accounts of the Battle of Waterloo by Generals Gourgaud, Grouchy, and, above all, General Jomini in his recent work on the campaign of that year, with the admirable details given in the narrative of the battle of Waterloo by a near observer, over which the gifted mind of Sir Walter Scott has thrown the light of his genius, furnish inexhaustible resources, and close the work with a ray of glory, to which there is nothing comparable in her long and illustrious annals.

In one particular, not the least important or interesting of the whole work, the author for a very long period had very great difficulty. This was in understanding the different accounts of the battle of Waterloo itself, or reconciling them with each other, and extracting from the whole anything like a correct account of that memorable conflict. The author need not be ashamed of making this admission, as General Jomini himself admits that he never could understand thoroughly the battle, especially in its later stages; and that of all the engagements he had ever studied, it was the one which presented the most difficulty in detail. In consequence of this circumstance, there were several respects in which the account of the battle in the first, and even in the second edition of this history, was incorrect. At length, however, the admirable industry of Captain Siborne, in collecting accounts of their several shares in the conflict from officers in all the regiments engaged in it, as well as his careful analysis of the German and French authorities on the subject, have reconciled all the seeming contradictions regarding it, and smoothed away nearly all the difficulties with which it was surrounded. Of this invaluable aid, the Author has largely availed himself in the later editions of the last volume; and the account there presented is, he trusts, in all material points correct, and is as full as is consistent with a work of general history.

In the description of the theatre of these great events, the author, when he does not quote authority, has in general proceeded on his own observation. This is particularly the case with the fields of Marengo, Novi, Arcola, Rivoli, Lodi, the Brenta, the Trebbia, the Tagliamento, Zurich, Ulm, Echmühl,

Hohenlinden, Salzburg, Jena, Austerlitz, Aspern, Wagram, Dresden, Leipsic, the Katzbach, Hanau, Laon, Brienne, Craone, Soissons, Paris, and Waterloo, the passage of the St Bernard, the St Gothard, and the Splugen; and, in general, the seat of war in 1796 and 1797, in the Alps of Savoy, Switzerland, Tyrol, and Styria, the theatre of Napoleon's and Suwarroff's campaigns in Italy, those of the Archduke Charles in Germany, the memorable struggle of the Tyrolese in 1809, and of Napoleon's last efforts in the north of Germany and France. He has not deemed it advisable to accompany the work with maps, as that would render it inaccessible to the generality of readers; but those who are not familiar with the places referred to, will frequently find such a reference of great service; and the military student of Napoleon's campaigns in Germany and France will see the theatre of war admirably delineated in Mr Johnston's maps of these countries contained in his general collection. But those who study Wellington's campaigns, are in an especial manner referred to the splendid Atlas of his victories, recently published by Wyld— a work so graphic and accurate as to bring the inequalities of the ground, and the positions of the troops, with all the vividness of reality before the mind of the reader.

Every one who investigates the events of this period, must be struck with the great inferiority, generally speaking, of the English historians who treat of the same subject. Till the era of the Peninsular War, when a cluster of gifted spirits arose, there are no writers on English affairs at all comparable to the great historical authors on the Continent. In this dearth of native genius applied to this subject, it is fortunate that a connected narrative of events of varied ability, but continued interest and extensive information, is to be found in the Annual Register; that the Life of Mr Pitt by Gifford embodies with discriminating talent all the views of that great statesman; and his biography by Tomline leads the reader only to regret that it should terminate at the most eventful crisis of his administration; while the Parliamentary Debates through the whole period, edited nominally by Cobbett and Hansard, but really under the able direction of Mr

Wright, who has recently, in the important and interesting Cavendish Debates, supplied the long-lost link in our Parliamentary History, not only contain most of the statistical details of value to the historian, but all the arguments urged, both in the legislature and elsewhere, for and against the measures of govern

ment.

An invaluable mass of statistical information for the whole. period is to be found in the Parliamentary Reports, compiled with so much care by the Committees of both Houses of Parliament, and admirably digested in the able works of Marshall, Colquhoun, Moreau, and Pebrer, as well as the elaborate official compilations of Porter, both in his Parliamentary Tables, in fourteen volumes folio, and his View of the Progress of the British Empire, in three volumes 12mo; an immense treasure of important knowledge regarding our colonies is to be found in Martin's valuable Colonial History; while, for the details of our naval forces and successes, ample materials are to be found in the minute and incomparable work of Mr James, and the able but less accurate history of Captain Brenton. Nor are the French statistical works in relation to this period of less value than the Parliamentary compilations of England. In particular, the splendid Statistiques de la France, in ten volumes folio, published in Paris, may well be placed beside Porter's Parliamentary Tables, for extent and accuracy of statistical information.

