who soon rose to the command of the armies of France, and led them to the most astonishing victories. This was Napoleon Buonaparte, who afterwards overthrew the government of the Directory, under which he was then serving; became first consul in 1799, and was crowned Emperor of France in 1804. The successes of this remarkable man on land were as wonderful as the victories of England on the

sea.

The first of these great naval triumphs was gained by Lord Howe with the Channel-fleet, June 1, 1794; and Lord Bridport in the following year obtained an advantage of less account. In 1797 Sir John Jervis, with fifteen sail, defeated the Spanish fleet of twenty-seven sail of the line, off Cape St. Vincent; for which he received the title of Lord St. Vincent. And in the same year Admiral Duncan destroyed the fleet of Holland (which by this time had become a province of France), for which he was created Lord Duncan of Camperdown.

In the midst of these naval successes a crisis had occurred in the history of England, which occasioned the deepest anxiety. A mutiny broke out at the Nore in the fleets, on which the very existence of England seemed to depend, and at one time assumed a most threatening character. In the following year (1798) a rebellion in Ireland, which had been fomented by French agents, struck dismay to the hearts of all who saw in the British empire the great bulwark (under Divine Providence) of ancient laws and pure religion. The mutiny in the fleet was quelled with less difficulty than had been apprehended; and Parker, the principal ringleader, was hanged. The Irish rebellion, which was supported by a French expedition, was not suppressed until the most dreadful crimes had been committed by the misguided people; nor without a great sacrifice of valuable lives, as well as of treasure, which could ill be spared from the great struggle with France. One good fruit was produced by this rebellion :— it convinced men of the necessity of an union between the parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland, similar to that which had been arranged between England and Scotland in the reign of Queen Anne. The measure was not effected without difficulty, but was at length ratified, July 2, 1800. The kingdom thus consolidated was to be thenceforth

called the kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. May the union continue through all generations!

The year (1798) which was marked by this disastrous rebellion in Ireland, had been distinguished also by one of those unequalled triumphs, which will for ever render the name of Nelson familiar to Englishmen. This was the battle of the Nile (Aug. 1). Buonaparte had crossed with a large army to the coast of Egypt, with a view rather to strike at the British empire in India, than to conquer Egypt for its own sake. Sir Horatio Nelson was sent in pursuit of the French fleet, which he discovered in Aboukirbay, near Alexandria. His victory was most complete, after a severe engagement, which lasted through the day and night, and during which the L'Orient, the French admiral's flag ship, blew up, and all on board perished. Nelson was raised to the peerage by the title of Baron Nelson of the Nile.

In the following year another fruitless expedition was sent under the Duke of York to Holland; while Buonaparte made a rapid conquest of Egypt. He was advancing into Syria, when the progress of his arms was checked at Acre by Sir Sydney Smith. Having returned to Egypt, he soon afterwards crossed to France, with a view to take advantage of the crisis which he foresaw in the revolutionary government. The army which he left in Egypt was defeated in 1801 by a British force under Sir Ralph Abercrombie. This general died of the wounds which he received in the battle; but the result of his victory was the abandonment of Egypt by the French. About the same time (1801) an expedition under Sir Hyde Parker, with Nelson second in command, was sent to Copenhagen, to counteract the designs of the Northern powers, who had entered into an armed neutrality to resist the maritime rights claimed by England. A tremendous battle took place, and the victory achieved by England was due to the indomitable spirit of Lord Nelson. A favourable change to England took place in the counsels of Russia, on the murder of the Emperor Paul, and peace was concluded with Alexander, who succeeded to his throne.

Having by this time routed the Austrians in Germany and Italy, Buonaparte was now making vast preparations for the invasion of England, which called forth the [H. s. 1.]

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national spirit in a remarkable degree. The whole kingdom was filled with volunteers, who were not daunted by the renown lately gained by the French in the victories of Marengo and Hohenlinden. Buonaparte wished, however, for a breathing time; and after much negotiation, a peace was signed at Amiens, between France and England (March 25, 1802). At this time Mr. Pitt had retired for a short time from office; and Mr. Addington, who afterwards became Lord Sidmouth, was prime-minister.

PERIOD OF THE PENINSULAR WAR.

THE peace of Amiens proved to be nothing but a truce. It became evident that Buonaparte (who was crowned by the pope as Napoleon I. Dec. 2, 1804) had no intention of fulfilling its terms: and when war was again declared, Mr. Pitt returned to office.

