balls flew without cessation; but to colour the scene with the might of three great nations in action, to show the dead and the dying, give the loud voice of the fight, the crush of ruined forts and dismembered ships, the roar on the ocean, the thunder on the land, and above all the unnatural glare of flashing lights, which were redder than the sun, and shaded by volumes of smoke, more horribly blackened than the dense clouds of a storm, -this, all this, were impossible. It has been admitted on all hands, that the evolutions of the enemy were masterly and desperate in the extreme, and it raised the astonishment of Europe, to see General Eliott, straitened within the narrow fortifications of a rock, and even curtailed in the ordinary resources of defence, (for the garrison had not been for some time provided with stores,) nevertheless triumphantly withstand a siege, unparalleled in the annals of modern warfare. His defence was in every respect the most complete. The assault raged on with unabated fury during the day, and continued for more terrible destruction during the night. It was at that extreme stage that the battering ships were set on fire-some were burnt to the edge of the water, others were raked in the holds until they sunk, and the rest completely beaten. In the morning only two Spanish feluccas were to be seen in the bay, and they fell into our hands the easiest of captures. From this period the enemy looked only to the starvation of the garrison for success, and accordingly disposed their fleets to prevent Lord Howe from throwing in provisions for its relief. In that hope they were also disappointed, for, after eluding their superior forces by a series of successful manœuvres, his lordship landed all the stores consigned to his trust on the 12th of October. Some attacks of minor interest were afterwards made, but the vigour of the siege declined, as the expectations of the besiegers were frustrated, and it was gradually abandoned. As soon as peace was restored, General Eliott returned to England, and was made a Knight of the Garter, but a more adequate acknowledgment of his services was awarded in 1787, when he was raised to the peerage by the titles of Baron Gibraltar, Viscount Heathfield. He enjoyed an interval of repose from the cares of command until 1790. In that year he proposed to resume his government, but had proceeded no farther on his way to it than Aix la Chapelle, when he was seized with paralysis, which put a period to his life, on Tuesday, July the 6th, at the age of 73. His body was conveyed to England during the course of the month, and deposited in a vault which was constructed for the purpose near his seat at Heathfield, in Sussex. He had one son, Francis Augustus, who succeeded to his titles and estate, and one daughter, the lady of Trayton Fuller, Esq. who also inherited from him a personal fortune of 20,000. FRANCIS HORNER, M. P. FRANCIS HORNER is commemorated in the north cross aisle a statue from the chisel of Chantrey, which is robed in a barrister's gown, and holds a book in the right hand. Of this piece of sculpture enough will have been said when it is observed, that in every respect it justifies the reputation of an artist who has raised his name above all his cotemporaries. The attitude is natural, the expression earnest, the likeness striking, and the execution fine. The epitaph, a composition of appropriate neatness, is thus engraved : To the memory of Who, by the union of great and various acquirements, raised himself to an eminent station in society, Was called to the Bar, both of England and Scotland, And publickly deplored in Parliament. This inscription resembles a few others which the reader has already been invited to admire in the course of the work :—it is a pattern in its own style-it relates with elegant brevity, and great good feeling, the main facts which distinguished the life, and whatever traits elevated the character, of the individual it commemorates; of one whose time was either consumed in study, or confined to mere professional avocations, it is proverbial that but little can be told; but that little dwindles away, and becomes reduced almost to nothing, when the subject falls prematurely into his grave. Such was the case with Mr. Horner, a gentleman, who, to uncommon powers of mind, added uncommon application and acquirements; but of whom the only particulars that are preserved, save those recited on his monument, are these few. The place of his birth was the old town of Edinburg: the day of it, August the 12th. He was educated at the university of his native city, and called to the Scotch bar in 1798, and the English in 1805. He first became known to the public as a contributor to the Edinburg Review, a periodical, which was the best beyond comparison of any that preceded it, and which has not as yet been surpassed. He was one of the first of those who projected that publication, and long continued one of the ablest of the very able writers who co-operated to establish its reputation. As a barrister, his practice lay chiefly in appeals to the House of Lords, and as a statesman he was more particularly an authority in matters of finance. Of his profundity in this most abstruse of all the subjects in political economy, the speech which he pronounced upon the bullion question, in 1810, supplies extraordinary evidence. The delivery of it occupied four hours, and perhaps no address was ever listened to with more attention, or admired for deeper merits. Connected with his senatorial capacity, it only remains to be added, that he entered the House of Commons in 1806, as member for the borough of St. Mawes, and consequently sat in three parliaments. He once filled, but did not long retain, a situation under Government-it was a commissionership for the liquidation of the Carnatic claims. The disease under which he perished, was a constitutional consumption, which began to distress him early in life, and by enervating him the more, the farther his years advanced, seriously impeded his pursuits. Thus he was first obliged to abandon the practice of his profession, and then to suspend his attendance in Parliament. He went to Italy, flattered with hopes that a milder climate might invigorate his debility, and restore his constitution; but the expectation was utterly vain. From this so barren a biography it would appear, that it was the character of the man which caused him to be highly esteemed and so deeply regretted: and such in reality was the case, for in this respect the panegyric of his epitaph does not at all exceed the truth. To that character the best and most authoritative testimony was borne, when, according to the forms of the House of Commons, a new writ was moved for a member to supply the seat vacated by his death. Upon that occasion personal friends and political opponents united in his praises, and thus is the historian assured, that he was a staunch Whig less conspicuous for eloquence than principles, and pre-eminently admirable for the invariable rectitude of his conduct, both as a public or a private man. His style of speaking was clear, grave, and decent; never tinged with the lightest air of vanity or presumption, and never tainted by the smallest particle of rancour or personality. If at times he did happen to rise above the tone of sincere moderation, it was only when animated with pity for unwarrantable distress, with indignation at the horrors of a slave trade, or zeal for the impartiality of justice, and the inviolability of the constitution. In friendship he was constant and affectionate; high-minded, and disinterested in his motives, uncompromising and imperturbable in his actions, and so very modest and reserved in his habits, as to appear cold and unsensitive to those who did not enjoy an intimacy with him. This tribute of praise nothing can exceed it has neither been disputed nor contradicted, and consequently by no other can such a panegyric be supposed to have been better deserved. JOHN HOWARD. THE first monument erected in St. Paul's Cathedral was raised to the memory of John Howard, in 1795, and opened to public inspection during the following year. It stands near the great iron gate, leading into the south aisle, and was executed by John Bacon, R.A. It is a plain but significant statue, representing the philanthropist, in the Roman costume, trampling on fetters, and bearing in his right hand a key, and in his left a roll, on which are inscribed the words, 'PLAN FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF PRISONS AND HOSPITALS.' The front of the pedestal is filled with a piece of basso-relievo, in which a prison scene is introduced, with a figure distributing food and raiment. The epitaph was written by Howard's 'relation, the late Samuel Whitbread, M. P. and is engraved on the south side of the pedestal: This extraordinary man had the fortune to be honoured while living in the manner which his virtues deserved: He received the Thanks of both Houses of the British and Irish Parliaments, Our national Prisons and Hospitals, |