and, to use a forcible expression, hardihood of assertion and argument. We are informed by some who had the happiness to hear the speech, that though both versions are in essentials sufficiently accurate, yet that, where there exists any difference, the newspaper appears to give a truer report than the more measured and ornamented eloquence of the pamphlet. In some points, however, it is but justice to Lieutenant-General Tarleton to supply, from the latter, certain omissions which, on a comparison, we observe to have been made in the former, and particularly in those passages which evince feelings of a dignified and noble modesty, which at once do credit to the author and give interest to the work. It is due to him to say, that he states, without reluctance or reserve, that in the discharge of his conscientious public duty, he does not arrogate to himself any superior degree of patriotism and military knowledge; he,' with extreme candour, gives his Majesty's ministers credit for patriotic designs and virtuous motives,' and he professes that "though the laws of council bid his tongue be bold" he is sensible that he has not done justice to the great question which HE has endeavoured to bring under the consideration of the inhabitants of the United Kingdom.' He does not, we see, absolutely and ostentatiously claim the merit of being the first and only person who has brought this great question under the consideration of the nation, but, with a becoming diffidence, leaves his hearers to draw this inference for themselves. He is so good as to say, that he does not mean in the narrative of the description' he is then giving, to criticise or attack Lord Wellington's military conduct-the time is not yet come, the documents are not yet arrived to enable him to form a complete judgment on the subject of the present campaign,' and he pleasantly and kindly adds, that he has introduced the name of the Commander in Chief, for the same reasons only that the names of Cato or Hamlet are introduced in the representation of those dramatic productions.' Some of our readers will perhaps observe a slight degree of confusion in the composition of this sentence; but all criticism of that kind must be completely subdued by a consideration of the indulgent forbearance which it evinces towards Lord Wellington-Lieutenant-General Tarleton is satisfied with introducing his name, when it is evident that the precedent which he quotes would have justified his insisting on his Lordship's coming over to defend his measures, in person; as, except in one famous but solitary instance, we believe the persons of Hamlet and Cato have been considered quite as essential to the representation of the drama' as the introduction of their names.' We find in one version of the General's speech, that he even had the the affability to declare that he did not mean to enter into any rivalry with Lord Wellington,' and it is added that this declaration was received by the audience with a universal laugh.' This lively token of approbation must have been as flattering to the gallant orator, as it was mortifying to those bigots in military affairs who so obstinately insist on Lord Wellington's superior ability in the science and practice of war. But while we admire Lieutenant-General Tarleton, let us not be unjust to Lord Wellington,-it is to him no slight honour to be compared, even in a passing thought, with an officer of whom there is a very fine print representing him in the very act of drawing on his boots preparatory to taking the field; who has served in the distant and arduous command of a district in Ireland, who afterwards had confided to him the military care of Bath and Bristol, and the county of Somerset, and to whom is intrusted, as we have already hinted, the frontier citadel which protects Northumberland from the inroads of the Scottish invader. It is now our pleasing duty to notice a few of those graces of composition which render this harangue so fascinating. We are struck particularly with the variety and splendour of imagery which adorn the following passage. They' (the ministers) conceive that a war upon the Continent will lessen the military power of Buonaparte, will protect our allies the Spaniards and Portugueze, and will delay, or ultimately defeat the invasion of the British isles; on the contrary, I contend that such opi nions, with our limited population, speaking comparatively of it with the population of Europe, will offer up, as unnecessary victims, the best soldiers of Britain; will not avail ultimately in the defence of our allies, as the integrity of British resources can alone give us present security, and, in a more remote degree, afford a point and a beacon of rally and redemption to the prostrate nations of Europe.' pp. 8, 9. This image of a beacon redeeming the prostrate,' and the novel use of the term ' rally,' appear to us amply to justify the gallant orator's confession of the boldness of his tongue :' bold, however, as the phrases are, we believe that we understand his meaning, and we cordially agree with him, that it must be in a very remote degree' indeed, that the system which he recommends could assist either in rallying or redeeming the nations of Europe. Who can avoid sympathizing with his audience, when he says, of Sir John Moore, I hope the committee will pardon me, if I employ a few moments in giving a rapid sketch, yet faithful portrait, of this meritorious officer-We expect now that a panegyric is at hand; but General Tarleton is no such vulgar master of the art of emotion, and to our infinite delight and astonishment, we find that his feelings on this subject are altogether inexpressible, and that he solaces solaces his grief for the loss of Sir John Moore, with an animated effusion to the memory of General Wolfe. With great art, however, he afterwards unites these interesting subjects. 'Posterity,' he pathetically adds, in regretting the premature conclusion of such valuable lives, cannot fail to appreciate the marked difference which resulted from their deaths.-They both fought and conquered.-Wolfe executed the plan of the Earl of Chatham, and a victory gave England possession of Quebec and Canada; Moore was employed by these ministers,' (not, we suppose, Lord Chatham's cabinet,) and although he evinced genius, intrepidity, and constancy, which he sealed with his blood, his army embarked with a heavy loss and great difficulty, and' (here, of course, we expect that the parallel is to fail, and the marked difference to appear, but no) and the French forces have ever since been banished from the northern provinces of Spain.' This, we believe, is one of the most striking instances of surprize ever effected by the art of an orator.