State of Public Jfairs in September. [Oct. ], , 
voices. It is inscribed to Lady Harriet 
Clive, and it is as creditable to the taste 
of her ladyship, as to the science and 
abilitv of tiie composer, that she should 
have patronized, and he have produced, 
so excellent a composition. The air is 
perfectly natural, and uncommonly 
sweet, and the harmonization is in a 
style to declare throughout the direction 
of a masterly hand. 
STATE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS IN SEPTEMBER. 
Containing ofHcial Papers and authentic Documents. 
SPAIN ANP PORTUGAL. 
Dispatches from General Viscount 
Wellington, dated 
Fortalegre, fly 25, 1811. 
enemy’s cavalry left Merida on the 
morning of the 17ch. The enemy have 
since continued their march upon Alrnaraz j 
and on the 20lh, one division of infantry had 
arrived at Placentia. On.the same day, Mar¬ 
shal Marmount was at Alrnaraz, and other 
divisions had marched from Trusillo in the 
same direction. One division of infantry and 
some cavalry still remained at Truxillo, ac¬ 
cording to the last accounts. There is no¬ 
thing new in the Mortli. Jpsepii Bonaparte 
veasat Valladolid on the 10th, and proceeded 
on the 12th on his journey towards Madrid. 
Gastello Branco, ^lugust J, 1811. 
I have m.oved the whole army to their 
left. I propose that they^ shall take up their 
cantonments in Lower Beira, instead of Aien- 
tejo. The army of Portugal remain in the 
position v/hicb I informed your lordship tliat 
they occupied in my dispatch of the 25th of 
Tuly, excepting that the division at Placentia 
has extended through the mountains to Bejar 
and Banos. 
By a letter from General Silvlera, of the 
Slst of july, which I received on the 26th, 
I learnt that General Santocildes had retired 
with the army of Gallicia from the neigh- 
hourheod of Astorga to Mancanal on the 
17th, in consequence of Marshal Bessieres 
having collected at Benavente a force, con¬ 
sisting of 11,000 infantry and 1,500 cavalry. 
Admiralty O^lcs, August 27, 1811. 
Letter from Cciptain Ferris, of his Llajesty's 
ship Diar.a, addressed to Rear-Admiral Sir 
Thomas Williams, ar.d transjr.itted hy Admiral 
Sir Charles Cotton to fohn Wilson Creker, esq. 
Sir,—I have the honour to inform you, 
that while standing towards the Cordova 
Light-heuse, in com.pany with his Majesty’s 
ship SenJramis, in the afte-rncon of the 24th 
instant, T discerned four sail inside of the 
shoals, at tne mouth of the river Gironde, 
v:r.d.:r escoit of a national brig of war. I 
meditated either c;r;pture or destruction, 
which could cnly be accomulished by ar¬ 
tifice and'proirpti'ude, without the sacrifice 
of many lives.—Stratagem was used, which 
had the desired effect, as tliey sent a vessel 
with pilots to our assistance, and I anchored 
after dark the two ships midway, between 
the Cordovan and Royan, under whose guns 
the brig had taken refuge, and close to the 
brig stationed for the protection of the se¬ 
veral convoys passing either way. I dis¬ 
patched three boats under the orders of Lieu¬ 
tenant Sparrow, (second) g Lieutenant Ro¬ 
per, (third); and Mr. Holmes, master’s 
mate, from this ship, seconded by four boats 
under the orders of Lieutenant Gardner, 
Grace, and Nicholson, and Mr. Reneau, 
master’s mate, from the Semlramis, to cap¬ 
ture or destroy the convoy then anchored up 
the river, about four miles distant, but the 
tide pr.evented their accomplishing it until 
late in the night j and at day-light, finding 
the captured vessels with the boats far up 
the river beyond the two brigs, I determined 
to attack them with the. ship, but not with¬ 
out using the same artifice as the preceding 
night, to prevent suspicion j and so convinced 
were they of our being friends, that the Cap¬ 
tain of the Port, Monsieur Michel Auguste 
Dubourg, Capitaine de Fregate, and com¬ 
manding the in-shore brig, came on board to 
offer his services, and was not undeceived 
until he had ascended the quarter-deck. The 
Diana laid the outer brig on board, and lieu, 
tenant Robert W. Parsons, first lieutenant. 
Lieutenant Madden, first of the Royal Ma¬ 
rines, and Mr. Mark G. Noble, boatswain, 
headed about thirty seamen and marines (as 
many as could be spared by the absence of 
the boats), and succeeded in gaining posses¬ 
sion of his Majesty’s late gun-brig, Teazer, 
mounting twelve eighteen-pound carronades, 
and two long eighteen-pounder guns, com¬ 
manded by Monsieur Alexander Papineau, 
Lieutenant de Vaisseau, with a complemenC 
of eiglity-five men, and without loss on 
either side. 
It adds to the lustre these officers and men 
achieved, the humanity they displayed to 
tbe over-pow'ered captives, in putting them 
below without the force of arms and an un¬ 
necessary effusion of blood. It was at this 
time that the alarm was given, and tlie bat¬ 
teries opened their fire upon the sliips, when 
Captain Richardson, in the Semiramis, in a 
manner which characterises the ofiicer and 
seaman, pursued, drove on shore, and burnt, 
under the guns of tht batteries, the French 
national 
