of regiments, or commanders of districts, divisions, and branches of the army in India, or good service pensions were granted them. If officers and soldiers did well, who so ready to laud them in the House of Lords as the Duke, making amends by the warmth of his commendations as a peer for the brevity of his approbation as a general in the field? If ill, or erring from misconception, who so prompt to vindicate them to their country?" Not only was he a munificent supporter of charities in and about London, but he frequently held some office in them. Debts were no sooner contracted than discharged. He was temperate, sober, regular in his habits, and punctual in the exercise of his religious duties. The frequent announcement in the Court Circular that "the Duke of Wellington attended early (seven o'clock) morning service in the Private or Royal Chapel, St. James's," will be familiar to my readers. He always evinced a laudable anxiety that the soldiery should have the assistance of chaplains of orthodox principles and exemplary conduct. To conclude this head, these instances will suffice to illustrate his moral, social, and domestic character; but, to understand him still further, recourse must be had to the numerous works which contain anecdotes illustrative of his everyday transactions, and which "Aristides" has so carefully avoided noticing. It is to be hoped, however, that the above will be sufficient to convince the reader of the falsehoods contained in the negative articles, of the true character of the source whence that information is derived, and of the animus which "Aristides" entertains in his own mind towards "the Duke." Before I dismiss the subject, let me give him a little advice, which will, probably, prove beneficial to him when he criticizes the characters of notable individuals in future, viz., to dismiss all prejudice and foretaken opinions from his mind; to read with impartiality all the evidence on the question; and, when summing up their characters, let him not, in the antipathy and disgust which he may justly entertain for their vices, forget to enumerate some of their virtues; for it is, fortunately, the common lot of humanity, that, whilst possessing a share of the reprehensible, they are also gifted with those parts of character which oftentimes more than counterbalance their evil dispositions and bad habits.

The political life and character of the Duke is certainly the most discouraging and lamentable part of it. Being from birth connected with the aristocracy, he held their prejudices and opinions with a tenacity which was only equalled by the zealous and persevering manner in which he carried them into effect. His determined and headstrong opposition to the three great measures of reform referred to by "Aristides," until impelled by necessity to assist in passing them, is a striking illustration of the school in which he received his political education. That he acted from disinterested and purely conscientious motives, however, admits of no doubt, despite the severity with which "Aristides" assails him. His opposition to the Roman Catholic emancipation bill was not on account of his religious belief, for bigotry formed no part of his character. His own words explain his views:-"He considered the question (he said) merely one of expediency, and he grounded his opposition to the measure not on any doctrinal points, but on the church government of the Roman Catholics. Nobody could have witnessed the transactions which had been going on in Ireland during the (then) last thirty-five years without being convinced that there was a combination between the laity and the clergy, which was daily gaining ground. . . . He wished to see real distinct securities proposed before he could consent to give any vote in favour of those claims," &c. &c. On the corn laws he said: "They worked well, and he was convinced they could not be repealed without injury to the country." This shows that his opinions were regulated and modified by circumstances—to be easily abandoned if circumstances required a change in the law. It was not that he had no sympathy with the sufferings of the people that he opposed them, for he says:-"If he (Lord Stanhope) supposes that I do not feel for the distresses of the people, he is utterly mistaken, as I can sincerely avow that I have as strong sympathy on this subject as any noble member of this house." He did not, as many suppose, and as "Aristides" would probably have us to infer, oppose the emancipation bill from a hatred of the Romishr creed, but from other and secondary causes. This remark applies also to the other great bills referred to. The Duke always entertained serious apprehensions that any altera

"He died,

As he had lived, his country's boast and pride. Warrior, who with patient toil,

Scant and exhausted legions taught to foil

Skill, valour, numbers. One who never sought A selfish glory from the fields he fought

extent he should go, in the routine of his daily transactions; if they are at all inclined to acquire a fastidious taste for appreciating character, I would respectfully refer them to

weal,

"He undoubtedly had failings, in common with the rest of mankind; but they were almost lost to ordinary perception in the presence of the numerous virtues which adorned his existence, and which, more than his successes, raised him to the unexampled pre-eminence he enjoyed for nearly half a century."

In conclusion:-If there be any aspirants to fame amongst the readers of this magazine who are desirous to possess eccentric and limited notions and opinions of what should win our "admiration," and are also disposed to become possessed of that gauge by which "Aristides" measures and determines how far a man is right, and to what

competent to give them complete instructions. I will not, however, fail to warn them that, if they follow the advice of that gentleman, or mould their judgments in accordance with that which has dictated the two articles from his pen, they will be as sure to meet with disappointment, in proportion as it would be difficult to present a character which would win the "admiration" of all persons; for, although a man may do his utmost to discharge his duty, to himself, to his God, and to others, so he is as certain to have dissentients, who will condemn or find some fault with the course he has pursued.

The Duke of Wellington is one of that bright band of whom it may justly be said— "Such souls are rare; and mighty patterns given To earth; and meant for ornaments to heaven." J. G. R.

