Star.
London, England, 1809-01-14 00:00:00

SIR ARTHUR WELLESLET'S NARRATIVE.

GENERAL SIR DAVID DUNDAS,
AND
MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,
Having received Ibe directions of the Judge Ad-
vocate General to attend you here this day, with as
much detailed information, in writing, as I may think
proper to offer, of my proceedings, from the time I
sailed with the troops from Ireland, to the time I
gave up the command to Lieutenant General Sir
Harry Burrard, I have now the honour to submit to
the Court of Inquiry copies of my dispatches to the
Secretary of State, detailing my proceedings.
As these. proceedings are fully detailed in the dis-
patches, which likewise contain an account of my
motives for my actions at the moment I carried them
into execution, I should be satisfied if the Court were
to form an opinion upon a consideration of their con-
tents : out as the Court have expressed a desire, at the
same time, to have a narrative of my proceedings, I
have dawn one out principally from the dispatches.
I sailed from Cork in the Donegal on the 12th of
July ; I went on board the Crocodile on the 13th,
and sailed to Corunna, where I arrived on the 20th
of July. I there found that the French had, on the
14th, defeated the army of Castile and Gallicia under
Generals Cuesta and Blake ; but having sounded the
Junta of Gallicia respecting their wish to have the
assistance of the army under my command, in the
existing crisis of their affairs, they declared explicitly
that they did not want the assistance of troops, but
eventually arms and ammunition, and money imme-
diately.
A sum of 200,0001. for their use had arrived on the
20th, and their requisition for arms and ammunition
was sent home immediately. The Junta of Gallicia,
at the same time, expressed the greatest anxiety that
the troops under my command should be employed
in driving the French out of Portugal, as they were
persuaded that the Spaniards of the north and the
south of the peninsula would never have any decided
success independently of each other ; and could ne-
ver make any great simultaneous effort to remove the
French from Spain, till they should be driven from
Portugal, and the British troops in that kingdom
should connect the operations of the northern and the
southern Spanish armies. The Junta of Gallicia at
the same time strongly recommended to me to land
in the north of Portugal, in order that I might bring
forward, and avail myself of, the Portuguese troops
which the Government of Oporto were collecting in
the neighbourhood of that city.
I have to observe to the Court, that they will not
see, in my dispatches to the Secretary of State from
Corunna, the detail of the wishes and sentiments of 1
the Junta on my plan of operations, because they did
not come regularly within the scope of a military dis-
patch ; but the subject is mentioned in my dispatch
to General Spencer of the 2Gth of Jnly.
I sailed from Corunna on the 22d, and joined the
fleet off Cape Finisterre next day, and quitted it again
at night ; and went to Oporto, in order to hold a
conference with the Bishop and the General Officers
in the command of the Portuguese tron7s. On my
arrival at Oporto on the 24th, I received a letter from
the Admiral Sir Charles Cotton, in which he recom-
mended to me to leave the troops either at Oporto, or
