And so ends the invasion of England.

On 14th February, Admiral Sir John Jervis, with fifteen sail of the line, attacked the Spanish Fleet of twenty-seven sail of the line, off Cape St. Vincent, captured four large vessels, and dispersed the fleet. The news reached England on 3rd March, when London was brilliantly illuminated.

The Whigs moved heaven and earth in order to oust Pitt and his Government, but without success. On March 3rd the inhabitants of Westminster met in Palace Yard, and resolved to petition the King to dismiss his Ministry. In the City, too (the bones of whose patres conscripti would shake with indignation, could they but know of the present wave of Conservatism, which has flowed over this Corporation), loud, and many, were the calls to the same purport. In vain were Common Halls convened, in vain did the Remembrancer, and the Sheriffs, wait upon his Majesty with petitions; he would have none of them, but would be glad to see them at a Levée; and so Pitt kept in, notwithstanding the growls all round.

France was making peace with its enemies, one by one, and it could easily be foreseen that, very shortly, England would have to bear all the brunt of the war; therefore, on the 1st June, a note from Lord Grenville was presented to M. de la Croix, the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, in which was expressed the wish of the English Government to negotiate preliminaries of peace. Of course there was some diplomatic fence; but, finally, it was settled that Lord Malmesbury should again go as Plenipotentiary. He arrived at Lisle on 6th July, but the demands of the French were outrageous, and, after, in vain, combating their absurd requirements, he demanded his passports, and left Lisle on 18th September.

On 11th October, Admiral Duncan attacked the Dutch fleet off Camperdown, and, after a terrible action, defeated it, capturing eleven vessels, and sinking one.

About the last event of national interest, occurring in this year, is the formation of the French "Army of England," which was destined for our invasion, and which was to be under the command of General Buonaparte, which is about the first time our great enemy came into active collision with us.

At the commencement of 1798, the financial pressure on the nation, caused by the war, was very great. A triple assessed tax, a loan of £15,000,000, additional duties on salt, tea, dogs, horses and carriages, and a tax on armorial bearings, came home to every one. Yet, English patriotism was sound to the core, and the people helped the Government nobly, by means of voluntary contributions. A few examples will show how every class vied with each other in subscribing. They are taken from the Times.

February 7th.—"Yesterday the Marquis of Buckingham subscribed at the Bank, the profits of one year's income from his Tellership of the Exchequer. On Monday the Duke of Marlborough subscribed £5000 at the Bank. The city of Oxford has subscribed £500 as a voluntary donation, to be continued for three years, if the war lasts so long."

February 8th.—"The subscriptions yesterday at the Bank amounted to upwards of £30,000. Among the subscribers were—the Earl of Carlisle £4000, and the Bishop of Litchfield and Coventry £1000. But the largest individual subscriptions are expected from Manchester, from whence letters were yesterday received, stating that three mercantile houses in that opulent town had subscribed Thirty-five Thousand Pounds, and that Mr. Peele's house gave £20,000."

On the 9th February a meeting, on this subject, was held at the Royal Exchange, the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and most prominent citizens being present—and the result is thus stated in the Times, 10th February:—"As soon as the meeting was dissolved, four separate books were opened on the Hustings; and at the close of the day, the exact sum subscribed in cash, was Forty-six Thousand, Five Hundred, and Thirty-four Pounds, Three Shillings and sixpence, which, if calculated for the time the books were opened, is at the rate of £400 a minute. The number of subscribers was 218, and the subscriptions from one guinea to £3000, which last sum was the donation of Boyd, Benfield, & Co., with the promise of continuing it annually during the war."

14th February.—"The City of London yesterday subscribed £10,000 towards the contributions to the Bank. Yesterday the sum of £18,900 was subscribed by the merchants on the Royal Exchange."

It would be wearisome to detail all the subscriptions, but yet two or three more may be recorded. The Bank of England gave £200,000, and the King and Queen £20,000, and £5000 respectively, out of their private purses; and on 20th September the amount of the voluntary contributions then subscribed, was £1,514,993, 12s. 9d.

Ireland, this year, was more than disaffected: it was in open rebellion, and, on 30th March, a proclamation was issued by the Lord-Lieutenant, for suppressing such rebellion. That it was a most serious one, is evidenced by a paper in Lord Edward Fitzgerald's handwriting, that, at a meeting held 26th February 1798, a return was made that there were in Ulster, Leinster, and Munster, 269,896 armed men, and that their treasurer had £1485, 4s. 9d. in hand. That this was not altogether an exaggeration, is shewn by the fact that, in the year 1797, there were seized by the Government, in the provinces of Leinster, and Ulster, alone, 49,109 guns, 1756 bayonets, 4463 pistols, 4183 swords, 248 blunder-busses, 119 musket-barrels, 106 sword-blades, 22 pieces of ordnance, and 70,630 pikes, besides other weapons voluntarily surrendered. In the same year, 14,973 pikes were surrendered in the county of Kildare alone, and in Dublin, on 11th May 1798, 5 pieces of cannon, and 500 pike handles, were seized.

