ment added two hundred thousand pounds to its former munificent grants, in order that a palace, not less magnificent than that of Blenheim, might be erected for the general who surpassed the achievements of Marlborough. On the subject of his merits all parties were unanimous. Mr. Whitbread, who had long been remarkable for his hostility to the Peninsular war, and to the other enterprizes in which Wellington was engaged, observed, after relating an anecdote of his intrepidity:-" Had such a trait been recorded in history as having occurred ten centuries ago, with what emotions of admiration and generous enthusiasm would it be read! To see a commander of his eminence throw himself into a hollow square of infantry, as a secure refuge till the rage and torrent of the attack was past; and that not once only, but twice or thrice in the course of the battle, proved that his confidence was placed not in any particular corps, but in the whole British army. In that mutual confidence lay the power and strength of the troops. The duke of Wellington knew that he was safe, when he thus trusted himself to the fidelity and valour of his men; and they knew and felt that the sacred charge thus confided to them could never be wrested from their hands."

The following is the eloquent description given by lord Castlereagh of this interesting contest, in his speech on the motion for presenting the thanks of the house of commons to Wellington and his brave associates :

"Never" said he, " among the mighty achievements which have swelled our military renown, since the illustrious duke of Wellington has been placed at the head of our army, has it been my lot to submit to parliament a proposition founded on an event so glorious as that which calls for the expression of our gratitude to-day. It is a triumph of such a character, that, without disparagement to those actions in which his great genius has been formerly displayed, it may be truly affirmed that it never happened, even to him, to confer so great a benefit on his country before. It is an achievement of such high merit, of such pre eminent im portance, as never graced the annals of this or any other country until now and when

considered, not only with a view to the im mediate loss inflicted on the enemy, but with reference to the moral effect which it must produce on the war now commenced, and in the issue of which the fate of England, of Europe, and the world, are so closely bound up, it opens before us a prospect so cheering, and so transcendently bright, that no language can do justice to the feelings it must naturally inspire.

"There was something in the situation of the hostile armies, which, without detracting from the high merit and military skill of the great commanders who placed the allied force in the position that it occupied, gave the enemy a decided advantage. It had been necessary to distribute the combined armies where sustenance could most conveniently be procured, there to await the arrival of the innumerable forces, by which one simultaneous attempt was to be made to crush the power of the enemy. Ere these forces were collected, the enemy had an awful advantage, and might choose on what part of the scattered troops he would direct his first attack. The duke of Wellington and prince Blucher could not concentrate their forces without leaving a large portion of Belgium exposed.

"It was the evident policy of Buonaparte to attack some point of this extended line before the Russians arrived. Whatever might be the risk of assailing the armies under the duke of Wellington and prince Blucher, it is obvious that if he could bring them into action, before they were supported by the armies advancing to co-operate with them, the chance of success would be greater than that which would remain to him after they had actually got up. Buonaparte considered this, and formed his resolve with all that judgment and decision of character which belonged to him, when he determined on the forward movement which terminated so gloriously for the British and their allies. He advanced with the flower of the French army, brought together from all parts of Europe, where they had been prisoners, and concentrated for this desperate attack. They were in a high_state of organization before the return of Buonaparte to France; and since his restoration to power, every care and preparation has been accumulated upon them Kk

THE ENGLISH ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLES IN FLANDERS.

Waterloo June 19th, 1815. "MY LORD,-Buonaparte having colcollected the first, second, third, fourth, and sixth corps of the French army, and the imperial guards, and nearly all the cavalry, on the Sambre, and between that river and the Meuse, between the 10th and 14th of the month, advanced on the 15th and attacked the Prussian posts at Thuin and Lobez on the Sambre, at day-light in the morning.

I did not hear of these events till the evening of the 15th, and I immediately or dered the troops to prepare to march; and afterwards to march to their left, as soon as I had intelligence from other quarters to prove that the enemy's movement upon Charleroi was the real attack.

The enemy drove the Prussian posts from the Sambre on that day; and general Ziethen, who commanded the corps which had been at Charleroi, retired upon Fleurus; and marshal prince Blucher concentrated the Prussian army upon Sombref, holding the villages of St. Amand and Ligny in front of his position.

