OSLER'S L I FE OF LORD EXMOUTH.

WITHOUT exhibiting much nice portraiture of individual character, or even displa)ing any particular literary merit as a piece of com- position, this Life of Lord EXMOUTH is an interesting biography of a sailor of fortune. The successive steps of his career are plainly traced ; the wits by which he achieved greatness are clearly indicated; and if the writer sometimes attributes solely to conduct the advancement in which chance had a share, his narra- tive furnishes the means of qualifying his conclusion. In despite of some disquisitional digressions that encumber the story, and an. occasional dryness in the telling of warlike allhirs, which smacka of the Gazette, Mr. OSLER'S production may be read with pleasure and profit. The reader will also most probably rise from its peru- sal with a higher idea of the character and abilities of his hero than he before entertained.

Like most biographical heroes, the family of Lord Exmourn originally 'came from Normandy; whew some of the stock, it is said, still remain, and write their name more purely " Peeeetr," instead of PELLEW. According to tradition, the first emigrants landed near St. Michael's Mount, in Cornwall; in which county they were formerly possessed of property and consideration ; but at the birth of our hero (1757), the family had declined to respecta- bility. His father commanded a post-office packet, and was a man of such loyalty that Ire made " his children drink the King's health on their knees every Sunday." He died however, when the future Lord EXMOUTH was only eight years old; and " three years after,. an imprudent marriage of the widow deprived the children of their remaining parent, and threw them upon the world with scanty resources," and almost without a friend. Previous to these second nuptials our hero had been sent to a grammar-school, where he acquired Latin enough to be able readily to construe Viuolz ; and soon after their contraction, his pugnacious propenities caused him to go to sea.

As it was then (says Mr. Oster) the general practice in schools to allow the boys to settle their own disputes ; the fearlessness of his character mid a strength beyond his years enabled him to maintain a very respectable position among his schoolfellows. At length, having inflicted upon some opponent a mare severe punishment than was usual in juvenile combats, the fact came under the coanizance of the master, and, to escape a threatened flogging, he ran away. Ile told his elder brother, who was now obliged to act as bead if the family, that he would not return to school to be flogged for fighting, lint would go to sea tlirectly. Happily, his inclinations were indulged, though his grandfather, who wished him to be placed in a merchant's office, strongly opposed the step. " So, Sir," said the old gentleman, when the boy came with his brothers to take a farewell dinner with him, "they are going to send you to sea. Do you know that you may be answerable for every enemy you kill ? anti, if I can read your character, you will kill a great many ! " Well, grandpapa," replied young Bellew, "and if I do not kill them, they'll kill me !"

The upshot of this affair was, that young EDWARD PELLEW entered the Navy, to take what appeared but a sorry chance of suc- cess in life. When this success had been achieved, lie boasted, on the occasion of' his health being drunk at a public dinner, that in his advancement " Fortune had no share."

" I have never known," he said, " what fortune meant. I never chose my station, and never had a friend but die King's pennant ; but I have always gone where I was sent, and dune what I was unlered ; and he who will act upon the satne principles, may do as I have done."

Had the word interest been substituted for " fortune" in this speech, it would have expressed the exact truth ; for every step • in his efueer was the consequence of some brilliant action. But if Fortune did not advance him, she bestowed the means of self- advancement by the opportunities she gave him of distinguishing himself. Without attempting to trace every successive step of his life, we will endeavour to give such an outline of its principal events as shall illustrate this opinion, at the same time inter- mingling such circumstances as exhibit the individuality of the man.

The first five years of EDWARD PELLEW.S probationership (1770 —1775) were passed in active service, without any public dis- tinction. But he was acquiring a well-grounded stock of practical knowledge, and was marked by his shipmates for his strength and activity of body. an ardent love of his profession, and considerable firmness and resolution. At the breaking out of the American war, his ship was on that station, and he was permitted to join the expedition which at an advanced state of the season pushed across the country from Quebec to Lake Champlain ; dragged their boats and materials with them ; and in twenty-eight days from the time of their arrival, put together alid launched a small squadron, with which to encounter ARNOLD, who then occupied the lake with a powerful force. Sir GUY CARLETON himself commanded; and PELLEW served as third officer in a

schemer, which a kw days after% anti singly attacked the fleet of the enemy.

