to Saxony, when he received authentic
intelligence of the accession or pro-
bable accession of Saxony to the league
of Russia and Austria against his ex-
istence; and resolved, by a vigorous
stroke, not only to deprive the enemy
of the prize he was so soon to seize,
but to convert its resources to their
own defence.

and the formidable armament, spreading their sails before a favourable wind, passed the Sound, and cast anchor in appalling strength before the harbour of Copenhagen.

27. It was no part, however, of the design of the British government to precipitate the country into hostilities; on the contrary, they were on many accounts most desirous to avoid, if possible, proceeding to that extemity, and rather to gain the object in view by diplomatic arrangements than actual force. With this view they had sent Mr Jackson with the armament, who had resided as envoy of Great Britain for many years at the court of Berlin, and was supposed to enjoy, in a very high degree, the confidence of the northern powers. As soon as he arrived off the Danish coast, Mr Jackson landed at Kiel, and proceeded to announce the purport of his instructions to Count Bernstorff, and request an audience of the Prince-Royal. By the former he was received with the indignant vehemence natural to a patriotic minister, who saw, from what he conceived to be foreign injustice, a

26. Accidental circumstances gave the British government, contrary to the usual case with an insular power, the means, both with respect to land and sea forces, of instantly acting on this vigorous resolution. The first division of the expedition which had been so long in preparation to aid the Allies on the shores of the Baltic was already in the isle of Rugen, and the remainder was in such a state of forwardness as to be ready to embark at a few days' notice. A large naval force was also assembled, to act as occasion might require, and this was speedily added to with extraordinary expedition. Such was the activity displayed by the new ministers, that in the end of July twenty-seven ships of the line, having on board twenty thousand land troops, set sail from the British har-grievous misfortune impending over bours, besides other smaller vessels, amounting in all to ninety pendants, and stretched across the German ocean for the shores of Denmark. Had this great expedition been prepared, as it might have been, two months earlier, by the preceding administration, it would, to all appearance, have averted the disaster of Friedland, determined the hesitation of Austria, and driven Napoleon to a disastrous retreat, for which he was already making preparations, to the Rhine. As matters now stood, it had a subordinate but still a very important duty to perform. They arrived off the Danish coast on the 3d August, and immediately stationed such a force under Commodore Keats, in the Great Belt, as effectually cut off all communication between the island of Zealand and the adjacent isles, or shores of Jutland. At the same time the troops from Stralsund, ten thousand strong, arrived, under Lord Cathcart, who immediately took the command of the whole expedition;

his country; by the latter, with the mild but courageous dignity which added lustre to a throne exposed to the storms of adversity. The instructions of the English envoy, however, were peremptory; and as the PrinceRoyal positively refused to accede to the terms proposed, which were, that the fleet should be deposited with the British government in pledge, and under an obligation of restitution, till the conclusion of a general peace, he had no alternative but to declare that force would be employed. Upon this, the Prince-Royal, with praiseworthy resolution, declared his determination to share the dangers of his capital, and immediately set out for Copenhagen. He was allowed by the British cruisers to pass the Great Belt with all the officers of his staff, and was soon after followed to the capital by the British envoy; but having no powers to accede to an accommodation on the basis proposed, the negotiation broke off, and both sides prepared to decide the

