situation; and the mode of removing him, will probably be by putting him at the head of some corps; but this is not yet mentioned to him, and, therefore, I rely on your not speaking of it to any one else. I do not know whether, in that case, the King will fill up his place as aide-de-camp, or not; but one vacancy cannot be expected to make room for Nugent, who is at the end of his year; besides, the natural claim which Manners has on the King. It is, therefore, I think, better on the whole, that Nugent should go on with his corps. With respect to your lesser army jobs, I say nothing about them, because I really do not understand them, and am unable to judge of the facility or difficulty of Lord Amherst's complying with them. It is useless for me to talk about Pitt's share in all this, though I certainly do not think it very fair that he should bear on his shoulders all the grievances of cornetcies and lieutenancies, which Lord Amherst or any other Commander-in-chief is sure to create. I have spoken about the précis, and you will certainly have them whenever there is news to send. The army is safe, and I hope quiet, in its winter quarters. Lord Moira sets out tomorrow morning, and will find everything ready for him at Portsmouth. You see how right you was about the impossibility of keeping secret at Portsmouth the new destination of this force. Luckily, it is so ready, that the thing itself will take place even now as soon as the news can reach Paris. Lord Malmesbury is going to Berlin, to bring our good ally to a point-ay or no. I think it will end in no. I certainly will not forget my engagement; and I still hope we shall find a Saturday and Sunday for Stowe. God bless you, my dear brother, and believe me Ever most affectionately yours, G. LORD GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM. MY DEAREST BROTHER, St. James's Square, Dec. 12th, 1793. At your request, I certainly will do a thing extremely disagreeable to myself, by putting into Mr. Pitt's hands the letter you desire me to show him. In any case where you or yours could have the smallest interest, I should never consider whether a compliance with your wishes is or is not pleasant to me; but I freely own, that I hardly think you would be repaid, by Mr. Pigott's getting his company, for the uneasiness I feel in being made (unprofitably, too, as I think, even to the object) the channel of such a communication between two persons whom I have so much reason to love and value. The accounts of the Duke of Brunswick's victory, though they have not come to us from any channel that we can consider as strictly official, are such as to leave no doubt of the fact. There appears to have been different actions for three days, from the 29th of November to the 1st of December; and on the last of these days the victory was obtained, which persons, pretty well informed, seem to consider as decisive of the fate of Landan. The great object of the French was to relieve that place, and surround Wurmser; and in both they have failed, having been repulsed in a last attack they made on the latter the 1st instant. It appears likely now that little more will be done on that frontier till Landan is obliged to surrender; nor anything after that. All our expectations are turned towards Brittany; but the news from that quarter is by no means favourable, as far as it goes. The Royalist army appears unable to make any siege, or even to continue twenty-four hours in the same place; and this for want of provisions. There is, besides, among them much disunion, and a total want of discipline; and they seemed to have formed the resolution of retiring inwards into France. Whether they will be deterred from this by the communications since made to them, and by the knowledge of our force being actually at their doors, remains to be seen. I did not send you the account of the failure of all our hopes, from Lord Howe. I was not in town; and if I had been, I do not know whether I was not too much vexed to write. He is still off Ushant; so that the idea of sending out the second fleet is, for the moment, at least, out of the question. Some of those ships are, as you know, destined for other services; and the whole, without Lord Howe, would not be strong enough to meet the Brest fleet; and with him, would be much too strong. The business of St. Domingo is highly important. The possession of the Mole, though not beyond what we had looked to, is much beyond my hopes. Dansey's letter to Williamson expresses much confidence of maintaining himself there, with such a force, as I trust, by this time, and long before, he actually has there. Ever most affectionately yours, G. At the close of the year France was stronger than at the commencement. The destruction of her navy at Toulon was the principal reverse she suffered. On the other side the allies had encountered defeat at almost every point; the Prussians compelled to retreat to Mentz, the Imperialists driven beyond the Rhine, and the English forced to raise the siege of Dunkirk. The enthusiasm of the masses, sustained by these successes, and acted upon by the popular appeals of the Jacobins, placed at the disposal of the Republic an enormous physical force, which the whole winter was occupied in augmenting and organizing for the campaigns of the ensuing year. 1794. ADMINISTRATION-LORD PREPARATIONS IN ENGLAND FOR THE PROSECUTION OF THE WAR-INACTIVITY PARLIAMENT was convened on the 21st of January, 1794; and the Speech from the Throne expressed a sanguine hope on the part of His Majesty that the resources of France would be speedily exhausted. There was certainly little in the operations of the last year upon which the country could be congratulated; and the only remaining encouragement that could be held out was in reference to the future. The prodigious exertions of the Republic undoubtedly justified the expectation, that she could not long continue to meet the increasing demands which the extension of the war was making upon her means and energies; but it was difficult, in the heat and excitement of the conflict, to form an adequate estimate of the devotion with which the French were prepared to follow up their successes. A series of fortunate incidents and some brilliant achievements had inflamed the national vanity to such a height of exultation as to produce a perfect military mania in all parts of the country; and when Mr. Pitt, in the course of the opening debate, declared that "France had been converted into an armed nation,”—an expression that elicited much criticism at the time-he described accurately the exact state of the people, and the lengths they were prepared to go in the assertion of the principles they had baptized in the blood of the Sovereign. There were not wanting persons in England who sympathized with the republicans of France, and regarded their martial spirit with something of the admiration which the impassioned and the thoughtless bestow upon gallantry and heroism. But the bulk of the nation entertained a different opinion, and viewed with alarm and detestation the sanguinary excesses by which the war was initiated and sustained. While the former class, few in number, and confined chiefly to the lowest dregs of the population, continued to give occupation to the Government at home, the latter were ready to make any sacrifices the exigency of circumstances required to support the policy of the Government abroad. Parliament unanimously voted an augmentation of eighty-five thousand men to the navy, and sixty thousand to the army. Ample preparations in other respects were made for the approaching operations; and, amongst the extraordinary measures resorted to, arrangements were made for augmenting the Militia, and |