E have ever been forward to

viving son of Gerald Earl of Morning

graphy of such eminent personages as have been distinguished by the approbation of their country, for their professional services.--The philosopher, the statesman, the poet, and the friend of human kind, whatever his avocations, have also been commemorated by us, to the utmost of our feeble ability; and we have ever deemed it a most important part of our public duty to hold up for the example of generations yet to come, such brilliant or useful subjects, as might tend to rouse them to similar exertions, in their career through life, in the prospect of equal attainments whether of fame or honour.

In order to render such notices as interesting as possible, we have usually prefixed the engraved portrait of the party, in order to gratify the inherent curiosity of almost every class of readers which constantly seeks a gratification of this nature, and to preserve to the latest times, in our voluminous collection, the faithful effigies of the most illustrious characters of our age and time.

Having been so fortunate as to procure an admirable resemblance of the subject of this brief memoir, we are happy in being able to present it to the public, and to commence our monthly labours with some account of the services of one of the most rising officers of the present day.

Sir Arthur Wellesley is the third sur

Anne, eldest daughter of Arthur, first Viscount Dungannon, of the same country.

He was born on the 1st of May, 1769, and received his early education at Eton-whence he proceeded to Angers in France, where he went through his exercises, at that celebrated military academy, of which M. Pignerole was then principal, with great and distinguished credit.

Sir Arthur's destination being the army, he entered it as a subaltern at an early age; but the country being then in a state of profound peace, he attained the rank of field-officer, without having had any opportunity of distinguishing himself. During this period, however, his time was not lost, as he applied closely to the study of his profession, as well of its theoretic as practical branches, and thus rendered himself equal to the arduous commands which subsequently fell to his lot, We may be allowed also to remark, that he never spent any part of this period in the family of a general officer, either as aide-de-camp or brigade major; and perhaps he owes to that very circumstance the strong energies of his mind, and his habits of decision in moments of the extremest difficulty.

During the first revolutionary war, Sir Arthur Wellesley served as a fieldofficer in the small army of ten thousand men, despatched from this country in aid of the Duke of York, under the

command of the Earl of Moira.-The fatal campaign of 1794 is too well known and remembered to be here dwelt upon. It gave Sir Arthur, however, the opportunity he had long sought, of displaying those military talents he must have been conscious he possessed at the head of a brigade of three battalions, he conducted its retreat under circumstances of peculiar difficulty, in such a manner as to excite the applause, and gain the approbation of his superiors.

We next find Sir Arthur Wellesley embarked on board the great fleet destined for the West Indies, commanded by Admiral Christian. The severity of the gales which this armament encountered, having forced the greater part of it to return home, the expedition itself fell to the ground, and was never again resumed on the same vast scale.

A brighter period in the life of this gallant officer now approaches. When happily for the interests of the British empire, the Marquis Wellesley, then Earl of Mornington, elder brother of Sir Arthur, was appointed governorgeneral of Bengal and its dependencies, the subject of this memoir having succeeded by purchase to the lieutenantcolonelcy of the 33d regiment of infantry, he sailed with it from Ireland: and had scarcely arrived in India, when he was put in orders for the expedition

then on foot for the reduction of Manilla, and actually embarked therewith. But the political horizon of India blackening at that moment, from the discovered hostility of Tippoo Sultaun, and the intrigues of France in concert with him, for the destruction of the British empire in Hindostan, the design was laid aside, and has never since been resumed.

When the great and comprehensive mind of the governor-general bent itself to the destruction of the tyrant of Mysore, a step become absolutely necessary from the causes above adverted to, Colonel Wellesley was attached to the Madras army, then commanded by Lieutenant-general Harris, who soon after appointed him to the command of that division of it which was assembled at Lall Pitt, preparatory to the Mysorean war, which was now upon the eve of commencing.

