tia only important historical event in wh MM ieli Lord

IS was Now let us see in what predicament the Duke of Richmond and Lord l'

Nichol), with no other interest than his own good conduct, and

such friends as that conduct created.

GEORGE I hErus was horn about 1745. His father was a cler- gyman, who never rose higher in the Church than a curacy ; but " ln this difficulty, he [old Mr. Haunts] recurred to a promise of providing beloneei I to the property when it was coniferred on the original gran- Harris, WI 16 WIIS of a remarkably powerful and net iv e frame, atid dlist inguished for his skill in athletic exerei,es, made so deep an impre,ion ito Lord George's mind, as to induce him to declare that be would never forget it. Mr. Dorris applied to his Lordship, then Master-General of the Onlnance, in behalf of his son, and the application was successful, for curly in I 7:t9 a warrant Of of Richmond would be aissraceful to him, to England, and to France." cadet in the Royal Artillery was issued to George Harris, then about fourteen " It would be disg,Taeefol to the Duke," says the Procureur-(;eneral, years Of age; but towards the close of this year (175)) Mr. Ii oils died, and with feigned simplicity, " because, in order to procure the insertion of the battle of Minden and eimi,equent dismissal of Lord George Sackville front a secret clause. wholly of a personal character, and derogatory to the the Ordnance, again left our ;.;aing soldier without a patron. Luckily for his fourth clause of the public treaty, he would have apparently dissembled fbture prospects, the new Mitster-t;tint.iral of Ordnance, the Marqtlis of Granby, the existence or the rights of his co-heritors, and would have taken ad- and his brother, Lord Robert Manners, had also hem fellow-collegians of Mr. vantage et' liipissonal influence to seize anon their shares- No ! the Barris. A statement of his circunistanees was tient to Lord Robert Manners, of the hopes excited by laird George Saaville's generous conduct, and the disappointment of those hops by the removal of his Lordship from office."

added, that it was out of his power to alter them." " The land of An- And the application was successful, the appointment being eon- bigny," he adds. " is the land of France ; it has always been governed firmed by Lord GaAs BY ; and subsequently exchanged for an En- by our laws, and it cannot be withdrawn front their empire." " If the signey in the Fifth Foot. French Government had the intention ascribed to it by the Duke of This occurred in 1763 ; and for the next five-and-twenty years, Richmond, it Arinild have been necessary that an express clause of the when Colonel Ilsanrs went to India, as aide-de-camp and sare- treaty should have said so, in order to make it credible: it would have tary to his old commanding-officer Sir WILLIAM MEDOWS, nothing been necessary previously to promulgate such article, so that parties in- very striking occurred to him beyond the Casualties of' military and the common occurrences of' civil life. Being of economical habits,

and the regiment for the most part quartered in Irelend, then a

bowl Ale ow tan. of the lands it was about to dispose of; and next, that eery cheap country, Ensign liana-Ls managed to save money ; with the King shettlil gya t new let ters of creation, duly regbbered in the Cony which, and what be could borrow from his friends, he purchased a Boyal, if ;; verification which would not be exempt from difficulties, Lieutenancy, in 1765. Shortly afterwards, lw visited France ; of Without all this, without the observation of all these conditions, it is ii ii-Which tour he has left a lively but juvenile account in his letters; possible r, soles ive the lawful reerection of a dutch)' of Atibigny in his modes of travelling from Boulogne to Paris—on horse, afoot, France f 1,( i!C1:t of an Englishman." and in a waggon-like diligeuce—fOrming a st riking contrast to the I fere then 1., he 'hike of Richmond, backed by the feeble and jobbing jitcility with which the French capital is now reached. On his re- Whig,, ill iv hard for his own personal advantage to set up in the turn he was forced into a duel by his Captain, tinder extraordinary very heart of France a sole example of feudal rights and of feudal titles; circumstances, and conducted throughout by him in a most extraor- (Unary way. The nian t tamed out to be mad ; but lw had sufficient almost half a century. This selfishness in the individual is intelligible generosity and remembrance to mention Hap it is's peel conduct to en0101; I Ut A:1,;:t. can be said in extenuation of the Whitt. Sir Wims A SI AILDOWS ; vliic1i laid the found:!th»i of a friendship that, tia, i;:-; own miserable party purposes, abets the Duke of Richmond between Sir WILLIAM and Hatters, that was eventually of the in his proeeedieg Let us only suppose that their intercession shall greatest service to the latter. In 1771 Gnonca: IlAnnis was Succeed, The result will be----the overthrow of the decisions of all the enabled to buy a Captaincy ; but only by incurring a debt of' 1,1001. courts of justice in France ; the lowering in public opinion of the Co- to his mother, which it took him " many years of a rigid and uncle- land or France is subject to the law of equal partition, the creation of a viating economy to repay." About the same time, he att,eiNi‘d, were FEnursoN's lectures on Philosophy ; which as he writes ducal lief with rieht of primogenitnre in the very centre of France, in " very instructive and entertaining ;" mid so they ought to be, he considers, for " they cost a guinea." Being quartered at Derby, he

