to by Lady A, who asked if she was sitting on his right side, and if he had benefitted by the operations which she heard had been performed, and had been so painful to him. He said in reply, that the gentleman had been bold enough to ask him for a certificate, but that he had really been of no service to him, and that he could only answer him by saying “I tell you what, I won't say a word about it. He sometimes read aloud, commenting upon such works as were interesting to him, and was never seen to lounge about, or to be entirely idle. I have heard that Lord Douro one day found him reading his own early despatches, and that he said, "When in India I thought I was a very little man, but now I find that I was a very considerable man." What greatness there is even in this simplicity! His letters after the battle of Waterloo to Lord Aberdeen, on the death of Sir Alexander Gordon, and to the Duke of Beaufort, on Lord Fitzroy Somerset losing his arm, show how much he was attached to those about him. Lord Fitzroy landed with him in Mondego Bay, and was with him in all his great actions. It was during the long fight at Talavera that the Duke, turning to him, said, "Well, Fitzroy, how do you feel?" To which the latter quietly answered, "Better than I expected." The one-armed were among the Duke's greatest favourites. Sir Felton Harvey, who headed a charge of the 14th Light Dragoons, when the French officer was magnanimous enough not to cut him down, and Lord Hardinge, are instances that will be easily remembered. General Alava, as an old friend, and one who had been with him constantly during the war, had always when he chose it a room at Apsley house. The Duke took Colonel Anson, as his aide-decamp, from the Duke of York, and re-appointed him a second time to his staff on again succeeding Lord Hill as Commander-in-Chief, saying that no difference in politics ought to separate them, and that if he thought so too, he was to come to him. I do not think that the Duke's opinion was in favor of medals and decorations, as he said that we had always done our duty without them, and that the feeling throughout the army was that they would be given (perhaps with few exceptions) to the aides-de-camp, and relations of such general officers as were serving. He has also described the difficulty he himself experienced in distributing the orders conferred by the allied Sovereigns. He asked for the Waterloo medal to commemorate a great period, but he was well aware that, issuing them to all, they could not confer honour upon every individual that obtained them. These medals, however, as they became rare in the ranks, give a certain esprit to the old soldier, and I dare say may influence his conduct for his own good towards the end of his service. The Duke to the last often visited Lord Wellesley, who would as frequently keep him waiting; but his only remark was, "I believe my brother thinks he is still Governor-General of India, and that I am only Colonel Wellesley." On asking Sir Charles Napier to take the com mand in India, I have been told that the Duke handed him a short paper of instructions, and on his returning them to him, he said, "Well, then, if you understand them, go out and execute them." All who knew Apsley house must have seen the celebrated statue of Napoleon bearing Fortune upon a globe in the right hand, a tribute often paid to successful commanders. Lord Bristol when he first saw the statue in Canova's studio, admired it excessively; his only criticism was that the globe a ppeared too small for the figure. Canova, who was a great admirer of Napoleon, addressing an English nobleman, answered this very happily: "Vous pensez bien, mi lord, que la Grande Bretange n'y est pas comprise." 66 On the day that intelligence reached Vienna of at Lord Wellesley's funeral in Henry VI.'s chapel a very supe THE GREAT TELESCOPE ON WANDSWORTH COM. MON.-The following are the particulars of the refractive powers and focal lengths of the lenses in the great achromatic telescope at Wandsworth place west, Euston-square:-The object glass is common, made by Mr. Thomas Slater, of Somersachromatic, consisting of plate and of flint glass. The plate glass was cast by the Thames Plate Glass Company, and is a most excellent piece, being perfectly homogeneous and free of striæ. The refractive index of this glass turned out to be 1.513, and it is worked to a positive focal length of 30 feet 1 inch. The flint glass rior piece, and does great credit to the manufacuniform density, and very transparent; its refracturers, Messrs. Chance of Birmingham. It is of tive index is 1.638, and it is made to a negative focus of 49 feet 10 inches. The combined focal length of the plate and flint glass lenses is 76 feet to parallel rays; the focal length will be 85 feet only to objects at about 700 feet distance from the object glass. The diameter of the image of the full moon in this telescope is about 8 inches, and Mr. Slater has made an eye-piece of that diameter, having a magnifying power of 125; another eyepiece, which takes in about half the moon's diameter, has a magnifying power of 250; other eyepieces are also made, the powers of which vary from 500 to 3000. put hors de combat as speedily as possible. Fate, however, willed otherwise, and, after sharing in many, if not most, of the feats of THE MAJOR.