After the reduction of the French force in the Deccan, by one of those mas erly enterprises which distinguish the

Marquis Wellesley's Indian government above all which have ever preceded it, had released the Nizam from a species of oppression and controul he knew not how to resist: that prince cheerfully furnished a contingent force in aid of the British armies, now on full march from several points of India, to the attack of Tippoo.-His highness's army consisted of a subsidiary body of 6000 of the company's troops, about as many of his own, and a large proportion of cavalry.-As soon as it arrived at a point where it could act in conjunction with the grand army under General Harris, its separate command was given to Colonel Wellesley, under which it maintained, for the residue of the campaign, the highest reputation for discipline, bravery, and activityqualities very foreign in general to the character of the native troops of India.

On the ever memorable 4th of May, 1799, when the same blow which put an end to the life of Tippoo Sultaun terminated that dynasty of which he was the second of its princes, and gave his capital to the conquering arms of Britain- a day which, to use the ener getic language of the governor general,

raised the reputation of the British arms in India to a degree of splendour and glory unrivalled in the military history of that quarter of the globe, and seldom approached in any part of the world" Colonel Wellesley commanded the reserve at the assault of the fort of Seringapatam, and was thanked in public orders by General Harris, for his gallant conduct in that severe and trying affair.

In order for the arrangement of the division of the territories of the late Tippoo Sultaun, the governor-general. deeming it expedient to establish a commission for the purpose of the settlement of Mysore, Colonel Wellesley was named, in conjunction with Gene.. ral Harris, the Hon. Henry Wellesley, and Lieutenant-colonels Kilpatrick and Close, to this important duty; a task which they seem to have performed with a spirit of zeal, activity, and justness of decision never surpassed, under circumstances equally intricate and arduous.. He was also one of the military commission appointed by General Harris for the distribution of the prize treasure taken at Seringapatam. Those appointmeuts serve to shew the high considera tion in which this young officer was held

But a far more important and delicate appointment now awaited him. It having been judged proper that Seringapalam and its fortress should become united to the British territory, immcdiately on its reduction, Colonel Wellesley was appointed governor of the city; a trust which, in that instant of time, required a person of approved military talents and integrity, and the utmost vigilance and care.

It would far exceed our limits to point out here in detail the difficulties of such a task. Let it, however, be remembered, that seringapatam had been the capital of the most powerful and bitterest enemy the English interests ever encountered in India; that it contained a vast population, all inimical, to the last degree, to the nation and persons of the conquerors; in a state of entire misrule and insubordination, and ready to manifest their dislike to any measure proposed by their new masters, by the most violent acts of contumacy and rebeilion, wherever the opportunity presented itself. Notwithstanding, however, the magnitude of these obstacles, and great they must be allowed to be, Colonel Wellesley found the means not only to overcome them during the period of his command, but, to a degree rarely known, conciliate the affections and attach to his person the whole of the inhabitants: no easy task, when it is considered that this population was a mixed one of Hindus and Maho

metans, the natural enemies of each

other,

To account for this in some measure, it must be stated, that the care of, and attention due to the family of the deceased sultaun, fell particularly within the Ime of his duty, as also their removal from the capital of their father and grandfather, to the residence appointed for them by the Governor General. It was equally his province to raise from the humiliating condition in which the tyrannous policy of Hyder and Tippoo had placed him, to one of dignity and empire, the infant descendant of the ancient Hindoo sovereigns of Mysore-functions" which could not "be intrusted" (to use the words of the commission) to any person more "likely to combine every office of hu"manity with the prudential precautions required by the occasion." in effect, his conduct upon these trying points was so well regulated, so strongly

64

marked by forbearance and integrity, so temperate, and yet so firm and decisive, that he gained the universal suffrage of every party concerned, and at the period of the termination of those duties was publicly thanked by the Governor General in Council for their very meritorious discharge. It must also be mentioned, that whilst in this important command, he applied himself most particularly to the improvement of Serinzapatam, as well in its external appearance as in its police, in both of which points he was eminently successful. (To be continued.)