matter in dispute by the sword. At cent shores; and no preparations had,
|
the same time, a proclamation was on their arrival, been made in Zealand
issued by the English commanders, itself. The ramparts were unarmed,
declaring in precise terms the object the fleet unequipped; and though
of their hostility, disclaiming all idea great fermentation and the most hon-
of conquest or capture, but demanding ourable patriotic zeal prevailed in the
the fleet in deposit till the conclusion capital, few regular troops were assem-
of a general peace.
bled within its walls, and little pro-
gress could in so short a time be made
in the organisation of a volunteer force.
The sudden calm, however, which en-
sued, and prevented the ships from
approaching the coast to land the heavy
ordnance and siege equipage, retarded
for several days the approaches, and
afforded the Danes a breathing-time,
of which they actively availed them-
selves, both to prepare for their
defence and retard the operations
of the besiegers. But this respite
was of short duration, and by inspir-
ing the inhabitants with fallacious
hopes, in the end it only led to addi-
tional and lamentable calamities. The
heavy artillery was at length landed,
and brought up to the trenches; the
assistance of the sailors enabled the
navy to be employed against us. We ask de-
posit-we have not looked to capture: So far
from it, the most solemu pledge has been
offered to your government, and it is hereby
renewed, in the name and by the express
commands of the King, our master, that if
our demand is acceded to, every ship belong-
ing to the Danish navy shall, at the conclusion
of a general peace, be restored to her, in the
same condition and state of equipment as
when received under the protection of the
British flag. It is in the power of your
government, by a word, to sheath our swords,
most reluctantly drawn against you; you
will be treated on the footing of the most
friendly powers; property of all sorts will
be respected and preserved; the most se-
vere discipline enforced; every article re-
quired paid for at a fair price: but if these
offers are rejected, and the machinations of
France render you deaf to the voice of reason
and the call of friendship, the innocent blood
that will be shed, and the horrors of a be-
sieged and bombarded capital, must fall on
your own heads, and those of your cruel
advisers."-Parl. Deb. x. 224. The Prince-
Royal replied, "No example is to be found
in history of so odious an aggression as that
with which Denmark is menaced; more
honour may now be expected from the
pirates of Barbary than the English gov-
ernment. You offer us your alliance! Do
we not know what it is worth?-your
allies, vainly expecting your succours for
an entire year, have taught us what is the
worth of English friendship."-See DUMAS,
xix. 171.

28. The British troops commenced
their disembarkation without resist
ance on the 16th; and in three days
the whole force was landed, and the
investment of the town completed. It
then appeared that, however much the
Danish government might have been
inclined to accede to the summons of
the combined Emperors, and unite
their navy to the general maritime
confederacy, they had at least no ex-
pectation of being so soon involved in
hostilities on their own shores, and
were totally unprepared for the for-
midable forces now arrayed by sea and
land against them. Such had been
the vigilance of the cruisers in the
Great Belt, that no troops whatever
had been ferried over from the adja-
* "Whereas the present treaties of peace,
and the changes of government and of terri-
tory acceded to, and by so many powers,
have so far increased the influence of France
on the Continent of Europe as to render it
impossible for Denmark, even though it
desires to be neutral, to preserve its neu-
trality, and absolutely necessary for those
who continue to resist the French aggres-
sion to take measures to prevent the arms
of a neutral power from being turned against
them; in this view, his Majesty cannot re- |
gard the present position of Denmark with
indifference, and he has therefore sent nego-
tiators with ample powers to his Danish
Majesty, to request, in the most amicable
manner, such explanations as the circum-
stances require, and a concurrence in such
measures as can alone give security against
the further mischief which the French medi-
tate through the acquisition of the Danish
navy. The King, therefore, has judged it
expedient to demand the temporary deposit
of the Danish ships of the line in one of his
Majesty's ports. The deposit seems to be
just, and so indispensably necessary, under
the relative situation of the neutral and bel-
ligerent powers, that his Majesty has fur-
ther deemed it a duty to himself and to his
people to support his demand by a powerful
fleet, and by an army amply supplied with
every necessary for the most active and de-
termined enterprise. We come, therefore,
to your shores, inhabitants of Zealand, not
as enemies, but in self-defence, to prevent
those who have so long disturbed the peace
of Europe from compelling the force of your |

L.

