of war on October 23rd. "They now ring the bells," said Walpole, "they will soon ring their hands." Meanwhile Vernon, though his force was small, lost no time, and having appeared off Porto Bello with six ships on November 20th, he captured it the next day, and the news of this success (which did not reach London till March, 1740), was received with extravagant demonstrations of rejoicing. In the spring Vernon was menacing Cartagena, and on March 24, 1740, captured Chagre. The home authorities appear to have been extremely dilatory, for it took them a whole year to send effectual reinforcements, and then their value was seriously discounted by the fact that General Wentworth had succeeded to the command of the land forces. This officer was thoroughly incompetent, and no exhortations of Vernon could rouse him to energy, and owing to his mismanagement the assault upon Cartagena of April 9th was a complete failure. The armament departed about a week later, having lost at least eight thousand men, and in July an attempt upon Santiago in Cuba failed likewise, owing to Wentworth's incompetence. Little more of note occurred on that side, and it is here proper to mention that Vernon was in nowise to blame for the unfortunate results, and that, with an efficient colleague, there seems no reason to doubt that he would have made a great name for himself in the annals of the British Navy. Nor should Smollett, because he happens to be a famous novelist, be accepted as a judge of the strategy of the expedition. He had, in fact, infinitely less materials for forming a judgment than a private at Waterloo had for criticising Wellington's dispositions. The haphazard general management is well illustrated by the only brilliant achievement of the war--the Anson circumnavigation. Anson, with six ships manned by Chelsea pensioners and raw recruits, was ordered to the Pacific, and set sail on September 18, 1740. Although his little squadron dwindled to three, he rounded the Horn, and subsequently burnt Paita in Peru, and played havoc with Spanish commerce. He crossed the Pacific, captured a great treasure-ship, and returned by the Cape of Good Hope to England, which he reached June 15, 1744. He brought home treasure amounting to £500,000, and this was paraded through the streets of London in thirty-two wagons.