After mutual recriminations Canning and Castlereagh resigned office and fought a duel.

Shortly afterwards the Premier, the Duke of Portland, fell ill and resigned: his place was taken by Mr.Perceval, a man whose sole recommendation for the post was his conscientious Toryism and powers of dull plodding.

Ruled by an ill-assorted Ministry and a King whose reason was now hopelessly overclouded, weakened by the strangling grip of the Continental System, England seemed on the verge of ruin; and, encouraged alike by the factious conduct of our parliamentary Opposition and by Soult's recent conquest of Andalusia, Napoleon bent himself to the final grapple by extending his coast system, and by sending Massena and his choicest troops into Spain to drive the leopards into the sea.
The limits of our space prevent any description of the ensuing campaign of Torres Vedras; and we must refer our readers to the ample canvas of Napier if they would realize the sagacity of Wellington in constructing to the north of Lisbon that mighty _tete de pont_ for the Sea Power against Massena's veteran army.

After dealing the staggering blow of Busaco at that presumptuous Marshal, our great leader fell back, through a tract which he swept bare of supplies, on this sure bulwark, and there watched the French host of some 65,000 men waste away amidst the miseries of hunger and the rains and diseases of autumn.

At length, in November, Massena drew off to positions near Santarem, where he awaited the succour which Napoleon ordered Soult to bring.