nation. is it for jobs of this description that the nation pays for time fell in love,— stimulated, perhaps, by his new rank, and the

15,uoo/. a year? genius loeL5 But the lady was an heiress : the Captain had qualms _ of' conscience about his eiremnstances ; and " venturing" a con- A letter from Thrill], published in the Hamburg papers, mentions versatiun on the subject with the young lady's aunt, she, with some partiettlas respecting a former attack by Russia upon Chive, many "kind expressions of regard and esteem," suggested that it which are not without interest at the present time. " The Russian de- "would be improper in him to urge his suit." To this he assented, &ration of war against Chive is important on many accounts. It tip- though with sadness; and thus poured forth his grief's and his rea- pears from the manifesto itself that the grounds of the complaint made sons to his favourite cousin— by Russia existed long ago, and sonic persons may ask why nothing " The fixing a resolution is a great ease to the mind. While our thoughts was done before to obtain redress. There has, however, been no want, are wavering on any subject, quiet must be a stranger to the soul. Though I at any time. of attempts to obtain it ; but Chive, however little known love with as strong a love as ever man did, vet am 1 determined to take no fur- in Europe, and however insignificant it may be deemed, is not an ad- thus steps towards the completion of my late wishes, and for the following versary to be despised. For more than a century it has been a predatory reasons. How they might weigh with the world in general, I cannot say; to State, formidable to all its neighbours, and above all to Russia, pre- me they appear most forcible. First, that I must injure the person I love, in cisely because the latter is separated by an immense desolate and point of fortune; secondly, when I consider the despicable character of a for-

tune-hunter, I feel another obstacle in my way; for though I am conscious

how thoroughly free my heart is from mercenary motives, I know that the troops are exioseel on their march through it are the most ef- world will think otherwise, and I would not for my lite expose myself to that fective auxiliaries. About fifteen or eighteen years ago, an expe- suspicion. Again, how could I face my friends? Would they not, and with chtion of' nearly 10,000 men, under a General Ephraim (the name is justice, compare me to the character of Captain Revel: There are few things

not quite certain, but it was an Old Testament name) was sent against I would not endure for her sake, could I thereby insure her happiness; but as tare an attack. " Pretty Girl ornerlry. The Captain fell in love

that cannot be, is it not nobler to bear the stings " and arrows of outrageous fortune, than, by injuring her I love, to end them? " So, with a sad, sad farewell, do I give up all hopes, once too rashly formed; to forget, cannot be I There is, on cool reflection, such a want of generosity in attempting to gain her affections, that whatever opportunities might be thrown in my way, I am determined to withstand the temptation. I really from my soul can say, that • 1 love her too well to wish to marry her."