On 24th May, seeing that war was being openly waged against the Government, the Lord-Lieutenant issued a proclamation warning the people that they were put under martial law, and, on the morrow, the rebels were defeated, with much loss, near Carlow, and, after the engagement, about 200 of them were hanged, or shot. Then the rebels gained a slight advantage, especially at Enniscorthy, where they compelled the garrison to retreat. This, and a few other small successes, were amply avenged by Lord Lake, on 21st June, at Vinegar Hill, a position which the Irish had held since the 28th May. Their rout was complete, and their slaughter must have been immense, for no quarter was given by the Royal troops. Then came the trials of the ringleaders, and the gibbet was in constant requisition.

And, now, the French must needs have a finger in this pie, although their attempt at invasion was simply ludicrous. The following is the first official news, and it is a letter from the Duke of Portland to the Lord Mayor:—"27th August. I think it right to inform your Lordship, that, by official accounts received this morning from the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, it appears that three French frigates, unaccompanied by any transports, appeared in the Bay of Killala, on the evening of the 22nd instant, and landed about 700 men, who immediately took possession of the town of Killala, and made a small party of the Prince of Wales' Fencible Regiment, consisting of an officer and 20 men, and some yeomen, prisoners; a large force is collecting from different quarters, and every necessary preparation making for attacking the enemy."

This expedition, consisting of 1030 privates and 70 officers under General Humbert, had sailed from Rochelle, with the intention of rendering material help to the Irish rebels—and, after the capture of Killala, they marched on Castlebar, where was a force of from 2000 to 3000 regulars, under Lord Lake. The English artillery, however, expended their ammunition too soon; a fact the French did not lose sight of, but, charging, put the English force to flight, and they then occupied Castlebar. But here was the end of their success—General Lake and Lord Cornwallis surrounded them, and the French had to surrender, but no quarter was given to the Irish. The number of French troops, on their surrender, was 96 officers, and 748 non-commissioned officers and privates, the rest having been lost since their landing at Killala. This force was intended to be the vanguard of a larger expedition, which was prevented joining, by want of funds.

Another little expedition set sail from France, to help General Humbert, consisting of one ship of the line, eight frigates, a schooner, and a brig. It was met by Sir John Borlase Warren, who was cruising, with seven sail of the line, off Lough Swilly. They engaged, and, after an action of three hours and forty minutes' duration, the French three-decker, and three of the frigates, hauled down their colours, and of the five frigates that then escaped, three were subsequently captured.

The rebellion in Ireland was now virtually at an end, the rebels were dispersed, and their leaders accounted for. Still, this result was not arrived at without a fearful expenditure of treasure and life; it being estimated that not less than 30,000 lives had been sacrificed. £1,000,000 was voted by Parliament, as compensation for injury done to the Loyalists in Ireland, and that sum was reckoned as only being a third of their actual losses.

On the 1st August of this year was fought the battle of the Nile; the news of which, however, did not reach the Admiralty until the 2nd October, and great were the rejoicings, and illuminations, on the 3rd. With this welcome news, the chronicle of the year may well end.

As far as we can judge, from the lights of history which are left to us, nothing was going particularly wrong with the national arms, or the national prosperity, considering we were at war, but the powers, that were, thought things might possibly go better, if they had a General Fast, so, on the 1st February, 1799, a proclamation was issued:—

"George R.—We, taking into Our most serious consideration the just and necessary War, in which We are engaged, for the Maintenance of the Independence of Our Crown, for the Defence and Protection of the Commerce, and of the Rights and Liberties, Civil and Religious, of Our Subjects, and putting Our trust in Almighty God, that He will graciously bless Our Arms, both by Sea and Land, have resolved, and do, by and with the Advice of Our Privy Council, hereby command that a Publick Fast and Humiliation be observed throughout that part of Our Kingdom of Great Britain called England, Our Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick upon Tweed, on Wednesday, the Twenty-seventh Day of this instant February; that so both We and Our People may humble Ourselves before Almighty God, in order to obtain Pardon of Our Sins; and may, in the most devout and solemn Manner, send up Our Prayers and Supplications to the Divine Majesty, for averting those Heavy Judgments which Our manifold Sins and Provocations have most justly deserved; and imploring His Blessing and Assistance on Our Arms, and for restoring and perpetuating Peace, Safety and Prosperity, to Us and Our Kingdoms," &c. &c. There were special forms of prayer for morning, communion, and evening services.