-Expectation is excited in a particular direction; but, as Mr. Puff ingeniously observes of the Beefeater, one must not be too sure:' for a moment after we find that there is little or no difference between the subjects of the orator's comparison; both fought, both conquered, both suffered great loss, both were killed, and the French were banished, in both cases, out of the province which was the object of the contest. In the same style, General Tarleton alludes to the siege of Lisle, in 1792, and the expedition to Walcheren in 1809; but we cannot permit ourselves to say more on these points, than that he evinces his deep historical reading by informing us that the former was conducted by Prince Eugene, and his accuracy in asserting, that the latter enterprize received the thanks of parliament, a fact of which we believe the public were, until it was vouched by the Lieutenant-General, in absolute ignorance. Nor is his geographical knowledge, or the modesty with which he avails himself of it, less remarkable; for he observes that it would be superfluous to enumerate the different towns, villages, and mountains, which were occupied by the allies, or the rivers that were passed, between the frontier of Portugal and the neighbourhood of Coimbra, which stands almost in view of the Atlantic ocean.' Again, he says, with equal succinctness, and, we believe, with equal accuracy, that the map of the Peninsula shows the Pyranees, the frontier of Portugal, and the French position at Santarem.' Of the two former facts, we were already aware; the latter, we own, is somewhat new to us, and we therefore rather regret that he has not, in a note at least, specified the map to which he alludes. On another occasion, however, he feels it indispensable to be more explicit on circumstances of lo cality, cality, and, accordingly, he states to the House of Commons the singular fact of the contiguity of Woolwich to the water,' meaning, as we suppose, the river Thames, though the context would appear, in some degree, to justify an opinion that in the Lieutenant-General's map this arsenal is laid down on the sea-side, and opposite to some point of the shores of the Continent. We feel that we are proceeding to greater length than even the merit of this work will warrant; but we cannot refrain from imparting to our readers General Tarleton's conjecture on the causes which led to the attack at Busaco. 'Some Portugueze had espoused the French side of the question, and it therefore occurs to me that the Gallo-Portugueze persuaded the French General to try, at all risks, an attack on the British and Portugueze when formed into one line.'. This is generous; this is noble. He will not insult over a vanquished enemy; he will not hurt the feelings of the beaten foe, by attributing either misconduct to him, or ability to our own commander; but finding, or rather fancying that there was in the enemy's ranks a poor Portugueze renegado, he dexterously charges all upon him; and a certain Marquis D'Alorno is the victim whom he decorates with Lord Wellington's wreaths, and sacrifices at the same moment to Massena's fame. -- We are now reluctantly obliged to close our observations on this interesting performance. The Lieutenant General, like Cal-chas of yore, is not only great in council and the field, but also partakes the gift of prophecy. Mavis xaxay, like the ancient, he Μάνλις κακῶν, obviously is; our readers will probably console themselves with adding that he is also, at least in one sense of the words, Marlig xaxos. -He prophesied that the denunciations of the Moniteur were about to be fulfilled, and the English driven into the sea-that Lord Wellington's conduct must inevitably lead to disaster and destruction; that a large proportion of the navy of England was soon to be employed to protect and receive the surviving combatants of the British army; that Massena and his master were bringing to a close the downfal of British resources, and, with a fell and malignant joy, already contemplating a mortal blow against the vitals of our empire and our constitution.' It has been, in all ages, the sport of Fortune to defeat the expectations and hopes of the best and wisest of mankind; can we then wonder that such has been her wanton malice in the present case? On the very evening of the 4th of March, at the very hour when the Lieutenant-General was opening these dreadful prospects to the trembling senate of England, Massena's resolution of retreat was taken, the French army began to feel the agitated dejection of a flight, the invaders were about to become the pursued, the future conquerors A A 2 conquerors were already defeated. Not even the eloquent despondency of Lieutenant-General Tarleton could predict for our army the terror, the disgrace, and the ruin which, at the instant he spoke, enveloped that of the enemy; and hardly had the press been delivered of the production of which we have endeavoured to express our admiration, when Lord Wellington's dispatches arrived to defeat the labours of the first, and blast the hopes of a second edition. We, however, are not so unphilosophical as to judge of merit merely by events; and we trust that our observations will have convinced General Tarleton at least, that the result of the campaign in Portugal has, in no degree, altered our opinion of his sagacity; and we doubt not that the country will be pleased to hear that he still preserves his spirit and his principles unshaken, and, like the patriot and philosopher of old, exclaims, amid the reverses of fortune, Victrix causa diis placuit, sed victa Catoni! ART. VII. A Dissertation on the Characters and Sounds of the AT tan. We ventured to defend the proceedings of its members against the attacks of their opponents; to offer some apology for the quaintness of the stile in which their communications are usually made, and to reprobate the spirit with which they were examined. The writers were described as herds of low born and low bred mechanics,' whose minds were plentifully stored with the baseness and malignity of fanaticism;' and represented not merely as voluntary enthusiasts,' but as the most stupid of 'fools,' and most disordered of madmen.' Yet at the very time that these and more contumelious epithets were heaped upon them, those low born and low bred mechanics' had made themselves masters, not only of the various dialects spoken on the peninsula of India, but nearly of all the languages of Asia. They had completed a translation of the Bible into the language of Bengal; and, as we then observed, were printing the New Testament in most of the other languages and dialects of the *No. I. Art. XVII. East, |