Unfortunately, owing to the state of the wind, no other vessel could come to her assistance, and she was ohliged to engage the whole force of the enemy

single-banded. Si.. Guy Carleton saw her desperate position with extreme

anxiety, but it was found impossible to bring up the squadron, amid he could only send in the artillery- boats to support her. Meantime she was suffering most severely. Very early in the action Mr. Brown lost an arm ; and soon after Lieutenant Daeres fell, severely wounded and senseless. He would have been thrown overboard as dead, but for the interference of Mr. Pellew, who now suc- ceeded to the command. Ile maintained the unequal contest till Captain Prin- gle, baffled in all his efforts to bring up the squadron, made the signal of :veal ; which the Carleton, with two feet water in her hold, and half her crew killed and wounded, was not in a condition to obey. In attempting to go abitut, being at the time near the shore, which %vas covered with the enemy's marksmen, she hung in stays, and Mr. Pellew, not regarding the danger of making himself so conspicuous, sprang nut on the bowsprit to push the jib over. The artillery- 'boats now took her in tow, while the enemy maintained a very heavy fire, being enabled to bear their guns upon her with more effect as she increased her dis- tance. A shot cut the tow rope, and Mr. Pellew ordered some one to go and secure it ; but seeing all hesitate, for indeed it appeared a death-service, be ran forward and did it himself. The Carleton was then towed out of gun -shot, having, with the assistance of the artillery boats, stink the Boston, a gondoia, carrying an eighteen-pounder and two twelves, and burnt the Royal Savage, of twelve guns, the largest of the enemy's schooners."

The reward of this gallant action was not only flattering letters from his superior officers, and a report te the Admiralty, but even a complimentary communication from the First Lord (SeNewlee) himself, and the promise of a Lieutenancy on his return to Eng- land.* Thither he went about eleven months after, as a prisoner, having served with much distinction under General BURGOYNE throughout the Whole of his disastrous campaign; joined a council of Generals as senior (and only) naval officer; and surrendered along with the army. Of course, his promotion immediately took place; but for upwards of a year he was only employed on routine service, in consequence of the convention under which he surrendered. At the end of 17s0, Lieutenant PELLEW joined his old commander, Captain PowsoLL, in the Apollo ; who " ienloved for his sake an officer of high connexions, whose seniority would have prevented him from being First Lieutenant,"—a circumstance which was the means of giving hint another lift in life. About six months after he had joined, the Apollo encountered the French frigate Stanislaus. In an hour after the action commenced, Cap- tain POWNOLL was shot through the body. He said to his young friend, "Pellew, I know you won't give his Majesty's ship away," and immediately died in his arnis. Mr. PELLEW continued the action for more than an hour longer, and drove the enemy, beaten and dismasted, on shore; but he was disappointed of his prize, which claimed protection from the neutral part of Ostend. This exploit procured him the rank of a commander; and in a little less than two years afterwards (t 7s:2), lie was made Post Captain, for attacking, with the sloop he commanded, three French p:ivateers, and driving them ashore. Peace soon occurred, and left him un- employed for the next four years ; during which interval of idle- ness he married.

