de-hoyhood to manhood in the interval between the two accounts? Having been, as we have already discovered, extremely fond of music, and a good performer withal, was he so ungallant as to prefer the company of brother fiddlers, and the enjoyment of listening to a good band, to the charms of Lady Aldborough's voice and society, and those of the other gay ladies present? Or may the anecdote of her Ladyship, who then as a blushing maiden bore a different name, have been made too much of? The later statement must, of course, be taken to represent Mr. Gleig's mature judgment in the matter; but one naturally looks for some explanation of the discrepancy between these two statements. And it would be well to clear up at the same time the further disagreement between the note at page 9 of Gleig, which says, 'Lord Westmoreland's court was remarkable for the low state of its morality and the excess of its extravagance. That of Lord Camden, which came next, offered to it in both respects a striking contrast '—and the statement above referred to in regard to the gaiety of Lord Camden's court, from Gleig and Brialmont. The latter part of the paragraph cited from Gleig and Brialmont refers to another point which has generally been considered as settled, namely, that young Wesley (or Wellesley), who had very little besides his pay, got into debt in Dublin; that he borrowed money from the boot-maker he lodged with ; and that he left Mr. Dillon, a draper, to settle his affairs, giving up, most creditably, a great part of his income for the purpose. But Mr. Gleig 'must be permitted to doubt the truth of those stories, which are contradicted, not only by the habits of well-ordered economy, which distinguished him in after life, but by the whole tone and tenor of his conversation.' And he adds:

I have repeatedly heard him discuss the subject of debt, which he denounced as discreditable in the extreme. His expression was, 66 it makes a slave of a man: I have often known what it was to be in want of money, but I never got into debt." It is not, therefore, very probable, had the Dublin stories been authentic, that the Duke with his tenacious memory could have forgotten them. It is impossible to conceive that one so rigidly adherent to the truth, in small matters as well as in great, would, in this solitary instance, have stepped aside from it.'

We are, however, more inclined to think that there must have been some misapprehension on Mr. Gleig's part as to time, place, or circumstance-in short, as to what the Duke really did say and mean-than that the circumstantial and uncontradicted statements of former years should have been untrue. He continually refers in his published letters and despatches, up to the time when he received the Seringapatam prize-money,

to

to the excess of his expenditure over his income, and he frequently expresses much distress on this head.

The various versions of the Duke's life differ from one another, and cannot, therefore, all be correct; but that which we have given above is as faithful a summary as we can offer of that which is known of his early youth. Dissenting materially in some points from Mr. Gleig, we think the following are the conclusions which may be derived from it:- In spite of his high connections, he had evidently the advantage of being trained to some extent in the best of schools-the school of adversity. The natural independence of his disposition-for it is impossible that he could have been a dunce-may have both caused and been strengthened by the neglect of his mother in boyhood. A cheap school in Chelsea was certainly a bad preparation for Eton, and want of money, combined with qualities which prevented him from ever becoming generally popular amongst his immediate companions, was likely enough to disincline him to mix with his fellows as he otherwise might have done, while the habits of reserve and solitude in which he indulged, must have contributed still further to the formation of his character. His mother's comparative poverty took her fortunately to Brussels, where he had the great advantage of learning, what was essential to him during the greater part of his active service, the French language. At the school at Angers he perfected himself in it, and had time, not only to pick up all that was known of the art of war, but also to learn the principles, maxims, and ideas of French military science. He experienced, first under the patronage of Lord Westmorland and afterwards with Lord Camden, all the advantages as well as the disadvantages of society and staff-duty in the Irish capital, though he saw little of life as a subaltern, either in the cavalry or the infantry. He found out in practice how debt makes 'a slave of a man,' and he afterwards partly corrected the defects of his early education by reading in a desultory way. He acquired indeed, Mr. Gleig tells us, a habit from the outset, which remained with him to the last, of acquainting himself in all manner of odd ways with everything worthy of notice that passed around him.' In other words, he educated himself, in his own way, for the battle of life, as all must do who are to achieve greatness, whatever their previous attainments.* As a member of the Irish Parliament,

In one of the numerous visits which the Duke of Wellington necessarily paid to Calais, on his way from France to England, during the continuance of the Army of Occupation in France, while walking from the Hotel Dessin to the pier to embark, he said to me that he had always made it a rule to study by himself

for

ment, he voted for his party, spoke little, and attended but slightly to business. His feelings of affection, damped from the first, received a further check in regard to the lady of his choice, and he was left to throw his whole energies, when the proper time arrived, into his professional duties, at the same time that he was encouraged and incited to exertion by obtaining with borrowed money the command of his regiment.

He commenced the second stage of his existence, that of active service, by drawing up a code of standing orders, and placing his regiment in the highest state of efficiency. And in May, 1794, he embarked at Cork, at the commencement of his twenty-sixth year, for the Low Countries. He there received, again, as it were, in adversity, the most valuable lessons that could be afforded to a young soldier of an observant mind, for he saw everything that was vicious in an army. His first military operation (unnoticed by Mr. Gleig) was the evacuation of Ostend in the presence of the enemy, and he showed himself intrepid and intelligent in the rear-guard during a subsequent retreat. He was promoted (by seniority) in January, 1795, from his regimental command to a brigade of three weak battalions. He fought for existence' with the rear-guard of the army, in a winter of dreadful suffering, until the remains of the British troops were embarked at Bremen, in the spring of 1795. The evils of a divided command and state jealousies, the necessity for forethought and system, the advantages of conciliation and fair dealing with the inhabitants of a theatre of war, the importance of efficient departments and equipments, of prompt action, and of attention to time, were thus deeply impressed upon him in the rugged lessons of his first campaign; and the results may be plainly traced throughout his subsequent conduct and correspondence:

'You can't conceive such a state of things,' the Duke used to say long years afterwards. 'If we happened to be at dinner and the wine was going round, it was considered wrong to interrupt us. I have seen a packet handed in from the Austrian head-quarters, and thrown aside unopened, with a remark, That will keep till to-morrow morning. It has always been a marvel to me how any one of us escaped.'

