at present offer him!"-Colonel Pack answered, "We are British soldiers, sir, and not plunderers." Mackay had his reward by sir Arthur Wellesley's express desire, he was immediately made a serjeant; and the Highland society, at their next meeting, voted that a gold medal, with a suitable device and inscription, should be presented him, as a mark of the sense which they entertained of his meritorious conduct. The society rewarded at the same time the behaviour of another countryman, who distinguished himself as honorably at the battle of Vimiera. His name was Stewart, he was piper to the grenadier company of the same regiment with Mackay. Early in the action he received a dangerous wound in the thigh thus rendered unable to accompany his regiment, he would not be carried off the field, but, sitting down where his comrades might hear him, he placed his pipes under his arm, and continued playing warlike airs till the end of the engagement. A handsome stand of Highland pipes, with an inscription commemorating the manner in which he had deserved the donation, was voted him by his country's society.

Most of the wounded French who fell into the conqueror's hands were young men, and of delicate appearance; apparently men whose lot would not have fallen in the army, under any other system than that of the conscription, though, having been forced into it, they had acquired the worst vices which have ever disgraced and degraded the profession of arms. They were dressed in long white linen coats and trowsers, their firelocks were about six inches longer in the barrel than ours, their bayonets about three shorter, the locks of their pieces much better finished, and the pans so constructed that the powder is not liable to fall out, an accident which often happens to ours. Mr. Ormsby, the chaplain on the staff of the British army, as he was endeavoring to render assistance to some of them, while under the surgeon's hands, addressed himself to one in the language of commiseration, and uttered at the same time, a natural

expression of regret at the horrors of war. The maimed tiger answered him, with a mixture of pride and indignation, that he gloried in his wounds, and that war was the greatest happiness of life. During the whole day the armed peasantry were prowling about the field, taking vengeance upon every wounded or straggling Frenchman whom they could find, for the manifold wrongs of their country, and the aggravated injuries which they had endured. So conscious indeed were the prisoners of the little mercy which they deserved at their hands, that they dreaded lest they should break in upon them, and massacre them all, and a guard was sta tioned to protect them. The peasantry, however, passed the night in the field, carousing round a large fire, recounting to each other what they had done, and rejoicing over the work of the preceding day. The total loss of the enemy in the action, was about 3000 in killed and wounded, 13 pieces of artillery and 23 ammunition waggons: that of the English, 720. The French were superior both in cavalry and artillery; and the admission of sir Arthur Wellesley that the whole of their force was employed, while not more than half the British army was engaged, implies that the superiority of skill was on their side also. Nevertheless the victory was decisive; and, had it been duly followed up, the most splendid and important consequences must have resulted.

Sir Harry Burrard had joined the army on the morning of the battle, after the dispositions were made, but before the action was begun -with a feeling of delicacy. towards sir Arthur, honorable to himself, he declined assuming the command till that general should have completed an operation so well begun. About the close of the action, however, sir Arthur came up to him, and proposed to pursue the enemy. They had held a conference the preceding night, on shipboard, and sir Harry had then resolved to wait for the expected reinforcements before he had advanced, in consideration of the strength of the enemy, his power of better equipment than the English possessed, his great

superiority of cavalry, the almost total want of it in the British army, the reinforcements which he could draw with ease and safety from his head-quarters, and the impossibility of advancing into the country at a distance from the victuallers. The victory which he witnessed had no effect on his preconcerted plan; he replied, that he saw no reason for altering his former resolution of not advancing, and that the same reasonings which before determined to wait for the reinforcements, had still their full force in his judgment and opinion. At this moment the enemy were retiring, evidently in great disorder, and most completely disheartened by their defeat. Sir Arthur did not press his opinion; though his reputation, his past victories, his present success, his duty to his country, would have justified him in pressing it with ardor. The present opportunity was lost; but sir Arthur was destined to redeem, by more splendid and successful efforts, the error he had committed.