-The Laird and his friends are arms of our gallant militia, at the termination late. THE DOCTOR.-Who are they? THE MAJOR. Two gentlemen who have been attracted by the announcement, in the last Anglo-American, of our proposed history of the war of 1812-'13 and 14, who were actively engaged throughout in it, and who naturally desire to contribute their quota of information on the subject. THE DOCTOR.-Their names and antecedents? THE MAJOR.-One of them, Captain Ogilvie, but a youth when he joined the 41st Regiment, a detachment of which was then stationed at Amherstburg, was in the thickest of the affair, and must have seen a great deal of active service during the campaigns. He seems, from the Laird's account, to have been so much pleased with the country that, some years after the peace, when promotion became slower, and his country had no farther call to make on him, he retired from the service on half pay, and sought the land where he had fleshed his maiden sword, and where his old regiment had acquired so much honor. of the war, he converted his sword into a plough-share, and has since distinguished himself as successfully in compelling mother earth to yield up her increase, as in days of yore, he essayed to drive a republican flag from the soil of his adopted country. He settled somewhere about Coburg, and is now an influential member of the community. THE DOCTOR.-Is not that the step of our worthy agriculturist? [Enter Laird, Captain Ogilvie, and Mr. O'Connor.] THE MAJOR.-Welcome, gentlemen! thrice welcome, to these our realms. Permit me to introduce to your notice a son of the Shanty, Dr. to whom I have already made you known by reputation. Laird, arrange chairs and let us to consultation, for despatch is the soul of business, and the moon already sails high in the heavens, while we have yet to inform our Canadian friends of the reasors why we are about to prepare, for their edification and benefit, a history of a war, in which they, or at least their fathers, were so deeply interested. THE DOCTOR.- And who may the other be? THE MAJOR.-Colonel, Squire or plain Mr. CAPTAIN OGILVIE.-I have heard but one O'Connor, for I believe he is designated by opinion, Major, expressed on this subject, and each of these titles, is an Irishman who came it will be with feelings of unmixed satisfaction to this country at a very early age, just in that an impartial and truthful account of the time also to take an active share in the late war will be every were received. There occurrences of that eventful period. The Laird is some anxiety also expressed as to what describes him as having been endowed with your intentions are with respect to a prelimithe gift of ubiquity, such was his determina-nary review of the causes from whence it tion to be wherever the sharpest fighting was originated. going on, and such his anxiety to get himself THE MAJOR.-It is on this very last point that I shall proceed to take the sense of those present. What say you, gentlemen? How far will it be judicious to go into a review such as Captain Ogilvie has spoken of? May not such an investigation be considered as involving, properly speaking, a question of European policy in which colonists possessed little or no immediate interest, and will it not be rather debateable ground for us to traverse? MR. O'CONNOR.-Cut the matter short, skip over the palaver which preceded the declaration of hostilities, and plunge at once in medias res,—give us something spirited that will make the pulse quicken, when we read of days gone by, something that will restore circulation to our blood and make us fancy ourselves again enjoying the hardships of old times. THE DOCTOR.-I do not exactly see, Major, with due submission to Mr. O'Connor, how we can, without leaving our readers pretty much in the dark, avoid entering at some length into a discussion of the jealousies and evil feelings which prompted the Americans to endeavour to play the same game with England which they had so successfully and lately done with the Spaniards in regard to Florida. Nay! I think that we shall not be able to show how signally they were mistaken in their judgment of Canadian feeling and loyalty, if we do not enter pretty fully into the debates which then occurred in the house of representatives-what say you Laird? THE LAIRD.-Brevity, brevity for me, and just ye haud this in yer mind that when a chiel dis na write ower muckle or ower lang, he canna tell too mony lees, besides flesh and bluid canna thole a' the clashmaclavers anent orders in council and sic like fasherie. CAPTAIN OGILVIE.