them, but another British admiral with fifteen ships fell in with them, took two Spanish ships, and so frightened the rest, that they went off to Cadiz, and never even tried to come near the Channel.

6

5. The Battle of Trafalgar.-Napoleon was greatly disappointed. He fancied that the failure was owing entirely to the cowardice of his admiral, and he ordered him to put out to sea again. The poor man assured the Emperor that he should certainly be beaten. His sailors had long been shut up in harbour, and they had not been in the constant habit of managing their ships in the rolling seas as the English sailors had. Napoleon would take no excuse, and the admiral set out with a heavy heart. Nelson came up with him off Cape Trafalgar. He ordered the signal to be made which told the British fleet that England expects that every man will do his duty.' The French and Spaniards fought well, but they had no chance against the trained British crews. In the midst of the fight Nelson was shot by a man in the rigging of a French ship. He was carried below to die. The enemy's force was almost entirely destroyed. Never again during the war did a French or Spanish fleet put to sea. Yet so deeply was Nelson beloved in England, that it was doubtful when the news arrived whether joy for the victory or sorrow for the loss was greatest. The Battle of Trafalgar was for England what Cromwell would have called a crowning mercy.' Never again has an English fleet had to fight a battle against a European navy. Our ancestors fought and died that England might be free and unconquered.

6. Pitt's Last Days. Not long after England lost her greatest sailor, she lost her greatest statesman. As soon as Napoleon saw that his chance of invading England was over, he led his army to attack Austria and Russia. He forced an Austrian army to surrender at Ulm, entered Vienna in triumph, and defeated the combined Austrian and Russian armies at Austerlitz, forcing the Austrians to make peace with him. Pitt had hoped much from this alliance. His health was no longer what it was, and the last bad news crushed him. In January 1806 he died.

7. The Ministry of all the Talents. The ministry of all parties which Pitt had wished for came into office after his death. The King allowed Fox to have office. Lord Grenville was Prime Minister. This Government was known as the Ministry of all the Talents.

It did not last long, but it lasted long enough to do one great thing. As far as England was concerned, it put an end to that horrible slave trade which Pitt and Wilberforce had denounced in vain. Fox died a few months after Pitt, but he lived long enough to know that English ships would no longer be allowed to carry black men across the Atlantic into slavery. The other ministers were not successful. Napoleon got into a war with Prussia, and won a great victory, after which nearly the whole of Prussia submitted to him. Then he attacked the Russians. For some time it seemed doubtful whether he would succeed in beating them or not. They called on England for help. The English ministry had sent away its soldiers on useless expeditions, and had none to spare. The

Russian army was beaten, and the Emperor of Russia at once made peace with Napoleon. The peace is known as the Peace of Tilsit. Before that happened the Ministry of all the Talents had ceased to govern. It proposed to allow Catholics to be officers in the army and navy. The King not only refused to allow this, but ordered the ministers to promise that they would never even propose to do anything for the Catholics again. On their refusal he turned them out of office.

8. State of the Continent after the Peace of Tilsit. -The next ministry was headed by the Duke of Portland, who was an invalid. The real leader was Mr. Perceval, who was determined to keep the Catholics out of all kinds of offices. As the English people agreed with him in this, he was able to do as he wished. Amongst the new ministers was George Canning, who had been a great admirer of Pitt. He was resolved to do all that could possibly be done. to resist the power of Napoleon. Since Napoleon had made peace with Russia, no one on the Continent dared to say a word against him. He did exactly as he liked, pulled down kings and set them up at his pleasure, and forced the people whom he had conquered to pay him enormous sums of money. As he could no longer hope to be able to invade England, he tried to overpower it by injuring its commerce. He ordered that no one wherever the French power reached -that is to say, as far as the borders of Russiashould use any goods brought in by English vessels. In consequence of the superiority of the English fleets, the inhabitants of all the western and central

BB

countries of Europe had no chance of getting any goods from beyond the sea except in English vessels, as their own vessels would be stopped by the English ships. Coffee and tea, sugar and cotton, became very much dearer in all these countries. English merchants tried to smuggle them in, and whenever Napoleon's officers found them they seized them. The consequence was that the poor grew even more angry with Napoleon than the kings and great men had been before. Every poor man who found that he had to pay much more than he had been accustomed to pay for his cup of coffee, or for his shirt, hated Napoleor. It would not be many years before this universal hatred would rouse millions of people in Europe against Napoleon, and would pull him down from his power.

9. The Seizure of the Danish Fleet.-One of Napoleon's designs was to seize the Danish fleet, which was a very good one, and to use it against England. Canning heard of this, and at once sent a fleet and army to Copenhagen. As soon as they arrived, a messenger was sent to the Crown Prince, or eldest son of the King; who governed Denmark in his father's name, to ask him to give up the Danish ships. He was told that if he did so the British Government would give them back at the end of the war. He refused, and Copenhagen was attacked. At last the Danes were forced to give up their ships. Napoleon was very angry. He could not imagine how Canning had found out the secret. In England a great many people who did not know what Canning knew were very much displeased, because they

thought it an unjust thing to take the fleet from the Danes. When the fleet returned, George III. spoke to the gentleman who had carried the message to the Crown Prince, and asked him whether the Crown Prince was upstairs or downstairs when he received him. 'He was on the ground floor, please your Majesty,' was the gentleman's reply. I am glad of it for your sake,' said the King; for if he had half my spirit, he would certainly have kicked you down stairs.'

CHAPTER XLI.

FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE PENINSULAR WAR TO THE PEACE OF PARIS.

(1808-1814.)

1. Spain and Portugal.-Napoleon was not content with his victories. His army had never marched beyond the Pyrenees, and he disliked nothing so much as to be at peace. First, he picked a quarrel with Portugal, and sent an army which seized Lisbon. Then he looked out for an opportunity to get possession of Spain. It happened that Charles IV. King of Spain, and his son Ferdinand had quarrelled. Napoleon sent for them both to Bayonne, pretending that he would make up their quarrel. When they arrived, he persuaded the king to give up his crown, and at the same time seized the young man and sent him into confinement in a distant part of France. Then he sent his own brother Joseph to