The enemy continued his march along the road from Charleroi towards Bruxelles,

and on the same evening, the 15th, attacked a brigade of the army of the Netherlands, Frasne, and forced it back to the farm-house under the prince de Weimar, posted at

on the same road, called Les Quatre Bras.

The prince of Orange immediately reinforced this brigade with another of the same division, under general Perponcher, and in the morning early regained part of the ground which had been lost, so as to have the command of the communication leading from Nivelles and Bruxelles, with marshal Blucher's position.

In the meantime, I had directed the whole whole army to march upon Les Quatre Bras, and the fifth division, under lieutenant-gen. sir Thomas Picton, arrived at about half-past two in the day, followed by the corps of troops under the duke of Brunswick, and afterwards by the contingent of Nassau.

At this time the enemy commenced an attack upon Prince Blucher with his whole force, excepting the first and second corps; and a corps of cavalry under general Kellerman, with which he attacked our post at Les Quatre Bras.

The Prussian army maintained their position with their usual gallantry and perseverance, against a great disparity of numbers, as the fourth corps of their army, under ge.

neral Bulow, had not joined, and I was not able to assist them as I wished, as I was attacked myself, and the troops, the cavalry in particular, which had a long distance to march, had not arrived.

We maintained our position also, and completely defeated and repulsed all the enemy's attempts to get possession of it. The enemy repeatedly attacked us with a large body of infantry and cavalry, supported by a numerous and powerful artillery; he made several charges with the cavalry upon our infantry, but all were repulsed in the steadiest manner. In this affair, his royal highness the prince of Orange, the duke of Brunswick, and lieutenant-general sir Thomas Picton, and majorgeneral sir James Kempt, and sir Denis Pack, who were engaged from the commencement of the enemy's attack, highly distinguished themselves, as well as lieutenant-gen. Charles Baron Alten, major-general sir C. Halket, lieutenant-general Cook, and major-generals Maitland and Byng, as they successively arrived. The troops of the fifth division, and those of the Brunswick corps, were long and severely engaged, and conducted themselves with the utmost gallantry. I must particularly mention the twenty-eighth, forty-second, seventy-ninth, and ninety-second regiments, and the battalion of Hanoverians.

Our loss was great, as your lordship will perceive by the inclosed return; and I have particularly to regret his serene highness the duke of Brunswick, who fell, fighting gallantly, at the head of his troops.

Although marshal Blucher had maintained his position at Sombref, he still found himself much weakened by the severity of the contest in which he had been engaged, and, as the fourth corps had not arrived, he determined to fall back, and concentrate his army upon Wavre; and he marched in the night after the action was over.

This movement of the marshal's rendered necessary a corresponding one on my part; and I retired from the farm of Quatre Bras upon Genappe, and thence upon Waterloo, the next morning, the 17th, at ten o'clock.

The enemy made no effort to pursue marshal Blucher. On the contrary, a patrole which I sent to Sombref in the morning, found all quiet, and the enemy's videttes fell

back as the patrole advanced. Neither did he attempt to molest our march to the rear, although made in the middle of the day, excepting by following, with a large body of cavalry brought from his right, the cavalry under the earl of Uxbridge.

This gave lord Uxbridge an opportunity of charging them with the first life guards, upon their debouche from the village of Genappe, upon which occasion his lordship has declared himself to be well satisfied with that regiment.

The position which I took up, in front of Waterloo, crossed the high roads from Charleroi and Nivelles, and had its right thrown back to a ravine near Merke Braine, which was occupied; and its left extended to a height above the hamlet Ter-la-Haye, which was likewise occupied. In front of the right centre, and near the Nivelles road, we occupied the house and garden of Hougoumont, which covered the return of that Hank; and, in front of the left centre, we occupied the farm of La Haye Sainte. By our left we communicated with marshal prince Blucher, at Wavre, through Ohain, and the marshal had promised me that in case we should be attacked he would support me with one or more corps, as might be neces

sary.

