the borough of Trim. His military
career of active service commenced by his being ordered, with his
regiment, to join the army in the Netherlands. Ere he reached it, the
tide of victory was running against the British arms; and his opening
campaign, while it gave him much experience, brought him but little
glory. He had now obtained the rank of colonel; and, as commander of
the rear-guard of the army, he steadily covered its retreat before the
advancing troops of the French republic, till they crossed the
frontiers of the Low Countries; when, after a kindly welcome and a
short stay with the Bremeners, they returned home.

The worn-out regiments were immediately recruited; and in April, 1796,
Colonel Wellesley sailed with his corps for the East Indies, where he
arrived in February the following year.

The fall of Seringapatam, and the death of Tippou-Saib in its defence,
are well-known events.

The principal command of the army in India was soon intrusted to
Colonel Wellesley, and early next year he was gazetted major-general.
The nature of this sketch will not admit of a detailed account of the
rest of the campaign, although it proved a "short but brilliant
one"--one which ended in the entire submission of the Mahratta
potentates who continued the struggle after Tippou's fall, and
completely established the reputation of the future hero of Waterloo.

A staff command awaited Major-General (and now Sir Arthur) Wellesley's
return to England; and soon afterward he married Catherine, the third
daughter of the Earl of Longford.

The command of a detachment of the army sent against the French in
Spain and Portugal, was confided to Sir Arthur, in June, 1808, when
without delay he proceeded to Corunna. The successes of the earlier
portion of the campaign, owing to the admirable conduct of Sir Arthur,
were so well appreciated at home that the king raised him to the
peerage. Through many difficulties Lord Wellington still continued to
lead the allied army on from victory to victory, to relate which, even
briefly, would alone fill a volume, till he found himself ready for
the last grand struggle at Ciudad Rodrigo, which was now occupied by
the French. It was early in January, 1811, yet notwithstanding the
coldness of the weather, and the dangers to which the army was
exposed, in case of the sudden rising of the river Agueda, which runs
nearly in front of the town, the preliminaries of the siege were
successfully conducted. On