works to be prosecuted with great ra- the besiegers. With speechless anx-
pidity; and on the 1st September iety the trembling citizens watched
they were so far advanced as to have the path of the burning projectiles
everything in readiness for the bom-through the air; while the British
bardment to commence. The place
was then summoned, and the same
terms generously offered which had
before been rejected.* Meanwhile SIR
ARTHUR WELLESLEY, who then begar
in high command that career in Eu-
rope which has rendered his name and
country immortal, moved with ten
thousand men against a body of twelve
thousand militia, supported by a few
regular troops, which had assembled
in the interior of the island at Kioje,
and by a sudden attack, in which the
92d and 52d regiments distinguished
themselves, dispersed them with the
loss of several hundred killed and
twelve hundred prisoners.

soldiers and sailors from afar beheld with admiration the heavens tracked by innumerable stars, which seemed to realise more than the fabled splendours of oriental fireworks. Before the third night eighteen hundred houses were consumed; whole streets were level with the ground; and fifteen hundred of the inhabitants had lost their lives. At length the obvious danger of the total destruction of the city by the progress of the flames overcame the firmness of General Peymann, to whom the Prince-Royal had delegated his command: and on the forenoon of the 5th, a flag of truce appeared at the British outposts to treat for

29. The offer of accommodation be-a capitulation.‡
ing rejected, the bombardment began,
and was continued with uncommon
vigour, and with only a short interrup-
tion, for three days and nights. The
inhabitants sustained with heroic re-
solution the flaming tempest, and all
classes were indefatigable in their en-
deavours to carry water to the quar-
ters where the city had taken fire.
But in spite of all their efforts the con-
flagration spread with frightful rapid-
ity; and at length a great magazine
of wood and the lofty steeple of the
church of Our Lady took fire, and the
flames, curling to a prodigious height
up its wooden pinnacles, illuminated
the whole heavens, and threw a lurid
light over all the fleet and army of

* The summons set forth :-"To convince
the Danish government and the whole world
of the reluctance with which his Majesty has
recourse to arms, we the undersigned, at the
moment when our troops are before your
gates, and our batteries ready to open, re-
new to you the offer of the same advantage-
ous terms, which we formerly proposed
viz. if you will consent to deliver up the
Danish fleet, and to our carrying it away, it
shall be held in deposit merely, and restored
in as good a state as received, with all its
equipments, as soon as the provisions of a
general peace shall have removed the neces-
sity which occasioned this demand. But if
this offer isnow rejected, it cannot be repeat-
ed.-CATHCART, GAMBIER." Sept. 1, 1807.
t "A fiery ball each on the engine throws;
The stuff was dry, the fire took quickly hold;

30. But the period of equal negotiation was past: the Danes had perilled all on the issue of the sword; and no other terms would be agreed to but the unconditional surrender of the whole fleet, with all the artillery and naval stores which the place contained. Hard as these terms appeared, necessity left the Danes no alternative, and a capitulation was signed on these conditions two days afterwards, in virtue of which the British troops were immediately put in possession of the citadel, gates, and arsenal; and, by the united efforts of friends and foes, a stop was at length put to the progress of the conflagration, but not before it had consumed an eighth part of the city.

Furious upon the timber-work it grows;
How it increased cannot well be told,
How it crept up the peece, and how to skies
The burning sparks and tow'ring smoke
upflies. TASSO, Jer. Del. xii. 45-46.

"From the top of a tower," says a respectable eyewitness, "I beheld, in October 1807, the extent of the devastation. Whole streets were level with the ground; 1800 houses were destroyed; the principal church was in ruins; almost every house in the town bore some marks of violence; 1500 of the inhabitants had lost their lives, and a vast number were wounded. The Danes left to the English the poignant regret that certainly defended themselves like men, and the insatiable ambition of Buonaparte had converted this gallant people into our enemies."-BRENTON'S Naval History, ii. 177.