at the mouth of the Mondego river, and to proceed
to Lisbon in a frigate, to communicate with him be-
fore I should determine upon the plan of operations
and the landing place.
The result of the conference which I had on the
night of the 24th with the Bishop and the General
Officers of the Portuguese army, was an agreement,'
that about five thousand Portuguese troops'should be
sent forward to co-operate with me against the enemy;
that the remainder of the Portuguese troops, amount-
ing to about fifteen hundred, and a Spanish corps of
about fifteen hundred men, then on it; march from
-Gallicia, and another small Spanish corps of about
three hundred men, and all the Portuguese armed
peasantry, should remain in the neighbourhood of
Oporto, and in the province of Tralos Montes :—a
part to be employed in the blockade of Almeida, and
a part in the defence of the province of Tralos Mon-
tes, which province was supposed to be threatened by
an attack from the French corps under Marshal Bes-
sieres, since the defeat of the Spanish armies under
Blake and Cuesta at Rio Seco, on the 14th of July.
The Bishop of Oporto likewise promised to supply
the army under my command with mules and other
means of carriage, and with slaughter cattle.
I sailed from Oporto on the morning of the 25th,
and joined the fleet, and settled with Captain Mal.
colm that it should go to Mondego Bay ; and I left
it again that night, and went to the mouth of the
Tagus to confer with the Admiral. I joined him on
• the evening of the 26th, and 1 there received letters
from General Spencer, at Port St. Mary's, in which
he informed me, that he had landed his corps in An-
dalusia, at the request of the .lunta of Seville, and he
did not think it proper to embark it again till he
should receive further orders from me ; and he ap-
peared to think that my presence in Andalusia, and
the assistance of the troops under my command, were
nocessary to enable General Castanos to defeat Gen.
Du Pont.
As I was of opinion that the most essential object,
for the Spaniards, as well as for es, was to drive the
French out of PortT.ol, anu that neither his corps nor
mine were siiTeltntly :,trong when separate to he of
much service any where, and that when joined they
might effect tit:: object which ln:d been deemed of
most importance in England and in Gallicia, I im-
mediately dispatched orders to General Spencer to
embark his troops, unless he should be actually en-
gaged in an operation ,A.hich he could not relinquish
without loss to the Spaniards, and to joia me off the
coast of Portugal.
The result of the information which I received
from General Spencer, of the strength of the French
army in Portugal, was, that they consisted of more
than twenty thousand men. The accounts of their
numbers which I had received from the Admiral, and
had received from the Portuguese, did not make
their force so large ; but upon the whole I wac, in-
duced to believe that they had not less than from
16 to 18,000 men. Of this number they had from
600 to 800 in the fort of Almeida, 600 or 800 in El-
vas, 8(10 in Veniche, 16 or 1800 in Setuval, and the
remainder were considered about 14,000 men, dis-
palable for the- defence of Lisbon and the forts on the
Tagus. The whole of this disposable force was at
tttis time in the heighbr

