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consequence than any other ship of war; and by being liable to capture by one of our two-deckers, are the description of ships, that, if the American war could long continue, would be too expensive as frigates, and not of force for the line."

Such then was the result of the first operations of this second American war, a war which had been undertaken by the government of the United States from the most unworthy motives; from a system of policy which sought to undermine the energies of the British empire, and to support the ambition of France; to overwhelm the only state which resisted the arrogance of despotism, and stood manfully forward in defence of the independence of nations. The glory of

the British arms was fully sustained by the operations of that little band of heroes to whom the defence of Canada was entrusted. The military prowess of the Americans had appeared contemptible in the eyes of the world; nor had their naval efforts gained them any great credit with those who were capable of reflecting on the prodigious advantages under which their short-lived triumphs had been gained, and on the energy and resolution which had been evinced by British sailors, even at a moment when all the chances of war and every combination of circumstances conspired against them to a degree, which must have repressed the ardour of all but those, in whom heroism is an innatę and indestructible principle.

THE HE war in Spain exhibited at its commencement a favourable view of the Spanish character, and seemed to open very brilliant prospects for the continent of Europe. When the power of France over the surrounding nations seemed to mock all resistance; when her armies had humbled some of the greatest monarchies, and blot ted others from the list of independent states; when a general feeling of submissive terror seemed to fill the minds of the continental rulers, the patriots of Spain broke the deadly spell, and bade defiance to their oppressors. The folly of Buonaparte in provoking a resistance of this character and mag. nitude will be very generally acknow. ledged. Spain he already retained in real vassalage; her fleets, her armies, her resources of all kinds, were at his disposal; the decrepid and pusillanimous despotism which enslaved this fine country knew no law but his will. While he transacted with such a government he was safe; but by an undisguised outrage on all laws, he made his criminal views manifest to Europe, and raised in the Spanish people that patriotism, of which the other continental nations no longer gave an example. By appointing the lowest minion of his tyranny to govern Spain,

he could not have expected more entire submission, than he already received from the government which he thus risked every thing to supersede; while by an act of violence so palpable he could not fail to alarm the pride and excite the indignation of the meanest Spaniard. He preferred, however, the gratification of his arrogance to the stability of his power; he insulted and outraged the people of Spain beyond all endurance, and called forth in a bold, but undisciplined peasantry, a spirit which, in the first instance, overthrew the finest of his legions.

The enthusiasm of the Spaniards was warmly seconded by the generosity of the British nation. It is scarcely too much to say that a determination to support this people intheir honourable struggle was universal among Englishmen, since the few who hesitated were of a character that deprived their opinions of all title to regard. To what extent such support might be required, and in what shape it might be most prudent to afford it, were questions on which some difference of opinion did arise, and which it was difficult to settle, till the character and prospects of the war should be developed. But that

every nerve should be strained to promote this glorious contest, and to take advantage of the spirit which the madness of the enemy had created, was the sentiment of every British statesman of any eminence, and the enthusiastic desire of the British people. The English saw with indignation, scarcely inferior to that of the sufferers, the base and profligate schemes by which the enemy sought to subject a great nation; they recognised in the triumph of the Spanish cause, that of justice and morality throughout Europe; they locked forward to the deliverance of Spain, as the emancipation of a fine people from tyranny both foreign and domestic, and the re-establishment of a powerful state, which might restrain the overweening ambition of France upon the continent. Such were the views, equally magnanimous and solid, which in this country created a deeper interest in Spanish affairs, than had before been felt in the transactions of any reign state.

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Great reliance was at first placed on the efforts of the Spaniards themselves; and it must be owned that the overwhelming burst of patriotism which, in the first campaign, seemed to carry every thing before it, might have justified this confidence. These expectations, however, were sadly disappointed; no vigorous or efficient system was pursued by the Spanish authorities; no men of such talents, as revolutions have called forth in other countries, appeared, to guide the destinies of Spain The Spanish armies have never borne any proportion to the population and resources of the country; they have been uniformly defective in discipline; while their of ficers have in general been deficient in all the qualities of the military charac ter, courage alone excepted. The Spanish armies, hastily enlisted, were too often led by their inexperienced

officers into battle long before they had been prepared by a previous course of discipline; and they have with wonderful facility been routed and dispersed. Down to the period of which we are now to give an account, the regular armies of Spain had done little towards the expulsion of the enemy; while the government had discovered but a slender portion of that wisdom and vigour, which were so loudly called for by the awful circumstances of the crisis in which they

were destined to act

The character of the Spanish revolution will account, in some measure, for this deplorable inactivity, which has astonished all Europe. The Spaniards were not roused to action by the desire of enjoying more liberty than they already possessed under their old government they were not animated by these extravagant aspirations, which had given a character of ferocious energy to the revolutionary career of their neighbours. An attachment to their ancient rulers, and to the independence of their country, formed the basis of their revolution; the wild enthusiasm of individual ambition had little or no share in their efforts. The principle of the Spanish revolution was the most honourable which can animate a people-love for their country and hatred of its oppressors; but this principle is never so lively and active as that which aspires to individual aggrandizement and glory. Fighting for the restoration of a go. vernment which systematically checked the growth of talents, the Spanish patriot could have no hope that his most distinguished services would ever secure for him the highest rewards: such reflections might not damp the honest ardour of real patriotism, but must have repressed that exuberance of genius which the difficulties of the country so imperiously demanded. The ultimate triumph of the cause

