from the throne; his uncle was elected in his stead, and as he was childless, the succession was settled on Charles John Bernadotte, one of Napoleon's generals. 5. (A.D. 1811.) The ability displayed by lord Wellington in selecting the lines of Torres Vedras, and the patience with which he waited the progress of events in that fermi dable position, received at length their merited reward. Hunger and disease made more havoc in the French army than the sword, and Massena soon found that nothing but instant retreat could save him from destruction. In this retrograde movement the French marshal fully maintained his former character for talent; but in every other respect his conduct merits the universal reprobation of posterity. Every crime to which lust and rapine could prompt an unprincipled soldiery, was committed with impunity; the claims of age or sex afforded no protection from murderous outrage; mangled corpses and smoking ruin marked the tract by which these ruffian-warriors retreated from the land where their hopes had been baffled and their pride tamed 6. After this success, the campaign lingered without any very decisive operation. An attempt was made to recover Badajoz, which the Spaniards had surrendered to the French under very disgraceful circumstances. Soult advanced to relieve the place, and was engaged by general Beresford at Albuera. The battle was fierce and bloody; the English purchased their victory at a very dear rate, and their losses were so great that they were unable to continue the siege which they had undertaken. Massena, to recover his lost fame, attacked the English at Fuentes d'Honore, but met with a severe repulse; he was soon after recalled, and Marmont appointed in his stead. 7. The management of the Spanish armies continued to be intrusted to men, for the most part, ignorant of the first rudiments of their profession They were frequently defeated in the course of the campaign; but they were incapable of being instructed even by adversity. The English, under general Graham, obtained a brilliant victory at Barossa; but the obstinacy and ignorance of their allies prevented them from reaping the fruit of their success. 8. (A.D. 1812.) The restrictions which had been im posed on the prince-regent being removed, it was expected that some important changes would be made in the adminis tration; none, however, took place at that time; but a sad event in the middle of the year produced a new modification in the ministry. The premier, Mr. Percival, was assassinated in the lobby of the house of commons by a merchant named Bellingham, who fancied that his just claims had been neglected by government. The murderer was tried at the Old Bailey, and executed; but he seemed to feel little remorse for the horrid crime which he had committed. Lord Liverpool was appointed first lord of the treasury, and Mr. Vansittart chancellor of the exchequer, in the room of the deceased minister. 9. Marmont was even a less successful rival of lord Wellington than his predecessor Massena; the important fortresses of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz were besieged and stormed before the French marshal could move to their relief, and the forts erected to secure the fords of the Douro were taken almost in his presence. The two armies were several days within sight of each other near Salamanca, without coming to a general engagement: the forces were nearly equal, and the leaders anxiously waited to take advantage of any blunder that might be made by their opponents. At length Marmont made an injudicious movement to his left, in hopes to cut off the British from Ciudad Rodrigo; his line was thus necessarily weakened, and Wellington instantly seized the opportunity to make his attack. The consequence was the total rout of the French, with the loss of fourteen thousand men, killed, wounded, and prisoners. The number of killed and wounded, on the part of the victors, scarcely exceeded five thousand. 10. Naturally expecting that the intelligence of this glorious victory would stimulate the Spaniards to more vigorous exertions; and relying on the promise of the British ministry to create a powerful diversion, by sending an expedition from Sicily to the south-eastern coast of Spain, Wellington, who had been lately created an earl, resolved to advance into the centre of Spain, and drive the enemy from the capital. This brilliant and hazardous enterprise succeeded; the English were received with enthusiasm in Madrid, and joy was diffused throughout the entire peninsula. 11. But the hopes which were thus inspired proved delusive, the Spaniards made no exertion to second the efforts for their liberation; Ballasteros, one of their generals, refused to receive instructions from a foreigner; the force sent from Sicily was, by some blunder of the British ministry, late time and miserable in amount; the French were, therefore enabled to threaten Wellington with armies three times more numerous than his own. Under these circumstances the English general resolved to transfer the scene of his operations to the north of Spain; but having failed in an attack on Burgos, he was compelled to retire to the frontiers of Portugal. During the retreat, the British soldiers sullied their laurels by several outrages, which were severely reprehended by Wellington, and measures taken for their prevention in future. 