Captain Peeeew was subsequently employed on the Newfound- land station, but in I7S9 his ship was paid off, and turning his sword into a ploughshare, he took to farming, to meet the increas- ing expenses of a fimmihy; but, as might have been expected, did not succeed. The farm was his brother's ; and at first lie was to divide the profits; but the Captain could not keep the accounts so as to make what he considered a fair division. He was then allowed to rent it on his own terms—but with no better success. Accustomed to the prompt execution of war, he was impatient of the slow ope- rations of nature; and "to have an object in view, yet be unable to advance it by any exertions of his own, was to him a source of constant irritation. He was wearied, too, by the imperceptible growth of his crops; and complained that lie made his eyes ache by watching their daily progress:' In this condition of affairs, he was offered an appointment in the Russian navy ; and had just declined it, by the advice of his brother, on moral and religious grounds, when the French Revolutionary war broke out. The Government, taken by surprise, and with the Navy on the peace establishment, were but too happy to receive the offers for service of such men as Captain PeLeew; and he was immediately ap- pointed to the Nymphe. The day after he sailed from Falmouth, he fell in with, attacked, and after a bloody engagement took, La Cleopfitre, "time crack ship of France." The capture of the first frigate in the war, and the gallant circumstances attending it, procured our hero an introduction to the King and Queen, and the honour of knighthood. It is unnecessary for the object of this notice to follow in detail the further steps of Sir EDWARD PELLEW'S career. It will be enough to say, that he was actively employed during the greater part of the war; nipped in the bud a mutiny in Bantry Bay, that might have had fatal effects; and distinguished himself in several .actions; but never had the good fortune throughout his life to be present in a general engagement. He rose in due time to the rank of Admiral ; held the chief command on the East Indian station; and on the death of COLLINGWOOD was appointed to that of the Mediterranean. He cooperated with the Allies, so far as he had the means and opportunity, in finally overthrowing NAPOLEON; and at "the end of the war, when the leading Penin- sula Generals were raised to the Peerage, it was thought due to the service to confer a similar distinction upon a naval officer." Sir EDWARD, we suppose, was selected as having been engaged in the war, and being the highest in active command. The first account he had of his elevation was from a newspaper.

• The Admiraltv had no jurisdiction where he was.

In allusion to it he writes—" I was never more surprised than at this event. Never was man more ignorant of its being thought of ; much less reason had I to expect it ; and it has happened only by a combination of events quite un- connected with influence or power. I had some reason to believe a red ribbon was intended, and wrote that it had been granted ; but if so, it was changed next day to what it is, which, for the sake of our family, I hope will be useful and respectable. For myself I am indifferent, and know it will only tend to multiply my enemies and increase may difficulties."

his last warlike exploit was the well-known attack upon Algiers; after which his Lordship retired to the ease and dignity which he had earned. But all is vanity. " When the attainment of every object had left him without a wish ungratified, Lord Ex- mouth would sometimes confess that he had been happier amidst Isis earlier difficulties." Life, however, was not allowed to stag- nate at its close. Ile was disturbed by the Catholic Relief Bill; " most painful were his feelings" on the Reform Bill ; but the burning of Bristol seemed, as he then thought, the climax of evil. " Fire, riot, and bloodshed," he writes, " are roving through the land; and God, in his displeasure, visits us also with pestilence; and in fact, in one short year, we seem almost to have reached the climax of misery." A little While, and the attacks upon the Church convinced him that there was a lower deep,— though he seems to have Mt more confidence its time safety of the Church than the Throne. In one of the last letters he ever wrote,

He alludes to the cholera, then raging in his neighbourhood ; " Which," he says, " I am much inclined to consider an infliction of Providence, to show Ilia power to the discontented of the world, who have long been striving against the government of man and are commencing their attacks on our Church. But they will fail! Coil will never suffer his Church to fall ; and the world will see that his ntighty arm is not shortened, nor his power diminished. I Put my trust in Him, and not in man ; and I bless Hint, that he has enabled me to see the difference between improvement and destruction." Not many days after, be suffered a most violent attack of the illness he had long anticipated. The immediate danger was soon averted, but the extent of the disease left not the smallest hope of recovery. He lingered until the 23d of January, calmly waiting the event which his gradually increasing weakness convinced him was inevitable.