An episode in general history, equally interesting and important, growing out of the attack by Napoleon on Spain, is the South American Revolution. It is hard to say whether this subject is most attractive from the splendid and varied character of the vast continent which it embraces, the romantic and tragic interest of the dreadful convulsions of which it became the theatre, or the immense effect which their progress has had on the supplies of the precious metals from the globe, and, through them, on the prosperity and fortunes of the British empire. The historian here discovers the same application of just retribution to the interested iniquity of his own country, which the annals of the period in general afford examples of, in a more signal manner,

to similar aggressions on the part of other nations. Materials do not exist, as yet, for a full and correct narrative of the bloody struggles which arose from, or were connected with the rise of South American independence; and the principal events in it occurred so long after the period when this History, in other events, terminates, that a cursory reference could be alone attempted. But the admirable narratives of Herrera, and the early Spanish historians, with the splendid and accurate works of Humboldt and Malte-Brun, afford ample materials for the description of physical nature; and in the able Life of Bolivar by General Ducondray Holstein, one of his gallant companions in arms, the Memoirs of General Murillo, by himself, and the very interesting narrative of General Millar, himself a leading actor in the campaigns he describes, enough is to be found to convey a general idea of the leading events, and make the reader desire fuller details of such momentous and heart-stirring transactions.

Another episode, of the most important and interesting kind, is afforded by the rise and progress of the United States, and the adjoining splendid colonies of Great Britain, in North America. Though these Transatlantic States are of such recent origin, yet the materials in regard to their moral, political, and physical circumstances, are singularly ample and important. The statistics of the American Confederacy have been ascertained in recent times with a degree of accuracy equal even to that evinced in similar investigations in France or England; and may be found well digested in several publications, particularly the Statistical Almanac of America, annually published at Boston. The peculiarities, advantages, and evils of the institutions, manners, and customs of the United States, have been ably delineated, though sometimes perhaps with somewhat of an unfriendly hand, by Captain Hall, Captain Marryat, Captain Hamilton, and Mrs Trollope; while Miss Martineau, albeit strongly imbued with partiality to liberal institutions and dissent, has, with admirable impartiality, accumulated a great variety of facts, throwing the clearest light on the effects of their political and ecclesiastical system, and frequently not a little at variance with the precon

ceived opinions with which she commenced her travels. But it is remarkable, that by far the fullest and most philosophical view of America has been presented by foreign writers; and the works of M. de Tocqueville and M. Chevalier will be admired so long as profound thought, enlightened views, and luminous reasoning, shall retain a place in human estimation. For the physical description of America, both North and South, recourse has constantly been had to the incomparable geographical system of Malte-Brun, and the splendid travels of M. Humboldtworks which demonstrate that the most accurate information, the widest range of scientific knowledge, and the most unbounded labour, may be combined with the eye of a painter, the soul of a poet, and the highest flights of descriptive power.

The minute and intricate, but important events of the American war, are embodied in works of various merit, but affording, on the whole, a clear insight into the complicated details of Transatlantic hostilities. Mr Cooper's History of the American Navy gives a minute, and on the whole, allowing for national partiality, a fair account of the maritime contest; though the unequalled graphic powers for naval painting which his novels prove he possesses, render it often a matter of regret that he has not lent to reality the colours, true to nature, which he has employed in fiction. Armstrong's War of 1812 gives the whole military events of the period with great impartiality, and from authentic documents; while Christie's War in Canada furnishes all the corrections necessary for the English side of the question. The military operations of the British in Canada, at Washington, and New Orleans, by Mr James, exhibits an animated narrative of that checkered contest; while the powerful mind and masterly hand of Mr Bancroft, render it a matter of regret that his elaborate history has not come down so far as the second American war. For the whole details of the maritime contest, so interesting to all who have the honour of the British Navy at heart, constant recourse has been had to the elaborate work of Mr James, whose inimitable accuracy supersedes, and renders superfluous, every other authority on the British side of the conflict.

VOL. I.

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