This being settled, sir Arthur Wellesley hastened to consult with sir Charles Cotton relative to the descent at the mouth of the Tagus, which had so long haunted the imaginations of the ministers. The strength of the French, the bar of the river, the disposition of the forts, and the difficulty of landing in the immediate neighbourhood, occasioned by the heavy surf playing upon all the undefended creeks and bays, convinced him that such an enterprise was unadvisable, if not impracticable. There remained the alternative of landing to the north of Lisbon at such a distance as to avoid the danger of a disputed disembarkation, or of proceeding to the southward to join general Spencer, and commence operations in that quarter against Dupont. Sir Arthur Wellesley decided against the latter, which promised no good result while Junot held Portugal, and Bessieres hung on the northern frontier. He foresaw that the jealousy of the Spaniards, evinced by their frequent refusal to admit English troops into Cadiz, would assuredly bring on a tedious negotiation, and waste the season of action before the army could obtain a place of arms, or that the campaign must be commenced without any secure base of operations. Nothing was then known of the Spanish troops, except that they were inexperienced; but without good aid from them it would have been idle with fourteen thousand men to take the field against twenty thousand strongly posted in the Sierra Morena and communicating freely with the main body of the French army. A momentary advance was useless; and if the campaign was protracted, the line of operations running nearly parallel to the frontier of Portugal, would have required a covering army on the Guadiana to watch the movements of Junot. The double line of operations, proposed by lord Castlereagh, was contrary to all military principle, and as Spencer’s despatches announced that his division was at St. Mary’s, near Cadiz, and disengaged from any connexion with the Spaniards (a fortunate circumstance scarcely to have been expected), sir Arthur sent him orders to sail to the mouth of the Mondego, whither he himself also repaired, and joined the fleet having his own army on board. Off the Mondego he received the despatches announcing sir Hew Dalrymple’s appointment and the sailing of sir John Moore’s troops. [Sidenote: Sir A. Wellesley’s Narrative. Court of Inquiry.]