On the breaking out of hostilities with America, Captain HARRIS was ordered thither with his regiment ; and distinguished himself equally by gallantry and humanity. In an attack upon an Ameri- can position, which was repulsed by the fire of the riflemen, he co- vered the retreat ; and though he lost half' his men, the danger ,did not disturb his equanimity, for he was found by his commander, Lord PERCY, carrying water for the wounded in his grenadier-cap. At Bunker's Hill, he was struck on the skull by a musket-ball, and was with difficulty carried off by the exertions of his servant and his Lieutenant, Lord BAWDON (father of Lady FLORA HasiriNns.) The wound rendered trepanning and rest necessary, and he came to England on recruiting service ; but returned as soon as he was sufficiently recovered, and continued employed till towards the close of the war ; having been conspicuously engaged at the taking of St. Lucia, where 1,300 English troops defeated 5,000 French. Our hero's letters to his friends during this period give a good matter- of-fact view of warlike life—which the writer found a pastime in tolerable weather • and furnish some useful information upon the American war—which appears to have been as weakly conducted as it was rashly begun.

In the interim, the soldier of fortune had been appointed to a Majority ; and having fallen in love a second time, he married on his return home. A few years afterwards he was Lieutenant- Colonel ; but, tired of the routine duties of peace, having become a domesticated family man and being naturally fond of retire- ment, he proposed selling his commission and settling in Canada. The negotiation had all but concluded, when, coming to London to finish the business, he accidentally met his old commander,

"Sir William Medows, in St. James s Street ; and after mutual expressions of friendship and affection, awakened by the casual meeting of two such com- rades in past dangers, be explained the purpose of his visit to town, and his future intentions. Sir William listened with pain and impatience to the story ; and asked if he had actually received the money, and if the new commission had been positively signed by the King. He was told there would be the delay of another day, in consequence of the Princess Amelia's death. Then,' said he, 'Harris, you shan't sell out—you shall go with me as secretary and aide-de-camp: I am just appointed Governor of Bombay, and your presence will be a host to me. l'll go directly to the agent, and stop the sale.' lie accordingly ; and thus by the generous friendship of Sir William Medows, and the intervention of a kind Providence, Colonel Harris was reserved for another and a higher destiny. All the necessary preparations were quickly made for their voyage to Bombay. Colonel Harris exchanged from the Fifth Regiment, then in Iniland, to the Seventy-sixth, serving in India; and a heavy. burden of care was taken from his mind, by a noble trait in the conduct of his kind friend GenerallMedows, who, with his brother, the late Earl Manvers, advanced 4,000/. to insure Colonel Harris's lifli for the benefit of his wife and family.

This kindness Colonel 'hams repaid in his office. Loving to economize for others as well as himself, and entirely managing Sir WILLIAM'S affairs, he was enabled in four years to save his friend upwards of 40,000/.,—a specimen of the golden age of Indian governments. "This sum was the residue of his allowances as Commander-in-Chief and Governor, after providing liberally for all the expenses of his high station ; and there are some yet living who remember the ample hospitality of Sir William's table. Those of Sir William's friends who well knew his careless habits about money and his indifference to every diing but military fame, were surprised at the amount of his savings ; and when they inquired how he had contrived to get such a sum, he replied, with his characteristic brevity and truth, 'Harris knows how he scraped it together, but I don't.'" To be connected with the East India Company, in those days, was to be in the high road to fortune; and HARRIS had been suffi- ciently conspicuous in the first war with Tieroo, both under Sir Wiemast MEDOWS and Lord CORN wALLis, not to be lost sight of. lie was first appointed Governor of Fort William at Calcutta, with, it would appear, an allowance of 7,000/. a year, and then Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Madras. In this office the Marquis of WELLESLEY found him on his arrival as Governor-Ge- neral; and very shortly determined to wage that war which ended in TIPPOO'S destruction.