On the following day sir Hew Dalrymple arrived to supersede sir Harry Burrard, so that the British army had three commanders-in-chief within twenty-four hours. He landed, according to his own account, entirely unacquainted with the actual state of the French army, and with the localities of the country in which he had engaged to serve. A few hours after his arrival, general Kellerman appeared with a flag of truce from Junot, in order to propose a cessation of hostilities, during which a convention might be concluded for the evacuation of Portugal by the French. The proposal of an armistice was agreed to, and subsequently terminated in a disgraceful and scandalous convention. An obscure article in the armistice concerning the Russian fleet, was received by sir Charles Cotton with decided disapprobation; yet he consented to terms scarcely less humiliating and injurious than those which he had condemned. He agreed to regard the Russian ships moored in the Tagus, as a deposit, to be restored to the emperor after the conclusion of a peace between Russia

and Great Britain; and that the admiral, with all the officers, seamen, and marines, should be conveyed to men of war, or proper vessels, at the expense of his Britannic majesty, without any condition or stipulation respecting his future services.

Definitive convention for the evacuation of Portugal by the French army.

The generals commanding in chief the British and French armies in Portugal, having determined to negotiate and conclude a treaty for the evacuation of Portugal by the French troops, on the basis of the agreement entered into on the 22nd instant, for a suspension of hostilities, have appointed the undermentioned officers to negotiate the same in their names, viz.— On the part of the general-in-chief of the British army, lieutenant-colonel Murray, quarter-master-general; and on the part of the general-in-chief of the French army, M. Kellerman, general of division; to whom they have given authority to negotiate and conclude a convention to that effect, subject to their ratification respectively, and to that of the admiral commanding the British fleet at the entrance of the Tagus. Those two officers, after exchanging their full powers, have agreed upon the articles which follow :-Article I. All the places and forts in the kingdom of Portugal occupied by the French troops shall be delivered up to the British army in the state in which they are at the period of the signature of the present convention.-Article II. The French troops shall evacuate Portugal with their arms and baggage; they shall not be considered as prisoners of war, and on their arrival in France, they shall be at liberty to serve.Article III. The English government shall furnish the means of conveyance for the French army, which shall be disembarked in any of the ports of France between Rochefort and L'Orient inclusively.Article IV. The French army shall carry with it all its artillery of French calibre, with the horses belonging to it, and the tumbrils supplied with sixty rounds per gun. All other artillery,' arms, and

ammunition, as also the military and naval arsenals, shall be given up to the British army and navy, in the state in which they may be at the period of the ratification of the convention.-Article V. The French army shall carry with it all its equipments, and all that is comprehended under the name of property of the army; that is to say, its military chest, and carriages attached to the field commissariat and field hospitals; or shall be allowed to dispose of such part of the same on its account as the commander-in-chief may judge it unnecessary to embark. In like manner, all individuals of the army shall be at liberty to dispose of their private property of every description, with full security hereafter for the purchasers.-Article VI. The cavalry are to embark their horses, as also the generals and other officers of all ranks. It is, however, fully understood, that the means of conveyance for horses at the disposal of the British commanders are very limited; some additional conveyance may be procured in the port of Lisbon; the number of horses to be embarked by the troops shall not exceed 600; and the number embarked by the staff shall not exceed 200. At all events, every facility will be given to the French army to dispose of the horses belonging to it which cannot be embarked.-Article VII. In order to facilitate the embarkation, it shall take place in three divisions, the last of which will be principally composed of the garrisons of the places, the cavalry, the artillery, the sick, and the equipment of the army. The first division shall embark within seven days of the date of the ratification, or sooner, if possible.-Article VIII. The garrisons of Elvas, and its forts, and of Peniche and Palmela, will be embarked at Lisbon; that of Almeida at Oporto, or the nearest harbor They will be accompanied on their march by British commissaries charged with providing for their subsistence and accommodation.-Article IX. All the sick and wounded who cannot be embarked with the troops are intrusted to the British army. They are to be taken