for which so many exertions were required, must at once have reduced the most aspiring to something like his original obscurity, and defrauded him of the high rewards to which he would naturally look forward. Had the revolution in Spain resembled that of France had the convulsion been so great as to resolve society into its elements, and cast the chances of future rank and pre-eminence on the decision of the sword, the military genius of Spain might have been developed, and that country might have passed through a scene of horrors to a higher rank among the European states than she seems for the present destined to attain. But there is no chance that even in the most favourable circumstances she could have rivalled revolutionary France in a display of talent; for the thick darkness which had obscured her ancient glory, could not have been instantaneously dissipated even by the most fiery revolution. The circumstances, however, in which she was called upon to resist a powerful inva der, were altogether most unpropiti ous to the evolution of her natural energies; and the consequence has been, that, although the Spanish peasantry are both brave and patriotic, they have too often been doomed to perish by the ignorance and folly of their leaders. It was in the irregular warfare which was now carried on with such zeal by the Guerillas, that the national qualities of the Spaniards were displayed to the greatest advantage. This species of warfare required no very high talents for its management; it demanded but the local knowledge, the courage and constancy of the Spanish peasantry, and the resolute and daring spirit of enterprise which prevailed among their chiefs. Formida ble indeed were these unexpected and invisible enemies to the French, of whom incredible numbers became victims to their fury. It has been said

VOL. V. PART I.

with truth, that if the defence of Spain had been committed to the Guerillas alone, although they might have been unable to expel the invader, they would never have ceased to disturb him; and Spain, by their irregular efforts, made the only compensation, which in her circumstances could be expected, for that want of system and genius which were to be supplied by the generosity of her allies.

In the Marquis of Wellington, who had already become illustrious by his talents, and renowned for his exploits, the Spanish nation were destined to find their deliverer. This great man, before his appointment to the com. mand of the British armies in the pe ninsula, had distinguished himself as an able and enterprising officer; but the field on which he acted was nar row in comparison, and the events in which he bore so conspicuous a part, were not much regarded in Europe. His friends, however, to whom the extent and fertility of his genius were in some measure known, hesitated not to predict something great and extraordinary from his future career; and one of his political enemies (but that one distinguished alike by his penetration and magnanimity) made an honourable confession in the British senate of the profound respect and entire confidence with which this young soldier had inspired him. Little was it imagined, however, with what splen did rapidity these fond anticipations were to be fulfilled. The mind of Lord Wellington, equally solid and comprehensive, his genius at once prudent and daring, was soon to find ample scope in the affairs of Spain. He was sent out with a handful of men to defend Portugal against the overwhelming host of the enemy; with a fine sagacity he seized and fortified a position, which in the meantime saved that country; and he calmly waited for an opportunity, which he foresaw must

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sooner or later occur, to make the ene my repent of his usurpation. When he took the command in the peninsula, he found the economy of the army in a state of great confusion; in an instant he remedied every thing, and raised the discipline of his troops to as high a superiority as their valour. He discovered, through the mist of prejudice, the true character of the Portugueze people; he saw that they had the mate rials of military excellence; and, in spite of clamour and faction, he had them turned into soldiers, and rendered worthy of fighting by the side of British troops. He comprehended at once the character of the Spanish war in all its bearings; he observed that the numbers of the French armies must, in circumstances which he himself could create, only ensure their speedy de struction; he drew them round him in a country which famine compelled them to abandon; and he seized the opportunity to destroy them in their retreat. Not dismayed by the prodi gious advantages which his enemy possessed over him in the numbers of his troops, in the resources, almost unlimited, which enabled him to supply his losses with the greatest rapidity, and in the possession of all the strong places of Spain, he seems, at an early period, to have formed the gigantic project of destroying the French pow. er, and expelling the invader from the peninsula. He knew the disposition of his government, and the ardour of his country to support him in his grand enterprise; but he knew also, that the military resources of England, which could be conveniently devoted to the war in this quarter, were necessarily limited; and he was sensible of the difficulties which he should have to encounter in the ignorance, the false pride, and the prejudices of the Spanish government. He was sometimes una voidably circumscribed, and often mischievously thwarted in his high ca,

reer, yet did he continue on all occasions to add to the splendour of his own reputation, and the glory of the British empire. The battles which he had hitherto fought had been brilliant, and it was not the fault of his character, but of his situation, that they had not proved decisive; he had acted with boldness and resolution, and had displayed a quality which seems essential to British commanders-a confidence in the valour of his troops, of which he has never had cause to repent. He entered on the campaign of this year with greater advantages than he had ever before possessed his army was more numerous, and in a higher state of discipline-the irregular efforts of the Spaniards promised a more active co-operation than they had hitherto afforded, and a prospect begun to open that the strength of France and her tributary states might find employment in the north of Europe. Yet were the difficulties which presented themselves of a magnitude to have appalled any other general; for not only were there large French armies in the north, south, centre, and east of Spain, but fortresses to reduce, which the enemy had strengthened by all the ingenious resources of art. But this great com. mander was not to be dismayed; he formed the bold plan of advancing into the centre of Spain, with an army, to which even one of the enemy's was a match in point of numbers-of storm. ing and reducing the strongest fortresses, and of driving out the invaders in the course of one brilliant campaign. It is the highest praise which can be bestowed on Lord Wellington to say, that even in the course of this year he nearly accomplished his object, and failed at last by accidents for which he was in no way responsible. But the character of this illustrious warrior, who rises above his contemporaries not more by the endowments of his mind than the virtues of his heart, will be