NOTHING is so common as for Englishmen to think well of the dead; none speak so loudly the praise of him who has passed to "The undiscovered country, from whose bourn No traveller returns,"

or so enthusiastically vindicate the character of the departed from slanderous aspersions. We rejoice in the name and national characteristics of Englishmen. We glory in the name of Wellington, and for his good works rejoice to give him the utmost praise which his most ardent admirers could desire; but we are fond of forming a rational and christian estimate of all things submitted to our judgment. Our view of the conduct of the late Duke in his public capacity is, that he acted well his part as a person sworn to a certain duty; but this is a different question to that now under discussion, therefore we beg to be exonerated from the charge of blaming the late Duke, as nothing is farther from our intention. We are particularly desirous to obtain a just estimate of his character, and to assist others in obtaining it.

What is character? When we speak of the solidity, immobility, and extension of a physical body, we understand by these terms

some necessary property of that body; but if colour, smoothness, and hardness be mentioned, we know that qualities of an accidental nature are implied. Just so in the moral and intellectual nature of man. Thought, will, desire, &c., are necessary conditions of his existence; they are properties of his nature; but whether these powers are good or bad, proper or improper, is of a contingent nature; hence we infer that the quality of a man's motives--the quality of those causes which determine his choice of the good or bad in the conduct of his life-is the only true index of his character; in other words, character is the moral quality of a person's conduct in relation to the motives from which that conduct springs.

We find in the history of the late Duke that he entered the military profession merely because it was, in the common parlance of fashionable life, an honourable profession; and, being of the youngest branch of an honourable house, this profession was an honourable means of obtaining the honours and good things of this life. No consideration of the propriety or impropriety of any duty imposed upon the soldier by his superior

is ever allowed to him; he is sworn to obey his superior in all things without hesitation; his moral action, in all its most important particulars, is bartered for an honourable profession, and he becomes a mere animal machine, for the purpose of performing the operation of phlebotomy upon patients nicknamed enemies, setting fire to gunpowder in a long iron tube, or stopping a flying bullet with his own head-a profoundly wise employment for a learned and intelligent man! Surely he who excels most in the army, that vast association of non-voluntary animal machines, must really be worthy of the admiration of all Bedlam! But seriously, my friend. As a soldier, the late Duke, on entering the military profession, resigned his power of moral choice in any of his professional conduct; the motives to action, the moving causes determining his conduct, were owned and exercised by another, to whom he had sworn military fealty, and to him rightly belongs the admiration or condemnation which necessarily arises from the character formed from those motives. Let us look a little into the signification of the term admiration. If any physical object is submitted to the human mind possessing a quality which is generally recognised as being uncommon-for instance, as being unusually great or small, strong or weak-it excites in us wonder or surprise; but if, in addition to this quality of newness or unusuality, it is good, it produces in us a combination of wonder and love, which we call admiration; hence intellectual and moral goodness, or their effects, are necessary additions to the quality of novelty, rightly to produce admiration in an intelligent moral being, such as man. Were intellectual and moral goodness and greatness in an extraordinary degree possessed by the late Duke? We say, No; and we fearlessly appeal to the flatteringly garbled history of his life and times in proof of our position.

History and the opinions of the panegyrists of the late Duke demonstrate with absolute certainty the fact, that his great first motive was duty to his king; this duty consisted in implicit obedience to his orders, and in the execution of these orders it was no consideration of his whether they were morally right or wrong, nor what might be the cost of property or life thereby his duty was to obey.

:

But we have observed that the late Duke became a soldier because it was an honourable profession-that in doing so he bartered his moral freedom in all points affected by the duties of that profession; hence his chief motive, that of obtaining a fashionably respectable position in society, renders his character unworthy of our admiration; and his oath of military fidelity, as it takes away the power of choosing between obedience to orders, morally good or bad, makes his strict regard to military duty-the secondary motive of his life-action-a strong reason why we should not admire his character.

A kindred view may be taken of the character of the late Duke by rightly considering the position in which he was placed, the circumstances by which he was surrounded, and the object he sought to obtain. His position was peculiar to his time; he rose into life when full play might be given to the belligerent propensities of poor human nature. On entering the military service, by means of family and political influences he was elevated to various posts of command in the army. In such positions he had many opportunities of obtaining enlarged experience in military matters of every conceivable character. The numerous battles caused by the envious and unquiet dispositions of the various monarchies and powers of Europe had created a vast association of hardy veterans, practised in the dreadful work of rapine and bloodshedding. These men valued their own lives as little as those of their enemies; and, by the united effect of the cool determination of the English, the fiery ardour and impetuosity of the Irish, and the calculating precaution and hardy endurance of the Scotch, the late Duke had at all times under his command the means of executing the most hairbrained and extravagant schemes ever conceived with a certainty of success never before known; besides, to him the matter was of the greatest personal importance, because defeat rendered him liable to the worst humiliation—that of public trial, condemnation, degradation, and probable exile. Under these circumstances we are not surprised to see far greater numbers in the returns of the killed and wounded* than were suffered by our

At the assault of Ciudad Rodrigo, "the casualties on both sides were very great. The