along the sea coast, but the proposal was negatived by Sir H. Burrard, who reached Maceira Bay on the 20th, but did not disembark until the following morning. The result of the engagement at Vimeiro was entirely in favour of the British force. The French lost 1800 killed and wounded, and thirteen guns, while the casualties on the English side did not exceed 720. General Burrard appeared on the field of battle, but did not interfere with the dispositions of his predecessor in command, except to halt one of the brigades at a most inopportune moment. By noon the fate of the day was decided, and Wellesley proposed at once to push forward with five brigades with the object of forcing Junot into the Tagus valley, while three other brigades, penetrating the defiles of Torres Vedras, might occupy Mafra and cut off the French from Lisbon. Burrard hesitated, consulted his subordinates, and decided not to move. This resolve so annoyed Wellesley that he remarked to his staff: "Gentlemen, there is nothing for us to do now but to hunt red-legged partridges." Burrard's excessive caution enabled Junot to regain, on the evening of the 21st, the position at Torres Vedras which he had previously occupied, and the next day Sir Hew Dalrymple landed and assumed the chief command. He also was in doubt whether to await

reinforcements or to order an immediate advance, when the question was settled for him by Junot, who proposed an armistice and subsequently opened negotiations for the evacuation of Portugal by the French army. General Wellesley was present as an assessor when the terms of the armistice were being discussed between the French General Kellermann and Sir Hew Dalrymple; and although he considered that the conditions acceded to by the British commander were unduly favourable to the enemy, he signed the preliminary memorandum, dated August 22nd, at the request of General Dalrymple, who regarded it as derogatory to his own dignity as a commander-in-chief to treat directly with an officer of inferior rank. The final convention was negotiated by the Quartermaster-General of the force, Colonel George Murray, and signed by him and General Kellermann on August 30th.

Writing on September 6th to the Bishop of Oporto, General Wellesley remarked: "Sir Hew Dalrymple, the present Commander-in-Chief, landed on the morning of August 22nd; and on that evening he negotiated in person with the French General Kellermann an agreement of the suspension of hostilities. I was present during the negotiation of this agreement; and, by the desire of the Commander-in-Chief,

I signed it. But I did not negotiate it, nor can I in any manner be considered responsible for its contents." A week before he had written privately to Lord Castlereagh, informing him that matters were not prospering, and that he wished to leave the army. He added: "I have been too successful with this army ever to serve with it in a subordinate situation, with satisfaction to the person who shall command it, and of course not to myself." On September 5th he again addressed Lord Castlereagh in the following terms: "It is quite impossible for me to continue any longer with this army; and I wish, therefore, that you would allow me to return home and resume the duties of my office; or, if not, that I should remain upon the staff in England; or, if that should not be practicable, that I should remain without employment." Sir Hew Dalrymple was equally disinclined to retain General Wellesley's services, and conveyed to him Lord Castlereagh's proposal that he should be sent to examine the northern provinces of Spain and report on the possibility of defending them against a French invasion. Wellesley declined this mission, pointing out to Sir Hew Dalrymple that he was not a topographical engineer, and could not pretend to describe in writing such a country as the Asturias. Sir Hew Dalrymple apparently accepted this as a valid excuse,

for he suggested that officers of the QuartermasterGeneral's department might more fittingly be employed on such a duty.

General Wellesley was eventually permitted to leave the army, and he reached London on October 6th. Before his departure the general officers who had served under him while he was directing the operations presented him with a piece of plate, of the value of a thousand guineas, as a testimony of their high esteem and respect, and of their satisfaction at having had the good fortune to serve under his command.

On Wellesley's return home a great outcry was raised against the convention of Cintra, and the public were inclined to throw the blame on him, rather than on Sir Hew Dalrymple, who was really responsible. The Government, however, recalled Sir Hew and his second in command, and assembled a court of inquiry, which arrived at no specific conclusion on the subject of the armistice and convention, merely advising that no further proceedings should be taken, and declaring that unquestionable zeal and firmness had been displayed by Generals Dalrymple, Burrard, and Wellesley. The popular indignation having by this means been pacified, the thanks of Parliament for the victory of Vimeiro were accorded to General Wellesley in January 1809.

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In the meantime the chief command of the British army in Portugal had devolved on Sir John Moore, who was feebly supported by the home authorities, and much hampered by the ill-advised interference of Mr. Frere, the British Minister at the headquarters of the provisional Spanish Government. In November 1808 Napoleon, after confirming his alliance with Russia and obtaining the Tzar's recognition of Joseph as King of Spain, proceeded to Vittoria to assume the command of the French forces in the Peninsula. there issued a proclamation to his soldiers, promising them an easy victory over the British army, and assuring them that "le hideux léopard qui souille la Péninsule de sa présence prendra honteusement la fuite à notre aspect." The French Emperor rapidly overthrew the Spanish levies, and occupied Madrid on December 4th. Here he received intelligence that Sir John Moore was advancing into the north of Spain to the relief of the capital, and at once concentrated an overwhelming force for the purpose of cutting off the British army from the Tagus and the Galician ports. Moore had reluctantly committed himself to an offensive movement in answer to the earnest appeal of the Junta and Mr. Frere, and he naturally relied on the co-operation of the Spanish troops and civil authorities. Receiving, however, no