It is with great regret that we find ourselves under the necessity of postponing the conclusion of this Mr

MOIR till our next number. The sudden indisposition of the gentlemen who writes the article must be our apology for such a deviation from our usual practice.

LITERARY GLEANINGS.

No. I.

Intended to constitute a Repository of authentic Letters, and other MSS. by Persons of distinguished Talents and Virtue with occasional Biogra phical Sketches and Notes.

we hope acceptable effort

E have commenced this new,

to inform and entertain our readers, by presenting them with two original letters of Sir William Dugdale. It is our intention thus to offer occasion

ally to them the unpublished epistolary relics of eminent characters; and, without remarking on the subjects or merits of such letters, except when it may be in our power to clear up any obscurity, or to correct any error, to subjoin to them some brief biographi cal notices of the respective writers.

Sir William Dugdale, perhaps altogether the first antiquarian, and certainly the first topographer of his time, was the only son of John Dugdale, of Shustoke, near Coleshill, in Warwickshire, a gentleman descended from an ancient family, by Elizabeth, daughter of Arthur Swynfer, of a junior line of the Swynfens, of Swynten in Staffordshure; he was born the 12th of Septem

ber, 1605, and received from a clergy

an in his father's neighbourhood, and afterwards in the free-school at Coventry, that education which, coupled with his natural talents, so well qualified him for the line of his future pursuits; his marriage, at an uncommonly early age, especially in that time, probably prevented his studying at one of the universities; for, on the 17th of March, 1622-3, he took to wife Margery, second daughter of John Huntbaco, of Seawall, in the parish of Binbury in Staffordshire. In the folTowing year his father died, and, by the sale of the family estates, he enabled himself to purchase the manor of Blythe bail in Shustoke, which is still the property and residence of his descendants.

Being now at fall liberty to pursue the bent of his inclinations, his mind embraced with cagerness the study of history and antiquities, and he became anxious to cultivate the intimacy of men of congenial taste. William Burton, the Leicestershire antiquary, suggested to him the first idea of his History of Warwickshire, perhaps the most perfect topographical work that the world has seen, and introduced him to all the leading men in that county. With one of them, Sir William Archer, of Tamworth, a great encourager of the studies which Dugdale loved, he came to London in 1688, where he became acquainted with Sir Houry Spelman, and Sir Christopher Hation, who jointly recommended him to Thomas, the celebrated earl of Arundel, then carl marshall of England, from whom, on the 24th of September in that year he' received the probationary appointment of blanch yon pursuivant extraordinary; and in the following year was enrolled among the regular members of the college of arms, by obtain ing the king's patent for the place of rouge croix pursuivant; he passed from that situation through the oflices of Chester herald (1614), and norroy (1660), to that of garter principal king of arms, in which he succeeded Sir Edward Walker, knight; and, on the 26th of April, 1677, received his patent, and on the following day the honour of knighthood. He discharged the several duties and occupations of his public offices with an accuracy and assiduity really surprising, if we consider the great extent of his literary labours, and the portion of time which they must

have consumed. From 1641 to 1647, he was chiefly with the royal army in his official capacity, and was the last herald so employed. During his frequeut and long residences in that time at Oxford, which was garrisoned for the king, he made extensive collections for his various works; and, upon its surrender to the rebel army, was allowed to compound for his sequestrated estate, by the payment of 1681.

The downfal of the royal cause which immediately followed, afforded bim perfect leisure for his literary projects, and probably added a motive of prudence to that impulse of inclination which had originally led him to form and to pursue them. He remained for many months at Oxford, busily employed in collecting and arranging, in Concert with Roger Dodsworth, the laborious and accurate Yorkshire antiquary, the voluminous materials which they found there for the Monasticon. Dugdale's enemies, and his merits created him many, have given the main credit of that great work to Dodsworth. In the second of the following letters, Dugdale speaks of it as his own to a man whom he could not have deceived on such a subject; and so it was: Dodsworth perhaps was the main labourer in digging out the ore, but Dugdale was the master miner; selected with infinite judgment the riches of the mass, and cleansed and purified them. Even while he was employed on the Monasticon, he was preparing his excellent History of Warwickshire; and while he was attending in London to superintend the printing of it, collected the matter for his History of St. Paul's Cathedral. The Monasticon, a work of great expence, was published, the first volume in 1655, the second in 1661, and the third not till 1673; the History of Warwickshire in 1656, and the History of St. Paul's in 1658.

