The news of his appointment was received by Sir John quietly, with no sign of exultation; and he at once bent all his energies to the difficult task before him. It was a task far more difficult than anyone in England imagined. The Spaniards were to prove themselves utterly worthless as allies. Money for expenses was eked out in the reluctant style which in those days still characterised the British Government in all matters of warfare, no matter which party might be in power. Moore’s force consisted partly of raw recruits, and largely of officers who had never before seen active service. He had a march ahead of between five and six hundred miles, with every possible hindrance in the complete lack of any organised transport, and in the shape of stormy wintry weather. Yet within three weeks of his being placed in command, the headquarters of the Army removed from Lisbon! He had been so strongly impressed during the interview described, with the lofty and disinterested character of the future Iron Duke, that it must have given him pleasure to receive from Wellesley a letter, relating what he had said to Castlereagh, as well as that nobleman’s hearty reply about Moore, and adding: “I find that by the distribution I am placed under your command, than which nothing can be more satisfactory to me![3] I will go to Coruña immediately, where I hope to find you.” Unfortunately Sir Arthur was kept in England for the military inquiry into late doings under Dalrymple; and Moore had not the help of his presence during the coming campaign. (_To be continued._) FOOTNOTES: [1] The famous duel between Castlereagh and Canning—those, unhappily, were still the days of duels in England—was supposed to have taken place because Canning had ousted Castlereagh from office. But on the authority of Lady Castlereagh, Sir W. Napier offered a different explanation. This was, that her husband might have been reinstated in office if only he would have agreed to “sacrifice the reputation of Sir John Moore.” Such a proposal was, as the stern old historian writes, “an insult well answered with a shot.”—_Life of Sir Charles Napier_, by Sir W. Napier. [2] The Marquis of Londonderry, one of Moore’s later critics, wrote: “Perhaps the English army has produced some abler men than Sir John Moore; it has certainly produced many who, in point of military talent, were and are quite his equals; but it cannot, and perhaps never could, boast of one more beloved, not by his own personal friends alone, but by every individual that served under him.”