On the Bth, Y wrote a letter to Sir Harry Burrard,
which I left with Captain Malcolm of the Donegal,
to be delivered to him upon his arrival at the Monde.
go, detailing all the circumstances of our situation,
and recommending for his consideration a plan of
operation* for the corps under the command of Sir
John Moore. The Court will find the copy of this
letter enclosed in my dispatchto Lord Castlereagh of
the Bth of August.
The advanced guard marched on the 9th, support-
ed by the brigades under General Hill and General
Ferguson, as I had heard that General La Borde
had collected his own corps, and General Thomiere's,
consisting of from 5 to 6000 men, in the neighbour-
hood of Leyria, which place he threatened, as it
contained a magazine formed for the use of the Por-
tuguese army. On the 10th the main body followed,
and the advanced guard arrived at Leyria on the
10th, and the main body on the 11th. -
I received, a letter from Mr. Stuart and Colonel
Doyle, at Cotuira ol the 10th, detailing the ineffi-
cient state of the Gallician army under General Blake,
that that General had separated his troops, which con-
sisted of infantry, from the cavalry under General
Cuesta, and that neither were in a condition to act
offensively against Bessieres, or even to follow that
General, if he should march into Portugal, or to at-
tack him if he should make any considerable detach-
meat to that quarter. At the same time I received
intelligence of the retreat of Joseph Bonaparte from
Mardrid on the 20th July ; and I concluded that
Bessieres, instead of moving out, or detaching to-
-1 wards Portugal, would cover the retreat of Joseph
Bonaparte towards the French frontier.- Whether ;1e
did' so or not, it was obvious to me that I should have
time for my operations against Junot, before Bessieres
could arrive in Portugal- to interrupt them ; and it
was probable that General Acland's corps or Sir John
Moore's would arrive and land in Portugal before
Bessieres could come from the north of Spain.
Adverting therefore to the advanced state of the
season, the necessity of communicating with the sea-
coast, and the certainty that that communication
would be nearly impracticable after the month of Au-i
gust, and to the still dispersed state of the French'
forces in Portugal, I consi.Jered it to be important to
endeavour to perform those operations to which the
army was equal, and for which it was fully equip-
ped, without loss of time.
I communicated, however, the intelligence I had
received from Mr. Stuart, and my opinion upon it,
to Sir Harry Burrard, in a letter which I addressed
to him on the 10th of August ; a copy of which, and
of a private letter to Sir Harry Burrard, the Court
will find in my dispatch to the Secretary of State of
the 18th of August.
The Portuguese army, consisting of about 6000
men, including 500 cavalry, arrived at Leyria on
the 12th, where the whole force was then assembled.
The French General Loison, who I have informed
the Court, had been detached across the Tagus into
Alentejo on the 26th or '27th of July, with between
5 and 6000 men, had withdrawn the greatest part off
the garrison of St. Übes, consisting of-1600 men, by
which he had been joined, and he had immediately
marched towards Evera, where he had defeated and
dispersed a' Spanish detachment, consisting of 1000
men, and the force of the insurrection of Alentejo,
collected in that town ; he then marched to Elvas, re-
victualled that place, suppressed the insurrection, and
re-established the French authority in Alentejo, and
made arrangements for the purchase and collection
of the grain of that province.
He crossed the Tagus again at Abrantes, and
marching down that river, he arrived at Thornar,l
about 16 miles to the S.E. from Leyria, on the even-
ing of the 11th, on which day the British army arrived)
at Leyria.
The corps under La Borde was, at the same time,
at Alcobaca, about 16 miles from Leyria to the
S.W. and the object of the French officers had evi-
dently been to join at Leyria before the British troops
could arrive there.
This town is on the high road from Lisbon to the
north of Portugal, to the eastward of which, and
nearly parallel to the road, there is a chain of high
mountains which runs from Leyria nearly to the
Tagus ; over which chain there is no good passage
for carriages. In consequence of the early arrival,
therefore, of the British troops at Leyria, General
Loison was obliged to return to the southward before
he could effect his junction with General La Borde,
who was thus exposedito be attacked when alone ; and
was attacked on the 17th of August.
The Court will find in my dispatch to the Secre-
tary of State of the 16th of August, from Caldas, an
outline of the operations of Loison's corps, of which
what I have here stated is a more detailed account.
AU the arrangements for the march having been
made and communicated to the Portuguese officers,
the army marched on the 13th, in two columns, to
Calveria, and on the 14th, in two columns, to Alco-
baca, from whence General La Borde had retreated
in the course of the preceding night. The Portuguese
troops had not marched from Leyria, as bad been ar-
ranged, and as I had expected, under the pretence
that they had no provisions ; and I received, on the
13th, in the evening, a letter from Colonel Trant,
who was employed by me to communicate with the
Portuguese General, in which he informed me of the
General's intention to halt at Leyria, unless I should
consent to supply the Portugese troops with provilions
from the British commissariat,. on the march to Lis-
ton. He also explained a plan of operations which
General Freire proposed to carry into execution, by
which he would have been left without any commu-
nication with the British army, exposed to be attack.'
ed by the French army if they should choose to aban-
don the defence of Lisbon and the Tagus, and pro-
ceed to the northward and eastward ; or even if they
should be compelled to retire after an action wick the
British troops.
In my reply to this communication, 1 pointed out
the impossibility of my complying with the demand
for provisions, and the danger which would result
from the adoption of the plan of operations proposed
for the Portuguese corps.
I urged the Portuguese General in the most earnest
terms to co-operate with me in the deliverance of his
countryfrom the French, if he had any regard to his
own honour, to the honour of h's country, or of his
Prince ; and I pointed out to him the resources of
which he could avail himself to feed the army. I
then proposed to him, that if he should not march,
with his whole corps, he should send to join me one
thousand regular Wappy, all his light troops and his