care of whilst they remain in this country, at the expense of the British government, under the condition of the same being reimbursed by France when the final evacuation is effected. The English government will provide for their return to France, which shall take place by detachments of about 150 or 200 men at a time. A sufficient number of French medical officers shall be left behind to attend them.-Article X. As soon as the vessels employed to carry the army to France shall have disembarked in the harbors specified, or in any other of the ports of France to which stress of weather may force them, every facility shall be given them to return to England without delay, and security against capture until their arrival in a friendly port.---Article XI. The French army shall be concentrated in Lisbon, and within a distance of about two leagues from it. The English army will approach within three leagues of the capital, and be so placed as to leave about one league between the two armies.

Article XII. The forts of St. Julien, the Bugio, and Cascais, shall be occupied by the British troops on the ratification of the convention. Lisbon and its citadei, together with the forts and batteries, as far as the Lazaretto or Trafuria on one side, and fort St. Joseph on the other, inclusively, shall be given up on the embarkation of the second division, as shall also the harbor, and all armed vessels in it of every description, with their rigging, sails, stores, and ammunition. The for: tresses of Elvas, Almeida, Peniche, and Palmela, shall be given up as soon as the British troops can arrive to occupy them. In the mean time the general-in chief of the British army will give notice of the present convention to the garrisons of those places, as also to the troops before them, in order to put a stop to all further hostilities.-Article XIII. Commissaries shall be named on both sides, to regulate and accelerate the execution of the arrangements agreed upon.-Article XIV. Should there arise doubts as to the meaning of any article, it will be explained favorably to the French army.-Article

XV. From the date of the ratification of the present convention, all arrears of contributions, requisitions, or claims whatever, of the French government, against subjects of Portugal, or any other individuals residing in this country, founded on the occupation of Portugal by the French troops in December 1807, which may not have been paid up, are cancelled; and all sequestrations laid upon their property, moveable or immoveable, are removed, and the free disposal of the same is restored to the proper owners.-Article XVI. All subjects of France, or of powers in friendship or alliance with France, domiciliated in Portugal, or accidentally in this country, shall be protected: their property of every kind, moveable and immoveable, shall be respected; and they shall be at liberty either to accompany the French army, or to remain in Portugal. In either case their property is guaranteed to them, with the liberty of retaining or of disposing of it, and passing the produce of the sale thereof into France, or any other country where they may fix their residence, the space of one year being allowed them for that purpose. It is fully understood that shipping is excepted from this arrangement, only, however, in so far as regards leaving the port; and that none of the stipulations above-mentioned can be made the pretext of any commercial speculation.-Article XVII. No native of Portugal shall be rendered accountable for his political conduct during the period of the occupation of this country by the French army; and all those who have continued in the exercise of their employments, or have accepted situations under the French government, are placed under the protection of the British commanders; they shall sustain no injury in their persons or property, it not having been at their option to be obedient or not to the French government; they are also at liberty to avail themselves of the stipulations of the 16th article.-Article XVIII. The Spanish troops detained on board ship in the port of Lisbon shall be given up to the commander-in-chief of the British army, who engages to obtain of the VOL. II.

Spaniards to restore such French subjects, either military or civil, as may have been detained in Spain without being taken in battle, or in consequence of military operations, but on occasion of the occurrences of the 29th of last May, and the days immediately following.-Article XIX. There shall be an immediate exchange established for all ranks of prisoners made in Portugal, since the commencement of the present hostilities.-Article XX. Hostages of the rank of field-officers shall be mutually furnished on the part of the British army and navy, and on that of the French army, for the reciprocal guarantee of the present convention. The officers of the British army shall be restored on the completion of the articles which concern the army; and the officers of the navy on the disembarkation of the French troops in their own country. The like is to take place on the part of the French army.-Article XXI. It shall be allowed to the general-in-chief of the French army to send an officer to France with intelligence of the present convention. A vessel will be furnished by the British admiral to convey him to Bourdeaux or Rochefort.

