was engaged may be
called successful, but certainly was not glorious. The British Lion,
or any other lion, cannot always have a worthy enemy to combat, or a
battle-royal to deliver. Suppose he goes forth in quest of a tiger who
won't come, and lays his paws on a goose, and gobbles him up? Lions, we
know, must live like any other animals. But suppose, advancing into the
forest in search of the tiger aforesaid, and bellowing his challenge
of war, he espies not one but six tigers coming towards him? This
manifestly is not his game at all. He puts his tail between his royal
legs, and retreats into his own snug den as quickly as he may. Were he
to attempt to go and fight six tigers, you might write that Lion down an
Ass.

Now, Harry Warrington's first feat of war was in this wise. He and about
13,000 other fighting men embarked in various ships and transports on
the 1st of June, from the Isle of Wight, and at daybreak on the 5th the
fleet stood in to the Bay of Cancale in Brittany. For a while he and the
gentlemen volunteers had the pleasure of examining the French coast
from their ships, whilst the Commander-in-Chief and the Commodore
reconnoitred the bay in a cutter. Cattle were seen, and some dragoons,
who trotted off into the distance; and a little fort with a couple
of guns had the audacity to fire at his Grace of Marlborough and the
Commodore in the cutter. By two o'clock the whole British fleet was at
anchor, and signal was made for all the grenadier companies of eleven
regiments to embark on board flat-bottomed boats and assemble round the
Commodore's ship, the Essex. Meanwhile, Mr. Howe, hoisting his broad
pennant on board the Success frigate, went in as near as possible to
shore, followed by the other frigates, to protect the landing of
the troops; and, now, with Lord George Sackville and General Dury in
command, the gentlemen volunteers, the grenadier companies, and three
battalions of guards pulled to shore.

The gentlemen volunteers could not do any heroic deed upon this
occasion, because the French, who should have stayed to fight them, ran
away, and the frigates having silenced the fire of the little fort which
had disturbed the reconnaissance of the Commander-in-Chief, the army
presently assaulted it, taking the whole garrison prisoner, and shooting
him in the leg. Indeed, he was but one old gentleman, who gallantly had
fired his two guns, and who told his conquerors, "If every Frenchman had
acted like me,