cavalry, 'which troops I engaged to feed, as the utnius:
I could undertake to perform in that way.
These troops, in number 1000 regular infantry,
400 light troops, and 250 cavalry, joined me "A;.
cobata, on the evening of the 14th, with Colorv,;
Trant, and remained with me during the rem ainde:
of the operations.
. The main body of the Portuguese corps, instead uE
carrying into execution the plan of operations which
I had originally proposed, or that which General
Freire had substituted, adopted the measure of safety
which I had recommended in the event of his de.

termination not to join me, and remained at Leyria,
and afterwards at Caldas and Obidos, till the 22d of

August.
On the arrival of the army at Alcobaoa, I lime.
diatel; opened a communication with Captain Bligh
of the Alfred, who had been for two days waiting
with the fleet of victuallers and store-ships off Naza-
reth, and a supply of bread and oats was immedi.
ately landed ; and I appointed Peniche, which place I
intended to reconnoitre, as our next point of comma.

nication.

The army marched on the 15th, in two columnt,
to Caldas, where it halted the 16th, to allow the

Commissariat to come up and receive the supplies
which had been landed at Nazareth. On the 15th,
in the evening, there was a skirmish between the
troops of the advanced guard of La Borde's corps
and our riflemen, in which the latter sustained some

loss. But we kept possession of the post at Obidos,
which commands the valley of Caldas.
The details of this affair are published in the Ga.
zette, as are those of the action of the 17th.

Throughout that day we had reason to believe that
General Loison, who had moved from Rio Major on
the- evening of the IGth, would be found on La
Borde's right, and the disposition for the attack was
made accordingly. During the action, a French offi-
cer, who was dying of his wounds, informed me
that they had expected Loison to join them that day
at one o'clock by their right, which was the reason
for which they stood our attack ; that their numbers
were 6000 ; and that their loss had been severe. In-
telligence to the same purport was received from
other prisoners ; and as a small patrole of French
infantry appeared at no great distance from the left
of our position, on the 17th at dusk, and I heard
that Loison's corps was at that moment. arriving at
Bombarral, which was about five miles from the
field of battle. I conclude that the junction had been
intended, and was prevented only by our early attack,
At all events, great caution was necessary in all
the movements of that day ; and indeed the nature of
the ground over which the troops were obliged to
move, rendered a very rapid attack impossible.
The two French corps joined on that night, and re.
tired beyond Torres Vedras, which was ten miles from
the field of battle towards Cabeca de Montachique.
My intention was to march from Torres Vedras on the
morning of the 18th, and the troops were under arms,
and the orders for the march had been issued, when I
received from General Anstruther an account of his
arrival on the coast, and of his junction with Captain
Bligh. My original intention had been to employ the
corps under General Acland and General Anstruther
in t'ae siege of Peniche, if I should find it necessary
to undertake it ; or if I should not, to send them down
the coast to effect a landing in some of the bays in the
neighbourhood of the Rock of Lisbon, in the rear of
the enemy, while I should press upon their front. But
the disappointment which I experienced in the hoped-
for eo-operation of the Portuguese troops, which were
with me in the action of the 17th, and above all the
determined and gallant resistance of the enemy in
that action, induced me to be of opinion, that I ought
to land General Anstruther's brigade, and General
Acland's when it should arrive, and to join those
troops to the army.
I therefore marched on the 18th to Lourinha, from
whence I communicated again with General Anstrit.
titer, and on the 19th to Vimiera ; which appeared,
on the whole, to be the position best calculated to se-
cure the junction of General Ansuuther, at the Stmc
time that it was a march in advance on our route.
On account of the calms, the fleet, which was an-
chored off the Berlings, could not stand in till late
on the 19th ; and General Anstruther did not land
till that evening, and he formed a junction with two
brigades, detachei; from our left, on the morning of
the 20th, and took his position in the advanced guard.
Between the 18th and 20th, • the French corps had
assembled at or about Torres Vedras ; the troops
last arrived under General Junot, forming the ad-
vanced guard, in a strong position in front of the
town ; and the divisions of La Borde and Loison,
the main body, in another strong position behind it.
Their cavalry was very active throughout the days
of the 19th and 20th ; they covered the whole coun-
try ; patrolled frequently up to our position ; and
on the 20th, one patrole was pushed into the rear of
our, right, as far as the landing-place at Manceira.
Under these circumstances We could gain no de-
tailed information of the enemy's position, exceptive
that it was very strong, and occupied by their whole
force. .
• My intention was to march on the morning of the
21st, and orders were issued accordingly ; I should
have pushed the advanced guard as far as the
heights of Mafra, and should have halted the main
body about four or Eve miles from that place. By
this movement the enemy's position at Torres Vedras
would have been turned, and I should have brought
the army into a country of which I had an excellent
map, and topographical accounts, which had been
drawn up for the use of the late Sir Charles Stuart;
and the battle, which it was evident would be fought
in a few days, would have had for its field a country
of which we had a knowledge, not very distant
from Lisbon, into which town, if we had been cu.
cessful, we might have entered with the retreating
enemy.
I was informed in the middle of the day of the 20th,
that General Acland's brigade was in the offing, and
1 made arrangements for their disembarkation as soon
as they should arrive ; and in the evening of this day
Sir Harry Burrard arrived in Marceira roads in the
Brazen ; he immediately assumed the command of
the army,
The Court will observe that the last of my dispatches
to the Secretary of State is dated on the 18th ; and the
account of my proceedings on the 19th and 20th, the
two last days of my command, is made from memory,
assisted by reference to private letters written at thk
time ; and if the Court should wish it, it can be sub-
stanf ated by evidence.—(To be continued.)