The enemy collected his army, with the exception of the third corps, which had been sent to observe marshal Blucher, on a range of heights in our front, in the course of the night of the 17th, and yesterday morning; and at about ten o'clock he commenced a furious attack upon our post at Hougoumont. I had occupied that post with a detachment from general Byng's brigade of guards, which was in position in its rear; and it was for some time under the command of lieutenantcolonel Macdonald, and afterwards of colonel Home; and I am happy to add, that it was maintained throughout the day with the utmost gallantry by these brave troops, notwithstanding the repeated efforts of large bodies of the enemy to obtain possession of it.

This attack upon the right of our centre was accompanied by a very heavy cannonade upon our whole line, which was destined to support the repeated attacks of cavalry and

infantry occasionally mixed, but sometimes separate, which were made upon it. In one of these, the enemy carried the farm-house of La Haye Sainte, as the detachment of the light battalion of the legion which occupied it had expended all its ammunition, and the enemy occupied the only communication there was with them.

The enemy repeatedly charged our infantry with his cavalry, but these attacks were uniformly unsuccessful, and they afforded opportunities to our cavalry to charge, in one of which lord E. Somerset's brigade, consisting of the life guards, royal horse guards, and first dragoon guards, highly distinguished themselves; as did that of major-general sir W. Ponsonby, having taken many prisoners and an eagle.

These attacks were repeated till about seven in the evening, when the enemy made a desperate effort with the cavalry and infantry, supported by the fire of artillery, to force our left centre, near the farm of La Haye Sainte, which, after a severe contest, was defeated; and having observed that the troops retired from this attack in great confusion, and that the march of general Bulow's corps by Frichemont upon Planchenoit and La Belle Alliance, had begun to take effect; and as I could perceive the fire of his cannon had abated considerably, and as marshal prince Blucher had joined in person, with a corps of his army to the left of our line, by Ohain, I determined to attack the enemy, and immediately advanced the whole line of infantry, supported by the cavalry and artillery. The attack succeeded in every point; the enemy was forced from his position on the heights, and fled in the utmost confusion, leaving behind him, as far as I could judge, one hundred and fifty pieces of cannon, with their ammunition, which fell into our hands.

I continued the pursuit till long after dark, and then discontinued it, only on account of the fatigue of our troops, who had been engaged during twelve hours, and because I found myself on the same road with marshal Blucher, who assured me of his intention to follow the enemy throughout the night; he has sent me word this morning, that he has taken sixty pieces of cannon belonging to the

imperial guard, and several carriages, baggage, &c. belonging to Buonaparte, in Genappe.

I propose to move, this morning, upon Nivelles, and not to discontinue my operations.

Your lordship will observe, that such a desperate action could not be fought, and such advantages could not be gained, without great loss; and, I am sorry to add, that our's has been immense. In lieutenant-gen. sir Thomas Picton, his majesty has sustained the loss of an officer who has frequently distinguished himself in his service; and he fell, gloriously leading his division to a charge with bayonets, by which one of the most serious attacks made by the enemy on our position was defeated

The earl of Uxbridge, after having successfully got through this arduous day, received a wound by almost the last shot fired, which will, I am afraid, deprive his majesty for some time of his services.

His royal highness the prince of Orange distinguished himself by his gallantry and conduct, till he received a wound from a musket ball through the shoulder, which obliged him to quit the field.

It gives me the greatest satisfaction to assure your lordship, that the army never, upon any occasion, conducted itself better. The division of guards, under lieutenantgeneral Cooke, who is severely wounded, major-general Maitland, and major-generai Byng, set an example which was followed by all; and there is no officer, nor description of troops, that did not behave well.

I must, however, particularly mention, for his royal highness's approbation, lieutenant-general sir H. Clinton; major-general Adam; lieutenant-general Charles Baron Alten, severely wounded; major-general sir Colin Halket, severely wounded; colonel Ompteda; colonel Mitchele, commanding a brigade of the 4th division; major-generals sir James Kempt and sir Denis Pack; majorgeneral Lambert; major-general lord E. Somerset; major-general sir W. Ponsonby; major-general sir C. Grant, and major-general sir H. Vivian; major-general sir O. Vandeleur; major-general count Dornberg. I am also particularly indebted to general lord