In January, and February, there was much agitation as to the union with Ireland, to which the Irish Parliament, by small majorities, was agreeable; but it was reserved till 1st January, 1801, to become an accomplished fact.

After besieging St. Jean d'Acre for sixty days, in vain, Napoleon determined to raise the siege, and, on the 20th May, his army began its return march to Egypt. He threw his heavy artillery into the sea, not being able to transport it across the desert, and the English had previously captured his battering train. It need scarcely be said that there was great rejoicing in England.

Volunteers had sprung up as if by magic, and it was felt that it would do good, if they received some direct recognition from royalty, and were reviewed by the King. Accordingly, the time was fixed for the 4th of June, and the place, Hyde Park. I know I shall be pardoned if I give a list of the corps who were then reviewed, as so many of the modern Volunteers must be ignorant that their progenitors were present on this occasion.

• Cavalry.
•  
• Islington.
• Westminster.
• Clerkenwell.
• Battersea.
• Wimbledon.
• Lambeth.
• Deptford.
• London and Westminster.
• Southwark.
• Surrey Yeomanry.
• Clapham.
•  
• Infantry.
•  
• Left Column.
•  
• Hon. Artillery Corps.
• St. George's Regiment.
• Hackney.
• Westminster.
• Islington.
• Clerkenwell.
• St. Sepulchre.
• St. George's, Bloomsbury.
• London Volunteers.
• St. Luke's, Chelsea.
• St. Margaret and St. John.
• St. Mary-le-bonne.
• St. Martin's.
• Union.
• Chiswick.
• St. Paul, Covent Garden.
• Brentford.
• Fulham.
• St. George's, Hanover Sq.
• S.E. London Volunteers.
•  
• Centre Column.
•  
• Bloomsbury, &c.
• St. James's.
• N.E. London Volunteers.
• Hampstead.
• Temple.
• Pimlico.
• Finsbury Square.
• Somerset Place.
• Knight Marshal.
• Three Wards Association.
•  
• Right Column.
•  
• Stoke Newington.
• Tottenham.
• Enfield.
• Edmonton.
• Hans Town.
• St. Andrew and St. George.
• St. Clement Danes.
• Streatham.
• Limehouse.
• Ratcliffe.
• Clapham.
• Battersea.
• St. Catherine's.
• Poplar and Blackwall.
• Whitechapel.
• Highgate.
• Lambeth.
• St. Pancras.
• Wapping.
• Hendon.
• St. Olave.
• Eight Ward Association.
• Shoreditch.

In all, there were 8193 effective men, and the Review was very successful, the only exception that was taken to it being, that some of the newly-embodied Corps did not fire with perfect regularity. Every Londoner is familiar with the statue in Pall Mall, of George III. on horseback, doffing his cocked hat. Well, that was how he appeared at this Review, which happened on his birthday. On the 21st, he, and all the young Princes, inspected some 12,200 men, in a very curious fashion. The Corps were not brigaded, as in Hyde Park, but were inspected in their different districts. The Royal party started at a quarter before 9 A.M., returned to Buckingham House at 6 P.M., and then set off for Windsor, a good day's work! especially as it all, with the exception of the journey to Windsor, had to be done on horseback. The King, and party, were to have gone to Leman Street, Whitechapel, to inspect the Shoreditch, Whitechapel, and Mile End Volunteers, but he could not get so far, so turned up Houndsditch, to Finsbury. The only refreshment, and rest, the Royal party seem to have had, was breakfast with the Lord Chancellor, at his house in Upper Guildford Street, where they remained an hour and a-half.

The history of the remainder of the year is centred in Napoleon Buonaparte. On 23rd of August, he suddenly left Egypt, affairs in France requiring his presence there, if he would look after his own interests. Had he not done so, it is probable that the world would never have heard so much of him; as it was, he was elected the First Consul of the three,—Cambacérès, and Le Brun, being his coadjutors.

On the 25th December of this year, Napoleon committed a solecism in diplomatic etiquette, by writing an autograph letter direct to George III., pointing out how each nation was wasting its strength and resources, and suggesting the possibility, and desirability, of peace. Lord Grenville replied to this letter, through Talleyrand, much to Napoleon's disgust, and expressed his regret that the English Government did not yet see its way to enter into negotiations for a peace, which would not, in all probability, be a lasting one.

This year will close with a report of the number of French prisoners in England, taken December 31, when they were delivered over to our Transport Board, the Consular Government refusing to provide for them any longer.