~ s

;httourbood of Lisbon excepting I rortuguese troops
. .

THE EVENING STAR..

LONDON.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14.
TRICE OF S',OCKS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK.
j per Cent. Consols for money 6.51-1—for acc. 65/11
Omnium dis.—Escheq. Bllls Bs. to 10s. pre.
PRICE OF STOCKS YESTERDAY.
Balk Stock 2.381 India Bonds, 8. 9s. prem.
Imperial 3 per Cent. 641
ptr Cent. Red. 65M
Ex. Bills, 7s. a 10s. pre.
5 Pig Cot. Cons. 651 f
Omnium lI dis.
s r Colt. Si „
• Cat. Navy 97i1 Cons. for acc. 661
pc.

On Thursday night one of the Dover fishing-boats;
picked up, a few miles frdm the shore, a small cask,
containing French Newspapers; which were taken to
the Custom-house as soon as the boat reached the
snore, and instantly forwarded to Government.
On the same evening the ACTIVE armed cutter
captured a small French lugger, mounting one gun,
2nd manned with 18 men, having on board several
packets of French papers, to be distributed about the
coast. The prize has since arrived in the Downs.
The capture of this vessel explains a circumstance
which certainly appeared singular—By what means
casks, with Newspapers, were made to float so di.
*ectly from Boulogne to the Kentish coast. It now
wean that the system adopted to communicate
poi Tiro to the English, is by sending over vessels
in the evening, to throw the casks containing the
papers, within reach of the current that sets in to the
coast at certain periods of the tide.
The contents of these Journals explain sufficiently
C-e motive for their transmission. They contain,
pith other matters of less interest, a copy of the
TWENTIETH BULLETIN OF THE ARMY IN SPAIN.
" Madrid, December 19.

" His Majesty this day reviewed the army which is at Madrid,
w:eh its equipments, and civil Officers : 60,000 men, 150 pieces
of cannon, and more than 1500 waggons loaded with biscuit and
brandy, formed an imposing appearance. The right wing of the
army vas supported at Chatuartin, and the left stretched beyond
Madrid.

" The Duke of Bellune is at Toledo, with his corps of the

" The Duke of Dantzic, with his corps, is at Talavera de la

Reyna.

" The eighth Corps has reached Burgos.
" General St. Cyr, has made a junction, at Barcelona, with
Central Duhesme.
" Our cavalry scours the country, to the confines of Andalusia.
" The Emperor has given the army sonic lays rest.
" Extcllent fortifications are completing on the heights of Ma-
; six thousand men are employed upon the works.
" The small battering train, composed of 24-pounders and

!mil mortars, is arrived.
" Sonw fifty men have been found in the hospitals of Talavera
de a Reyna; two or three hundred saddles, and some remains of
the magazings wli.ch belonged to the English troops.
" Some detachments of their cavalry have appeared on the side
of Valladolid. This is the first sign of their existence in this
country which the English have given. They have many sick,
and deserters. On the 13th of this month, their army was still
alSal.mzeca. So splendid an armament—so strange an inactivity
for th► last six weeks, appear most unaccountable.
" His Majesty enjoys the best state of health."

Ministers disappointed in the hopes they were led to
form, that the Patriots would have seized the oppor-
tunity afforded them by the presence of a British
army, to concentrate a respectable force, and co-
operate with the ally that had so generously come
to their aid, have, it is said, resolved to adopt ano-
ther plan which may yet be of most issential use to
the Spaniards, if they are really resolved to emanci-
pate their country—a floating army on the coast, not
Spa'n only, but extending to that of France, so
as to keep his numerous armies incessantly on the
march. The Coasts of the Mediterranean, we un-
derstmd, are the first rendezvous—but the benefit
cf this scheme of annoyance is, that in a few days
it can be clhinzed from one end of his Empire to
otl:!?r---and that the more he speeds himself, the
more Iminerabie he must become.

