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pleased to honor him, in testimony of the high sense which that Prince entertains of the great courage and intrepidity he has displayed in the Peninsula: and he has recently been honoured with the appointment of Ambassador Plenipotentiary to the Court of Berlin.

THE LATE LT.-COL. THE HON. EDW. CHARLES COCKS,
MAJOR OF THE 79TH REGIMENT.
Prodesse quam conspici.

THIS gallant officer fell in the lines of Burgos, on the 8th Oct. 1812, when in the act of rallying the troops, who had been driven in by the enemy in a sortie from the castle. He was the eldest son of Lord Somers, and born 27th July 1786: he had from his earliest years, evinced the most heroic ardour for the service of his country, which no difficulties could repress, and which was alike insensible to the dissuasion of friends, the dangers of war, and the allurements of dissipation. His career, though brilliant, was short; yet it would far exceed our limits to collect into one narrative those numerous and arduous exploits which we have been so often called upon to record, At the age of twenty-six, he had rapidly passed through all the gradations of military rank to the command of the 79th Regiment of Foot; and almost all the steps of his promotion had been marked with the signal and public approbation of his Illustrious Commander, whose confidence and friendship he enjoyed in an eminent degree. By him, and by the public, he will be regretted as a rising hope and ornament of his country; his numerous and military comrades will lament the loss of so much spirit, intelligence, and generosity; his family, alas! will have additional sorrows to mingle with these feelings, too solemn and distressing for us to attempt the description of. By the demise of his maternal grandfather, he became possessed of a large landed estate; the safe and selfish enjoyment of which he utterly disdained. Like the Hero of the Iliad, he had the choice between security and renown; and like him he perished in the more glorious alternative. The Marquis of Wellington, in communicating his death, observes, "In the last of these sallies, at three in the morning of the 8th of October, we had the misfortune to lose the Honorable Major Cocks, of the 79th, who was Field Officer of the trenches, and was killed in the act of rallying the troops who had been driven in. I have frequently had occasion to draw the attention of your lordship to the conduct of Major Cocks, and in one instance very recently, in the attack of the hornwork of the castle of Burgos; and I consider his loss as one of the greatest importance to this army and to his majesty's service:"

THE LATE LIEUTENANT-COLONEL RICHARD COLLINS. 83D REGIMENT.

A man of honour and of worth,

"Of manners sweet, as virtue always wears
"When gay good nature dresses her in smiles e
"His mind is temper'd happily, and mix'd
"With such ingredients of good sense and taste,
Of what is excellent in man."

THIS accomplished officer, who died in Portugal on the 18th of February last, at his station in Gouvea, in the province of Beira, at the early age of 38, was Lieutenant-Colonel of the 83d regiment, Colonel in the Portuguese service, and commanded a brigade in the 7th division of Lord Wellington's army.-In subjoining a few observations on the death of this most accomplished officer, the writer, who lived in his friendship and intimacy for many years, appeals to the whole British army for the ratification of his opinion; that perhaps the military archives do not record the name of a man who united so many rare qualities, or in whom was found combined such a variety of endowments: a lofty courage, a fortitude almost invincible, a mildness of temper and modesty of demeanour that conciliated all, but a firmness and perseverance that nothing could shake. His attainments were various; he spoke the German, French, Spanish, and Portuguese languages not only fluently, but eloquently; he was a good draftsman, and well read in the military history of all the great Generals who flourished in the last century. He commenced his military career in the West Indies in the year 1795-6, under the command of Sir Ralph Abercrombie; he concluded a seven years' service in that country under the present Sir Thomas Picton, K. B. In such a man as Colonel Collins is above described, so gifted by nature, so enriched by culture, with two such personages as his models, it is not difficult to account for the noble and elevated views which were ever present to his mind, and formed the basis of his conduct. At the storming of Morne Fortunée, in St. Lucia, under the command of the former, he was struck by a musket-ball in the breast, and was, after lying for some hours on the spot, taken up as dead; he was, however, present at the capture of the island of Trinidad soon afterwards: he remained in the family and confidence of Sir Thomas Picton during the whole of his government there, and now rests in his memory, and yet lives in his heart. He commanded his regiment at the capture of