The narrative of the campaign, and every thing connected with the capture of Seringapatam, are stated in elaborate detail; but we do not find any account of the sum which General Haaitis's share of the prize-money amounted to. This we never happened to see or hear ; but, speaking very conjecturally, we should imagine his campaign made him a richer man by nearly a quarter of a million. The Marquis WELLESLEY, not disposed to underrate rewards to be granted to public servants, felt that his fortune was ample, when he wrote to the President of the Board of Control, expressing his opinion of the honours that it became the Government to bestow upon the different officers ; and HARRIS is the only one to whom, even in the opinion of the magnificent Marquis, a pecuniary remu-

neration was not necessary.

"1 have already (he writes) had repeated occasion to express to you my feelings of public and private gratitude towards Lieutenant-General Harris, as well as to explain the strong grounds on which both those sentiments are founded in my mind. The share which General Harris has received of the prize taken at Seringapatam has placed his fortune above the want of any public aid ; otherwise, I have no doubt that the magnitude of his services would bave insured to him a liberal and munificent provision from the East India Company.

" Under Lieutenant-General Harris's actual circumstances, I should hope that his Majesty might deem it proper to confer a distinguished mark of honour upon that deserving officer; and, impressed as I am with the importance of the

• The reading is "slings and arrows." Perbaps the Captain tusk it from a stroller's variation, conquest achieved under Lieutenant-General Harris's command, I trust that his Majesty will confer no honours on General Harris below those of the order of the Bath, and of a peerage of Great Britain. It is ray duty to state to you, that any honours inferior to these would not meet the public opinion enter- tained in India with respect to the importance of the late victories, nor satisfy that sentiment of honourable pride which they have diffused through every branch of the civil and military service in this country. I must therefore make it my most anxious and earnest request to you, that you will omit no endeavour to obtain for Lieutenant-General Harris the honours which he has so well merited."

This wish was not complied with. Indeed, all the officers con- cerned in the Marquis of WELLESLEY'S wars were for some time neglected ; and the East India Company went to law with General Maws for one half of his prize-money. The suit continued some years ; and long after its final determination in the General's favour, he memorialized the Government for a Peerage and a riband, moved thereunto by his son-in-law, and by having to attend a court-martial where lie found officers his juniors, and perhaps less distinguished, blushing with orders. Both these were eventually obtained (1815-1818) ; but the hero did not live many years to enjoy them : he died in 1829, thirty years after his great conquest. The family of Lord HAanis naturally felt the neglect with which his services were treated ; but his biographer and son-in- law, Mr. LUDINGTON, might have taken a less piqued view of' the matter, as a man of aflhirs both in India and England, though his most public exploit was retaining his seat for Canterbury whilst residing at Madras, in defiance of' justice and the wishes of his constituents. The treatment of General --ARRIS, and of other officers, (for he did not stand alone,) is explainable on a principle of policy, unjust enough probably, but to which all governments are prone, especially an aristocracy like the East India Company. The policy of that body has ever been pacific : all theinerease of territory they have received has been acquired without and sometimes against their will ; nor is it perhaps too much to say, that every war which has been waged by their servants, not even excepting CLIVE, would have been stopped had they been suffi- ciently near to have interposed. This was especially the case with the aggressions of the Marquis of WELLESLEY : that against To- POO was even at Madras opposed both politically and militarily by some of the ablest of' the Council : when the splendid successes of the Mahratta war had virtually placed the whole of India under their dominion, the Company thanked the Governor-General for his conduct of the war, but expressly declined entering into its " origin or policy ; " and the Marquis always considered himself ill-used both in India and on his return. All this may have been the narrowness of a commercial body fearful of' their profits ; it may have been a weak and speculative philanthropy like that of the Slavery Abolitionists ; or it may have been a wise moderation ; but, when the feeling existed, its display towards those who ran counter to their wishes is hardly a subject of wonder. Of their conduct in the matter of the prize-money we are not in a condition to speak, not having the case before us. They were legally wrong, for the decision was against them ; and General llaauis was per- fectly justified in resisting, as well for himself as for "his order." But one-sixteenth part of the plunder of' Seringapatam would not have been a bad day's work ; and the feeling about booty, which ani- mated the Indian army of that time, was more fitted for buccaneers than soldiers.