His character as a officer may be gathered from his exploits; but we may observe, that his military talents were rather solid than brilliant; and that, however daring, he could scarcely be called rash, for his hazard was proportioned to the importance of the object. His religious character is not developed in the book; in- deed, we have little about it till towards the close. The reader is then told, that even in his youth he was distinguished for serious behaviour, at a time when coarse and profane conduct was more general than now ; and that when he became a Captain, he "always dressed in full uniform on Sundays," and read prayers to his crew. his personal character is in a measure indicated by anecdotes and events; and we incline to guess that he was a peculiar person, of more worth than amiability, who required to be thoroughly known to be appreciated.—a disposition which the iron discipline of his profession fostered. Duty, modified by the rules of the service, seemed to be the mainspring of his actions, whether in contending with the enemy, discovering and putting down a mutiny, resolutely bringing its authors to justice, flogging improper and ill-behaved characters, successfully opposing Sir THOMAS TROUBRIDGE, backed by the whole power of the Admi- ralty on the nicest point of nautical law, or pushing his own family forward in their career (for, notwithstanding Mr. OSLER'S repre- sentations of his neglect of his kindred, one of his sons' at least appears to have been posted at an earlier age than even his father). But neither the want of a domestic hearth in childhood, nor the wear and tear of an arduous struggle through life, nor the searing tendencies of warlike service, nor even the pride and responsibilities of high command, could subdue, however they might coser, the kindliness of his nature, especially when expe- rience quickened his sympathy. The remembrance of his early difficulties disposed him to assist with his purse and his patronage the friendless officer ; and though his discipline was strict upon necessary points, he was always indulgent upon indifferent mat- ters. His heroic exernons in saving the crew of the Dutton, when stranded at Plymouth, were stimulated by the presence of thou- sands ; but upon different occasions on shipboard he preserved several lives at the risk of his own, when nothing but the im- pulse of a natural humanity could have prompted Ins conduct. Of his scholastic acquirements we hear no more than has been already mentioned—that lie could easily construe VIRGIL; nor is it likely that he made any greater advances during a life of such. active employment. From his letters, printed in the volume, it appears that his command of language was sufficient; and his manner, though neither elegant nor energetic, was short and abrupt, and seems to bear the impress of his character. He was not, however, a mere sailor. He had turned to account his early expe- rience in shipbuilding at Lake Champlain; and several times improved the sailing, and provided for the safety of vessels, by his skill in naval architecture. During his peaceful residence at Ply- mouth he had also acquired a general knowledge of commerce, which enabled him, when in India, to lay down regulations for the sailing and management of convoys by which very great losses were prevented and a difference of fifty per cent. caused in the rate of insurance; for wlaicb5 on his departure from the station, he received the thanks of the merchants and under writers of Bombay, of the We will close with a few passages, indicative of some points alluded to, as regards his character, eie dhoti:4M of the service in his carlier days.

OUTSET AS A COMMANDER•

He was made commander into an old and worn-out sloop, the Hazard, in which he was stationed on the Eastern coast of Scotland. having nothing but the emoluments of his profession, he felt the embarrassment which, to a very numerous class of officers, the outlay required by promotion and appointment au often occasions. A tradesman in London, equally known and respected by the young men from Cornwall, who were generally referred to him for the Advice and assistance they required on their fir, t coming to town, not only sup- plied hint with uniforms, though candidly told that it was uncertain when he would be able to pay fur them, but offered a pecuniary Ican ; and Captain Pellew accepted a small sum which made the debt 70/. lit a few weeks he received 160/. prize-money, and immediately sent WM to his creditor, desiricg that the balance might be given in presents to the children, or, as be expressed it, " to buy ribbons fur the girls." He never afterwards employed another tradesman. Pei haps it was the recollection of this circumstance w hich induced him, when be had become a Commander-in-chief, to prevent his own deserving, but neces- s:tous young officers from suffering similar embarrassments, by presenting them with a sum equal to their immediate wants when he gave them a commission.

COOLNESS IN DANCER.