Article XXII. The British admiral will be invited to accommodate his excellency the commander-in-chief, and the other principal officers of the French army, on board ships of war.

Done and concluded at Lisbon this 30th day of August, 1808.

(Signed)

GEORGE MURRAY, quarter-master-general KELLERMAN, le gén. de division.

Nous duc d'Abrantes; général en chef de l'armée Française; avons ratifié et ratifions la présente convention définitive dans tous ses articles, pour être exécutée selon sa forme et teneur..

(Signed) LE DUC D'ABRANTES.

An quartier général de Lisbonne, le 30 Aout, 1808.

Additional articles to the convention of the 30th of August, 1808.

Article I. The individuals in the civil

employment of the army made prisoners, either by the British troops, or by the Portuguese in any part of Portugal, will be restored, as is customary, without exchange.-Article II. The French army shall be subsisted from its own magazines up to the day of embarkation; the garrisons up to the day of the evacuation of the fortresses.-The remainder of the magazines shall be delivered over in the usual form to the British government, which charges itself with the subsistence of the men and horses of the army from the abovementioned periods till their arrival in France, under the condition of their being reimbursed by the French government for the excess of the expenses beyond the estimation, to be made by both parties, of the value of the magazines delivered up to the British army. The provisions on board the ships of war, in possession of the French army, will be taken on account by the British government, in like manner with the magazines in the fortresses.-Article III. The general commanding the British troops will take the necessary measures for re-establishing the free circulation of the means of subsistence between the country and the capital.

Done and concluded at Lisbon this 30th day of August, 1808.

(Signed)

GEORGE MURRAY, quarter-master-general. KELLERMAN, le gén. de division.

Nous duc d'Abrantes, général en chef de l'armée Française, avons ratifié et ratifions les articles additionels à la convention et contre, pour être exécutés suivant leur forme et teneur.

LE DUC D'ABRANTES.

A. J. DALRYMPLE, cap. milit. sec.

Such were the terms of a convention, as favorable to France as disgraceful to England and injurious to our allies. At the very moment when this important document was signed, the English people were exulting in the prospect of splendid and decisive success. Sir Arthur Wellesley's account of the battle had reached England a fortnight before the convention

arrived, and when the nation was assured, in the words of sir Arthur, that "the whole of the French forces in Portugal, commanded by the duke of Abrantes in person, had sustained a signal defeat ;" there prevailed an universal expectation that this event would be followed up with other victories, and ultimately lead to some permanent advantage. These prepossessions were confirmed when, on the arrival of the next despatches from the army, the report of the park and tower guns was heard at an unusual hour of the night. The surprise and chagrin of the people were therefore extreme, when they learned that this demonstration of rejoicing related to one of the most injurious and dishonorable conventions that had disgraced the annals of English history. The throne was besieged with petitions from all parts of the kingdom, calling for inquiry into the transaction; but the ministry, regardless of the popular opinion, replied to the petition of the city of London, " that for the institution of an inquiry there was no need of their interference." A board was at length reluctantly appointed to investigate whether the generals had done ill; not to try them for having done so. Sir David Dundas was elected president; the earl of Moira, general Craig, lord Heathfield, the earl of Pembroke, sir George Nugent, and lieutenant-general Nicolls, were the other members. It appeared on this inquiry, that the English generals were afraid of their fleet, riding off an open beach, and doubted whether reinforcements and provisions could be landed; that they were ill supplied with artillery, and that the horses which they had received from the Irish commissariat were cast off cavalry; old, lame, and blind, many of them actually dying of age. The opinion of the board was to the following purport: that they could not pronounce with confidence whether the victory of Vimiera ought to have been pursued or not; that the suc cessive arrival of three commanders must have materially embarrassed the operations of the army; that they did not conceive any further military proceeding to be ne cessary, and that the generals had displayed