Napoleon continued his preparations for the invasion of England; but his purpose was completely baffled by the destruction of the French navy (Oct. 21, 1805) by Lord Nelson, off Cape Trafalgar, near Cadiz. The battle, which has its name from that cape, was the greatest of naval conflicts, but, important as was this victory to England, it was thought to be dearly purchased by the death of Nelson, who was shot at the close of the battle from the mizen-mast of the Redoubtable. His last signal was, "England expects every man to do his duty."

Mr. Pitt himself died in the following year, and a Whig ministry was formed, including Mr. Fox; who, however, soon followed his great political rival to the grave, and the remains of these statesmen repose side by side in Westminster Abbey. Mr. Pitt was not successful as a warminister; but his high principle and stedfast opposition to the revolutionary mania were a great means, under God, of preserving this country from its contagion. The ministry which succeeded him was nicknamed all the talents," from the pretension which it made of combining men of

ability from all parties. About this time Mr. Canning became a distinguished member of the Tory party. Another government was soon formed under the Duke of Portland (1807), by which a second expédition was sent to Copenhagen, to seize the Danish fleet, in order to prevent its passing into the power of Napoleon. That emperor had now humbled Austria at Austerlitz, and broken the power of Prussia at Jena; and having reduced Russia to sue for peace by the battles of Eylau and Friedland, was aiming at an universal empire. He had concluded a peace with those powers at Tilsit, which left him at leisure for other designs; the next of which was, to add Spain to his dominions.

This purpose he effected by the most consummate treachery. In 1807 his troops under General Junot occupied Portugal, while the royal family fled to the Brazils. Hav ing induced the King of Spain, and his son Prince Ferdinand, to meet him at Bayonne, Napoleon forced them to resign the crown of Spain, which he bestowed upon his brother Joseph. The Spanish princes were sent as prisoners into France, and large armies were poured into Spain to secure the prize which had been thus perfidiously seized.

Napoleon sowed the seed of his own downfall by this. detestable act. The spirit of the Spanish nation rose against the French, and it was determined by the British ministry (1808) to send an army under Sir Arthur Wellesley into the Peninsula. His name was already known for his triumphs in the East, where his brother (the Marquess Wellesley) had governed India with great success; but it was soon to attain a renown beyond the fame of the greatest generals.

He soon defeated General Junot at Vimeira; but the fruits of this victory were, in some degree, lost by a convention entered into at Cintra with the French. Another army arrived in November under Sir John Moore, who however seems to have been crippled in his movements by instructions from the ministry at home, and deceived by the information furnished him in Spain; and he found it necessary to retreat to the north. He was pursued by Marshal Soult to Corunna, which he reached after dreadful calamities: and the French general endeavoured to prevent him from embarking his army. A severe engagement took place, in which the English gloriously repulsed their assailants; but

Moore himself was among the slain, and his army was forced to leave the remains of its gallant leader in a foreign land.

In the spring of 1809, Sir A. Wellesley again landed with an army in Portugal, and, having marched into Spain, gained a great victory over the French at Talavera. He was, however, forced to retire into Portugal, as Napoleon was now able to direct his whole force against the Peninsula, having again crushed the Austrians in the battle of Wagram.. With the most consummate skill, Sir Arthur (now Lord Wellington) formed three lines of defence across the Peninsula (1810) at Torres Vedras ; and Massena, who commanded the French army, in vain endeavoured to draw him from his impregnable position. In the spring this general commenced his retreat, pursued by Lord Wellington, who, after several successes, again entered Spain; and Marshal Soult was defeated in the bloody battle of Albuera. The progress of Lord Wellington was obstinately contested at Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, and Salamanca; but his advance was a series of victories, and he entered Madrid in triumph; though events in the latter part of the campaign obliged him to relinquish again, for a time, the possession of this capital.

The dominion of Napoleon was now drawing to a close. He had rashly resolved (1812) on an invasion of Russia, which proved most disastrous to him. He became master

indeed of Moscow, but the Russians themselves set fire to it, that it might not afford him shelter; and his retreat from that city was calamitous beyond any recorded in history. The kingdoms on which he had trampled now united against him. In Spain, Lord Wellington gained a decisive victory at Vittoria (1813), and while the allies were crossing the Rhine, and entering France on one side (1814), the >British general was passing its frontier on the other. His last victory was at Thoulouse, on the very day (April 10, 1814) on which Napoleon was signing his abdication at Fontainebleau. By an extraordinary oversight it was agreed by the allies that Napoleon should have the isle of Elba in the Mediterranean with the title of emperor. The Bourbons were restored to their legitimate rights, and Louis XVIII., who had chiefly resided in England during the war, ascended the throne of his ancestors.