-My opinion coincides with that of the worthy agriculturist, and my recommendation is, that your introduction should not be too long, but that you should proceed as soon as possible to your main object, which I take to be "the setting before Canadians, in a modest though spirited manner, the achievements of their fathers." THE MAJOR.-Pardon me, Captain, but you must not forget that we are about to write of events respecting which there yet survive a great many who can say "quorum magna nars fui." posed an implicit confidence that prompted her to entrust, to their almost unaided efforts, the defence of her honor. I think that such a review will, nay must, tend to foster in our day the same national feeling which at that time impelled every colonist to fly to arms to repel the hated invasion of their republican neighbours. THE DOCTOR.-Do you recollect, Captain, when you use the expression "hated invasion " that it may lead to a discussion as to whether there was not in Canada a strong party of emigrants from the United States who were not animated by the same feelings with which you have been so glowingly investing those more immediately of British blood. CAPTAIN OGILVIE.-I do recollect it, and I also recollect the eloquent speech of Mr. Sheffey, the member for Virginia, and his warning in the House of Representatives to those who were blindly advocating war measures: "You will act absurdly if you expect the people of that country to join you: Upper Canada is inhabited by emigrants from the United States! They will not come back to you; they will not, without reason desert the government to whom they have gone for protection. No, you must conquer it by force, not by sowing the seeds of sedition and treason among the people." Such was the just estimate, by a high-minded man, of Canadian feeling. The same gentleman too goes on: When the soil and the liberties of their country shall be assailed, then will their spirit be found equal to any contest with an enemy." Here was honorable testimony to Canadian patriotism, and mark well how he contrasts it with the feeling in the United States: "You have been told that you could raise volunteers to achieve the possession of Canada. Where are those volunteers? I have seen none of those patriotic men who are willing to go to Canada in the private rank; all of them must be officers. You may raise a few miserable wretches for your army, who would disgrace the service, and only serve as unprincipled minions to their officers. Will your farmer's sons enlist in your army? They will not. Look at the army of '98, it had twelve or fifteen regiments nominally; it was disbanded in eighteen months, when half the men had not been raised. Why, you had more PATRIOTISM ON PAPER THEN THAN EVEN * * * * * * * Now, and yet, you could not raise half the force for your army." "Will you send your soldiers to Canada without blankets? or do you calculate to take it by the end of the summer, and return home to a more genial climate by the next winter. This would be well enough; BUT I THINK IT WILL REQUIRE SEVERAL CAMPAIGNS TO CONQUER CANADA." CAPTAIN OGILVIE.-Thanks for the correction, I will add, then, "and the awakening the memory of their own past struggle in defence of the loved land of their adoption:" besides, in nearly all the works on the subject which have come under my notice, I have found too much space occupied in the discussion of questions, solely, or certainly in the major part, affecting the policy of the European nations, and too little said of the gallant deeds THE MAJOR.-Your opinion, then, is that and, I may even call them, heroic actions of we should avoid entering into the morale of the colonists, in whose untainted and un- the war,-"that great first cause, least underwavering patriotism the Mother Country re-stood." THE CAPTAIN.—I do. Let us record faithfully and succinctly the principal events of the war, after a declaration of hostilities had actually been made. THE DOCTOR.-I trust you will not fail, for the benefit of the few (for it is just possible that such a strange anomaly may exist as an annexationist of British descent,) who may be annexationists at heart, to set forth clearly the despicable position in which the Americans placed themselves by the declaration of hostilities. If it be actually necessary, be concise; but certainly do not omit to show that every ostensible ground of complaint against Great Britain had been removed by the repeal of the orders in council, and that America but gained for herself the unenviable notoriety of lending her aid to France, then engaged in an attempt against the liberties of the world. Remember what Alison says: "Thus had America, the greatest republic in existence, and which had ever proclaimed its attachment to thecause of freedom in all nations, the disgrace of going to war with Great Britain, then the last refuge of liberty in the civilized world, when their only ground of complaint against it had been removed; and of allying their arms with those of France, at that very moment commencing its unjust crusade against Russia, and straining every nerve to crush in the old world the last vestige of continental independence." THE LAIRD.