During his command in India, the ship twice caught fire, and was saved chiefly by his conduct. On one of these occasions, the Culloden was under easy sail off the coast of Coromandel, and preparations hail been made for par- tially caulking the ship, when a pitch-kettle, which had been heated, contrary to orders, on the fore part of the main-deck, caught the, and the people most imprudently attempted to extinguish it with buckets of water. The steam blew the framing pitch all around' the oakum caught fire, and the ship was immediately in a blaze. Many of the crew jumped overboard, and others were preparing to hurry out of her, when the presence and authority of the Ad • at a1lc vii the panic. Ile mitered to beat to quarters ; the matines to fire upun any one who should attempt to leave the ship ; the yard-tackles to be cut, to prevent the boats froin being hoisted out ; and the firemen only to take the ne- cessary measures for extinguishing the tire. The Captain, who was undressed in his cabin at the time of the disaster, received an immediate report of it from an officer, and hastenial to the quarter-deck. Ile found the Admiral calmly giving his ordet s hem the gangway, the firemen exerting themselves, and rest of the crew at their quartera—aff as quiet and orderly as if nothing Lad been going on but the amnion ship's duty.

THE ADMIR ntsclearsn.

Competent masters were provided for the young gentlemen of the Caledonia, who were assembled every day in the Admiral's fore cabin and kept closely at their studies; the Admiral himself often visiting them, and interesting himself in their progress. The French and Sluttish interpreters instructed them in these languages • the flag-lieutenant super inteuded their navigation ; and that they might pet feet themselves in seamanship, a frigate-built yacht of Light or ten tons was provided, upon which they were exercised in sailing, rigging and ranrigging,, and every part of a practical seaman's duty. All the arrangements of the ship, with regard both to officets and nien, di,played consideration for their comfort and advantage. When the Admiral thoroughly knew his officers, he confided in them in their respective situations, never teasing them with in- terference, or disturbing Idunelf by unlit:maw), watching or anxiety, after Ids orders had been given.

THE NAVY IN (.001, OLD TIMES.

Every thing was supplied by contract, and the check upon the contractor being generally very inadequate, gross abuses prevailed. Officers who recollect the state of the Navy during the first American war, can bullish a history which may now appear incredible. The provisions were sometimes unlit for human food.Casks of meat, after having been long on board, would be found actually offensive. The biscuit, from inferior quality and a bail system of stow- age, was devoured by insects, until it would fall to pieces at the slightest blow ; and the provisions of a more !relishable nature, the cheese, butter, raisins, fae. would be in a still worse condition.

ADMIRALTY PLAN OC ALGIERS.

Lord Exmouth afterwards declared that if he had proceeded to hostilities at his first visit, without having been furnished with Captain Warde's plan and observations, he should have assigned to the ships stations which they could not have occupied. The plan in the Admiralty book of charts, among other inaccuracies, laid down the sea face of the city as four-miles long, instead of one ; omitted the bay to the north-west of the lighthouse; represented the .pier on which the strong fortifications are built as quite straight from the light- house in a southerly direction, whereas it forms a quarter of the compass bend- ing round to the south-west, or towards the city ; and laid the distance between the piers at the entiance of the mole, a mile, instead of sixty or sixty-five fathoms.

CHIVALROUS FEELING.

The squadron gave chase, and the Artois overtook and brought the Revolu- tionaire to action. After they had been closely engaged forty minutes, the Diamond came up; but Sir Sidney Smith, with that chivalrous feeling which marked his character, would not allow a shot to be fired, saying, that Nagle had fought his ship well, and he would not diminish the credit his trophy. But when the enemy did not immediately surrender, he said that she must not be allowed to do mischief, and ordered a broadside to be ready. Then, taking out his watch, he continued, " We'll allow her five minutes; if she do not then strike, we'll fire into her." He stood with the watch in his hand, and just before the time expired the French colours came down.

Mr. OSLER'S work was undertaken at the desire of Lord Ex- mourn s surviving brother, and was partly composed from docu- ments furnished by the family. The Appendix also contains biographical sketches of the hero's two brothers; so that the book Is quite a family chronicle of the PELLEWS.