melville, voted against him in a body; the Irish, who -had been his warm supporters, now opposed him or held aloof, incensed -by his having voted for the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act in -Ireland. It was a terrible blow to Wilberforce, but a worse blow was -impending over one of his underminers--Melville. - -A Commission had been appointed to inquire into the Department of -Naval Affairs. The Commissioners, at whose head was Mr. Whitbread, had -extended their researches so far back as to include the time when Lord -Melville, as Mr. Dundas, had presided over that Department. They there -discovered some very startling transactions. Large sums of money had -been drawn out of the Bank of England on the plea of paying accounts -due from the Naval Department; these sums had been paid into Coutts's -Bank in the name of the Treasurer of the Navy, Mr. Trotter, who, for -long periods together, used these sums for his own benefit. Other -large sums had been drawn in the name of Dundas, and had been employed -for his profit. Other sums had disappeared, and there was no account -showing how they had vanished; but these were scored under the name of -Secret Service Money, and Melville declared that the money paid into -his account had gone in the same way. As much as forty-eight thousand -pounds had been paid over to Pitt at once, and no account given of its -expenditure. Indeed, as Pitt had nothing to do with that Department, -the payment to him was altogether irregular. These discoveries created -a great sensation. George Rose, who had begun life without a sixpence, -but who, after attracting the attention of Pitt, had rapidly thriven -and become extremely wealthy, had confessed to Wilberforce that some -strange jobs had come under his notice as a member of that Department. -There was a loud outcry for the impeachment of Melville. Melville -appears to have been a jovial, hard-drinking Scotsman, of a somewhat -infidel turn, according to Scottish philosophy of that period. Amongst -Melville's faults, however, it does not appear that he was of an -avaricious character, but rather of a loose _morale_, and ready to fall -in with the licence practised by the officers of all departments of -Government in the duties entrusted to them. - -[Illustration: THE CORONATION OF NAPOLEON IN NOTRE DAME. (_See p._ -499.)] - -On the 6th of April Whitbread brought forward these charges against -Melville in the House of Commons, as detailed in the tenth report of -the Naval Commissioners. In doing so, he paid a high compliment to the -manner in which the naval affairs had been conducted since Lord St. -Vincent became head of that Department; but he charged Lord Melville -with having applied the public money to other uses than those of -the Naval Department, in contempt of the Act of 1785--an Act which -Melville himself, then Dundas, had supported: that he had connived at -a system of peculation in the Treasurer of the Navy, Mr. Trotter, an -individual for whom he was responsible. The salary of this Mr. Trotter -had been fixed by the Act of 1785 at four thousand pounds a year, but -he contended that Dundas had allowed Trotter to draw large sums from -the Bank of England out of the navy deposit, pay them into Coutts's -Bank, and use them for his own benefit; and that, moreover, he had -participated in the profits of this system. This charge called forth -a vehement contest of parties. Tierney, who had been Treasurer of the -Navy under Addington, declared that he had found no inconvenience in -complying with the Act of 1785, whilst holding that office. Fox, Grey, -Ponsonby, Windham, Wilberforce, Lord Henry Petty, afterwards Lord -Lansdowne, supported Whitbread's charges, and Pitt, Canning, and Lord -Castlereagh defended Melville. On putting the resolutions moved by -Whitbread, after a debate till quite late in the morning, they were -carried by the casting vote of the Speaker. The scene, which is one -of the most striking in our Parliamentary annals, has frequently been -described, notably by Lord Fitzharris:--"I sat edged close to Pitt -himself," he wrote, "the night when we were two hundred and sixteen, -and the Speaker, Abbot, after looking as white as a sheet, and pausing -for ten minutes, gave the casting vote against us. Pitt immediately -put on the little cocked hat that he was in the habit of wearing when -dressed for the evening, and jammed it down deeply over his forehead, -and I distinctly saw the tears trickling down his cheeks. We heard -one or two, such as Colonel Wardle, say they would see 'how Billy -looked after it'! A few young ardent followers of Pitt, with myself, -locked their arms together and formed a circle, in which he moved, I -believe unconsciously, out of the House, and neither the colonel nor -his friends could approach him." But the Opposition were not content -with the vote of censure. Whitbread moved that an Address should be -presented to his Majesty, praying him to remove Lord Melville for ever -from his councils and presence, but the motion was withdrawn as soon as -Melville's resignation was known. On the 6th of May Whitbread was about -to move a resolution that his Majesty should be requested to erase the -name of Lord Melville from the list of the Privy Council, but Pitt rose -and said that the motion was unnecessary, as his Majesty had already -done it. - -Melville was now permitted by the House of Peers to go down to the -House of Commons, notwithstanding their conclusion on the subject, to -make his defence, and he made a very long speech, contending that he -had not embezzled a farthing of the public money, and exalting his -services to the country, especially in his India administration. But -on the head of Secret Service Money he was as close as the grave. He -declared that "if he had disclosed any of these transactions he should -have felt himself guilty not only of a breach of public duty, but of -a most unwarrantable breach of private honour." There were twenty -thousand pounds which he never did, and never could, account for on -this ground, and there were forty thousand pounds drawn at once by -Pitt from the Navy Fund. He said he knew very well for what purposes -these sums had been paid, but that nothing would compel him to disclose -it. When it was asked him whether Mr. Trotter had not kept large sums -belonging to the Navy Fund in Coutts's Bank, and speculated with them -to his own great enrichment, he admitted that Trotter had had such sums -for considerable times in Coutts's Bank, but that they were always -forthcoming when wanted, and that no single payment had been delayed on -that account; and that out of the one hundred and thirty-four millions -which had passed through his hands, nothing had been lost. He praised -Trotter in the highest manner, but was silent as to the private use -that he had so long, and to such advantage to himself, made of the -public money. He admitted that he had himself held considerable sums -of this money at different times in his own hands, but had repaid -the whole before quitting office, and this was all that the Act of -1785 required. He seemed to admit that he had paid money out of the -Navy Fund for other than naval objects, and for these secret service -purposes. Some of these were in Scotland, of which, also, he had the -administration to a certain degree. And here the public called to -mind that Watt, the spy and informer against the Scottish Reformers, -had acknowledged to have been employed and paid by Dundas, so that it -was clear whither some of the Navy Fund had gone. Melville entered -into long explanations regarding a written release which had passed -reciprocally between him and Trotter on winding up their affairs, in -which they agreed to destroy all their vouchers for the sums paid -away. This looked very black, but Melville contended that it was only -a matter of course--a thing constantly done by officials in like -circumstances, which, if true, made the matter all the worse for the -country. But Melville contended that this clause in the release was -merely a form; that it did not mean that they should literally destroy -the vouchers, but only that they should be rendered invalid as evidence -in any prosecution, which very little mended the matter. Melville -declared that he had not, in consequence of the clause, destroyed a -single paper. - -On the withdrawal of Melville, Whitbread moved for his impeachment, and -Mr. Bond for his prosecution in the ordinary courts of law, and this -amendment was carried. But Melville preferred impeachment to a trial -at common law. Mr. Bond was induced to withhold any further procedure -in consequence of his motion, and Mr. Leycester, one of Melville's -friends, made a fresh motion for impeachment, which was carried, and on -the 26th of June Whitbread, accompanied by a great number of members, -impeached him at the bar of the House of Lords. A Bill was also passed -through both Houses regulating the course of his impeachment. The -impeachment itself, owing to very important events, including the death -of Pitt, was not proceeded with till April, 1806. On the 10th of July -Lord Sidmouth and the Earl of Buckinghamshire resigned. It was supposed -that difference of opinion regarding Lord Melville's case was the -cause, and the surmise was correct, Addington taking strong exception -to the appointment of Sir Charles Middleton, a very old man, to succeed -Melville. Lord Camden succeeded Sidmouth, and Lord Harrowby Lord -Buckinghamshire. Castlereagh obtained Camden's post of Secretary of -Colonial Affairs. This secession weakened Pitt's Ministry considerably. -On the 12th of July Parliament was prorogued, but a message was sent -down to the House to enable his Majesty to carry out some arrangements -in the north of Europe, which were necessary for the security and -independence of Britain, and a sum, in addition to the large supplies -already granted, was voted, which was not to exceed three millions and -a half. - -Great exertions had been made to draw Prussia into the confederation -that was forming, and on the 25th of May, 1804, a defensive alliance -had been concluded between Prussia and Russia. But the King of Prussia -was, at the same time, listening to the offers of Buonaparte, who was -encouraging him to expect the annexation of Hanover, and also further -territory at the cost of Austria. In these circumstances, Prussia -kept a dubious position, but continued to strengthen her armies for -an emergency, holding herself ready to close with the best offer. -Austria herself was afraid of another war with Buonaparte, and strongly -urged that negotiations should be opened with him before proceeding -to extremities. However, she too concluded a treaty with Russia -in November. It was Pitt's object to draw these threads together. -Fortunately the Czar sent his Minister, Nowosiltzoff, to England in -1805, and he readily fell in with Pitt's ideas. Accordingly, on the -11th of April the Treaty of St. Petersburg was signed on the basis of -the maintenance of the Treaties of Lunéville and Amiens. The great -coalition was thus practically complete, when news arrived that -Buonaparte had annexed Genoa to France. This was a most gross violation -of the Treaty of Lunéville. But the annexation of Genoa was but a -small part of the aggressions of Buonaparte on Italy. On the very same -journey he made himself King of Italy. On Sunday, the 26th of May, -he was crowned in the cathedral of Milan. The Archbishop of Milan -performed the ceremony, blessing the old iron crown of the ancient -kings of Lombardy, and Buonaparte putting it himself on his head, as he -had done that of France. Nor did Napoleon stop here. He wanted a little -snug principality for his sister Eliza and her husband, the Corsican -Bacciochi, and he turned the Republic of Lucca into such an one, and -conferred it upon them. - -But these assumptions of new territories and new honours had, as we -have seen, alarmed the Northern Powers and Austria. They saw that -they could have no peace with such a man, except it were a peace of -continual encroachment, humiliation, and slavery, and Russia went so -far as to recall her Ambassador, though without a declaration of war. -There was the utmost necessity for union, caution, and the exertion of -every ability. But the folly and incapacity of those nations appeared -to rise in intensity in proportion to the actual need of wisdom, and -to the genius of their enemy. Britain, could give them money, but she -could not give them talent and sagacity. Before Russia could march down -to unite with Austria, Austria, which had so long hung back, and thus -delayed the operations of Alexander, now showed as fatal a temerity, -and commenced the campaign alone. She rushed into Bavaria, whose -Elector, Maximilian Joseph, had entered into league with Buonaparte, -in common with Würtemberg and other German States. The Emperor Francis -had despatched Schwarzenberg to Munich, to endeavour to prevail on him -to unite with Austria against the common enemy of Germany. Maximilian -Joseph pleaded that he was quite resolved on doing that, but that -his son was travelling in France, and he prayed time to recall him, -or Buonaparte would wreak his vengeance upon him. This should have -induced Francis of Austria to delay at least a sufficient time for -this purpose, especially as it gave another chance for the decision of -Prussia in their favour, when it saw the Russians already on the march. -Whether the Elector of Bavaria would eventually have kept his promise -is doubtful, for Napoleon was, on the other hand, pressing him close, -through his Ambassador, M. Otto, to proclaim openly the secret alliance -concluded with France. - -The troops of Austria were already in Bavaria on the 21st of August. -They amounted to eighty thousand men, under the nominal command of -the Archduke Ferdinand--a prince of high courage and great hopes--but -really under that of General Mack, whose utter incapacity had not -been sufficiently manifested to Austria by his miserable failures in -the Neapolitan campaign, and who was still regarded in Germany as a -great military genius. His army had been posted behind the Inn, in the -country between the Tyrol and the Danube, into which the Inn falls at -Passau. This was a strong frontier, and had the Austrians waited there -till the arrival of the Russians, they might have made a powerful -stand. But Mack had already advanced them to the Lech, where again -he had a strong position covering Munich. Meanwhile, the Archduke -Charles, Austria's best general, was posted in the north of Italy, with -another eighty thousand men, and the Archduke John in the Tyrol with an -inferior force. Such were the positions of the Austrian armies when -Mack was invading Bavaria, and Buonaparte was preparing to crush him. - -Buonaparte had watched all the motions of the Northern Powers and -of Austria from the first, and was fully prepared to encounter and -overthrow them. Even before his return from Italy his plans were -laid. No sooner, indeed, was he in France again than he proceeded to -his great camp at Boulogne, and dated several decrees thence, thus -drawing attention to the fact. All France was once more persuaded that -he was now going to lead his invincible Army of England across the -strait, and add perfidious Albion to his conquests. He had increased -that army greatly; it had been diligently disciplined, and contained -soldiers who had carried him to victory in Italy and in Egypt. -Such an army of a hundred and fifty thousand picked men was deemed -capable of achieving anything, with the Emperor at their head. But -Napoleon had no intention of making the desperate attempt to cross -the Channel without an overwhelming fleet, and this, for reasons -which we will mention by-and-bye, did not come. The maps of England -had all been thrown aside, and those of Germany substituted. He was -busy collecting material for artillery; he was sending everywhere to -buy up draught-horses to drag his baggage and ammunition and guns; -and suddenly, when people were looking for the ordering out of his -flotilla, they were surprised by hearing that he was in full march for -the Rhine. On the 23rd of September he sent a report to the Senate -in these words:--"The wishes of the eternal enemies of the Continent -are accomplished; hostilities have commenced in the midst of Germany; -Austria and Russia have united with England; and our generation is -again involved in all the calamities of war. But a very few days ago -I cherished a hope that peace would not be disturbed. Threats and -outrage only showed that they could make no impression upon me; but -the Austrians have passed the Inn; Munich is invaded; the Elector -of Bavaria is driven from his capital; all my hopes have therefore -vanished. I tremble at the idea of the blood that must be spilled in -Europe; but the French name will emerge with renovated and increased -lustre." This was accompanied by two decrees: one for ordering eighty -thousand conscripts, and the other for the organisation of a national -guard. The next day he was on the way to Strasburg. He said to Savary, -"If the enemy comes to meet me"--for Mack, like a madman, was rushing -towards the Rhine, far away from his allies--"I will destroy him -before he has re-passed the Danube; if he waits for me, I will take -him between Augsburg and Ulm." The result showed how exactly he had -calculated. - -[Illustration: THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR AND THE VICTORY OF LORD NELSON -OVER THE COMBINED FRENCH AND SPANISH FLEETS, OCTOBER 21ST, 1805. - -FROM THE PICTURE BY CLARKSON STANFIELD, R. A., IN THE NATIONAL -GALLERY.] - -Mack, who was advancing rashly out of reach of any supporting bodies of -troops, expected to encounter the French in front. He therefore took -possession of Ulm and Memmingen, and threw his advanced posts out along -the line of the Iller and the Upper Danube, looking for the French -advancing by way of the Black Forest. But Buonaparte's plan was very -different. He divided his army into six grand divisions. That commanded -by Bernadotte issued from Hanover, and, crossing Hesse, appeared -to be aiming at a junction with the main army, which had already -reached the Rhine. But at once he diverged to the left, ascended the -Main, and joined the Elector of Bavaria at Würzburg. Had Mack had a -hundredth part of the strategic talent attributed to him, he would -have concentrated his forces into one powerful body, and cut through -the cordon which Buonaparte was drawing around him, and, under good -generalship, such soldiers as the Hungarians would have done wonders; -but he suffered his different detachments to be attacked and beaten -in detail, never being ready with fresh troops to support those which -were engaged, whilst the French were always prepared for this object. -Accordingly, Soult managed to surround and take one entire Austrian -division at Memmingen, under General Spangenberg, and Dupont and Ney -defeated the Archduke Ferdinand at Günzburg, who had advanced from -Ulm to defend the bridges there. Ferdinand lost many guns and nearly -three thousand men. This induced Mack to concentrate his forces in Ulm, -where, however, he had taken no measures for supplying his troops with -provisions during a siege. He was completely surrounded, and compelled -to capitulate on the 19th of October, 1805. - -[Illustration: HERRENHAUSEN CASTLE, HANOVER.] - -On the day after the surrender of Ulm, Buonaparte announced by -proclamation to the army that he was going to annihilate the Russians, -as he had done the Austrians; that Austria, in fact, had no generals -with whom it was any glory to compete; and that Russia was only brought -by the gold of England from the ends of the earth, for them to chastise -them. At the end of October, accordingly, he commenced his march on -Vienna. - -The Emperor Francis did not attempt to defend his capital--that -capital which had twice repelled all the efforts of the Turks--but -fled into Moravia, to join his Russian ally, the Czar Alexander, who -was there at the head of his army. On the 7th of November Francis took -his departure, and on the 13th of November Napoleon entered Vienna -without any opposition. Whilst Napoleon remained there he continued to -receive the most cheering accounts of the success of his arms in Italy -against the Austrians. There, Massena, on hearing of the capitulation -of Ulm, made a general attack on the army of the Archduke Charles, near -Caldiero. The French were victorious, and were soon joined by General -St. Cyr, from Naples, with twenty-five thousand men. At the moment of -this defeat, the Archduke received the news of the fall of Ulm, and the -march of the French on Vienna. He determined, therefore, to leave Italy -to its fate. He commenced his retreat in the night of November 1st, and -resolved to make for Hungary. - -Napoleon had so far executed his plans with wonderful success. He -had rescued Bavaria, reduced the enemy's army and _prestige_ at -once by the capture of Ulm and Vienna, and had driven the Austrians -simultaneously from Upper Italy and the Tyrol. But still his situation, -for any general but himself, was very critical. The defeated army of -the Emperor Francis had united itself to that of the young Emperor of -Russia, in Moravia; the two archdukes were mustering great bodies of -troops on the confines of Hungary, ready to rush forward and swell the -Austro-Russian army; and the King of Prussia was watching the movements -of the two parties, ready to strike, if France met with a reverse. -Napoleon saw that his only security lay in a bold and decisive blow. He -therefore crossed the Danube on the 23rd of November, and began a brisk -march into the heart of Moravia, to attack the main body of the Allies -under their two Emperors. He was soon before Brünn, its little capital, -and the Allies retreated, at his approach, as far as Olmütz. This -movement was, however, made to form a junction with the twenty-four -thousand men under Benningsen. This being effected, they amounted to -about eighty thousand men, but of these, many of the Austrians were -troops already discouraged by defeat, and many more were raw recruits. -The French were in number about equal, but consisting of veteran -soldiers flushed with victory. On the 2nd of December Napoleon brought -on the battle of Austerlitz, and before the close of the day the forces -of the Coalition were completely beaten, losing upon the field some -27,000 killed and wounded, 20,000 prisoners, and 133 pieces of cannon. - -Even now, had the Russians and Austrians possessed the spirit which the -circumstances of the time demanded of them, they were far from being in -a hopeless condition. Buonaparte was at an immense distance from his -country. Besides the army still remaining with the two Emperors--at -least sixty thousand in number--there were the strong forces of the -Archdukes Charles and John in Hungary, and of Prince Ferdinand in -Bohemia. By bold and skilful manœuvres they might have cut off his -communications with France and Italy, and have harassed him, without -committing themselves to a decided battle, till he must have found -himself in a most perilous position. But Francis of Austria gave up the -struggle in despair; he sent Prince John of Lichtenstein to propose -a suspension of arms. Buonaparte insisted that they should first -break with the Russians, and Lichtenstein said that Francis was quite -willing, and to treat with Napoleon for a separate peace, but that -he must claim for the Emperor Alexander the privilege of retreating -into his own country without molestation. Buonaparte granted this as -a favour, and added words so complimentary to Alexander, that they -betrayed a wish to complete an agreement also with him. He returned -to Vienna, and again occupied the palace of Schönbrunn. There he and -Talleyrand concerted the demands which should be made; and an armistice -was signed, on these terms, with Prince John of Lichtenstein, on the -6th of December. The final treaty was signed by the Emperor Francis, at -Pressburg, on the 26th of December, a fortnight after Austerlitz. By -this treaty Austria surrendered to Buonaparte all her territories in -Italy, as well as her Venetian provinces of Dalmatia and on the coast -of Albania. She surrendered her only seaport on the Adriatic, Trieste, -and thus reduced herself to a mere inland power. She was compelled -to cede to her rival, Bavaria, the Tyrol--a country most faithfully -attached to the House of Hapsburg,--the bishopric of Passau, and -other regions. Bavaria and Würtemberg, for their hostility to their -own German race, were elevated into kingdoms, and Baden, for the same -unpatriotic services, into a grand duchy. Thus France and her allies, -or rather subjects, were now in possession of Switzerland, Italy, and -the Tyrol on one side, and of Holland and Belgium on the other, so -that she had everywhere an open high road into Germany, and nations -of tributary princes, which were to aid in further enslaving it. -Prussia had made up her mind on hearing of the victory of Austerlitz, -and Haugwitz appeared at Schönbrunn, not to declare war on Buonaparte, -but to compliment him on his victory. Buonaparte could not conceal his -contempt for this despicable conduct. He said, "Ah! this compliment was -intended for others, but fortune has transferred it to me;" but as he -still intended to make use of Prussia, and could humiliate George III. -by her means, he concluded a treaty with Haugwitz, by which he handed -over Hanover to our late ally, and claimed Anspach in lieu of it. He -then strengthened the Confederation of the Rhine, of which he was -Protector, and so completely broke up the old federation of Germany, -that Francis of Austria soon abandoned the title of Elective Emperor of -Germany, and assumed that of Hereditary Emperor of Austria. - -Pitt's expeditions were not particularly well arranged. Instead of -sending an army of thirty or forty thousand to the Baltic, and calling -on Russia to do the same, which she could have done, notwithstanding -the army under the Emperor Alexander, he sent only about six thousand, -and sent another eight thousand from Malta, to co-operate with -twelve thousand Russians in a descent on the kingdom of Naples. This -expedition might have been left till the success in the North was -secured; in truth, it had better have been left altogether. When -General Don and Lord Cathcart landed in Swedish Pomerania, and were -joined by the king's German legion and some other German hired troops, -our army amounted only to sixteen thousand men, the Swedes to twelve -thousand, and the Russians to ten thousand--altogether, not forty -thousand men. But what was worse than the paucity of numbers was the -disunion amongst the commanders. Lord Harrowby was sent to Berlin, -to endeavour to induce Prussia to join this coalition, but Prussia -was well aware of the want of unity in the Allied Army, and, weighing -probabilities, she could not be moved. The King of Sweden was so -incensed at the cold, shuffling conduct of the King of Prussia, that -he wrote him some very indignant and undiplomatic letters, which only -furnished him with a further excuse for holding aloof. Gustavus, -seeing no good likely to be done, resigned his command of the Allied -Army, where, indeed, he had enjoyed no real command at all, and -retired with his forces to Stralsund. This was a fatal exposition of -want of unity, and it was not till three weeks were gone that the -breach was healed. By this time it was the middle of November. Ulm -had surrendered, Napoleon was master of Vienna, and Prussia was still -watching what would be the fate of the coming battle between Napoleon -and the Emperors of Austria and Russia. The union of the Allies came -too late; the force was altogether too small to turn the scale of the -campaign. Had Gustavus marched into Hanover a month earlier, with sixty -thousand men, he might have rendered Austerlitz a nonentity; as it was, -he had only time to invest Hameln, where Bernadotte had left a strong -garrison, when the news of Austerlitz arrived, and caused the Allies to -break up the campaign, and each to hurry off to his own country. - -The consequence of the ill-advised despatch of a miserable force -of British and Russians to Naples was equally as abortive and as -mischievous to the King of Naples as the Northern expedition had -proved to the King of Sweden. On the 27th of September of this year, -only, a convention had been entered into in Paris between Napoleon -and Ferdinand IV., King of Naples, which was ratified by Ferdinand -on the 8th of October. By this the French engaged to withdraw their -forces from the kingdom of Naples, and Ferdinand to preserve a strict -neutrality. The French did, indeed, withdraw, under St. Cyr, to assist -Massena in the north of Italy against Austria; and no sooner was this -the case than Ferdinand raised his army to the war strength, and the -British and Russians came to his support with their united army of -twenty thousand men. But the news of the decisive victory of Buonaparte -at Austerlitz, which had squandered the Northern coalition, had the -same effect here. The Russians and British withdrew, and St. Cyr was -ordered by Napoleon to march back into Naples, and punish severely the -perfidy of the Court of Naples. He was particularly bitter against -the Queen of Naples, to whom he attributed the movement and the total -guidance of the king. He declared that she should be precipitated -from the throne, should it cost another Thirty Years' War. He sent -his brother, Joseph Buonaparte, to take the command of the army, and -to assume the government of the country. The king and queen fled, -abdicating in favour of their son, the prince royal; but this did not -stop the march of the French, who were only too glad of such a plea for -possessing themselves of the kingdom of Naples. Pescara, Naples itself, -rapidly surrendered to the French. Gaëta alone, which the governor, -the Prince of Hesse Philippsthal, refused to surrender, stood out till -the following July. When summoned by the French to yield the fortress, -he replied that Gaëta was not Ulm, nor was he General Mack. But the -defence of Gaëta had no influence on the general fate of Naples, and -only precipitated that of its brave defender, who died suddenly, as was -asserted, of poison. - -We have now to turn from the feeble and ill-directed efforts of Britain -to counteract the plans of Napoleon on land to the successful ones on -her really protecting element--the sea. All Napoleon's endeavours to -cross the Channel with his Grand Army he had seen to be impossible. -Nelson was riding there in his glory, and the French fleets were -only safe while they were in port. The impatience of this restraint -caused Napoleon to urge on his admirals a greater daring; and these -incitements to a rash hazard brought, eventually, that which must have -occurred sooner, had the admirals listened to his suggestions rather -than their own knowledge of the truth--the utter destruction of the -French navy. Under such stimulants from the Emperor, Villeneuve seized -the opportunity, when the weather had driven back the blockading -British fleet, to steal out of Toulon on the 18th of January, 1805, -and another fleet of ten vessels escaped out of Rochefort on the 11th -of the same month. These squadrons stood away for the West Indies, -and managed to get home again without meeting with a British fleet. -Thus encouraged, Villeneuve made another venture. Nelson, who was -watching Villeneuve off Toulon, in order to tempt him out, bore away -along the Spanish coast as far as Barcelona. Villeneuve put out to -sea on the 31st of March, with ten ships of the line, seven frigates, -and two brigs. Nelson had gone a little too far, and it was not till -the 7th of April that he heard of their issue from port. Before he -could prevent it, they had passed the Strait of Gibraltar, and struck -once more across the Atlantic. He was joined by the Spanish admiral, -Gravina, from Cadiz, with six Spanish ships of the line, and two other -French ships of the line. This combined fleet now amounted to eighteen -sail of the line, six forty-four gun ships, and a number of smaller -craft. Nelson did not hesitate to pursue them with his ten ships of -the line and three frigates; but contrary winds withheld him, and it -was the 7th of May before he could get out of the Strait of Gibraltar. -His ships were, most of them, in very bad condition, one of them, the -_Superb_, not having been in a home port for four years. Villeneuve -had upwards of a month's start of Nelson, and his orders were to bear -away to Martinique with five thousand one hundred troops, which he -had on board, to capture St. Lucia, and strengthen the garrisons of -Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Dominica. He was afterwards to wait and see -if Gautheaume could get out of Brest and join him with twenty-one more -sail of the line, when they were to do all possible mischief amongst -our islands and merchantmen. But the chief scheme was, by this means, -to draw the British fleet after them, and then, hurrying back, enable -Buonaparte to cross the Channel for England. Villeneuve did nothing -but take the Diamond Rock, a fortification of the British, lying -opposite to Fort Royal Bay, into which he had entered. He then sailed -to Guadeloupe, where he was joined by two seventy-four gun ships; and -an American having apprised him of a homeward-bound British convoy, -he went after it, and succeeded, off Antigua, in capturing fifteen -merchantmen. His success was, however, spoiled in the possession of -it, for one of the prisoners informed him that Nelson was already in -the West Indies in quest of him. Terrified at this news, he burnt all -his prizes, and made all sail homewards. Nelson, in the meantime, was -misled by some of the Yankee skippers abounding in those seas, and -sent on a false scent after Villeneuve towards Venezuela and the mouth -of the Orinoco. Not finding him, he was satisfied that he had sailed -for Europe, and he made after him. Nelson sighted Cape St. Vincent on -the 17th of July, after a run of more than three thousand two hundred -miles. The next day he fell in with Admiral Collingwood, who was -watching Cadiz, but who had no news of Villeneuve, but informed him -that Sir Robert Calder was blockading Ferrol. On the 19th he anchored -in the Bay of Gibraltar, and went on shore for the first time for two -years, short only of two days. Hearing that Villeneuve was still out -in the Atlantic, he bore away westward again to intercept him, but in -vain; and, on returning to Ushant, where Collingwood was cruising, he -learned that Sir Robert Calder had met with and attacked him at the -very time Nelson was off Gibraltar, namely, on the 22nd of July. - -[Illustration: LORD COLLINGWOOD.] - -Calder had been sent after Nelson, with the hope that, if he missed -Villeneuve and Gravina, he (Calder) might fall in with and intercept -them. Scarcely was he under sail, when he discovered this fleet, -on the 22nd of July, about thirty-nine leagues north-west of Cape -Finisterre. Villeneuve and Gravina were congratulating themselves on -having made their voyage in safety, when this British squadron stood -in their way. They were twenty sail of the line, seven frigates, and -two brigs; and Calder had only fifteen sail of the line, two frigates, -and two smaller craft. The Spanish and French admirals endeavoured -to give them the slip, and get into Ferrol; but Calder would not -permit this. He compelled them to fight, and the battle lasted from -half-past four in the afternoon till half-past nine in the evening. -Calder captured two sail of the line, and killed and wounded between -five hundred and six hundred men. He himself lost thirty-nine killed, -and he had a hundred and fifty-nine wounded, and his ships, some of -them, had suffered much damage. A thick fog parted the combatants for -the night, and at daybreak the hostile fleets were distant from each -other about seventeen miles. Villeneuve had the wind, and made as if -he would renew the battle, but did not; and the same happened on the -following day, when he sheered off, and Calder turned homewards without -pursuing them. This action, though a victory, was regarded, both in -France and England, as inferior to what was expected of British naval -commanders. The French claimed a success; the English public murmured -at Calder's conduct. They said, "What would Nelson have done had he -been there?" Such was the popular discontent, that Sir Robert Calder -demanded that his conduct should be submitted to a court-martial, and -the verdict of the court confirmed the outcry:--"This court," it said, -"are of opinion that on the part of Admiral Sir Robert Calder there -was no cowardice or disaffection, but error in judgment, for which -he deserves to be severely reprimanded, and he is hereby severely -reprimanded accordingly." Buonaparte, however, was greatly exasperated -at the result, and at Villeneuve putting into Ferrol instead of getting -into Brest, where Napoleon wanted him to join the rest of the fleet. -After this, endeavouring to obey the Emperor's positive orders to -reach Brest, he put to sea, but was glad to run for Cadiz instead, on -account of the union of Admiral Collingwood with Calder's fleet. In -that harbour now lay five-and-thirty sail of the line, and Collingwood -kept watch over them. Indeed, being soon reinforced, he kept a blockade -on all the Spanish ports between Cadiz and Algeciras, in the Strait of -Gibraltar. It was at this juncture that Napoleon came to the conclusion -that it was hopeless to attempt the invasion of England. - -Nelson, who had returned to England, by the 15th of September was on -board of his old flagship, the _Victory_, and immediately sailed for -Cadiz, accompanied only by three other ships of war. On the 29th he -arrived off Cadiz, and was received by the fleet with enthusiastic -acclamation. It was his birthday. He posted himself about twenty -leagues to the west of Cadiz, in hope that the French fleet would come -out. He knew that it was in great distress for provisions, because -Napoleon, intending the fleet to assemble at Brest, had laid in the -necessary stores there, and could not convey them, in any reasonable -time, to Cadiz. Still more, it was believed that Napoleon refused to -send any supplies there, having given Villeneuve imperative orders to -make his way to Brest. But it is also asserted, by French authorities, -that Napoleon had ordered the Minister of Marine to take the command -from Villeneuve, and that the admiral was piqued to show the Emperor, -by a daring exploit, that he had done him injustice. Under these or -similar motives, Villeneuve determined to sail out, and encounter the -British fleet. Nelson was watching for him behind Cape St. Mary, like -a cat watching a mouse, as he said in a letter to the Abbé Campbell, -of Naples, a friend of his and of Lady Hamilton's. On the 9th of -October, certain that the enemy would soon come out, Nelson sent to -Lord Collingwood his plan of the battle. It was to advance in two -lines of sixteen ships each, with an advanced squadron of eight of -the fastest-sailing two-decked ships. They were thus to break the -enemy's line in three places at once. Nelson was to aim at the centre; -Collingwood, leading the second line, to break through at about the -twelfth ship from the rear; and the light squadron, at three or four -ships from the centre--Nelson's point of attack. "I look," wrote -Nelson, "with confidence to a victory before the van of the enemy can -succour their rear; and then the British fleet will, most of them, be -ready to receive their twenty sail of the line, or to pursue them, -should they endeavour to make off. If the van of the enemy tack, the -captured ships must run to the leeward of the British fleet; if the -enemy wear, the British must place themselves between them and the -captured and disabled British ships, and, should the enemy close, -I have no fear for the result. The second in command will, in all -possible things, direct the movements of his line by keeping them as -compact as the nature of the circumstances will admit. Captains are -to look to their particular line as their rallying-point; but, in -case signals cannot be clearly seen or understood, _no captain can do -very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of the enemy_!" Such -were Nelson's general orders, and they were entirely approved by Lord -Collingwood. - -On the 19th Collingwood signalled Nelson that the French fleet was -coming out of Cadiz. On the morning of the 21st, when the British fleet -lay about seven leagues north-west of Cape Trafalgar, the hostile fleet -was discovered about seven miles to the eastward. Nelson ordered the -fleet to bear down on the enemy. As Villeneuve approached, he veered -so as to bring Cadiz under his lee, and thus secure a retreat into it. -This compelled Nelson to shift his course a little more northward. -Villeneuve had preconcerted a plan of action which he boasted would -prevent Nelson from cutting his line, as was his custom. He determined -to advance in two lines, with each alternate ship about a cable's -length to the windward of her second ahead and astern, so that his -fleet would represent the chequers of a draft-board. This plan, -however, did not succeed. Nelson found now the shoals of San Pedro and -Trafalgar under the lee of both fleets, and, dreading that he might -be carried upon them at the end of the battle, he signalled, from the -_Victory_, for the fleet to anchor at the close of the day. He then -told Blackwood that he should not be satisfied unless he took twenty of -the enemy's ships, and asked him whether he thought a general signal of -action were not wanting. Blackwood replied that he thought the fleet -all understood what they were about. But Nelson hoisted on his mizen -top-mast his last signal--"ENGLAND EXPECTS EVERY MAN TO DO HIS DUTY." -It was seen, and responded to with loud hurrahs. - -[Illustration: THE "VICTORY" TOWED INTO GIBRALTAR AFTER TRAFALGAR. - -AFTER THE PICTURE BY CLARKSON STANFIELD, R.A.] - -As the wind was light, the British vessels set their studding-sails, -and bore down steadily on the enemy. There were of the British -twenty-seven sail of the line, four frigates, one schooner, and one -cutter. Of the French and Spaniards there were thirty-three sail of the -line, five frigates, and two brigs; but the French vessels were in far -superior condition to the old weather-worn ones of Nelson. The French -had two thousand six hundred and twenty-six guns, Nelson two thousand -one hundred and forty-eight. Collingwood's line first came into contact -with the enemy in the _Royal Sovereign_, and was speedily in the midst -of a desperate conflict. It was some time before Nelson's line got up, -and Collingwood, amid the din of cannon and the crash of spars, turned -to his captain, and said, "Rotherham, what would not Nelson give to -be here?" It was just past twelve o'clock at noon as Collingwood's -vessel came to close quarters with the Spanish flagship, _Santa Anna_, -and it was more than a quarter of an hour before Nelson's ship came -close up to the stupendous four-decker Spaniard, the _Santissima -Trinidad_. He was soon in a terrible contest not only with this great -ship, but with the _Bucentaure_, of eighty guns, the _Neptune_, of -eighty guns, and the _Redoubtable_, of seventy-four guns. The _Victory_ -and _Redoubtable_ were fast entangled together by their hooks and -boom-irons, and kept up the most destructive fire into each other with -double-shotted cannon. Both ships took fire; that in the _Victory_ was -extinguished, but the _Redoubtable_ finally went down. But it was from -the mizen top-mast of this vessel that one of the riflemen marked out -Nelson by his stars, and shot him down. He fell on the deck, on the -spot where his secretary, John Scott, had fallen dead just before. -Captain Hardy, to whom Nelson had shortly before said, "Hardy, this -is too warm work to last long," stooped, and observed that he hoped -that he was not severely wounded. He replied, "Yes, they have done -for me at last, Hardy." Hardy said he hoped not. "Yes," he answered; -"my back-bone is shot through." He was carried down to the cock-pit, -amongst the wounded and the dying, and laid in a midshipman's berth. -The ball was found to have entered the left shoulder and to have lodged -in the spine; the wound was mortal. For an hour the battle went on in -its terrible fury, as the dying hero lay amid those expiring or wounded -around him. He often inquired for Captain Hardy, but Hardy found it -impossible, in the midst of one of the fiercest and most mortal strifes -that ever was waged--the incessant cannonades sweeping away men, masts, -tackle at every moment--to go down. When he was able to do it, Nelson -asked how the battle went. Hardy replied, "Well, fourteen or fifteen -vessels had struck." "That is well," said Nelson; "but I bargained -for twenty." He then told Hardy to anchor, foreseeing that a gale was -coming on; and Hardy observed that Admiral Collingwood would now take -the command. At this the old commander blazed forth in the dying man -for a moment. He endeavoured to raise himself in the bed, saying, "Not -while I live, Hardy! No, do you anchor!" And he bade Hardy signal to -the fleet this order. His last words were again to recommend Lady -Hamilton and his daughter to his country, and to repeat several times, -"Thank God, I have done my duty!" - -Nelson fell about the middle of the action, and for hours it continued -with terrible fury. Whole masses of ships lay jammed together, pouring -into one another the most tremendous broadsides. When all was over, -the vessels on both sides appeared mere ruins. Nineteen ships of the -line were taken, but some of them were so battered that they were -useless, and incapable of moving. Six or seven of the enemy's ships -immediately went down or were burnt. The Spanish admiral, Gravina, -was mortally wounded; the rear-admiral, Cisneros, was taken, and the -French admiral, Villeneuve. The French and Spaniards, in the few ships -which had escaped into Cadiz, seeing the helpless condition of many of -the British vessels, made a sortie, and re-captured two of the prizes, -and carried them into port. The _Algeciras_, another of the captured -ships, was also rescued, and carried into Cadiz by her crew, who rose -the next morning on the English lieutenant and prize party in charge -of her during a gale, the English having taken off the hatches to give -the Spaniards a chance for their lives, should she drive on shore. In -the end, the prizes were found so riddled by shot that they were burnt; -so that, with some of them running on shore in the gale, only four of -the whole--three Spanish and one French--were saved, and brought to -England as trophies. But the French and Spanish navies might be said -to be annihilated; and, whatever might happen on the Continent, for -the remainder of Napoleon's career England was for ever put beyond his -reach. Nelson had indeed finished his mission. He had revived all the -maritime glory of the days of Drake and Blake, and shown that, with a -man like him at the head of her fleet, Britain might sit on her ocean -throne, and smile at the hostile efforts of a world combined to crush -her. - -[Illustration: SAILING INTO ACTION AT TRAFALGAR.] - -A new and vigorous campaign was this year carried on in India by -General, now Lord, Lake, against the Mahrattas. Holkar had refused to -enter into amicable arrangements with the British at the same time -as Scindiah and the Rajah of Berar, but had continued to strengthen -his army, and now assumed so menacing an attitude, that Lord Lake and -General Frazer were sent to bring him to terms or to action. They -found him strongly posted near the fortress of Deeg, in the midst of -bogs, tanks, and topes, and formidably defended by artillery. On the -13th of November, 1804, General Frazer attacked them, notwithstanding, -and defeated them, but was killed himself in the action, and had six -hundred and forty-three men killed and wounded; for the fire of round, -grape, and chain shot by the Mahrattas was tremendous. On the 17th -Lord Lake fell on Holkar's cavalry near Ferruckabad, commanded by -Holkar himself, and thoroughly routed it, very nearly making capture of -Holkar. He retreated into the Bhurtpore territory, the Rajah of that -district having joined him. Lord Lake determined to follow him, and -drove him thence, reducing the forts in that country. He had first, -however, to make himself master of the fortress of Deeg, and this -proved a desperate affair. Still the garrison, consisting of troops -partly belonging to Holkar and partly to the Rajah of Bhurtpore, -evacuated it on Christmas Day, leaving behind them a great quantity -of cannon and ammunition. On the 1st of January, 1805, Lord Lake, -accompanied by Colonel Monson, marched into the territory of Bhurtpore, -and on the 3rd sat down before its fortress, one of the strongest -places in India. On the 18th of January Major-General Smith arrived -from Agra with three battalions of Sepoys and a hundred Europeans. But -these advantages were counterbalanced by Meer Khan arriving with a -strong force from Bundelcund to assist Holkar. - -[Illustration: THE "VICTORY" AT PORTSMOUTH.] - -On the 21st of January another great breach was made, and another -attempt to carry the place by assault; but it was repelled with -terrible slaughter, upwards of six hundred men being killed or wounded. -At the same time, Meer Khan, with eight thousand horse, endeavoured to -cut off a great train of camels and bullocks bringing up provisions, -but was defeated, as were the united forces of Meer Khan, Holkar, -and the Rajah of Bhurtpore, in a similar attempt to intercept another -provision train on its way from Agra. In order to compel Lake to raise -the siege of Bhurtpore, Meer Khan made an incursion with his own -cavalry, and a powerful reinforcement of Pindarrees, into the Doab, the -Company's territory. But Lord Lake was not to be drawn away from the -fort. He despatched Major-General Smith with a body of horse and the -horse artillery, who followed the track of Meer Khan, marked by burning -villages and desolated fields, and coming up with him, on the 1st of -March, near Afzulgur, he routed him with great slaughter, dispersing -and almost annihilating his force. During this expedition, which lasted -a month, and in which the British crossed and re-crossed the Ganges and -the Jumna several times, they gave a splendid example of the effective -condition of our troops in India. - -During the absence of Major-General Smith Lord Lake maintained the -bombardment of the fortress of Bhurtpore. As Holkar continued to -hover near with a large body of cavalry, Lord Lake went in quest of -him, and coming up with him, now again joined by Meer Khan and some -bands of Pindarrees, he gave him a most crushing defeat on the 2nd of -April, and drove him across the Chumbul river. On this, the Rajah of -Bhurtpore consented to treat; and, on the 2nd of April, he agreed to -surrender the fort of Deeg to the British till such time as they were -satisfied of his fidelity; to renounce all connection with the enemies -of Britain; to pay by instalments twenty lacs of Ferruckabad rupees; to -surrender a portion of his territory, and deliver one of his sons as a -hostage for the fulfilment of his engagements. This was settled on the -10th of April, and on the 21st Lord Lake went in quest of Scindiah and -Holkar, who had united their forces. At his approach they retreated -towards Ajmere. As the rainy season was approaching, Lord Lake -returned, and quartered his troops at Agra, Muttra, and neighbouring -towns. Lord Wellesley was now superseded in the government of India by -Lord Cornwallis, who was averse from the system of extensive annexation -which Lord Wellesley had pursued. But his own health was failing, and -as he ascended the country in order to confer with Lord Lake on his -future policy, he died at Ghazee-pure, near Benares, having returned -to India only three months. Sir George Barlow assumed the direction of -affairs till the appointment of a new Governor General; and as Lord -Lake was of opinion that there could be no security till Holkar and -Scindiah were driven over the Indus, it was resolved to carry out that -object. Scindiah, however, came in and made peace, and Holkar went -northward, boasting that he would cross the Indus, and then return -with a new avalanche of Sikhs and Afghans, and sweep away the British -forces. But the Sikhs, who wished both him and us away, refused all -aid to Holkar, except to mediate for him. Even then he hung back, and -made great difficulties about the conditions; but Lord Lake at last -informed him that unless the treaty were signed by a certain day, he -would cross the Sutlej and advance to attack him. This brought him -to, and on the 7th of January, 1806, the treaty was duly signed by -him. By it Holkar renounced all claims on Poonah and Bundelcund, and, -indeed, on any territory on the northern bank of the Chumbul, as well -as all claims on the British Government and its allies. On her part, -Britain agreed to restore to him, eighteen months after the treaty, -Chandore, Galnauh, and other forts and districts south of the Taptee -and Godavery, provided he fulfilled his engagements, remained peaceful, -and did not molest the territories of the Company and its allies. By -the treaty with Scindiah, which was completed on the 23rd of November, -that of Surjee Anjengaum, made by General Wellesley, was confirmed: -to restore to him Gwalior and Gohud, with the right to resume them in -case he violated the treaty. The river Chumbul was made his boundary. -In exchange for certain jaghires, amounting to fifteen lacs of rupees -annually, which had been granted to some of his officers by the -former treaty, he received an annual pension of four lacs of rupees -for himself, a jaghire, worth two lacs of rupees, for his wife, and -another, worth one lac, for his daughter. As for his father-in-law, -Surjee-Row-Gautka--a man most hostile to the British, and who was -supposed to have stimulated both Scindiah and Holkar to their late -war--he was bound, like Holkar, not to admit him again to his counsels -or service. No interference was made with his conquests between the -rivers Chumbul and Taptee, nor with his arrangements with his tributary -chiefs in Mewar and Marwar; but, on the other hand, he was required not -to take into his service any Europeans, without consent of the British. -French officers, indeed, who had served under M. Perron, were found to -have directed the defence of the hill forts in this campaign, greatly -to our damage. - -These treaties were regarded by Lord Lake, Sir John Malcolm--who had -to negotiate them--and many men of eminence in Indian affairs, as -based on a policy which could not last; that there could be no quiet -in Hindostan so long as the restless Mahrattas and Pindarrees were -not broken up, nor till the Indus was made the boundary of our Indian -empire towards the north-west. We shall see that a few more years -justified their foresight. These treaties, however, having, for the -present, restored peace to the north, Lord Lake, after giving a grand -review of the army on the banks of the Hyphasis, to impress the Sikhs -with a sense of our military superiority, commenced his march back -to Delhi, and in February, 1807, quitted his command in India, few -commanders having rendered more brilliant services in that part of our -empire, or left behind them more sincere esteem and admiration. - -Parliament opened gloomily on the 21st of January, 1806. The total -failure of Pitt's new Continental coalition, the surrender of Ulm, the -battle of Austerlitz, the retreat of Austria into peace with Napoleon, -and of Russia into her northern snows, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, -Holland, and Belgium nearly all prostrate at the feet of Buonaparte, -were killing Pitt. He had sought for renovation in the autumn at -Bath; but its salutary waters and atmosphere had failed to restore -his spirit, or to remove what Fox called the "Austerlitz look" from -his face. He was dying at Putney as the House met, and the king was -not in a condition to open the Session personally. The Royal Speech, -read by a Commissioner, referred, with just pride, to the great -victory of Trafalgar, and had but little to say on the defeat of all -our endeavours on the Continent. The Opposition determined to move an -amendment to the Address; but this was prevented by the announcement -of the death of Pitt on the 23rd, two days after the opening of -Parliament. Mr. Lascelles gave notice of a motion for a public funeral -in Westminster Abbey. Fox moved that this question should be postponed -till after the discussion on the Address, which was considered by -Pitt's friends as a great want of generosity in Fox. The amendment was, -of course, overruled, and it was voted, on the 27th of January, by a -majority of two hundred and fifty-eight against eighty-nine, that Pitt -should be buried in Westminster Abbey; which accordingly took place, -the royal dukes, the Archbishop of Canterbury, eight bishops, a great -number of peers, and about a hundred members of the House of Commons -attending. - -A second question regarding the late Minister became immediately -necessary. He had died deeply in debt. It was one of the fine qualities -of Pitt that he never had a love of money, or an ambition to create a -great estate at the expense of the country, like too many statesmen. At -an early period of Pitt's ministerial career, though a bachelor, he was -so hopelessly in debt, that his friend, Robert Smith, afterwards Baron -Carrington, had looked into his affairs, and declared that, of all -scenes of domestic robbery by servants, and wild charges by tradesmen, -he had never witnessed anything to compare with it. The financial -management of his own income and that of the nation were just on a par -in Pitt's case. He let his own money go like water, and he would have -flung any quantity of the nation's property away on his quixotic scheme -of propping up the thoroughly rotten and hopeless condition of the -Continental governments. A strong effort was now made by such of Pitt's -creditors as had advanced money to him, to be repaid by the nation. -In this endeavour none were more eager than his great friends and -relatives, who had been enabled by him to draw a hundredfold from the -nation what they had lent him. Wilberforce, however, proposed that they -should not only forego their individual claims, but should contribute -each a moderate sum towards the raising of forty thousand pounds, which -would pay his tradesmen; but here the great relatives and friends -became dumb and motionless. Spencer Perceval offered a thousand pounds, -and one or two others made some offers; but the appeal was in vain, and -a motion was proposed by Mr. Cartwright, on the 3rd of February, that -the nation should pay this sum. This was carried at once. - -Though the genius and services of Pitt to his country have been -overrated, he was a man of great and persevering energies, of -remarkable talent and conspicuous oratory; but his temperament was -cold, proud, self-glorifying, and imperious, without either the deep -insight or the comprehensive grasp of genius. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -THE REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - The Ministry of "All the Talents"--Fox informs Napoleon of a - supposed Scheme for his Assassination--Futile Negotiations for - Peace--Windham's Army Bills--Resolutions against the Slave Trade - passed--Inquiry into the Conduct of the Princess of Wales--British - Expeditions: Stuart in Calabria--Battle of Maida--Continued - Resistance of the Neapolitans--Recapture of the Cape of Good - Hope--Expedition to Buenos Ayres--Naval Successes: Victories of - Duckworth, Warren, and Hood--Cochrane's Daredevilry--Napoleon's - subject Kingdoms--Prussia makes Complaints--Napoleon prepares - for War--Murder of Palm--Isolation of Prussia--Imbecility of - their Plan of Campaign--Battle of Jena--Napoleon in Berlin--He - seizes Brunswick--Complete Subjugation of Germany--Settlement of - Germany--The Berlin Decrees--Napoleon rouses the Poles--Campaign - against Benningsen--Death of Fox--Ministerial Changes--Votes - in Supply--An Administrative Scandal--Abolition of the Slave - Trade--Measures of Roman Catholic Relief--Dismissal of the - Grenville Ministry--The Duke of Portland's Cabinet--Hostile Motions - in Parliament--The General Election--Irish Coercion Bills--Failure - of the Expeditions planned by the late Ministry: Buenos Ayres--The - Expedition to the Dardanelles--Expedition to Alexandria--Attack - on Rosetta--Withdrawal of the Expedition--War between Russia and - Turkey--Secret Articles of the Treaty of Tilsit--Bombardment - of Copenhagen and Capture of the Danish Fleet--Seizure of - Heligoland--The Campaign in Europe--Battle of Eylau--Benningsen's - Retreat--Napoleon on the Vistula--Fall of Dantzic--Battle of - Friedland--Alexander resolves to make Peace--The Meeting on the - Niemen--Treaty of Tilsit. - - -Pitt dead, there remained a difficulty of no ordinary kind in the -construction of a new Cabinet. Various persons were applied to to fill -the arduous post of prime minister, who all declined, knowing the -powerful opposition which would be arrayed against them by coalescing -parties. Amongst these were Lord Hawkesbury, Sidmouth, and the Marquis -Wellesley, who had just returned from India. There was nothing for -it, then, but to endeavour to diminish the opposition of all parties -by bringing in some of all parties, and hence the construction of the -Ministry of "All the Talents." Grenville assumed the helm as First Lord -of the Treasury, and, of course, brought in Fox, notwithstanding the -repugnance of the king. Fox became Secretary for Foreign Affairs--Fox, -who had so long and so vehemently condemned the whole of Pitt's -foreign policy. Sidmouth, though refusing the responsibility of the -Premiership, accepted the office of Privy Seal; Lord Fitzwilliam became -Lord President of the Council; Grey, now Lord Howick, First Lord of the -Admiralty; Lord Moira, Master-General of the Ordnance; Lord Spencer, -Secretary of State for the Home Department; Windham, Secretary for the -Colonies; Lord Henry Petty, Chancellor of the Exchequer; Erskine, Lord -Chancellor; and Sir Gilbert Elliot, now made Lord Minto, President of -the Board of Control. Sheridan was not placed in the Cabinet, because -he had not been found staunch to any party, and because, in his daily -drunken fits, he was likely to disclose State secrets--as if, said -he, there were any secrets to be disclosed. Lord Auckland was made -President of the Board of Trade, and Lord Temple Vice-President. -Temple, also, was made joint Paymaster of the Forces with Lord John -Townshend, and General Fitzpatrick Secretary at War. In the law -departments, Lord Ellenborough, the Chief Justice of the King's Bench, -had, though quite out of rule, a seat in the Cabinet; Pigott became -Attorney-General, Sir Samuel Romilly Solicitor-General. The Duke of -Bedford was enabled to gratify his dependents by being appointed -Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. Such was the Ministry of "All the Talents," -amongst whom, however, did not appear Canning, who had more talent than -three-fourths of them. It was clear that such a Ministry could not long -hold together. There were scarcely two of them who did not cherish -the most irreconcilable views. Fox, at the instigation of Francis, -was desirous to call in question the proceedings of Lord Wellesley -in India, and Lord Grenville was as resolute against it. Windham, -Grenville, Fox, and Sidmouth held, every one of them, different notions -of foreign policy. Fox and some others were advocates of Catholic -emancipation; Sidmouth was utterly averse from it. Then, how were so -many heads to find comfortable berths for their followers? - -Fox had now to attempt that accommodation with Buonaparte which, he -had so long contended, was by no means difficult. An opportunity was -immediately offered him for opening communications with the French -Government. A Frenchman, calling himself Guillet de la Gevrillière, -made his way secretly into England, and solicited an interview with Fox -on a matter of high importance. Fox granted it, and was indignant at -discovering that it was a proposal to assassinate Napoleon. Fox ordered -the man to be detained, and wrote at once to Talleyrand, informing -him of the fact, and expressing his abhorrence of it. Talleyrand -replied, complimenting Fox on the nobleness of his principles, and -expressing the admiration of the Emperor of it. "Tell him," said -Buonaparte, as reported by Talleyrand, "that in this act I recognise -the principles of honour and virtue in Mr. Fox;" and he added that -the Emperor desired him to say, that whatever turn affairs might now -take, whether this useless war, as he termed it, might be put an end -to or not, he was perfectly confident that there was a new spirit in -the British Cabinet, and that Fox would alone follow principles of -beauty and true greatness. These empty compliments made no way towards -such a negotiation as a real burst of gratitude might have introduced, -especially when accompanied by such confidence as Buonaparte avowed in -Fox's sentiments; and shrewd men suspected that Gevrillière had most -likely been dispatched by Napoleon himself, through Fouché, to test -the reality of Fox's formerly asserted indignation that Pitt, or any -British Minister, could be suspected of plans of assassination against -the French Emperor. - -[Illustration: TALLEYRAND. (_After the Portrait by Gerard._)] - -Still, Fox took the opportunity to sound the French Government as to -the possibility of peace. In a correspondence with Talleyrand he said -that Britain would be willing to treat on reasonable terms, the first -condition of which was that the Emperor Alexander should be admitted -to the treaty. This was at once refused; yet Fox did not give up the -attempt, and at length the French Government proposed that a British -ambassador should go to Paris, to endeavour to arrange the principles -of an agreement. Fox complied. Before a British plenipotentiary was -permitted to proceed to Paris, the great points of the negotiation -should have been brought forward, and it should have been seen whether -there was a probability of agreeing. It should have been understood -whether Buonaparte was disposed to surrender Naples again, which -Britain demanded; to require the retirement of the Prussians from -Hanover, even if nothing was said of Holland and Switzerland. To send a -plenipotentiary without having ascertained these points was simply to -enable Buonaparte to boast that he had sought to conciliate, and that -British rapacity and ambition rendered all his overtures useless. This -was exactly what occurred. Lord Yarmouth, late Marquis of Hertford, -who had been residing for years in France as one of Buonaparte's -_détenus_ at the Peace of Amiens, was first sent. Lord Yarmouth arrived -in Paris towards the end of May, and though it had been settled that -the negotiations should, for the present, remain secret, the French -had taken care to make every Court in Europe well acquainted with the -fact. Then one of the very first demands--having got the ambassador -there--was for the recognition, not only of Buonaparte as emperor, -but also of all his family as princes and princesses of the blood. -Next they came to the surrender of Naples, but Talleyrand assured Lord -Yarmouth that the Emperor, so far from giving up Naples, or any part -of Italy, must have Sicily, which was in possession of the British, -because Joseph Buonaparte, now made King of Naples, declared that -it could not be held without Sicily. France, Talleyrand said, would -consent to Britain holding Malta, the Cape of Good Hope, which we -had taken again, and would not only restore Hanover to us, but also -allow us to seize on the Hanse Towns and Hamburg! We were in fact, -to be permitted to set up for marauders, like themselves, and invade -neutral States, and appropriate them; but, as for Naples or Sicily -being restored, that was impossible. Lord Yarmouth also demanded -that Dalmatia, Istria, and Albania should be restored, the last to -the Turks, whose empire should regain its entirety. These points -were equally resisted. Meanwhile, Prussia had taken the alarm about -Hanover, and Russia, fearful of our treating without her, sent to Paris -Count d'Oubril. Talleyrand managed to excite jealousies between the -British and Russian envoys, to such a degree, that d'Oubril quitted -Paris hastily, and returned to St. Petersburg. Instead of peace, the -elements of new heartburnings and wars every day developed themselves. -Finding that Lord Yarmouth did not succeed. Fox sent over the Earl -of Lauderdale, but he got on no better. Buonaparte insisted that -Sicily should be given up to Naples, and a little mock monarchy should -be created for Ferdinand, the ex-king, in the Balearic Isles, which -were to be taken unceremoniously from Spain. Lord Lauderdale, after a -month's waste of words, demanded his passports, and returned; and Fox -had now had ample proof that no peace was to be effected with Napoleon, -except upon the terms of leaving the Continent to his dictation. - -In Parliament, business was brought almost to a stand by the -neutralising influences of the partisans of "All the Talents." -Excepting on one or two points, no great majority could be obtained on -any question. There was an attempt to censure the introduction of Lord -Ellenborough, as Chief Justice of the King's Bench, into the Cabinet. -It was contended that it was contrary to the principle, if not the -letter, of the Constitution; that, besides a judge having enough to do -on the Bench, he would have to sit as a judge on such appeals to the -Privy Council which might be made thither against his own decisions; -that, moreover, Lord Ellenborough had suddenly changed the whole -principles of his life for the sake of advancement, and in the practice -of his court had, by the most rude and insolent language, never -hesitated to carry causes in favour of the Government and against the -popular liberties. On the part of Government it was argued that, both -in Queen Anne's reign and in that of George II., the Chief Justices had -had a place in the Cabinet; and the subject was evaded by carrying the -previous question. - -Windham, on the 3rd of April, proposed his plan for the improvement -of the army. Till this time enlistments had been for life, which gave -men a strong aversion to enter it, and made it the resort chiefly of -such as were entrapped in drink, or were the offscouring of society, -who became soldiers to enjoy an idle life and often to escape hanging -for their desperate crimes. He said that we could not have recourse to -conscription in this country, and to get men, and especially a better -class of men, we must limit the term of service and increase the pay. -To prepare the way for his contemplated regulations, he first moved -for the repeal of Pitt's Additional Force Bill. This was strongly -opposed by Castlereagh and Canning, who contended that nothing could -be better or more flourishing than the condition of the army; and -that the repeal of Pitt's Bill was only meant to cast a slur on his -memory. Notwithstanding this, the Bill was repealed by a majority, -in the Commons, of two hundred and thirty-five against one hundred -and nineteen, and in the Lords by a majority of ninety-seven against -forty. Windham then moved for a clause in the annual Mutiny Bill, on -the 30th of May, for limiting the terms of service. In the infantry, -these terms were divided into three, of seven years each; and in -the cavalry and artillery three also, the first of ten, the second -of six, and the third of five years. At the end of any one of these -terms, the soldier could demand his discharge, but his privileges and -pensions were to be increased according to the length of his service. -Notwithstanding active opposition, the clause was adopted and inserted. -He then followed this success by a series of Bills: one for training -a certain number of persons liable to be drawn from the militia, not -exceeding two hundred thousand; a Bill suspending the ballot for the -militia for England for two years, except so far as should be necessary -to supply vacancies in any corps fallen below its quota; a Bill, called -the Chelsea Hospital Bill, to secure to disabled or discharged soldiers -their rightful pensions; a Bill for augmenting the pay of infantry -officers of the regular line; and one for settling the relative rank -of officers of troops of the line, militia, and yeomanry. To these -Bills, which were all passed, was added a vote for the increased pay of -sergeants, corporals, and privates of the line, and an augmentation of -the Chelsea pensions, and the pensions of officers' widows. Lord Howick -moved that the same benefits should be extended to the officers, petty -officers, and seamen of the navy, and to the Greenwich pensioners, -which was carried. These were, undoubtedly, most substantial measures -of justice to the two services; and the results of them soon became -apparent enough in their beneficial effects on the condition of the -army and navy. - -The best feature of "All the Talents" was the sincerity with which -they went into the endeavours to suppress the Slave Trade. Pitt had -always stood by Wilberforce and the abolitionists, to a certain degree, -and had made some of his ablest speeches on this topic; but beyond -speaking, he had done little practically to bring his supporters to the -necessary tone on the subject. The present Ministry, though comprising -several members decidedly hostile to abolition, and other mere lukewarm -friends, went with much more spirit into the question, and Lord Henry -Petty had canvassed the University of Cambridge, and made many friends -of the measure there. The Royal Family were decided opponents to the -abolition of the Slave Trade. The Ministry, therefore, deserved praise -for their support of Wilberforce and the abolitionists. Clarkson and -the Society of Friends had been working indefatigably out of doors to -great purpose, and it was now deemed possible to make a preparatory -assault on the trade. On the 1st of January the Attorney-General -brought in a Bill to prohibit the exportation of slaves from any of -the British colonies. This, though it permitted the direct transport -of slaves from Africa to those colonies, or to foreign colonies, cut -off the convenience of making our islands depôts for this trade; and -Pitt had already, by an Order in Council, prevented the introduction of -slaves into the colonies conquered by us during the war. Wilberforce -was so elated by the carrying of the Attorney-General's Bill that he -wanted to follow it up by one prohibiting the trade altogether; but -Fox and Grenville declared that this was not yet practicable. But on -the 10th of April they permitted Wilberforce to move an address to -the king, requesting him to use his influence with Foreign Powers for -putting down this traffic; and this being carried, Fox moved, in the -Commons, a resolution that the House considered the African Slave -Trade to be contrary to the principles of justice, humanity, and sound -policy, and would, with all practicable expedition, proceed to take -effectual measures for its abolition, in such manner and at such period -as should seem advisable. This, too, was carried by a hundred and -fifteen against fourteen. This was a great step, for it pledged the -House of Commons to the declaration that the trade was indefensible, -and ought to be put an end to. Still more, to prevent that rush for -securing slaves which the fear of the suppression of the trade, at no -distant date, might occasion, a Bill was also passed, prohibiting the -employment of any vessel in that trade which had not trafficked in it -previous to the 1st of August, 1806, or been contracted for before June -10th, 1806. This Act was limited to two years, and, in spite of its -benevolent intention, had one serious drawback--that of causing the -vessels employed to be still more crowded, and therefore more fatal to -the slaves. - -The Ministry were now involved in a transaction which produced them -a plentiful crop of unpopularity. The country was already highly -disappointed by the character of the financial measures, and now saw -them engaged in an attempt to gratify the domestic resentments of -the Prince of Wales. We have already alluded to the disreputable -circumstances attending his marriage with the Princess Caroline -of Brunswick. After little more than a year's cohabitation they -separated, but not before a daughter was born. So long as the Pitt -Administration continued, all offensive measures of a public nature -were warded from the unfortunate princess. The king had always been -her decided protector; but now the Whigs came in, who had ever been -in alliance with the Prince of Wales, and that exemplary gentleman -conceived hopes that he might rid himself of her. The public had been -for some time scandalised by disputes between the prince and princess -as to a proper separate allowance for her, and concerning the prince's -endeavours to deprive her of the company of her own child; but, as -he had not succeeded in taking away the infant, rumours were soon -industriously spread that the princess, at Blackheath, was leading -a very disreputable life. All that they could gather up or construe -to the princess's disadvantage was duly communicated to the Duke of -Sussex, and by the duke to his brother, the prince. In 1805 they had -supplied their employer or employers with a most startling story of the -princess's having been delivered of a son, whom she was openly keeping -in her house, under pretence that it was the child of a poor woman of -the name of Austin, which she had adopted. Immediate steps were taken -privately to get up a case. On the 24th of May Lord Chancellor Erskine -read the written statements to the king, who decided that a private -inquiry should take place; that the house of Lord Grenville should -be selected as the proper scene, and that Lords Erskine, Spencer, -Grenville, and Ellenborough should undertake the inquiry and report -to him upon it. This meeting and inquiry took place, accordingly, on -the 1st of June. Romilly attended. The servants were examined, and -appear, according to Romilly's diary, to have uniformly given the most -favourable testimony to the conduct of the princess. Further: the -reputed mother of the child, Sophia Austin, was examined, and proved -that the child was veritably her own; had been born at the Brownlow -Street Hospital on the 11th of July, 1802, and had been taken to the -princess's house on the 15th of November, adopted by her, and had -remained there ever since. "The result," says Romilly, "was a perfect -conviction on my mind, and, I believe, on the minds of the four -lords, that the child was the child of Sophia Austin." This affair -of the Princess of Wales was not terminated till the end of January, -1807. When the report was laid before the king, he referred it to -the Cabinet, and they advised him to send a written message to the -princess, acquitting her of the main charge, but observing that he saw -in the depositions of the witnesses, and even in her own letter to him, -defending her conduct, evidence of a deportment unbecoming her station. -The odium excited against the Ministry by these un-English proceedings -was intense, especially amongst women, all over the country. - -The British during this year were engaged in a variety of enterprises, -and in very different and distant parts of the world, with a success -as various. The most remarkable undertaking was the defence of Lower -Calabria, which showed what might be effected by British soldiers, if -employed in sufficient numbers, and under able commanders. We have -already sketched the attempt by a small Russian army and a smaller -British one to support Ferdinand of Naples in his kingdom against the -French. As General St. Cyr came back upon them, followed by Massena, -with altogether sixty thousand men, the seven thousand of British and -Russians were obliged to retreat, the Russians embarking for Corfu, and -the British crossing over into Sicily, whither the Neapolitan Court had -fled, taking up its residence at Palermo. - -In Calabria, the two sons of Ferdinand of Naples, Prince Francis and -Prince Leopold, in conjunction with General Damas, held a force of -fourteen thousand men, and endeavoured to arouse the mountaineers, and -repel the advance of the French; but Regnier was dispatched against -them, with a force of ten thousand, and soon defeated and dispersed the -Neapolitans, making himself master of all the country, except the towns -and fortresses of Maratea, Amantea, and Scylla. After three days of a -bloody contest, Regnier took Maratea, and gave it up to the soldiery. -These atrocities aroused the mountaineers to such fury, that they beset -and harassed the French on their march to Amantea like so many demons. -Their progress was arrested: Amantea stoutly resisted; Scylla, though -taken, was invested by enraged Neapolitans and peasantry, and Reggio -was again wrested from them. At this crisis arrived Sir John Stuart in -Sicily, to reinforce and take the command of the British troops, and, -at the earnest entreaty of the queen, Sir John crossed into Calabria. - -[Illustration: _By permission of the Corporation of Liverpool._ - - _Reproduced by Andre & Sleigh, La., Bushey. Herts._ - -THE DEATH OF NELSON, 1805. - -FROM THE PICTURE BY DANIEL MACLISE R.A., IN THE WALKER ART GALLERY.] - -Sir John landed in Calabria on the 1st of July, in the Gulf of Santa -Euphemia, not far from Nicastro, and advanced to seek Regnier. He had -not quite five thousand troops with him, all infantry, and a third -of these Corsicans, Sicilians, and other foreigners in British pay. -Regnier had started for Naples with ten thousand men, but some of these -were lost, and others stationed to occupy different posts. On the 3rd -of July Sir John Stuart learned that Regnier was near Maida, about ten -miles from Sir John's landing-place. Leaving a detachment to guard the -stores, Sir John, on the 4th, marched forward, under a burning sun, -to come up with him. He found Regnier drawn up in a strong position -on a woody slope below the village of Maida, flanked by a thick, -scrubby wood on each hand, and having in front the river Amato, at this -season of the year perfectly fordable. The position was formidable, -and, had Regnier kept it, it must have tried the British severely to -dislodge him, especially as they had no cavalry; but Regnier, probably -honestly of opinion that the British need only be encountered to be -beaten, descended from his vantage ground into the plain. One reason -might be, that his cavalry could better avail him there; another, -that, after his boasts, Lebrun, the Commissioner of Buonaparte, who -always, in the old Jacobin style, had such a person in the field to -watch the conduct of his generals, would be ready to condemn him if -he showed any delay when engaged with so despised an enemy. The two -armies approached each other about nine o'clock in the morning. They -fired two or three rounds at each other, and then advanced with fixed -bayonets. The officer commanding the British advance column, seeing -that the men were oppressed by the blankets which they carried at -their backs in that sultry weather, commanded a halt a little before -they closed, and ordered them to let their blankets go. The French, -seeing this momentary halt, were confirmed in their general's opinion -of the cowardice of the British, and rushed on with loud cheers. -They were bronzed and bearded veterans; the British, who composed -the advance column, were chiefly young and beardless youths; and an -officer present informed Sir Walter Scott, that, as he glanced first -on the grim-looking French, and then at the smooth, young faces of -the British, he could not help feeling a momentary anxiety. But no -sooner were the British freed from their blankets than they dashed -forward with loud hurrahs; and the French, who, since the battle of -Austerlitz, had boasted that no soldiers in Europe could stand against -them in a charge of bayonets, were, in their turn, staggered. Some -few stood firmly to cross bayonets with the foe, but the greater part -fell back. The French officers rushed along their lines to encourage -their men, but in vain; nothing could urge them to the points of the -British bayonets. The hills around were crowded with the Calabrians, -anxious spectators of the fight. When the British halted, they raised -loud exclamations of dismay, believing they were about to fly, but -the next moment they saw them springing forward with shouts and the -French waver, turn, and fly. The First Light Infantry--a crack French -regiment--were the first to break and run for the hills. But it was -too late; the British were at their backs, and pursued them with a -terrible slaughter. Regnier's left thus routed by our right, he rode -furiously about, bringing all the force he could muster on our left, -but there the result was just the same: the French scarcely stayed to -feel the bayonets, but fled in headlong confusion. The British took all -the forts along the coasts, and drove the French into Upper Calabria, -where they were joined, near Cassano, by Massena, with a powerful army. -But the British force was not strong enough to do more than it had -done. Malaria also began to decimate his troops, and Sir John Stuart -returned, in August, to Sicily, carrying with him a great quantity of -stores and artillery, which the French had prepared for the reduction -of Calabria. The chief benefit of the battle of Maida was to show -that the British troops, in proper quantities, were able to drive the -French before them, but that, in the small numbers usually sent on -expeditions, they were merely wasted. The battle of Alexandria, and now -that of Maida, demonstrated that, if Britain would continue to fight on -the Continent, she must prepare to do it with a sufficient force; and -the after campaigns of Portugal and Spain, and the conclusive battle -of Waterloo, were the results of this public conviction. At the same -time, the brilliant episode of Maida had wonderfully encouraged the -Neapolitans and Calabrians. Joseph Buonaparte, the French intruded -king, was once or twice on the very point of flying to the army in -Upper Calabria, and many of his counsellors strongly advised it. -Massena advised Joseph to remain, and assured him that he would soon -reduce the whole kingdom to obedience to him. But, in fact, it took -Massena and his successors five years to accomplish the subjugation, -with the sacrifice of one hundred thousand men. - -Another successful expedition this year was one against the Cape of -Good Hope. This settlement, so desirable for Britain, with her Indian -possessions, had been yielded up by the Addington Administration, at -the Peace of Amiens, most imprudently. A body of five thousand men -was dispatched for its recovery, under Sir David Baird, in a fleet -commanded by Sir Home Popham. They arrived in January, and the Dutch -soldiers fled at the first attack. Retiring into the interior, General -Beresford was dispatched after them, whereupon they surrendered, on -condition that they should be sent to Holland without being deemed -prisoners of war. - -Had Sir Home Popham been satisfied with this well-executed piece -of service, he would have merited honour; but, this being done, he -suggested to Sir David Baird that an expedition might be made with -advantage against the Spanish colonies in South America. It was -reported--not truly, as it turned out--that these colonies were as -poorly defended as they were wealthy. Sir David was weak enough to fall -into the scheme, and, without any authority from home, as it would -appear, for so important a proceeding, he permitted General Beresford -to sail in Sir Home's squadron with a part of his forces. The fleet -touched at St. Helena, and took in a few more soldiers, but the whole -body did not then amount to more than sixteen hundred. With this -contemptible handful of men, the British squadron entered the river La -Plata, and landed the troops, on the 24th of June, at a short distance -from Buenos Ayres. The few Spanish troops in the city were easily -routed, and the place capitulated on the 27th, and Beresford entered -and took up his quarters there. But he was not long left at peace. -The Spaniards discovering, as a matter of course, the insignificance -of the force which had thus rashly surprised the city, collected in -sufficient numbers to make prisoners of them all. A French officer -in the Spanish service, M. Liniers, landed with a thousand men from -Monte Video and Sacramento, and, being joined by the troops of the -neighbourhood which had been repulsed by Beresford, appeared before -the city on the 10th of July, and summoned the British to surrender. -This was the signal for the inhabitants to rise _en masse_ and fall on -them. They were prevented from escaping to their ships by the badness -of the weather, and were assailed from the windows and doors, and -exposed to a general attack in the great square, and were compelled to -yield, on condition of being allowed to re-embark; but no sooner had -they laid down their arms, than Liniers, who probably looked on them -as no better than filibusters, treated them as such, and marched them -up the country, where they were rigorously treated. Four hundred of -them had perished in this mad attempt. Meanwhile, Sir Home Popham had -sent home upwards of a million of dollars, reserving two hundred and -five thousand for the pay of the army. There were great rejoicings in -London at the news, and at the receipt of the specie. Popham, in his -despatches, represented himself as having conquered a great colony, -and opened up a wonderful mart for our manufactures; and the Ministry, -delighted at the receipt of the dollars, though they had, on first -hearing of the scheme, sent out orders to stop the squadron, now, on -the 20th of September, issued an Order in Council declaring Buenos -Ayres and its dependencies open to our trade. Long before this order -could have reached America the whole scene was reversed. Sir Home -Popham had, indeed, blockaded the river La Plata, and had attempted -to bombard Monte Video, but his ships could not get near enough. In -October reinforcements arrived from the Cape and from England, but -not in sufficient strength to enable him to do anything decisive. He -therefore contented himself with landing troops at Maldonado, and drove -the Spaniards from the isle of Gorriti, where he lay to, and waited for -greater reinforcements. - -During this year Buonaparte made another attempt to recover the mastery -of St. Domingo. Dessalines was now emperor, having a court full of -black nobles and marshals, an exact parody of Napoleon's. A French -squadron, under Admiral Lessigues, consisting of five ships of the -line, two frigates, and a corvette, managed to escape the British -fleets, and, on the 20th of January, to anchor in the road of St. -Domingo. They had just landed a body of troops, when Sir John Duckworth -made his appearance with seven sail-of-the-line and four frigates. -Lessigues slipped his cables, and endeavoured to get out to sea, but -the wind did not favour him; Sir John Duckworth came up with him, and, -on the 6th of February, attacked and defeated him. Though Sir John had -the superiority in number of vessels, the French vessels were, some -of them, much larger ones; and one, the _Imperial_, was reckoned the -largest and finest ship of their navy--a huge three-decker, of three -thousand three hundred tons, and a hundred and thirty guns. Yet, in -three hours, Sir John had captured three of the French line of battle -ships; the other two ran on the rocks, and were wrecked. One of these -was the gigantic _Imperial_. Nearly the whole of her crew perished, -five hundred being killed and wounded before she struck. One of these -frigates which escaped was afterwards captured by a British sloop of -war in a very battered condition from a storm, in addition to the -fight. - -Another French fleet, under Admiral Willaumez, left Brest at the same -time with that of Lessigues, bound for the Cape of Good Hope, to assist -the Dutch troops in defending it. The British, however, having taken -it before his arrival, he went cruising about and picking up such -stray British merchantmen as he could meet with between the continents -of Africa and South America. He then stood away for the West Indies, -hoping to be able to destroy the British shipping in the ports of -Barbadoes. Failing in that, he made for Martinique, which was still in -the possession of the French. Willaumez had but six sail of the line, -and the English admirals, Sir John Borlase Warren, who had the same -number and a frigate, and Sir Richard Strachan, who had seven sail -of the line and two frigates, were in eager quest of him. Meanwhile, -Willaumez was attacked by a terrible tempest, and then chased by -Strachan in the _Chesapeake_. Of his six ships of the line he took home -only two, and was obliged to burn the British merchantmen that he had -taken. - -Another admiral was still less fortunate. This was Linois, who had been -beaten off in his attack on a British fleet of India merchantmen, in -the Straits of Malacca, some time before, and who had been cruising -far and wide in pursuit of British prizes, whilst a number of English -commanders were eagerly hunting after him. He was now returning home, -when, in sight of the port of Brest, with only two of his ships -remaining, Sir John Warren stood in his way, and compelled him to -surrender both of them. - -In September Commodore Sir Samuel Hood captured five frigates, which -issued from Rochefort, laden with troops, stores, arms, and ammunition -for the French forts in the West Indies. But the most daring feats -of bravery were performed by Captain Lord Cochrane, afterwards Lord -Dundonald. Early in this year he sent a number of boats up the Gironde, -not far from Bordeaux, to endeavour to seize two large brig corvettes, -the nearest of which lay twenty miles up the river, protected by two -heavy land batteries. The sailors successfully brought away the first -vessel, having only three men wounded in the affair; the other corvette -lay much higher up the river, but, hearing the firing, it fell down -to the assistance of its companion vessel; but the British seamen -beat it back, and carried away their prize in the face of crowds of -armed militia, and greater crowds of people along the shores. Whilst -this daring action was in progress Lord Cochrane was not idle. He -attacked with his single frigate one sixteen-gun and two twenty-gun -corvettes, and drove them on shore. He then proceeded to Aix, to -reconnoitre a strong fleet anchored in the roads, under cover of -strong batteries. His little frigate, the _Pallas_, a twelve-pounder -of thirty-two guns, was attacked by a forty-four-gun frigate and three -big corvettes, but they were compelled to retire without driving him -from his station. He then landed part of the crew of the _Pallas_, who -destroyed some signal-posts which gave notice of all the movements of -the British cruisers. One of these signal-posts was defended, but in -vain, by a hundred French militia. He next attacked a battery of three -thirty-six pounders, and a garrison of fifty men, spiked the guns, -blew up the magazine, and flung the shot and shells into the sea. The -frigate _Minerva_, of forty-four guns, and three corvettes, then ran -out of harbour with studding-sails and royals set, and commenced a -simultaneous attack on the _Pallas_; but Cochrane soon reduced the -_Minerva_ almost to a wreck, and was on the point of boarding her when -two other frigates hastened to her aid, and the _Pallas_, considerably -damaged herself, was obliged to haul off. Such were the audacious -doings of the British men-of-war in every quarter of the world, and -in these Lord Cochrane stood always conspicuous for his unparalleled -daring and adroitness. - -The victory of Napoleon over Austria had wonderfully increased his -influence with those German States which formed the Confederation of -the Rhine. Bavaria, Würtemberg, Hesse-Darmstadt, and other of the -small princes, especially those on the right bank of that river, were -more than ever bound to him, and were prepared to follow him in any -wars that he might make against other countries, or even their own -fatherland. Whilst some of them received crowns for their unnatural -subserviency, several smaller princes were sunk into the condition -of mere nobles. The military contingents which he exacted from them -amounted to sixty thousand men, and these he soon had in a state of -discipline and efficiency very different to that which they exhibited -under the old German federation. Under Napoleon they behaved as well as -any of his troops, showing that they needed only leaders of activity -and talent to make good soldiers of them. Thus France superseded -Austria in its influence over all the south-west of Germany. Nor did -he stop here. He had created dukes and princes, and resolved also to -create kings. These were to be his brothers, who were to be placed on -half the thrones of Europe, and set there as vassal monarchs doing -homage and service to him, the great emperor of France. He expected -them to be the obedient servants of France, or, rather, of himself, -and not of the countries they were ostensibly set to govern. He began -by making his brother Joseph King of Naples in March, and in June he -made his brother Louis King of Holland. He told them that they must -never forget that their first duty was to France and to himself. He -intended to make his brother Jerome King of Westphalia; but Jerome had -married a Miss Paterson, the daughter of an American merchant, and he -must have this marriage broken, and a royal one arranged, before he -could admit him to this regal honour: he must also wrest part of this -territory from Prussia. His sister Pauline, widow of General Leclerc, -who perished in St. Domingo, he had now married to the Roman Prince -Borghese, and he gave her the Italian duchy of Guastalla. Murat, who -had married another sister, he made Grand Duke of Berg and Cleve, -and Marshal Berthier he made Prince of Neuchâtel. These territories, -taken from Prussia, Bavaria, and Switzerland, he conferred, with all -their rights and privileges, on these generals. The duchy of Parma he -conferred on Cambacérès, and Piacenza on General Lebrun. - -Prussia, which had remained inactive whilst Buonaparte was winning over -Bavaria and Würtemberg to his interests, and while he was crushing -Austria, now that she stood alone took the alarm, and complained that -the French troops on the Rhine and in the Hanse Towns, which, by -the Treaty of Pressburg, ought to have been withdrawn from Germany, -remained. The Queen of Prussia and Prince Louis, the king's cousin, -were extremely anti-Gallic. They had long tried to arouse the king to -resist the French influence in Germany, to coalesce with Austria while -it was time, and to remove Haugwitz from the Ministry, who was greatly -inclined towards France. The Emperor Alexander professed himself ready -to unite in this resistance to France, and Frederick William began now -to listen to these counsels. He withdrew his minister, Lucchesini, -from Paris, and sent General Knobelsdorff in his place. On the 1st of -October Knobelsdorff presented to Talleyrand a long memorial, demanding -that the French troops should re-cross the Rhine immediately, in -compliance with the Treaty of Pressburg; that France should desist from -throwing obstacles in the way of the promotion of a league in North -Germany, comprehending all the States not included in the Confederation -of the Rhine; and that the fortress of Wesel and those abbeys which -Murat, since becoming Grand Duke of Berg and Cleve, had seized and -attached to his territory, should be restored. - -Such language was certain to irritate, in no ordinary degree, the -full-blown pride of Buonaparte. It is probable that he was only -too desirous of finding a cause of quarrel with Prussia. He longed -to avenge himself on her for keeping him in a state of tantalising -uncertainty during his Austrian campaign; and he wished to bring the -whole of Germany under his dominion. He replied, through Talleyrand, -that Prussia had no right to demand from him that he should withdraw -his troops from friendly States, and that they should remain there as -long as he pleased. In fact, he was already watching the movements of -Prussia. He was well aware of the negotiations with Russia, he had full -information of the manœuvring of troops, and that the Queen of Prussia, -in the uniform of the regiment called by her name, had been at reviews -of the army, encouraging the soldiers by her words. He had, weeks -before, assembled his principal marshals--Soult, Murat, Augereau, and -Bernadotte--in Paris, and, with them, sketched the plan of the campaign -against Prussia. Four days before Knobelsdorff presented the King of -Prussia's letter to Talleyrand Napoleon had quitted Paris, and was on -the Rhine, directing the march of his forces there, and calling for -the contingents from the princes of the Rhenish Confederation; nay, so -forward were his measures, that his army in Germany, under Berthier, -stretched from Baden to Düsseldorf, and from Frankfort-on-the-Main to -Nuremberg. At the same time he commenced a series of the bitterest -attacks on Prussia in the _Moniteur_ and other papers under his -control, and of the vilest and most unmanly attacks on the character of -the Queen of Prussia, a most interesting and amiable woman, whose only -crime was her patriotism. - -But Buonaparte did not content himself with stabs at the reputation of -his enemies--he resorted to his old practices of assassination. The -booksellers of Germany, ignoring the dominance of Buonaparte in their -country, though he had completely silenced the press in France, dared -to publish pamphlets and articles against the French invasion and -French rule in Germany. Buonaparte ordered Berthier to seize a number -of these publishers, and try them by court-martial, on the plea that -they excited the inhabitants to rise and massacre his soldiers. Amongst -the booksellers thus arrested was John Philip Palm, of Nuremberg. The -charge against him was that he had published a pamphlet entitled, -"_L'Allemagne dans_ _son profond abaissement._" This production was -attributed to M. Gentz, a writer who was most damaging to the influence -of Buonaparte, and Palm was offered his pardon if he would give up the -author. He refused. Nuremberg, though occupied by French soldiers, was -under the protection of Prussia, which was, just now, no protection at -all. Palm was carried off to Braunau, in Austria. This place was still -occupied by Buonaparte, in direct violation of the Treaty of Pressburg; -so that Buonaparte, in the seizure and trial of Palm, was guilty of -the breach of almost every international and civil law; for, had Palm -been the citizen of a French city, his offence being a mere libel did -not make him responsible to a military tribunal. The French colonels -condemned him to be shot, and the sentence was immediately executed -on the 26th of August. The indignation and odium which this atrocious -act excited, not only throughout Germany, but throughout the civilised -world, caused Buonaparte, with his usual disregard of truth, to say -that the officers had done all this without any orders from him, but -out of their own too officious zeal. - -[Illustration: THE QUEEN OF PRUSSIA REVIEWING THE ARMY. (_See p._ 524.)] - -On the 9th of October the King of Prussia issued a manifesto from his -headquarters at Erfurt, calling attention to the continual aggressions -of France--those aggressions which Prussia had so long watched in -profound apathy, and which, by timely union with Austria and Russia, -might have been checked. But Prussia had, by her mean conduct, now -stripped herself of all sympathy and all co-operation. She would have -been very glad indeed of the money of Great Britain, but she had so far -favoured the very aggressions of Buonaparte of which she now complained -as to receive Hanover from him, and could not even now find it in -her heart to surrender it, and make a powerful friend by that act of -justice. The Emperor of Russia was willing to co-operate, but Prussia -had made her hostile manifestations before Alexander could approach -with his army. In reply to the intimations of Prussia, that she would -be glad of the support of Britain, Lord Morpeth was sent to Berlin; but -the language of the Prussian Ministry was still of the most selfish -and impolitic character, and Lucchesini told Lord Morpeth that the -fate of Hanover must depend on the event of the coming war. With such -a Power no union could take place, and in this isolated and pitiable -condition Prussia was left to try her strength with Napoleon. As for -that ambitious soldier, he desired nothing so much as this encounter -with Prussia; he saw in it the only obstacle to his complete dominion -over Germany, and he was confident that he should scatter her armies at -the first shock. - -The Prussian people, however, on their part, were clamorous for war; -they still prided themselves on the victories of Frederick, called the -Great, and the students and the young nobles were full of bravado. But, -unfortunately, they had not generals like Frederick to place at the -head of their armies, and their military system was entirely obsolete. -The Duke of Brunswick, who, in his youth, had shown much bravery in the -Seven Years' War, but who had been most unfortunate in his invasion of -France, in 1792, was now, in his seventy-second year, placed in chief -command, to compete with Napoleon. Nothing could exceed the folly of -his plan of the campaign. The whole force of Prussia, including its -auxiliaries, amounted only to about one hundred and fifty thousand men. -Of these the Saxons, who had reluctantly united with Prussia, and had -only been forced into co-operation by the Prussians marching into their -country, and, in a manner, compelling them, were worse than lukewarm in -the cause; they were ready at any moment to join the French. Besides -these, and the troops of Hesse-Cassel, they had not an ally except -the distant Russians. On the other hand, Napoleon had a considerably -superior army of his own in advance, and he had immense forces behind -the Rhine, for he had anticipated a whole year's conscription. He had, -moreover, his flanks protected by his friendly confederates of the -Rhine, ready to come forward, if necessary. In these circumstances, -Prussia's policy ought to have been to delay action, by negotiation -or otherwise, till the Russians could come up, and then to have -concentrated her troops so as to resist, by their momentum, the onset -of the confident and battle-practised French. But, so far from taking -these precautions, the Duke of Brunswick rushed forward at once into -Franconia, into the very face of Buonaparte, and long before he could -have the assistance of Russia. Instead of concentrating his forces, -Brunswick had stretched them out over a line of ninety miles in length. -He and the king had their headquarters at Weimar; their left, under -Prince Hohenlohe, was at Schleitz, and their right extended as far as -Mühlhausen. The Prussians, in fact, appeared rather to be occupying -cantonments than drawn into military position for a great contest. -Besides they had in front of them the Thuringian Forest, behind which -Napoleon could manœuvre as he pleased. - -Perceiving the fatal separation of the Prussians from each other, and -from their supplies at Naumburg, he determined to cut their army in -two, and then to cut off and seize their magazines at this place. He -therefore ordered the French right wing, under Soult and Ney, to march -upon Hof, while the centre, under Bernadotte and Davoust, with the -guard commanded by Murat, advanced on Saalburg and Schleitz. The left -wing, under Augereau, proceeded towards Saalfeld and Coburg. Naumburg -was seized, and its magazines committed to the flames, and this, at -the same moment that it ruined their resources, apprised them that the -French were in their rear; and, still worse, were between them and -Magdeburg, which should have been their rallying-point. To endeavour -to make some reparation of their error, and to recover Naumburg, the -Duke of Brunswick marched in that direction, but too late. Davoust was -in possession of the place, and had given the magazine to the flames, -and he then marched out against Brunswick, who was coming with sixty -thousand men, though he had only about half that number. Brunswick, by -activity, might have seized the strong defile of Koesen; but he was so -slow that Davoust forced it open and occupied it. On the evening of -the 13th of October the duke was posted on the heights of Auerstadt, -and might have retained that strong position, but he did not know that -Davoust was so near; for the scout department seemed as much neglected -as other precautions. Accordingly, the next morning, descending from -the heights to pursue his march, his advanced line suddenly came -upon that of Davoust in the midst of a thick fog, near the village -of Hassen-Haussen. The battle continued from eight in the morning -till eleven, when the Duke of Brunswick was struck in the face by a -grape-shot, and blinded of both eyes. This, and the severe slaughter -suffered by the Prussians, now made them give way. The King of Prussia, -obliged to assume the command himself, at this moment received the -discouraging news that General Hohenlohe was engaged at Jena on the -same day (October 14) with the main army, against Buonaparte himself. -Resolving to make one great effort to retrieve his fortunes, he -ordered a general charge to be made along the whole French line. It -failed; the Prussians were beaten off, and there was a total rout. The -Prussians fled towards Weimar, where were the headquarters of their -army, only to meet the fugitives of Hohenlohe, whose forces at the -battle of Jena were very inferior to those of the French, and whose -defeat there was a foregone conclusion. - -Napoleon marched triumphantly forwards towards Berlin. In Leipzic he -confiscated British merchandise to the value of about three millions -sterling. He entered Berlin on the 27th of October. As he traversed -the field of Rossbach, where Frederick the Great had annihilated a -French army, he ordered his soldiers to destroy the small column that -commemorated that event. He took up his residence in the palace of the -King of Prussia at Berlin. The wounded and blind Duke of Brunswick -entreated of the conqueror that his hereditary State of Brunswick might -be left him, but Buonaparte refused in harsh and insulting terms. -Moreover, he ordered his troops to march on that territory and town, -and the dying duke was compelled to be carried away on a litter by men -hired for the purpose, for all his officers and domestics had deserted -him. Buonaparte had a particular pleasure in persecuting this unhappy -man, because he was brother-in-law to George III. and father-in-law to -the heir to the British Crown; but he also wanted his dukedom to add -to the kingdom of Westphalia, which he was planning for his brother -Jerome. The duke's son requested of Buonaparte leave to lay his body -in the tomb of his ancestors, but the ruthless tyrant refused this -petition with the same savage bluntness, and the young duke vowed -eternal vengeance, and, if he did not quite live to discharge his oath, -his black Brunswickers did it at Waterloo. - -The strong towns and fortresses of Prussia were all surrendered with as -much rapidity as the army had been dispersed. They were, for the most -part, commanded by imbecile or cowardly old villains; nay, there is -every reason to believe that, in many instances, they sold the places -to the French, and were paid their traitor fees out of the military -chests of the respective fortresses. Whilst these events were so -rapidly progressing, Louis Buonaparte, the new King of Holland, with an -army of French and Dutch, had overrun, with scarcely any opposition, -Westphalia, Hanover, Emden, and East Friesland. The unfortunate King -of Prussia, who had seen his kingdom vanish like a dream, had fled to -Königsberg, where he was defended by the gallant Lestog, and awaited -the hoped-for junction of the Russians marching to his aid. Gustavus -Adolphus, of Sweden, forgetting the slighted advice which he had -offered to Prussia to unite with Austria, opened Stralsund and Riga to -the fugitive Prussians. - -Having put Prussia under his feet, Buonaparte proceeded to settle the -fate of her allies, Saxony and Hesse-Cassel. Saxony, which had been -forced into hostilities against France by Prussia, was at once admitted -by Buonaparte to his alliance. He raised the prince to the dignity of -king, and introduced him as a member of the Confederacy of the Rhine. -The small states of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Gotha were admitted to his -alliance on the same terms of vassalage; but Hesse-Cassel was wanted -to make part of the new kingdom of Westphalia, and, though it had not -taken up arms at all, Buonaparte declared that it had been secretly -hostile to France, and that the house of Hesse-Cassel had ceased to -reign. Louis Buonaparte had seized it, made it over to the keeping -of General Mortier, and then marched back to Holland. Mortier then -proceeded to re-occupy Hanover, which he did in the middle of November, -and then marched to Hamburg. He was in hopes of seizing a large -quantity of British goods, as he had done at Leipzic, but in this he -was disappointed, for the Hamburg merchants, being warned by the fate -of Leipzic, had made haste, disposed of all their British articles, and -ordered no fresh ones. Buonaparte, in his vexation, ordered Mortier to -seize the money in the banks; but Bourrienne wrote to him, showing him -the folly of such a step, and he refrained. - -But his great measure, at this period, was the blow aimed at the -commerce of Britain, and comprised in his celebrated Berlin Decrees, -promulgated on the 21st of November. He had subjugated nearly the -whole of the European Continent. Spain, Portugal, Italy to the south -of France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, and Prussia to the north, with -nearly the whole seaboard of Europe, were under his hand and his -armies. He had found that he could not invade England; her fleet had -risen triumphant, his own fleet had disappeared like a vapour at -Trafalgar. As, therefore, he could not reach her soil, he determined -to destroy her by destroying her commerce, on which he imagined not -merely her prosperity but her very existence depended. As he was master -of nearly all Continental Europe, he supposed it as easy for him to -exclude by his fiat the merchandise of Britain, as to put down old -dynasties and set up new ones. He had yet to learn that commerce has a -conquering power greater than that either of martial genius or of arms. - -[Illustration: NAPOLEON AT ROSSBACH. (_See p._ 527.)] - -These were his first decrees:--I. The British Isles were declared in a -state of blockade. II. All commerce and correspondence with Britain was -forbidden. All British letters were to be seized in the post-houses. -III. Every Englishman, of whatever rank or quality, found in France, -or the countries allied with her, was declared a prisoner of war. IV. -All merchandise or property of any kind belonging to British subjects -was declared lawful prize. V. All articles of British manufacture, -and articles produced in her colonies, were, in like manner, declared -contraband and lawful prize. VI. Half of the produce of the above -confiscations was to be employed in the relief of those merchants whose -vessels had been captured by British cruisers. VII. All vessels coming -from Britain or British colonies were to be refused admission into any -harbour in or connected with France. These decrees were to be binding -wherever French power extended, but they had no effect in checking the -commerce of Britain; the distress to Continental merchants, however, -and the exasperation of the people deprived of British manufactures, -grew immediately acute. Bourrienne says that the fiscal tyranny thus -created became intolerable. At the same time, the desire of revenue -induced Buonaparte to allow his decrees to be infringed by the payment -of exorbitant licences for the import of British goods. French goods, -also, were lauded with incredible impudence, though they were bought -only to be thrown into the sea. Hamburg, Bordeaux, Nantes, and other -Continental ports solicited, by petitions and deputations, some -relaxation of the system, to prevent universal ruin. They declared that -general bankruptcy must ensue if it were continued. "Be it so," replied -Buonaparte, arrogantly; "the more insolvency on the Continent, the -more ruin in England." As they could not bend Buonaparte, merchants, -douaniers, magistrates, prefects, generals, all combined in one system -of fraudulent papers, bills of lading or certificates, by which British -goods were admitted and circulated under other names for sufficient -bribes. The only mischief which his embargo did was to the nations of -the Continent, especially Holland, Belgium, Germany, and to himself; -for his rigour in this respect was one of the things which drove the -whole of Europe to abominate his tyranny, and rejoice in his eventual -fall. - -[Illustration: - - _Reproduced by André & Sleigh, Ld., Bushey, Herts._ - -CRIPPLED BUT UNCONQUERED, 1805. - -FROM THE PICTURE BY W. L. WYLLIE, R.A. - - BREAKING INTO THE MIDST OF THE ENEMY'S LINES, THE "BELLEISLE" - WAS SURROUNDED ON ALL SIDES.... RAKED FORE AND AFT AND THUNDERED - AT FROM ALL QUARTERS, EVERY MAST AND SPAR OF THE GALLANT - "SEVENTY-FOUR" WAS SHOT AWAY, HER HULL KNOCKED ALMOST TO PIECES, - AND THE DECKS CUMBERED WITH DEAD AND DYING. STILL THE UNEQUAL - FIGHT WENT ON, TILL AT LAST THE "SWIFTSURE," BURSTING THROUGH THE - MÊLÉE, PASSED CLOSE UNDER THE STERN OF THE BATTERED WRECK, GIVING - THREE HEARTY CHEERS WHEN A UNION JACK WAS WAVED FROM A PIKE TO SHOW - THAT, THOUGH CRIPPLED THE "BELLEISLE" WAS STILL UNCONQUERED.