COI',IMERCIAL REGULATION.
CADIZ, DECEMBER In:
Sur,crintendant-General of Finances has corn-
imunic.acti to this Supreme Junta the following Royal
dated the 17th inst.
" NomithstaltliN: the resolutions of the Supreme Central
;-•ata o!.Goverarne st, liy Royal Order of the 4th of October !act,
e.^.ccr.ir; the permission granted by your Excellency for the
greds at the port of Cadiz, it has been
!!:ased to three: that the introduction thereof be continued gene-
"llY, and that for the present the payment of duties be conform-
e•a• ta what was charged before the war of i 804.
" i rake this communication to your 1.-xcellency, that you
Lii.ce: compliance therewith by the proper efficers.

(Signed) " 'fbe Marquis de GRANINA.
't"gned) "SO ti ET."

I:l7inp:, by the favour of a friend, received a tor-
Cory of Sir ARTIE:it WELLEt,LEYISNarrative, and
OSservations on the Narrative of the other Gene_

ezd before the late Board cf Enquiry, we have
laid the first of these interesting documents
0:e The others we shall publish in
c,?:zan as we can find room in our columns, and
;:s lit le interruption as possible.

G.Jr Plymouth letters received this morning men-
-an a report, which we hope may yet prove unfound-
Id, that the PARTIJIAN, ci 18 guns, aid the SEINE, of
-5 guns, have both been lost on the coast of France,

S;r TiToMAS DYER arrived in town on Tuesday,
from
,_ Oviedo. This Gentleman, who has always
oren sanpine in the hope that the Spaniards would
vally triumph over their invaders, is, it is said, still
s4rrn: opinion.

THE ARMY. 1 •
•
.2 f

iesterday morning orders were sent down to tams:
gate from the War-Office, for the immediate sang
of the Expedition Fleet for the coast of Spain.
The 16th regiment of Light Dragoons, which were
to have marched from Exeter to Falmouth, on Tues-
day, to embark for Spain, received on the preceding
day counter-orders from General ENGLAND ; in con•
sequence of which, they still remain in Exeter.
The 11th Regiment of Infantry has moved from
Brabourne Lees to Chatham barracks.
On the 25th inst. the East London militia, Colonel
Sir JOAN EAMER, will march from Greenwich, into
their City quarters, at Bunhill-row, for the ensuing.
half-year. On the same day the West London, Co-
lonel NEWNHAM, will leave town for Greenwich, for
the same space of time.

A letter received by the last arrival from Cadiz
s! ates, that Count FLORIDA BLANCA is dangerously ill
Yesterday morning the ROYAL Duxes visited their
MAJESTIES and the PRINCESSES.

About two o'clock, the Princesses SOPHIA and
AMELIA honoured Lady CHARLOTTE FlNCHwith a
visit, at her apartments in St. James's Palace.

Yesterday the Dukes of CUMBERLAND, CAMBRIDGE,
and SussEx, dined with her MAJESTY and the PRIN-
CESSES. In the evening their MAJESTIES had a select
party, to tea and cards.
A zealous American Politician has christened one
of his daughters by the name of Embargo; but as she
is the daughter of a man of wealth, we have no
doubt that in all due time this Embargowill be taken e.

LADY MAYORESS'S BALL.—The Mansion-House,
last night, had to boast of a magnificent assembly.
The preparations were on a scale highly creditable to
the liberality of the LORD MAYOR ; and the company
included all the rank and fashion yet assembled in
town, among whom were three of the Royal Dukes.
—The Egyptian Hall was opened at one o'clock for
Supper, which was extremely splendid.
Colonel and Mrs. M'LEOD of Colbecks, gave, last
week, at Cheltenham, b. grand entertainment, in
honour of her Royal Highness the Princess CHAR-
LOTTE of 'WALES'S Birth-day. The company began
to assemble at nine, and the ball was opened at ten,
by Colonel M'LEoD and Lady MARY LINDSAY
CR_AWFORD. The company embraced all the Fashion-
ables of that place.

