second general in the world, and this acknowledgment | campaign, or till the seeds of dissension were sown was always followed by the lamentation that he had not among the allies. As the troops of the respective armies yet had the good fortune to meet him in battle. When advanced to their positions, Buonaparte ascended an he set out from Paris to place himself at the head of his observatory, which had been recently erected by order troops, almost his last words to his friends were, "that of the king of the Netherlands, preparatory to a trigohe was at last going to measure swords with this Wel-nometrical survey of the country. From this spot he lington, of whom he had no doubt that he should give a good account."

The Duke had successively vanquished all the French marshals who had been opposed to him, and now, for the first time, found himself confronted with their master. Never, in the annals of modern warfare, had two generals of equal reputation met on the field, or two whose system of tactics was so entirely different.

commanded the whole of both lines. He was particularly struck with the fine appearance of some of the British troops. "How steadily," said he to his aidesde-camp, "these troops take their ground! How beautifully those cavalry form! Observe those grey horse! (the Scotch Greys). Are they not noble troops? Yet, in half an hour, I shall cut them to pieces.”

Lord Wellington had despatched a courier on the preceding evening to Marshal Blucher, stating that he expected to be attacked, and desiring the co-operation of as many divisions as he could spare. The Marshal promised to be with him in person, and proposed that, should the French army decline the combat, the combined British and Prussian troops should become the assailants.

When the French troops were all drawn up on the opposite heights, one of the Duke of Wellington's officers expressed some alarm, and wished that the Prussians were arrived. "The roads are heavy," re

The plan of Buonaparte was simple, but grand. The whole weight of his army was directed on one point, either where his opponent seemed to be weakest, or where success must be followed by the annihilation of the foe. To accomplish his favourite objects, he hesitated not to sacrifice regiments, divisions, or whole armies. When one corps retired in confusion, another was instantly ordered to occupy its place. "Forward, forward," was the only reply to every intelligence of repulse; and it must be acknowledged, that his calculations were usually correct, and his efforts successful. The system of the Duke of Wellington was diame-plied the British hero. "They cannot be here before trically opposite. Anxious to spare the blood of his soldiers, he usually awaited the attack of his enemy. No temporary or partial success could induce him to compromise the safety of his army: but his penetrating eye detected the first error, or the first indecision of the foe, and, with a promptitude as characteristic as his previous coolness, he availed himself of the critical juncture, and secured the victory.

two or three o'clock, but my brave fellows will keep double that force at bay until then.”

About eleven o'clock the cannonade commenced, and soon became general through the whole of the line. At half-past eleven, the left wing of the French advanced against the chateau of Hougoumont. The battalions which occupied the wood in front defended themselves with great gallantry against the overwhelming numbers that pressed upon them; but, after many repeated attacks, the French penetrated to the house. The English were now reinforced by the second brigade of guards, who, occupying the chateau, and lining the orchard and walls, resisted every attempt to dislodge them. The French forced their way to the very doors of the chateau, but were there received with so

These renowned generals were now opposed to each other for the first time. The reputation which each had previously gained, the rivalry which existed between them, and the almost uniform success which had attended their different systems, were powerful incentives to extraordinary exertions. Nor had they now to contend for mere personal glory; the one had to secure his usurped dignities-the other to give repose to a bleed-well-directed a fire that they retreated in confusion, or ing world.

Napoleon had rushed on with all his accumulated force, as the last effort of despair. No new levies were at hand to repair his losses. Victory alone could obtain reinforcements; and, if he were severely repulsed in this engagement, his ruin was sealed for ever. On the other hand, if success attended him, the enthusiasm of the French would again be roused; thousands would flock to his standard; the country which he now invaded would declare in his favour, and he would be enabled to protract the war until winter closed the

perished beneath the bayonet. Again they penetrated, and again were forced back. In less than half an hour fifteen hundred men perished in the orchard, which did not comprise more than four acres.