--_An - Incident at Trafalgar._ -] - -[Illustration: MURAT (KING OF NAPLES). (_After the Portrait by -Gerard._)] - -The Emperor of Russia was now fast advancing towards the Vistula in -support of Prussia, and the contest appeared likely to take place -in Poland; and Buonaparte, with his usual hollow adroitness, held -out delusive hopes to the Poles of his restoring their unity and -independence, in order to call them into universal action against -Russia and Prussia. Amongst the most distinguished of these was the -General Dombrowski. Buonaparte sent for him to headquarters, and -employed him to raise regiments of his countrymen. By such lures he -obtained a considerable number of such men; but his grand scheme was to -obtain the presence and the sanction of the great and popular patriot, -Kosciusko. If he were to appear and call to arms, all Poland would -believe in its destinies, and rise. Kosciusko was living in honourable -poverty near Fontainebleau, and Buonaparte had made many attempts to -engage him in his service, as he had done Dombrowski; but Kosciusko saw -too thoroughly the character of the man. He pleaded the state of his -wounds and of his health as incapacitating him for the fatigues of war, -but he privately made no secret amongst his friends that he regarded -Napoleon as a mere selfish conqueror, who would only use Poland as a -tool to enslave other nations, never to enfranchise herself. In vain -did Buonaparte now urge him to come forward and fight for his country; -he steadfastly declined; but Buonaparte resolved to have the influence -of his name, by means true or false. He sent him a proclamation to the -Poles, requesting him to put his name to it. The patriot refused, at -the risk of being driven from France; but Buonaparte, without ceremony, -fixed his name to the address, and published it on the 1st of November. -It declared that Kosciusko was coming himself to lead his countrymen -to freedom. The effect was instantaneous; all Poland was on fire, and, -before the cheat could be discovered, Dombrowski had organised four -good Polish regiments. - -Napoleon now called up his auxiliary forces from Saxony, Würtemberg, -Bavaria, and from all the Confederation of the Rhine, as well as new -battalions from France, and advanced against the Russians. In the first -place, the French, who had completed the subjugation of the Prussian -states east of the Oder, pushed forward towards Poland, to attack the -Russian general, Benningsen, who advanced to Warsaw, and occupied -it in conjunction with the Prussians. Benningsen, however, finding -the Prussians few and dispirited, fell back beyond the Vistula, and -Murat, at the head of the French vanguard, entered Warsaw on the 28th -of November. He was soon after joined there by Buonaparte, and Warsaw -being put into a state of defence, the French army advanced to the -Vistula and the Bug, in spite of the lateness of the season. Benningsen -again retreated behind the Wkra, where he united his forces with -those of Generals Buxhowden and Kaminskoi. Kaminskoi took the supreme -command. When Napoleon arrived at the Wkra on the 23rd of December, he -formed his army into three divisions, and forced the passages of the -river. Kaminskoi fell back behind the Niemen, and the French pursued -him, committing some injury on him. This trifling advantage Napoleon -converted, in his bulletins to Paris, into the rout and general defeat -of the Russians. It was true that the Russians were destitute of -stores, having applied to Britain for money, and obtained only eighty -thousand pounds. They fought, therefore, under great disadvantages, -against an army furnished with everything. Notwithstanding, Benningsen, -who was by far the most vigorous of their generals--for Kaminskoi was -fast falling into lunacy--posted himself strongly behind Pultusk, his -right led by Barclay de Tolly, and his left by Ostermann. Kaminskoi -ordered Benningsen to retreat, but he refused, and stood his ground. -At first Tolly was driven back by Lannes and Davoust, but Benningsen -converted this disadvantage into a _ruse_, ordering Tolly to continue -his retreat, till the French were drawn on, so that he could bring down -his left wing on them. This he did with such effect that he killed -and wounded nearly eight thousand of them, having, however, himself -five thousand killed and wounded. Lannes and five other generals were -amongst the wounded. The French seized the opportunity of darkness to -retreat with such speed, that the next morning not a trace of them -could be seen near Pultusk. Prince Galitzin fought another division -of the French the same day at Golynim, and with the same success. Had -Benningsen had the chief command, and brought down the whole united -Russian army on Napoleon, the victory must have been most decisive; -as it was, it taught the French that they had different troops to -Prussians or Austrians to contend with. They drew off, and went into -winter quarters at Warsaw and the towns to the eastward. The chief -command of the Russian army was now conferred on Benningsen, and so far -from Buonaparte having, as he boasted, brought the war to a close with -the year, we shall find Benningsen, at the head of ninety thousand men, -soon forcing him into a winter campaign. - -On the 13th of September Charles James Fox died at Chiswick House, the -residence of the Duke of Devonshire. He had been for a considerable -time suffering from dropsy, and had got as far as Chiswick, in the hope -of gathering strength enough to reach St. Anne's Hill, near Chertsey, -his own house. But his days were numbered. He was only fifty-eight -years of age. During his illness his colleagues and so-called friends, -with that strange coldness and selfishness which always distinguished -the Whigs, with very few exceptions, never went near him. Those -honourable exceptions were the Duke of Devonshire, who had offered him -his house, the Prince of Wales, his nephew, Lord Holland, his niece, -Miss Fox, and his old friend, General Fitzpatrick. Still, Fox was not -deserted by humbler and less known friends. Lords Grenville and Howick, -his colleagues, rarely went near him, and all the Ministry were too -busy anticipating and preparing for the changes which his decease must -make. When this event took place there was a great shifting about, but -only one new member of the Cabinet was admitted, Lord Holland, and only -one resigned, the Earl Fitzwilliam. Lord Howick took Fox's department, -that of Foreign Affairs; Lord Holland became Privy Seal; Grenville, -First Lord of the Admiralty; and Tierney, President of the Board of -Control. Sidmouth, afterwards so prominent in Tory Cabinets, still sat -in this medley one as President of the Council, and Lord Minto was -gratified by the Governor-Generalship of India. As Parliament was not -sitting at the time of Fox's death, Ministers ordered his interment in -Westminster Abbey, and he was carried thither on the 10th of October, -the twenty-sixth anniversary of his election for Westminster, and laid -almost close to the monument of Chatham, and within a few inches of the -grave of his old rival, Pitt. - -Parliament was suddenly dissolved by the All the Talents Ministry, -in the hope of acquiring a better majority, but this hope was not -brilliantly realised. The new Parliament assembled on the 19th of -December, and, as all now saw that war must go on, both Houses prepared -themselves for large votes of supply. According to Windham's statement, -we had 125,631 regulars in the army, of whom 79,158 were employed -in defending our West India Islands, 25,000 in India, and upwards -of 21,000 foreigners in our pay. Besides this, for home defence we -had 94,000 militia and fencibles, and 200,000 volunteers; so that -altogether we had 419,000 men under arms. It was, therefore, contended, -and with reason, that as we had so deeply engaged ourselves in fighting -for our Allies on the Continent, with such a force we might have sent -20,000, with good effect, to unite with Alexander of Russia against -Buonaparte, and not have let him be repulsed for want of both men and -money. This, indeed, was the disgrace of All the Talents, that they -put the country to the expense of an enormous war establishment, and -did no real service with it. The supplies, however, were freely voted. -There were granted, for the navy, £17,400,337; for the regular army, -£11,305,387; for militia, fencibles, volunteers, etc., £4,203,327; -ordnance, £3,321,216. The number of sailors, including 32,000 marines, -was fixed at 130,000. - -The manner in which a great deal of these vast sums, so freely -voted, was spent, was, at this very moment, staring the public -most fully in the face, through the military inquiry set on foot -under the administration of Pitt, and continued under the present -Ministry. It appeared that one Davison, being made Treasurer of the -Ordnance by Pitt, had been in the habit of drawing large sums from -the Treasury long before they were wanted, and had generally from -three million to four million pounds of the national funds in his -hands to trade with, of which the country lost the interest! Nor was -this all: there had been an understanding between himself, Delauny, -the Barrackmaster-General, and Greenwood, the army agent. All these -gentlemen helped themselves largely to the public money, and their -accounts were full of misstatements and overcharges. Those of Delauny -were yet only partly gone through, but there was a charge of ninety -thousand pounds already against him for fraudulent entries and -impositions. As for Davison, there was found to be an arrangement -between him and Delauny, by which, as a contractor, he was to receive -of Delauny two-and-a-half per cent. on beds, sheets, blankets, towels, -candles, beer, forage, etc., which he furnished for barrack use. -Besides this, he was to supply the coals as a merchant. Having always -several millions of the country's money in hand, he bought up the -articles, got his profit, and then his commission, without any outlay -of his own. Lord Archibald Hamilton gave notice of a motion for the -prosecution of Davison at common law, but Ministers said they had put -the matter into the proper hands, and that Davison had been summoned to -deliver up all his accounts that they might be examined, and measures -taken to recover any amount due by him to the Treasury. But Lord Henry -Petty talked as though it was not certain that there were sufficient -proofs of his guilt to convict him. The Attorney-General, however, was -ordered to prosecute in the Court of King's Bench, but the decision -did not take place till April, 1809, more than two years afterwards, -and then only the miserable sum of eighteen thousand one hundred and -eighty-three pounds had been recovered, and Davison was condemned to -twenty-one months' imprisonment in Newgate. - -But the great glory of this session was not the exposure of Davison -and his fellow thieves, but the stop put to the operations of a much -larger class of rascals. The death of Fox had been a sad blow to -Wilberforce and the abolitionists, who had calculated on his carrying -the prohibition of the slave trade; but Lord Grenville and his Cabinet -seemed to have made up their minds to have the fame of achieving the -grand object of so many years' exertion for the suppression of the -African slave trade. Wilberforce, to his inconceivable joy, discovered -that Spencer Perceval, the leader of the Opposition, and his party -were willing to co-operate for this purpose. The king and royal family -alone remained as adverse to the abolition of slavery as they were to -the emancipation of the Catholics. The abolitionists, however, had so -imbued the country with the sense of the barbarity and iniquity of -the traffic, that royal prejudice could no longer swamp the measure, -nor aristocratic apathy delay it. Lord Grenville brought in a Bill -for the purpose into the Peers on the 2nd of January, 1807: the 12th -was fixed for the second reading. Before this took place, counsel was -heard at the bar of the House against the measure, who repeated all the -terrible prognostics of ruin to the West Indies and to Britain from the -abolition, with which the planters and proprietors of the West Indies, -the merchants and slave captains of Liverpool and Bristol, had so often -endeavoured to alarm the nation. The emptiness of these bugbears had, -however, been now too fully exposed to the people by the lectures, -speeches, and pamphlets of the Abolition Society, and Wilberforce had -all along merely to use the arguments in Parliament with which they -had abundantly furnished him. Lord Grenville now introduced the second -reading by an elaborate speech, in which he condensed and summed up -these arguments. He was warmly supported by the Duke of Gloucester--a -liberal exception to his family--by Lords King, Selkirk, Rosslyn, -Northesk, Holland, Suffolk, Moira, and the Bishops of Durham, London, -and others. The Dukes of Clarence and Sussex as zealously opposed -him, as well as Lords Sidmouth, Eldon, Ellenborough, Hawkesbury, -St. Vincent, and many others. The second reading was carried, after -a debate which continued till five o'clock in the morning, by one -hundred against thirty-six. The third reading was also carried with -equal ease, and the Bill was brought down to the Commons on the 10th -of February. Lord Howick proposed its reading in an eloquent speech, -and it was opposed, with the usual prediction of ruin, by Mr. George -Hibbert, Captain Herbert, and General Gascoyne, who said the nation was -carried away by sentimental cant, the result of an enormous agitation -by the Quakers and Saints. The first reading, however, passed without -a division, and the second on the 24th of February, by two hundred and -eighty-three against sixteen. The House gave three cheers. Seeing the -large majority, and that the Bill was safe, Lord Grenville recommended -Wilberforce to strengthen it by inserting the penalties, which he did; -but they left a great advantage to the slave merchants by allowing them -to clear out their vessels from Great Britain by the 1st of May, and -gave them time to deliver their human cargoes in the West Indies till -the 1st of January, 1808--a liberty which was sure to create a great -sending out of vessels for the last occasion, and a fearful crowding -of them. However, the accursed trade was now doomed, as far as British -merchants could go, though it was soon found that it was not so easy to -suppress it. When it was seen that the Bill must pass, Lords Eldon, -Hawkesbury, and Castlereagh, who had hitherto opposed it, declared -themselves in favour of it. It was carried in both Houses by large -majorities, and received the royal sanction on the 25th of March. So -easily was the Bill passed, at last, that Lord Percy, the day after -it had left the Commons, moved in that House for leave to bring in a -Bill for the gradual emancipation of the slaves; but this being deemed -premature, and calculated to injure the operation of the Bill for the -abolition of the trade, and to create dangerous excitement in the West -Indies, the motion was discouraged, and so was dropped. - -The Grenville Ministry was approaching its extinction. It had done a -great work in the abolition of the Slave Trade, but there was another -species of abolition which they were disposed to further which was -not quite so acceptable. They had supported Wilberforce and his party -in their measure for the negroes, but Wilberforce and his friends -were by no means willing to support them in liberating the Catholics -from their disabilities. Grenville and Fox had made no particular -stipulation, on taking office, to prosecute the Catholic claims, but -they were deeply pledged to this by their speeches of many years. It -was, therefore, highly honourable of them, though very impolitic, to -endeavour to do something, at least, to show their sincerity. Though -the king was obstinately opposed to any relaxation of the restraints -on this class of his subjects, yet the Fox and Grenville Ministry -had introduced a milder and more generous treatment of the Catholics -in Ireland. The Duke of Bedford, as Lord-Lieutenant, had discouraged -the rampant spirit of Orangeism, and admitted Catholics to peace and -patronage. He had abandoned the dragooning system, and had managed to -settle some disturbances which broke out in the autumn of 1806, without -even proclaiming martial law. These measures had won the cordial -attachment of the Catholics both in Ireland and England, but, in the -same proportion, had exasperated the Church and War party against them -in both countries. Their adding another three-and-a-half per cent. -to the income and property taxes had still further embittered these -parties, and the antagonism to them was every day becoming stronger. -Yet they resolved, in spite of all this, to make an attempt to do some -justice to the Catholics. They managed to carry an additional grant -to the College of Maynooth, and on the 4th of March, when this grant -was debated, Wilberforce, though wanting the support of Ministers for -his Slave Trade Bill, made a violent speech against all concessions to -the Catholics. He declared the Protestant Church the only true one, -and, therefore, the only one which ought to be supported. "He did not -profess," he said, "to entertain large and liberal views on religious -subjects; he was not, like Buonaparte, an honorary member of all -religions." Undeterred by these tokens of resistance, Lord Howick, the -very next day, moved for leave to bring in a Bill to enable Catholics -to hold commissions in the army and navy on taking a particular oath. -He said that it was a strange anomaly that Catholics in Ireland could -hold such commissions since 1793, and attain to any rank except that of -Commander-in-Chief, of Master-General of the Ordnance, or of General -of the Staff, yet, should these regiments be ordered to this country, -they were, by law, disqualified for service. A clause had already been -added to the Mutiny Bill to remove the anomaly. He proposed to do away -with this extraordinary state of things, and enable his Majesty, at his -pleasure--for it only amounted to that, after all--to open the ranks -of the army and navy to all subjects, without distinction, in Great -Britain as well as Ireland. - -[Illustration: CHARING CROSS, LONDON, IN 1795.] - -No sooner was this motion made than Spencer Perceval rose to oppose -it. Sidmouth worked upon the king's feelings by sending in his -resignation, and the Duke of Portland had offered to form a Ministry -in accordance with the king's feelings. The Bill was, notwithstanding, -brought in, read a first time, and the second reading fixed for the -12th of March. But now it was found that the king, who had previously -received the Ministerial proposal without any comment, seeing his way -clear with another Ministry, refused even his qualified consent to the -prosecution of the measure. The Ministers postponed the second reading -to the 18th, promising an after-statement of their reasons. But their -reasons were already well known in both Houses of Parliament through -the private communications of the embryo Cabinet. On the 25th of March -there were motions made in both Houses for an adjournment: this was -to allow the new Ministry to be announced in the interval. In the -Lords, Earl Grenville seized the opportunity to make some observations -in defence of the conduct of his Cabinet during its possession of -office. He said they had entered it with the determination to carry -these important measures, if possible: the Sinking Fund, the abolition -of the Slave Trade, and the relief of the Catholics. He was happy -to say that they had carried two of them; and though they had found -the resistance in a certain quarter too strong for them to carry the -third, they conceived that never did the circumstances of the times -point out more clearly the sound policy of granting it. France had -wonderfully extended her power on the Continent; peace between her -and the nations she had subdued would probably lead Buonaparte to -concentrate his warlike efforts on this country. What so wise, then, as -to have Ireland attached to us by benefits? With these views, the king, -he said, had been induced to allow Ministers to make communications -to the Catholics of Ireland through the Lord-Lieutenant, which he had -seemed to approve; yet when these communications as to the intended -concessions had been made, his Majesty had been induced to retract his -assent to them. Ministers had then endeavoured to modify the Bill so -as to meet his Majesty's views; but, not succeeding, they had dropped -the Bill altogether, reserving only, in self-justification, a right to -make a minute on the private proceedings of the Cabinet, expressing -their liberty to bring this subject again to the royal notice, as -circumstances might seem to require; but now his Majesty had called -upon them to enter into a written obligation never again to introduce -the subject to his notice, or to bring forward a measure of that kind. -This, he said, was more than could be expected of any Ministers of any -independence whatever. The point was, of course, of some constitutional -importance, but there was much truth in Sheridan's remark: "I have -often heard of people knocking out their brains against a wall, but -never before knew of anyone building a wall expressly for the purpose." - -The king now announced to Ministers his fixed resolve to call in -another Cabinet, though the Whigs had endeavoured to keep office by -dropping the Bill, and on the 25th of March they delivered to the -king their seals of office. Erskine alone retained his for a week, -that he might pronounce his decrees on the Chancery suits which had -been heard by him; and two days before he parted with the Seal, he -took the opportunity to make his son-in-law, Edmund Morris, a Master -in Chancery. This was regarded as a most singular act, Erskine being -no longer _bonâ fide_ Chancellor, but only holding the Seal for a few -days after the resignation of his colleagues, to complete necessary -business. The House adjourned to the 8th of April, and before this -day arrived the new appointments were announced. They were--the Duke -of Portland, First Lord of the Treasury; Lord Hawkesbury, Secretary -of the Home Department; Canning, Secretary for Foreign Affairs; -Lord Castlereagh, Secretary for War and the Colonies; the Earl of -Chatham, Master of the Ordnance; Spencer Perceval, Chancellor and -Under-Treasurer of the Exchequer; Lord Camden, Lord President of the -Council; Lord Bathurst, President of the Board of Trade, with George -Rose as Vice-President; the Earl of Westmoreland, Keeper of the -Privy Seal; Lord Eldon, Lord Chancellor; and the Duke of Richmond, -Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. As the Duke of Portland's health was bad, -the real Prime Minister was Mr. Perceval. - -Before the re-assembling of Parliament the new Ministers had done all -in their power to arouse a "No Popery!" cry in the country, because -they intended to advise a dissolution of Parliament--although this had -only sat four months--in order to bring in a more anti-Catholic and -anti-Reform body. On the 9th of April, the day following the meeting -of Parliament, Mr. Brand moved a resolution, that it was contrary -to the first duties of the confidential advisers of the Crown to -bind themselves by any pledge to refrain from offering the king such -counsel as might seem necessary to the welfare of the kingdom. The -new Ministers, who had entered office without any such pledge being -demanded, for their sentiments were too well known to the king, yet, -seeing that this resolution was the first of a series intended to end -in a vote of want of confidence in them, at once opposed it, and threw -it out by two hundred and fifty-eight to two hundred and twenty-six. -The Marquis of Stafford made a similar motion in the Lords, and -Sidmouth now spoke and voted against his late colleagues, to whom he -must have been throughout opposed on all points; but the strangest -thing must have been to hear Erskine, whilst supporting the motion, -avowing his great repugnance to the Catholics, as people holding a -gross superstition, the result of the darkness of former ages, and -declaring that he never thought of encouraging them, but rather that -they might feel inconvenience, though suffering no injustice; as if -this were possible; for if they suffer no injustice they could feel -no inconvenience. And this, after assuring the king that he would -never again enjoy peace if he dismissed his Ministers for desiring -to encourage them! The Marquis of Stafford's motion was rejected by a -hundred and seventy-one against ninety. - -Parliament was prorogued on the 27th of April, for the avowed purpose -of a dissolution; and in the speech by commission, Ministers stated -that it was necessary the people should be appealed to as soon as -possible, whilst the effect of "the late unfortunate and uncalled-for -agitation was on their minds." Immediate preparations were made for a -most determined contest. Money was spent on both sides most prodigally, -but the new Ministers had the greater command of it--their opponents -said, out of the king's privy purse. But whether that were so or not, -on the system then in vogue, of Ministers in different departments -drawing even millions from the Treasury long before they were -legitimately wanted, they could have no lack of means of corruption; -and this corruption, in bribery and in purchasing of seats, never had -been carried further than on this occasion. It was calculated that it -would cost Wilberforce eighteen thousand pounds to get in again, and -this sum was at once subscribed by his friends. Tierney offered ten -thousand pounds for two seats, and could not get them. Romilly, who -was utterly averse from this corruption, was compelled to give two -thousand pounds for a seat for the borough of Horsham, and then only -obtained it through favour of the Duke of Norfolk. Seats, Romilly says, -might have been expected to be cheap after a Parliament of only four -months' duration, but quite the contrary; never had they reached such -a price before. Five and six thousand pounds was a common sum given, -without any stipulation as to the chance of a short Parliament. The -animus which was excited in the public mind against the Catholics -by the incoming Ministers, for party purposes, was terrible. The -Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge and other religious -associations took the lead in the outcry. The Catholics of England, -alarmed at the violence of the sensation stirred up against them, and -fearing a repetition of the Gordon riots, published an address to their -fellow-countrymen, protesting their entire loyalty to the Crown and -Constitution. Henry Erskine, Lord Erskine's brother, wittily said, that -if Lord George Gordon were but alive, instead of being in Newgate he -would be in the Cabinet. The Ministers found that they had obtained a -powerful majority by these means, and when Parliament met, on the 22nd -of June, they were enabled to reject an amendment to the Address by -a hundred and sixty against sixty-seven in the Lords, and by three -hundred and fifty against a hundred and fifty-five in the Commons. -One of the very first things which the Ministers did was to reverse -the mild system of the late Cabinet in Ireland, and to restore the -old _régime_ of coercion. A Bill was brought into the Commons by Sir -Arthur Wellesley, now again Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant, giving -authority to the latter functionary to proclaim counties in a state of -insurrection, and to prohibit any person from being out of his house -between sunset and sunrise, under severe penalties. Then followed -another Bill, compelling all persons to register what arms they had, -and authorising, on the part of the magistracy, domiciliary visits in -search of arms. Education of the people, both there and in England, -was discouraged. A Bill for establishing a school in every parish in -England, introduced by Whitbread, was allowed to pass the Commons, but -was thrown out in the Lords. Parliament was then prorogued on the 14th -of August. - -The foreign expeditions planned by the Grenville Ministry were, this -year, attended by disgraceful results, and the news of their failure -arrived in time to enable the new Ministry to throw additional odium -upon their foes. The news of the seizure of Buenos Ayres by Sir Home -Popham and General Beresford had induced the late Cabinet to overlook -the irregular manner in which their enterprise had been undertaken. -They sent out Admiral Sir C. Stirling to supersede Sir Home Popham, who -was to be brought before a court-martial, but he took out with him a -fresh body of troops, under General Auchmuty. These troops landed at -Monte Video on the 18th of January, and, after a sharp contest against -six thousand Spaniards, and the loss of five hundred and sixty British -killed and wounded, the place was taken on the 2nd of February. Soon -afterwards General Whitelocke arrived with orders to assume supreme -command and to recapture Buenos Ayres, which the inhabitants had -succeeded in recovering. Whitelocke reached Monte Video towards the end -of May, and found the British army, with what he brought, amounting to -nearly twelve thousand men, in fine condition. With such a force Buenos -Ayres would have soon been reduced by a man of tolerable military -ability. But Whitelocke seems to have taken no measures to enable his -troops to carry the place by a sudden and brilliant assault. It was not -till the 3rd of July that he managed to join Major-General Gore, who -had taken possession of a commanding elevation overlooking the city. -The hope of success lay in the rapidity with which the assault was -made: all this was now lost. The rain poured in torrents, and the men -had no shelter, and were half starved. All this time the Spaniards had -been putting the city into a state of defence. Still, on the morning -of the 5th of July the order was issued to storm. The troops advanced -in three columns from different sides of the town, headed severally by -Generals Auchmuty, Lumley, and Craufurd. Whitelocke said that it could -be of no use to delay the advance towards the centre of the town by -attacking the enemy under cover of their houses; it could only occasion -the greater slaughter. The command, therefore, was to dash forward -with unloaded muskets, trusting alone to the bayonet. Much blame was -cast on Whitelocke for this order, but there seems strong reason in -it, considering the wholly uncovered condition of the troops against -a covered enemy, and that the only chance was for each division to -force its way as rapidly as possible to certain buildings where they -could ensconce themselves, and from whence they could direct an attack -of shot and shells on the Spaniards. General Auchmuty, accordingly, -rushed on against every obstacle to the great square--Plaza de Toros, -or Square of Bulls--took thirty-two cannon, a large quantity of -ammunition, and six hundred prisoners. Other regiments of his division -succeeded in getting possession of the church and convent of Santa -Catalina, and of the residencia, a commanding post; Lumley and Craufurd -were not so fortunate. The 88th was compelled to yield; and the 36th, -greatly reduced, and joined by the 5th--which had taken the convent of -Santa Catalina--made their way to Sir Samuel Auchmuty's position in -the Plaza de Toros, dispersing a body of eight hundred Spaniards on -their way and taking two guns. Craufurd's division capitulated at four -o'clock in the afternoon. In the evening Whitelocke resolved to come -to terms. The conditions of the treaty were--that General Whitelocke's -army, with its arms, equipage, and stores, was to be conveyed across -the La Plata to Monte Video; his troops were to be supplied with food; -and that at the end of two months the British were to surrender Monte -Video, and retire from the country. Such was the humiliating result -of the attempt on Buenos Ayres. Nothing could exceed the fury of all -classes at home against Whitelocke on the arrival of the news of this -disgraceful defeat. It was reported that he had made the men take -their flints out of their guns before sending them into the murderous -streets of Buenos Ayres; and had he arrived with his despatches, his -life would not have been safe for an hour. There was a general belief -that the Court was protecting him from punishment; and, in truth, the -delays interposed between him and a court-martial appeared to warrant -this. It was not till the 28th of January, 1808, that he was brought -before such a court at Chelsea Hospital, when he was condemned to be -cashiered, as wholly unfit and unworthy to serve his Majesty in any -military capacity whatever. - -[Illustration: THE BRITISH FLEET PASSING THROUGH THE DARDANELLES. (_See -p._ 538.)] - -Another expedition, planned by the Grenville Ministry, produced no -favourable result. This was to Constantinople. Buonaparte had sent -thither the artful Sebastiani, and General Andreossi, to destroy -British influence, and to engage the Sultan in war with Russia, so as -to act as a most effectual diversion of the Russian forces, whilst he -himself was occupied with the Czar in the North. The French agents -had completely succeeded in their plans against Russia. The Sultan -assumed an attitude which compelled Alexander to keep a strong army -on the Lower Danube, thus weakening his force against Napoleon, and -distracting his attention. There appeared every probability that -British influence would be equally swamped in Turkey by the French, and -it was determined to send a naval squadron to Constantinople to overawe -the Sultan Selim, and to compel the removal of the French intriguants. -Had this expedition been committed to such a man as Sir Sidney Smith, -there is little doubt but that it would have been entirely successful; -but it was altogether most miserably mismanaged, and therefore -failed. To have been effectual it should have been sudden. There -should have been no previous negotiation about it; the ships should -have appeared off Constantinople, and then and there the ambassador -should have stated his terms and have insisted on them. Instead of -this, our ambassador, Mr. Arbuthnot, commenced his negotiations for -the strengthening of the British alliance in conjunction with Russia, -and for the restriction of the French influence. But, excepting -Britain, Russia had no advocates with the Porte, which had already -declared war. The victories of Buonaparte now in Austria and Prussia -gave the French great _éclat_ with the Turks, and Sebastiani made the -utmost of this advantage. He was zealously supported by Spain and -Holland. In the midst of these negotiations, Admiral Louis appeared -off Constantinople with one ship of the line and one frigate. Had it -been a whole fleet, the effect would have been decisive. As it was, -there was immediately a rumour that a great British fleet was on the -way, and accordingly the Turks were in a hurry to strengthen their -fortifications, and make every arrangement for defence. They were ably -assisted in these measures by Sebastiani, Andreossi, and a number of -French engineer officers. On the 10th of February Sir John Duckworth -appeared off the Dardanelles, and, joining his squadron with that of -Admiral Louis, the British fleet now consisted of eight line-of-battle -ships, two frigates, and two bombs. But on the 14th the _Ajax_, one -of the men-of-war, took fire, and blew up, killing two hundred and -fifty of the people on board. They had then to wait till the 19th for -a breeze that would carry them through the strait. The British ships -passed the batteries under a brisk fire, without replying, and on -the 20th of February Sir John Duckworth came to anchor off Prince's -Islands, opposite to Constantinople, and at about ten miles' distance. -Now was the time to have struck an effectual terror by demanding the -immediate dismissal of the French, and to have begun storming the town -unless the demand was at once complied with. The whole population was -in an astounding panic, expecting every moment the commencement of the -bombardment; and the Sultan sent Ismail Bey to request Sebastiani and -his suite to quit Constantinople without delay. But Sebastiani replied -that there was no cause of alarm from the British, he was perfectly -indifferent to their presence, and that, as he was under the protection -of the Porte, he should not quit Constantinople without an express -order from the Sultan. Had Sir Sidney Smith been in command, Sebastiani -would soon have received this order, for he would have quickened the -Sultan's movements by some shot and shells sent into the Seraglio; -but Duckworth was made of much more phlegmatic stuff. The wind on the -21st was fair, and the whole fleet expected the order to put across -and commence bombarding the city. Instead of that, however, Sir John -sent a fresh message and menace. As this received no answer, and yet -was followed by no prompt action, the Turks at once took heart, went -on fortifying and planting batteries, and continued to amuse Sir John -from day to day with hopes of treating, employing the time only to make -their defences, under the supervision of Sebastiani and the French -engineers, the more perfect. It is almost impossible to imagine a -British admiral so besotted as to continue this course for ten days; -yet this was precisely what Sir John Duckworth did, and that in spite -of the orders of Admiral Collingwood. By this time every possible point -of defence had its batteries, soldiers had poured into Constantinople, -and every male inhabitant was armed, and foaming with fury at the -British. On the morning of the 1st of March Sir John weighed anchor -to return from his ignominious, abortive mission. The wind was fair -for him, but his return was now not so easy a matter. Whilst he had -been wasting his time before Constantinople, Turkish engineers, who -had studied under the French, had been sent down to the Dardanelles -with two hundred well-trained cannoneers. Numbers of troops had been -collected on each side of the strait, and the batteries were supplied -with enormous cannons, capable of carrying granite balls of seven or -eight hundred pounds' weight. Towards nightfall he dropped down towards -the strait, and the next day cast anchor before passing the castles and -batteries, that he might sail through by daylight, when the enemy could -best see him. On the morning of the 3rd he accordingly sailed through -the strait, and was sharply assailed by the cannon of the forts and -batteries, the stone shot doing some of his ships damage, and the loss -of men being twenty-nine killed and a hundred and forty wounded. The -object of the expedition failed, and the only resource was to keep the -Turkish fleet blockaded. - -But Sir John Duckworth was to play a leading part in a still more -abortive enterprise. There was a rumour that Buonaparte had promised -the Grand Turk to aid him in recovering the provinces which Russia -had reft from Turkey on the Danube, in the Crimea, and around the -Black Sea, on condition that Egypt was given up to him. To prevent -this, an expedition was fitted out to seize on this country. Between -four and five thousand men were sent from our army in Sicily, under -Major-General Mackenzie Frazer. They embarked on the 5th of May, and -anchored off Alexandria on the 16th. The following morning General -Frazer summoned the town to surrender, but the governor of the Viceroy -Mehemet Ali replied that he would defend the place to the last man. -On that day and the following a thousand soldiers and about sixty -sailors were landed, and, moving forward, carried the advanced works -with trifling loss. Some of the transports which had parted company -on the voyage now arrived, the rest of the troops were landed; and, -having secured the castle of Aboukir, Frazer marched on Alexandria, -taking the forts of Caffarelli and Cretin on the way. On the 22nd Sir -John Duckworth arrived with his squadron; the British army expected to -hear that he had taken Constantinople, and his ill news created a just -gloom amongst both officers and men. The people of Alexandria appeared -friendly; but the place was, or seemed to be, destitute of provisions; -and the transports had been so badly supplied that the men were nearly -starved before they got there. The Alexandrians assured General Frazer -that, in order to obtain provisions, he must take possession of Rosetta -and Rahmanieh. Frazer, therefore, with the concurrence of Sir John -Duckworth, dispatched Major-General Wauchope and Brigadier-General -Mead to Rosetta, with one thousand two hundred men. The troops were -entangled in the streets and shot down. A subsequent effort was made -to besiege Rosetta in form. The troops reached Rosetta on the 9th of -April, and posted themselves on the heights above it. They summoned the -town formally to surrender, and received an answer of defiance. Instead -of proceeding to bombard the town at once, Major-General Stewart waited -for the arrival of a body of Mamelukes. The Mamelukes had been in -deadly civil strife with Mehemet Ali, and had promised to co-operate -with the British; and this was one of the causes which led the British -Government to imagine that they could make themselves masters of Egypt -with so minute a force. But the Mamelukes did not appear. Whilst -waiting for them, Colonel Macleod was sent to occupy the village of El -Hammed, to keep open the way for the expected succour; but Mehemet Ali -had mustered a great force at Cairo, which kept back the Mamelukes; -and, at the same time, he was reinforcing both Rosetta, and Rahmanieh. -Instead of the Mamelukes, therefore, on the morning of the 22nd of -April a fleet of vessels was seen descending the Nile, carrying a -strong Egyptian force. Orders were sent to recall Colonel Macleod from -El Hammed; but too late; his detachment was surrounded and completely -cut off. The besieging force--scattered over a wide area, instead of -being in a compact body--were attacked by overwhelming numbers; and, -having no entrenched camp, were compelled to fight their way back to -Alexandria as well as they could. When Stewart arrived there he had -lost one half of his men. Mehemet Ali, in proportion as he saw the -British force diminished, augmented his own. He collected and posted a -vast army between Cairo and Alexandria, and then the Alexandrians threw -off the mask and joined their countrymen in cutting off the supplies -of the British, and murdering them on every possible occasion at their -outposts. Frazer held out, in the vain hope of aid from the Mamelukes -or from home, till the 22nd of August, when, surrounded by the swarming -hosts of Mehemet Ali, and his supplies all exhausted, he sent out a -flag of truce, offering to retire on condition that all the British -prisoners taken at Rosetta, at El Hammed, and elsewhere, should be -delivered up to him. This was accepted, and on the 23rd of September -the ill-fated remains of this army were re-embarked and returned to -Sicily. - -Thus was destroyed in Egypt all the prestige of the battles of -Alexandria and Aboukir Bay. The consequence of these two badly-planned -and worse-executed expeditions was the declaration of war against -Britain by the Porte, the seizure of all British property in the -Turkish dominions, and the formation of a close alliance between Turkey -and France. But the triumph over the British had not relieved the Turks -of the Russians. Admiral Siniavin still blockaded the Dardanelles, and -another Russian squadron, issuing from the Black Sea, blockaded the -mouth of the Bosphorus. The Turks came boldly out of the Dardanelles -and attacked Siniavin on the 22nd of May and on the 22nd of June; but -on both occasions they lost several ships, and were expecting heavier -inflictions from the Russians, when they were suddenly relieved of -their presence by the news of the Treaty of Tilsit, which had been -contracted between Alexander of Russia and Buonaparte. Alexander, by -this, ceased to be the ally, and became the enemy of Britain. It was -necessary, therefore, for Siniavin to make all speed for the Baltic -before war could be declared between the two nations, after which his -return would be hopeless. The Russian admiral, however, before quitting -the Mediterranean, had the pleasure of taking possession of Corfu, -which Buonaparte had made over to Alexander. - -One of the events of the early part of this year was the capture of -the Dutch island of Curaçoa, by a squadron under Captain Brisbane; -but by far the most prominent naval transaction of the year was -the seizure of the Danish fleet off Copenhagen--a proceeding which -occasioned severe censures on Britain by Buonaparte and the Continental -nations under his domination. The Opposition at home were equally -violent in the outcry against this act, as in open violation of the -laws of nations, Denmark then being nominally at peace with us. But, -though nominally at peace, Denmark was at heart greatly embittered -against us by our bombardment of its capital in 1801, and it was quite -disposed to fall in with and obey the views of Napoleon, who was now -master of all Germany, at peace with Russia through the Treaty of -Tilsit, and, therefore, able any day to overrun Denmark. Buonaparte -was enforcing his system of the exclusion of Britain from all the -ports of the Continent, and it was inevitable that he would compel -Denmark to comply with this system. But there was another matter. -Denmark had a considerable fleet and admirable seamen, and he might -employ the fleet greatly to our damage, probably in endeavouring to -realise his long-cherished scheme of the invasion of England; at the -least, in interrupting her commerce and capturing her merchantmen. The -British Ministers were privately informed that Buonaparte intended -to make himself master of this fleet, and they knew that there were -private articles in the Treaty of Tilsit between Russia and France, -by which he contemplated great changes in the North, in which Denmark -was believed to be involved. Upon these grounds alone the British -Government was justified, by the clearest expressions of international -law, in taking time by the forelock, and possessing themselves of the -fleet to be turned against them; not to appropriate it, but to hold -it in pledge till peace. Grotius is decisive on this point:--"I may, -without considering whether it is manifest or not, take possession of -that which belongs to another man, if I have reason to apprehend any -evil to myself from his holding it. I cannot make myself master or -proprietor of it, the property having nothing to do with the end which -I propose; but I can keep possession of the thing seized till my safety -be sufficiently provided for." This view would fully have justified -the British Government, had nothing further ever become known. But -subsequent research in the Foreign Office of France has placed these -matters in their true light. The Treaty of Tilsit contains secret -articles by which Alexander was permitted by Napoleon to appropriate -Finland, and Napoleon was authorised by Alexander to enter Denmark, -and take possession of the Danish fleet, to employ against us at sea. -These secret articles were revealed to the British Government. No -man at this time was so indignant as Alexander of Russia at our thus -assailing a power not actually at war. He issued a manifesto against -Britain, denouncing the transaction as one which, for infamy, had no -parallel in history, he himself being in the act of doing the same -thing on a far larger scale, and without that sufficient cause which -Britain could show, and without any intention of making restitution. -We only seized a fleet that was on the point of being used against -us, and which was to be returned at the end of the war; the horrified -Czar invaded Sweden, while at peace, and, without any declaration of -war, usurped a whole country--Finland, larger than Great Britain. -Russia, in fact, had brought Denmark into this destructive dilemma by -its insidious policy; but, having seized Finland, in five years more -it committed a still greater robbery on Denmark than it had done on -Sweden, by contracting with Bernadotte to wrest Norway from Denmark, -and give it to Sweden. - -[Illustration: DEPARTURE OF THE BRITISH TROOPS FROM ALEXANDRIA. (_See -p._ 539.)] - -For the reasons here stated, early in the summer a powerful fleet -was fitted out with the utmost dispatch and secrecy by the new -Ministry, and sent to the Baltic. The fleet consisted of twenty-five -sail of the line, more than forty frigates, sloops, bomb-vessels, -and gun-brigs, with three hundred and seventy-seven transports to -convey over twenty-seven thousand troops from Stralsund, a great -part of which were Germans in British pay. Admiral Gambier commanded -the fleet, and Lord Cathcart the army, having second in command Sir -Arthur Wellesley. On the 1st of August the British fleet was off the -entrance of Gothenburg, and Admiral Gambier sent Commodore Keats into -the Great Belt to cut off any passage from Holstein for the defence -of Copenhagen. Admiral Gambier himself entered the Sound, passed the -castles without any attack from them, and anchored in Elsinore Roads. -By the 9th of August the whole fleet and the transports were collected -there, and Mr. Jackson, who had been many years British envoy in the -north of Germany, and knew most of the Danish Ministers, was dispatched -to Kiel, in Holstein, where the Crown Prince lay with an army of from -twenty thousand to thirty thousand men, to endeavour to induce him to -enter into an alliance with Great Britain, and to deliver the fleet -to its keeping till the peace, stating the necessity that the British -commanders would otherwise be under of taking possession of it by -force. The Crown Prince, though the British had made it impossible -to cross over and defend the fleet, received the overture with the -utmost indignation. Mr. Jackson returned to Admiral Gambier, and the -Crown Prince sent a messenger to order Copenhagen to be put into a -state of defence. But there was scarcely a gun upon the walls, and the -population only numbered, excluding the sailors, some thirteen thousand -men, inclusive of five thousand five hundred volunteers and militia. -On the 17th several Danish gunboats came out of the harbour, fired at -some of our transports coming from Stralsund, burnt an English vessel, -and attacked the pickets of Lord Cathcart's army. These vessels were -driven back again by bombshells, and that evening Admiral Gambier took -up a nearer station north-east of the Crown battery, the Trekroner. -He then proceeded to surround the whole of the island of Zealand, on -which Copenhagen stands, with our vessels. The division of the army -landed at Wedbeck having now marched up, was joined by other divisions, -and proceeded to entrench themselves in the suburbs of Copenhagen. -They were attacked by the gunboats, but, on the 27th, they had covered -themselves by a good battery, and they then turned their cannon on the -gunboats, and soon compelled them to draw off. On the 29th Sir Arthur -Wellesley marched to Kiöge, against a body of Danish troops that had -strongly fortified themselves there in order to assail the besiegers, -and he quickly routed them. The Danish troops then made several dashing -sorties from Copenhagen, while their gunboats and floating batteries -attacked our advanced vessels, and managed, by a ball from the -Trekroner, to blow up one of our transports. The French had now arrived -at Stralsund, and Keats was sent to blockade that port, to hinder them -from crossing over into Zealand; nothing but the extreme rapidity of -the movements of the British prevented a powerful army of French from -being already in Copenhagen for its defence. - -[Illustration: HELIGOLAND.] - -On the 1st of September the British commander made a formal demand -for the surrender of the fleet. The Danish General requested time to -communicate this demand to the Crown Prince, but the vicinity of the -French would not permit this, and the next day, the land batteries on -one side, and our bomb-vessels on the other, began to fling shells -into the town. The wooden buildings were soon in flames, but the Danes -replied with their accustomed bravery to our fire, and the conflict -became terrible. The bombardment of the British continued without -cessation all day and all night till the morning of the 3rd. It was -then stopped for an interval, to give an opportunity for a proposal of -surrender; but, none coming, the bombardment was renewed with terrible -fury. In all directions the city was in a blaze; the steeple of the -chief church, which was of wood, was a column of fire, and in this -condition was knocked to pieces by the tempest of shot and shells, its -fragments being scattered, as the means of fresh ignition, far around. -A huge timber-yard taking fire added greatly to the conflagration. -The fire-engines, which the Danes had plied bravely, were all knocked -to pieces, and, to prevent the utter destruction of the city, on the -evening of the 5th the Danish governor issued a flag of truce, and -requested an armistice of twenty-four hours. Lord Cathcart replied -that, in the circumstances, no delay could be permitted, and that -therefore no armistice could take place, except accompanied by the -surrender of the fleet. This was then complied with, and Sir Arthur -Wellesley, Sir Home Popham, and Lieutenant-Colonel George Murray went -on shore to settle the terms of the capitulation. This was completed by -the morning of the 7th, signed, and ratified. The British were to be -put at once in possession of the citadel and all the ships and maritime -stores, and, within six weeks, or as much earlier as possible, they -were to remove these and evacuate the citadel and the isle of Zealand. -All other property was to be respected, and everything done in order -and harmony; prisoners were to be mutually exchanged, and Britons -seized in consequence of the proclamation to be restored. The whole of -these measures were completed within the time specified, and seventeen -ships of the line, eleven frigates, and twenty-five gunboats became the -prize of the British. - -On the 21st of October the British fleet sailed from Copenhagen -Roads; at Helsingfors the fleet was saluted by the King of Sweden, -who invited the admirals to breakfast; and, by the end of the month, -was anchored in Yarmouth Roads safely, with all its captives. Fresh -offers of alliance with Denmark were made before leaving, accompanied -with promises of restoration, but were indignantly refused by the -Crown Prince; and no sooner were the British gone, than the Danes -converted their trading-vessels into armed ones, and commenced a raid -amongst the British merchants, now in the Baltic, for the protection -of which some men-of-war ought to have been left. The Crown Prince, -now thrown completely into the arms of the French, made a declaration -of war against Britain, and the British Government issued an order for -reprisals on the ships, colonies, and property of the Danes. They also -seized on the island of Heligoland, a mere desolate rock, but, lying -at the mouth of the Elbe, and only twenty-five miles from the mouths -of the Weser and the Eider, it was of the greatest importance, during -the war, as a safe rendezvous for our men-of-war, and as a depôt for -our merchandise, ready to slip into any of the neighbouring rivers, and -thus, by smugglers, to be circulated all over the Continent, in spite -of Buonaparte's embargo. It served also to remind the people of those -regions, that, though Buonaparte ruled paramount on land, there was a -power on the sea that yet set him and all his endeavours at defiance. - -The military transactions of the Continent this year had been of the -most remarkable kind. Buonaparte, after his repulse at Pultusk, had -retired to Warsaw, which he entered on the first day of the year -1807. He calculated on remaining there till the return of spring. But -Benningsen, the Russian general, was determined to interrupt this -pleasant sojourn. He had an army of eighty thousand or ninety thousand -men, with a very bad commissariat, and equally badly defended from -the severity of the winter. The King of Prussia was cooped up in -Königsberg, with an army of a very few thousand men, and his situation -was every day rendered more critical by the approach of the divisions -of Ney and Bernadotte, whom the treacherous surrender of the Prussian -fortresses by their commanders had set at liberty. But Benningsen -hastened to relieve the King of Prussia at Königsberg; his Cossacks -spread themselves over the country with great adroitness, surprising -the French convoys of provisions. More Cossacks were streaming down to -their support out of the wintry wilds of Russia, and the French were -forced from their pleasant quarters in Warsaw, to preserve the means -of their existence. Buonaparte, alarmed at these advances, determined -to turn out and force the Russians eastward, towards the Vistula, as he -had forced the Prussians at Jena with their rear turned to the Rhine. -To take the Russians thus in the rear, he ordered Bernadotte to engage -the attention of Benningsen on the right whilst he made this manœuvre -on the left. But Benningsen, fortunately, learned their stratagem, by -the seizure of the young French officer who was carrying Buonaparte's -dispatches to Bernadotte. Benningsen was therefore enabled to defeat -Buonaparte's object. He concentrated his troops on Preuss-Eylau, where -he determined to risk a battle. But he was not allowed to occupy this -position without several brisk encounters, in which the Russians lost -upwards of three thousand men. The battle of Eylau took place on the -7th of February. It was such a check as Buonaparte had never yet -experienced. He had been beaten at every point; Augereau's division was -nearly destroyed; that of Davoust, nearly twenty thousand in number, -had been repulsed by a much inferior body of Prussians. Fifty thousand -men are said to have been killed and wounded, of whom thirty thousand -were French. Twelve eagles had been captured, and remained trophies in -the hands of the Russians. - -Had Benningsen had a good commissariat, the doom of the French was -certain. The army, famishing and in rags, was still eager to push their -advantage the next day, and the French, if compelled to retreat, as -there was every prospect, must have fallen into utter demoralisation, -and the war would have been soon at an end. But Benningsen, sensible -that there was an utter lack of provision for his army, and that his -ammunition was nearly exhausted, hesitated to proceed to a second -action with an army reduced twenty thousand in number, and thus to -risk being cut off from Königsberg, endangering the person of the -King of Prussia; and so the extreme caution, or rather, perhaps, the -necessities of the Russian general, were the rescue of Buonaparte. -Benningsen resolved to retreat upon Königsberg. - -The Russians began their retreat, but some of them not till daylight, -and then marched close past Eylau, in the very face of the French, -who were, probably, as much astonished as pleased at the spectacle. -Benningsen could scarcely have known the extent of the French losses, -when he decided to retire. But Buonaparte, notwithstanding that he -claimed the victory, was glad now to offer a suspension of hostilities -to the King of Prussia, with a view to a separate peace, hinting -that he might be induced to waive most of the advantages derived -from the fields of Jena and Auerstädt, and restore the bulk of his -dominions. Frederick William, however great the temptation, refused -to treat independently of his ally, the Czar. On this, Buonaparte, so -far from pursuing the Russians, as he would have done had he been in -a capacity for it, remained eight days inactive at Eylau, and then -retreated on the Vistula, followed and harassed all the way by swarms -of Cossacks. On this Benningsen advanced, and occupied the country -as fast as the French evacuated it. The Emperor Alexander could soon -have raised another host of men, but he was destitute of money and -arms. He therefore applied to Britain for a loan, which the Talents -thought fit to decline. This, at such a crisis, was unwise. It is -certain that it filled Alexander with disgust and resentment, and led -to his negotiations with Buonaparte at Tilsit. Soon after this the -Conservative or Portland Ministry came in, and supplies of muskets and -five hundred thousand pounds were sent, but these were, in fact, thrown -away, for they did not arrive till the Czar had made up his mind to -treat with Napoleon. - -On his return to the Vistula, Buonaparte displayed an unusual caution. -He seemed to feel that his advance into Poland had been premature, -whilst Prussia was in possession of Dantzic, whence, as soon as the -thaw set in, he was open to dangerous operations in his rear, from the -arrival of a British army. He therefore determined to have possession -of that post before undertaking further designs. The place was invested -by General Lefebvre, and capitulated at the end of May. Buonaparte all -this time was marching up fresh troops to fill up the ravages made in -his army. The Russians, after a drawn battle near Heilsberg on the 10th -of June, then crossed the Aller, and placed that as a barrier between -them and the French, in order that they might avoid the arrival of a -reinforcement of thirty thousand men who were on the march. - -Thus occupying the right bank of the Aller, and the French the left, or -western side, the Russians advanced to Friedland, not many miles from -Eylau. At Friedland was a long wooden bridge crossing the Aller, and -there, on the 13th of June, Buonaparte, by a stratagem, succeeded in -drawing part of the Russians over the bridge by showing only Oudinot's -division, which had been severely handled at the battle of Heilsberg. -The temptation was too great. Benningsen forgot his usual caution, and -allowed a division of his army to cross and attack Oudinot. Oudinot -retired fighting, and thus induced more of the Russians to follow, -till, finding his troops hotly pressed, Benningsen marched his whole -force over, and then Napoleon showed his entire army. Benningsen saw -that he was entrapped, and must fight, under great disadvantages, with -an enfeebled army, and in an open space, where they were surrounded -by a dense host of French, who could cover themselves amid woods and -hills, and pour in a tempest of cannon-balls on the exposed Russians. -It was the anniversary of the battle of Marengo, and Buonaparte -believed the day one of his fortunate ones. Benningsen was obliged -to reduce his number by sending six thousand men to defend and keep -open the bridge of Allerburg, some miles lower down the Aller, and -which kept open his chance of union with L'Estocq and his Prussians. -Notwithstanding all these disadvantages, Benningsen fought desperately. -The battle continued from ten o'clock in the morning till four o'clock -in the afternoon, when Buonaparte brought up his full force in person -for one of those terrible and overwhelming shocks by which he generally -terminated a doubtful contest. There was such a simultaneous roar of -musketry and cavalry as seemed enough to sweep away the Russians like -chaff. The batteries poured down upon them a rain of no less than three -thousand ball and five hundred grape-shot charges; yet the Russians -did not flinch till they had at least twelve thousand killed and -wounded. It was then determined to retreat across the river, and, two -fords having been found, the Czar's Imperial Guard charged the troops -of Ney with the bayonet, and kept them at bay till the army was over. -The transit was marvellous in its success. All their cannon, except -seventeen, were saved, and all their baggage. - -As at Eylau, so at Friedland, Napoleon made no attempt to follow -the Russians. But the battle, nevertheless, produced important -consequences. The King of Prussia did not think himself safe at -Königsberg, and he evacuated it; and the unhappy queen prepared, -with her children, to fly to Riga. The Russians retreated to Tilsit, -and there Alexander made up his mind to negotiate with Napoleon. He -was far from being in a condition to despair; Gustavus, the King of -Sweden, was at the head of a considerable army at Stralsund; a British -expedition was daily expected in the Baltic; the spirit of resistance -was reawakening in Prussia; Schill, the gallant partisan leader, was -again on horseback, with a numerous body of men, gathered in various -quarters; and Hesse, Hanover, Brunswick, and other German provinces -were prompt for revolt on the least occasion of encouragement. -Buonaparte felt the peril of crossing the Niemen, and advancing into -the vast deserts of Russia, with these dangerous elements in his rear. -Besides, his presence was necessary in France. He had been absent from -it nearly a year; he had drawn heavily on its resources, and a too -long-continued strain without his personal influence might produce -fatal consequences. To leave his army in the North was to leave it -to certain defeat, and with the danger of having all Germany again -in arms. These circumstances, well weighed by a man of genius and -determination, would have induced him to make a resolute stand, and to -draw his enemy into those wilds where he afterwards ruined himself, or -to wear him out by delay. Alexander, however, had not the necessary -qualities for such a policy of procrastination. He was now depressed by -the sufferings of his army, and indignant against Britain. - -Accordingly, Benningsen communicated Alexander's willingness for peace, -on the 21st of June, and the armistice was ratified on the 23rd. -Buonaparte determined then, as on most occasions, to settle the treaty, -not by diplomatists, but personally, with the Czar. A raft was prepared -and anchored in the middle of the Niemen, and on the morning of the -25th of June, 1807, the two Emperors met on that raft, and embraced, -amid the shouts of the two armies arranged on each bank. The two -Emperors retired to a seat placed for them on the raft, and remained in -conversation two hours, during which time their attendants remained at -a distance. The town of Tilsit was declared neutral ground, and became -a scene of festivities, in which the Russian, French, and even Prussian -officers, who had been so long drenching the northern snows with each -other's blood, vied in courtesies towards each other. Amongst them -the two Emperors appeared as sworn brothers, relaxing into gaiety and -airs of gallantry, like two young fashionables. On the 28th the King -of Prussia arrived, and was treated with a marked difference. He was -bluntly informed, that whatever part of his territories were restored -would be solely at the solicitation of the Emperor of Russia. - -[Illustration: THE TREATY OF TILSIT. (_See p._ 544.)] - -By the terms of the Treaty of Tilsit, Prussian Poland was taken away, -but not to be incorporated with a restored Poland, as Buonaparte -had delusively allowed the Poles to hope. No; a restored Poland was -incompatible with a treaty of peace with Russia, or the continuance -of it with Austria. It was handed over to the Duke of Saxony, now -elevated to the title of the King of Saxony and Duke of the Grand -Duchy of Warsaw--the name which Prussian Poland assumed. The duped -Polish patriots cursed Buonaparte bitterly in secret. Alexander, with -all his assumed sympathy for his fallen cousins of Prussia, came in -for a slice of the spoil, nominally to cover the expenses of the war. -Dantzic, with a certain surrounding district, was recognised as a -free city, under the protection of Prussia and Saxony; but Buonaparte -took care to stipulate for the retention of a garrison there till the -conclusion of a general peace, so as to stop out any British armament -or influence. To oblige the Emperor of Russia, he allowed the Dukes -of Saxe-Coburg, Oldenburg, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who were the Czar's -relations, to retain possession of their territories; but he returned -to Prussia only about one-half of the provinces which he had seized, -reducing her very much to the limits in which Frederick the Great had -found her before his usurpations. She surrendered her provinces between -the Rhine and the Elbe, which, together with Hesse, Brunswick, and -part of Hanover, were formed into the kingdom of Westphalia and given -to Jerome Buonaparte. She was saddled by a crushing war indemnity, -and had to leave Berlin and the chief fortresses in the hands of the -French until the debt was paid. In the articles of the Treaty which -were made public, Alexander paid a nominal courtesy to his ally, Great -Britain, by offering to mediate between her and France, if the offer -were accepted within a month; but amongst the secret articles of the -Treaty was one binding the Czar to shut his ports against all British -vessels, if this offer were rejected. This was a sacrifice demanded -of Alexander, as Great Britain was Russia's best customer, taking -nearly all her raw or exported produce. In return for this, and for -Alexander's connivance at, or assistance in, Buonaparte's intention of -seizing on Spain and Portugal, for the taking of Malta and Gibraltar, -and the expulsion of the British from the Mediterranean, Alexander was -to invade and annex Finland, the territory of Sweden, and, giving up -his designs on Moldavia and Wallachia, for which he was now waging an -unprovoked war, he was to be allowed to conquer the rest of Turkey, -the ally of Napoleon, and establish himself in the long-coveted -Constantinople. Thus these two august robbers shared kingdoms at their -own sweet will and pleasure. Turkey and Finland they regarded as -properly Russian provinces, and Spain, Portugal, Malta, Gibraltar, and, -eventually, Britain, as provinces of France. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Napoleon's Designs on Spain--The Continental System--Treaty - of Fontainebleau--Junot marches on Portugal--Flight of the - Royal Family--The Milan Decree--The Pope imprisoned in the - Quirinal--Imbecility of the Spanish Government--Quarrels of the - Spanish Royal Family--Occupation of the Spanish Fortresses--The - King's Preparations for Flight--Rests at Madrid--Abdication of - Charles IV.--Murat occupies Madrid--The Meeting at Bayonne--Joseph - becomes King of Spain--Insurrection in Spain--The Junta - communicates with England--Ferocity of the War--Operations - of Bessières, Duchesne, and Moncey--Dupont surrenders to - Castaños--Joseph evacuates Madrid--Siege of Saragossa--Napoleon's - Designs on Portugal--Insurrection throughout the Country--Sir - A. Wellesley touches at Corunna--He lands at Figueras--Battle - of Roliça--Wellesley is superseded by Burrard--Battle of - Vimiera--Arrival of Dalrymple--Convention of Cintra--Inquiry - into the Convention--Occupation of Lisbon--Napoleon's - Preparations against Spain--Wellesley is passed over in favour of - Moore--Moore's Advance--Difficulties of the March--Incompetency - of Hookham Frere--Napoleon's Position in Europe--The Meeting - at Erfurth--Napoleon at Vittoria--Destruction of the Spanish - Armies--Napoleon enters Madrid--Moore is at last undeceived--The - Retreat--Napoleon leaves Spain--Moore retires before Soult--Arrival - at Corunna--The Battle--Death of Sir John Moore--The Ministry - determine to continue the War--Scandal of the Duke of York--His - Resignation--Charges against Lord Castlereagh--Wellesley arrives in - Portugal--He drives Soult from Portugal into Spain--His Junction - with Cuesta--Position of the French Armies--Folly of Cuesta--Battle - of Talavera--State of the Commissariat--Wellesley's Retreat--French - Victories--The Lines of Torres Vedras--The Walcheren - Expedition--Flushing taken--The Troops die from Malaria--Disastrous - Termination of the Expedition--Sir John Stuart in Italy and the - Ionian Islands--War between Russia and Turkey--Collingwood's last - Exploits--Attempt of Gambier and Cochrane on La Rochelle. - - -The restless spirit of Buonaparte did not allow him any repose, -even after his subjugation of the greater part of the north of -Europe. Whilst he had been contending with the Russians, he had been -planning fresh campaigns--fresh conquests at the opposite extremity -of the Continent. Godoy, the favourite of the King of Spain, and the -paramour of his dissolute queen, who had professed great admiration -of Buonaparte, seeing him so deeply engaged in Germany, had suddenly -called out a considerable army, and addressed it in a vaunting but -mysterious way. The news of this reached Buonaparte on the field -of Jena, and, discovering by this means the real sentiments of the -Spanish favourite towards him, he vowed vengeance on Spain. It was by -no means the first time that he had contemplated the conquest of Spain -and Portugal, but this circumstance inspired him with a new impulse -in that direction, and a plausible excuse. In his interviews with -Alexander of Russia, these views had been avowed; and now, no sooner -had he returned to Paris than he commenced his operations for that -purpose. He blended this scheme, at the same time, with his great one -of shutting out the British trade from the whole Continent. Russia had, -by the Treaty of Tilsit, entered into a compact to enforce his system -in her ports. Holland was compelled to submit to it. The kingdom of -Westphalia was now in the hands of his brother Jerome, who had been -forced to separate from his American wife, Elizabeth Paterson, and -had been married to a daughter of the King of Würtemberg, so that the -territories now comprised in the new kingdom of Westphalia were under -the same law of exclusion. He had extended it to the Prussian ports -since his conquest of that country, and to the Hanseatic towns. Denmark -was ready to comply, and the treaty with Russia extended his embargo -ostensibly to the whole western shores of the Baltic. Sweden refused to -accept it, and the foolhardy King Christian IV. declared war on Russia, -and invaded Norway. He promptly lost Finland and Pomerania. Sir John -Moore, with an army of 10,000 men, was sent to his assistance, but -found him so unreasonable that he thought it better to return without -landing the troops. Christian was soon afterwards deposed, and his -uncle established in his place, who accepted the Continental system. -But Alexander was as little faithful in this part of the Treaty as in -other parts. In fact, he dared not strictly enforce the exclusion of -British trade, were he so disposed. Nearly the whole heavy produce -of Russia--hemp, iron, timber, wax, pitch, and naval stores, which -constituted the chief revenues of the Russian nobles--was taken by -the British, and paid for in their manufactures. To have cut off his -trade would have made the life of Alexander as little secure as that -of his father, Paul, had been. The Russian and British trade therefore -continued, under certain devices, and notwithstanding the decrees of -the Czar to the contrary. Buonaparte knew it, but was not prepared to -open up a new war with Russia on that account--at least, at present. He -was now turning his attention to the south. - -Spain and Portugal--still nominally existing under their native -princes, but very much under the influence of Buonaparte--admitted -British goods to a great extent. Buonaparte himself had winked at -the introduction of them into Portugal, because that country had -paid him large sums to permit it. But now he determined to enforce -a rigid exclusion, and to make the breach of his dictated orders a -plea for seizure of the country. In fact, he had long resolved to -seize both Spain and Portugal, but to employ Spain first in reducing -her neighbour, and by that very act to introduce his troops into -Spain herself. He complained, therefore, that Portugal had refused to -enforce the Berlin decree; and he entered into a treaty with Spain -at Fontainebleau, which was signed on the 29th of October. By this -infamous treaty, Spain agreed to assist France in seizing Portugal, -which should be divided into three parts. The province of Entre Minho y -Douro, with the town of Oporto, was to be given to the King of Etruria, -the grandson of the King of Spain, instead of Etruria itself, which -Buonaparte wanted to annex to France, and this was to be called the -kingdom of Northern Lusitania. The next part, to consist of Alemtejo -and Algarve, was to be given to Godoy, who was to take the title of -Prince of Algarve. The third was to remain in the hands of the French -till the end of the war, who would thus be at hand to protect the -whole. In fact, it never was the intention of Buonaparte that either -Godoy or the King of Etruria should ever be more than a temporary -puppet; but that the whole of Spain and Portugal should become -provinces of France under a nominal French king. - -No sooner was this treaty signed than Junot was ordered to cross the -Bidassoa with thirty thousand men, and march through Spain for the -Portuguese frontier. Two additional armies, partly of French and -partly of Spaniards, supported him, and another army of forty thousand -was stationed at Bayonne, intended, it was said, to act as an army -of reserve, in case the British should land and attempt to defend -Portugal, but in reality it was intended for the subjugation of Spain -itself. Junot, who had formerly been Buonaparte's ambassador at the -Court of Lisbon, made rapid marches through Spain. The Prince Regent -of Portugal, knowing that resistance was in vain, sent the Marquis -of Marialva to state to the Courts of France and Spain that he had -complied with the whole of their demands, as regarded the admission of -British goods, and demanded the arrest of the march of the invading -army. But no notice was taken of this, and Junot pushed on with such -speed as to exhaust his troops with fatigue. He was anxious to seize -the persons of the royal family, and therefore this haste, accompanied -by the most solemn professions of his coming as the friend and ally of -Portugal--as the protector of the people from the yoke of the British, -the maritime tyrants of Europe. - -But the royal family put no faith in these professions; they resolved -not to wait the arrival of the French, but to muster all the money -and valuables that they could, and escape to their South American -possessions. Whilst these preparations were being made in haste, the -British traders collected their property and conveyed it on board -British vessels. The inhabitants of the British factory, so long -established in Lisbon, had quitted it on the 18th of October, amid the -universal regret of the people. The ambassador, Lord Strangford, took -down the British arms, and went on board the squadron of Sir Sidney -Smith, lying in the Tagus. On the 27th of November the royal family, -amid the cries and tears of the people, went on board their fleet, -attended by a great number of Portuguese nobility; in all, about one -thousand eight hundred Portuguese thus emigrating. The Prince Regent -accompanied them, sensible that his presence could be of no service -any longer. The fleet of the royal emigrants was still in the Tagus, -under the safe protection of Sir Sidney Smith's men-of-war, when Junot -and his footsore troops entered Lisbon, on the 1st of December. He was -transported with rage when he saw their departing sails, for he had -received the most imperative injunctions to secure the person of the -Prince Regent, from whom Napoleon hoped to extort the cession of the -Portuguese American colonies. Junot declared that the Prince Regent and -royal family, having abandoned the country, had ceased to reign, and -that the Emperor Napoleon willed that it should henceforth be governed, -in his name, by the General-in-chief of his army. This proclamation of -the 2nd of February set aside at once the conditions of the Treaty of -Fontainebleau; the imaginary princedom of Godoy was no more heard of, -and the kingdom erected for the King of Etruria remained a mere phantom -at the will of Buonaparte. The property of the royal family, and of all -who had followed them, was confiscated; a contribution of four million -five hundred thousand pounds sterling was laid on a people of less than -three millions, and as there was not specie enough to pay it, plate and -every kind of movable property was seized in lieu of it, without much -regard to excess of quantity. The officers became money-brokers and -jobbers in this property, much of which was sent to Paris for sale, and -the whole unhappy country was a scene of the most ruthless rapine and -insult. - -[Illustration: FLIGHT OF THE ROYAL FAMILY OF PORTUGAL. (_See p._ 547.)] - -Whilst these abominations were being done in Portugal, Buonaparte had -proceeded to Italy to prosecute other parts of his one great design. -He determined, in the first place, to shut the trade of Britain out of -all the Italian ports, as he had now, in imagination, done in nearly -all the other ports of Europe. Accordingly, at Milan, on the 17th of -December, he issued his celebrated decree, which took its name from -that city, as his Northern decrees had taken their name from Berlin. -Henceforward the Berlin and Milan decrees acquired great notoriety. -To counteract the ordinances of the Berlin decrees, which forbade -any ship of any nation to be admitted into Continental ports without -certificates of origin--that is, without certificates showing that no -part of their cargo was of British produce--various Orders in Council -had been issued by Britain, permitting all neutral vessels to trade to -any country at peace with Great Britain, provided that they touched at -a British port, and paid the British duties. Thus, neutrals were placed -between Scylla and Charybdis. Ii they neglected to take out British -certificates they were captured at sea by the British cruisers; if -they did take them, they were confiscated on entering any Continental -port where there were French agents. This led to an enormous system of -bribery and fraud. The prohibited goods were still admitted by false -papers, with respect to which the French officers, men of the highest -rank, were well paid to shut their eyes. All the ports of Italy were -now subjected to this system, and Buonaparte immediately seized a -great number of American vessels, on the ground that they had complied -with the British Orders in Council. It might be thought that America -would so far resent this as to declare war on France, but Buonaparte -calculated on the strength of American prejudices against Britain and -for France at that time, that the United States would rather declare -war against Britain, which, by its Orders in Council, brought them into -this dilemma. The ports of the Pope alone now remained open, and these -Buonaparte determined forthwith to shut. - -But, in the first place, he announced to the Queen of Etruria, whom -he had hitherto allowed to retain her Italian territory in right of -her infant son, that she must give that up and accept the kingdom of -Northern Lusitania in Portugal. This princess had an ominous persuasion -that her son would never possess, or, if he possessed, would never -retain this Northern Lusitania; but she had no alternative and, in -the month of June following, the kingdom of Etruria was converted -into three new departments of France. This having been arranged, this -setter-up and puller-down of kingdoms proceeded to compel the Pope to -adopt his system. Pius VII. did not seem disposed to comply. He had -no quarrel with Britain; had no advantage, but much the contrary, in -depriving his subjects of articles of British manufacture; besides -that, amongst the numerous adherents of the Church in Ireland he would -create great prejudice. But all these reasons had no more weight with -the haughty egotism of Buonaparte than so much air. He forced his -troops into the Papal territories; threw a strong body into Ancona -on the Adriatic, and another into Civita Vecchia, and at the mouth -of the Tiber. The Pope protested against the violent invasion of his -principality, but in vain; Buonaparte insisted that he should declare -war against Britain. Pius then consented to close his ports, but this -did not satisfy Napoleon; he demanded that war should be declared, -pronouncing himself the heir of Charlemagne, and therefore suzerain of -the Pope, and he demanded compliance. On the Pope continuing obstinate, -Buonaparte forced more troops into his States, and sent General Miollis -to take possession of Rome. This accordingly was done in February, -1808. The Pope shut himself up in the Quirinal palace, and the French -surrounded him with troops and cannon, and held him prisoner to compel -him to comply. The Pope, though shut up in the Quirinal and deprived of -his cardinals, remained unshaken, and protested solemnly against this -violent usage and robbery by the man whom he had consented to crown -and to make a concordat with. When the magistrates and priests of the -Marches were called on to take the oath of allegiance to Napoleon, they -refused almost unanimously, and were driven out of the States, or shut -up in prisons and fortresses in the Alps and Apennines. - -The Government of Spain was sunk into the very deepest degradation and -imbecility. Charles IV. was one of the weakest of Bourbon kings. He was -ruled by his licentious wife, Maria Luiza, and she by Manuel de Godoy, -a young and handsome man, who, about the year 1784, had attracted her -eye as a private in the Royal Guards. By her means he was rapidly -promoted, and at the age of twenty-four was already a general. He was -soon created a Grandee of Spain, and the queen married him to a niece -of the king. He was made Generalissimo of all the Spanish Forces, and, -in fact, became the sole ruling power in the country. He was styled -the Prince of the Peace--a title acquired by his having effected -the pacification of Basle, which terminated the Revolutionary War -between France and Spain. By the subsequent Treaty of St. Ildefonso he -established an offensive and defensive alliance with France, which, in -truth, made Spain entirely subservient to Napoleon. - -Whilst the French were seizing on Portugal, the Spanish royal family -was convulsed by quarrels. Ferdinand, the Prince of Asturias, and heir -to the throne, hated Godoy, as usurping the power which he himself -ought to enjoy, and, stimulated by his friends, who shared in his -exclusion, appealed to Napoleon for his protection, and to win his -favour requested him to choose a wife for him out of his own family. -This at one time would have been a subject of the highest pride to -Buonaparte, that a member of the Bourbon family, and future King of -Spain, should solicit a personal alliance with his; but that day was -gone by. Buonaparte had determined to make himself master of Spain, and -he left the request of the Prince without any answer. Urged on by his -party, the Prince seems to have determined to do without Buonaparte, -and to depose his father, but the plot was discovered, and the person -of the Prince secured. The imbecile king, instead of contenting -himself by the exercise of his own authority, appealed to Napoleon; -and at the same time, to make the disgrace of his family as public as -possible, he appealed to the Spanish people, by a proclamation against -the conduct of his son, and informing them that he had put the Prince -under arrest. But the appeal to Buonaparte did not succeed; for his own -purposes, the French Emperor appeared to take part with the Prince, -and caused his Ambassador, Beauharnais, to remonstrate with the king -on his severity towards him. Charles IV. wrote again to Napoleon, and -ventured to mention the Prince's private application to him for a wife, -hoping, the king said, that the Emperor would not permit the Prince to -shelter himself under an alliance with the Imperial family. Buonaparte -professed to feel greatly insulted by such allusions to his family, and -the poor king then wrote very humbly, declaring that he desired nothing -so much as such an alliance for his son. Ferdinand, through this -powerful support, was immediately liberated. But these mutual appeals -had greatly forwarded Buonaparte's plans of interference in Spain. -He levied a new conscription, and avowed to Talleyrand and Fouché -that he had determined to set aside the royal family of Spain, and to -unite that country to France. Both those astute diplomatists at once -disapproved, and endeavoured to dissuade him from the enterprise. They -reminded him of the pride of the Spanish character, and that he might -rouse the people to a temper of most stubborn resistance, which would -divide his attention and his forces, would be pretty certain to bring -Britain into the field for their support, and unite Britain again with -Russia, thus placing himself between two fires. Talleyrand, seeing that -Buonaparte was resolutely bent on the scheme, dropped his opposition, -and assisted Napoleon in planning its progress; thus enabling the -Emperor afterwards to charge Talleyrand with the responsibility of this -usurpation, as he had before charged him with counselling the death -of the Duke d'Enghien. In after years, Napoleon used to denounce his -own folly in meddling with Spain, calling it "that miserable war" and -describing it as the origin of his ruin. - -Buonaparte very speedily matured his plans for the seizure of Spain, -and he began to put them into execution. From Italy, where he was -violating the territories of the Pope, and compelling the reluctant -Queen of Etruria to give up her kingdom, he wrote to the King of Spain, -her father, that he consented to a marriage between the Prince of -Asturias and a lady of his family. Whilst he thus gave assurance of his -friendship, he ordered his army, lying at Bayonne, to enter Spain at -different points, and possess themselves of the strong positions along -its frontier. By this means the French were received as friends by the -people, and neither the king nor Godoy complained of this gross breach -of the Treaty of Fontainebleau. The impudent tricks by which the great -fortresses were secured, each of which might have detained an army for -years, have scarcely any parallel in history. At Pamplona, on the 9th -of February, 1808, the French troops commenced a game of snowballing -each other on the esplanade of the citadel, when suddenly they occupied -the drawbridge, entered the fortress gate, and admitted a body of -their countrymen, who had been placed in readiness, and the fortress -was secured. At Barcelona the French gave out that they were about to -march. Duchesne, the General, drew up his men before the citadel, on -pretence of speaking with the French guard, near the citadel gate, -passed suddenly in, followed by an Italian regiment, and the place -was their own. St. Sebastian was captured by a number of French being -admitted into the hospital, who let in their fellows, and Mountjoy was -taken by a like _ruse_. - -[Illustration: - - _Reproduced by André & Sleigh, Ltd., Bushey, Herts._ - -NAPLES, FROM THE MERGELLINA. - -AFTER THE PAINTING BY BIRKET FOSTER, R.W.S.] - -Nothing could exceed the consternation and indignation of the Spanish -people when they found their great strongholds guarding the entrances -from France into the country thus in the hands of the French. Had there -been a king of any ability in Spain, an appeal to the nation would, -on this outrage, have roused it to a man, and the plans of Buonaparte -might have been defeated. But Godoy, knowing himself to be the object -of national detestation, and dreading nothing so much as a rising of -the people, by whom he would most certainly be sacrificed, advised the -royal family to follow the example of the Court of Portugal, and escape -to their trans-Atlantic dominions; which advice could only have been -given by a miscreant, and adopted by an idiot. To surrender a kingdom -and a people like those of Spain, without a blow, was the extreme -of cowardice. But, as if to urge the feeble king to this issue, at -this moment came a letter from Buonaparte, upbraiding him with having -received his acceptance of the match between their houses coldly. -Charles, terrified in the extreme, wrote to declare that nothing lay -so near his heart, and at the same time made preparations to be gone. -The intention was kept as secret as possible, but the public soon -became aware of the Court's proposed removal from Madrid to Cadiz, in -order then to be able to embark for America. The Prince of Asturias -and his brother protested against the project; the Council of Castile -remonstrated; the populace were in a most tumultuous state, regarding -the plan as originating with Godoy, and surrounded the palace with -cries and gestures of dissatisfaction. The king was in a continual -state of terror and irresolution, but Godoy pressed on matters for the -flight. - -On the 17th of March a proclamation was placarded at the gates of the -palace, announcing that the king was resolved to remain and share -the fate of his people. Great were the acclamations and rejoicings; -but, towards evening, the crowds that still lingered around the royal -residence saw unmistakable signs of departure: there was an active -movement amongst the Guards; carriages and baggage were becoming -apparent, and the agitation of the people grew intense. The Prince -of Asturias and his brother protested against the departure; bodies -of soldiers, in open revolt, began to assemble, and the people cried -that they would have the head of the traitor, Godoy. From angry words -the populace and revolted soldiers came to blows with the Household -Troops. Godoy's brother led up a regiment against the rioters, but the -men seized him, and joined the people. Whilst one crowd surrounded the -Palace of Aranjuez, another rushed to the house of Godoy to seize and -kill him. They ran all over his house, but could not discover him. -The tumult continued all night, but was somewhat appeased the next -morning by a Royal proclamation, which announced that the king had -dismissed him from his offices. This did not, however, prevent the -people continuing the search for Godoy, who was at length discovered -by a Life-Guardsman in a garret of his own house, where he had been -concealed between two mattresses. Compelled to come forth by heat and -thirst, he was dragged into the street, soundly beaten, and would soon -have been put to death, had not the Prince of Asturias, at the urgent -entreaty of the king and queen, interceded, declaring that he should -be tried for his crimes, and duly punished. Godoy was committed to -custody, in the Castle of Villaviciosa: his property was confiscated; -and, on the 19th, the king, terrified at the still hostile aspect of -the people, proclaimed his own resignation in favour of Ferdinand, -their favourite; in truth, as little deserving of their favour, by any -moral or intellectual quality, as the king himself. The abdication was -formally communicated by letter to Napoleon, whose troops, under Murat, -were, during these tumults, now rapidly advancing on Madrid. - -On the 23rd, only four days after the abdication of the king, Murat -entered Madrid with a numerous body of infantry and cuirassiers, -attended by a splendid train of artillery. Ferdinand entered the -city the same day. He had formed an administration wholly opposed to -Godoy and his policy. The Ambassadors of the other Powers presented -themselves to offer their congratulations; but Beauharnais, the -French Ambassador, preserved a profound silence. Murat, also, though -he professed himself friendly to Ferdinand, said not a word implying -recognition of his title. Still more ominous, the news arrived that -Buonaparte himself was on the way with another powerful army. Murat -took up his residence in the Palace of the Prince of the Peace, and -greatly alarmed Ferdinand and his courtiers by addressing him, not as -"your Majesty," but merely as "your Royal Highness." He counselled him -to wait, and do nothing till he could advise with Napoleon, and, in -the meantime, to send his brother, Don Carlos, to greet the Emperor on -his entrance into Spain. To this Ferdinand consented; but when Murat -recommended him also to go, and show this mark of respect to his ally, -Ferdinand demurred, and by the advice of Cevallos, one of his wisest -counsellors, he declined the suggestion. To complicate matters, Murat -opened communication with the king and queen, and, not content with -that, with Godoy also, assuring him that his only hope of safety lay -in the friendship of the Emperor. By this means Murat learned all the -accusations that each party could make against the other, so that these -things might serve Buonaparte to base his measures, or, at least, his -pretences upon. Encouraged by this, Charles wrote to Napoleon to -declare his abdication entirely forced, and to leave everything to the -decision of his good friend, the Emperor. - -[Illustration: CAPTURE OF GODOY. (_See p._ 551.)] - -The suggestions of Murat had failed to induce Ferdinand to leave his -capital and go to meet Napoleon; but a more adroit agent now presented -himself in the person of Savary, the delegated murderer of the Duke -d'Enghien. Savary paid decided court to Ferdinand. He listened to -all his statements of the revolution of Aranjuez and the abdication -of the king. He told him that he felt sure Napoleon would see these -circumstances in the same favourable light as he did, and persuaded him -to go and meet the Emperor at Burgos, and hear him salute him Ferdinand -VII., King of Spain and of the Indies. - -Savary accompanied Ferdinand to conduct him safely into the snare. He -spoke positively of meeting Napoleon at Burgos; but when they arrived -there, they received the information that Napoleon was only yet at -Bordeaux, about to proceed to Bayonne. Savary seemed so sure of his -victim, that he ventured to leave Ferdinand at Vittoria, and went on -to see Napoleon and report progress; probably, also, to receive fresh -instructions. The opportunity was not lost by some faithful Spaniards -to warn Ferdinand to make his escape during Savary's absence, and -to get into one of his distant provinces, where he could, at least, -negotiate with Napoleon independently. Ferdinand was astounded, but -persuaded himself that Napoleon could not contemplate such treachery. -Although the people opposed the Prince's going, Savary prevailed, and -on they went. - -When Buonaparte heard that Ferdinand had arrived, he is said to have -exclaimed--"What! is the fool really come?" He received him, however, -with courtesy, invited him to dinner, and treated him with all the -deference of a crowned head; but the same evening he sent Savary to -inform him that he had determined that the Bourbons should cease to -reign, and the crown should be transferred to his own family. Possessed -of the Prince of Asturias, Buonaparte proceeded to complete his -kidnapping, and make himself master of the king and queen. He was sure -that if he brought Godoy to Bayonne he should draw the infatuated queen -after him, and that she would bring the king with her. He therefore -ordered Murat to send on Godoy under a strong guard. This was executed -with such rapidity that he was conveyed from Aranjuez to the banks of -the Bidassoa in a couple of days. Buonaparte received Godoy in the -most flattering manner, told him that he regarded the abdication of -Charles as most unjustifiable, and that he would be glad to see the -king and queen at Bayonne, to arrange the best mode of securing them -on the throne. Godoy communicated this intelligence with alacrity, -and Napoleon very soon had the two remaining royal fools in his safe -keeping. On the 30th of April a train of old, lumbering carriages, the -first drawn by eight Biscayan mules, was seen crossing the drawbridge -at Bayonne. The arrival consisted of the King and Queen of Spain, with -three or four unimportant grandees. Godoy welcomed Charles and his -queen, and assured them of the friendly disposition and intentions of -Buonaparte. Having the family in his clutches, Napoleon had little -difficulty in compelling Ferdinand to restore the crown to his father, -who abdicated a second time, and placed his crown in the hands of the -Emperor. - -Having now kidnapped and disposed of the whole dynasty of Spain, -Buonaparte had to inaugurate the new one by the appointment of a -king. For this purpose he pitched on his brother Lucien, who, next to -himself, was the ablest of the family, and who had rendered him signal -services in the expulsion of the Council of Five Hundred from St. -Cloud. But Lucien was of too independent a character to become a mere -puppet of the great man, like the rest of his brothers. As Napoleon -grew haughty and imperious in the progress of his success, Lucien -had dared to express disapprobation of his conduct. He declared that -Napoleon's every word and action proceeded, not from principle, but -from mere political considerations, and that the foundation of his -whole system and career was egotism. He had married a private person to -please himself, and would not abandon his wife to receive a princess -and a crown, like Jerome. Lucien had, moreover, literary tastes, was -fond of collecting works of art, and had a fortune ample enough for -these purposes. When, therefore, Napoleon sent for him to assume the -crown of Spain, he declined the honour. Napoleon then resolved to -take Joseph from Naples, and confer on him the throne of Spain and -the Indies. Joseph, who was indolent and self-indulgent, and who at -Naples could not exempt himself from continual fears of daggers and -assassination, received with consternation the summons to assume the -crown of Spain, as ominous of no ordinary troubles. He declared that it -was too weighty for his head, and showed no alacrity in setting out. -Napoleon was obliged to summon him several times, and at length to -dispatch one of his most active and trusted aides-de-camp to hasten his -movements. - -And truly the prospects of the reign before him were such as might -have daunted a much bolder and wiser man than Joseph. The people of -Madrid had watched with increasing resentment the spiriting away of the -different members of the royal family to Bayonne. They were wrathful -that Godoy had been carried beyond the reach of their vengeance, and -every day they were on the look-out for news from Bayonne as to the -cause of Ferdinand, and this news grew even more unfavourable. On -the evening of the 30th of April the populace had retired in gloomy -discontent, because no courier had arrived bringing intelligence of -Buonaparte's intentions towards Ferdinand. On the morning of the 1st -of May numbers of men assembled about the gate of the inn and the -post-office, with dark looks, and having, as was supposed, arms under -their long cloaks. The French mustered strongly in the streets, and the -day passed over quietly. But the next morning, the 2nd of May, the same -ominous-looking crowds, as they assembled, were agitated by reports -that the only remaining members of the royal family, the widowed Queen -of Etruria and her children, and the youngest son of King Charles, Don -Francisco, were about to be sent off also to Bayonne. They presently -saw these royal personages conducted to their carriages; Don Francisco, -a youth of only fourteen, weeping bitterly, and the sight roused the -people to instant fury. They fell on the French, chiefly with their -long knives, massacred seven hundred soldiers of the line, and wounded -upwards of twenty of the Imperial Guard. The French, in return, fired -on the people, and killed a hundred and twenty of them. Murat poured -in troops to suppress the riot, but could not disperse them till -after several volleys of grape-shot and repeated charges of cavalry. -Unprepared as the country was, the people felt by no means daunted. -The Alcalde of Mostoles, about ten miles south of Madrid, hearing the -firing, and understanding the cause, sent a bulletin to the south in -these words, "The country is in danger: Madrid is perishing through the -perfidy of the French: all Spaniards come to deliver it!" That was all -that was necessary. The fact of being in possession of Madrid was a -very different thing to being in possession of Paris, Spain consisting -of various provinces, having their separate capitals, and everywhere -was a martial people, just as ready and able to maintain a struggle -against an invader as if Madrid were free. At Valencia, the populace, -headed by a priest, fell on the French, and massacred two hundred of -them. Solano, the governor of Cadiz, suspected of favouring the French, -was dragged out of his house and murdered. Even before the insurrection -at Madrid there had been one at Toledo, and the French had been menaced -with destruction. - -Amid these popular outbursts the great body of the Spaniards were -calmly organising the country for defence. A junta or select -committee was elected in each district, and these juntas established -communications with each other all over the land. They called on the -inhabitants to furnish contributions, the clergy to send in their -church plate to the mint, and the common people to enrol themselves as -soldiers and to labour at the fortifications. The Spanish soldiers, -to a man, went over to the popular side, and in a few days the whole -nation was in arms. The crisis of which Buonaparte had warned Murat was -come at once, and the fight in Madrid on the 2nd of May was but the -beginning of a war which was to topple the invader from his now dizzy -height. This made Buonaparte convene a mock national junta, or Assembly -of Notables, to sanction the abdication, and the appointment of Joseph -Buonaparte as the new monarch. Joseph entered Madrid on the 6th of -June, and proclaimed a new constitution. - -No sooner had the insurrection of Aranjuez taken place, and Ferdinand -been proclaimed king, than, so early as April the 8th, General Castaños -informed Sir Hew Dalrymple, the governor of Gibraltar, that there was -an end of the policy of Godoy, which had made Spain the slave of France -and the foe of Britain. Sir Hew sent a prompt dispatch to England with -the news, and, till he could receive instructions from the British -Government, he maintained friendly relations with the Spaniards. -When the junta of Seville was formed, and there was every reason to -believe that Spain would make a determined resistance, on his own -responsibility he encouraged the merchants of Gibraltar to make a loan -of forty thousand dollars to the junta without premium; and Captain -Whittingham, an officer well acquainted with Spain, went to Seville to -assist in planning the best means of preventing the French from passing -the Sierra Morena. On the 8th of June Sir Hew received a dispatch -from Lord Castlereagh, informing him that the British Government had -determined to send ten thousand men immediately to the assistance of -the Spanish patriots. But this was preceded four days by a proclamation -which had outstripped Lord Castlereagh's dispatch, stating that his -Majesty had ordered all hostilities towards Spain to cease, and all -Spanish ships at sea to be unmolested. Admiral Collingwood took the -command of the whole British fleet on the coast of Spain, ready to -co-operate. He landed Mr. Cox to proceed to Seville as confidential -agent, and about the middle of June General Spencer arrived at Cadiz -with five thousand British soldiers. About the same time, the junta of -Seville declared themselves at peace with Great Britain, and sent four -commissioners to England to settle diplomatic relations between the -countries. - -Meanwhile the French generals, though they saw insurrections rising in -every quarter, and though they themselves were located in different -parts of the country, distant from each other, entertained no fear but -that the steady discipline of their troops, and their own experience, -would easily put them down. Murat had quitted Spain to proceed to his -kingdom of Naples, which he had received on the 15th of July, and -Savary was left at Madrid as Commander-in-Chief, and he found himself -in a most arduous and embarrassing post, with so many points to watch -and to strengthen for the suppression of the insurrection. The Spanish -junta recommended their country, very prudently, to avoid regular -engagements, with their yet raw forces, against the veteran armies of -France, but to carry on a guerilla warfare, waylaying the enemy in -mountains and defiles, cutting off their supplies, and harassing their -rear, their outposts, and their foraging parties. The ardour and pride -of the Spaniards only too much tempted the men to despise this advice, -and whenever they did they severely paid for it. The relentless spirit -of the people against the lawless invaders, on the other hand, incited -the French to equal ferocity. They treated the Spaniards as rebels in -arms against their king; the villages were given up to the plunder -and licentiousness of the soldiers. This again fired the Spaniards to -retaliation, and they put to death sick and wounded when they fell -into their hands. The war thus commenced with features of peculiar -horror. The character of the country rendered the conflict the more -desperate to the invaders; the fertile regions were separated from -each other by vast desert heaths and barren mountains, so that Henry -IV. had said truly, if a general invaded Spain with a small army he -would be defeated; if with a large one, he would be starved. To collect -provisions, the French had to disperse themselves over wide tracts, -and thus exposed themselves to the ambuscades and surprises of the -Spaniards, every peasant carrying his gun. - -At first victory seemed to attend the French. Lefebvre defeated the -Spaniards in Aragon, on the 9th of June, and General Bessières beat -the insurgents, in several partial actions, in Navarre and Biscay. But -his great success was over the united forces of Generals Cuesta and -Blake, on the 14th of June, at Medina de Rio Seco, a few leagues from -the city of Valladolid. Duchesne thought he should be able to send -reinforcements to assist in reducing Valencia and Aragon; but he soon -found that he had enough to do in his own district. Marshal Moncey, all -this time expecting the co-operation of Duchesne, had advanced into -Valencia. For a time the country seemed deserted; but as he advanced -he found the hills and rocks swarming with armed people, and he had to -force his march by continual fighting. There were Swiss troops mingled -amongst the Spanish ones opposed to him, and whilst they attacked -him in front, the Spaniards assaulted his flanks and rear. When he -arrived before the city of Valencia, on the 27th of June, he found -the place well defended. On the 29th Moncey retired from before the -walls, despairing of the arrival of Duchesne. Moncey, like Bessières, -now found himself called to Madrid to defend the new king, who, it -was clear, could not long remain there; and already the British were -landing on the shores of the Peninsula, to bring formidable aid to the -exasperated inhabitants. - -But the most important operations were at this moment taking place -in the south between Dupont and Castaños. Castaños was quartered at -Utrera with twenty thousand men. Dupont had been ordered by Murat to -march from Madrid into the south-west, and make himself master of the -important post of Cadiz. After a countermand, he again advanced in -that direction, and had crossed the Sierra Morena, so celebrated in -the romance of "Don Quixote," and reached the ancient city of Cordova. -There he received the news that Cadiz had risen against the French, -and had seized the French squadron lying in the bay, and, at the same -time, that Seville was in the highest state of insurrection. Whilst -pausing in uncertainty of what course to pursue, Castaños advanced -from Utrera towards the higher part of the Guadalquivir. If Dupont -had rushed forward to attack Castaños at Utrera, he would have done -it under great disadvantages. He was cut off from the main French -army by the Sierra Morena, and these mountains being occupied by the -insurgent inhabitants, he would have no chance of falling back in case -of disaster. He now advanced to Andujar, which he reached on the 18th -of June, having had to fight his way through bands of fiery patriots. - -On the evening of the 16th of July Castaños appeared on the Argonilla, -directly opposite to Andujar; the river was fordable in many places -from the drought, and the different divisions of the Spaniards crossed -in the night. Vedel, seeing the critical situation of the French army, -made a rapid movement to regain and keep open the mountainous defile -by which he had arrived, but Dupont remained at Andujar till the -night of the 18th. Vedel remaining at the pass for Dupont, the latter -found himself intercepted at Baylen by the Swiss General, Reding, -and whilst engaging him his own Swiss troops went over to Reding. He -sent expresses to Vedel to return to his aid, but before this could -be accomplished he was defeated, and compelled to surrender. He was -enormously encumbered by baggage; for the French, as usual, utterly -regardless of the necessity of keeping on good terms with a people over -whom they wished to rule, had been pillaging churches and houses of all -plate and valuables that they could find. In endeavouring to defend the -baggage, Dupont had weakened his front, and occasioned his repulse. -Castaños had not perceived the march of the French; but, by the time -his van came up with Reding, he found the French army prisoners. The -terms proposed by the French were that they should be allowed to retire -upon Madrid with all their arms and baggage. But Castaños was too well -acquainted with the necessities of the French through the intercepted -letter to Savary. He insisted that they should pile their arms, give -up the greater part of their spoil, and be sent down to San Lucar -and Rota, where they should be embarked for France. Whilst Dupont -was hesitating on these conditions, he received a note from Vedel, -proposing that they should make a simultaneous attack on the Spaniards, -and thus have a fresh chance of turning the scale in their own favour. -But Dupont saw that this was hopeless; and, moreover, it is said that -Castaños insisted that if Vedel himself did not immediately lay down -his arms, he would shoot Dupont. Vedel, who now saw little hope of -cutting his way through the mountains, was compelled to obey. The -French piled their arms on the 22nd of July, the prisoners amounting to -between eighteen and nineteen thousand. They gave up also thirty pieces -of cannon. - -The news of this great victory, which at once freed from the French -armies the rich province of Andalusia and the cities of Cadiz and -Seville, spread joy and exultation over Spain, and filled Buonaparte, -who received it at Bordeaux, with the deepest anxiety, but the -Spaniards were led into a confidence which brought its subsequent -chastisement. The news no sooner reached Madrid than the king ceased to -feel himself safe there. He determined to retire to Vittoria, which was -at a convenient distance from the French frontier. On the 3rd of July -he quitted the city by night, and, guarded by French troops, took the -road to Vittoria, leaving Grouchy and Marshal Bessières to cut off any -pursuit of the Spaniards. Grouchy then despatched a letter requiring -Castaños to send an officer to take charge of the city, and to protect -the French invalids in the hospitals. He sent General Moreno, and -himself arrived to hold the city on the 23rd of August. Such of the -Spanish grandees as had encouraged the French fled, with Joseph, for -safety, and obtained the name of "Josepinos," or "Infrancsados;" the -rest joined the Spanish cause. - -But the event which, far more than the battle of Baylen, showed -Buonaparte and the world the sort of war he had provoked, was the siege -of Saragossa. This ancient city, the capital of Aragon, stands on the -right bank of the Ebro, with a suburb on the left bank connected with -it by a bridge. Another river, a small one, called the Cozo, flowed -into the Ebro, close under the city walls. The immediate neighbourhood -of Saragossa is flat, and, on one side of the river, marshy; its walls -were of brick, about ten feet high, old and ruinous, but in places they -were only of mud. It might seem that no strong defence of such a place -could be made against an army of thirteen thousand men--veterans who -had served in Germany and Poland, and who were furnished with battering -trains and every means of assault. But the streets of the city were -narrow and crooked, the houses strong and lofty, the rooms being almost -all vaulted, and therefore almost impervious to shell. The inhabitants -were sixty thousand. Saragossa raised the flag of resistance the -moment that Murat issued his proclamation on the 20th of May, informing -the Spanish people of the abdication of Charles and Ferdinand, and -calling on the Spaniards to submit to the new government. On the -16th of June General Lefebvre commenced the attack by driving in the -outposts of Palafox, the Spanish General, and establishing strong -guards before the gates, but the Spaniards fought him street by street. -As fast as they knocked down the walls and scattered the sandbags, -they were repaired again by the Spaniards. At this stage of the -siege, Augustina, "the Maid of Saragossa," a handsome woman of the -lower class, of about twenty-two years of age, arrived on one of the -batteries with refreshments, and found every man who had defended it -lying slain. The fire was so tremendous that the citizens hesitated to -re-man the guns. Augustina sprang forward over the bodies of the dead -and dying, snatched a match from the hand of a dead artilleryman, and -fired off a six-and-twenty-pounder. She then jumped upon the gun, and -vowed never to quit it alive during the siege. Such an example added -new courage to the defenders; and the siege proceeded with incessant -fury. At this juncture Buonaparte withdrew a part of the troops, -ordering Lefebvre to join Bessières with them, and Verdier was left -to continue the siege with about ten thousand men. The Saragossans, -encouraged by this, and assisted by some regular troops, not only -defended the town more vigorously than ever, but sent out detachments -to cut off Verdier's supplies. After several determined assaults he -raised the siege on the 13th of August. - -The success of the revolt against the French in Spain was certain to -become contagious in Portugal. Junot was holding the country with an -army of thirty thousand men, amongst whom there was a considerable -number of Spanish troops, who were sure to desert on the first -opportunity after the news from Spain. What Buonaparte intended really -to do with Portugal did not yet appear. The conditions of the Treaty -of Fontainebleau remained a dead letter. He had established neither -the Queen of Etruria nor the Prince of the Peace in their kingdoms -there. The likelihood was that, as soon as Spain was secure, he would -incorporate Portugal with it. This seemed very probably his intention, -from words that he let fall at an Assembly of Portuguese Notables, -whom he had summoned to meet him at Bayonne. The Count de Lima, the -president of the Assembly, opened it with an address to Napoleon, who -listened with great _nonchalance_, and then said, "I hardly know what -to make of you, gentlemen; it must depend on the events in Spain. -And, then, are you of consequence sufficient to constitute a separate -people? Have you enough of size to do so? What is the population of -Portugal? Two millions, is it?" "More than three, sire," replied the -Count. "Ah, I did not know that. And Lisbon--are there a hundred and -fifty thousand inhabitants?" "More than double that number, sire." "Ah, -I was not aware of that. Now, what do you wish to be, you Portuguese? -Do you desire to become Spaniards?" "No!" said the Count de Lima, -bluntly, and drawing himself up to his full height. Then Buonaparte -broke up the conference. - -[Illustration: HEROISM OF THE MAID OF SARAGOSSA. (_See p._ 556.)] - -The Spanish junta sent an officer to Lisbon to consult with General -Caraffa, the commander of the Spanish auxiliaries, on the best means of -withdrawing the troops from that city. Caraffa, who was an Italian, did -not seem to fall into the proposal; but this was of less consequence, -for his men took the liberty of deserting, first in small numbers and -secretly, but soon by a whole regiment at a time, and openly. Junot -sent out six hundred men to stop them; but they attacked, killed, and -wounded nearly half the detachment, and pursued their march. General -Bellesta, who commanded the Spanish troops at Oporto, seized the French -general, Quesnel, who had but a small number of men, and marched away -for Corunna, carrying Quesnel and his few soldiers prisoners with him. -No sooner were the Spaniards gone, however, than the cowardly governor -of Oporto put down the rising and declared for the French. But the fire -of revolt was flying too fast all over the kingdom for this to succeed. -In a few days the people rose again, seized on the arsenal, and armed -themselves. They were encouraged by the monks, who rang their bells to -call the people out, and by the bishops, who blessed the banners, and -offered up public prayers for the enfranchisement of the country in -the cathedrals. There was a similarly successful outbreak at Braganza. -From one end of the country to the other the rising was complete and -enthusiastic. Deputies were dispatched to England to solicit assistance -and arms. For a time Junot managed to keep down the population of -Lisbon by collecting troops into it, seizing, altogether, four thousand -five hundred of the Spaniards, and making them prisoners. Alarmed, -however, at his position, and fearing to move any of his forces from -the capital, he ordered Loison, who lay at the fortress of Almeida, on -the frontiers, to march to Oporto, and suppress the revolt; but General -Silviera, a Portuguese nobleman, put himself at the head of the armed -population, and successfully defended Oporto. At Beja, Leiria, Evora, -and other places, the French managed to put down the insurgents, but -not without much bloodshed and severe military executions. But the hour -of retribution was fast approaching. Spanish as well as Portuguese -deputies appeared in London soliciting aid. They did not ask for men; -for, in the pride of their temporary success, they imagined themselves -amply able to drive out the French; but they asked for arms, clothes, -and ammunition; and they prayed that an army might be sent to Portugal, -which would act as a powerful diversion in their favour. - -Both the Government and people of Britain responded to these demands -with enthusiasm. War with Spain was declared to be at an end; all the -Spanish prisoners were freed from confinement, and were sent home in -well-provided vessels. The Ministers, and Canning especially, avowed -their conviction that the time was come to make an effectual blow at -the arrogant power of Buonaparte. Sir Arthur Wellesley was selected -to command a force of nine thousand infantry and one regiment of -cavalry, which was to sail immediately to the Peninsula, and to act -as circumstances should determine. This force sailed from Cork on -the 12th of July, and was to be followed by another of ten thousand -men. Sir Arthur reached Corunna on the 20th of the same month, and -immediately put himself in communication with the junta of Galicia. All -was confidence amongst the Spaniards. They assured him, as the deputies -in London had assured the Ministers, that they wanted no assistance -from foreign troops; that they had men to any amount, full of bravery; -they only wanted arms and money. He furnished them with a considerable -sum of money, but his experienced mind foresaw that they needed more -than they imagined to contend with the troops of Buonaparte. They -wanted efficient officers, and thorough discipline, and he felt -confident that they must, in their overweening assurance, suffer -severe reverses. He warned the junta that Buonaparte, if he met with -obstructions in reaching them by land, would endeavour to cross into -Asturias by sea, and he advised them to fit out the Spanish ships lying -at Ferrol to prevent this; but they replied that they could not divert -their attention from their resistance by land, and must leave the -protection of their coasts to their British allies. Sir Arthur then -sailed directly for Oporto, where he found the Portuguese right glad to -have the assistance of a British force, and most willing to co-operate -with it, and to have their raw levies trained by British officers. On -the 24th of July he opened his communication with the town. The bishop -was heading the insurrection, and three thousand men were in drill, -but badly armed and equipped. A thousand muskets had been furnished -by the British fleet, but many men had no arms except fowling-pieces. -Wellesley made arrangements for horses and mules to drag his cannon, -and convey his baggage, and then he sailed as far as the Tagus, to -ascertain the number and condition of the French forces about Lisbon. -Satisfied on this head, he returned, and landed his troops, on the 1st -of August, at Figueras, in Mondego Bay. This little place had been -taken by the Portuguese insurgents, and was now held by three hundred -mariners from British ships. Higher up the river lay five thousand -Portuguese regulars, at Coimbra. On the 5th he was joined by General -Spencer, from Cadiz, with four thousand men; thus raising his force to -thirteen thousand foot and about five hundred cavalry. The greatest -rejoicing was at the moment taking place amongst the Portuguese from -the news of General Dupont's surrender to Castaños. - -Junot had from sixteen to eighteen thousand men in Portugal, but a -considerable number of them were scattered into different garrisons; -his hope of reinforcements from Spain was likewise cut off by the -surrender of Dupont, and by the fact of the Spaniards being in -possession of Andalusia, Estremadura, and Galicia. Thus the numbers -of the two armies which could be brought into the field against each -other were pretty equal, except that Junot had a fine body of cavalry, -of which arm the British were nearly destitute. On the 9th of August -General Wellesley commenced his march southward, in the direction of -Lisbon, to encounter Junot. On the 16th Wellesley came in contact -with the van of Junot's army. On the landing of the British, Junot -had called in his different garrisons, and concentrated his troops -about Lisbon. He also dispatched General Laborde to check Wellesley's -march, and ordered Loison to support him. But before Loison could -reach Laborde, Wellesley was upon him, and drove in his outpost at -the village of Obidos, and forced him back on Roliça. At that place -Laborde had a very strong position, and there he determined to stand. -He was located on a range of rocky hills, the ravines between which -were thickly grown with underwood and briars. Up these the British -must force their way, if they attacked, and must suffer severely from -the riflemen placed in the thickets and on the brows of the hills. But -Wellesley knew that Loison with his detachment was hourly expected, and -he determined to beat