the Cape of Good Hope; and during a five years' residence there no man ever enjoyed a larger share of general esteem and admira. tion. At the memorable and sanguinary battle of Albuera his leg was taken off by a cannon-ball, and in consequence of a succeeding mortification, his thigh was obliged to be amputated very high up; he languished for some time, but the resources of a mind never to be subdued turned the balance; his stump healed, and here he gave an instance of heroism never paralleled, perhaps, in military annals; he returned to this country in the month of July, 1812, in this mutilated state, and was found again at the head of his brigade as active as any man in the Peninsula, with a cork leg and thigh, in the beginning of the month of October following. If he offered no other example of professional devotion, and of those two pre-eminent qualities-fortitude and perseverance, but the extraordinary instance thus recorded, it is one which, whilst the desire of its imitation glows in the bosom of a British soldier, must render an army so composed invincible either by skill or by numbers. The brigade which he had the honour to command, as a mark of their high opinion of his talents and worth, have agreed to erect a monument to his memory; and whether the inscription on its pedestal be suggested by the heart of tenderness, or dictated by a sense of deserts, the writer of this humble tribute feels assured, that no great portion of exaggeration can take place in recording the virtues, or in describing the genius and abilities of Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Collins.

MARMONT, DUKE OF RAGUSA*.

BY GENERAL SARAZEN.

GENERAL Marmont is Commander-in-Chief of that part of the French army called that of Portugal.

He is a Marshal of the empire: he owes that situation, less to his services, than the great favour he has been held in by Buonaparte since 1796. Marmont is forty years old, well-looking, his features regular, extremely well formed, and his gait very elegant; with so many advantages he is insupportably proud, and he treats his subordinates with an air of contempt, that has created him many enemies in the army; he keeps up a princely establishment even in the very camps, he has always numerous equipages with him; he either is, or affects to be, a great friend of the chase, and numerous packs of hounds, at a great expence, follow him wherever he goes. If military merit were to be appreciated by the quantum of luxury, pride, and arrogant

* "Is of a very good family, an able officer, and a gentleman in conduct and behaviour. He is married to the daughter of the late Mr. Peregaux, the banker."-Goldsmith's Secret Memoirs, &c..

tone of the individual, Marmont should then be considered as the worthiest disciple of Buonaparte.

Descended from a noble family, Marmont received a good education; he was intended for the artillery. He was serving in the army of Italy, when Buonaparte took him for one of his Aides-de-Camp. His courage and intelligence obtained him the confidence of his General, who employed him on many trying occasions, in which he had the good fortune to succeed. He was still a Chief of Battalion, when he was sent to Paris, to present to the Directory 22 stands of colours, taken from the Austrians under General Wormser. On his admission to a public audience on the 2d of October, 1796, he recited a very long speech, which had been dictated by Buonaparte; a proof of which may be found in the following passage, "The army of Italy has, during this brilliant campaign, destroyed two armies, and taken two hundred and eighty pieces of cannon, and forty-nine stands of colours. These victories afford you, citizen directors, a sure guarantee of their continual regard for the republic; they know as well how to defend the laws and obey them, as they have known to beat external enemies. Be pleased to consider them as one of the firmest columns of liberty, and to believe that, as long as the soldiers of which they are composed shall exist, government will have intrepid defenders."

The President of the Directory had the condescension to reply to so haughty a language with the most flattering compliments; he even went so far as to return thanks to the superior genius who directed the army of Italy. Buonaparte's conception would have been very limited, not to have recognised in this interested adulation the meanness of Anthony presenting to Cesar the imperial crown. Marmont had the sweet satisfaction of receiving on this occasion the flattering fraternal hug of Monsieur le President, who presented him to boot with an elegant pair of pistols of the manufactory of Versailles. Some time after he was nominated Colonel. At the epoch of the formation of the Italian republic, he was appointed to carry to the congress of Reggio the determinations of Buonaparte; he made a part of the expedition which marched against Rome.