-I think it wad na be that ill gin the Major were to set forth, noo that we have a' had our say, what he opines anent the matter. THE MAJOR-I agree with you, gentlemen, as to the propriety of making the introduction to the war as concise as possible, and I have been confirmed in my opinion by the sentiments just expressed by both the Dr. and Captain Ogilvie. By giving merely the alleged causes of the war, without entering into their respective merits, we shall avoid in a great measure any charge of partiality. Moreover, we shall escape the odium of accusing the Americans of unjustly seizing on Florida, a point on which you, Dr. seem to have already decided; we shall thereby avoid, also, the necessity of going into very lengthy details, to prove that America, by a declaration of hostilities, and close alliance with France, had placed herself in a despicable position, a fact, which you, Captain Ogilvie, seem to have disposed of much to your satisfaction. Now when we consider that the Americans justified the seizure of Florida as an appanage of Louisiana, and that in the British House of Commons, a party of which Messrs Brougham and Whitbread were two leaders, maintained that every principle of justice to America demanded the repeal of the obnoxious orders in council, I think you will concur with me in deciding, that, as it is not our object to give a party statement, our course should be, to give "the grounds of complaint urged by the Americans," with "the justification set forth by the English," and to leave our readers to form their own opinions unbiassed by any comment on our part. I wish you all to understand that in what I have said respecting the occupation of Florida, and in allusion to Messrs. Brougham and Whitbread's speeches, I am expressing no opinion on these points, but that I am simply justifying the expediency of avoiding, as far as the necessary elucidation of events will permit, the vexata quæstio, THE JUSTICE OR INJUSTICE OF THE WAR. Besides, this course will preclude the necessity of bringing before our readers more than a brief sketch of the stormy discussions which took place at that time in the House of Representatives, a discussion in which, by the way, your friend, Mr. Sheffey, seems to have taken a very. animated part: the honorable gentleman asserting in very unqualified terms that neither justice nor policy warranted a declaration of hostilities against Great Britain, on the part of America. THE DOCTOR.-At the risk of being accused of prejudging the whole question, I give my decided opinion, that such a limitation must prevent our doing full justice to our undertak ing, why we shall leave our readers in the dark as to the ignorance that prevailed in the States respecting Canadians and Canadian feelings, the ridiculous speeches made throughout the States, and the vain-glorious boasting respecting the easy conquest of Canada. Mr. Sheffey's was but the opinion of one rational man. Remember the violent answers made to that very speech by Mr. Williams of South Carolina, and Mr. Wright of Maryland. Remember the violent expressions of public feeling all through the States, and say whether it will be possible to do justice to our subject if we do not give more than a cursory glance at the events which preceded the war. THE MAJOR.-I cannot agree with you, and I think that, by avoiding an analytical narration of the events preceding the declaration of war, which will be both tedious and uninteresting to many of our readers, we shall be in a better position for doing justice to the real object of our undertaking "the exposition of the loyalty, courage and energies of the brave yeomanry of Canada. MR. O'CONNOR.-Bravo! Major, that is the topic for you to enlarge upon; that is the chord that will awaken in the hearts and feelings of every true Canadian a proper spirit; teach them, I say, how their forefathers THE MAJOR.-You must pardon a second correction, not forefathers only, remember that we have yet very many amongst us who, bore them most gallantly throughout all the stirring scenes we wish to describe, and who, I suspect, have no desire to be placed in the list of forefathers, but would prefer to have their deeds chronicled while yet the actors were in the flesh. MR. O'CONNOR.-Well, well, then, teach the generation now growing up, if that please you better, how their fathers, whether earth still numbers them amongst the living or no, evinced their attachment to the laws and institutions of the Mother Country, subject more interesting and valuable than the records of these courageous and noble-hearted people: few, very few, now remain to tell the tale of hardships, dangers, sorrows, and troubles incident to their lot. A few intelligent and agreeable men reside in this neighbourhood, who remember as but yesterday their trials and deep feelings on bidding adieu, for THE MAJOR.