Laborde before he came up. He therefore placed -his Portuguese division on his right to meet Laborde, and ordered his -left to ascend the steep hills, and be prepared for the appearance of -Loison's force, which was coming in that direction. His middle column -had to make its way up the steepest heights, in front of Laborde's -centre. All three columns executed their movements, however, with equal -valour and spirit. The centre suffered most of all, both from the -nature of the ground, and from a rifle ambuscade placed in a copse of -myrtle and arbutus, which mowed our soldiers down in heaps, with their -gallant colonel, the son of Lord Lake, of Indian fame, at their head. -Notwithstanding all difficulties, our soldiers scaled the heights, -formed there, and the centre charged Laborde's centre with the bayonet -and drove them back. As the French had been taught that the British -soldiers were of no account, and their general only a "Sepoy general," -they returned several times to the attack, but on every occasion found -themselves repulsed as by an immovable wall. Then, seeing the right and -left wings bearing down upon them, they gave way, and ran for it. They -were equally astonished at the terrible charges with the bayonet, at -the rapidity and precision of the firing, and the general arrangement -of the battle, and the exactitude with which it was carried out. - -The French left six hundred killed and wounded on the field; the -British had four hundred and eighty killed or disabled. Laborde -retreated amongst the hills to the village of Azambugueira, and thence -to Torres Vedras, where he looked for the junction of Loison, and where -that general really appeared. Still the British force was equal, if not -superior, in numbers to the French, and Sir Arthur Wellesley advanced -along the sea-coast to Vimiera, where he was joined by Generals -Anstruther and Acland. Unfortunately, at this moment arrived Sir -Harry Burrard, whom the Ministry had ordered to supersede Sir Arthur -Wellesley in the chief command till the arrival of Sir Hew Dalrymple, -who was to be the General-in-Chief; Burrard, second in command; and -Wellesley, Sir John Moore, Lord Paget, Sir John Hope, and Macdonald -Frazer, to command different divisions. Thus, by the old system of -routine, the real military genius was reduced from the first to the -fourth in command. Sir Arthur went on board Sir Harry Burrard's vessel -on the evening of his arrival, the 20th of August, and explained to him -the positions of the armies, and his plan of advancing along the coast -to Mafra, thus turning the flank of Laborde and Loison, and compelling -them to fight or retreat on Lisbon. This was clearly the view of every -one of the officers, who were eager to press on; but Sir Harry, old -and cautious, was of opinion that nothing more should be risked till -Sir John Moore arrived with his reinforcements. Sir Arthur must have -returned under a sense of deep disappointment, but, fortunately for -him, the enemy did not allow of his waiting for Sir John Moore. At -midnight he received a hasty message that the French were in motion, -and coming in one dense mass of twenty thousand men to surprise and -rout him. Sir Arthur was strongly posted in the village of Vimiera and -on the hills around it. He sent out patrols, and ordered the pickets -to be on the alert, and he then called out his troops, and had them -in good fighting order by the dawn of day. At about seven o'clock the -advance of the enemy was perceived by the clouds of dust that rose into -the air, and soon they were seen coming on in columns of infantry, -preceded by cavalry. By ten o'clock the French were close at hand, and -made an impetuous attack on the British centre and left, to drive them -into the sea, according to a favourite French phrase, the sea actually -rolling close to their rear. The first troops which came into collision -with them were the 50th regiment, commanded by Colonel Walker. Seeing -that the intention of the French, who were led by Laborde himself, was -to break his line by their old method of pushing on a dense column -by a momentum from behind, which drove in the van like a wedge, in -spite of itself, Colonel Walker instantly changed the position of his -regiment so as, instead of a parallel line, to present an oblique one -to the assailing column. This was, therefore, driven on by the immense -rear, and, instead of breaking the British line, was actually taken -in flank by it, and the musketry and grape-shot mowed down the French -in a terrible manner. This was at once succeeded by a rapid charge -with the bayonet; and so astonishing was the effect of this unexpected -movement, that the French were thrown into irretrievable confusion, -and broke on every side. Whilst this was the effect on the centre and -left, General Sir Ronald Fergusson was attacked with equal impetuosity -by Loison: bayonets were crossed, and the same result as took place -at Maida occurred--the French fell back and fled. Nothing was wanted -but a good body of cavalry to follow up the flying foe, and completely -reduce them to surrender. The small body of horse, commanded by Colonel -Taylor, fought with an ardour that led them too far into the centre of -Margaron's powerful cavalry, and Colonel Taylor was killed, and half -of his little troop with him. Kellermann, to stop the pursuit, posted -a strong reserve in a pine wood, on the line of retreat, but they were -driven out at the point of the bayonet. Had the orders of General -Wellesley now been carried out, the French would have been cut off from -much further retreat. General Hill was commanded to take a short cut, -and interpose between the French and the strong position of Torres -Vedras, and General Fergusson was directed to follow sharply in their -rear. In all probability they must have capitulated at once; but here -the evil genius of Sir Harry Burrard again interfered to save them. He -appeared on the field and thought sufficient had been done till Sir -John Moore arrived. It was not enough for him that the French had now -been twice put to rout within a few days, and were in full flight, -and that they were found not to be twenty thousand, but only eighteen -thousand strong. He ordered the pursuit to cease, and the army to sit -down at Vimiera till the arrival of Moore. To the great astonishment of -the French, and the equal mortification of the British, the retreating -enemy was thus allowed to collect their forces and take possession of -the heights of Torres Vedras. - -The next day, the 21st, Sir Hew Dalrymple arrived from Gibraltar, and -superseded Sir Harry Burrard. But the mischief was done; the enemy -had gained the strong position from which Wellesley would have cut -them off. What would have been the effect of Sir Arthur's unobstructed -orders was clearly seen by what did take place; for, notwithstanding -the possession of the strong post of Torres Vedras, Junot saw that he -could not maintain the conflict against the British, and on the 22nd he -sent General Kellermann with a flag of truce to propose an armistice, -preparatory to a convention for the evacuation of Portugal by the -French. - -The terms which Junot required were that the French should not be -considered as prisoners of war, but should be conveyed to France by -sea, with all their baggage; that nothing should be detained. These -would, in fact, have allowed them to carry off all the plunder of -churches and houses, and to this Sir Arthur objected. He said that -some means must be found to make the French disgorge the church plate. -But the Convention was signed, subject to the consent of the British -admiral, Sir Charles Cotton, a condition of importance, seeing that -Junot had stipulated that the Russian fleet in the Tagus, commanded -by Admiral Siniavin, should not be molested or stopped when it wished -to go away. Admiral Cotton objected to these terms, and it was agreed -that the Russian fleet should be made over to Britain till six months -after the conclusion of a general peace. Commissioners were appointed -to examine the French spoil, who recovered the property of the Museum -and Royal Library, and some of the church plate; but the French were -allowed to carry off far too much of their booty. The definitive treaty -was signed at Cintra on the 30th of August, much to the disgust of Sir -Arthur Wellesley, who, however, signed it as a matter of form. He then -wrote to Lord Castlereagh, to say that he desired to quit the army; -that matters were not prospering, and that he had been too successful -to allow him to serve in it in any subordinate situation. Indeed, he -saw that, left to himself, he could carry victory with the British -standard, but that it was impossible to do any good under incompetent -men. - -[Illustration: SIR JOHN MOORE.] - -The indignation of all parties in England was unbounded. They were -persuaded that Junot might have been compelled to surrender with all -his army as prisoners of war; that his arms and booty ought to have -been given up entirely, as well as the Russian fleet; and the army -prevented from taking any part in the after war, except upon a proper -exchange. And no doubt this might have been the case had Wellesley -been permitted to follow his own judgment. A court of inquiry was -appointed to sit in the great hall of Chelsea College, which opened on -the 14th of November and closed on the 27th of December. Yet matters -were so managed that scarcely any blame was cast on Sir Harry Burrard, -and all the generals were declared free from blame. Sir Harry was, -indeed, included in the praise bestowed by the committee--that Sir Hew -Dalrymple, Sir Harry himself, and Sir Arthur Wellesley, as well as the -rest of the officers and men, had displayed an ardour and gallantry on -every occasion during the expedition that reflected the highest lustre -on his Majesty's troops. But the public was not at all mystified by -this strange sentence. - -The Convention being ratified, the British took possession of all the -forts on the Tagus on the 2nd of September, and the port of Lisbon was -opened to our shipping. On the 8th and 9th the British army entered -Lisbon in triumph, amid the acclamations of the people. Transports -were collected and the embarkation of the French army commenced, and -before the end of the month they were all shipped off, except the last -division, which was detained by an order from England. The colours of -the House of Braganza were hoisted on all the forts which we had taken -possession of, and a council of government was established, which ruled -in the name of the Prince Regent of Portugal. - -The system of Buonaparte, by which he endeavoured to prevent the -knowledge of these events in Spain and Portugal from spreading through -France, was one of unscrupulous lying. He took all sorts of false -means to depress the spirits of the insurgents by mere inventions, -which he had inserted in the Spanish and Portuguese Gazettes under -his influence. At one time it was that George III. was dead, and that -George IV. was intending to make peace with Napoleon. But whatever -effect he might produce by such stories for a time in the Peninsula, -the truth continued to grow and spread over France. It became known -that Junot and his army were driven from Lisbon; that Dupont was -defeated and had surrendered in the south of Spain; then that King -Joseph had fled from Madrid; and that all the coasts of the Peninsula -were in possession of the British, who were received by the Spaniards -and Portuguese as friends and allies. Compelled to speak out at -length, on the 4th of September a statement appeared in the _Moniteur_ -mentioning some of these events, but mentioning only to distort them. -It could not be concealed that Britain was active in these countries, -but it was declared that the Emperor would take ample vengeance -on them. In order to silence the murmurs at the folly as well as -the injustice of seizing on Spain, which was already producing its -retributive fruits, he procured from his slavish Senate a declaration -that the war with Spain was politic, just, and necessary. Buonaparte -then determined to put forth all his strength and drive the British -from the Peninsula; but there were causes of anxiety pressing on him -in the North. Austria and Russia wore an ominous aspect, and a spirit -of resistance showed itself more and more in the press of Germany, -and these things painfully divided his attention. His burden was fast -becoming more than he could bear. - -Meanwhile Ministers had not yet perceived the military genius of Sir -Arthur Wellesley, notwithstanding his services in India, at Copenhagen, -and his brilliant victories at Roliça and Vimiera. Instead of making -him at once commander-in-chief of the forces destined to co-operate in -Spain--for they now resolved to make a decided movement in favour of -the Spanish patriots--they gave that post to Sir John Moore. Sir Arthur -had assured Ministers that he was far better qualified for the chief -command than any of the superior officers then in the Peninsula. He had -now displayed the qualities necessary for a great general: prudence -as well as daring, and the sagacious vision which foresees not only -difficulties, but the means of surmounting them. Sir Arthur had carried -victory with him everywhere, a circumstance one would have thought -sufficient to satisfy the dullest diplomatist that he was the man for -the occasion. But there was one thing which demanded attention, without -which the successful operation of our armies was impossible--the -thorough reform of the Commissariat Department. This department was -at that time in a condition of the most deplorable inefficiency. The -commissariat officers had no experience; there was no system to guide -and stimulate them. Sir Arthur had learned the necessity, in India, of -the most complete machinery of supply; that it was of no use attempting -to advance into a hostile country without knowing how and whence your -troops were to be provisioned, and to have always ammunition in plenty, -and tents for shelter. This machinery all wanted organising--the -absolute necessity of its perfect action impressing itself on every -individual concerned in it. Until this were done, Sir Arthur would -never have advanced into the heart of Spain as Sir John Moore did. -Considering the state of the roads, and the want of mules, horses, and -waggons to convey the baggage, he would not have proceeded till he -had first brought these into existence. Still more, Sir Arthur would -not have marched far without securing, by one means or other, correct -information of the real state and localities of the Spanish armies. On -all these things depended success, and no man was more alive to the -knowledge of this than Sir Arthur Wellesley. He had already pressed -these matters earnestly on the attention of Government, and had they -had the penetration to have at once selected him for the command, they -would have spared the country the disasters which followed. - -On the 6th of October Sir John Moore received instructions from -Lord Castlereagh that his army was to advance into Spain, and -co-operate with the Spanish armies for the expulsion of the French. -He was informed that his twenty-five thousand men would receive a -reinforcement of ten thousand men under Sir David Baird, who was on -his voyage to Corunna. When Sir John prepared to march, the most -serious difficulties presented themselves. Even at Lisbon it was -found impossible to procure conveyance for the necessary baggage, -and therefore the supplies of provisions and stores were cut down -extremely--a great mistake. There was one species of baggage--women -and children--who, according to the wretched practice of the time, -were allowed to accompany the troops, and would not be left behind, -though the army was going into immediate active service against the -enemy. Sir John directed the commanding officers to order that as many -as possible of these should stay behind, especially such women as had -very young children, or infants at the breast, as there would not be -found sufficient carts for them; and in the mountainous tracks at that -season, and the horrible roads, they must suffer the most exhausting -fatigues and hardships. But Sir John had not the commanding firmness -of Wellesley, and his orders in this respect were, for the most part, -neglected. Very proper orders were also issued by Sir John regarding -the behaviour of the soldiers towards the natives. They were informed -that the Spaniards were a grave and very proud people, readily offended -by any disrespect towards their religion or customs; and the soldiers -were desired to behave courteously, and to wear the cockade of King -Ferdinand VII. as well as their own. - -The army set out in successive divisions, and by different routes, -in consequence of the exhausted state of the country, which had been -stripped by the French as by an army of locusts. The roads were -intolerable, and the weather was vile. Wading through mud, and dragging -their artillery through bogs and sloughs, they struggled on to Castello -Branco, which the first division reached on the 4th of December. By the -11th Sir John had crossed the Portuguese frontier, and entered Ciudad -Rodrigo. There he was received with great demonstrations of joy; and -on the 13th he arrived at Salamanca. Here he had to remain for the -coming up of his artillery, which, under a guard of three thousand -foot and one thousand horse, had been conducted, by Sir John Hope, -round by Elvas, as the only road, according to the Portuguese, by which -heavy cannon could be conveyed. This was a proof of the great need of -those arrangements so strongly urged by Sir Arthur Wellesley. Proper -inquiries, through proper officers, would have ascertained beforehand -the actual state of the roads and passes. Here Sir John, too, had to -wait for Sir David Baird's detachment, which had arrived at Corunna on -the 13th of October, but had found the greatest difficulty in being -allowed to land and proceed. This was refused by the junta of Galicia, -out of that ignorant and inflated pride of the Spaniards, which -persuaded them that, because they had compelled Dupont to surrender, -they could drive the French out of their country without any assistance -of the British, whom they regarded not as saviours, but as intruders. -Whilst application was made to the Central Junta, at Madrid, for the -troops to land, they had to remain for a fortnight cooped up in the -transports. There was still another hindrance, which the sound sense -and foresight of Wellesley would not have permitted. Though the British -Government had forwarded to Spain two hundred thousand muskets, with -all requisite ammunition, and sixteen millions of hard dollars, Sir -John Moore was entrusted with only twenty-five thousand pounds of it, -and Sir David Baird with none at all. When, therefore, permission was -obtained, from Madrid, for the Allies, who were bringing them all the -arms and all the material of war, to land, Baird had no money to pay -his way on the march with ten thousand men, and Sir John Moore had to -remit him eight thousand pounds. This was sufficiently bad management, -but this was far from the worst. Sir John Moore, in the most critical -circumstances, was left without the necessary information regarding -the real strength of the enemy, and without the influence which the -British Ambassador should have exerted to have the army supplied with -the necessary means of conveyance for its baggage, ammunition, and -artillery. The Spaniards obstructed rather than helped the British -army. They did not know themselves that the French were pouring -reinforcements through the Pyrenees to the amount of seventy thousand -men, soon to be followed by Buonaparte himself. The British Ambassador, -at such a time, ought to have taken measures for knowing the truth; but -the Ambassador was, just at this moment, the most unfit person that -could possibly have been pitched upon. Sir Charles Stewart, who had -been for some time Ambassador at Madrid, was well acquainted with the -Spaniards, and had energy and intelligence enough to have operated upon -them. But as, with new changes of Ministry, everything must be changed -by the British Government, even if it be for the worse, so here, not -only had the generals been changed three times in four-and-twenty -hours, but the active and well-informed Minister was withdrawn, and -a most indolent and useless man sent in his place. This was Mr. John -Hookham Frere, great in the _Quarterly Review_, and connected with -Canning and his party. He either sent Sir John no information as to the -state and position of the Spanish armies or of the advance and numbers -of the French, or he sent him erroneous intelligence. Lord William -Bentinck, who was in Spain, exerted himself to rouse the Spanish Junta -to a proper sense of their real position, and of the necessity for -affording the British army, which had come to assist them, all the -information and support that they could; and he himself sent word that -the French were crossing not merely the Pyrenees, but the Ebro. At -length, a dispatch to Marshal Jourdain, being accidentally intercepted -by a guerilla party on the frontiers, startled the Junta with the news -that immense bodies of French were advancing into Spain; and they began -to appreciate the value of their British allies, but would do nothing -to facilitate their march, or to direct them to the quarter where they -would be most useful; and Frere, who should have stimulated them to a -sense of their duty, did just nothing at all. - -[Illustration: THE ROYAL PALACE, MADRID. (_From a Photograph by Frith & -Co._)] - -Sir John Moore entered Spain under the impression that several brave -and victorious Spanish armies were to co-operate with him; but he -looked in vain for any such armies. Nay, on the very day of his -arrival at Salamanca he heard of the defeat of the Count de Belvedere, -near Burgos; and only two days afterwards that general had also been -defeated at Espinosa, on the frontiers of the province of Biscay. He -demanded from the Junta to know with whom he was to co-operate for the -conduct of the campaign, and he was referred to Castaños. But Castaños -had already lost the confidence of the proud and ignorant Junta, and -had little information to give. On the 15th of November the governor -of the province announced to him that the French had taken possession -of Valladolid, only twenty leagues from Salamanca; from the dormant -Mr. Frere he heard nothing. This was startling intelligence; for he -had only a small portion of his army yet with him. Sir David Baird was -still struggling with the obstructive junta at Corunna, and Sir John -Hope was wandering near Madrid with the artillery. Moore began to have -a very gloomy idea of the situation, not only of Spain, but of his -situation in it. He wrote that there was no unity of action; no care -of the juntas to promote it, or to furnish arms and clothing to the -soldiers; that he was in no correspondence with the generals of the -other armies, and knew neither their plans nor those of the Government. -He declared that the provinces around him were not armed; and as for -the national enthusiasm of which so much had been said, that he saw not -a trace of it; that, in short, the British had no business there; but -he would still try to do something, if possible, for the country, since -he was there. - -Meanwhile, Buonaparte was preparing to descend like an avalanche on -this absurdly inflated nation. To set himself at ease with the North, -whilst thus engaged in the Peninsula, he deemed it first necessary, -however, to have an interview with the Emperor of Russia in Germany. -The spirit of the Germans was again rising; and notwithstanding -the spies and troops of Buonaparte, his paid literati--like -Johannes Müller,--and his paid princes--like those of the Rhenish -Confederation, Bavaria, Baden, and Würtemberg,--the Germans were -beginning to blush at their humiliation, and to lament the causes of -it, their effeminacy, and their division into so many States, with -all the consequent prejudices and intestine feuds. Prussia, which -had suffered so severely for its selfish policy, and had been so cut -down in territory and insulted in its honour by Napoleon, began to -cherish the hope of yet redeeming itself, by a more manly spirit and -a more cordial co-operation with the rest of Germany. In this work -of regeneration--which is sure to take place sooner or later, when -nations have been well beaten and humiliated, and which then, in their -renewed manhood, require no foreign aid for the accomplishment of -their freedom--all classes laboured. The king, under the inspiration -of his patriotic Minister, Von Stein, began most essential reforms. -He abolished the feudal servitude and forced labour under which the -peasantry groaned; he made a thorough moral re-organisation of the -army, admitting of promotion from the ranks; he allowed any man that -had the money to purchase baronial estates; and he deprived the higher -nobility of the exclusive right of possessing landed property, and -of appointment to the higher civil and military posts. Von Stein, -too, commenced the work of inspiring the mass of the people with a -new soul of patriotism. He established a secret society, called the -Tugend Bund, or Union of Virtue, which was to unite nobles, statesmen, -officers, and literati in one common confederation for the rescue -of the country. Amongst those who entered the most enthusiastically -were Colonel Schill, who had headed with great effect his troop of -volunteer cavalry, Jahn, a professor at Berlin, and Moritz Arndt, a -professor of Bonn, the author of the famous national song, "_Was ist -der Deutschen Vaterland?_" in which he maintained that it was not -Prussia, nor Austria, nor any other particular State, but all Germany, -so far as the language extended. Scharnhorst, the commander of the -Prussian army, though restricted to the prescribed number of troops, -created a new army by continually exchanging trained soldiers for -raw recruits, and secretly purchased an immense quantity of arms, so -that, on emergency, a large body of men could be speedily assembled. -He had also all the brass battery guns converted into field-pieces, -and replaced by iron guns. But Napoleon's spies were everywhere. -They discovered the existence of the Tugend Bund, and of the secret -societies of the students, which they carried on under the old name of -the Burschenschaft, or association of the students. Though Napoleon -pretended to ridicule these movements, calling it mere ideology, -he took every means to suppress them. The Minister, Von Stein, in -consequence of the contents of an intercepted letter, was outlawed; -Scharnhorst, and Grüner, the head of the police, were dismissed from -their offices; but it was all in vain--the tide of public feeling had -now set in the right way. The same spirit was alive in Austria. Abuses -were reformed; a more perfect discipline was introduced. John Philip -von Stadion, the head of the Ministry, encouraged these measures; the -views of the Archduke Charles were carried out on a far wider basis. A -completely new institution, that of the Landwehr, or armed citizens, -was set on foot. The Austrian armies were increased greatly. In 1807 -the Hungarian Diet voted twelve thousand recruits; in 1808, eighty -thousand; while eighty thousand organised soldiers, of whom thirty -thousand were cavalry, constituted the armed reserve of this warlike -nation. Napoleon remonstrated, and received very pacific answers, but -the movement went on. Von Stein, now a refugee in Austria, fanned the -flame there, and he and Count Münster, first Hanoverian Ambassador, -and afterwards British Ambassador at St. Petersburg, were in constant -correspondence with each other and with the Government of Great Britain. - -Before Buonaparte, therefore, could proceed to Spain, he determined to -meet the Czar at Erfurth, in Germany, by their open union to overawe -that country, and to bind Alexander more firmly to his interest by -granting him ampler consent to his designs on Turkey and on Finland. -The meeting took place on the 27th of September, and terminated on the -17th of October. Both Emperors returned in appearance more friendly and -united than ever, but each in secret distrusting his ally. Buonaparte, -who was now intending in earnest to divorce Josephine, and marry a -daughter of a royal house, by whom he might have issue, and thus league -himself with the old dynasties, made a proposal for one of the Russian -archduchesses, which was evaded by Alexander, on the plea of the -difference of religion. Such a plea did not deceive the keen sagacity -of Buonaparte; he felt it to result from a contempt of his plebeian -origin, and a belief in the instability of his giddy elevation; and -he did not forget it. To impress on Europe, however, the idea of the -intimate union of the Czar and Buonaparte, they addressed, before -leaving Erfurth, a joint letter to the King of Great Britain, proposing -a general peace. To this letter Canning answered to the Ministers of -Russia and France, that Sweden--against whom the Czar had commenced his -war of usurpation--Spain, Portugal, and Sicily, must be included in -any negotiations. The French and Russian Ministers, on the contrary, -proposed a peace on the principle of every one retaining what they had -got. This, Canning replied, would never be consented to; and the two -emperors knew that very well, but the letter had served Buonaparte's -purpose. It enabled him to tell France and the world how much he was -disposed to peace, and how obstinate was Britain; it served to make -the world believe in the close intimacy of the Czar and himself. He -now hurried back to France, and, opening the session of the _Corps -Législatif_, on the 25th of October, he announced that he was going -to Spain to drive the "English leopards"--for such he always absurdly -persisted in calling the lions in the royal arms of Great Britain--out -of both Spain and Portugal. On the 27th he set out. - -Buonaparte determined to overwhelm both Spanish and British by numbers. -He had poured above a hundred thousand men across the Pyrenees, and -had supplied their places in France by two enormous conscriptions of -eighty thousand men each. He now followed them with the rapidity of -lightning. From Bayonne to Vittoria he made the journey on horseback in -two days. He was already at Vittoria a week before the British army, -under Sir John Moore, had commenced its march from Lisbon. It was -his aim to destroy the Spanish armies before the British could come -up--and he accomplished it. The Spanish generals had no concert between -themselves, yet they had all been advancing northward to attack the -French on different parts of the Ebro, or in the country beyond it. -It was the first object of Napoleon to annihilate the army of Blake, -which occupied the right of the French army in the provinces of Biscay -and Guipuzcoa. Blake was attacked by General Lefebvre on the last of -October, on ground very favourable to the Spaniards, being mountainous, -and thus not allowing the French to use much artillery; but, after a -short fight of three hours, he was compelled to fall back, and for nine -days he continued his retreat through the rugged mountains of Biscay, -with his army suffering incredibly from cold, hunger, drenching rains, -and fatigue. There was said to be scarcely a shoe or a greatcoat in the -whole force. Having reached Espinosa de los Monteros, he hoped to rest -and recruit his troops, but Lefebvre was upon him, and he was again -defeated. He next made for Reynosa, a strong position, where he hoped -to recollect his scattered army; but there he received the news of the -defeat of Belvedere, from whom he hoped for support. The French were -again upon and surrounding him, and he was compelled to order his army -to save themselves by dispersing amongst the mountains of Asturias, -whilst himself and some of his officers escaped, and got on board a -British vessel. - -Buonaparte had arrived at Vittoria on the 8th of November, between -the defeat of Blake at Espinosa and his dispersion at Reynosa, and he -immediately dispatched Soult to attack Belvedere. This self-confident -commander of two-and-twenty--surrounded by as self-confident students -from Salamanca and Leon--instead of falling back, and forming a -junction with Castaños, stood his ground in an open plain in front of -Burgos, and was scattered to the winds. Between three and four thousand -of his men were killed, wounded, or taken prisoners, and all his cannon -and baggage captured. Buonaparte had now only to beat Castaños, and -there was an end to the whole Spanish force. That general was much more -cautious and prudent than the rest, and he fell back on the approach -of Marshal Lannes, at the head of thirty thousand men, to Tudela. -But Buonaparte had sent numerous bodies of troops to intercept his -course in the direction of Madrid, and, unfortunately for Castaños, -he was joined by Palafox, who had made so successful a stand against -the French at Saragossa. Castaños was for retreating still, to avoid -Lannes in front, and Ney and Victor, who were getting into his rear; -but Palafox, and others of his generals, strongly recommended his -fighting, and a commissioner sent from the Junta in Madrid, in the -French fashion, to see that he did his duty, joined in the persuasion, -by hinting that to retreat would give suspicion of cowardice and -treachery. Against his better judgment, Castaños, therefore, gave -battle on the 22nd of November, at Tudela, and was completely routed. -Palafox hastened back to Saragossa, which was destined to surrender -after another frightful siege. The road was now left open to Madrid, -and the French troops had orders to advance and reduce it; and they did -this with a fiendish ferocity, burning the towns and villages as they -proceeded, and shooting every Spaniard that they found in arms. - -As the French approached Madrid, whither Buonaparte was coming in -person, the Junta, which had taken no measures to render it defensible -while they had time, were now all hurry and confusion. They began -to collect provisions; the stones were torn up to form barricades. -A desperate resistance might have been made, as there had been -at Saragossa, but there was treachery in the city. The wealthy -inhabitants, merchants and shopkeepers, as well as the aristocracy, -were far more anxious to save their property than their country; -the cowardly Junta having issued orders, lost heart, and fled for -Badajos. On the 2nd of December, the anniversary of his coronation, -Buonaparte arrived before Madrid, and summoned it to surrender; and -this being unheeded, he prepared to storm it the next morning. Had -Palafox been there, there would have been, probably, a brave defence. -The next morning the storming commenced, and the French forced their -way as far as the palace of the Duke de Medina Celi, the key of the -whole city. The place was then summoned afresh, and the governor now -proposed a surrender. The fact was, that he had already settled in his -mind to go over to the French, as the strongest party, and he gave no -encouragement or assistance to the citizens, who still continued from -behind their walls and barricades to fire on the French. On the 4th -he declared that the city must surrender; and the French marched in. -Many of the people fled and the rest were disarmed; but Buonaparte, who -wanted to keep Madrid uninjured and in good temper for King Joseph, -gave strict orders that the city should not be plundered, nor the -people treated with rudeness. He fixed his residence about four miles -from Madrid, and issued thence imperial decrees and a proclamation, -informing the Spaniards that all further resistance was useless; -that he wanted his brother to reign in quiet, but that if this were -not permitted, he would come and reign there himself, and compel -submission; for God had given him the power and inclination to surmount -all obstacles. He then set out to drive the "English leopards" from the -Peninsula--a task that was to try him to the uttermost. - -Sir John Moore was left in a most critical situation. All those fine -armies, which were to have enfranchised Spain without his assistance, -were scattered as so much mist; but this he only knew partly. He knew -enough, however, to induce him to determine on a retreat into Portugal, -and there to endeavour to make a stand against the French. He wrote -to Sir David Baird and Sir John Hope--both of them still at a great -distance--to retreat too: Sir David, with his division, to fall back on -Corunna, and then sail to Lisbon to meet him; Sir John to await him at -Ciudad Rodrigo. Had Moore carried out this plan whilst Buonaparte and -his troops were engaged with the army of Castaños, and with Madrid, -his fate might have been very different. But here again he was the -victim of false information. Mr. Frere, who seems to have really known -nothing of what was going on, and to have believed anything, wrote to -him from Aranjuez, on the 30th of November, protesting against his -retreat, and assuring him that he had nothing to do but to advance to -Madrid, and save Spain. He expressed his most unbounded faith in the -valour and success of the Spaniards. He talked to Moore of repulsing -the French before they collected their reinforcements. On reflecting on -the statements of Mr. Frere, Sir John concluded that Madrid was still -holding out, and thought it his duty to proceed to its rescue. He was -joined, on the 6th of December, by Hope and the artillery, and he wrote -again to Sir David Baird to countermand his retreat, and order him to -come up with dispatch. Thus precious time was lost, and it was not till -the 9th that he was undeceived. He had sent Colonel Graham to Madrid -with a reply to Morla, and to procure intelligence of the real state of -affairs. Graham now came back with the alarming and astonishing truth -that the French were in Madrid; that it had held out only one day. It -is strange that Sir John did not instantly commence his retreat; but -he was still misled by false accounts of the strength of the French, -and actually resolved to proceed to Madrid. On the 11th he sent forward -his cavalry, under General Stewart, when they came upon the advanced -post of the enemy occupying the village of Rueda. It was but about -eighty men, infantry and cavalry. They were quickly surrounded by the -British dragoons, and the whole killed or taken prisoners. On the 14th, -an intercepted letter of Berthier to Soult fell into Moore's hands, by -which he learned that various French divisions were moving down upon -him, and that Soult was in advance. He thought that he might meet and -beat Soult before the other divisions arrived, and he therefore, after -sending a dispatch to General Baird to warn him of Soult's approach, -crossed the Tordesillas, and continued his march as far as Mayorga, -where he was joined by Sir David Baird and Sir John Hope, so that his -army now amounted to twenty-three thousand five hundred and eighty on -the spot. He had other regiments in Portugal and on the road, making up -his total to thirty-five thousand. - -On the 23rd Moore was obliged to halt for the coming of his supplies; -and whilst doing so, he received the intelligence that no fewer than -seventy thousand men were in full march after him, or taking a route so -as to cut off his rear at Benevento, and that Buonaparte himself headed -this latter division. There was no further thought of advancing, but -of retreat, before the army was completely surrounded. By the 26th the -whole army was beyond Astorga, but the French were now close behind -them. Buonaparte, indeed, hoped to have rushed on by the Guadarama, and -to have cut off his retreat at Tordesillas, but he was twelve hours -too late. On the last day of December, 1808, Buonaparte was pressing -close on the British rear in the vicinity of Astorga, and thus closed -the year on the fortunes of the Spaniards and their British Allies. -The boastful Spanish armies, too proud to think at first that they -needed assistance, too unskilful, when they did see the need of it, to -co-operate with it, and who had afforded nothing but indifference and -false intelligence to their benefactors, were dispersed like so many -clouds, and their Allies were flying from an overwhelming foe. - -But the year 1809 opened with one auspicious circumstance. There was -no relief from the necessity of continuing the flight; but the proud -Corsican, who hoped to annihilate the "English leopards," was suddenly -arrested in his pursuit, and called away to contend with other foes. -On the 1st of January he was in Astorga, and from the heights above -it could see the straggling rear of the British army. Nothing but the -most imperative urgency prevented him from following, and seeking a -triumph over the hated British--but that urgency was upon him. Pressing -dispatches from France informed him that the North was in ferment, and -that Austria was taking the field. The intelligence was too serious -to admit of a moment's delay; but he made sure that Soult could now -conquer the British, and on the 2nd he turned his face northward, and -travelled to Paris with a speed equal to that with which he had reached -Spain. - -Soult, indeed, had sixty thousand men and ninety-one guns to deal with -the flying and now greatly disorganised army of the British. At first -the retreat had been made with much discipline and order, but the -miserable weather, the torrents of rain, and heavy falls of snow, the -roads rough with rocks, or deep with mud, tried the patience of the -men. So long as they were advancing towards the enemy they could bear -all this with cheerfulness, but the British are never good-humoured or -patient under retreat. Sullen and murmuring, they struggled along in -the retreat, suffering not only from the weather, but from want of -provisions, and the disgraceful indifference of the people to those who -had come to fight their battles. Whenever a halt was made, and an order -given to turn and charge the enemy, they instantly cheered up, forgot -all their troubles, and were full of life and spirit. But their gloom -returned with the retreat; and, not being voluntarily aided by the -Spaniards, they broke the ranks, and helped themselves to food and wine -wherever they could find them. Such was now the state of the weather -and the roads, that many of the sick, and the women and children, who, -in spite of orders, had been allowed to follow the army, perished. The -French pressed more and more fiercely on the rear of the British, and -several times Sir John was compelled to stop and repel them. On one of -these occasions the French general, Colbert, was killed, and the six -or eight squadrons of horse led by him were, for the most part, cut to -pieces. At Lugo, on the 5th of January, Sir E. Paget beat back a very -superior force. Again, on the 7th, Sir John Moore halted, and repulsed -the advanced line of Soult, killing four or five hundred of the French. -The next morning the armies met again in line of battle, but Soult did -not attack; and as soon as it was dark Sir John quietly pursued his -march, leaving his fires burning to deceive the enemy. - -[Illustration: BURIAL OF SIR JOHN MOORE. (_See p._ 570.)] - -On the 10th of January the army came in sight of Corunna and the sea, -but no transports could be seen in the bay. They were detained by -contrary winds at Vigo, and the last hope of safety seemed cut off. -Sir John, however, quartered his troops in Corunna, and determined to -defend it manfully till the transports could get up. But great was his -chagrin at the proofs of the miserable management of the Commissariat -Department. On a hill above the town were four thousand barrels of -gunpowder, which had been sent from England, and had been lying there -many months, and the town was a great magazine of arms. Sir John -replaced the weather-worn muskets of his troops with new ones, supplied -them with fresh, good powder, and, after removing as many barrels of -powder into the town as the time would allow, he blew up the rest, -producing a concussion that shook the place like an earthquake. - -On the morning of the 14th the transports, to their great relief, hove -in sight, and Sir John hastened to get on board the sick, the horses, -and the dismounted cavalry, and to prepare for a fight, for Soult was -now close upon the town; the hills were crowded with his troops, and -they were already skirmishing with his outposts. In these skirmishes -Colonel Mackenzie was killed in endeavouring to seize some of the -French cannon, planted on the same spot where the powder had just -been blown up. The morning of the 16th passed without any attack from -Soult, and Sir John proceeded with his arrangements for embarkation; -but about noon the battle began. Soult had erected a powerful battery -on some rocks at the extremity of his left, and commanding the village -of Elvina, occupied by our troops. Sir David Baird was posted on the -British right, opposite to the battery, and at no great distance from -the village. The French made a dash at the village, under cover of the -battery, and drove our men from it. The fight then became general. -Soult had twenty thousand men, Sir John about fourteen thousand five -hundred; but Soult had far more and heavier cannon, for Sir John had -shipped all his artillery except twelve light guns. It was soon seen -that the French cannon did vastly more execution than ours; and as the -whole line was engaged, Sir John sent Sir E. Paget, with the whole -of his reserve, to turn the left of a column that was outflanking -Baird on the right, and to silence the battery, if possible. Another -division, under General Frazer, was sent to support Paget, and the -battle now raged furiously on the right, and about the village of -Elvina, which was lost and taken once or twice. In this conflict Sir -David Baird had his arm shattered by a cannon-ball, and was taken off -the field. Major Stanhope was killed, and Major, afterwards General Sir -Charles, Napier was wounded. But Paget drew back on the British right, -and Sir John, seeing the 42nd Highlanders engaged, rode up to them -and shouted, "Highlanders! remember Egypt!" and they rushed forward, -driving all before them, till they were stopped by a stone wall. The -battle, however, still raging, and the French bringing up reserves, -the furious contest was renewed around the village of Elvina. Sir John -then dispatched Captain, afterwards Lord, Hardinge, to bring up the -Guards to support the 42nd Highlanders. Whilst awaiting their arrival, -a cannon-ball, which had struck the ground, glanced forward again, and -wounded Sir John on the right shoulder and breast. He was dashed from -his horse, and was supposed to be killed; but the force of the ball -having been partly spent, before Captain Hardinge could reach him he -had raised himself, and was gazing earnestly after the 42nd and the -other troops engaged. When he had seen his soldiers driving the French -before them, he consented to be borne to the rear. He was carried away -by a Highland sergeant and three soldiers, in a blanket, his wound -bleeding very much, and himself satisfied that his hurt was mortal. As -he went, however, he repeatedly made the soldiers halt, that he might -have another view of the battle. By night the French were beaten back -in every direction; but the British general was dead, having lived -only to receive the tidings of victory. During the night the troops -were, most of them, got on board, and at midnight Sir John's remains -were committed to the ground--as he had always wished them to be, -should he be killed in battle--on the ramparts in the old citadel of -Corunna. No coffin was to be procured, for coffins were not a Spanish -fashion; but he was buried dressed as he was, and wrapt in his military -cloak, literally as described in Wolfe's popular poem on his death. -The chaplain read the burial service, and there his officers "left him -alone with his glory," to make their own embarkation. - -The prospects of the European war at this juncture, as observed from -England, were gloomy in the extreme. The dispersion of the armies of -Spain, the retreat and death of Sir John Moore, leaving the whole of -the Spanish and Portuguese Peninsula under the feet of Buonaparte, -disposed many to believe the power of the conqueror unassailable. -The Whig Opposition made every use of this feeling to damage and, if -possible, drive their rivals from office. That the Whigs, in power, -would have refrained from Continental war any more than the Tories -is not to be believed. They had always, when in office--except, in -the case of Fox, for a short interval--been as ready to fight; but -they had generally conducted their campaigns with much less ability. -Now, their great organ, the _Edinburgh Review_, indulged in the most -vehement censures on the Cabinet; charged all the adverse circumstances -of the Spanish and Portuguese war to its bad management; and intimated -that it was the most wicked and idiotic folly to hope to contend with -Buonaparte at all. But if ever there was a time when the continuance of -the war was excusable, and perhaps necessary, it was now. Great Britain -had gone fully and freely into the conflict to assist the Continental -nations. She had pledged herself solemnly to Spain and Portugal, and -to have withdrawn at this crisis would have been equally treacherous -to our allies and pusillanimous as regarded the enemy. It would have -been, in fact, to proclaim to the world that we had been completely -beaten out of the field, that we could not do what we had promised to -our allies, and that Napoleon must be left the master of Europe, and -the dictator to Britain. Such a confession would have destroyed for -ever the _prestige_ of Great Britain, and justly. Ministers felt this, -and never were more resolved to persevere to the end. To show that they -did not for a moment despair, they signed a treaty of peace and amity -with Spain only five days after the arrival of the news of the retreat -and death of Sir John Moore, binding themselves never to acknowledge -the authority of Buonaparte over Spain, or of any family but of -Ferdinand VII. and his lineal successors. That they were supported in -their views by Parliament was soon made evident by the rejection, by a -majority of two hundred and eight against one hundred and fifty-eight, -of a motion of Lord Henry Petty censuring the Convention of Cintra, -and, by a majority of two hundred and twenty against one hundred and -twenty-seven, of a motion of Mr. Ponsonby for inquiry into the conduct -of the late campaign in Spain. Ministers had at length satisfied -themselves that they had in Sir Arthur Wellesley a man capable of -contending against the haughty tyrant of Europe. The most liberal votes -were made for the prosecution of the war. The total of supplies for -the year amounted to fifty-three million eight hundred and sixty-two -thousand pounds, including a loan of eleven million pounds. For the -army twenty-seven million pounds was voted, and for the navy nineteen -million pounds. Between twenty and thirty thousand men were drafted -from the militia into the regulars, and thus the army was augmented -to that amount by soldiers already well trained. The loan was freely -taken at a lower interest than any hitherto borrowed--the Opposition -asserted, because trade was deranged, and capitalists were at a loss -how to invest their money; but the Ministers contended, on the other -hand, that it was solely because the war was popular with the nation. -Before, however, entering into its arduous and bloody details, we must -narrate some disgraceful affairs at home. - -On the 27th of January Colonel Wardle, a militia officer, rose in his -place in the House of Commons and made some startling charges against -the Duke of York, as Commander-in-Chief of the army. Wardle had -been a zealous Conservative, but had now changed his politics, and -was acting with the party of extreme Reformers headed by Sir Francis -Burdett, Lord Folkestone, and others. His charge was that the Duke of -York was keeping a mistress, named Mary Ann Clarke, a married woman, -to the great scandal of the nation, and was allowing her to traffic in -commissions and promotions in the army. Nor was this all; he asserted -that, not in the army alone, but in the Church, this public adulteress -was conferring promotions, through her influence with the Duke, and -that she had quite a levee of clergy, who were soliciting and bribing -her to procure livings and even bishoprics. These were sufficiently -exciting statements, and the Colonel demanded a Committee of Inquiry -to enable him to prove his assertions. Sir Francis Burdett seconded -the motion; and the proposal was not met--as it should have been -by Ministers or the Duke's friends--by a denial, but, in general, -by a eulogium on the Duke's excellent discharge of his duties as -Commander-in-Chief. The House determined that, wherever the infamy was -to fall, it should have the full airing of a committee of the whole -House, which was appointed to commence its inquiries on Wednesday, the -1st of February, the Duke intimating, through his friends, that he -was, on his part, desirous of the fullest investigation of the matter. -From the evidence of Mrs. Clarke it appeared very clear that the Duke -had permitted her to traffic in the sale of commissions, and both Mrs. -Clarke and Mary Ann Taylor, whose brother was married to Mrs. Clarke's -sister, asserted that the Duke had received part of the money for some -of these bargains. Sums of one thousand pounds, of five hundred pounds, -and two hundred pounds had been paid to her for such services. - -Unfortunately, however, for the continuance of the popularity of -Mrs. Clarke, it appeared that she was now actually living in the -keeping of this virtuous Colonel Wardle, who was thus chastising royal -peccadilloes. The whole of the circumstances did not come out whilst -the question was before the House of Commons, but enough to injure the -credit irreparably of Colonel Wardle, and make Mrs. Clarke's evidence -more than ever suspicious. The full information was brought out by a -trial instituted by a Mr. Wright, an upholsterer, in Rathbone Place, -for furnishing a new house for her in Westbourne Place. She had now -quarrelled with Colonel Wardle, and he refused to pay the bill. Wardle, -it appeared, had done his best to stop the coming on of the trial, -but in vain; Mrs. Clarke appeared against him, and not only deposed -that he had gone with her to order the goods, but told her it was in -return for her aid in prosecuting the Duke of York's case. Wardle was -cast on the trial, with costs, having about two thousand pounds to pay, -and losing all the popularity that he had gained by the investigation. -He had been publicly thanked by public meetings, both in the City and -the country, and now came this rueful exposé. But it was too late now -to save the Duke's reputation. The House of Commons had concluded its -examination in March. It acquitted the Duke of any participation with -his artful mistress in the vile profits on the sale of commissions, but -that she had made such there was no question. The Duke did not await -the decision of the Commons, but resigned his office. Lord Althorp, -in moving that, as the Duke had resigned, the proceedings should go -no further, said that the Duke had lost the confidence of the country -for ever, and therefore there was no chance of his returning to that -situation. This was the conclusion to which the House came on the 21st -of March, and soon afterwards Sir David Dundas was appointed to succeed -the Duke as Commander-in-chief, much to the chagrin of the army, and -equally to its detriment. The Duke, though, like some of his brothers, -very profligate, and, like them--according to a statement made during -the debates on his case--capable, as a youth, of learning either Greek -or arithmetic, but not the value of money, seems to have discharged his -duty to the army extremely well, of which old General Dundas was wholly -incapable. - -The corruptions connected with the Duke of York and his mistress -were but a small fragment of the wide and universal system which was -existing. The exposures, however, made by this inquiry induced the -Chancellor of the Exchequer to bring in a Bill to prevent such abuses. -He referred to the sale of commissions which had been brought to light, -and which had been carried on by means of improper influence over a man -in high office. His Bill, therefore, went to make it penal to demand -money for the appointment to office, or to issue advertisements to that -effect. The Bill was passed. - -But fresh light continued to break on the all-pervading corruption. The -Commissioners of Naval Inquiry presented a fresh report, abounding with -proofs of the villainies that had been going on in that department. -The Military Commissioners had a like frightful exposure to make of -frauds and peculations which had been going on wholesale, especially -in the West Indies. The same result followed the investigations of -the committee that inquired into the appointment of cadets to the -East India Service. There was abundance of proofs of the sale of -such places, and even Lord Castlereagh was implicated. It was found -that as President of the Board of Control--the Minister, in fact, -for Indian Affairs--he had presented a writership to his friend, -Lord Clancarty, which Clancarty had bartered with a Mr. Reding for -a seat in Parliament, and which Reding immediately sold for three -thousand pounds. Lord Archibald Hamilton immediately moved that Lord -Castlereagh had been guilty of an abuse of his authority as President -of the Board of Control. Castlereagh replied that, when he presented -his friend, Lord Clancarty, with the writership, he had no notion that -Reding was a regular broker in parliamentary seats, though he did not -deny that Reding had told him that he meant to make over the place -to a Member of Parliament who had a nephew whom he wished to send to -India, and that this Member of Parliament would vote accordingly. The -virtuous Wilberforce seemed to hold this easy-going morality, for he -voted for Lord Castlereagh, and, in spite of the denunciations of Sir -Francis Burdett, Mr. W. Smith, and others, Lord Archibald Hamilton's -motion was rejected by two hundred and sixteen against a hundred and -sixty-seven--and Lord Castlereagh walked away scathless. There was -immediately another charge brought against him, in company with the -Honourable Henry Wellesley, the brother of General Wellesley, and late -Secretary of the Treasury, for corrupt practices in the election of -members of Parliament; but the ministerial majority outvoted Mr. Madox, -the mover. About the same time Mr. Curwen brought in a Bill to prevent -such practices, and to obtain purity of Parliament by extinguishing -bribery, and this was suffered to pass when all vitality had been taken -out of it. On the 15th of June Sir Francis Burdett also made a motion -for extensive parliamentary Reform; but the greater part of the members -of Parliament had already left town, and the motion was rejected by -seventy-four against fifteen. On the 21st the Session was closed with a -speech which took a hopeful view of the war in Spain, and also of that -which Austria had again commenced. We may now return to the details of -these great contests on the Continent. - -[Illustration: SIR DAVID BAIRD.] - -We have stated that the spirit rising again in Germany called -Buonaparte suddenly from Spain, even before Soult had pursued Sir John -Moore to Corunna. At Valladolid he met the Abbé de Pradt, who had risen -high in Buonaparte's favour. To De Pradt, he said he began to suspect -that he had made his brother Joseph a grander present in Spain than -he was aware of. "I did not know," he said, "what Spain was; it is a -finer country than I imagined. But you will see that, by-and-by, the -Spaniards will commit some folly which will place their country once -more at my disposal. I will then take care to keep it to myself, and -divide it into five great viceroyships." Such were the soaring notions -of Napoleon at the very moment that the man was ready who was to drive -the French from Spain for ever. In England, at last, almost every one -had now awoke to the consciousness that Sir Arthur Wellesley was the -only man to cope with the French in the Peninsula. There were a few -individuals, like Lord Folkestone, who were blinded enough by party -to oppose this general conviction; but before the close of March Sir -Arthur was selected by the Government for this command. On the 15th of -April he sailed from Portsmouth, and on the 22nd he arrived safely at -Lisbon. Some regiments of both horse and foot soon followed him, and -he assumed the command of the British army in Portugal, which had been -some time in the hands of General Sir J. Cradock. The command of the -Portuguese troops had been placed in the hands of General Beresford, -who had been actively drilling them; and thus General Sir Arthur -Wellesley found himself at the head of an effective army of British -and Portuguese numbering twenty-five thousand men. - -Soult, on the retreat of Sir John Moore, had taken possession of -Ferrol, Bilbao, and the other principal towns in the north of Spain. -He had then entered Portugal, and had marched to Oporto, which he took -after a resistance of only two days; and