will be supplied by continual reinforcements, and we shall be daily diminishing in numbers, without any hopes of succour, it is clear that' they must eventually succeed. With this view of the subject we are throwing away immense sums of money to no useful purpose; and all we can expect are a few barren sprigs of laurel for our labours and treasures. I have not heard a word from Trinidad since I have been in this miserable country, and I am, in consequence, desirous of knowing how my affairs are going on there.

"The troops in general are now much exposed to slight fevers, and, I may assert, fully ten per cent. of them are now hors de combat in consequence. I hope Mrs. M. and all your family have had good health to enjoy the air and amusements of the country: pray offer them my best wishes.

"J. Marryat, Esq."

66 My dear Sir,

، Very respectfully yours,
، T. PICTON.

The reader will perceive that the gallant general took but a gloomy view of our affairs; but though one so desponding, it was, nevertheless, judicious. At that period, no one could have foreseen, much less have expected, the cordial co-operation that the Duke of Wellington afterwards found from the government at home, nor could have anticipated the diversion that was soon to be made in his favour by the mad ambition, and the reverses consequent upon it, of Napoleon in the north.

The first serious affair, and it was a most serious one, in which the high qualities of General Picton were tested, was the battle of Busaco. Of this battle we will quote the general's own account from Mr. Robinson's book.

"MY DEAR COLONEL,

"Cadaceira, 3rd November, 1810.

"To give you some idea of the affair of Busacos, which took place on the 27th September, I enclose you a sketch of the relative situation of the two armies, taken at the time, by the assistant quartermaster-general of the third division. It is merely a rough draught, but conveys a sufficiently strong representation as well of the position of Busacos as of that of Murcella, where it was Lord Wellington's original intention to concentrate his army and oppose the further advance of the enemy: but General Massena, after following us for some time on that road, suddenly crossed the river Mondego, and endeavoured by forced marches to cut us off from the city of Coimbra, where we had considerable depôts. To counteract this movement, Lord Wellington passed the Mondego on the 20th and 21st of September with the whole of the army, except Lieutenant-General Hill's and Major-General Leith's divisions, and occupied the position where the action took place. I had been ordered on the 25th to detach Major-General Lightburne's brigade to reinforce the division under Sir Brent Spencer, and there remained with me only three British and two Portuguese regiments to defend the ridge from Saint Antonio de Cantara to the hill of Busacos, a space of above a mile and a half. The enemy was so concentrated on the 26th, as equally to threaten the right, left, and centre of our position; and from their apparent combinations, it was uncertain against which point they would direct their principal

attack.

"On the evening of the 26th I detached the strongest regiment of the division, the 88th, nearly a mile to the left of the pass of St. Antonio, to communicate with Sir Brent Spencer, and observe that part of the line which was not occupied by any troops. The 74th regiment and the two Portuguese battalions, with twelve pieces of cannon, were stationed for the immediate defence of the pass; and the 45th regiment was kept in reserve. A sharp fire of musketry was heard on the left a short time before daylight, and immediately after fourteen pieces of cannon, from an opposite height, opened upon the pass, and a large column attempted to force it in mass; but so incessant and destructive a fire was kept up by the light corps of the division on their flank, and by the 74th and a Portuguese battalion on their front, that, though they long persisted with great gallantry and perseverance, they never were able to gain an inch of ground, and were ultimately compelled to abandon the attempt in great confusion.

"During this time a very heavy column penetrated, on the left of my position, close to the hill of Busacos, occupied by the 88th regiment, and four companies of the 45th regiment, which appeared to be engaged in an unequal contest with very superior numbers. These regiments, after the enemy had completely gained the summit of the hill, most gallantly attacked them with their bayonets, and drove them off with great slaughter. Convinced that the enemy would make no impression upon the pass of St. Antonio, from which they were completely repulsed, I galloped towards the left, to join the 45th and 88th regiments, who still continued engaged, and, to my great surprise, found the enemy in possession of a strong rocky point in the centre of my line, and the light infantry companies of the 74th and 88th regiments (who had been stationed with the light corps in advance) driven in and retreating before them in disorder. With some difficulty I rallied them, drove the enemy from the rocky point with the bayonet, and with the assistance of a Portuguese battalion, which opportunely came up at the moment, I succeeded in forcing them to abandon the hill, and cross the ravine in great confusion.