The personal character of Lord HAnais has been indicated in this notice. The amiable qualities seem to have been so mingled id him as to have produced the ideal of a worthy man. Affection- ate, playful, firm in his attachments, and upright in all his trans- actions, he made friends wherever he went, and retained them. His economy appears, from the volume before us, (but it is written by a client and relation,) to have been the only appearance even of leaning to a vice; and parsimony, so excusable in one who had continually felt in early life the evil of straitened cir- cumstances, never drove him to a meanness. As a soldier he was distinguished by the prime qualities of coolness, courage, and cheerful endurance. When he acted as an independent com- mander, the plan of his campaign was clearly formed and con- sistently carried out ; and (no mean merit) he always proved him- self equal to the occasion. With more of hardihood, he might have got on better in a walk of life where reserve or modesty is out of place. These feelings were so predominant, that he requested the Marquis of WELLESLEY to relieve him from the responsibility of the expedition against TIPPOO, and to send for Sir A LURED CLARK from Bengal ; and it was only on the Governor-General's request to reconsider his decision, that he undertook the command. The single blot that we perceive upon his military career, is the weakness which induced him on two occasions to prefer Colonel WELLESLEY to conspicuous commands over his senior officer Gene- ral BAIRD. Mr. Lesnesorox endeavours throughout fifty pages to remove the charges of Hoox. and the judgment of ALISON ; but we think without success. The fact is clear ; and the inference, we suspect, equally so—that Colonel WELLESLEY would not have been so promoted if he had not been the Governor-General's brother.

This is a respectable and well-toned work, with nothing of wish- wash in it, or of matter decidedly irrelative. But it is not of strik- ing merit as a biography. Full one half of the book is devoted to the war against Theo° ; consisting chiefly of state papers, many of which have been published before. The earlier part of the Life is full of character, derived from Lord Haeem's own letters, or the reminiscences of his favourite cousin, Mrs. DYER. The period during which Mr. LUDINGTON knew him, and which ought to have been the most striking, is the most barren. Mr. LUDINGTON has

obviously mistaken the true end of biography; which is personal character and manners, not flattering generalities or public docu- ments. Of the more characteristic traits we glean a few passages. Here

is a picture of

TIIE PLEASURABLE EXCITEMENTS OF WAR.

"After landing in York Island, we drove the Americans into their works beyond the eighth milestone from New York, and tints got possession of the best half of the island. We took post opposite to them, placed our piequets, borrowed a sheep, killed, cooked, and ate some of it, and then went to sleep on a ate which we took the liberty of throwing off its hinges, covering our feet g,

with an American tent, for which we should have cut poles and pitched, had it not been so dark. Give me such living as we enjoy at present, such a hut and such company, and I would nut care three farthings if we stayed all the winter, for though the mornings and evenings are cold, yet the sun is so hot as to Oblige Ms IO 1itit up a blanket as a screen.

"Tell my hest of mothers that my compass has been of the greatest use in enabling me to ascertain the proper aspects for our houses, and has gained me, in fine, the thanks of all parties. "The 16th of September we were ordered to stand to our arms at eleven a.m., and were instantly trotted about three miles, (without a halt to draw breath,) to support a battalion of light infantry, tvitielk had imprudently advancecl so far without support as to he in great danger of being cut off. This must has c happened, but for our haste. So dangerous a totality is courage svithout pru-

