depended not merely the fortunes of the Duke of Wellington, but also the
fate of nations, and the peace of the world.

By this time, the Earl of Mornington had been appointed Governor-general
of India, and the inveterate hatred of Tippoo Sultaun against the
English name was arming the natives to resistance. The first
achievement of Colonel Wellesley, that drew attention to his name, was
the storming of Seringapatam, in which he commanded the reserve in the
trenches. On the capture of Seringapatam Colonel Wellesley was appointed
governor, and at the same time named as one of the commission appointed
to dispose of the territory conquered. But an office more honourable to
his character, was his selection to superintend the removal of the
family of Tippoo Sultaun. Lord Mornington in his instructions
says:--"The details of this painful but indispensable measure cannot be
entrusted to any person more likely to combine every office of humanity
with the prudential precautions required by the occasion than Colonel
Wellesley; and I therefore commit to his discretion, activity, and
humanity, the whole arrangement."

In July, 1799, Colonel Wellesley was appointed to the sole command of
Seringapatam and Mysore; and here his capacity for civil government, as
well as in military affairs, was fully developed. He had by this time
begun to feel his own strength, and to make it felt by others. The
reader of his dispatches will perceive that, from the moment when he was
placed in a position of independent command, his mind appears to have
taken a higher stand: he recognised higher responsibilities: and one may
almost detect, in the confirmed self-reliance of his judgment even in
this comparatively limited sphere, a prescience of future greatness.

The year 1803 was signalised by Major-General Wellesley's conquests in