mer of 1809, and had been wounded at the battle of Talavera. In
the course of the following summer, Lord John states, in a manuscript
which is in Lady Russell's possession: 'I went to Cadiz to see my
brother William, who was then serving on the staff of Sir Thomas Graham.
The head-quarters was in a small town on the Isle of Leon, and the
General, who was one of the kindest of men, gave me a bed in his house
during the time that I remained there.' Cadiz was at the moment besieged
by the French, and Lord John proceeds to describe the strategical points
in its defence. Afterwards he accompanied Colonel Stanhope, a member of
General Graham's staff, to the head-quarters of Lord Wellington, who had
just occupied with his army the lines of Torres Vedras. He thus records
his impressions of the great soldier, and of the spectacle which lay
before him:--'Standing on the highest point, and looking around him on
every side, was the English General, his eyes bright and searching as
those of an eagle, his countenance full of hope, beaming with
intelligence as he marked with quick perception every movement of troops
and every change of circumstance within the sweep of the horizon. On
each side of the fort of Sobral rose the entrenchments of the Allies,
bristling with guns and alive with the troops who formed the garrison of
this fortified position. Far off, on the left, the cliffs rose to a
moderate elevation, and the lines of Torres Vedras were prominent in the
distance.... There stood the advanced guard of the conquering legions of
France; here was the living barrier of England, Spain, and Portugal,
prepared to stay the destructive flood, and to preserve from the deluge
the liberty and independence of three armed nations. The sight filled me
with admiration, with confidence, and with hope.'

Wellington told Colonel Stanhope that there was nothing he should like
better than to attack the enemy, but since the force which he commanded
was England's only army, he did not care to risk a battle. 'In fact, a
defeat would have been most disastrous, for the English would have been
obliged to retreat upon Lisbon and embark for England, probably after
suffering great losses.' Within a fortnight Lord John was back again in
London, and over the dinner table at Holland House the enterprising lad
of eighteen was able to give Lord Grey an animated account of the
prospects of the campaign, and of the appearance of Wellington's
soldiers. The desire fo