Sir J. Cradock had retired to -Lisbon. Soult was prevented from advancing farther by the rising of -the Spaniards behind him in Galicia, who retook Vigo and other places; -whilst Silviera, the Portuguese general, interposed between him and -Galicia, and formed a junction with the Spaniards. Wellesley determined -to expel Soult from Oporto, and did not hesitate to say that the French -general could not long remain in Portugal. Leaving a division in -Lisbon to guard the eastern frontiers of Portugal against the forces -of Victor, who lay in Spanish Estremadura, Sir Arthur advanced towards -Oporto with a celerity that astonished the French. He quitted Lisbon -on the 28th of April, reached Coimbra, driving the French before him, -and on the 9th of May he was advancing from that city on Oporto. By -the 11th he was occupying the southern bank of the Douro, opposite to -that city. Soult had broken down the bridges and sent away the boats, -so that he might be able to retire at leisure into Galicia; but Sir -Arthur managed to send across General Murray with a brigade, a few -miles above Oporto, and a brigade of Guards also passed at the suburb -of Villanova, and he discovered sufficient boats to carry over his main -army just above the town. The French commenced a fierce attack on the -British forces as they landed; but the first battalion, the Buffs, got -possession of a large building called the Seminario, and held it till -the other troops arrived. Major-General Hill soon brought up the 48th -and 66th regiments; General Sherbrooke, who crossed the river below -the town with the brigade of Guards and the 29th regiment, entered the -town amid the acclamations of the people, and charged the French in the -rear; and General Murray, about the same time, showed himself on the -French left, above the town. Soult fled, leaving behind him his sick -and wounded, and many prisoners, besides much artillery and ammunition. -This taking of Oporto, in the face of a French force of ten thousand -men, coupled with his having to cross the broad Douro, and that with -very defective means of transit, was a most brilliant affair; and the -most astonishing thing was, that Wellesley lost only twenty-three -killed and ninety-eight wounded, whilst Soult's troops suffered -severely. - -Sir Arthur determined to give Soult as sharp a chase as he had given -Sir John Moore. He wrote to General Beresford to hold Villa Real, if -possible, whilst he pressed on the heels of Soult. On the 16th of May -he came up with Soult's rear, near Salamonde, defeated the rear-guard, -killed and wounded a great number of men, and Sir Arthur wrote that, -had they had half an hour's more daylight, he should have taken the -whole of his rear-guard. He added: "I shall follow him to-morrow. He -has lost everything--cannon, ammunition, baggage, military chest--and -his retreat is in every respect, even in weather, a pendant for the -retreat to Corunna." In truth, had Sir John Moore sent a Nemesis to -avenge himself, it could not have executed a more complete retribution. -All the horrors of Sir John's retreat, and far worse, were repeated. -The French had exasperated the population here, as everywhere, by -their reckless cruelties and rapacity, and they surrounded the -flying army, and killed every man that they could find straggling, -or who was left exhausted on the road. On the other hand, the French -tracked their retrograde path with equal fury. "Their route," says -Sir Arthur, "could be traced by the smoke of the villages that they -set on fire." Sir Arthur, in his dispatches, also says that, during -their abode in Portugal, the French had murdered people merely because -they did not like their seizure of their country; and that he saw men -hanging on trees by the roadside, whom they had executed for no other -reason. So the scene of Soult's retreat was now one long picture of -Pandemonium--the whole way strewn with dead men, horses, and mules; -a wasted country, and an infuriated peasantry seeking to wreak their -vengeance. Sir Arthur stopped his pursuit near the frontiers of Spain. -He could not overtake Soult, who fled flinging away every impediment, -whilst he was compelled to carry his supplies and artillery along with -him. Besides, the French, since the defeat of the Spaniards at Tudela, -had entered Andalusia in great force, where there was no army to oppose -them except the ill-equipped one of the proud and unmanageable General -Cuesta; and Marshal Victor, who commanded in Estremadura, might readily -have made a descent on Lisbon, had Wellesley gone far into Spain. He -therefore resolved to return to Oporto, to make necessary inquiries -as to the roads into Spain; to improve his commissariat; and then, -forming a junction with Cuesta, to advance against Marshal Victor. -Whilst at Oporto he had the satisfaction to learn that Frere was -superseded by his own brother, Lord Wellesley, as ambassador for Spain, -a circumstance of immense importance to the cause. - -Towards the end of May Wellesley commenced his march over the Spanish -frontiers; his force being about twenty thousand infantry and three -thousand cavalry. He fell in with the old Spanish general, Cuesta, at -Oropesa, on the 20th of July, who was at the head of thirty thousand -men, but miserably equipped, discouraged by repeated defeats, and -nearly famished. Sir Arthur was woefully disappointed by this first -view of a Spanish army in the field, and here, indeed, all his -difficulties began. The general was a regular Spanish hidalgo--proud, -ignorant, and pig-headed. He received Wellesley with immense stiffness -and ceremony, as if somebody immeasurably his inferior; and though he -knew no English, nor Sir Arthur any Spanish, he would not condescend -to speak French with him. His army collected supplies from all the -country round; and though the British were come to fight for them, the -Spaniards expected them to provide for themselves, and there was the -greatest difficulty in inducing the people to sell the British anything -except for fabulous prices. Still worse, Sir Arthur found it impossible -to get Cuesta to co-operate in anything. He fancied that he knew a -great deal more about military affairs than the "Sepoy general," as -Wellesley was termed, and that he ought to direct in everything, though -he had done nothing but get well beaten on every occasion. And yet, if -we take a glance at the French forces now in Spain, against whom they -had to make head, the utmost harmony and co-operation was necessary. - -The French army in Spain numbered more than two hundred thousand men, -and of these more than one hundred and thirty thousand lay in the -provinces bordering on Portugal, or between it and Madrid. Victor -had thirty-five thousand in Estremadura; and close behind him, in La -Mancha, Sebastiani had twenty thousand more. Northward, in Old Castile, -Leon, and Asturias, Kellermann and Bonnet had ten thousand. Soult, in -Galicia, was joined by Ney and Mortier, making his army again upwards -of fifty thousand, with whom he contemplated returning into Portugal. -General Dessolles had fifteen thousand men at Madrid to protect -the intrusive King Joseph; and Suchet and Augereau, in Aragon and -Catalonia, commanded fifty thousand. Almost all the strong fortresses -in the country were in their hands. The only circumstances favourable -to the Allies were that the French generals were at variance amongst -themselves; that none of them paid any deference to the commands of -King Joseph, who was nominally generalissimo; and that the Spaniards -were, everywhere where woods and mountains favoured them, harassing the -French in a manner that made them very sick of the country, and that -often reduced them to a state of severe privation. - -Sir Arthur was anxious to engage and defeat Victor before he was -joined by the forces of Joseph from Madrid, and of Sebastiani from La -Mancha. He therefore dispatched Sir Robert Wilson, at the head of a -considerable body of Spanish and Portuguese troops, on the way towards -Madrid; and Sir Robert executed this duty with so much promptitude and -address that he threw himself into the rear of Victor at Escalona, only -eight leagues from the capital. On the 22nd of July the united armies -of Britain and Portugal attacked Victor's outposts at Talavera, and -drove them in. The stupid old Cuesta was nowhere to be seen; and the -next day, the 23rd, when the British were again in position, ready to -attack the French, the day was lost, because Cuesta said he would not -fight on a Sunday. This tried Sir Arthur's patience past endurance, -for every moment was precious, and he wrote on the occasion--"I find -General Cuesta more and more impracticable every day. It is impossible -to do business with him, and very uncertain that any operation will -succeed in which he has any concern. He has quarrelled with some of his -principal officers, and I understand they are all dissatisfied with -him." The opportunity of beating Victor was thus lost. At midnight he -quitted Talavera, and retreated to Santa Olalla, and thence towards -Torrijos, to form a junction with Sebastiani. The next morning -Wellesley took possession of Talavera, but he could not pursue the -enemy, for he says, "he found it impossible to procure a single mule -or a cart in Spain." Neither could he procure food for his army. He -says his troops had actually been two days in want of provisions, -though Cuesta's camp abounded with them. He declared that, under -such treatment by those that he had come to save, he would return to -Portugal before his army was ruined. On this, Cuesta became as wildly -and madly active as he had been before stubbornly passive. He dashed -forward after Victor alone, never stopping till he ran against the rear -of the united army of Victor and Sebastiani, at Torrijos. Wellesley -was quite sure what the result would be, and in a few days Cuesta came -flying back with a confused mass of men, bullocks, flocks of sheep, -baggage waggons, and artillery, beaten and pursued by the enemy. - -[Illustration: MAP OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL TO ILLUSTRATE THE PENINSULAR -WAR.] - -Sir Arthur knew that at least one hundred thousand French were on the -march to take him at once in flank and front; that Soult was advancing -from Salamanca, Mortier from Valladolid; and, besides--which he did -not know--Ney was _en route_ from Astorga. He must, therefore, retreat -at once or fight, and the enemy saved him the trouble of deciding. -King Joseph, afraid of Sir Robert Wilson being joined by General -Venegas, who had shown himself on the road towards Aranjuez, and of -then falling on Madrid, ordered Victor to attack Wellesley at once, -without waiting for any further reinforcements. Accordingly, Sir Arthur -was attacked by Victor in front of Talavera. He had placed Cuesta -and his Spaniards on his right, abutting on the Tagus, and protected -by old enclosure walls and olive gardens; and his own troops on the -left, on the open plain. The attack began on the evening of the 27th -of July, on the outposts, which gradually fell back, and the battle -was renewed the next day. The position of the Spaniards being found -unapproachable, the whole fury of the French fell on the British, and -the contest was kept up till it was pitch dark. About midnight there -was a tremendous firing on the Spanish side, and Sir Arthur rode there -to ascertain the cause. No cause was visible, but the Spaniards were -flying in great haste, and it was with difficulty that he and Cuesta -could stop the rout. Next day the British line was attacked on all -points by the troops of both Victor and Sebastiani, but they were -repelled, and driven down the hills at the point of the bayonet. At -one time the British centre was driven in, but it was re-established -by the 48th, while the 23rd Dragoons, by a reckless charge, paralysed -a whole division of the French army. In the words of Sir Arthur, the -British everywhere maintained their positions gloriously, and gave the -French a terrible beating. Out of the fifty thousand pitched against -the less than twenty thousand British--for the Spanish were scarcely -engaged at all--they lost in killed and wounded seven thousand men. -General Lapisse was killed, and many prisoners were taken, besides -seventeen pieces of artillery, with tumbrils and ammunition complete. -The British lost eight hundred and fifty-seven killed, and had three -thousand nine hundred and thirteen wounded. Major-General Mackenzie and -Brigadier-General Langworth were killed. - -[Illustration: THE BAYONET CHARGE AT TALAVERA. (_See p._ 577.)] - -The next morning, by daybreak, the French were in full retreat over -the river Alberche, and Sir Arthur employed the two following days -in getting his wounded into hospital in Talavera, and in procuring -provisions for his victorious but starving army. Sir Arthur complains -that, though he had thus repulsed the French for them, neither the -Spanish authorities nor the Spanish people did anything to assist -him in this respect. They were very willing that the British should -fight their battles, but they must provide for themselves, or starve. -The state of our own Commissariat aggravated this evil. It had long -been a Department of the most corrupt kind, the duties of which were -neglected, and little was thought of by its officers but the enriching -of themselves at the expense of our Government and our soldiers. These -swindlers, long after this, continued to pay the contractors and -muleteers in notes payable at Lisbon, or at headquarters; these the -receivers had often to get changed into coin at a monstrous discount, -and Jews and jobbers flocked after the army for this purpose. To add to -the mischief, some of these villains introduced loads of counterfeit -dollars, merely copper-plated, so that, after losing enormously on the -exchange of the paper, the receivers found themselves utterly defrauded -of their payment. It was no wonder that the trading part of the Spanish -population should feel shy of supplying us, more especially as Sir -John Moore--from the money which should have been in his chest having -been, by Mr. Frere, carelessly handed over to the Spanish Junta--had -had to pay in paper which the British Government had not yet redeemed. -The reform of such abuses as these was one of the great things which -Wellesley did for the British army, but at present he was suffering the -extremest difficulties from them. He wrote sternly to Mr. Frere, who -had not yet been superseded by the arrival of Lord Wellesley, that he -(Sir Arthur) was blamed by the Junta for not doing more, whilst they -were allowing his army, which had beaten twice their own number in -the service of Spain, to starve. "It is positively a fact," he wrote, -"that during the last seven days the British army have not received -one-third of their provisions; that, at this moment, there are nearly -four thousand wounded soldiers dying in the hospitals in this town from -want of common assistance and necessaries, which any other country in -the world would have given even to its enemies; and that I can get no -assistance of any description from this country. I cannot prevail on -them to even bury the dead carcases in the neighbourhood, the stench -of which will destroy themselves as well as us." All this while, he -added, Don Martin de Garay was urging him to push on, and drive the -French over the Pyrenees; "but," added Sir Arthur, "I positively will -not move; nay, more, I will disperse my army till I am supplied with -provisions and means of transport as I ought to be." - -And, in fact, circumstances rendered it advisable to retreat. Joseph -Buonaparte, with the reinforcements of Sebastiani, had joined Victor, -and that general felt ready to advance. At the same time Wellesley -learned that Soult had arrived in Palencia, in the British rear. He -desired Cuesta to guard the pass of Puerto de Baños, but this he did -so ineffectually that both Soult and Mortier marched through it. -Ney also reached Palencia, and thus fifty-three thousand men were -threatening to cut off Sir Arthur's route to Portugal. He determined -to fall back on Oropesa, leaving Cuesta to defend Talavera, and -protect the two thousand British wounded in the hospitals; but Cuesta -speedily abandoned the place, leaving one thousand five hundred of the -wounded behind, whom Victor, to his honour, treated in the most humane -manner. With the road of the enemy thus left open in his rear in two -directions, Sir Arthur, at the same time, learned that Soult's division -had got between him and the bridge of Alvarez, in the direct line of -his march into Portugal. His situation, thus hemmed in by overwhelming -forces, was most critical, and he informed Cuesta that he must file -off for Badajos. He reached Badajos safely on the 2nd of September, -carrying the one thousand five hundred wounded with him. These he sent -to the strongly fortified town of Elvas, in Portuguese territory, -which now became the great hospital of the army. Sir Arthur, on the -7th of September, was informed of the arrival of Sir Robert Wilson -at Castello Branco. He had conducted his little force almost to the -gates of Madrid, and had made a powerful diversion in favour of the -main army, by keeping King Joseph and the French General in constant -fear of his joining Venegas and attacking the capital. On his return, -by order of Wellesley, he had gallantly fought his way against vastly -superior forces, always contriving to make the enemy believe that -his strength was double what it was. His conduct of this expedition -elicited the most cordial praises from the Commander-in-Chief. At this -juncture Napoleon sent a dispatch, ordering the army in Spain to cease -further offensive operations till the conclusion of the Austrian war -enabled him to send fresh reinforcements into Spain. This was a proof -that Buonaparte no longer hoped to beat the British army by any but -the most preponderating masses. He had in Spain ten times the forces -of the British, yet he could not hope for victory from this vast -disproportion. Wellesley, at this very time, in one of his dispatches, -had observed this great fact. "I conceive," he said, "that the French -are dangerous only in large masses." The British army was therefore -quartered on the line of the Guadarama, to protect Portugal from Soult, -and remained undisturbed till the following May. Whilst the hostile -forces were thus resting, the news reached Sir Arthur that he had been -created Baron Douro of Wellesley, and Viscount Wellington of Talavera. -This honour had been conferred upon him on the 4th of September, as -soon as possible after the arrival of the news of his brilliant and -memorable victory at Talavera. - -If there wanted anything to prove the truth of Lord Wellington's -warnings to the Spanish authorities of the undisciplined condition -of their armies, and the incompetency of their generals, it came -quickly. Whilst they continued to treat him more like an enemy than a -friend, and had issued orders throughout the province where he lay, -forbidding the sale of provisions and forage for his army, their -own armies were again annihilated. The army of Venegas, which had -retreated, on the advance of Sebastiani towards Madrid, into the Sierra -Morena, had been taken from him, and given to a young, inexperienced -man, General Areizaga. Cuesta, also, had been set aside for one still -more incapable, a General Eguia, of whom Lord Wellington had already -pronounced that he was a fool. Areizaga, instead of maintaining his -strong post in the hills, being joined by the greater part of the army -of Estremadura, now commanded by Eguia, imagined that he could beat the -united forces of Mortier and Sebastiani, and drive them out of Madrid. -With fifty thousand men and sixty pieces of artillery he descended from -his hills into the open plains of Ocaña, where he was beaten on the -20th of November, with the loss of all his artillery but five guns, his -baggage, military chest, provisions, and everything. There was immense -slaughter of his soldiers, and the rest fled into the mountains. The -Duke del Parque, who was placed for the protection of the line of the -Tagus with another large army, was marching to support this intended -conquest of Madrid, when, in the month of October, being strongly -posted on the heights of Tamames, he encountered General Marchand, and -defeated him. Elated by this success, he no longer trusted to hills and -strong positions, but, like Areizaga, advanced boldly into the plains, -and on the 28th of November he encountered Kellermann at Alba de -Tormes, and received a most thorough defeat. His men, both cavalry and -infantry, scarcely stayed to cross swords or bayonets with the French, -but, flinging down their arms, and leaving all their baggage and -artillery behind them, they fled in every direction. Kellerman pursued -and cut them down without mercy--according to his own account, killing -three thousand men and making three hundred prisoners. - -Lord Wellington, notwithstanding that the destruction of these armies, -on which the defence of Andalusia and the provinces of the south -depended, completely proved the justice of his statements to the Junta, -was deeply chagrined by the circumstance. "I lament," he said, in his -despatches, "that a cause which promised so well a few weeks ago, -should have been so completely lost by the ignorance, presumption, and -mismanagement of those to whose direction it was entrusted. I declare -that, if they had preserved their two armies, or even one of them, the -cause was safe. The French could have sent no reinforcements which -could have been of any use; time would have been gained; the state of -affairs would have daily improved; all the chances were in our favour; -and, in the first moment of weakness, occasioned by any diversion on -the Continent, or by the growing discontent of the French themselves -with the war, the French armies must have been driven out of Spain." -Lord Wellington's position was, by the destruction of these armies, -left totally open, and he had for some time resolved to retire wholly -into Portugal, and had been planning that system of defence which -afterwards proved so astonishing to the French. Though he was left -with about twenty thousand men to maintain himself against the whole -French host in Spain, he never for a moment contemplated quitting the -Peninsula, nor despaired of the final result. The experienced eye of -Lord Wellington, after the battle of Vimiera, had, at a glance, seen -the admirable capability of the mountain ranges of Torres Vedras for -the construction of impregnable lines of defence for Lisbon. So far -from holding any notion of being driven to his ships, like Sir John -Moore, he was satisfied that, by fortifying the defiles through these -hills, and keeping our ships on the Tagus and on the coast, he could -defy all the armies of France. He proceeded now to Lisbon, where he -arrived on the 10th of October, reconnoitred the hills, and, having -done so, left with Colonel Fletcher, of the Engineers, a clearly -written statement of all that he desired to be done, so as to make the -double line of defences complete: to erect batteries on each side of -the defiles through which the necessary roads ran, to erect breastworks -and entrenchments where required, and to break down the bridges in -front of them. He ascertained the precise time it would require to -accomplish all this, and, ordering all to be carried on with the utmost -quickness, he returned to Badajos, and next proceeded to Seville, to -join his brother in urging on the Spanish Government the necessary -measures for the defence of the country. After visiting Cadiz with -his brother, he returned to his headquarters, where he had scarcely -arrived on the 17th of November, when he received the news of the -total overthrow of the Spaniards at Ocaña. He then made a deliberate -and orderly retreat from Spain, crossing the Tagus at Abrantes, where -he left General Hill with his division, supported by General Fane's -brigade of heavy horse, and marched to Almeida, and quartered his -army there in a more healthy situation. His troops were now also well -supplied with provisions. During the long interval of repose--that -is, till the following May--Wellington actively employed himself in -putting life and order into the commissariat, baggage, and conveyance -departments; and General Beresford, to whom the important function of -disciplining the Portuguese troops was assigned, laboured in that with -such effect, that he produced at the next campaign troops which, led by -British officers, and mixed with British regiments, fought admirably. -The Portuguese were wise enough to allow the British commander full -control, and by this means they avoided those defeats and calamities -which fell long and heavily on the Spaniards. - -Whilst these events had been taking place in Spain and Portugal, Great -Britain had been sending money and troops to oppose Buonaparte in -other quarters. Early in the spring Austria was in the field; in July -a powerful fleet, carrying an army, sailed from the Downs, to create a -diversion on the coast of the Netherlands, and other operations were -commenced in the south of Italy. The army destined for the Netherlands -amounted to forty thousand men, attended by a fleet of thirty-five sail -of the line and twenty frigates, to assist where they might be needed. -Buonaparte had contemplated making a great port of Antwerp, and had -expended much money and labour in docks and fortifications there; but -finding that the port of Antwerp was not deep enough for first-rate -ships of war, he undertook to render Flushing capable of receiving and -protecting a large fleet. He still contemplated, by the co-operation -of Denmark and Russia, the sending forth a fleet, some day, which -might cope with the British navy, or enable him to invade England. -For this purpose he was building ships at Antwerp and Flushing; and -it was, no doubt, these circumstances which determined the British to -direct their attack on Flushing and Antwerp. Captain, afterwards Sir -George Cockburn, was of opinion that these preparations of Napoleon -could never affect England; that no possession of Zealand, or any -part of it, could be kept by England, from its extreme unhealthiness -to foreigners, and even to Dutchmen; and that it was much better for -Britain to let Buonaparte build ships, and take them whenever they came -out to sea, than to sacrifice the lives of our troops for no permanent -benefit in this region of bogs, stagnant water, and malaria. Had these -forty thousand troops been sent to support Wellington, and half the -money that this fatal expedition cost, they would have enabled him -to drive the French triumphantly out of Spain, and create the most -magnificent diversion for Austria, as well as the most honourable to -England. - -But the surprise of Antwerp and the destruction of the docks of -Flushing were determined upon; and Lord Chatham, rather for his name -than for any military talent that he possessed, was appointed the -commander of the forces. Lord Chatham was so notorious for his sluggish -and procrastinating nature, that he had long been nicknamed the _late_ -Lord Chatham; the justice of this epithet had been too obvious in all -the offices that he had hitherto held; and yet this expedition which -demanded the utmost promptness and active skill, was entrusted to him. -At the head of the fleet was placed Sir Richard Strachan, a man of no -energy. The commander of the ships on such an occasion should have -been Lord Cochrane, for Sir Sidney Smith was already engaged on the -coast of Italy. The orders for each commander were extremely loose and -indefinite thereby leaving every chance of disputes and consequent -delays and mishaps; and, to complete the disgraceful management of -the Government, no inquiries had been made as to the healthiness or -unhealthiness of the district where the army would have to encamp. -Though the island of Walcheren had been occupied by our troops under -William III., no record was to be found, or, indeed, was sought for, as -to the cost of life to our men on that occasion from the climate. The -whole plan was laid in ignorance and carried out with carelessness, and -it was no wonder, therefore, that it ended in misery and disgrace. - -[Illustration: THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. (_After the Portrait by Sir -Thomas Lawrence._)] - -The fleet sailed from the Downs on the 28th of July, 1809, and on -the 30th it touched at the islands of South Beveland and Walcheren. -The orders of the Government were, "the capture or destruction of -the enemy's ships, building or afloat at Antwerp and Flushing; the -destruction of the arsenals at Antwerp, Terneuse, and Flushing; the -reduction of the island of Walcheren, and, if possible, the rendering -of the Scheldt no longer navigable for ships." Nelson, who had -contemplated this enterprise, had calculated that it would require -four or five thousand men, and could be accomplished in a week. But -now Buonaparte had rendered the task more difficult, and there was no -Nelson to do it. The most sagacious of the officers pointed out that -the first rush should be for Antwerp, as the extreme point of the -expedition, so as to destroy or capture the vessels there before the -French could come to the rescue. The places nearer to the sea could -be taken in returning. Had the troops landed at Blankenberg, they -could have made a rapid march along a paved road through Bruges and -Ghent, and captured Antwerp, only forty-five miles distant, whilst -the fleet ascended the Scheldt to receive them on their return; but -no such common-sense ideas found acceptance with the commanders. -They determined to reduce Flushing first, and the other forts on the -Scheldt, as Lillo and Liefkenshoek, in succession, by which time it was -certain that the French would appear at Antwerp in numbers sufficient -to protect it. Flushing was attacked on the 1st of August, and did not -surrender till the 16th. Had this been the reduction of Antwerp, the -rest of the objects of the expedition would have followed of course; -but Lord Chatham and Rear-Admiral Strachan were in no hurry. They -remained signing the capitulation, securing six thousand prisoners that -they had taken, and reducing two small islands to the north of the -eastern Scheldt, till the 21st (three whole weeks virtually wasted!), -and on the 23rd they landed at Ter Goes, on the neighbouring island of -South Beveland. Here, again, they delayed another precious fortnight, -whilst the French were planting batteries at every turn of the river -between them and Antwerp; had drawn a boom-chain across the channel -between Lillo and Liefkenshoek; and had sunk vessels to obstruct the -narrowest part of the channel beyond. They still talked of forcing -their way to Antwerp; but according to a satiric rhyme of the time-- - - "The Earl of Chatham, with his sword drawn, - Stood waiting for Sir Richard Strachan; - Sir Richard, eager to be at 'em, - Stood waiting too, for whom? Lord Chatham." - -Meantime Cambacérès and Fouché had dispatched couriers to Louis -Buonaparte, in Holland, to march down troops to the defence of Antwerp; -and he had not only done that, but had opened the sluices on the -borders of the Scheldt, and laid the country under water, to prevent -the march of the British. He also had ordered the erection of numerous -batteries, and Bernadotte arrived in about a fortnight, by orders of -Napoleon, to resist the advance of the British. From forty to fifty -thousand troops were assembled in and around Antwerp, and hosts of -Dutch and Belgian militia swarmed over the country. This was certain -to be the case if any time was allowed, and it was now agreed, in a -council of war, that it was not possible to proceed further. In fact, -they were no longer allowed to remain where they were. Their provisions -were rapidly being exhausted, sickness was spreading amongst the -troops, and the fire of the enemy's batteries from both sides of the -river compelled them to fall down the stream. That was the end of the -campaign; the rest was a foolish and murderous delay in the island -of Walcheren, without any conceivable purpose. There was no use in -retaining the island, for we could at any time blockade the mouths -of the Scheldt, and our men on board the ships were comparatively -healthy; but in this swamp of death the soldiers continued dying -like rotten sheep. The island of Walcheren, to which they were now -confined, is a spongy swamp, below the level of the sea at high water. -The wet oozes through the banks, and stagnates in the dykes, and is -only capable of being pumped out by windmills. The ground is covered -often with mud and slime, and the inhabitants are sickly and sallow in -aspect, and of loose and flaccid muscles. Yet, in this den of fever -and death, the commanders seemed determined to retain the army till -it perished entirely. The Earl of Chatham himself returned to London -on the 14th of September, with as many of the sick as he could take. -At this time he left eleven thousand, out of the seventeen thousand -quartered on the island of Walcheren, on the sick-list, and rapidly -dying; yet neither he nor Sir Eyre Coote, who succeeded him, seems to -have felt the necessity of saving the army by retiring from the place. -They attributed the unhealthiness to the dykes being cut, and the -surrounding country being flooded in the hot season. No matter what was -the cause, the army was perishing, and ought to have been removed; but, -so far from this, the Ministers seemed determined to keep possession -of this useless and pestilential swamp at any cost. As it was imagined -that the drinking of the water was the cause of the fever, Thames water -was carried over for the troops, five hundred tons per week being -required. But it was not the drinking it only that caused disease and -death, but the standing and working in it, as many of them did, up -to the middle for many hours together, and the malaria arising from -the oozy soil. As the roofs in Flushing were knocked to pieces by the -storming of the town, British workmen, with bricks, mortar, tiles, and -tools, were sent over to repair them, so as to protect the sick in the -hospitals, though plenty of workmen and materials might have been had -in the country. - -As it was necessary that some doctors of note and experience should be -sent over to examine the nature of the illness and the condition of -the men, the Surgeon-General was ordered to proceed to the spot and -make the necessary inquiries; but he replied that it was not in his -department, but in that of the Physician-General, Sir Lucas Pepys. -Sir Lucas excused himself on account of his age, and recommended -some other physicians to be sent out. Both gentlemen were content to -receive the country's money easily at home, but although a whole army -was perishing, they would not risk their own precious lives. They were -dismissed, and their conduct showed the necessity of a thorough reform -of the medical establishment of the army. Sir Richard Strachan, though -he saw the continuous destruction of the soldiers, strongly recommended -Government to retain possession of Walcheren, as a very important -naval station, and the Ministry were besotted enough to contemplate -fortifying it on an extensive scale, and more men and materials were -sent over for that purpose. But, fortunately for the remains of our -army there, the Emperor of Austria had now made peace with Buonaparte, -and our diversion in his favour here was useless, so, on the 13th of -November, orders were sent to Lieutenant-General Don, who had succeeded -Sir Eyre Coote, to destroy the docks and fortifications of Flushing, -and come away. Thus ended this most fatal expedition, which cost Great -Britain twenty millions of money, and many thousands of lives. Of those -who survived, thousands had their constitutions broken for ever; and -even such as appeared to get over the lingering and insidious Walcheren -fever, on being sent to the war in the Peninsula, proved so liable to -its return on exposure to wet or cold, that often one-third of these -troops were not fit for service. So far from wishing to remove us from -Walcheren, Buonaparte wrote to the Minister of War, saying: "We are -rejoiced to see that the English have packed themselves in the morasses -of Zealand. Let them be only kept in check, and the bad air and fevers -peculiar to the country will soon destroy their army." The fatal -results of this expedition introduced dissensions into the Cabinet, and -soon after occasioned the resignation of Canning. - -Our forces on the Italian coast were met by the active spirit of the -new King of Naples, Joachim Murat. Sir John Stuart, who had won the -splendid victory of Maida, embarked, on the 13th of June, fifteen -thousand British troops in Sicily, and proceeded to menace Naples, and -create alarm in various quarters, so as to draw the French from Upper -Italy, and thus relieve the Austrians. With part of these forces siege -was laid to Scylla; with the other Sir John anchored off Cape Miseno, -close to Baiæ and Puzzuoli, and directly across the bay, about a dozen -miles from Naples. The greatest alarm was excited, and nothing would -have been easier for Sir John than to have battered the town about -the ears of the intruder king; but this the interests of the old king -did not permit, especially as Ferdinand's second son, Don Leopold, -was present as nominal commander, but he was of no use really, being -a most effeminate and incapable person. Sir John then sailed to the -islands of Procida and Ischia, compelled the garrisons to capitulate, -dismantled the fortifications, and then abandoned these islands. During -all this time our warships were scouring the whole of the coasts of -Southern Italy, capturing every vessel that ventured out, and keeping -the French generals on shore in constant agitation. In the encounters -with the enemy's vessels on these coasts many brilliant exploits were -performed by our captains, and by none more than by Captain Staines, of -the _Cyane_ frigate, who, on the 27th of June, stood a stout but most -unequal fight with a Neapolitan frigate and corvette, under the very -batteries of Naples. The siege of Scylla was raised by a strong French -force, and Sir John Stuart returned to Sicily. Scylla was, however, -shortly after abandoned again by the French, and its guns and stores, -which appeared to have been left in some panic, fell into the hands of -the British. - -Sir John Stuart did not long remain idle at Palermo. At the suggestion -of Lord Collingwood, he sent out an expedition to seize on a number of -the Ionian Isles, which had been taken possession of by the French, -who were calculating on further conquests in that direction--namely, -in continental Greece itself. The _Warrior_, commanded by Captain -Spranger, attended by other vessels, carried over one thousand six -hundred troops, under command of Brigadier-General Oswald. The troops -were half of them British, and half Corsicans, Sicilians, Calabrians, -and other foreigners in British pay. They carried with them Signor -Foresti and an Ionian Greek as interpreters and agents with their -countrymen, many of whom, they were aware, had an indignant hatred -of the French domination. They arrived off Cephalonia on the 28th of -September, and on the 1st of October, being joined by their transports -and gunboats, they anchored in the bay of Zante, and the following -morning commenced a landing, under the cover of a brisk fire from some -of the ships and gunboats. The land-batteries were soon silenced, and -before night the French commander had not only surrendered the castle, -but the islands of Zante, Cephalonia, Ithaca, and Cerigo. Two of the -seven islands remained for the time in the hands of the French--Santa -Maura and Corfu. But Santa Maura, after a sharp contest, was carried, -in the following April, by General Oswald, most brilliantly supported -by Lieutenant-Colonel Hudson Lowe, Major Church, and other officers. -General Camus, the French commandant, surrendered with his garrison -of one thousand men. There remained only Corfu, but this, the most -important island of the group, would have required a much stronger -force to reduce it; and as it was completely useless to the French, -being cut off from all communication with France by our ships, it -remained under France till 1814, when, at the Congress of Paris, it was -made over by Louis XVIII., and the whole seven islands were declared a -republic, under the protection of Great Britain. Such was the origin -of our connection with the Ionian Islands, where we maintained a -Commissioner and a body of troops, much to the discontent of a party in -the islands, who desired to join the kingdom of Greece. - -At the opening of 1810 a peace was contracted with Turkey; but not -with the Sultan Selim, with whom we had been at war, nor with his -successor, Mahmoud. Whilst the throne of Turkey was occupied by a mere -boy, and whilst his regular troops were dispersed, Alexander of Russia, -famed for his piety, thought it a fine opportunity to seize on his -neighbour's lands. His Ministers, at the commencement of 1809, at the -Congress of Jassy, demanded, as a condition of peace, the cession of -the Turkish provinces on the left bank of the Danube. The Turks, of -course, refused to thus dismember their empire for the aggrandisement -of Russia; and Alexander, who was resolved to have those provinces by -hook or by crook, immediately declared war on Turkey, on the shameless -plea that it had made peace with Britain. The Russians were supported -by the Greeks, and other inhabitants of Moldavia and Wallachia; but -on crossing the Danube and pushing forward into Bulgaria they were -beaten on every occasion. On the 22nd of October, 1809, a desperate -conflict took place between them under the walls of Silistria, which -continued from morning till night, in which the Russians were driven -back, and, in a second engagement, routed with such slaughter that -they retired from Bulgaria, and went into winter-quarters in Moldavia -and Wallachia. In this campaign it was found that the guns were served -by French officers, though Buonaparte professed to be willing that -Alexander should possess himself of Constantinople. By the peace with -Turkey, the trading ports of that empire were again opened to us, and -our manufactures, entering there, spread over all the Continent, and -were sold and worn in Hamburg, Bremen, and other towns where they were -strictly excluded by sea. - -The naval transactions of 1810 were almost wholly confined to watching -the French, Spanish, and Italian coasts, to thwart the French, who, on -their part, were continually on the watch for any of our blockading -ships being driven by the weather, or called to some other station, in -order to run out and convey men and stores into Spain. The last action -of Lord Collingwood took place in this service. Though his health -was fast failing, and he had repeatedly entreated the Admiralty to -allow him to give up the command and go home to his family--the only -chance of his long survival--they always refused. His complaint was -declared by the faculty to be owing to his long confinement on board -ships, and he had now scarcely set foot on shore for three years. But -notwithstanding all this, with a singular selfishness the Admiralty -kept him on board, and he was too high-minded to resign his commission -whilst he could be of service to his country. In this state of health -he was lying off Toulon, blockading that port, when he was driven to -Minorca by a gale of wind. He had regained the coast of Catalonia, -when he heard that the French fleet had issued from Toulon, and were -making for Barcelona. The whole British fleet were in exultation; -but on sighting this supposed fleet it was found to consist only of -three sail of the line, two frigates, and about twenty other vessels, -carrying provisions to the French army at Barcelona. They no sooner -caught view of the British fleet than they made off in all haste, and -the British gave chase. Admiral Martin was the first to come up with -them in the Gulf of Lyons, where two of the ships of the line ran -ashore, and were set fire to by the French admiral, Baudin. Two others -ran into the harbour of Cette; and eleven of the store-ships ran into -the Bay of Rooas, and took refuge under the powerful batteries; but -Lord Collingwood, in spite of the batteries, sent in the ships' boats, -and in the face of the batteries, and of boarding nets, set fire to and -destroyed them. Five other store-ships were captured. This was the last -exploit of the brave and worthy Collingwood. His health gave way so -fast, that, having in vain endeavoured again to induce the Admiralty to -relieve him of his command, expressly assuring them that he was quite -worn out, on the 3rd of March he surrendered his post to Rear-Admiral -Martin, and set sail in the _Ville de Paris_ for England. But it was -too late; he died at sea on the 7th of March, 1810. Very few admirals -have done more signal service, or have displayed a more sterling -English character than Lord Collingwood; and perhaps none were ever -more grudgingly rewarded or so unfeelingly treated by the Admiralty, -who, in fact, killed him by a selfish retention of his services, when -they could be continued only at the cost of his life. - -[Illustration: THE "MEDIATOR" BREAKING THE BOOM AT LA ROCHELLE. (_See -p._ 585.)] - -Another attempt was to burn a portion of the Brest fleet, which was -found lying off La Rochelle, in the Basque Roads. Lord Gambier, on the -11th of March, wrote to the Admiralty proposing to send fire-ships -amongst them and destroy them. The Admiralty seized on the idea; -but instead of leaving Lord Gambier to work out his own plan, they -appointed Lord Cochrane to that service, under Gambier. This was sure -to create jealousies, not only in the mind of Gambier--to whom the -Admiralty had written on the 19th, approving his design, and ordering -him to execute it according to his own ideas--but also in the minds -of other officers in Gambier's fleet. Lord Cochrane proceeded to the -Basque Roads in a frigate, arriving there on the 3rd of April, and -presenting Gambier with a letter informing him of the change of plan -by the Admiralty. Mr. Congreve, with a supply of his rockets, was to -accompany the fire-ships from England; and on the 11th, these having -arrived, and being joined by several large transports which Lord -Gambier had converted into fire-ships, the attack was made. The French -squadron was lying between the isle of Aix and the town of La Rochelle, -in a narrow passage, commanded by powerful batteries both on the land -and on the island of Aix. Besides this, numbers of gunboats were -placed so as to defend the approach to the vessels; but still more, a -very strong boom was stretched across the passage, formed of enormous -cables, secured by equally enormous anchors, and supported by buoys. -None of the officers, not even Gambier or Cochrane, seem to have been -aware of this boom till some of the foremost fire-ships ran against it; -and several of the ships, whilst thus detained, exploded, being too far -off to do any harm. But Captain Woolridge, in the _Mediator_, burst the -boom asunder, and the fire-ships sailed up towards the French ships in -the dark, and exploded, one after another, with a terrible uproar--one -fire-ship alone containing fifteen hundred barrels of gunpowder, -besides three or four hundred shells and three or four thousand -hand-grenades. But the only mischief done was to cause the French to -cut their cables, and run their ships ashore. There, the next morning, -they were seen; and Lord Cochrane signalled to Lord Gambier to stand in -and destroy them before the rising of the tide should float them, and -enable them to run up the river Charente. No ships, however, arriving, -Cochrane again more urgently signalled that all the fleet was aground, -except two vessels, and might easily be destroyed. Lord Gambier paid no -attention to these signals, and, as the tide rose, the vessels floated -and escaped up the river, except four, which still stuck fast, and were -destroyed by Cochrane. Those which escaped were all greatly damaged. -Had Gambier stood in with his vessels promptly, no doubt the whole -squadron would have been destroyed. - -On his return Lord Cochrane received the honour of the red riband -of the Bath; but he could not conceal his dissatisfaction at Lord -Gambier's conduct, and declared that he would oppose any vote of thanks -to him in Parliament. On this, Gambier demanded a court-martial, which -was held, and acquitted him of all blame. Cochrane complained that the -court was strongly biassed in favour of Gambier, and against himself, -and the public was very much of his opinion. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -REIGN OF GEORGE III. (_continued_). - - Austria gets ready for War--Napoleon's Preparations--Invasion - of Bavaria by Austria--The Archduke Charles driven from - Bavaria--Occupation of Vienna--Battle of Aspern--The Spirit - of Revolt in Germany; Schill and Brunswick--Battle of - Wagram--Peace of Vienna--Victories of the Tyrolese--Death - of Hofer--The Betrayal of Poland and Italy--Deposition of - the Pope--Ministerial Dissensions--Death of Portland, and - Reconstruction of the Ministry--Inquiry into the Walcheren - Expedition--Imprisonment of Gale Jones--Burdett committed to the - Tower--The Piccadilly Riots--Arrest of Burdett--Debates in the - House of Commons--Agitation for Parliamentary Reform--Liberation - of Burdett--Remaining Events of the Session--Condition of - Spain--Soult's victorious Progress--He fails at Cadiz--The - Guerilla War--Massena sent against Wellington--Capture of - Ciudad Rodrigo--Capitulation of Almeida--Battle of Busaco--The - Lines of Torres Vedras--Massena baffled--Condition of the rival - Armies--Victories in the East and West Indies--The War in Sicily. - - -The difficulty which Buonaparte had created for himself by the -usurpation of the thrones of Spain and Portugal, had the direct result -which his wisest counsellors foresaw. Austria immediately began to -watch the progress of the Peninsular struggle, and the resistance of -the Spanish people; and the stepping of Great Britain into that field -induced her to believe that the opportunity was come for throwing off -the French yoke, and avenging her past injuries and humiliations. -She had made arrangements by which she could call out an immense -population, and convert them into soldiers. But in determining to -declare open war against Buonaparte, Austria displayed a woful want -of sagacity. To compete with a general like Buonaparte, and a power -like France, it needed not only that her armies should be numerous -but thoroughly disciplined. Nothing could have been lost by a little -delay, but much might be gained. If Buonaparte succeeded in putting -down the insurrection in Spain, he would then fall on Austria with all -his victorious forces; if he did not succeed, but his difficulties -increased, then every day that Austria waited was a day of strength to -her. Russia, which was nominally at peace with Buonaparte, but which -at heart was already determined on breaking the connection, saw, with -just alarm, this precipitate movement of Austria. If she rose at once, -Alexander was bound by treaty to co-operate in putting her down; if -she deferred her enterprise for awhile, there was every probability -that they could issue forth together against the common disturber. If -Austria made a rash blow and were prostrated, Russia would then be left -alone; and Alexander knew well, notwithstanding Napoleon's professions, -that he would lose little time in demanding some concession from him. - -But Austria had not the prudence to guide herself by these -considerations. Her ablest statesman, Metternich, and the ablest -statesman of France, Talleyrand, had many private conferences with the -Russian ambassador, Romanzoff, to endeavour to concert some scheme -by which this war could be prevented, but in vain. Austria believed -that the time for regaining her position in Germany, Italy, and the -Tyrol, was come; and Talleyrand knew that Buonaparte would make no -concession to avoid the threatened collision, because it would argue -at once a decline of his power. All that he could do, he did, which -was on his hasty return to Paris from Spain: he opened communications -with Austria, intended to defer the declaration of war for a few months -whilst he made his preparations. He had little fear of crushing Austria -summarily. He believed that Soult, having driven Sir John Moore out -of Spain, would prevent the British from sending another army there; -and he was confident that his generals there could speedily reduce the -Spaniards to submission. On the other hand, Austria, he knew, could -have no assistance from Russia, Prussia, or the other Northern Powers. -All he wanted, therefore, was a little time to collect his armies. -Austria had made gigantic exertions, and had now on foot a greater -host than she had ever brought into the field before. It was said to -comprehend half a million of men, two hundred thousand of whom were -under the command of the Emperor's brother, the Archduke Charles, -and posted in Austria to defend the main body of the empire. Another -large army was, under the command of the Archduke John, in Carinthia -and Carniola, ready to descend on the north of Italy; and a third was -posted in Galicia, under the Archduke Ferdinand, to defend Poland. John -was to co-operate with Charles through the defiles of the Tyrol, which, -having been given over, by the pressure of Buonaparte at the Treaty -of Pressburg, to Bavaria, was ready to rise and renew its ancient and -devoted union with Austria. - -Buonaparte had not a sufficient French force in Germany under Davoust -and Oudinot, but he called on the Confederacy of the Rhine to furnish -their stipulated quotas to fight for the subjugation of their common -fatherland. Bavaria, Würtemberg, Saxony, and the smaller States were -summoned to this unholy work. His numbers, after all, were far inferior -to those of the enemy, and, besides the renegade Germans, consisted of -a medley of other tributary nations--Italians, Poles, Dutch, Belgians, -and others. It is amazing how, in all his later wars, he used the -nations he had conquered to put down the rest. Even in his fatal -campaign in Russia--yet to come--a vast part of his army consisted of -the troops of these subjugated nations. - -On the 9th of April, 1809, the Archduke Charles crossed the Inn, and -invaded Bavaria, the ally of France. He issued a manifesto declaring -that the cause of Austria was that of the general independence of -Germany, and called on those States which had been compelled to bear -the yoke of France to throw it off, and stand boldly for the common -liberty. The serious discontent of the people of Germany encouraged -him to hope that his call would be responded to; but Germany was not -yet ripe for an effective reaction. Simultaneously, the Archduke -John had descended from the Alps into Italy, and driven the troops -of the viceroy, Eugene Beauharnais, before him. He had advanced as -far as the Tagliamento, and laid siege to the fortresses of Orobo -and Palma Nuova. The Archduke Ferdinand had also marched into Poland, -defeated Poniatowski, Buonaparte's general, and taken possession of -Warsaw. All so far looked cheering; for the great actor was not yet on -the scene. But he quitted Paris on the 11th of April, two days only -after the Archduke Charles entered Bavaria, and in a few days was -with his army at Donauwörth. He expressed the utmost contempt for the -Austrian troops, saying, in a letter to Massena, that six thousand -French ought to beat twelve thousand or fifteen thousand of "those -_canaille_." He greatly disapproved of the manner in which Berthier had -disposed of his forces, for he had extended them in a long line from -Augsburg to Ratisbon, with a very weak centre. He ordered Davoust and -Massena, who commanded the opposite wings, to draw nearer together. -That being done, on the 20th of April he made a sudden attack on the -Austrians at Abensberg, and defeated them. The next day he renewed -the attack at Landshut, and took from them thirty pieces of cannon, -nine thousand prisoners, and a great quantity of ammunition and -baggage. The following day he advanced against the main position of the -Archduke Charles, at Eckmühl, where, by the most skilful manœuvres, -he turned all the enemy's positions, and defeated one division after -another with all the art and regularity of a game of chess. Charles -was thoroughly defeated, and had twenty thousand men taken prisoners, -with a loss of fifteen stand of colours, and the greater part of his -artillery. The next day the Austrians made a stand to defend the town -of Ratisbon. They fought bravely; but, a breach being made in the wall, -Marshal Lannes seized a scaling-ladder, and, whilst hundreds of French -were falling under the fire of the Austrians, he planted it against -the breach, saying, "I will show you that your general is still a -grenadier!" The wall was scaled, and a desperate battle ensued in the -streets of the town. At one moment, a number of tumbrils loaded with -powder were in danger of exploding, and destroying the combatants on -both sides; but the Austrians warned the French of the danger, and -they mutually combined to remove them. That over, they recommenced the -struggle, and the Austrians were driven out of the town, leaving again -cannon, much ammunition, and many prisoners in the hands of the French. -Whilst watching the _mêlée_, Buonaparte was struck on the toe by a -spent musket-ball; but he had the wound dressed, and again remounted -his horse, and watched with unfailing vigilance the progress of the -battle. - -[Illustration: MARSHAL LANNES AT RATISBON. (_See p._ 587.)] - -In five days he had snatched the most damaging victories. The Archduke -Charles retreated in haste towards Bohemia, to secure himself in the -defiles of its mountains; and Buonaparte employed the 23rd and 24th of -April in reviewing his troops and distributing rewards. General Hiller, -who, with the Archduke Louis, had been defeated at Landshut, had united -himself to a considerable body of reserve, and placed himself on the -way, as determined to defend the capital. He retreated upon Ebersberg, -where the sole bridge over the Traun gave access to the place, the -banks of the river being steep and rocky. He had thirty thousand men -to defend this bridge, and trusted to detain the French there till the -Archduke Charles should come up again with reinforcements, when they -might jointly engage them. But Massena made a desperate onset on the -bridge, and, after a very bloody encounter, carried it. Hiller then -retreated to the Danube, which he crossed by the bridge of Mautern, -and, destroying it after him, continued his march to join the Archduke -Charles. This left the road open to Vienna, and Buonaparte steadily -advanced upon it. The Archduke Charles, becoming aware of this -circumstance, returned upon his track, hoping to reach Vienna before -him, in which case he might have made a long defence. But Buonaparte -was too nimble for him: he appeared before the walls of the city, -and summoned it to surrender. The Archduke Maximilian kept the place -with a garrison of fifteen thousand men, and he held out for three -or four days. Buonaparte then commenced flinging bombs into the most -thickly populated parts of the city, and warned the inhabitants of the -horrors they must suffer from a siege. All the royal family had gone -except Maximilian and the young archduchess, Maria Louisa, who was -ill. This was notified to Buonaparte, and he ordered the palace to be -exempted from the attack. This was the young lady destined very soon to -supersede the Empress Josephine in the imperial honours of France. The -city capitulated on the 12th of May, the French took possession of it, -and Napoleon resumed his residence at the palace of Schönbrunn, on the -outskirts. - -Buonaparte's army now occupied the city and the right bank of the -Danube. The archduke arrived, and posted himself on the left bank. The -river was swollen with the spring rains and the melting of the snow in -the mountains. All the bridges had been broken down by which Buonaparte -might cross to attack the Austrians before they were joined by their -other armies. Buonaparte endeavoured to throw one over at Nussdorf, -about a league above Vienna, but the Austrians drove away his men. He -therefore made a fresh attempt at Ebersdorf, opposite to which the -Danube was divided into five channels, flowing amongst islands, the -largest of which was one called Lobau. Here he succeeded, the Archduke -Charles seeming unaware of what he was doing, or taking no care to -prevent it. On the 20th of May the French began to cross, and deployed -on a plain between the villages of Aspern and Esslingen. Thirty -thousand infantry had crossed before the next morning, and six thousand -horse, and they were attacked by the Austrians, near the village -of Aspern, about four in the afternoon. The battle was desperately -contested on both sides. The villages of Aspern and Esslingen were -taken and retaken several times. The struggle went on with great fury, -amid farm-yards, gardens, and enclosures, and waggons, carts, harrows, -and ploughs were collected and used as barricades. Night closed