After some time, the house and out-buildings were set on fire, and a most dreadful scene ensued. In one part the combat raged with unabated fury, although both parties were enveloped with flames. In another, the British, after having repulsed the enemy, were unwilling to quit their station, although the flames were advancing towards them, and the building threatened

to crush them in its ruins. In one of the out-buildings charging a shot. They gained the height, and pressed the wounded of both parties, who were indiscriminately on, resolved to carry the position. Sir Thomas Picton heaped together, perished by the most terrible death. immediately formed his division into a solid square, Their shrieks and groans echoed through the wood; and advanced to the charge. Appalled by the boldbut the combatants were too fiercely engaged to lend ness of this manœuvre, the French hesitated, fired one them any assistance, and they were left to perish in the volley, and retreated. conflagration.

The chateau was now reduced to a mere shell, and the French were enabled to approach it with greater facility; but, as often as they penetrated within the walls, they were repulsed by the bayonet, and at length, being foiled in all their attempts, and having suffered an immense loss, they retreated to the main body. The British had received orders not to pursue them beyond a certain point, and contented themselves vith still maintaining the post which they had so nobly éfended.

Had the French been able to gain possession of this position, and to have planted their artillery precisely at the angle which it occupied, they would have commanded the whole of the Duke of Wellington's lines, and their fire would have carried destruction through the British army. The reader will therefore perceive why this was selected as the first object of attack, and why that attack was continued with such obstinacy.

On this occasion, Sir Thomas Picton received a musket-ball in his temple, and expired without a struggle. After his lamented fall, it was discovered that he had received a wound in the hip, on the 16th, which he had concealed from all except bis valet, and which had assumed a serious aspect for want of surgical assistance.

This meritorious officer had been forty-five years in the army. The first active service in which he was employed was in the West-Indies, where he was sent with his regiment (the sixty-eighth) on the breaking out of the revolutionary war. There he distinguished himself upon every occasion, and particularly at the capture of St. Lucie, and speedily rose from the rank of captain to that of lieutenant-colonel.

In 1797, he was appointed governor of Trinidad: and, though in that situation he was accused of extreme severity, the accusation was completely rebutted by the verdict of a British jury; and the inhabitants of Trinidad were so sensible of the benefits which they had received under his administration, that, on his quitting the island, they voted him five thousand pounds, as a testimony of their esteem and gratitude. Some time after this a dreadful fire reduced the capital of the island to ashes. A subscription was opened for the unfortunate inhabitants, and Picton immediately returned the five thousand pounds, which he had received from them.

When Buonaparte was convinced that he had failed in his design upon Hougoumont, the fire of can non and musketry became more terrible. Columns of French infantry and cavalry, preceded by a formidable artillery, advanced from all points, ascended the eminence on which the British were stationed, and precipitated themselves on their squares. In vain the French artillery mowed down entire ranks of their opponents. The chasms were instantly filled, and not a foot of ground was lost. "What brave troops!" exclaimed Buonaparte to his staff. "It is a pity to destroy them; but I shall defeat them at last." The British reserved their fire until the enemy had approached within a few paces, and then, with one well-directed volley, levelled whole squadrons of the French. Other troops, how-to England. ever, succeeded, and the enemy pressed on to closer and more destructive combat.

The principal masses of the French were now directed on the left of the British, where the divisions of Generals Picton and Kempt were posted. Napoleon's object in this attack was to turn the left of the allies, and, by separating them from the Prussians, cut off the retreat of Lord Wellington in that direction. The Scottish regiments displayed all the heroism by which they had been distinguished in the battle of the 16th, and sustained the principal brunt of the attack.

A strong column of the enemy advanced under a galling fire from the British artillery, without dis

After a lapse of some years, he was employed in the expedition to Walcheren, and, on the capture of Flushing, was appointed governor of that place; an attack of the fever, which proved so destructive to the British army, compelled him to relinquish his post, and return

He had scarcely recovered, when he was appointed to the command of a division in the Duke of Wellington's army in the Peninsula, and was the favourite companion of the hero in most of the battles of that protracted war. In the battle of Vittoria, his division sustained, for more than four hours, an unequal contest against the main body of the French army, and received, at the close of the engagement, the warmest acknowledgments from the commander-in-chief.

It was at the personal solicitation of the Duke that he accepted the command of a division in the campaign of the Netherlands, where he terminated his military exploits and his mortal existence.