TWO:The safety of the prisoners diffused universal joy throughout the camps of the two generals; but there was one thing necessary, in their opinion, in which the Government concurred, in order to give the crowning proof of our complete triumph, and to restore the unquestionable supremacy of our power, and compel the respect and fidelity of the neighbouring provinces. This was the signal punishment of Cabul for the atrocities that had been perpetrated there. The hostile chiefs were now as eager to conciliate, as submissive in their tone as they had been cruel and arrogant. Even Akbar Khan professed the greatest friendship for the British, and repudiated the acts that had been done in his name, at the same time restoring to his friends Captain Bygrave, the last prisoner he had in his possession. The Afghans had a maiden fortress in the town of Istalif, which is built upon two ridges of the spur of Hindoo Koosh, which forms the western boundary of the beautiful valley of Kohistan. There, in its fortified streets and squares, as in a safe asylum, they had collected their treasures and their women. The sagacious Havelock suggested that the capture of this place, believed to be impregnable, would be a great stroke of policy. General M'Caskill, therefore, made a rapid march upon it, and after a desperate struggle, in which Havelock greatly distinguished himself, the place was stormed in gallant style, the Afghans in every direction giving way before our attacking columns.CHAPTER III. REIGN OF GEORGE III. (concluded).
THREE:
THREE:The deaths of monarchs, however, were peculiarly fatal to this ambitious man; that of Queen Anne had precipitated him from power, and rescued his country from the ruin he prepared for it; that of George now came as opportunely to prevent the national calamity of his ministry. George set out for Hanover on the 3rd of June, accompanied, as usual, by Townshend and the Duchess of Kendal. Just before his departure the youthful Horace Walpole saw him for the first and last time. When the king was come down to supper, Lady Walsingham took Walpole into the Duchess's ante-room, where George and his favourite were alone. Walpole knelt and[57] kissed the king's hand. George appeared in his usual health.All these causes of unpopularity were rendered more effective by the powerful political party which now assailed him. Pitt led the way, and the Dukes of Devonshire, Bolton, and Portland, the Marquis of Rockingham, the Earls of Temple, Cornwallis, Albemarle, Ashburton, Hardwicke, and Bessborough, Lords Spencer, Sondes, Grantham, and Villiers, James Grenville, Sir George Savile, and other Whigs, presented a formidable phalanx of opponents in both Houses. The measures, too, which he was obliged to bring forward, were certain to augment his discredit. The funded debt had grown to upwards of a hundred millions, and there were three millions and a half besides unfunded. It was necessary to raise a new loan, and, moreover, to raise a new tax, for the income was unequal to the expenditure, even in time of peace. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Dashwood, was not a man likely to make these new burdens go down easily. He issued the new loan to the public with so little advertisement, that the friends of the Ministers secured the greater part of the shares, and they soon rose to eleven per cent. premium, by which they were enabled, at the public cost, to make heavy sums. The tax which Sir Francis proposed was one on cider and perry, besides some additional duties on wines. There was at once an outcry in the City against this tax, led on by the Lord Mayor, Alderman Beckford, a great friend of Pitt. The cry was only too sure to find a loud echo from the cider-growing districts. Bute and his Chancellor were quickly compelled to reduce the proposed impost from ten shillings a hogshead, to be paid by the buyer, that is, by the merchant, to four shillings, to be paid by the grower. The tax thus cut down was calculated to produce only seventy-five thousand poundsa sum for which it was scarcely worth while to incur so much odium.
THREE: The Ministry of "All the Talents"Fox informs Napoleon of a supposed Scheme for his AssassinationFutile Negotiations for PeaceWindham's Army BillsResolutions against the Slave Trade passedInquiry into the Conduct of the Princess of WalesBritish Expeditions: Stuart in CalabriaBattle of MaidaContinued Resistance of the NeapolitansRecapture of the Cape of Good HopeExpedition to Buenos AyresNaval Successes: Victories of Duckworth, Warren, and HoodCochrane's DaredevilryNapoleon's subject KingdomsPrussia makes ComplaintsNapoleon prepares for WarMurder of PalmIsolation of PrussiaImbecility of their Plan of CampaignBattle of JenaNapoleon in BerlinHe seizes BrunswickComplete Subjugation of GermanySettlement of GermanyThe Berlin DecreesNapoleon rouses the PolesCampaign against BenningsenDeath of FoxMinisterial ChangesVotes in SupplyAn Administrative ScandalAbolition of the Slave TradeMeasures of Roman Catholic ReliefDismissal of the Grenville MinistryThe Duke of Portland's CabinetHostile Motions in ParliamentThe General ElectionIrish Coercion BillsFailure of the Expeditions planned by the late Ministry: Buenos AyresThe Expedition to the DardanellesExpedition to AlexandriaAttack on RosettaWithdrawal of the ExpeditionWar between Russia and TurkeySecret Articles of the Treaty of TilsitBombardment of Copenhagen and Capture of the Danish FleetSeizure of HeligolandThe Campaign in EuropeBattle of EylauBenningsen's RetreatNapoleon on the VistulaFall of DantzicBattle of FriedlandAlexander resolves to make PeaceThe Meeting on the NiemenTreaty of Tilsit.