-I think, Dr., that the sense of ever, to the homes of their youth, their jourthe meeting is against you as to the prelimi-neys on foot and on horseback, with the young naries of the war, and that it seems to be children in baskets, or some other primitive decided that neither policy nor time will mode of conveyance; the difficulties enpermit any very lengthy exordium. The next countered on reaching Canada, then the resipoint, then, to be considered is how we are to dence of the savage, and offering an undisturbed get at the mass of information so widely lair to the wild beast,-the subsequent trials, spread over the country. | but feebly cheered by the rising sun of hope, obscured as her beams were by present misfortune and actual physical suffering,-the thankfulness with which their poor fare of crushed grain, moistened in water, or with hemlock leaves steeped, was eaten, yet these they paint as happy days." Surely the records of these acts should not be suffered to die, without some attempt to save them from CAPTAIN OGILVIE.-I, on my part, promise to be a diligent collector of any anecdotes and facts that may be interesting. MR. O'CONNOR.-and I engage to do every thing I can in my own neighbourhood to rouse the slumbering recollections of past deeds. THE LAIRD.-Weel, Major, I suppose I too maun do my best, but dinna reckon ower muckle on me, for ye maun mind that I am auld and feckless. THE MAJOR.-Not a bit of it, my old friend; still in your ashes live the wonted fires, and I reckon mainly on your exertions for all the anecdotes that I know are rife among the Scotch in your neighbourhood. THE DOCTOR.-I think, Major, we must endeavour to interest the public, generally, in the undertaking, if we expect to succeed in collecting the valuable and interesting incidents scattered all over the two Provinces; every anecdote that bears on the subject should be diligently sought after. Can not government assist us? THE MAJOR.-I have very little doubt but that we shall receive every assistance in the shape of permission to examine any documents or memoranda that may be in the possession of government, and it is my intention to communicate at once with the proper parties-so that, by the time we have disposed of the causes of the war, which I believe, it is settled are not to be too lengthy, I hope we shall be in possession of a mass of materials amply sufficient for our purpose. I have not been idle, I assure you, but have intelligent agents, on whose judgment I can rely, in every quarter collecting and digesting everything that bears in any way on the subject. I reckon, besides, a great deal on the feelings of interest, which I think our prospectus has roused, generally throughout the country, and I hope to receive much valuable information that will be available for our purpose and which may also assist us should we be disposed to adopt a suggestion that I have received this morning, to the effect, that we should commence as a parallel with our present undertaking, "a succinct history of the first and early settles of the Province." My correspondent writes: "There can be no oblivion. THE DOCTOR.-I think, Major, that these anecdotes, if collected, would form, in the way of appendix, a valuable item in our history, as they would serve to show still more clearly, how mistaken the Americans were in their judgment of the rude, stern material of which our population was formed. Not one of all the sufferers your correspondent describes but would have readily died for his loved native land, and when compelled by rude fate to tear himself away from his native glen, and to sever the ties "that knit him to its rugged strand,” it was with a heart overflowing with sorrow and love, not indifference or discontent, that he sought in Canada a new home, establishing afresh in the wilderness his housenold gods, naming, perchance, his farm after some spot hallowed by memory and endeared to him by old associations, and weaving round his heart feelings of deep love for his new home, but so entwined and intimately blended with the recollections of by gone days and scenes, as to render it impossible to love one without the other; even as a mother, when she presses her first-born to her bosom with feelings of unutterable affection, ceases not to revere and love her aged and venerable parents but rather endeavours to trace in each tiny feature some fancied resemblance. Such were the feelings, Major, brought to this country by the first settlers and these feelings were kept alive by constant arrivals "from home," each new comer bearing some recollections of the past. Now, the Americans, of the North particularly, from whatever cause we will not now enquire, never had cultivated this almost religious feeling of veneration for the land they had left. Of a more mixed race, they could make no allowances for such feelings, and they were consequently unprepared for |