"There was another feeble attempt made by the enemy to force the hill; but this was easily repulsed by Major-General Leith, who joined the army at that moment with the 1st, 9th, and 38th regiments: Lieutenant-General Hill also joined the army about an hour after, with ten British, and, I believe, eight Portuguese regiments. The evening of the 27th was employed by the enemy in a variety of movements and fresh combinations, and we fully expected a renewal of the attack on the following morning. Unfortunately we were disappointed: the enemy appeared in movement the whole of the 28th, as if concentrating for the purpose of attacking the left of the hill and convent of Busacos; but towards the evening very considerable columns were discovered filing off through the mountains on our left, towards the main road leading from Oporto to Coimbra and Lisbon, and it became apparent that they had given up all hopes of forcing our position, and were endeavouring, by a circuitous march, to turn our left, and occupy Coimbra before us. Lord Wellington, in consequence, marched in three columns, at two o'clock in the morning of the 29th, and took up a position to cover Coimbra on the same evening. Coimbra at this season, when the river Mondego is everywhere fordable, has no advantages of a defensive position; it became, therefore, necessary to retreat, and occupy the great line which covers Lisbon, at the distance of about thirty miles, with the right of the army resting upon the Tagus at Alhandra, and its left on the sea near Torres Vedras, where we have been since the 7th of October.

"Massena's army has its head-quarters at the village of Sobral, about two miles in front of the position occupied by the third division; and his army is cantoned in the villages in his rear, and extending towards the

Tagus on his left. He is apparently waiting for reinforcements, very badly off for provisions, with his ammunition wholly cut off. His situ ation is every day becoming more and more critical, and his difficulty of procuring subsistence for his army must be daily increasing. If a considerable army is not despatched in time to his assistance, little less than a miracle can save him from ruin.

cer

"Our army is healthy, well equipped in every respect, and regularly supplied with provisions. Our eating numbers, according to the commissary-general's returns, exceed thirty-five thousand men; and we tainly have seven or eight-and-twenty thousand bayonets in the field, exclusive of cavalry. The Portuguese may bring nearly the same number; in addition to which we have about seven thousand Spaniards with the Marquis of Romana,—a miserable mob, on which we have no reliance. I do not much like our position; it is too extensive to be strong, and there is great difficulty in communicating between the different posts, on account of the extreme badness of the roads at this season of the year.

"I hope you have enjoyed your health. I learn from General Este that my uncle continues in good health and spirits. I wrote to him by the last packet. Will you have the goodness to offer him my best respects, and say that I am perfectly well? With my best wishes, "My dear Colonel, very faithfully yours,

"THOMAS PICTON."

We will add one to this from our own collection.

Cadaceira, 31st Oct. 1810.

"MY DEAR SIR, ...... I shall say nothing to you about the action of Busaco, as you will have seen it in the Gazette-though not very clearly detailed. The serious attack was upon my division on the right, that on the left being a mere feint. The attack was made with great impetuosity, and en masse, but nothing could exceed the determined bravery of our troops, who repulsed them with the bayonet. I had only three British regiments and three Portuguese engaged with two divisions, and in the four different attacks they made upon different points of my position, the enemy must have lost, in killed and wounded, nearly 4,000.

"Massena appears to have got into a scrape, and in all probability will be obliged to yield up his laurels to his more fortunate adversary. He is in a most critical situation, without provisions, in an exhausted country, with his communication cut off. Another such an affair as

that of Busaco will completely do him up, &c. &c.
"Your very faithful

"Humble servant,

"T. PICTON."

As we wish to relieve the mind of the reader a little from the contemplation of such glorious, but, at the same time, distressing scenes as are detailed in the foregoing correspondence, we will take leave to quote from Mr. Robinson the following interesting and very characteristic anecdote, connected with this victory.

"The night was cold, and the position occupied by the troops exposed them to the inclement blast which swept over the mountains; even the