dence for its guide; how noble and respectable it makes the num. But to return to our narrative. The instant the front of our columns ap- peared, the enemy began to retire to their works, and our light infantry to the camp. (hi our return we were exposed to the lire of the .Antericans. .21. man in may company lout his hat shot through nearly in the direction of may wouod, but the ball merely raised the skin ; and in the battalion on our left a man was shot so dead when lying on the ground, that the next man did not perceive it, but when he got up ti) stand to his arms, kicked his comrade, thinking he was asleep, and then tbund, to his great surprise, that he was quite dead, a-ball having entered under the ear, and very little blood having issued from it. "Before we. started in the morning, our dinner, consisting of a goose and piece of mutton, had been put on the tire. The moment we marched, our dotnestie deposited the above-muned delicacies on a chaise, and followed us with it to our ground. When the tight was over, he again hung the goose to the fire, but the poor bird bad scarcely been half done, when we were ordered to return to our station. There we again commenced cooking, and, though without dish, plate, or knife, did amide justice to our fare, which we washed down with had rum and water, and then composed ourselves to rest on our friendly gate.

When HAants went to America the second time, a younger brother accompanied him, and was mortally wounded at the cap- ture of St. Lucia. This is om• hero's unvarnished account of his feelings- " You will all severely feel the loss of our poor Tom ; but even you must allow the blow was ruder on me than on any. Long ere 1 could have reached him, a messenger arrived to say he was no more. Such were may sensations, that I could have sat over his grave till 1 had mouldered and become a clod of the valley, as he was. The boat's crew knew my intent inn landing, and I could perceive, on my return, that both they and Holmes were equally weak as my- self. You will believe I thanked them, and I was obliged. It was a melan- choly morning' though of that kind it is manly to seek, Mr I then went to visit a sergeant int the company with my brother, and shot close by hint, both be- having with a gallantry' to make them more regretted by those they commanded. How glorious to die nobly in defence of our country, regretted by an army, rather than ignobly, of a vile unwholesome air ! Even -the flinty heart of a soldier could not tell me of his death, but called General Medows aside, who, with tears that almost stopped his utterance, stannnered out, Barris, be a man in this, as in every thing else : the struggle is past.' "fis impossible to convey to you the obligations I owe to General Medows, or the love I bear him: le is brave, good, and generous. I have every reason to be thankful. I cannot enumerate may blessings : I have far more than I deserve. God only can make me sufficiently thankful. May Ile enable me to live honourably and die gloriously ; and what is there in this life to make us wish a dear friend back ?"

SHAMING THE BRAVE.

As one of the many instances afforded in the after-life of Major Harris, that this was no transient ('soling of tdrection to General Medows, 1 find an anecdote stated width I believe to be well-founded. The General, acting upon that principle which continually influenced his military, career, and Which taught him that it made little difference in the chances of a soldier's life, whether he did his duty cautiously and shabbily, or promptly and handsomely, exposed himself to the hottest tire whenever he could. On one occasion, lie persevered so heedlessly in doing so, that Colonel Barris, and the other officers with him, implored him to come down from the position where he stood as a mark to the enemy. lie disregarded their remonstrance; when Colonel Barris jumped up, and placed himself beside him' saying, " If you, Sir, think it right to remain here, it is my duty to stand by you." This act of generous friendship had an immediate effect upon the noble heart of General Mcdows, and he descended from his perilous station.

ANXIETY Or A COMMANDER.

The hour appointed by the Commander-in-Chief for the storm, (of Seringa- patam,) one u clock, bad nearly arrived, when, a little before tlds time, while General Harris was sitting alone in his tent, anxiously reflecting, upon the course he hail resolved upon, if the Sultaun should succeed in beating off the first assailants, Captain Malcolm (afterwards Sir .1.■lin MakolM) eaMe iumto hiS tent, and seeing hint lull of thought, cheerily exclaimed, " Why, my Lord, so thoughtlid ?" " Malc,dm," said the General sternly, " this is no time for compliments ; we have serious work on hand; don't you see that the European sentry over my tent is so weak from want of food and exhaustion, that a Sep.; could push him down ; we must take this fort, or perish in the attempt. I have ordered General Baird to persevere in his attack to the last extremity ; if he is beat off, Wellesley is to proceed with the troops from the trenches ; it' he also should not succeed, I shall put myself at the head of the remainder of the army, for success is necessary to our existence."