In 1662 he printed "A History of Embanking and Draining Fens and Marshes;" he was induced to this by the request of the Lord Gorges, Sir John Marsham, and others who were then engaged in the prosecution of a great scheme of that sort in some of the midland counties; and he probably received from them a pecuniary compensation for his assistance. The masterly manner in which he executed that work, so abstract in its nature, and so foreign from the character of his usual

studies, bespeaks a versatility of genius (for so we must call it) and a quickness of apprehension, which would alone raise Dugdale's literary character far above that of a mere antiquary. He published nearly at the same period, at the request of the Lord Chancellor Clarendon, and Sheldon, then Bishop of London, the second part of Sir Henry Spelman's Glossary; and in 1666, " Origines Juridiciales." a most useful book of reference, exhibiting a chronological catalogue of all officers of the courts of law, from chancellors to serjeants at law inclusive, from the earliest period of such intelligence, down to his own time.

These various works, however, may be considered but as affording him occasional relaxation from a severer task, which equally suited his powers, his inclinations, and his professional habits, "The Baronage of England," which appeared in 1675 and 1676. This venerable book, whether we consider the labour of collecting its materials, the perspicuity with which those materials are arranged, or the degree of accuracy which distinguishes a collection that the perfection of hunan assiduity could not have rendered completely accurate, may be esteemed an admirable performance; its defects have been censured by a few snarling hypercritics, whose names are nearly forgotten, and have been for the greater part corrected by the sober and candid peas of impartial judges. His collections for this great work, together with those for his History of Warwickshire, amounting together to twentyseven olumes in folio, all written by his own band, he gave by his will to the University of Oxford, where they remain in the Ashmolean museum.

from public records. From this labofious and most curious collection sevcral persons have received the first bint of a right to the peerage, by desceut from beirs female, which might otherwise have remained for ever unknown to them and their posterity, and have subsequently challenged and obtained the dignities which they now hold.

He survived the date of this publication but for a few months-worn out by age, and continual application to study, he died in his chair, almost without illness, at his house of Blythe Hall, February 10, 1685, and was bu ried in a stone coffin, in the parish church of Shustoke, under a moudment, with a short and very modest inscription in Latin, written by himself.

Sir William Dugdale had many children of both sexes, but of his sous only one survived him; John, who died in 1700, holding the office of norroy king of arms, and having received the honour of knighthood from James 11. Joba, the grandson of that sir Johu, died in 1753, without issue, and the estates of Blythe Hall, &c. in Warwickshire, went to the issue of his sister June, wife of a Mr. Geast, of Handsworth, in Staffordshire, and they have since assumed the surname of Dugdale. Of Sir William Lugdals nine daughters, Elizabeth, the second, became the wife of Elias Ashmole, the founder of the museum which bears his name, a man of literary merit, as a genealogist and antiquary, and of a singular, not to say eccentric character.

HONOURED SIR,

I was not unmindfull of you in what I did conclove might auswere your desires, which I hope you are satisfyed in upon the order in goinge to Bulloine, which I sent you.

mandy, which upon you coming hither (having seen & liked the same) may be suddinly transcribed for you (sir Chr. Hatton doth in all respective sort desire to be remembered to you & is in hope towards the end of this weeke to see you at Kirby, & expects the young man to come with you whom you men➜ tionned to Mr. Freeman, that shall be enterlyned to your content) he hath