On the peace of Campo Formio, he returned to France, where he married the only daughter of the rich banker Peregaux, one of the first houses of Paris for wealth and probity. This alliance, of which Buonaparte was considered as the chief abettor, was a guarantee he thus procured himself, to diminish the commercial risks upon the immense sums he had placed in the first banks of France and Italy. Marmont followed Buonaparte into Egypt. At the taking of Malta he was charged with the command of one of the columns landed he repulsed the Maltese, and took the colours of the knights of the order. 'He was then made a General of Brigade. Berthier has forgotten to mention in his report, the number of men killed, wounded, and taken - prisoners on both sides, which leads us to believe with reason, that Malta had been besieged and taken by storm of gold and promises, in the secret assemblies of Paris, long before Buonaparte's departure from Toulon.

. Marmont rendered himself useful in the attack of Alexandria, and in the - march of the French upon Cairo. The 21st of July 1800, he seized upon the intrenchments, which covered the position of the Mamelukes, and contributed to the overthrowing in the Nile a great number of those intrepid horse

men.

At the time of the expedition of Syria, Marmont was charged with the command of Alexandria, where he superseded General Kleber. It is pretended, that this post was confined to him, to put this part of the coast in a state of defence against the debarkations of the Turks: this motive was nothing but a specious pretext to keep secret the real intentions of Buonaparte. Marmont was charged with keeping up the correspondence with France and Syria, and making all the necessary preparations for Buonaparte's departure at the convenient time; this circumstance suffices to give a just idea of the intimacy of the relations between Marmont and his master. I do not pretend to say, that Marmont was not very capable of directing the fortifications of Alexandria and the armaments on the coast; much on the contrary; I consider him as one of the best-informed officers of artillery in France, and believe him to be sufficiently versed in the knowledge of engineering to order and superintend works of the first class, but I know very positively that these two undertakings were accessary points of the important functions he was charged to fulfil during his stay at Alexandria.-Two Swedish vessels, at that time neuter, sent by the Directory to engage Buonaparte to hasten his return into France, afforded me the opportunity of clearing up my doubts on this subject, and the Abbé Sieyes, President of the Directory at the time I was employed with Bernadotte in the ministry of war, communicated some particulars to me, which informed me as to the principal object of Marmont's command at Alexandria.

This General returned to France with Buonaparte; he assisted in the revolution of the 18th Brumaire; he was intrusted with the command of the military school, nominated a counsellor of state in the section of war, and General of division; he was employed in the army of reserve, destined to reconquer Italy, which had been overpowered by the Austro-Russians in the single campaign of 1799; he obtained the chief command of the artillery of that army, which formed itself in the environs of Dijon and united at Geneva at the commencement of May, 1800. Marmont evinced, un this occasion, a good deal of genius and resolution; he dismounted the cannon to convey them over mount St. Bernard, he caused trees to be prepared to receive them, in the form of troughs, corresponding to the size of the caliber; the wheels, carriages, and waggons were either carried in litters, or drawn on sledges very ingeniously constructed; the ammunition was carried on the backs of mules. Marmont was to be found wherever he judged his presence most necessary; he neglected nothing to deserve the praises of Buonaparte, who was delighted in such difficult circumstances, to see himself so well seconded by his Aide-de-Camp. Not to retard the movements of the army, which could not advance with success without its artillery, Marmont, instead of having recourse to his former manœuvres at St. Bernard, to get over Mount Albaredo, determined to defile his artillery under the fire of Fort de Bard; the road was strewed with dung, and the wheels covered with hay: they experienced losses, but the passage succeeded.

When General Desaix overthrew the Austrians on the day of the battle of Marengo, Marmont contributed much to the success of that attack, by the fire of the artillery, which he caused to advance nearly within musket shot of the enemy's line. At the crossing of the Mincio, the 26th December, 1800, effected by General Brune against the Austrian General Bellegarde,

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