12. In the mean time the ambition of Napoleon had hurried him into a war with Russia, which, thougl. successful in the outset, ended in lamentable ruin. The French army advanced in spite of every resistance to Moscow, the ancient capital of the kingdom, but there their triumphs ended. The Russians set fire to the city; the invaders, de prived of quarters, were forced to retreat; a severe winter set in, cold and famine destroyed them by thousands, and only a miserable relic of the finest army which had ever been assembled in Europe escaped across the frontiers. The 13. Some unfortunate disputes between the government of Great Britain and the United States led to a war between two countries, which similarity of language and ancient connexion ought to have kept for ever in amity. Americans unsuccessfully invaded Canada, but at sea their frigates obtained some signal triumphs over British vessels. The fist of this series of victories was the capture of the British frigate Guerriere, by the American frigate Constitu tion, commanded by captain Hull. 14. (A. D. 1813.) The Spanish Cortes became at length convinced of the necessity of giving the command of their armies to the British general, and a complete change in the fortunes of the war followed this judicious measure. By a series of brilliant operations, the French were driven from their several positions on the Ebro and the Douro, compelled to abandon the capital, and at length reduced to the alternative of abandoning the country, or fighting a pitched battle to preserve their conquests. Joseph adopted the latter course, and drew up his forces near Vittoria, which had been made the French depôt in the northern provinces. In this position he was attacked by lord Wellington, on the 21st of June, and after a severe contest utterly overthrown. The artillery, baggage, and military chest of the fugitives, fell into the hands of the victors; and so complete was the rout, that the remnants of the defeated army scarcely deemed themselves safe until they had escaped beyond the frontier. Before pursuing them into France, it was necessary to reduce the fortresses of St. Sebastian and Pampeluna, which were immediately invested. The former, after a frightful loss, was taken by storm; the latter surrendered some time after by capitulation. 15. The reverses of the French in the north of Europe were equally signal. Prussia and Sweden joined their armies to Russia; Austria subsequently joined the alliance, and their united forces obtained a decisive victory over those of the French emperor at Leipsic. The retreat of the defeated army was disastrous in the extreme; the Germans everywhere joined the pursuers, and after suffering the most severe calamities, Napoleon's army was driven across the Rhine, and it became evident that the next campaign would commence with the invasion of France both on her eastern and western frontier. Questions for Examination. ! How was Bonaparte enabled to give his undivided attention to the affai of the peninsula? 2 In what manner did Wellington act? 3. What remarkable event took place at this time in England? 4. Did any revolution take place in Sweden? 5. How did Massena conduct his retreat from Torres Vedras ? 6 Were there any other remarkable events in the campaign? 7. How did the Spanish government behave? 8. What event caused a change of ministry in England? 11. By what circumstances were Wellington's hopes frustrated? 13. What new enemy assailed the English? 14. What great victory did Wellington gain over Joseph Bonaparte ? 15. Did Napoleon meet any other reverses? SECTION XII. Oh, more or less than man-in high or low, Batthing with nations, flying from the field; Now making monarch's necks thy footstool, now More than thy meanest soldier taught to yield. -Byron. He 1. (A. D. 1813.) THE operations of the allied armies in the south-eastern provinces of Spain were singularly ill conducted. Sir John Murray, to whose guidance they were intrusted, proved totally unfit for his situation. precipitately commenced the siege of Tarragona, and then abandoned his works and guns with still more disgraceful rapidity; after which he returned to a state of inactivity 2. But the vigour of Wellington more than atoned for these deficiencies; he crossed the Bidassoa in October, and on the 10th of November defeated Soult's army on the Nivelle (A. D. 1814.) Winter did not interrupt the operations of the armies. Soult, continually pushed by the British forces, assumed a strong position at Orthes, from which he was driven with severe loss, and Bordeaux was consequently exposed to the invading army. In the mean time the duke d'Angouleme, the representative of the ancient line of French monarchs, had arrived in Wellington's camp; to him the inhabitants of Bordeaux opened their gates, and received with the utmost enthusiasm the descendant of their former kings. 3. Wellington, pursuing his victorious career, again defeated Soult at Toulouse; but while preparing to follow up his victory, news arrived from Paris that Napoleon had abdicated, and that the war was at an end. 4. In January, 1814, the allied armies had crossed the Rhine, and advanced into the heart of France; negotiations for peace were indeed commenced at Chatillon, but the in sincerity which marked the conduct of the French commissioners prevented them from coming to any conclusion. Napoleon's great object was to recover Holland, which had achieved its independence after the battle of Leipsic, by the aid of England, and had recalled the stadtholder to his ancient dominions. The French emperor had strong hopes |