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 Napoleon. 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

disgusted by this treatment. They rose in insurrecMadrid, to be king of Spain. The Spaniards were

England for help. Canning at once took up their

tion, and proclaimed Ferdinand king. They sent to

AFRICA

cause, and sent them guns and gunpowder and money. He also sent an army to Portugal, under Sir Arthur Wellesley, who afterwards became the Duke of Wellington. He had fought well in India, but nobody knew yet how very great a man he was. The war which now began in 1808 is known as the Peninsular War, because it was fought in the peninsula formed by the two countries of Spain and Portugal. Wellesley beat the French in Portugal, at Vimiero, and drove them into Lisbon. An arrangement was made by which the French army was to be allowed to go back to France, leaving Portugal free. Soon after this Wellesley returned to England, though part of his army remained behind. About the same time a French army had to surrender to the Spaniards at Baylen, in the south of Spain. The Spaniards fancied that their troubles were nearly at an end.

The Spaniards had plenty
Each separate Spaniard

2. Napoleon in Spain. of trouble before them. was ready to fight and to die for his country. But they did not fight well when they were together in an army. The men were without discipline, and did not trust their generals. The generals did not deserve to be trusted. They thought it was so easy to win victories that they did not take any pains to win them. The consequence was, that they were always beaten whenever they fought battles. Napoleon no sooner heard that his soldiers had been taken prisoners than he resolved to come himself to Spain. At the head of an army he marched into the country, beat the Spaniards, and entered Madrid in

triumph. The English general, Sir John Moore, was advancing through the north-west of Spain. He hoped that the Spaniards would gather round him to fight the French. The Spaniards did nothing of the sort. When Moore reached Sahagun he heard that Napoleon was coming to attack him with a much larger army than his own. He had to retreat, and fortunately for him Napoleon went home to France, and left one of his generals to follow the English.

3. The Battle of Corunna.--Sir John Moore reached Corunna with difficulty. He had hoped to find the English fleet there to take his army on board. But a mistake had been made, and the fleet had gone to another harbour. Before it could be fetched, the French arrived, and a battle had to be fought, to drive them off, in order that the tired soldiers might get safely on board. The French were beaten, and the men got safely away, but their brave commander was killed. He was buried on the field of battle by his sorrowing companions. The story has been told by a poet named Wolfe :

Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note,
As the corpse to the ramparts we hurried;
Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot
O'er the grave where our hero was buried.

We buried him darkly at dead of night,
The sods with our bayonets turning,
By the struggling moon-beam's misty light,
And the lantern dimly burning.

No useless coffin inclosed his breast,

Not in sheet nor in shroud we wound him,
But he lay like a warrior taking his rest
With his martial cloak around him.