upon -the scene, leaving the combatants on both sides in possession of some -part or other of these villages. On the following morning, the 22nd, -the fight was renewed, and, after a terrible carnage, the French were -driven back on the river. At this moment news came that the bridge -connecting the right bank with the islands was broken down, and the -communication of the French army was in danger of being altogether cut -off. Buonaparte, to prevent this, retreated into the island of Lobau -with the whole of the combating force, and broke down the bridge which -connected the islands with the left bank behind them. The Austrians -followed keenly upon them in their retreat, and inflicted a dreadful -slaughter upon them. Marshal Lannes had both his legs shattered by -a cannon-ball, and was carried into the island in the midst of the -_mêlée_; General St. Hilaire also was killed. The loss in killed and -wounded on both sides amounted to upwards of forty thousand. For two -days Napoleon remained on the island, with his defeated troops, without -provisions, and expecting hourly to be cut to pieces. General Hiller -earnestly pressed the Archduke Charles to allow him to pass the -Danube, by open force, opposite to the isle of Enzersdorf, where it -might be done under cover of cannon, pledging himself to compel the -surrender of Buonaparte and his army. But the archduke appeared under a -spell from the moment that the fighting was over. Having his enemy thus -cooped up, it was in his power to cut off all his supplies. By crossing -the river higher or lower, he could have kept possession of both banks, -and at once have cut off Buonaparte's magazines at Ebersdorf, under -Davoust, from which he was separated by the inundation. By any other -general, the other armies under his brother would have been ordered up -by express; every soldier and every cannon that Austria could muster -within any tolerable distance would have been summoned to surround and -secure the enemy, taken at such disadvantage. In no other country but -Austria could Napoleon have ever left that island but as a prisoner -with a surrendered army. - -And all this time the spirit of revolt against Napoleon's domination -was growing rapidly in Germany; and had the Austrians only made the -slightest use of their present opportunity, the whole of the country -would have been in arms and the French completely driven out. Though -Prussia was still too much depressed to dare to rise and join Austria, -there was a fast-growing spirit of indignation amongst its population, -which the Tugend Bund had tended greatly to increase. The brave Major -Schill, without waiting for any sanction from the King of Prussia, -led forth his band of hussars, amounting to about five thousand, and -prepared to join with Colonel Dörnberg, an officer of Jerome, the King -of Westphalia's guard, to raise an insurrection in that State, and -drive out Jerome and the French. The design was betrayed to Jerome by -a traitorous friend of Dörnberg, and he was compelled to fly. Letters -found amongst Dörnberg's papers showed the participation of Schill in -the scheme. Jerome, of course, complained to the King of Prussia, and -the unhappy monarch was obliged to disavow and denounce the conduct of -Schill. The brave partisan made his way to Wittenberg and Halberstadt, -and was pursued by the forces of Westphalia and Holland northwards to -Weimar, and finally to Stralsund, which he prepared to defend. The -place was stormed by the Dutch and Westphalians, and Schill was killed -fighting in the streets of Stralsund, after having split the head of -the Dutch general, Carteret, with his sword. Thus fell the gallant -Schill, true to his motto--"Better a terrible end than endless terror." - -Dörnberg escaped to Great Britain. Katt, another patriot, assembled a -number of veterans at Stendal, and advanced as far as Magdeburg, but -was compelled to fly to the Brunswickers in Bohemia. Had the Archduke -Charles marched through Franconia at the opening of the campaign, as -he proposed, all these isolated bodies might have been encouraged, -and knit into a formidable army. But the most powerful of all these -independent leaders, the Duke of Brunswick, was too late to join -Schill, Katt, and Dörnberg. The son of the Duke of Brunswick who had -been so barbarously treated by Buonaparte had vowed an eternal revenge. -But the French were in possession of his sole patrimony, Oels, and -he went to Bohemia, where he raised a band of two thousand hussars, -which he equipped and maintained by the aid of England, the home of -his sister Caroline, the Princess of Wales. He clothed his hussars in -black, in memory of his father's death, with the lace disposed like the -ribs of a skeleton, and their caps and helmets bearing a death's-head -in front--whence they were called the Black Brunswickers. He advanced -at their head through Saxony, Franconia, Hesse, and Hanover, calling -on the populations to rise and assert their liberties. He defeated -Junot at Berneck, and the Saxons at Zittau, but it was the middle of -May before he entered Germany, and by that time the enemy had widely -separated Schill and the other insurgents. He managed, however, to -surprise Leipsic, and thus furnish himself with ammunition and stores. -But the Dutch, Saxons, and Westphalians were all bearing down on him. -He defeated them at Halberstadt and in Brunswick, but was finally -overpowered by numbers of these Dutch and Germans disgracefully -fighting against their own country, and he retreated to Elsfleth, and -thence sailed for England. - -All this time, too, the brave Tyrolese were in open revolt, so that the -success of Austria would have instantly produced a universal rising -of the country. But for six weeks the Austrians continued to allow -Napoleon to keep open his communication with Vienna, whence he procured -every material for building, not one bridge, but three; timber, -cordage, iron, and forty engines to drive the piles, were procured -from its ample magazines. Besides building the bridges, Buonaparte had -quickly fortified the island, and placed batteries so as to prevent -any successful attack upon him, whilst he was now furnished with the -means of issuing from the island almost at pleasure. Since their being -cooped up on Lobau, the French had received numerous reinforcements; -and though the Archduke John was marching to join the Archduke Charles, -Eugene Beauharnais was close at his heels, continually harassing him -and compelling him to fight. On the frontiers of Hungary, the town of -Raab ought to have enabled John to resist and retard Beauharnais, and -have allowed the Archduke Regnier, who was organising another army -in Hungary, to come up; but Raab only stood out eight days, and John -was obliged to cross the Danube at Pressburg, to endeavour to advance -and make a junction with the Archduke Charles. But Eugene Beauharnais -managed to join Buonaparte still earlier, and the Emperor did not then -allow John to unite with Charles; for, on the night of the 5th of July, -he began to fire on the Austrians, on the left bank of the Danube, -from gunboats; and whilst they were replying to this, he quietly put -his forces across the river. At daylight the next morning the Archduke -Charles was astonished to find the French army on the open land; they -had turned his whole position, had taken the villages of Esslingen -and Enzersdorf, and were already assailing him in flank and rear. -The archduke retired upon Wagram, which was lost and taken several -times during the day. Buonaparte attempted to break the centre of the -Austrian line by a concentrated fire of grape-shot, but the Austrians -replied vigorously with their artillery. The French were held in -check, if not repulsed. The Saxons and other German troops displayed a -disposition to break, and go over to the Austrians. Buonaparte spoke -sharply to Bernadotte of the conduct of the Saxons, and the marshal -replied that they had no longer such soldiers as they brought from the -camp of Boulogne. When night closed the French were in confusion, and, -in reality, worsted. The next morning, the 6th of July, the archduke -renewed the attack on all the French lines, but is said to have left -his centre too weak. Buonaparte again endeavoured to break it, but -failed. Bernadotte, Massena, and Davoust were all in turn driven from -their positions. Buonaparte, in a state of desperation, cried, "The -Austrian centre must be battered with artillery like a fortress." He -ordered Davoust to make a desperate charge on the left wing, and called -on Drouet, the general of his artillery, to bring up all the artillery -of the Guard, and support Davoust. Davoust directed the whole of his -force on the left wing, which was broken, and then Buonaparte, forming -a dense and deep column of all his best troops, old and new Guards, and -his celebrated _Grenadiers à cheval_, under Macdonald and Beauharnais, -drove against the centre with a fury that shattered it, and the battle -was decided. But at what a price! The Austrians had twenty-six or -twenty-seven thousand killed and wounded, and the French upwards of -thirty thousand. Buonaparte lost three generals, and had twenty-one -wounded. The Austrians had thirteen generals killed or wounded; but -they had taken many more prisoners than they had lost. Whilst the -battle was raging, the Archduke John was approaching from Pressburg; -but Austrian slowness, or, as it is said, conflicting orders from his -brother and the Aulic Council, did not permit him to come up in time, -or he would assuredly have turned the day. - -Still there was no need to despair. The archduke had yet a great -force; there were the divisions of the Archdukes John, Ferdinand, -and Regnier, and the Tyrolese were all in active operation in their -mountains. But the Emperor, on learning the fate of the battle, lost -heart, made offers of peace, which were accepted, and an armistice was -signed by Francis at Znaim, in Moravia. The armistice took place on -the 11th of July, but the treaty of peace was not signed till the 14th -of October, at the palace of Schönbrunn. The long delay in completing -this treaty was occasioned by the exactions which Buonaparte made on -Austria of cessions of territory, and the means he took to terrify -Francis into submission to his terms. He even addressed a proclamation -to the Hungarians, exhorting them to separate from Austria and form -an independent kingdom, telling them that they formed the finest part -of the Austrian empire, and yet had received nothing from Austria but -oppression and misfortunes. By such means, and by constantly exerting -himself to sow the germs of discontent through all the Austrian -provinces, he at last succeeded in concluding peace on condition of -the cession of various territories to his partisans of the Confederacy -of the Rhine, and of Trieste, the only Austrian port, to France, thus -shutting up Austria, as he hoped, from communication with England. In -all, Austria sacrificed forty-five thousand square miles and nearly -four millions of subjects to this shameful peace. Neither were his -allies, the King of Saxony and the Emperor of Russia, forgotten; each -obtained a slice of Austria. - -The news of the Treaty of Schönbrunn was a death-blow to the hopes and -exertions of the Tyrolese. At this moment they had driven the French -out of their mountains, and the beautiful Tyrol was free from end to -end. Francis II. had been weak enough to give this brave country over -again to Bavaria, at the command of Napoleon, and sent the patriotic -Tyrolese word to lay down their arms. To understand the chagrin of the -people we must recollect the strong attachment of the Tyrolese to the -house of Austria and their brilliant actions during this war. It was -decided to ignore the message and raise the Tyrol. On the 9th of April -the concerted signal was given by planks, bearing little red flags, -floating down the Inn, and by sawdust thrown on the lesser streams. On -the 10th the whole country was in arms. The Bavarians, under Colonel -Wrede, proceeded to blow up the bridges in the Pusterthal, to prevent -the approach of the Austrians; but his sappers, sent for the purpose, -found themselves picked off by invisible foes, and took to flight. -Under Andrew Hofer, an innkeeper of the valley of Passeyr, the Tyrolese -defeated the Bavarians in engagement after engagement. After the battle -of Aspern, Francis II. sent word that his faithful Tyrolese should be -united to Austria for ever, and that he would never conclude a peace -in which they were not indissolubly united to his monarchy. But Wagram -followed, Francis forgot his promise, and the Tyrol, as we have seen, -was again handed over to the French, to clear it for the Bavarians. -Lefebvre marched into it with forty thousand men, and an army of -Saxons, who had to bear the brunt of the fighting. Hofer and his -comrades, Spechbacher, Joachim Haspinger, and Schenk, the host of the -"Krug" or "Jug," again roused the country, and destroyed or drove back -the Saxons; and when Lefebvre himself appeared near Botzen with all his -concentrated forces, they compelled him also to retire from the Tyrol -with terrible loss. The French and Saxons were pursued to Salzburg, -many prisoners being taken by the way. Hofer was then appointed -governor of the Tyrol. He received his credentials at Innsbruck from an -emissary of the Archduke, his friends Spechbacher, Mayer, and Haspinger -being present on the occasion, and also the priest Douay by whom the -patriot was subsequently betrayed. - -[Illustration: THE DUKE OF BRUNSWICK AND HIS HUSSARS (THE BLACK -BRUNSWICKERS). (_See p._ 590.)] - -But the Peace of Vienna was now concluded, and, on the 30th of October, -Baron Lichtenthurm appeared in the camp of the Tyrolese, and delivered -a letter to the leaders from the Archduke John, requesting them -peaceably to disperse, and surrender the country to the Bavarians. This -was a terrible blow to these brave men. They appeared prostrated by -the news, and Hofer announced to Spechbacher, who was still fighting -with the Bavarians, that peace was made with France, and that the Tyrol -was forgotten! Hofer returned to his native vale of Passeyr, and still -held out against the French, and the Italian mercenaries under Rusca, -whom he defeated with great slaughter. But traitors were amongst them, -who guided the French to their rear. Hofer escaped into the higher -Alps, but thirty of the other leaders were taken and shot without -mercy. Another traitor guided the French to Hofer's retreat in the high -wintry Alps. He had been earnestly implored to quit the country, but -he refused. As the French surrounded his hut, on the 17th of February, -1810, he came out calmly and submitted. He was carried to the fortress -of Mantua, and Napoleon sent an order that he should be shot within -four-and-twenty hours. He would not suffer himself to be blindfolded, -nor would he kneel, but exclaimed--"I stand before my Creator, and, -standing, I will restore to Him the spirit He gave!" Thus died, on the -20th of February, 1810, the brave Hofer--another murdered man, another -victim of the sanguinary vengeance of Buonaparte against whatever was -patriotic and independent. - -[Illustration: ANDREW HOFER APPOINTED GOVERNOR OF THE TYROL. (_See p._ -591.) - -(_From the Picture by Franz Defregger._)] - -The arbitrary crushing of the freedom of the Tyrol, and the handing -of it over to the Bavarians as a gift, was not the only oppression of -this period of Napoleon's career, which the Germans call his supremacy. -He seemed to have put down all opposition on the Continent, except in -Spain, and he dictated to all nations according to the arrogance of his -will. His general in Poland, Poniatowski, himself a Pole, was employed -to crush his countrymen. Poniatowski fell on the Austrians with forty -thousand men, and made himself master of Warsaw, whilst the Archduke -Ferdinand was besieging Thorn. He then advanced against the archduke, -beat him in two battles fought in April and May, and eventually drove -the Austrians out of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. Buonaparte then divided -Galicia, giving one portion to the Emperor of Russia, and adding the -other to the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, which was restored to the King of -Saxony. Thus the Poles saw an end of all the high hopes with which -Buonaparte had artfully succeeded in inspiring them, in order to induce -them to fight his battles for the subjugation of other peoples. - -The Archduke John, whilst advancing victoriously into Italy, driving -the viceroy, Eugene Beauharnais, before him, when he had reached -almost to Venice was recalled by the news of the unfortunate battle -of Eckmühl, and the orders of the Aulic Council. The Italians had -received him with unconcealed joy; for, harsh as the rule of Austria -in Italy had been, it was found to be easy in comparison with the -yoke of Buonaparte. In common with other peoples, the Italians found -that Buonaparte's domination, introduced with lofty pretences of -restoring liberty and crushing all old tyrannies, was infinitely more -intolerable than the worst of these old tyrannies. It was one enormous -drain of military demand. The lifeblood of the nation was drawn as -by some infernal and insatiable vampire, to be poured out in all the -other lands of Europe for their oppression and curse. Trade vanished, -agriculture declined under the baleful incubus; public robbery was -added to private wrong; the works of art--the national pride--were -stripped from their ancient places, without any regard to public or -individual right, and there remained only an incessant pressure of -taxation, enforced with insult, and often with violence. - -The Austrians being again expelled from Italy, Buonaparte, in his -all-absorbing cupidity, determined to turn adrift the Pope, and add -his little vineyard to his now cumbrously overgrown Ahab's domains. -He had begun this spoliation in 1808, seizing on the greater part of -the Pontiff's territories; sending away his cardinals, and reducing -him to little better than a solitary prisoner in his own palace. This -was an ungrateful return to the poor old Pope for making the long -journey into France to crown him, and thus to give a sacred sanction -to his usurpation of the imperial crown--a sanction of immense effect -throughout the Catholic world. Pius VII. had given Buonaparte great -offence by refusing to declare war on Great Britain, and thus keeping -up a breach in his system of exclusion of British commerce. He had, -therefore, already taken military possession of Civita Vecchia and -Ancona, but he now resolved to take the whole temporal dominion -from the Pope, and abrogate, by virtue of his assumed heirship of -Charlemagne's realm, the gift of Charlemagne to the Church. On the -2nd of February, 1809, General Miollis, by order of Buonaparte, took -possession of Rome, disarmed and disbanded the Pope's guard, and -marched his other soldiers to the north, telling them they should no -longer remain under the effeminate rule of a priest. Miollis then gave -the Pontiff the alternative to join the French league, offensive and -defensive, or to be deposed. The Pope firmly refused to concede his -rights to anything but absolute force. On the 17th of May, therefore, -Napoleon's decree for the deposition of the Pope from his temporal -power was proclaimed. It assumed the heirship of Charlemagne to be in -Buonaparte; declared the union of the spiritual and temporal powers to -be the source of all scandals and discords in the Catholic Church; that -they were, therefore, at an end--the Roman State for ever united to the -French Empire. On the 10th of June Pius issued a bull excommunicating -Buonaparte and all who aided him in his sacrilegious usurpation of the -patrimony of St. Peter; and this was followed, on the 6th of July, by -General Radet forcing the gates of the Vatican, taking possession of -it with his troops, entering the presence of the Pope, who was amid -his priests, and clad in his pontificals, and demanding that he should -instantly sign a renunciation of all the temporal estates attached to -the see of Rome. Pius declared that he neither could nor would perform -any such sacrilegious act. He was then informed that he must quit -Rome. Pius was detained at Savona three years, and was then removed to -Fontainebleau. - -In England the Ministry was thrown into the utmost chaos and discord -by the disastrous progress of the war on the Continent, and especially -by the miserable result of the Walcheren expedition. One member of the -Cabinet endeavoured to throw the blame on another, and the feud between -Canning, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Lord Castlereagh, the -Minister at War, grew deadly. Each accused the other of interfering -and thwarting action, and so producing the lamentable consequences -that ensued. A hot correspondence followed, in which Castlereagh -charged Canning with privately insinuating to the other Ministers -that Castlereagh should be dismissed, and Canning denied it. Between -them, Lord Camden came into difficulty; for, though Canning had told -Lord Camden, as Lord Castlereagh's relative, that one or other of -them must resign, he declared that he did not mean this communication -as secret, but as one that he expected Lord Camden would communicate -to Lord Castlereagh. Castlereagh resigned, and then challenged -Canning. Canning also resigned; and the duel was fought on the 22nd -of September, on Putney Heath, and Canning was wounded. The Duke of -Portland, who was near his end--hastened probably by these agitations -and embarrassments--also resigned, and died a few days afterwards. - -The Tory Ministry was now in a most shattered condition, and it was -believed that it could not repair itself. On the 23rd of September -official letters were addressed to Lords Grey and Grenville to -endeavour to form a coalition with the Tories, but they declined. The -Tory Ministry was therefore readjusted by the introduction of Lord -Wellesley (who had been replaced in his embassy in Spain by his brother -Henry, afterwards Lord Cowley), who took the post of Canning in the -Foreign Office, Perceval taking the Premiership, which Portland had -only nominally held, as well as the Chancellorship of the Exchequer, -which he held before. Lord Palmerston also made his first appearance -in this Cabinet as Under-Secretary of State for the War Department, in -place of Sir James Pulteney. Lord Liverpool took Castlereagh's place -as Secretary at War; and the Hon. R. Ryder succeeded Lord Liverpool as -Secretary of State for the Home Department. - -The year 1810 opened with violent debates on the conduct of the late -Ministry, and the miserable management of the Walcheren Expedition. The -King's Speech, read by commission, passed over the disasters in Belgium -entirely, and spoke only of Wellesley's glorious victory at Talavera. -But the Opposition did not pass over Walcheren; in both Houses the -whole business was strongly condemned by amendments which, however, -the Ministry managed to get negatived by considerable majorities. Both -Castlereagh and Canning defended their concern in the expedition. They -declared that the orders were to push forward and secure Antwerp, -and destroy the docks and shipping there, not to coop up the troops -in an unhealthy island swamp; and that they were not responsible for -the mismanagement of the affair. This threw the onus on Lord Chatham, -the commander, but did not exonerate Ministers for choosing such a -commander; and though they were able to defeat the amendments on the -Address, they were not able to prevent the appointment of a secret -committee to inquire into the conduct and policy of the expedition. The -committee was secret, because Buonaparte carefully read the English -newspapers, and Parliament was desirous of keeping from his knowledge -the wretched blunders of our commanders. This object, however, was not -achieved, for the evidence given before the committee oozed out and -appeared in our newspapers, and was duly set forth in the _Moniteur_ -for the edification of France and the Continent. Notwithstanding the -frightful details laid before the committee, and the gross proof of -dilatoriness and neglect, Ministers succeeded in negativing every -condemnatory motion; and though General Craufurd actually carried -resolutions affirming the propriety of taking and keeping the island -of Walcheren, awfully fatal as it was, still Lord Chatham, though -exculpated by the Court and Parliament, was by no means acquitted -by the country, and he found it necessary to surrender his post of -Master-General of the Ordnance. - -The motion of Mr. Yorke, afterwards First Lord of the Admiralty, -for the exclusion of strangers during the debate on the Walcheren -Expedition, gave great offence to the Reformers, who were now beginning -to co-operate in societies, and to keep a keen watch on the Ministerial -tendency to curb the liberty of the Press and carry things with a high -hand. At a debating society, called the British Forum, the president, -Mr. Gale Jones, delivered a strong oration against it, and proposed for -the discussion of the following evening the question, "Which was the -greater outrage upon public feeling: Mr. Yorke's enforcement of the -standing order, or Mr. Windham's attack on the liberty of the press on -the same occasion?" This proposal being agreed to, the intended debate -was made known by placards posted in the streets. Yorke complained of -this as a breach of the privileges of the House of Commons, and the -printer was immediately summoned before the House, when he gave the -name of the author, Mr. Gale Jones, who was thereupon, on the morrow, -the 21st of February, brought before the House, and committed to -Newgate. - -This action was the height of imprudence. The true wisdom would have -been to have taken no notice of such a discussion by an obscure -association. On the 13th of March Sir Francis Burdett moved that Mr. -John Gale Jones should be discharged, questioning the legality of -his commitment, and declaring that, if the proceedings of Parliament -were not to be criticised like everything else, there was an end of -liberty of speech and of the press. This motion was rejected by one -hundred and fifty-three against fourteen. The speech of Sir Francis was -printed by Cobbett in his _Weekly Register_, a publication possessing -high influence with the people. It was also accompanied by a letter of -Sir Francis, commenting in strong language upon this arbitrary act, -and questioning the right of such a House to commit for breach of -privilege, seeing that it consisted of "a part of our fellow-subjects, -collected together by means which it is not necessary to describe." - -This definition of the House of Commons at this time, and for long -afterwards, was too happy a definition to escape the wrath of that -body. Accordingly, on the 27th of March, Mr. Lethbridge, member for -Somersetshire, moved that Sir Francis Burdett should be committed -to the Tower for his attack on the House. After some discussion, -the question was adjourned to the 5th of April, when, by a majority -of thirty-eight, Sir Francis was ordered to be committed as guilty -of a libel against the House. But Sir Francis, justly regarding the -House as altogether illegally constituted, and as a usurpation by the -aristocracy of the functions of the people, determined not to submit -to its order. The next day he addressed a letter to the Speaker of the -House, declaring his contempt for it as then constituted; that he held -its order to be, on that ground, illegal; and that he would resist -it to the utmost. He ordered the doors and windows of his house in -Piccadilly to be closed, and prepared to yield only to force. - -The excitement among the public, as this resolution became known, was -intense, and large crowds assembled in front of the baronet's house, -applauding, and shouting "Burdett for ever!" In their enthusiasm -they compelled all passengers to take off their hats, and shout too. -But they did not stop here. On such occasions a rabble of the lowest -kind unites itself to the real Reformers--and the mob began to insult -persons of opposite principles and to break the windows of their -houses. The Earl of Westmoreland, Lord Privy Seal, was recognised, -and, as well as others of the same political faith, pelted with -mud. The windows of Mr. Yorke, as the originator of the acts of the -Commons, were quickly broken, and, in rapid succession, those of Lord -Chatham, amid loud shouts of "Walcheren!" of Sir Robert Peel, the Duke -of Montrose, Lord Castlereagh, Lord Westmoreland, Lord Wellesley, -Mr. Wellesley Pole, Sir John Anstruther, and others. The Horse -Guards were called out, and dispersed the rioters. The next day the -serjeant-at-arms made his way into Sir Francis Burdett's house, and -presented the Speaker's warrant for his arrest; but Sir Francis put -the warrant in his pocket without looking at it, and a Mr. O'Connor, -who was present, led the serjeant-at-arms down stairs, and closed the -door on him. A troop of Life Guards and a company of Foot Guards were -then ordered to post themselves in front of Sir Francis's house, and -at night it was found necessary to read the Riot Act, and then the -Guards were ordered to clear the street, which they did. Whilst this -was doing, Sir Francis watched the proceeding from the windows, and was -repeatedly cheered by the mob. Whilst thus besieged, he was visited -by Lord Cochrane, the Earl of Thanet, Whitbread, Coke of Norfolk, -Lord Folkestone, Colonel Wardle, Major Cartwright, and other Radical -Reformers. Some of these gentlemen thought enough had been done to -establish a case for a trial of the right of the House of Commons, and -advised Sir Francis to yield to the Speaker's warrant. But Sir Francis -addressed a letter to the sheriffs of London, informing them that an -attack was made upon his liberty, by an instrument which he held to be -decidedly illegal, and calling upon them to protect both him and the -other inhabitants of the bailiwick from such violence. In this dilemma, -the Premier, Mr. Perceval, advised that the serjeant-at-arms should -lay the case before the Attorney-General, Sir Vicary Gibbs, which he -did; but the reply of Sir Vicary only created more embarrassment, for -he was doubtful whether, should any person be killed in enforcing the -Speaker's warrant, it would not be held to be murder, and whether if -the serjeant-at-arms were killed, a charge of murder would not issue -against the perpetrator. The sheriffs, who were themselves strong -Reformers, laid the letter of Sir Francis before the Speaker and before -Mr. Ryder, the new Home Secretary, who counselled them to give their -aid in enforcing the warrant. But these gentlemen proceeded to the -house of Sir Francis Burdett, and passed the night with him for his -protection. - -During that evening and night there were serious contentions between -the mob and the soldiers still posted in front of Sir Francis's house, -and one man was shot by the military. Scarcely had the sheriffs quitted -the house of the besieged baronet on the Sunday morning, supposing no -attempt at capture would take place that day, when the serjeant-at-arms -presented himself with a party of police, and demanded entrance, but -in vain. All that day, and late into the night, the mob continued to -insult the soldiers who kept guard on the baronet's house, and an -order being given at night to clear the streets around, the mob broke -the lamps, and threw all into darkness. They then carried away the -scaffolding from a house under repair, and made a barricade across -Piccadilly, which was, however, removed by the soldiers; and the rain -falling in torrents, the mob dispersed. - -[Illustration: GEORGE CANNING.] - -On the following morning, being Monday, the Ministers came to the -resolution of entering the baronet's house by force; and, as he sat at -breakfast with a considerable company of friends, an attempt was made -by a man to enter by the window, which he broke in trying to raise the -sash. This man was secured; but a more successful party of officers -below dashed in a window on the ground floor, and soon appeared in -the drawing-room. Sir Francis was seized and, still struggling and -protesting, was conveyed to a carriage. Then, escorted by the military, -he was taken to the Tower, amid tremendous crowds, crying "Burdett for -ever!" A strong force had occupied the passage through the City, and -had drawn up before the Tower before the arrival of the party with the -prisoner, whom they had taken round by Pentonville and Islington. The -scene during the conveyance of Sir Francis into the old fortress was -indescribable for tumult and yelling. As the soldiers were returning -they were hooted and pelted with stones, and at last they lost patience -and fired, killing two persons and wounding several others. - -The whole of London was thrown into great agitation, and Sir John -Anstruther that evening, in the House of Commons, was very severe on -the Ministers for not taking more decided measures for the protection -of the metropolis. The next day the letter of Sir Francis was taken -into consideration. Many severe strictures were made on his conduct, -and even Whitbread contended that the Speaker's warrant was perfectly -legal, and that Sir Francis had done a great injury to the cause of -Reform by stirring up a riot in the prosecution of a constitutional -question. There was a call for the expulsion of the Radical baronet -from the House; but as this would have produced a new election in -Westminster, by which he would certainly have been returned afresh, -that was prudently abandoned. - -On the 13th of April the Speaker read to the House a notice which he -had received, that a bill would be filed against him, in the Court of -King's Bench, to try the validity of his warrant in this case, and the -House ordered the letter and the notice to be entered on the Journals. -On the 16th Sir Samuel Romilly moved for the discharge of Gale Jones; -but Windham observed that a meeting of the electors of Westminster was -announced for the morrow, to take into consideration the case of their -representative, and that to liberate Jones at that moment would be sure -to be attributed to fear on the part of the Commons. The motion was, -therefore, rejected. - -The meeting of the Westminster electors the next day, held in Palace -Yard, under the very walls of Parliament, was attended by vast crowds, -and the tone of the speakers was most indignant. They justified the -letter of their representative to themselves; denounced the conduct of -the Commons as oppressive, arbitrary, and illegal, tending to destroy -the popular liberties; and they approved highly of the baronet's -spirited resistance to the forcing of his house. They called for his -liberation, and for that of the unjustly incarcerated Mr. Gale Jones. -They drew up a letter to Sir Francis to this effect, to be presented -to him in the Tower by the high bailiff of Westminster; and they -prepared a petition and remonstrance to the House of Commons in equally -spirited terms, which was presented the same evening by Lord Cochrane. -The Honourable J. W. Ward, afterwards Lord Dudley and Ward, opposed -the reception of the petition as highly indecorous, and as violating -the dignity of the House; but Whitbread defended it, and even Canning -and Perceval excused, in some degree, the tone of the petition in the -circumstances. It was ordered, therefore, to be laid on the table. - -In the meantime, coroners' inquests had been held on the two men -who were shot by the military. In the one case the jury brought in -a verdict of "justifiable homicide;" but, in the other, of "wilful -murder" against the soldiers. On their part, the Government offered -a reward of five hundred pounds for the discovery of any one who -had been guilty of firing at the soldiers, and an additional one of -five hundred pounds for the discovery of the person who had fired at -and wounded Ensign Cowell, whilst on duty at the Tower, the night -after the committal of Sir Francis. The Reform party in the Commons -demanded whether the Government did not intend to offer a reward for -the discovery of the soldiers who had fired at and wounded several of -the people, and killed two of them. Whitbread moved that an inquiry -should be instituted into the justice of the verdict of "wilful -murder" against the soldiers, and in this he was seconded by William -Smith of Norwich; but Captain Agar, who had been on duty, declared -that the people had fired the first shot, and the Premier got rid of -the question by asserting that an inquiry was already going on into -the circumstances of the riot, and that it was not for Parliament to -anticipate it. - -During the Easter recess, popular meetings were held condemning the -conduct of Ministers and calling for Parliamentary Reform. On the -meeting of the House again, a very strong petition, bearing rather -the character of a remonstrance, was presented from the electors of -Middlesex by Mr. George Byng, on the 2nd of May. The Ministerial -party declared that the petition was an insult to the House; but the -Reformers maintained that not only the language of the petition, but -the whole of the unhappy events which had taken place, were the direct -consequences of the corrupt character of the representation, and of the -House screening from due punishment such culprits as the Duke of York, -Lord Castlereagh, etc. The petition was rejected; but the very next day -a petition of equal vigour and plainness was voted by the Livery of -London, and was presented on the 8th, and rejected too. The House had -grown so old in corruption, that it felt itself strong enough to reject -the petitions of the people. A memorial was presented also on the same -subject from Major Cartwright, one of the most indefatigable apostles -of Reform, by Whitbread, and this was rejected too, for the major -pronounced the committal of Sir Francis a flagrantly illegal act. - -As Sir Francis Burdett had commenced suits, not only against the -Speaker, but also against the Sergeant-at-arms, and against Lord Moira, -the Governor of the Tower, for his arrest and detention, the House of -Commons appointed a select committee to inquire into the proper mode -of defence, and it was determined that the Sergeant-at-arms should -appear and plead to these indictments, and that the Attorney-General -should be directed to defend them. Though these trials did not take -place till May and June of the following year, we may here note the -result, to close the subject. In the first two, verdicts were obtained -favourable to the Government, and in the third the jury, not agreeing, -were dismissed. These trials came off before Lord Ellenborough, one of -the most steady supporters of Government that ever sat on the judicial -bench; and the results probably drew their complexion from this cause, -for the feeling of the public continued to be exhibited strongly in -favour of the prisoner of the House of Commons. He continued to receive -deputations from various parts of the country, expressive of the -sympathy of public bodies, and of the necessity of a searching reform -of Parliament. Whatever irregularity might have marked the proceedings -of the radical baronet, there is no question that the discussions to -which they led all over the country produced a decided progress in the -cause of a renovation of our dilapidated representation. - -The prorogation of Parliament, on the 21st of June, liberated both Sir -Francis and the unfortunate president of the debating society, Mr. John -Gale Jones. On the morning of this day vast crowds assembled before -the Tower to witness the enlargement of the popular baronet. There -was a great procession of Reformers with banners and mottoes, headed -by Major Cartwright, and attended by Mr. Sheriff Wood and Mr. Sheriff -Atkins; but as Sir Francis apprehended that there might be some fresh -and fatal collision between the military and the people, he prudently -resolved to leave the Tower quietly by water, which he effected, to the -deep disappointment of the populace. No such excitement as this had -taken place, on a question of right between the House of Commons and an -individual member, since the days of Wilkes. - -The other measures of Parliament during this Session were these:--In -the House of Lords Lord Holland, and in the Commons Henry Brougham, -moved for addresses to his Majesty, exhorting him to persevere in his -efforts to induce the Governments of other nations to co-operate in the -abolition of the slave trade, and to take measures for putting a stop -to the clandestine practice of British subjects yet carrying on this -trade in a fraudulent manner, as well as to adopt plans for preventing -other evasions of Mr. Wilberforce's Act. Mr. Bankes introduced a motion -for rendering perpetual his Bill to prevent the grant of offices in -reversion, and such a Bill was passed in the Commons, but rejected in -the Lords. - -A Bill for Parliamentary Reform was introduced by Mr. Brand, and -debated with unusual interest, owing to the events connected with Sir -Francis Burdett, but was, of course, rejected by a large majority. -The day for such a measure was yet far off. There was a motion made -by Mr. Parnell regarding tithes in Ireland; another by Grattan and -Lord Donoughmore for Catholic emancipation; and a third by Sir -Samuel Romilly for reform of our criminal code--all necessary, but -yet long-to-be-deferred measures. Lord Melville also introduced -a plan of great importance into the House of Peers, namely, to -substitute Government war vessels for the conveyance of troops to -their destinations abroad. He showed that not only was there immense -and flagrant jobbing going on between the Government Transport Board -and the merchants from whom they hired ships on such occasions, but -that these all tended to the misery and mortality of the soldiers; -that the transport vessels hired were often not only inconveniently -small, necessitating very uncomfortable and unhealthy crowding, but -they were also frequently crazy, unseaworthy craft, badly manned, -and ignorantly commanded by very ordinary skippers. He showed that a -great amount of the mortality attending the transport of our troops to -distant shores was owing to this cause, and that all might be avoided, -and a considerable pecuniary saving effected, by employing none but -Government vessels, roomy and clean, and commanded by officers duly -qualified. But no such necessary and humane scheme was likely to be -cordially supported by an unreformed Parliament. Mr. George Rose also -obtained leave to bring in a Bill for a more questionable object. It -was to augment our navy by bringing up the children of such people as -became chargeable to parishes at Government naval schools, and thus -regularly appropriating them as sailors. He estimated these children at -ninety thousand, and calculated that these schools would furnish seven -thousand sailor-boys per annum. It was a scheme for a press-gang system -commencing with the cradle. - -The supplies for the present year were voted to the amount of fifty -million one hundred and eighty-five thousand pounds. No new taxes were -to be levied, but there was to be a loan of eight million pounds. -This money was distributed as follows: twenty-five million pounds to -the land service and ordnance, twenty million pounds to the navy, a -subsidy to Portugal of nine hundred and eighty-eight thousand pounds, -and to Sicily of four hundred thousand pounds. - -[Illustration: ARREST OF SIR FRANCIS BURDETT. (_See p._ 597.)] - -The aspect of affairs in Spain at the commencement of 1810 was gloomy -in the extreme. Scarcely a town, fortress, or army remained to the -Spaniards; yet, perhaps, never did Napoleon feel a deeper anxiety -concerning it. The spirit of the people had shown that it could not -be easily subdued. He might beat its regular troops, and compel the -surrender of cities, after long and severe sieges, but there still -remained a whole population hostile to him. Throughout all the mountain -districts the inhabitants might be said to be still in arms against -him, and there was a fire burning in the general Spanish heart that -might at any moment blaze up into a dangerous flame, or, if not, must -wear out his troops, his energies, and his resources. Napoleon had yet -to discover that it is impossible to subdue the people of a mountainous -country, so as to rule them in peace, if they are at heart opposed to -the ruler. - -Yet, looking at Spain from a mere momentary point of view, its -condition was sad enough. Saragossa had undergone a second siege, in -which the inhabitants had again made a brilliant stand, and caused -the French much loss and suffering, though compelled at length to -surrender. The battle of Ocaña, in November of 1809, had been lost by -Areizaga, and left Spain without a single considerable army. During -the latter part of the same year, General Reding, the patriotic Swiss -general, had been defeated at Valls. Blake had sustained two heavy -defeats near Saragossa and Belchite, with the loss of the greater part -of his artillery and men. Gerona had withstood a desperate siege, -but was compelled to capitulate on the 10th of December. Tarragona -and Tortosa had suffered the same fate. In some of these towns the -Spaniards had not yielded till they had killed and eaten their horses -and mules. - -Towards the end of the year Soult had been recalled to Madrid, to take -the place of Jourdain, who was remanded to Paris. Soult then determined -to make an expedition into the south, to subdue Seville and Cadiz--the -last places of consequence left to the Spaniards. He took King Joseph -with him, or rather, perhaps, King Joseph was afraid to be left in -the capital without his protection. The battle of Ocaña, and the -destruction of Areizaga's army, left the passes of the Sierra Morena -all open, and on the 21st of January Soult was at Baylen, where the -army of Dupont had surrendered. Thence he pushed forward for Seville, -sending other divisions of the army to traverse Malaga and Granada. -Nothing could be more favourable to the visit of Soult than the then -condition of Seville. The stupid, proud, ignorant Junta had refused all -proffers of aid from the British, and they had, at the same time, worn -out the patience of the people, who had risen upon them, and expelled -them from the place. They then fled to Cadiz, in the hope of renewing -their authority there; but they met with a still fiercer reception from -the people of Cadiz, and were compelled formally to resign. As for the -inhabitants of Seville, they talked of defending the city against the -French, but there was no order amongst them, no authority, and they did -nothing. Soult marched on from town to town, collecting a rich spoil -everywhere, which the Spaniards had left behind them. They seemed to -think of carrying away with them only their money, but a mass of other -wealth fell into the hands of the French, and amongst it, as usual, -great quantities of British cannon, muskets, and ammunition, which -assisted in enabling the French to fight with us. Soult entered Cordova -in triumph on the 17th of January, and Seville on the 1st of February, -and there King Joseph established his court for some time. - -[Illustration: CADIZ.] - -Soult sent on Marshal Victor, without delay, to surprise and seize -Cadiz. But the Duke of Albuquerque, with eight or ten thousand men, -had been called at the first alarm, and, making a rapid march of two -hundred and sixty English miles, reached the city just before him. The -garrison now consisted of twenty thousand men--British, Spanish, and -Portuguese--commanded chiefly by General Graham, an officer who had -distinguished himself at Toulon, at the same time that Buonaparte first -made his merit conspicuous. The British troops had been offered by Lord -Wellington, and, though insolently refused by the Junta before, were -now thankfully accepted. Some were hastened from Torres Vedras, under -command of the Hon. Major-General Stewart, and some from Gibraltar. The -British, independent of the Portuguese under their command, amounted -to six thousand. The Spanish authorities, having their eyes opened at -length to the value of the British alliance, now gave the command of -their little fleet to Admiral Purvis, who put the ships, twenty in -number, into tolerable order, and joined them to his own squadron. With -these moored across the harbour, he kept the sea open for all necessary -supplies; and though Soult, accompanied by King Joseph, arrived on the -25th of February, and sat down before the place, occupying the country -round from Rota to Chiclano, with twenty-five thousand men, he could -make no impression against Cadiz, and the siege was continued till the -12th of August, 1812, when the successes of Wellington warned them to -be moving. It was an essential advantage to Wellington's campaign that -twenty-eight thousand French should thus be kept lying before this -place. - -In Andalusia, the French under Sebastiani held Malaga and Granada; -but more eastward, the Spanish made a very troublesome resistance. It -was in vain that Sebastiani marched into the mountains of Murcia to -disperse the forces that Blake was again collecting there. Beaten in -one place, they appeared in another. A strong force, under General -Lacey, surprised a body of six thousand French at Ronda, and put them -to flight, securing their arms and stores. In Catalonia, General -O'Donnell stood his ground well, the country not only being by nature -strong, but lying along the coast, where the British could support -them by their fleets. Rushing from their hills and mountain forts, the -Catalonian militia continually inflicted severe chastisement on the -French invaders, and then retired to their fortresses. Marshals Suchet, -Augereau, and Macdonald found it impossible to make permanent head -against O'Donnell and the Catalonians. In fact, though Spain might seem -to be conquered, having no great armies in the field, it was never less -so--and that Buonaparte felt. Wherever there were hills and forests, -they swarmed with sharpshooters. For this species of warfare--the -guerilla--the Spanish were peculiarly adapted. The mountaineers, headed -by the priest, the doctor, or the shepherd, men who, in spite of -their ordinary habits, had a genius for enterprise, were continually -on the watch to surprise and cut off the enemy. Other bodies of them -were led by men of high birth, or of military training, but who were -distinguished for their superior spirit and endurance of fatigue. These -leaders had the most perfect knowledge of the woods and passes of the -mountains, and had the most immediate information from the peasantry of -the movements of the French. They could, therefore, come upon them when -totally unlooked-for, and cut them off suddenly. If they were repulsed -they disappeared like shadows into the forests and deserts. Sometimes -they came several thousand strong; sometimes a little band of ten or -twenty men would dash forward from their concealment and effect some -startling deed. To chase them appeared hopeless, for they vanished -in a thousand ways, as water sinks into the earth and disappears. To -intimidate them, Soult published a proclamation that he would treat -them as bandits, and immediately shoot all that he captured; and the -commanders replied by another proclamation that for every Spaniard shot -they would execute three Frenchmen; and they so literally fulfilled -their threat that the French were compelled to return to the ordinary -rules of warfare. - -Such was the state of Spain, though nominally conquered by the French. -It was only held by a vast force, and there was no prospect that this -force could ever be dispensed with. Joseph was so heartily tired of -his kingdom that, on going to Paris to attend Napoleon's marriage, -he declared that he would abdicate unless he were made generalissimo -of all the forces in Spain, the separate generals, in their own -provinces, paying but little regard to his commands, but each acting -as if viceroy of his own province. To Napoleon the state of things -was equally irksome. The drain of men and money was intolerable, and -appeared without prospect of any end. He resolved, therefore, to make a -gigantic effort to drive the British out of Portugal, when he hoped to -be able to subjugate Spain. He could not yet proceed thither himself, -but he sent heavy reinforcements under Drouet and Junot, and dispatched -Massena, who was reckoned the greatest general next to himself, -to drive Wellington into the sea. Massena had been so uniformly -victorious, that Buonaparte styled him "the dear child of victory," and -had made him Prince of Esslingen. - -In the Peninsula, altogether, the French had upwards of two hundred -thousand men, but the force which Massena led against Wellington did -not amount to more than sixty thousand, Drouet remaining, for the -present, in Spain with eighteen thousand men, and Regnier lying in -Estremadura with ten or twelve thousand more. To contend against -Massena's sixty thousand veterans, Lord Wellington had only twenty-four -thousand British on whom he could rely. He had thirty thousand -Portuguese regulars, who had been drilled by General Beresford, and -had received many British officers. Wellington had great expectation -that these troops, mixed judiciously with the British ones, would turn -out well; but that had yet to be tried. Besides these, there were -numerous bodies of Portuguese militia, who were employed in defending -the fortresses in Alemtejo and Algarve, thus protecting the flanks of -Wellington's army. - -In June Massena advanced, and laid siege to Ciudad Rodrigo. This was -almost within sight of Wellington's lines. The town was defended by -a Spanish garrison, and Wellington was called upon to co-operate -by attacking the besiegers. This he offered to do if Romana would -undertake to prevent the march of Regnier from Estremadura on his -rear the while; but Romana would not undertake to maintain himself -against Regnier if the British force under General Hill crossed the -Tagus. Wellington, whose object was to defend Portugal and not Spain, -therefore lay still; and the Spaniards, after a brave defence, were -compelled to capitulate on the 10th of July. Then there was a wild -cry of indignation raised against Wellington by the Spaniards, and -even by his own officers, that he should see a place taken from our -allies, under his very eyes, and not attempt to relieve it. The French -taunted him with it in the _Moniteur_, and regarded it as a great -sign of his weakness. But none of these things moved Wellington. He -knew what he had to do--which was to defend Portugal--and he had made -his plans for doing it; but this was not by exposing his small army -in any situation to which the Spanish chose to call him, while, at -the same time, they declined to co-operate with him. He soon had the -division of Marshal Ney upon his outposts, where he fell in with our -light division under General Craufurd. Wellington had ordered that, on -attack, Craufurd should retire on the main body in order, because he -did not wish to reduce his small numbers in skirmishes, but to reserve -them for favourable occasions; but Craufurd, being hotly pursued, -turned and gave the French a severe rebuff, killing and wounding above -one thousand of Massena's men. Craufurd, having driven the French back -three times, made a masterly passage, by a bridge, over the Coa, and -joined the main army. - -When he entered Portugal Massena issued a proclamation, informing the -Portuguese that the British were the troublers and mischief-makers -of Europe, and that they were there only for their own objects of -ambition, and calling on the inhabitants to receive the French as their -friends and saviours. Lord Wellington issued a counter-proclamation, -remarking that the Portuguese had had too much occasion to learn what -sort of friends the French were; that they had learned it by the -robbery of their property, their brutality towards the women, and -oppression of all classes. He called on them, as the sole means of -rescue, to resist to the death; and he ordered them, as the British -army retired from Lisbon, to withdraw from their towns and villages, -carrying whatever they could with them, so that the enemy might find -no means of support. This was part of his great plan; and he assured -the Portuguese that those who stayed behind after their magistrates had -ordered them to withdraw should receive no assistance from him; and -that whoever was found holding any communication with the enemy should -be deemed a traitor, and treated accordingly. - -On the 26th of August Massena arrived before Almeida, a strongly -fortified town not thirty miles from Ciudad Rodrigo. Wellington -hoped that it would detain him at least a month, for it had a good -Portuguese garrison, commanded by Colonel Cox, an English officer: and -he himself drew near, to be able to seize any opportunity of damaging -the besiegers. But in the night of the 27th there was a terrible -explosion of a powder magazine, which threw down part of the wall, and -made the place untenable. Treachery was immediately suspected, and what -followed was sufficient proof of it; for the Portuguese major, whom -Colonel Cox sent to settle the terms of the capitulation, went over to -the French, and was followed by a whole Portuguese regiment with the -exception of its British officers. This was a great disappointment to -Lord Wellington, whose plan was to detain Massena till the rainy season -set in, when he would at once find himself embarrassed by bridgeless -floods and in intolerable roads, and, as he hoped and had ordered, in a -country without people and without provisions. - -But, undiscouraged, Lord Wellington ordered General Hill, who had -already crossed the Tagus, to hasten onward, and he then carefully -fell back, and took his position on the grim and naked ridges of -Busaco, a sierra extending from Mondego to the northward. Behind this -range of hills lay Coimbra, and three roads led through the defiles to -that city. These, and several lesser ravines used by the shepherds -and muleteers, he thoroughly fortified; and, posting himself on -these difficult heights, he calmly awaited the advance of Massena. -The ascents by which the French must reach them were precipitous and -exposed; and on the summit, in the centre of the range, Wellington took -up his headquarters at a Carmelite convent, whence he could survey the -whole scene, having upwards of thirty thousand men disposed along these -frowning eminences. - -On the 26th of September the hostile host was seen in full -march--cavalry, infantry, and artillery, attended by a vast assemblage -of waggons and burden-bearing mules. The spectacle, as described by -eye-witnesses, was most imposing in its multitudes and its beautiful -order. At night, the whole country along the foot of the hills was -lit up by the enemy's camp fires, and towards morning the din of -preparation for the contest was plainly audible. Nothing but the -overweening confidence of Massena in his invincibility, and the urgent -commands of Napoleon, could have induced him to attack the Allied army -in such a position; but both he and Buonaparte held the Portuguese as -nothing, regarding them no more than as so many Spaniards, unaware -of the wonderful change made in them by British discipline. A letter -of Buonaparte to Massena had been intercepted, in which he said that -"it would be ridiculous to suppose that twenty-five thousand English -could withstand sixty thousand French, if the latter did not trifle, -but fell on boldly, after having well observed where the blow might -be struck." Ney, it is said, was of opinion that this was not such -a situation; that it was at too great odds to attack the Allies in -the face of such an approach. But Massena did not hesitate; early -on the morning of the 27th he sent forward several columns both to -the right and left of Wellington's position, to carry the heights. -These were met, on Wellington's right, by Picton's division, the 88th -regiment being commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Wallace, and the 45th -by Lieutenant-Colonel Meade. They were supported by the 8th Portuguese -regiment. The French rushed up boldly to the very heights; but were -hurled back at the point of the bayonet, the Portuguese making the -charge with as much courage and vigour as the British. Another attempt, -still farther to Wellington's right, was made, the French supposing -that they were then beyond the British lines, and should turn their -flank; but they were there met by General Leith's division, the -Royals, the 9th and the 38th regiments, and were forced down the -steeps with equal destruction. Both these sanguinary repulses were -given to the division of General Regnier. On the left of Wellington -the attack was made by Ney's division, which came in contact with -that of General Craufurd, especially with the 43rd, 52nd, and 95th -regiments of British, and the 3rd Portuguese Caçadores, and with the -same decisive and destructive result. There, too, the Portuguese fought -gallantly, and, where they had not room to kill with their bayonets, -they imitated the British soldiers, and knocked down the French with -the butt-ends of their guns. Everywhere the repulse was complete, and -Massena left two thousand slain on the field, and had between three -and four thousand wounded. One general was killed, three wounded, one -taken prisoner, besides many other officers. The Allies lost about -one thousand three hundred, of whom five hundred and seventy-eight -were Portuguese. Wellington was delighted with the proof that General -Beresford's drilling had answered the very highest expectations, and -that henceforth he could count confidently on his Portuguese troops, -and he wrote in the most cheering terms of this fact in his dispatches -home. - -On the 28th Massena had discovered the pass of Boyalva through these -hills, to the north of Busaco, which Wellington had ordered Colonel -Trant to occupy. But Trant had missed his way, and did not reach the -pass in time. Wellington saw, therefore, his flank turned, and the -enemy on the highway to Oporto. He therefore quitted his position, and, -taking Coimbra in his way, compelled such of the inhabitants as had -not obeyed his order to march along with him. On the 1st of October -he was on his route southward, accompanied by this strange crowd. It -was a perfect exodus, and appeared to the poor inhabitants as a severe -measure, but to it they owed their after-salvation. Had they remained, -it would have been only to suffer the oppressions and insults of the -French, and to see them supporting themselves on their provisions. As -it was, the French, on entering Coimbra, found it, as they had done -Viseu, totally deserted, and the stacks of corn and provision that -could not be carried away, for the most part too adroitly buried to -be easily found. They were left to the starvation that the English -general designed for them. But what a scene on the road! The whole -country moving south with the cattle and sheep, and waggons laden with -their goods. "No power of description," said an eye-witness, "can -convey to the mind of any reader the afflicting scenes, the cheerless -desolation that we daily witnessed on our march from the Mondego to the -lines. Where-ever we moved, the mandate, which enjoined the wretched -inhabitants to forsake their homes and to remove or destroy their -little property, had gone before us. The villages were deserted; the -churches--retreats so often, yet so vainly confided in--were empty; the -mountain cottages stood open and untenanted; the mills in the valley, -but yesterday so busy, were motionless and silent. From Thomar the -flanks of our line of march were literally covered with the flying -population of the country. In Portugal there are at no time many -facilities for travelling, and those few the exigencies of the army -had very greatly diminished. Rich indeed were those who still retained -a cabriolet, and mules for its service. Those who had bullock-cars, -asses, or any mode of transporting their families and property, looked -contented and grateful; for respectable men and delicate women of the -second class might on every side be seen walking slowly and painfully -on foot, encumbered by heavy burdens of clothes, bedding, and food." It -was a whole country in emigration; quitting their cities, homes, and -fields to coop themselves up in the vicinity of Lisbon, for the stern -purpose of starving the detested enemy out of the land. - -[Illustration: WELLINGTON'S RETREAT FROM COIMBRA. (_See p._ 604.)] - -But, sorrowful as the sight itself was, the news of it in Great -Britain excited the strongest condemnation in the party which had -always doubted the power of Wellington to cope with the vast armies of -France. They declared that he was carrying on a system that was ruining -Portugal, and must make our name an opprobrium over the whole world, -at the same time that it could not enable us to keep a footing there; -that we must be driven out with terrible loss and infamy. But not so -thought Wellington. Before him were the heights of Torres Vedras, about -twenty-four miles from Lisbon. These, stretching in two ranges between -the sea and the Tagus, presented a barrier which he did not mean the -French to pass. He had already planned the whole scheme; he had already -had these heights, themselves naturally strong, made tenfold stronger -by military art; he had drawn the enemy after him into a country -stripped and destitute of everything, and there he meant to stop him, -and keep him exposed to famine and winter, till he should be glad to -retrace his steps. Neither should those steps be easy. Floods, and deep -muddy roads, and dearths should lie before him; and at his heels should -follow, keen as hornets, the Allied army, to avenge the miseries of -this invaded people. - -By the 8th of October Wellington was safely encamped within these -impregnable lines, and the crowd of flying people sought refuge in -Lisbon, or in the country around it. The British did not arrive a -moment too soon, for Massena was close at their heels with his van; -but he halted at Sobral for three days to allow of the coming up of -his main body. This time was spent by the British in strengthening -their position, already most formidable. The two ranges of mountains -lying one behind the other were speedily occupied by the troops; -and they were set to work at more completely stopping up roads, and -constructing barriers, palisades, platforms, and wooden bridges leading -into the works. For this purpose fifty thousand trees were allowed -them, and all the space between Lisbon and these wonderful lines was -one swarming scene of people bringing in materials and supplies. The -right of the position was flanked by the Tagus, where the British -fleet lay anchored, attended by a flotilla of gunboats, and a body of -marines occupied the line of embarkation; Portuguese militia manned the -Castle of St. Julian and the forts on the Tagus, and Lisbon itself was -filled with armed bands of volunteers. There was no want of anything -within this busy and interesting enclosure, for the British fleet had -the command of the sea and all its means of supply. Seven thousand -Portuguese peasantry were employed in bringing in and preparing the -timber for the defences; and every soldier not positively on guard was -enthusiastic in helping the engineers and artillery in the labour of -making the lines impregnable. - -It was one of the most interesting scenes in any warfare; and there -was not a man who did not enjoy the astonishment and disappointment of -the French when, on the 11th, they marched in wonder up to the foot of -these giant fortifications. Wellington had doubly obtained his wish; -for he was not only safely ensconced in his strong position, but the -rainy season which he was anticipating had set in in earnest. The main -body of the French had been detained by the bad roads and the floods, -and now, when the proud general, who expected so rapidly to drive the -British into the sea, surveyed the scarped cliffs bristling with cannon -and with bayonets far above him, his astonishment was evident. He rode -along the foot of the hills for several days reconnoitreing the whole -position, which seemed suddenly to have altered the situation of the -combatants, and not so much to have shut up Wellington and his army in -Lisbon, as to have shut him and his numerous one out to famine and the -wintry elements. - -For more than four months the invincible Massena continued to watch the -lines of Torres Vedras without striking a single effective blow. In -fact, instead of attacking Wellington, Wellington attacked his advanced -posts near Sobral on the 14th, and drove them in with the bayonet. The -French then showed themselves in some force near Villa Franca, close to -the Tagus; but there the gunboats reached them, causing them rapidly -to retreat, and killing General St. Croix. After this, the French -made no further attempt on those mountain lines which struck Massena -with despair. After occupying his position for a month he fell back -to the town of Santarem, and there and in the neighbouring villages -quartered his troops for the winter. His great business was to collect -provisions, for he had brought none with him; and had the people -obeyed strictly the proclamation of Wellington and the Junta, he would -have found none at all, and must have instantly retreated. But the -Portuguese thought it hard to quit their homesteads and carry all their -provisions to Lisbon or into the mountains, and the miserable Junta -threw all the blame of the order on the British general. Not only, -therefore, was a considerable amount of provisions left in the country, -but boats were left at Santarem, on the Tagus, contrary to Wellington's -orders, by which provisions were brought over by the French from Spain. - -Yet, during this winter, while Massena's army was in a constant state -of semi-starvation, badly clothed and badly lodged, and thus wasting -away by sickness and desertion, that of Wellington increased in -numbers, in physical condition, and in discipline. Whilst Massena's -army, originally seventy-one thousand men, was ere long reduced by the -battle of Busaco and the miserable quarters in the wet country near -Torres Vedras to fifty-five thousand, the forces of Wellington had -been augmented, by reinforcements from England, and by the addition of -Portuguese and Spanish troops, to fifty-eight thousand. When Massena -retreated to Santarem, Wellington followed him to Cartaxo, and there -fixed his headquarters, and ordered General Hill to post his division -opposite to Santarem, so as to check the enemy's foraging parties in -that direction. At the same time, Colonel Trant, who had surprised the -French rear as Massena's army was leaving Coimbra on his march after -Wellington to Torres Vedras, and had secured the sick and wounded -in the hospitals there to the amount of five thousand men, and who -retained possession of Coimbra, now joined Sir Robert Wilson and -Colonel Millar, who commanded the Portuguese militia, and their united -force appeared in Massena's rear, cutting off his communication with -the north and also with the Spanish frontier. - -Such was Massena's situation, so early as the commencement of -November--having to maintain his army in a country reduced to a -foodless desert by the art of his masterly antagonist, and, instead -of being able to drive the British before him, finding them menacing -him on all sides, so that he dispatched General Foy to make his way -with a strong escort to Ciudad Rodrigo, and thence to proceed with all -speed to Paris, to explain to the Emperor the real state of affairs. -The state was that the whole of Portugal, except the very ground on -which Massena was encamped, was in possession of the British and the -Portuguese. There was no possibility of approaching Lisbon without -forcing these lines at Torres Vedras, and that, if done at all, must -be at the cost of as large an army as he possessed altogether. All -the rest of Portugal--Oporto, Coimbra, Abrantes--and all the forts -except Almeida were in the hands of the enemy. As to the destitution -of Massena's army, we have the description from his own statements in -letters to Napoleon, which were intercepted. From this information, -Lord Wellington wrote in his dispatches: "It is impossible to describe -the pecuniary and other distresses of the French army in the Peninsula. -All the troops are months in arrears of pay; they are, in general, very -badly clothed; they want horses, carriages, and equipments of every -description; their troops subsist solely upon plunder; they receive -no money, or scarcely any, from France, and they realise but little -from their pecuniary contributions from Spain. Indeed, I have lately -discovered that the expense of the pay and the hospitals alone of the -French army in the Peninsula amounts to more than the sum stated in the -financial _exposé_ as the whole expense of the entire French army." - -Such were the advantages now possessed by the British over the French -commander, that both the Portuguese and people at home were impatient -that Wellington should at once attack and annihilate Massena's army. -But Wellington knew better. He knew that a great battle, or battles, -must vastly reduce his own as well as Massena's army. He knew that -France could readily march down eighty or a hundred thousand fresh men -into Portugal at extremity, but that Great Britain could not so readily -do that; and, should the Whigs come into power, as was probable, he -could not calculate on any support at all. The king now hopelessly -insane, the Prince of Wales must be soon appointed Regent, and then, -perhaps, would come in his friends the Whigs. There were many other -considerations which made Wellington refuse to accede to a general -attack on the French at present. He had, as it was, trouble enough with -the Junta; but, should any reverse occur, his situation then would be -intolerable. Just now the Portuguese troops were in good spirits for -fighting, but defeat would ruin all the progress yet made with them. He -knew that the winter would do for the French army all that he expected -without any cost to himself, and he waited for that, ready then to -follow up the advantages it would give him. It was his great plan of -operations which already reduced them to the dilemma in which they -were, and now came winter and did the rest, fully showing his superior -sagacity. In November the weather became and continued wretched in the -extreme. The country was flooded, cutting off the precarious supplies -of the French, but adding strength to the encampment of Torres Vedras. -The cross roads were impassable for artillery, and all but impassable -for waggons bringing provisions, which had to be hunted for far and -wide, with incredible hardships and little success. Leaving the hostile -armies in this position till the spring, we must notice other important -matters. - -In the course of 1810 the French were expelled completely from the -East and West Indies, and the Indian Ocean. Guadeloupe, the last of -their West India Islands, was captured in February, by an expedition -conducted by General Beckford and Admiral Sir A. Cochrane. In July -an armament, sent out by Lord Minto from India, and headed by -Lieutenant-Colonel Keating, reduced the Isle of Bourbon; and, being -reinforced by a body of troops from the Cape of Good Hope, under -Major-General John Abercromby and Admiral Bertie, the Isle of France, -much the more important, and generally called Mauritius, surrendered -on the 3rd of December. Besides a vast quantity of stores and -merchandise, five frigates and about thirty merchantmen were taken; and -Mauritius became a permanent British colony. From this place a squadron -proceeded to destroy the French factories on the coast of Madagascar, -and finished by completely expelling them from those seas. - -Our forces in Sicily had an encounter, in the autumn, with those of -Murat, King of Naples. Murat was ambitious of driving us out of Sicily, -and Ferdinand IV. and his court with us. From spring till September -he had an army lying at Scylla, Reggio, and in the hills overlooking -the Strait of Messina, but he did not attempt to put across till the -18th of September. Seizing then the opportunity, when our flotilla -of gunboats and our cruisers were off the station, he pushed across -a body of three thousand five hundred men, under General Cavaignac. -These troops were chiefly Neapolitans, but there were two battalions -of Corsicans, and they were furnished with an embroidered standard to -present to the Corsicans in our service, whom they hoped to induce to -desert to them. General Cavaignac managed to land about seven miles to -the south of Messina, and attacked the British right wing. Sir John -Stuart made haste to bring up other troops to the support of the right, -but before he could arrive, Colonel C. Campbell defeated the invaders, -taking prisoners a colonel, a lieutenant-colonel, and forty other -officers, with eight hundred men. There was a rapid retreat to their -boats by the intruders, but the British pursued and cut to pieces great -numbers of them, besides what were killed by the Sicilian peasantry. -One boat full of soldiers was sunk as it went off, and the Neapolitans -in another deserted to their old king. - -Colonel Campbell did not lose a single man, and had but three wounded, -so that it is evident that the flight of the enemy must have been -instantaneous and universal. Murat made no further attempt to seize -Sicily, though he kept his camp on the heights behind Reggio and Scylla -for two years longer. - - - - -INDEX. - - - Abercromby, General, Death of, 483. - - Acre, St. Jean d', Siege of, 471. - - Addington, Prime Minister, 479; - Pitt's opposition to, 494; - resigns, 495; - becomes Viscount Sidmouth, 500. - - Addison, Joseph, 15, 38; - as a writer, 148. - - Additional Force Bill, 496; - repealed, 518. - - Aix-la-Chapelle, Peace of, 114. - - Albemarle, Earl of, 47. - - Alexandria, Battle of, 483. - - Algiers, Dey of, Strange treaty with, 444. - - Alien Bill, The, 411. - - "All the Talents" ministry, 516, 531. - - America, War with the colonies in: - Washington commands American forces, 218; - Bunker's Hill, 219; - condition of the American Army, 222, 230, 231, 235, 247; - Boston surrenders to Washington, 222, 223; - attack on Charleston, 224, 225; - Washington retreats from Long Island, 230; - Cornwallis in pursuit, 230, 231; - supineness of British generals, desperate state of Washington, - his victory at Trenton, 235; - battle of the Brandywine, Washington defeated at Germantown, his - camp at Valley Forge, 238; - Burgoyne defeats St. Clair, 240; - battle of Bemus's Heights, 242; - Burgoyne surrenders at Saratoga, 244; - conditions of surrender violated, 248; - failure of Lafayette's expedition to Canada, 255; - capture of Charleston, 273; - the war in Carolina, 274, 275; - French succours, 275; - Arnold's treachery, 276; - execution of Major André, 278; - Tarleton's defeat in North Carolina, Cornwallis defeats Greene at - Guildford, 280; - surrender of Cornwallis at York Town, 283; - British nation tired of the war, 286, 287; - overtures for peace, 291, 296; - peace signed, 297, 298; - Independence of United States acknowledged, 298. - - American colonies, condition and trade, 183; - taxation, 184; - congress at New York to consider Stamp Act, 185; - riots in Boston, 187, 200, 201; - Massachusetts' petition, 194, 195; - dismissed, 211; - tea duties, 201, 202, 208; - destruction of tea at Boston, 210; - "minute men" enrolled, 214; - preparing for war, 217; - declaration of Independence, 226, 227; - articles of Confederation, Franklin's success in Paris, 232; - financial difficulties, 236; - France aids with a fleet, 256. - _See_ America, War with. - - American incendiaries in England, 233. - - Amiens, Treaty of, 485. - - André, Major, 277; - execution of, 278. - - Anne, Queen, her liking for the Pretender, 8, 10, 16, 19; - treaty of Utrecht, 10; - dislikes Electress Sophia and her son, 12, 16; - proposed visit of Elector of Hanover and Pretender to England, - 16, 17; - letters to Elector and Electress of Hanover, proclamation - against Pretender, 19; - her last council, 29; - death, 23. - - Architecture of the 18th century, 157-160. - - Argyll, Duke of, 29; - at Sheriffmuir, 30; - disperses Pretender's army, 31. - - Armed neutrality league, 272. - - Army Commissariat, State of, 562. - - Army, Commissions in, Traffic in sale of, 571; - Bill to prevent, 572. - - Army, Improvement of, Windham's Bills for, 518, 519; - numerical strength, 531. - - Army of England at Boulogne, 490, 498. - - Arnold, General, expedition to Canada, 220; - his treachery, 276, 277; - ravages American towns, 279. - - Arts and Manufactures, Society of, 166. - - Aspern, Buonaparte defeated at, 589. - - Assaye, Battle of, 491. - - Astronomers of 18th century, 152, 153. - - Atterbury's plot, 49,50; - death, 60. - - Austerlitz, Battle of, 506. - - Austria participates in first partition of Poland, 207; - campaign against the Turks, 350, 354; - France declares war against, 400; - Austrian successes on the Rhine, 444; - peace with France, 459; - Buonaparte drives from Italy, 506; - prepares for war with France, 586, 587; - defeats Buonaparte at Aspern, 589; - is defeated at Wagram, 590, 591; - treaty of Schönbrunn, 591. - - - Baird, Sir David, in Spain, 563. - - Bastille, Storming of the, 364. - - Beckford, Alderman, 178, 200. - - Bemus's Heights, Battle of, 242. - - Berlin decrees, The, 527, 546, 547. - - Bhurtpore, Siege of fortress of, 513, 514. - - Black Friday in London, 102. - - Bolingbroke, Viscount, dealings with the Pretender, 8, 12, 14, 16, - 18, 19; - becomes Prime Minister, 20; - attainted of treason, 27; - pardoned, 50; - estates restored, 52; - retires to France, 65; - as writer, 148. - - Boroughs, Rotten, purchase of, 192; - motions in Parliament for reform of, 391. - - Boston Riots, 187, 200; - Boston Port Act, 211. - - Boulogne, Army of England at, 490, 498; - attempt on French fleet at, 496. - - Braddock, General, in America, 119. - - Brandywine, Battle of the, 238. - - Bread Riots, 191, 478. - - Brest fleet, 458; - attempt to destroy, 584. - - Breton, Cape, ceded to Britain, 174. - - Bribery and corruption in Parliament, under Walpole, 62; - under Pelham, 112. - - British Museum founded, 116. - - Brittany, Rising of Royalists in, 445-447. - - Brunswick, Prince Ferdinand of, 131; - success at Minden, 138; - defeat at Cassel, 170. - - Buenos Ayres, Whitelocke's fiasco, 522, 535. - - Bunker's Hill, Battle of, 219. - - Buonaparte, Jerome, 546. - - Buonaparte, Joseph, King of Naples, 524; - of Spain, 553, 554. - - Buonaparte, Louis, King of Holland, 524. - - Buonaparte, Lucien, 553. - - Buonaparte, Napoleon, 422; - at Toulon, 423; - suppresses insurrection in Paris, 448; - in Italy 450, 453; - against Austria, 451, 453; - at Arcole, 454; - contemplates invading England, 464; - defeats Mamelukes at Cairo, 467; - captures Joppa, defeats Turks at Alexandria, 471; - becomes first consul, 472; - Marengo, 476; - defeats Austrians in Italy, 477; - president of Cisalpine Republic, 484; - his plans of conquest, 485; - attitude towards Britain, 485, 487; - seizes Hanover, 489; - the army of England, 490, 498; - the Georges conspiracy, 496-7; - kidnaps Duke d'Enghien, 498; - coronation, 499; - invades Germany, 504; - Austrians capitulate at Ulm, 505; - cedes Hanover to Prussia, 507; - alleged plan to assassinate, 516; - provides thrones for brothers, sisters, and generals, 524; - Auerstadt and Jena, 526; - the Berlin decrees, 527; - attempts to dupe Kosciusko, 529; - in collision with the Russians, 530; - intrigues with Turkey, 536; - designs on Danish fleet, 539; - continental campaign, 542-545; - repulse at Eylau, 543; - treaty of Tilsit, spoliation of Prussia, 544, 545; - designs on Spain and Portugal, excludes British trade from the - Continent, 546, 547; - subjugates Portugal, 547, 548; - Italy, Papal territories, 549; - Spain, 550; - prepares for a new campaign in Spain, 565; - plottings against, in Germany, 565, 566; - proposes to divorce Josephine, 566; - captures Madrid, 567; - projects with regard to Spain, 573; - war with Austria, 587; - captures Vienna, 588; - defeated at Aspern, 589; - defeats Austria at Wagram, 590, 591; - treaty of Schönbrunn, 590; - crushes Tyrolese rebellion, 591, 593; - betrays the Poles, 593; - and the Italians, deposes Pope Pius VII., 594; - anxiety concerning Spain, 600. - - Burdett, Sir Francis, Motion for Parliamentary reform, 572; - on reporting parliamentary proceedings, 595; - riots in Piccadilly, 596, 597; - is committed to the Tower, 597; - release of, 599. - - Burgoyne at Ticonderoga, 240; - Bemus's Heights, 242; - surrenders, 244. - - Burke, Edmund, 188; - defends East India Company, 207; - on the American colonies, 215; - relief of Ireland, 252; - economic reforms, 262, 264; - impeachment of Hastings, 338, 342; - on the slave trade, 340; - on Regency Bill, 345-6; - denounces French Revolution, 370, 371; - breach with Fox, 379; - on French Revolution, 410; - supports Alien Bill, 411, and French war, 412, 426; - replies to Fox, 417. - - Busaco, Battle of, 604. - - Bute, Lord, 168, 169; - Prime Minister, 171; - his unpopularity, 178; - resigns, 179. - - Byng, Admiral Sir George, destroys Spanish fleet, 41; - Admiral John at Minorca, 122; - tried, 124; - shot, 126. - - Byron, Admiral, 257, 260. - - - Cairo, Capture of, 467; - massacre at, 468. - - Calabria, Defence of, by Sir John Stuart, 520; - battle of Maida, 521. - - Camperdown, Battle of, 458. - - Canada, British expedition against, 132; - storming of Quebec, 134, 135; - ceded to Britain, 174; - American expeditions against, 220, 255; - divided into two provinces (Canada Bill), 378. - - Canning, 440; - duel with Castlereagh, 594; - Foreign Secretary, 534; - resigns, 583. - - Cape of Good Hope, Cape Town captured, 445; - Dutch attempt to recover, 451; - expedition to, 521. - - Caroline Matilda, Princess, 206. - - Caroline, Princess of Brunswick, 442. - - Caroline, Queen, character, 57, 58; - illness and death, 68. - - Carthagena, Vernon's failure at, 75. - - Castlereagh, Lord, 474, 503, 534, 572; - quarrel and duel with Canning, 594. - - Catalonia, its defence by O'Donnell, 602. - - Catholic emancipation, 478, 479. - - Catholic Relief Bill produces riots in Scotland, 254. - - Catholics, Measures for relief of, 532, 533; - fresh restrictions on, 535. - - Charles XII. of Sweden, 34; - threatens to support Pretender, 36; - death, 42. - - Charlotte, Queen of George III., character of, 169. - - Chatham, Earl of, forms great Northern Alliance, 190; - speech on Wilkes and the American war, 198; - on influence of favourites, 199; - condemns treatment of American colonies, 214; - his Bill of Pacification, 214, 215; - protest against American war, 234, 246, 249; - his last speech, 251; - death, 252. - - China, Lord Macartney's mission to, 395. - - Church, The, after the Revolution of 1688, 141. - - Cider tax, 178. - - Cintra, Convention of, 561. - - Cisalpine republic, Buonaparte president of, 484. - - Clarkson, Thomas, and slave trade, 380. - - Clinton, Sir Henry, at Rhode Island, 232; - commands forces in America, 250; - captures Charleston, 273. - - Clive, Lord, his exploits in India, 128, 129, 176, 316; - his policy, 318; - reforms, 319; - death of, 323. - - Cochrane, Lord, his naval deeds, 523. - - Coimbra, Wellington's retreat from, 604, 605. - - Collingwood, Lord, blockades French and Spanish fleets, 510; - his last exploit, death of, 584. - - Colonies, British, Buonaparte's expedition of inquiry to, 485. - - Colonies, Growth of English, in 18th century, 164, 165. - - Commerce, British, Buonaparte's embargo on, 528. - - Commerce, State of, in 18th century, 164. - - Commercial crisis in England, 416, 417. - - Commercial distress in Ireland, 311, 312. - - Comprehension Bill, 142. - - Coote, Sir Eyre, his exploits in India, 136, 178, 330, 331. - - Copenhagen, Bombardment of, 480, 481; - destruction of Danish fleet at, 539-542. - - Copper manufactures, 167. - - Cornwallis, Lord, in pursuit of Washington, 231, 232, 236; - enters Philadelphia, 238; - arrives at York Town, 280; - surrounded by American forces, 281, 282; - Siege of York Town, 282; - surrender, 283; - ends war in India, 394; - Governor-General of India, death of, 514. - - Corresponding Society, 391, 394, 439. - Corruption in the spending departments of Government, 531; - and peculation in the army and navy, 571, 572, 577, 578. - - Crown influence, Dunning's motion on, 264. - - Culloden, Battle of, 106, 107. - - Cumberland, Duke of, operations against Young Pretender, 99, 104; - Battle of Culloden, 106, 107; - licentious life, 205. - - Curaçoa, Capture of, by British, 539. - - - Dardanelles, Expedition to fails, 537, 538. - - Declaration of Rights, 226. - - Declaratory Act, 189. - - Dettingen, Battle of, 84. - - Domingo, St., Negro insurrection in, 375; - massacre of French Royalists in, 431. - - Dominica, Capture of, by British, 170; - retaken by the French, 258. - - Dramatists of 18th century, 151, 152. - - Duckworth, Sir John, naval engagement off St. Domingo, 522; - at Constantinople, 537, 538. - - Duncan, Admiral, at Camperdown, 458. - - - East India Company's affairs in Parliament, 207, 302-304; - charter renewed, 416. - - Economic reforms, Agitation for, 262-264, 290, 291. - - Egypt, Departure of French fleet for, 465; - capture of Alexandria, 466; - capitulation of French in, 483; - fruitless British expedition to, 538. - - Elliot, General, defends Gibraltar, 294. - - Emmett, Robert, rebellion, execution, 490. - - Enghien, Duke d', murder of, 498. - - Erskine on Catholic emancipation, 534. - - Eugene, Prince, 2, 6, 13. - - Excise duties, 62, 63, 315. - - - Falkland Islands, 202, 203. - - Family compact, The, 171. - - Finisterre, Cape, naval battle off, 509. - - Fitzgerald, Lord, and the Irish Rebellion, 460, 462; - arrest and death of, 463. - - Fitzherbert, Mrs., 338, 346, 441. - - Flanders, Campaign in, 90, 111, 112; - treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 114. - - Fleet marriages, 115. - - Flood's agitation, 290, 371. - - Fontainebleau, Peace of, 175; - treaty of, 547. - - Fontenoy, Battle of, 90, 91. - - Fortification of Plymouth and Portsmouth, Bill for, 314. - - 'Forty-five, The Rebellion of, 92; - end of rebellion, 107; - trials of the rebels, 109. - - Fox, Charles James, censures on American war, 222; - attacks Lord North's ministry, 261, 286; - Secretary of State, 288; - coalition with Lord North, 299; - his India Bill, 302; - Westminster election, 308; - as friend of Prince of Wales, 336; - impeachment of Hastings, 336-342; - the Regency, 344; - applauds the French Revolution, 370, 410; - breach with Burke, 379, 380; - bills on law of libel, 382; - relief of Nonconformists, 392, 393; - condemns French war, 412; - his efforts for peace, 415, 417; - scheme for Buonaparte's assassination confided to, 516; - death, 530. - - Fox, Henry, 119, 120. - - France threatens Hanover, 74; - defeated at Dettingen, 84; - declares war against England, 87; - disasters in Italy, 112; - disputes with England about Nova Scotia, 114-119, 127; - captures Minorca, 122; - favours rebellion of American colonies, 232, 236; - treaty with America, 250; - declares war against England, 255; - sends a fleet to aid Americans, 256; - attempt to invade England, 260; - peace signed, 299; - commercial treaty with, 315; - at war with Austria, 400. - _See_ Buonaparte, _and_ French Revolution. - - Francis, Philip, his intrigues against Hastings, 326; - denounces the war against Tippoo Sahib, 376. - - Franking, Privilege of limited, 308. - - Franklin, Benjamin, 184; - purloins Whately's letters, 208, 210, 211; - successful negotiations in Paris, 232; - conducts peace negotiations with Britain, 296-298. - - Frederick, Prince of Wales, marriage of, 67; - birth of his son, afterwards George III., 68; - death of, 115. - - Frederick the Great, schemes of conquest, 73; - continental confederation against, the seven years' war, 124, 176; - Battle of Rosbach, 128; - alliance with Russia, 172. - - Freedom of Press, Attempt to crush, 426. - - Friends of the People, Society of, 391, 393. - - French fleet at Boulogne, Attempt on, 496. - - French possessions in North America, capture of, 134-136, 138, 139. - - French Revolution, The, 356, 360; - storming of the Bastille, 364; - famine and bankruptcy, 366; - decrees against emigrants, 387; - war against Austria, 400; - insurrection in Paris, 402; - massacre of Swiss guards, 403; - establishment of Republic, 404; - abolition of royalty, 408; - Louis tried and condemned to death, 409, 410; - war with Britain and Holland, 412, 418, 421; - reign of terror, 423; - sanguinary horrors, 436; - insurrection in Paris suppressed by Buonaparte, 448; - Directory's campaign against Austria, defeats in Germany, 451. - _See_ Louis XVI. _and_ Buonaparte. - - French troops in Ireland, 463, 464; - in Wales, 458. - - - Gage, General, in America, 211, 212. - - Gale, Jones, and freedom of the Press, 595. - - Gates, General, captures Burgoyne's army, 242, 244; - intrigues against Washington, 248, 255. - - George I., Accession of, 24; - arrives in England, coronation, first parliament, 26; - seeks new continental alliances, 34; - disputes with Sweden and Russia, 34, 35; - triple alliance between England, France, and Holland, 36; - new Jacobite conspiracy, 36; - complications with foreign powers, 53; - death, 57. - - George II., Accession of, character of, 57; - feud between and his son, 67; - the Commons and the defence of Hanover, 76; - Parliament and the Spanish war, 78; - Walpole's farewell interview with, 79; - resists inquiry into Walpole's administration, 81; - Parliament and payment of Hanoverian troops, 82; - at the Battle of Dettingen, 84; - prepares to meet Young Pretender, 99; - end of the 'Forty-five, 107; - treaty with Spain, 114; - flourishing state of commerce, 114, 115; - death of Frederick, Prince of Wales, 115; - subsidies for defence of Hanover, 119, 124, 128; - brings Hanoverian troops to England, 120; - fresh continental alliances, 123; - death of, 140. - - George III., Accession of, 168; - marriage, coronation, 169; - illness, 185; - Regency Bill, 186; - prosecution of American war, 233; - his dislike of Chatham, 250, 251; - No Popery rioters, 270; - end of Lord North's ministry, 287; - extravagance of Prince of Wales, 301, 337, 338; - letter to Lord Temple on India Bills, dismisses Coalition - ministry, 303; - attack of insanity, 343; - debate on appointment of Regent, 343-347; - recovery, 348; - national thanksgiving, 348, 349; - his opinion of French Revolution, 371; - debate on foreign affairs, 388-390; - marriage of Duke of York, allowance to Prince of Wales, 390; - France declares war, 412; - war spirit in England, 415; - French proposals for peace, 416; - successes against the French in the East and West Indies, 422; - subsidising continental powers, 426; - mismanagement of the war, 432; - reforms in the army, profligacy of the King's sons, 441; - disasters to the troops in Holland, 443; - the King shot at, 448; - measures for relief of Catholics in Ireland, 461; - alliance with Russia against France, 468; - receives letters from Buonaparte, 474, 499; - union of Great Britain and Ireland, 474, 476; - Pitt's proposals for Catholic emancipation, 478; - illness and recovery, Addington Prime Minister, 479; - negotiations for Pitt's return to power, war declared against - France and Holland, 488; - Buonaparte seizes Hanover, 489; - rebellion in Ireland, 490; - the King's illness, weakness of Addington's ministry, Pitt - offers to form an administration, the defence of the kingdom, - 494; - Addington resigns, 495; - Additional Force Bill, war with Spain, 496; - "All the talents" ministry, 516, 531; - negotiations for peace with France, 518; - abolition of slave trade, 532; - opposes Catholic relief measures, Grenville ministry dismissed, 533; - Duke of Portland's cabinet, 534; - Irish Coercion Bills, 535; - the Czar and Buonaparte - propose peace, 566; - Burdett riots, 596-598; - petitions for parliamentary reform, 598; - the King's insanity, 607. - - Georges conspiracy, The, 496, 497. - - Germany, death of Emperor Charles VII., 90; - Prince of Tuscany elected emperor, 91; - Buonaparte invades, 504; - spirit of revolt against Buonaparte in, 589, 590. - - Gibraltar, Possession of, confirmed to England, 14; - Spain attempts to capture, 55, 259; - question of cession of, 59; - Rodney relieves, 271; - attack on, 279; - General Elliot's defence of, 294. - - Gin Act, The, 66, 83. - - Godolphin, Earl of, death and character, 9. - - Gordon, Lord George, and Catholic Relief Bill, 254; - riots, 266-271. - - Grafton, Duke of, 190, 195, 196, 198. - - Grattan, motions for legislative independence of Ireland, 288-290; - for reform in Irish Parliament, 372, 474, 475. - - Granville ministry carries Abolition of Slave Trade, 532; - fails with Catholic Relief Bill, 533; - resignation, 534. - - Guadeloupe captured by the British, 607. - - Gustavus of Sweden invades Russia, 351, 352; - assassination of, 396. - - - Habeas Corpus Act suspended, 50, 429. - - Hanover, Electoral Prince of, 16, 18. - - Hanover, Treaty of, 54; - sums voted for protection of, 119, 124, 128; - seized by Buonaparte, 489; - ceded to Prussia, 507. - - Hardy, Admiral, opposes French and Spanish fleets, 259, 260. - - Hastings, Warren, 315; - Governor-General of India, 322; - his administration in India, 323; - Rohilla war, 325; - execution of Nuncomar; Lord North determines to remove, 327; - his spirited policy, 328; - war with the Mahrattas, 328, 329; - Cheyte Sing, 334; - the Begums, 334; - recalled to England, popularity, 335; - impeachment, 336, 338; - trial of, 342. - - Havana, Capture of, 174. - - Hawke, Sir Edward, in Quiberon Bay, 136. - - Heligoland, Capture of, by British, 542. - - Highland regiments raised, 124. - - Hofer, Andrew, governor of the Tyrol, 591; - betrayal and death of, 593. - - Hohenlinden, Battle of, 478. - - Holland, War declared against, 278; - Britain captures settlements in East and West Indies, 284; - invaded by France, 418; - battles at Neerwinden and Famars, 418, 419; - becomes a Republic under French protection, colonies seized by - Britain, 443. - - Hood, Lord, at Toulon, 422; - at Corsica, 431. - - Hood, Sir Samuel, naval exploits, 523. - - Horne Tooke and Prince of Wales, 346; - trial of, 439. - - Howe, Admiral, in America, 227, 228; - receives a deputation from Congress, 231; - chases D'Estaing's fleet, 256, 257; - attacks French and Spanish fleets at Gibraltar, 295; - naval victory, "glorious First of June," 430. - - Howe, General, at Bunker's Hill, 219; - evacuates Boston, 223; - at Staten Island, 228. - - Hyder Ali, 320, 330; - defeated by Sir Eyre Coote, 331; - death of, 332. - - - Imperial Parliament, The first, 478. - - Income tax, The, 468. - - Independence, Declaration of American, 226, 227. - - India, Dutch defeated in, 177; - fighting with French in the Carnatic, 177, 178; - destruction of French power in, 178; - abuses in, Parliamentary inquiry, 207; - narrative of affairs in, 316; - Bengal, Orissa, and Bahar granted to East India Company, 318; - Clive's reforms, 319; - rise of Hyder Ali, 320; - inquiry into Company's affairs, 322; - famine in Bengal, 322, 323; - Lord North's Regulating Acts, administration of Warren Hastings, - 323; - Rohilla war, 325; - Mahratta war, 328, 329; - Sir Eyre Coote defeats Hyder Ali, capture of Dutch possessions, - Tippoo Sahib, 331, 332; - death of Hyder Ali, 332; - Hastings recalled to England, 335; - war with Tippoo Sahib, 375; - Lord Cornwallis ends the war, 394, 395; - the Company's charter renewed, 416; - Pondicherry taken from the French, 422; - Mahratta war, 491-494; - Sir Arthur Wellesley, battle of Assaye, 491; - successes of General Lake, 491, 513; - Battle of Laswaree, chase of Argaum, 493; - fresh acquisitions of territory, 494; - Lord Lake ends Mahratta war, 513, 515. - _See_ Hastings, Warren. - - India Bill, Fox's, 302, 303; - Pitt's, 304. - - Indies; East, British empire in, 166. - - Ionian Islands, 583. - - Ireland, Burke's measures for relief of, 252; - commercial distress in, 259; - Lord North's scheme for relief of, 262; - Grattan's motions for legislative independence of, 288, 290; - Flood's agitation, 290, 371; - Flood's Reform Bill, 310; - Pitt's proposals for relief of commercial distress, 311, 312; - Grattan's motions for Reform, 372; - insurrection in, 463, 464; - union with Great Britain, 468, 474-476; - first United Parliament, 478; - rebellion in, execution of Emmett, 490. - - Ireland, Woollen manufactures in, 167. - - Irish House of Commons, 311; - restrictions on Irish trade, 311, 312; - sympathy with French Revolution, 460; - intrigues with France, 462; - corruption of the Parliament, 461, 475; - Black and Red lists, 475. - - Iron, Manufactures of, 167. - - Italian music, Taste for in England, 155. - - Italy, British expedition to, and successes, 583; - Austria attempts to drive French from, 469; - Buonaparte's annexations in, 486. - - - James VIII. proclaimed at Edinburgh, 95. - - Jena, Battle of, 526. - - Jersey, French attempt on, 278. - - Jervis, Sir John, at Cape St. Vincent, 458. - - Jews, Act for naturalisation of, 115. - - Junius, Letters of, 195, 197, 203. - - - Kempenfeldt, Admiral, captures French merchantmen, 285. - - Keppel, Admiral, naval battle off Ushant, 255; - court-martial on, 258. - - Kosciusko, defence of Poland, 398; - successes against Russia, 438; - Buonaparte tries to dupe, 529. - - - Lafayette and French Revolution, 358, 366. - - Lake, Lord, in India, 491-493; - campaign against the Mahrattas, 513, 515. - - La Roche-Jacquelein, 424. - - Laswaree, Battle of, 493. - - Lexington, Skirmish at, 217. - - Libel, Law of, Fox's Bills on, 382. - - Literary notabilities of 18th century, 142. - - Loans to foreign powers prohibited, 60. - - Lorraine, Acquisition of, by France, 66. - - Louis XVI. and threatened revolution, 357-361; - assembles troops, 362; - dismisses Necker, 363; - revolution in Paris, 363, 364; - receives a deputation from the people, 368; - flight of, 386; - tried, 408; - executed, 410. - - Lovat, Lord, 98, 107; - execution, 109. - - Lucia, St., Capture of by British, 258. - - Lunéville, Treaty of, 478. - - Lyons, Bombardment of, 423. - - - Macclesfield, Earl of, impeachment of, 52. - - Macdonald, Flora, 108. - - Magistracy Bill, The, 391. - - Mahratta war, 491-494, 514, 515. - - Maida, Battle of, 521. - - Malta captured by French, 466; - blockaded by Nelson, 468. - - Malt tax in Scotland, 52. - - Mansfield, Lord, 82, 117; - his house destroyed by No Popery rioters, 268. - - Manufactures of 18th century, 166. - - Mar, Earl of, 20; - raises the Highlands for Pretender, 28; - defeat at Sheriffmuir, 30; - attainted of treason, 32; - death of, 60. - - Marengo, Battle of, 476, 477. - - Maria Theresa of Austria, 73, 74, 81; - British troops and money in aid of, 83. - - Marie Antoinette, 359, 366, 369, 388; - beheaded, 424. - - Marlborough, Duke of, corresponds with Elector of Hanover and the - Pretender, 9, 22; - reception by George I., 26. - - Marriages, Clandestine, 115, 116. - - Martinique, Capture by British, 174, 430. - - Masham, Lady, 14, 24. - - Massachusetts' petition, 194, 195; - charter abolished, 211. - - Massena in Italy, 444; - in Spain, 602, 603; - defeated by Wellington at Busaco, 604; - reaches Torres Vedras, 606. - - Mathematicians of 18th century, 153. - - Mauritius captured by the British, 607. - - Melville, Lord, 500; - impeachment of, 503. - - Mercenaries, German, in American war, 222, 234. - - Merchandise, British, confiscated, 527. - - Metals, Working in, in 18th century, 167. - - Methodists, Rise of, 143. - - Metropolis and other towns, growth of, 167. - - Milan decree, Buonaparte's, 458. - - Militia remodelled, 124. - - Minden, Battle of, 138. - - Minorca, Capture of, 122, 284, 285, 465. - - "Minute Men," The, enrolled, 211. - - Mirabeau, 359, 362; - death of, 386. - - Montcalm, General, 127; - defence of Quebec, 134, 135; - death of, 136. - - Moore, Sir John, in Egypt, 483; - in Spain, 562, 563; - obstructiveness of Spanish allies, 565; - retreat to Corunna, 569; - battle, death and burial of, 569, 570. - - Munitions of War, Exportation of prohibited, 412. - - Murat, King of Naples, 554; - attempts to drive British from Sicily, 608. - - Music in England in 18th century, 154-157. - - Mutiny at Spithead, 455; - at the Nore, 456, 458. - - - Naples, Joseph Buonaparte King of, 524; - Murat becomes king of, 554. - - National debt, Walpole's scheme for reduction of, 38; - increase of, 450. - - Naval affairs, Commission of inquiry into, 500, 502. - - Navy, Improvement of, Bill for, 519; - scheme for providing boys for the, 599. - - Necker, Louis XVI.'s minister, 358, 363, 366. - - Neerwinden, Battle of, 418. - - Nelson, Lord, in Corsica, 431; - at Cape St. Vincent, 458; - blockading Toulon, 465; - blockading Malta, 468; - Battle of the Nile, 467; - at Copenhagen, 480, 481; - attempt on Boulogne flotilla, 483; - in chase of Villeneuve, 508; - Battle of Trafalgar, 510, 511; - last signal, 510; - death, 511. - - Netherlands, War in the, 433-435. - - Newcastle, Duke of, 117, 118, 173. - - Newfoundland, French descent on, 451. - - Newgate destroyed by rioters, 268. - - Newspapers Taxed, 15. - - Nile, Battle of the, 467. - - Nootka Sound, 372, 373, 375. - - No Popery riots, 266-271. - - Nore, Mutiny at, 456, 458. - - Norris, Sir John, pursues Russian fleet, 44. - - _North Briton_, No. 45 of the, 179, 180. - - North, Lord, character, forms a ministry, 199; - endeavours to conciliate American colonists, 200, 215, 250, 256; - scheme for relief of Ireland, 262; - Pitt censures, for conduct of American war, 286; - resignation, 287. - - Northern Coalition, Failure of, 507. - - Nova Scotia, dispute with France concerning, 114; - war breaks out, 118; - war transferred to North America, 127, 134-136, 138, 139; - ceded to Britain, 174. - - Novelists of early part of 18th century, 146, 147. - - - O'Connor, an Irish revolutionary, 460; - arrest and banishment of, 463. - - "Olive Branch" petition, The, 219. - - Orford, Earl of. _See_ Walpole, Sir Robert. - - Orleans, Duke of, regent of France, his policy towards England, - 28, 34; - death of, 51. - - Ormonde, Duke of, succeeds Marlborough, 4; - in office under Bolingbroke, 12, 20; - flies to the Pretender, 27. - - Oxford, Earl of, favours the Pretender, 8; - quarrels with Bolingbroke, 10, 18; - intrigues with Elector of Hanover, 18; - impeachment of, 27; - acquitted, 39. - - - Paine, Thomas, pamphlets, 226, 383, 392. - - Painters, Foreign, in 18th century, 160, 162; - English, 18th century, 162. - - Painting, State of, in 18th century, 160. - - Palliser, Court-martial on, riots, 258. - - Palm of Nuremberg, Execution of, 525. - - Paoli, Corsican patriot, 431. - - Parker, Sir Hyde, 285; - at Copenhagen, 480, 481; - recalled from the Baltic, 482. - - Parliamentary elections, Bribery at, 535. - - Parliamentary proceedings, Reporting of, 111, 112, 203, 204, 595. - - Parliamentary reform, Pitt's motion for, 291; - resolutions for, 300; - Bill for, 312, 599; - society for promoting, 391; - petitions for, 416, 598. - - "Parthenopea, Respublica," The, 469. - - Patna, Massacre at, 316. - - Pelham, 88; - death and character of, 116. - - Pension Bill, 60; - revision of the list, 291. - - Perceval, Spencer, 534. - - Petersburg, Treaty of, 503. - - Philip, King of Spain, 8, 43; - death of, 111. - - Pitt, William, 67, 86, 110; - protests against foreign subsidies, 119, 120; - Secretary of State, 123; - useless expeditions against France, 130; - determines on conquest of Canada, 132, 133; - Bute intrigues against, 169; - his Spanish policy, resigns, 171; - condemns peace of Fontainebleau, 175; - opposition to Bute, 178; - speech on taxing the colonies, 188; - becomes Earl of Chatham, 190. - _See_ Chatham, Earl of. - - Pitt, William, on American war, 286; - Parliamentary reform, 291, 300; - India Bill, 304; - Prime Minister, 303, 305; - relief of Irish distress, 311; - Bill for Parliamentary reform, administrative reforms, 312; - sinking fund, 314; - Excise Bill, 315; - on impeachment of Hastings, 336, 339; - Prince of Wales's debts, 337; - slave trade, 340; - the King's insanity, 343; - Regency Bill, 344-347; - his opinion of French Revolution, 371; - his budget and new taxes, 376; - subsidies to Continental powers, 426; - antagonism to reform, 428; - and reformers, 429; - his budgets, 450, 454; - suspends cash payments, 454; - measures for relief of Catholics in Ireland, 461; - resigns on question of Catholic emancipation, 479; - forms a Tory ministry, 496; - Additional Force Bill, 496; - his failing health, 500; - the attack on Melville, 502; - forms a coalition against Buonaparte, 503; - illness and death of, character, 515. - - Pius VII. at Buonaparte's coronation, 499; - is a prisoner, 549; - deposed, 594. - - Poets of the 18th century, 151, 152. - - Poland, Condition of, 206; - first partition, 207; - Russian aggressions, 396-399; - second partition of, 419; - final struggles, 438. - - Political meetings prohibited, 449. - - Popham, Sir Home, at Cape of Good Hope and Buenos Ayres, 521, 522. - - Popery scare in London, 99. - - Porteous riots, 66. - - Portland, Duke of, his ministry, 300, 534; - death of, 595. - - Portobello, Capture of, 72. - - Portugal, Buonaparte's designs on, 546, 547; - invasion of, 547; - insurrection against the French, 557, 558; - receives aid from Britain, 558. - - Pottery of 18th century, 167. - - Pragmatic Sanction, Repudiation of, 73. - - Press, The, activity of, tax on, 15; - restrictions on freedom of, 111; - proclamation against seditious publications, 392; - Buonaparte complains of tone of the British, 486; - freedom of the, 595. - - Pressburg, Treaty of, 506. - - Prestonpans, Battle of, 30, 96. - - Pretender, The Old, 8; - Marlborough's advice to, 9; - debates in Parliament on, 11, 16; - refuses to change his religion, 14; - his friends in England, 16, 17; - sails for Scotland, 28; - the Highlands declare for him, 29; - disasters, returns to France, 32; - fresh scheme of invasion, 36, 50; - birth of a son, 49; - activity of agents, 54. - - Pretender, The Young, 87, 92; - lands in Scotland, 92; - Edinburgh surprised, 95; - battle of Prestonpans, 96; - marches into England, 99, 100; - captures Carlisle, 100; - alarm in London, 102; - besieges Stirling Castle, 103; - victorious at Falkirk, 104; - defeated at Culloden, 107; - wanderings in Scotland, escapes, 108. - - Priestley, Dr., 383, 384; - riots, 384. - - Prince Edward's Island, Capture of, 180. - - Prisons, Inquiry into state of, 62. - - Privilege of Parliament, debate, 180-182. - - Prussia, Selfish conduct of, 432; - duplicity of, 503; - alarm of, at her isolation, 524, 525; - Buonaparte prepares to invade, 524; - appeals to Britain, 525; - defeated at Auerstadt and Jena, 526; - revival of patriotism, army reorganised, 565. - - Puisaye and Breton insurrection, 445-447. - - Pulteney, William, 52; - duel with Lord Hervey, 62; - accedes to power, 79; - becomes Earl of Bath, 80. - - Pyramids, Battle of the, 467. - - - Quadruple alliance, 40, 41, 43. - - Quebec, Capture of, 136; - attempted recovery, 138; - Americans assault, 221. - - Quibéron Bay, Naval battle at, 136. - - - Rawdon, Lord, in Carolina, 274-280. - - Rebellion of 1715, 27; - defeats at Sheriffmuir and Prestonpans, 30; - trials of rebels, 32; - of 1745, 92; - end of rebellion, 107; - trials of rebels, 109. - - "Reflections on the French Revolution," Burke's, 382, 393; - replies to it, 583. - - Reform demanded by the people, 426; - the leaders prosecuted, 426-428. - - Reformers prosecuted in Scotland, 426-428; - in England, 429; - trials of, 439. - - Regency Bill, 186; - debate on, 341-347. - - Reign of Terror at Toulon, Lyons, Paris, 423. - - Religion, State of, from 1688 to 1760, 142. - - "Respublica Parthenopea," The, 469. - - Revolutionary clubs in England, 370, 393, 394; - and counter associations, 394. - - Riot Act made perpetual, 27. - - Robespierre, 404, 423; - his ferocity, 423, 424; - is guillotined, 436. - - Rockingham ministry, The, 187, 189, 288. - - Rodney, Admiral, captures Martinique, 174; - relieves Gibraltar, 271; - in the West Indies, 275, 276; - captures Dutch settlements in West Indies, 284; - defeats De Grasse in West Indies, is recalled, 291. - - Rohillas, Conquest of the, 325. - - Roland, Madame, 387; - beheaded, 424. - - Roliça, Battle of, 559. - - Roman Catholics, Bill for relief of, 381. - - Rome, Buonaparte takes possession of, 549. - - Romilly, Sir Samuel, and criminal code, 599. - - Rossbach, Battle of, 128; - Buonaparte destroys memorial column at, 527. - - Royal Marriage Act, 206. - - Royalist conspiracy against Buonaparte, 496, 497. - - Royalists, The American, 297, 298. - - Russia, designs against Turkey, 349; - Gustavus of Sweden invades, 351; - naval battles, 352, 354; - continues war with Turkey, 374, 375; - designs on Poland, 396; - war with France, victory at Eylau, 543; - treaty of Tilsit, 544. - - - St. Paul's Cathedral, Building of, 158. - - St. Vincent, Cape, Battle of, 458. - - Saragossa, Siege of, 556; - second siege, 600. - - Schism Bill, The, passed, 19; - repealed, 42. - - Schönbrunn, Treaty of, 591. - - Science and art in 18th century, 152, 154. - - Scotland, Secretary of State for, office abolished, 110; - prosecutions for sedition in, 426; - trials of seditionists in, 439. - - Sculpture of the 18th century, 163, 164. - - Search, Right of, 71, 272. - - Secret service money, 59, 500, 502. - - Sedition, Prosecutions for, 426, 427, 428. - - Septennial Act, 64. - - Seringapatam, Tippoo Sahib defeated at, 395; - storming of, 474. - - Settlement, Act of, and George I., 33. - - Seven Years' War begins, 124; - ends, 176. - - Shaftesbury, the first Lord, 146. - - Sharp, Granville, and slave trade, 339. - - Sheridan and Prince of Wales, 336; - impeachment of Hastings, 338; - eulogises French Revolution, 371. - - Sierra Leone, Settlement of, 381. - - Silk manufactures in England, 166. - - Sinking fund, Germ of, 38; - Dr. Price's scheme adopted by Pitt, 314. - - Slavery, Abolition of, Bill for proposed, 532. - - Slave Trade, Agitation for abolition of, 339; - petitions, and discussions in Parliament, 340; - an ameliorating Bill passed, 340; - further motions for abolition, 380, 381, 496, 500; - further steps toward suppression of, 519; - Bill to abolish, passed, 532. - - Smith, Sir Sidney, at Toulon, 422; - at St. Jean d'Acre, 471. - - Society of Friends of the People, 426, 427. - - Sophia, Electress of Hanover, death, 18. - - Soult, Marshal, in Portugal, 574. - - South Sea Bubble, 46. - _See_ South Sea Company. - - South Sea Company incorporated, 46; - the bubble bursts, 47; - inquiry by Parliament,48; - receives compensation from Spain, 114. - - Spain, Peace ratified with, 13; - Gibraltar and Minorca confirmed to England, 14; - at war with Austria, 39; - England and France declare war against, 42; - attempted invasion of England in favour of Pretender, 42, 43; - England's contraband trade with her American colonies, 70; - her alliance with France, 75; - dispute about Falkland Islands, 202; - attempts to capture Gibraltar, 259; - peace with, 299; - proclaims war against Britain, 450, 496; - Buonaparte's designs on, 546, 547; - Godoy, 549; - capture of Spanish fortresses, 550; - Buonaparte kidnaps the royal family, rioting in Madrid, 553; - Joseph Buonaparte made king, 553, 554; - insurrection throughout the country, 554-556; - peace declared between and Britain, 554; - Siege of Saragossa, 556; - receives aid from Britain, 558; - Buonaparte captures Madrid, 567; - treaty between Great Britain and, 571. - - Spanish colonies, Expedition against, 522. - - Spanish succession, War of the, 3; - Philip renounces crown of France, 8; - end of war, 13. - _See_ Utrecht, treaty of. - - Spies, Buonaparte's, in England and Ireland, 486. - - Spithead, Mutiny at, 455. - - Stamp Act, The, 184, 185. - - Steam engine, Invention of, and improvements in, 166. - - Steele, Sir Richard, expelled the House of Commons, 15; - as a writer, 148. - - Stein, Von, Prussian minister, 565. - - Subsidies in men and money to foreign powers and German princes, - 73, 81, 83, 114, 119, 426, 432, 433, 435, 444, 580, 600. - - Swift, Dean, political pamphlets and influence, 15, 20, 52; - as a writer, 147, 148. - - - Talavera, Battle of, 576, 577. - - Tea duties and American colonists, 201, 202, 208; - destruction of tea in Boston harbour, 210. - - Test and Corporation Acts, 371. - - Thanksgiving, Public, for George III.'s recovery, 348, 349. - - Tilsit, Treaty of, 544. - - Tippoo Sahib, 331; - succeeds his father, Hyder Ali, makes peace with the British, 332; - again at war, 375; - makes overtures to Buonaparte, 472; - death of, 474. - - Tobago captured by French, 284. - - Toleration, Act of, 142. - - Torres Vedras, The lines of, 579, 606. - - Toulon, French Royalists and British forces at, 422; - evacuated by British, 423. - - Townshend, Lord, Prime Minister, 26; - differences with the King, 35; - Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 36; - quarrels with Walpole, 60. - - Triennial Act, The, 32. - - Triple alliance concluded, 36. - - Triumvirate, The, 179. - - Troops, Transport of, plan for, 599. - - Tugend Bund, The, 565. - - Tullibardine, Marquis of, 92, 94. - - Turgot, Minister of Louis XVI., his reforms, 357; - retires, 358. - - Turkey, State of, and war with Austria, 350; - and Russia, 350, 351; - alliance with Sweden, 351; - peace with Austria, 373; - Russia continues the war, 374, 375; - debate on, in British Parliament, 376, 378; - declares war against Britain and makes treaty with France, 539; - peace with Britain, Russian aggressions, 584. - - Turnips introduced into England, 60. - - Tyrolese, Revolt of, 590, 591; - betrayal and death of leaders, and of Hofer, 593. - - - United Irishmen, Society of, 428, 460. - - United States, Independence of, 298. - - Ushant, Naval battle off, 255. - - Utrecht, Treaty of, 3; - debates in Parliament on, 4-6; - terms of the treaty, 10; - condemned by Parliament, 26. - - - Valley Forge, Washington's camp at, 238. - - Vancouver's Island, 372. - - Vendée, La, The war in, 410; - La Roche-Jaquelein leader of insurrection in, 424; - tragic fate of Vendéans, 425; - death of La Roche-Jaquelein, 444; - peace with Convention, 445; - end of war, 447. - - Venice ceded to Austria, 459. - - Vessels, Seizure of British, 480, 486. - - Vienna, Treaty of, 54; - Definitive peace of, 65, 66; - peace of, 590, 591. - - Vimiera, Battle of, 560. - - "Vindiciæ Gallicæ," Mackintosh's, 383. - - Vinegar Hill, Battle of, 463. - - - Wagram, Battle of, 590, 591. - - Walcheren expedition, 580; - debate on, 595. - - Wales, Prince of, his extravagant habits, 301, 337, 338, 441; - his friends, Sheridan and Fox, 336; - Mrs. Fitzherbert, 338; - his right to the Regency, 343-346; - receives deputation from Irish Parliament, 347; - marriage, 442. - - Wales, Princess Dowager of, Bute's intimacy with, 178; - and the Regency, 186. - - Wales, Princess of, inquiry into conduct of, 520. - - Walpole, Sir Robert, in Parliament, 15, 19, 26, 38; - reduction of National Debt, 38; - opposes South Sea Company's proposals, 46; - his financial scheme, 48; - secret service money, 59; - his system of bribery, 62; - the "patriots," 68; - condemned for management of Spanish war, 74; - unpopularity, 77; - created Earl of Orford, 79; - inquiry into his conduct, 81. - - Warrants, General, Validity of, 182. - - Washington, George, 118; - commands American army, 218. - _See_ America, war with the Colonies in. - - Wellesley, Sir Arthur, Battle of Assaye, 491; - chase of Argaum, 493; - in Denmark, 540; - commands troops in Spanish Peninsula, 558; - Battle of Roliça, 559; - of Vimiera, 560; - passage of the Douro, 574; - meets General Cuesta, condition of Spanish and French armies, 575; - Battle of Talavera, 576, 577; - ingratitude of the Spaniards, 577; - corruption and jobbery in the commissariat, 578; - retreats to Badajos, 578; - is created Viscount Wellington, 578; - incompetency and obstinacy of Spanish generals, 579; - plans the lines of Torres Vedras, 579; - retreats from Spain, reorganises his army, 580; - Massena advances against, his policy, 603; - retires to Busaco, defeats Massena, 604; - the retreat from Coimbra, 604, 605; - entrenched at Torres Vedras, 606; - his policy of waiting, 607. - - West Indies, Acquisitions from the French in, 422; - British conquests in, 451; - defeats of French fleets in, 523. - - Westminster election, Fox and, 308, 309. - - "Whigs, The Public Spirit of the," 15. - - Wilberforce and the slave trade, 339, 372, 380, 390, 496, 500, - 519, 531, 532. - - Wilkes, John, and the _North Briton_, 179, 180, 182; - expelled the House, 182; - returned for Middlesex, 192; - fined and imprisoned, 193; - expelled from Parliament, re-elected, 195, 196; - sheriff of London, 205; - defends Warren Hastings, 338. - - Wolfe, General, 128; - storming of Quebec, 134, 135; - death of, 136. - - Wolfe Tone and the Irish rebellion, 460, 462; - capture and suicide of, 464. - - Wood's coinage, 51. - - Woollen manufactures in 18th century, 166. - - Worms, Treaty of, 86. - - - York, Duke of, 419; - invests Valenciennes and Dunkirk, 420; - and Mrs. Clarke, parliamentary inquiry, 571; - resigns, 572. - - York Town, surrender of Cornwallis at, 283. - - -PRINTED BY CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, LA BELLE SAUVAGE, LONDON, E.C. - - * * * * * - - +--------------------------------------------------------------+ - | Transcriber Notes: | - | | - | P.xii. 'Governmen' changed to 'Government'. | - | P.81. 'diclosures' changed to 'disclosures'. | - | P.163. 'oxamples' changed to 'examples'. | - | P.217. 'English' added, missing word--checked another volume.| - | P.321. 'treat' changed to 'treaty'. | - | P.328. 'Coompany' changed to 'Company'. | - | P.368. 'massacreing' changed to 'massacring'. | - | P.439. 'trail' changed to 'trial'. | - | P.469. 'manoevures' changed to 'manoeuvres'. | - | P.507. 'Philipsthal' changed. to 'Philippsthal'. | - | P.511. 'Trinidada' changed to 'Trinidad'. | - | P.550. 'Pampeluna' changed to 'Pamplona'. | - | P.598. 'a_bitrary' 'changed to 'arbitrary'. | - | Various: Added accent to Mélas. | - | Fixed various punctuation. | - +--------------------------------------------------------------+ - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Cassell's History of England, Vol IV -(of 8), by Anonymous - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CASSELL'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND, VOL 4 *** - -***** This file should be named 55186-0.txt or 55186-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/1/8/55186/ - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Jane Robins and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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