By the terms of the capitulation, it able a feature in his character, affected had been stipulated that the English to be deeply afflicted by the catastroshould evacuate the citadel of Copen- phe, though none knew so well the hagen within six weeks, or a shorter reality of the secret articles in the time, if the fleet could be got ready treaty of Tilsit which had rendered it before the expiry of that period. But necessary. Even their long-establishsuch was the expedition with which ed national rivalry with the Danes the operations were conducted, and could scarcely induce the Swedes to the activity displayed by both the receive with satisfaction the intellinaval and military departments, that gence of so serious an invasion of neulong before the expiry of that period tral rights. Thus, on all sides and in the fleet was equipped, the stores on all countries, a general cry of indignaboard, and the evacuation completed. tion burst forth against this successful Early in October, the British fleet and enterprise; and the old jealousy at the army returned to England, bringing maritime power of England revived with them their magnificent prize, with such vehemence, as for a time to consisting of eighteen ships of the line extinguish all sense of the more pressin excellent condition, fifteen frigates, ing dangers arising from the military six brigs,* and twenty-five gun-boats, power of France. besides two sail of the line and three frigates which had been destroyed as not worth the removal.

31. The Copenhagen expedition excited a prodigious sensation throughout Europe; and as it was a mortal stroke levelled at a neutral power, without any previous declaration of war, or ground for hostility then ascertained, it was generally condemned as an uncalled-for and unjustifiable violation of the law of nations. "Blood and fire," said Napoleon, "have made the English masters of Copenhagen ;" and these expressions were not only re-echoed over all the Continent by all that great portion of the public press which was directly subjected to his control, but met with a responsive voice in those nations who, chagrined with reason at the refusal of the British government to lend assistance in men or money for the decisive struggle on the banks of the Vistula, were not sorry of this opportunity of giving vent, apparently on very sufficient grounds, to their displeasure. Russians were loud in their condemnation of the English administration. The Emperor, with that profound dissimulation which formed so remark

* Including the cannon placed on the praams and floating batteries which were brought away, the artillery taken amounted to 3500 pieces. The prize-money due to the troops engaged was estimated by Admiral Lord Gambier at £960,000.-HARDENBERG,

X. 42

32. But whatever might be at first the general impression of Europe as to the Copenhagen expedition immediately after it occurred, Napoleon was not long of affording it a complete vindication. It has been already mentioned that it was stipulated in the treaty of Tilsit that, in the event of England declining the proffered mediation of Russia, the courts of Copenhagen and Lisbon should be summoned to join the Continental League, and unite their naval forces to those of France and Russia, [Ante, Chap. XLVI., § 79]. On the 12th August, a note was transmitted to the French minister at Lisbon, peremptorily requiring that the Portuguese fleet should co-operate with the French and Danish in the maritime war, and that the persons and property of all Englishmen in Portugal should be forthwith seized. And it soon after appeared, that on the same day similar orders had been transmitted to the cabinet of Copenhagen. In a public assembly of all the ambassadors of Europe at the Tuileries, the Emperor Napoleon demanded of the Portuguese ambassador whether he had transmitted to the court of Lisbon his orders to join their fleet to the general maritime confederacy against England, and confiscate all English property within their dominions? And having said this, he immediately turned round to the Danish ambassador, and asked him whether he had done the same? The

note addressed to the Portuguese ing this honourable feeling with the government was immediately com- utter confusion of all moral principle municated by its ministers to the Brit- which in France resulted from the ish cabinet: that to the Danish was Revolution, and the universal applicaconcealed, and its existence even de- tion to public measures of no other nied. Thus, at the very time that the test than success, it is impossible to English expedition was, unknown to deny that the religious feelings and France, approaching the Danish shores,* the tempered balance of power which the diplomatic papers and public words in England both saved the country of Napoleon were affording decisive from a disastrous convulsion, and, by evidence of his preconceived designs restraining the excesses of freedom, against the Danish fleet, while the preserved its existence, were equally faconduct of their government was equal-vourable to the maintenance of that high ly characteristic of an inclination to slide, without opposition, into the required hostility against this country.