hardy veteran shrank within his scanty covering. The young soldiers, however, and even the young officers, endured with much less patience their mountain couch. A party of these latter, (to one of whom we are indebted for this anecdote,) tired of the coldness of their situation, resolved to try whether the enemy were equally inactive: accordingly, Captain Urquhart, with Lieutenants Tyler, Macpherson, and Ouseley, of the 45th, walked down the steep slope towards the advanced posts occupied by the enemy, and arrived at the spot from whence the artillery had been withdrawn only a short time previously. Here they found some straw, which offered so strong a temptation to obtain a few minutes' repose, that each ensconced himself beneath a heap, and prepared to enjoy their good fortune. They were soon fast asleep; even the roll of the drums was unheeded; and the first sound that broke their rest was the clash of bayonets. This ominous sound effectually aroused them, and they scampered back to their regiments with admirable expedition,— a retrograde movement which was considerably accelerated by a strong impression that they could hear the enemy coming up the hill. Upon reaching their line, they found the regiments formed, and silently waiting the attack. To fall-in without being observed by the colonel (Mead) was out of the question: they had been long missed, and he had sent orderlies in all directions after them; and he now pounced upon them as they approached, full of indignation at this infringement upon military discipline. He called loudly to them, "There you are! I'll report every one of you to the general; you shall all be tried for leaving your ranks while in front of the enemy! Observing at this moment that they were attempting to fall-in and avoid further castigation, he assailed them with renewed eloquence. Stop, sirs, stop!—your names, for every one of you shall be punished,—it's desertion; and a great deal more he would have added, but the French were on the move; and each officer having given his name, without waiting for any further observations, occupied his post in the ready-formed ranks, much chagrined at the unfortunate event of their expedition and its probable result; but the fight soon began, and every other thought was absorbed in the heat of battle. After the enemy had been repulsed, the firing ceased, and the allies were falling back upon Coimbra. Colonel Mead, who was a severe disciplinarian, and possessed a most inveterately good memory, resolved to fulfil his promise, and report the offending officers to General Picton. Seeing Lieutenant Macpherson, he called to him, and in a tone of severity said, 'Well, sir, you remember last night, I suppose?' Macpherson bowed with no enviable recollections. 6 Ah, it's a breach of discipline not to be forgotten,' continued the colonel, with a stern and uncompromising look.

"Where is Urquhart?'

"Killed,' replied the lieutenant.

"Ah!' grunted out the disciplinarian, it's well for him. But where's Ouseley, sir?'

"Killed, sir,' again responded Macpherson.

"Bah!' exclaimed the colonel in a still louder tone, as if actually enraged at being thus deprived of the opportunity to punish their breach of military discipline. As a last resource, however, he inquired, "Where is Tyler?'

"Mortally wounded, sir,' was the reply.

"This was too much for the old colonel's patience; so, with a look of anger, not at all allied to either regret or repentance, he rode off, leaving his only remaining victim in a state of much uncertainty. Two days after this rencontre, Lieutenant Macpherson, having received a message from his friend Tyler, who with the rest of the wounded had been carried into Coimbra, requesting to see him, he applied to Colonel Mead for leave to visit the town, stating at the same time that his object in doing

so was to attend (as he thought) the dying moments of his friend.' The colonel had not, however, forgotten Macpherson's offence, and he took this opportunity to punish him. No, no,' said he in a voice which seemed to forbid all further solicitation, you sha'n't go; you haven't deserved it, sir; go to your duty.' Macpherson shortly after this met General Picton, and to him he stated the request which his chum Tyler had made, and Colonel Mead's refusal to grant him leave. Picton was indignant: What! not let you go!' he exclaimed in his usually forcible and energetic manner; 'd-me! you shall go-and tell Colonel Mead I say so; d'ye hear, sir?' The young lieutenant both heard and obeyed. Thanking the general, he set off first to deliver Picton's message to the infuriated colonel, who swore that all discipline had ceased in the army;' and then to Coimbra, where he found his friend Tyler not dead or dying, but wonderfully recovered from the severe wound which he had received, and prepared with an excellent breakfast for Macpherson and some more of his companions, whom he had contrived to allure into a participation of the good cheer he had provided, by the invitation to attend his dying moments.'

This is a valuable morceau, not only on account of the interest of the anecdote, and the grotesque causticity of Colonel Mead-a mead with but little honey in his composition; but as it affords a striking instance of the masked tenderness of Picton's heart, masked sometimes too effectually by an assumed austerity of manner.

We must also here just mention a ludicrous circumstance that provoked unlimited laughter amidst the thunders and the horrors of battle. Picton, in his hurry and absence of mind, had forgotten to take off his coloured cotton night-cap, and was accordingly seen with his hat in his hand, with his head thus grotesquely tricked out whereever the hottest of the battle raged. This was certainly a high offence in the eye of a martinet, gaining a victory in a night-cap.

However, ultimately the English, after many brilliant manœuvres, were forced to fall back into the lines prepared for them before Lisbon, the construction of which has shed so much renown upon Lord Wellington. In this place it is our pleasing duty to give the readers another original letter, as, though part of it contains a little pleasant censure, the other part is extremely valuable for the testimony that it bears to the noble duke, under whose orders he was then acting, and whose astonishing talents were daily developing themselves.

"I am much rejoiced at your victory over the Secretary of State. Entre nous, the governor is a weak man, wholly divested of any thing like firmness or independence of character. I find, by my letters, that Dr. Sanderson is become one of his most intimate friends!!

"Our relative situation, and those of the enemy, is nearly what it was six weeks ago. There has been a total suspension of all operations on both sides, and the two armies are perfectly quiet in winter quarters. The accounts by deserters and prisoners state, with little disagreement, that the enemy suffer greatly for want of provisions, forage, and supplies of all kinds; and there is no doubt but