772 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



moment suffering severely in his 

 Iiealth from the fatigues and hard- 

 ships he had undergone, firmly re- 

 jected the proposal of his retiring 

 into sick quarters, though this was 

 strongly recommended by the me- 

 dical staff, and warmly advised by 

 his general and friend. Against 

 , lord W. Bentinck's brigade, as 

 being our weakest point, the prin- 

 cipal efforts of the enemy were 

 directed. The event is well 

 known. The fiftieth, commanded 

 by majors Napier and Stanhope, 

 charged the French wiih the same 

 invincible bravery, which they so 

 conspicuously displayed in the 

 batteof Vimiera, drove them with 

 great slaughter from the village of 

 Elvina, and forced them to retreat 

 on their own position. General 

 Moore, in person, saw and ani- 

 mated their valour and their suc- 

 cess, and " well done the fiftieth ! 

 well done my majors J " was the 

 last expression of encouragement 

 and approbation that he uttered on 

 the field. At this period major 

 Stanhope fell by a musket-shot ; 

 major Napier soon after was 

 wounded and taken prisoner ; and 

 the regiment having expended their 

 ammunition, and being greatly di- 

 minished 'in numbers, reluctantly 

 obeyed the order to retire. 



His body was brought from the 

 field by his mournful companions in 

 arras.andvvas interred the same even- 

 ing in the presence of his brother, 

 if not with the solemnities, at least 

 with the unfeigned reality of woe. 



During the life-time of Mr. Pitt, 

 major Stanhope spent the inter- 

 vals of repose from military duty 

 in the society of that illustrious 

 statesman, to whom he looked up, 

 almost as to a being of superior 

 order, with an affectionate respect, 



mingled with every endearing sen'" 

 timent of attachment, gratitude, 

 and duty. Nor was his regard 

 unreturned; and if his clearness of 

 conception, his assiduity of re- 

 search, and capability of labour, 

 were highly valued by his great 

 protector, not less forcibly did 

 his singular purity and benignity 

 of mind, his perfect disinterested- 

 ness, his fidelity, sincerity, eleva- 

 tion of sentiment, and exalted 

 honour, speak to his praise in that 

 breast which was the chosen seat 

 of virtues like his own. Few 

 persons had an opportunity of es- 

 timating the full value of his solid 

 and various worth. Major Stan- 

 hope was sensible that he did not 

 possess the advantages and accom- 

 plishments of a scholar; and this 

 conviction, as it made a deep im- 

 pression on his mind, kept him of- 

 ten silent, and always reserved in 

 mixed society, and his natural mo- 

 desty, supported by a real magna- 

 nimity of spirit, induced him to 

 avoid the common opportunities of 

 shining, and to reserve the exer- 

 tion and display of his talents, till 

 some worthy occasion should call 

 him forth in the service of his 

 country. Such qualities were na- 

 turally associated with that calm 

 spirit of heroic bravery, which is at 

 once the fundamental strength and 

 the chief ornament of a soldier's 

 character. With him courage was 

 not an effort, but a habit ; not, as 

 in lower souls, the mere effect of 

 animal instinct, but the happy re- 

 sult of natural spirit, tempered and 

 refined by deliberate reflection. It 

 was such as supports the Christian 

 in danger, calamity, and death ; 

 such as those who surrounded the 

 couch of Moore, admired in their 

 dying chief. 



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