On his return to England, early in 1795, Colonel Wesley was depressed in spirits, and disgusted with his profession.

for some hours every day; and alluded to his having commenced acting upon this rule before he went to India, and to his having continued to act upon it. This is a fact that, I apprehend, is unknown as to the Duke of Wellington, and it is a very important one.'-Notes on the Battle of Waterloo, by the late General Sir James Shaw Kennedy, K.C.B., &c. London, 1865.

Unable

Unable to marry, or even to live upon his income, he applied, ander the advice of Lord Mornington, to Lord Camden, who was still Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, to find him a situation either in the Board of Revenue or in the Treasury. Failing, fortunately, in this attempt to quit the army, he embarked in the autumn at Southampton with his regiment for the West Indies, but was driven back to Spithead. When the regiment embarked for India, in April, 1796, he was unable, from illness, to accompany it. He overtook it, however, at the Cape of Good Hope, and taking passage with Sir Pulteney (then Captain) Malcolm in the Fox,' landed with it at Calcutta in February, 1797. We have heard on the best authority, and from different sources, of an interesting letter which was written home by Captain Malcolm after that voyage, to the effect that he found young Wesley a dull companion enough at first, but that he formed a very high opinion of him on better acquaintance, during the latter part of the voyage, and believed they would hear great things of him afterwards. We have made inquiries of the family, but have not yet ascertained what became of this letter.

Mr. Gleig quotes Mr. Canning's remark, that India was ‘a country fertile in heroes and statesmen,' and points out truly the opportunity which it afforded for the development of Colonel Wellesley's high qualities. But he is far from supposing that wherever he served his mind would not have awakened sooner or later from the half-lethargic state in which throughout his earlier years it may be said to have lain.' And he states that 'from the day of his arrival at Calcutta a complete change took place in the moral and intellectual nature of the man.' We think these expressions much too strong. No man can be known until he is tried; or appreciated, especially when characterised by much natural reserve, until opportunities arise for the display of his powers. Colonel Wellesley had, according to Mr. Gleig's own account, while still very young, 'devoted all the time that could be spared from his duties in the Irish Parliament to improving the discipline of his battalion.' He had drawn up a code of standing orders for it,' and brought it to such a state of efficiency that the 33rd was pronounced to be the best drilled and most efficient regiment within the limit of the Irish command.' He had been taking pains to acquaint himself in all sorts of odd ways with everything worthy of notice which passed around him. His forte was the power of rapid and correct calculation.' He had shown 'exceeding promptitude,' as well as 'judgment and coolness,' and 'greatly distinguished himself' in the disheartening campaign of the Low Countries. And surely such a man cannot properly be said to have lain in a 'half-lethargic' state, or to have changed his whole

whole nature as further opportunities and responsibilities called forth his latent talents and energies. The truth is, as Mr. Gleig says further on, that the experience of war and its requirements which he had accumulated in the Netherlands' bore fruit, as might be expected, in due course. Coming from a recent campaign in Europe, he was naturally consulted by the Government in Calcutta as to the equipment and administration of the army. He set to work again as soon as he reached India, to acquire information, not only as to the military situation, but also in regard to the political relations of the Company. Having learnt all he could in Bengal, he visited his old friend Lord Hobart, the Governor of Madras, and made himself master of the affairs of that Presidency, and, as Gurwood says, of other parts of the Carnatic' also. His published memoranda, reports, and despatches show how hard he laboured for his advancement, by studying all matters connected directly or indirectly with his profession,-geographical, financial, and even agricultural,— as well as all the details of military management and equipment. He lost no opportunity of acquiring general popularity, by entertainment or otherwise, in spite of his continually straightened means; of obtaining credit for his ability, integrity, and sound judgment; or of employing interest in high quarters. He persuaded his brother to accept, to their mutual advantage, the post of Governor-General, which had been offered to him. He writes to him, according to Mr. Gleig,* 'I strongly advise you to come out. I am convinced that you will retain your health, nay, it is possible that its general state may be improved, and you will have the fairest opportunity of rendering material services to the public, and of doing yourself credit.' And Lord Mornington arrived, accordingly, at Calcutta, on the 17th of May, 1797.

This was a critical period in the history of British India. 'Citizen' Tippoo Sahib, in communication with the French Republicans, was preparing, with 50,000 men trained by French officers, to attack Madras. Colonel Wellesley was sent there

The letter containing these sentiments occurs at vol. i. p. 17 Supplementary Despatches.' 'In a letter which I wrote to you, I believe in the month of March, I pressed you to look to the government of this country, and you may easily conceive that I am glad to find that there is so near a prospect of my wishes on that subject being accomplished. I am convinced that you will retain your health; nay, it is possible that its general state may be mended; and you will have the fairest opportunities of rendering material services to the public, and of doing yourself credit, which, exclusive of other personal considerations, should induce you to come out. I acknowledge I am a bad judge of the pain a man feels upon parting from his family. . . . . I shall be happy to be of service to you in your government; but such are the rules respecting the disposal of all patronage in this country, that I can't expect to derive any advantage from it, which I should not obtain if any other person were Governor-General.'