HAYMARKET THEATRE.—Last night the Tragedy
of the Gamester attracted a numerous audience.—
The boxes wen! filled before half price, and the
lobbies were thronged by persons who expressed
the greatest anxiety to get a single peep at the
performance. The arduous character of Brverley
was sustained by Mr. YOUNG, in a style which can-
not fail to fix the good opinion already entertained.
by the public of his merit. He was loudly and de-
servedly applauded. Mrs. SIDDONS has seldom ap-
peared to more advantage.—Her excellent perfor-
mance of Mrs. Beverley excited real admiration. In
the last act she received three rounds of applause.
COOKE, as Stuie/ey, displayed his usual ability, and
obtained a large share of approbation. The other
characters were all well supported. In the audience
were many distinguished fashionables.

A duel was fought on Thursday at Eversley-Hatch,
near Wendover, between a Mr. M. of Eversley, and
a Lieutenant D. in consequence of an altercation be-
tween the parties at a ball in the neighbourhood, on
the preceding evening. The parties fired and missed,
and on fir:ng a second time each was wounded ; the
Lieutenant dangerously in the hip, and his adversary
in the pistol-shoulder. The duellists, who were pre-
vious to this meeting good friends, were taken off the
ground in the same carriage.
The True Briton, Cuffnells, Scaleby Castle, Cum-
berland, and Lord Melville, outward-bound East-
Indiamen, sailed on Thursday from the Downs for
Portsmouth.

The following ships are thus stationed :
The Henry Addington, Neptnne, Cumberland, Scaloby Castle,
and True Briton—Bombay and China.
The CuffnAls—St. Helena, Bengal, and China.
The Warren Hastings—Bengal anti China.
The Lord Melville—Madras and Bengal.
_ _ _

The fleet will be dispatched fcr certain this day.
The BMW .NT, 2S guns, Captain SMYTIT, is ap-
pointed ccrwcy to the fizets for the Cape of Good
Hope and the Brazils.

Eztract of a letter from an Officer on board the
ALCMENE, dated off L'Orient, January 1, 1839.
" On the 23d ult. at ten A. M. we fell in with two
frigates, Belleisle N.N.E. seven or eight leagues ; we
chaced them nearly roo miles into Rocehfort Reads,
and got within two miles of them al,out nine in the
evening, when getting into shoal water, and then
under the batterias, we hauled off: they appear to
have come from Nantz, and were bound to the West
Jndies. They had come out that morning, and it
was unfortunates they met with none of our ships to
intercept them.
• " Our squadron, which will cruize between this
and Quiberon Bay, consists of the TirEsEus, VALI-
ANT, TRIUMPH, AMELIA, STATIRA, NAIAD, NAR.
I'LFSeS, ALCMENE, SEINE, ATTACK, and a gun brig.-
1 The ARROW has taken two large brigs, laden with
wine."

Sunday last, a seaman, belonging to his Majesty's
sloop SWA ',Low, at Plymouth-dock, fell from the fore-
top of the vessel on the deck, and wal bruised in so
shocking a manner, as to occasion his death shortly
afterwards.

A serious accident happened to the Carpenter of
the Inflexible, v..hi!e attending to his duty on board
that ship, at Chatham, on Monday. He was going
up the ladder at one of the hatchways, and was for-
lowed by a marine who had a loatlel blunderbus; in
his hand, the burr-end of which 'striking against a
beam caused it to go off, when the contents of the
blunderbuss, chiefly slugs, blew his hand to pieces, and
s 'me of tke slugs lodging in his body, inflicted other
severe wounds.
Abeut tl ree o'clock on Monday morning the cen.
tinel stationed at the back of the Officer's House, in
the DoCklard, at Chatham, placed his musket on the
ground, and put his hand over the muzzle to rest on
it, when by some accident the piece went off at hall
cock, and shattered his hand to pieces.

. . - •
.1714b4A COuldoWll9. 0111316 Y and chit *Lydia!
Liierpooi for St.;kitt's ; atid•the AMt-
rican brig, Sulaimat;.-iiii.L,lfFiein Marti for Balti-
more, have seen captitrelti the former on the 29th of
November, in lat. 26, 30. long. 31. 21. the Lydia ort/
the 3d ult. in lat. 35: 25. long:. 37. 30. and the latter
on the. 2d .December; by the Amphitrite French fri-
gate, of 44 guni; and 450 Men: The Susannah was
given up to the crew, and arrived at Liverpool on
Thursday last.

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