[D. Weller.
STATUE OF WILLIAM WILBERFORCE.
When we begin to speak of the early nineteenth century we have again to think of wars, for the fights with Napoleon were still going on. Nelson’s great victories have not left much record in the Abbey, excepting the wax effigy of the great Admiral himself, of which we will speak later. One of Nelson’s Captains, Edward Cooke, has a monument in the Abbey. Cooke died of a wound which he received during a victorious fight with a French frigate in the Bay of Bengal in 1799.
When we think of these wars with Napoleon there is one grave in the Abbey which at once comes to our mind. It is that of the younger William Pitt, son of the great Earl of Chatham, of whom we read in the last chapter. William Pitt became Prime Minister of England when he was only twenty-three, and his ministry lasted through some years of a very troubled and anxious time. In spite of Nelson’s victories he was so crushed by Napoleon’s victory over the Austrians and Russians at Austerlitz in December 1805, that he died shortly afterwards, worn out with anxiety and disappointment. He was buried in the same vault with his father, and he had a large monument put up to him over the great West Door. He was only forty-six when he died, and it seems sad to think that he should not have lived to see his country’s victories in the Peninsular War and at Waterloo.
A further memorial of these wars is the bust of the Corsican patriot, Pasquale de’ Paoli, who fought against Napoleon for the independence of Corsica, and finally took refuge in England. His monument brings back an interesting bit of English history, namely, that for a short time, from 1794 to 1797, Corsica was under British rule.
The war known as the Peninsular War began in 1808. England was helping Spain against Napoleon, who had dethroned the King of Spain and made his own brother, Joseph, King instead. The Spaniards rose in arms, and drove Joseph Buonaparte out of Madrid. They appealed to England for help, and Sir Arthur Wellesley went out with 10,000 men. He defeated the French at Roliça, a victory which is commemorated in the Abbey by the tablet to Lieutenant-Colonel George Lake, who fell in that battle.
The next year, 1809, was famous for the Battle of Corunna, where Sir John Moore defeated the French and lost his own life. One of the officers who fought at the Battle of Corunna, General Coote Manningham, has a memorial in the North Transept. The services of Wellington’s chief engineer, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Richard Fletcher, who died in 1813, are recalled by a tablet to his memory in the North-West Tower. Fletcher directed the engineering works during the sieges of Badajos, and commanded the assault on the fortress of Ciudad Rodrigo, when these fortresses were taken and held against the French by Wellington in 1812. He was killed in an assault on the town of St. Sebastian. In the Nave is buried Sir John Leith, another soldier who fought in this war and greatly distinguished himself. He fought at Corunna, Badajos, and Salamanca. He died in 1816, in the West Indies, where he was in command of the forces.
There are memorial tablets in the Abbey to three other officers who fell in the Peninsular War. One is to Captain Bryan, who fell in the Battle of Talavera in 1809, when Sir Arthur Wellesley defeated King Joseph Buonaparte and Marshals Victor and Jourdan; the second is to a Lieutenant Beresford, who was killed at Ciudad Rodrigo in 1812; and the third is to Lieutenant-Colonel Macleod, who fell at the siege of Badajos, also in 1812.
In the Nave is buried a famous Admiral, Thomas Cochrane, Earl of Dundonald, who served in many of our wars, first against Spain and then on the Spanish side in the Peninsular War. Lord Dundonald died in 1860, but he left the navy in 1814 because of a false accusation which was made against him. He then went out to Chili, where he served the cause of Chilian Independence. Lord Dundonald was afterwards proved to have been innocent of the charges made against him, and his banner as Knight of the Bath was restored to its place in Henry VII’s Chapel. At the time of his disgrace it had been taken away and kicked down the steps of the Chapel.
In the Nave is another monument connected with this time in our history. It is that of Spencer Perceval, who was Prime Minister during the Peninsular War. He was shot in the Lobby of the House of Commons in 1812 by a man whose business had been ruined by the war, and who was supposed to be mad.
The bust of Lord John Russell in the North-West Tower, a part which is often called “Whigs’ Corner,” reminds us of the great Parliamentary Reform Bill, which was one of the most important events in the last century. The change was much needed, as the people of the country were not properly represented. Some large and important towns had no member at all, while some very small and insignificant places were allowed to return one or more members to Parliament. The reform was made more difficult on account of the disturbances and revolutions in France and elsewhere, which made people think it was better to have no changes at all. However, in 1831, Lord John Russell brought in his Reform Bill, which passed, after great discussion and struggle, in 1832. Lord John Russell, afterwards Earl Russell, was educated at Westminster School. He is not buried in the Abbey, although it was proposed to give him a public funeral there. It was his own wish to be buried with his family at Chenies, in Buckinghamshire.