subservience to the Spaniards our representatives increased the natural
arrogance of these people, and caused them to regard England as a power
which was honoured by being permitted to share in the Spanish efforts
against the French generals. General Spencer with 5,000 men was kept for
months sailing up and down the coast of Spain and Portugal, receiving
contradictory orders from home, and endeavouring in vain to co-operate
with the Spanish generals, each of whom had his own private purposes, and
was bent on gratifying personal ambitions and of thwarting the schemes of
his rivals, rather than on opposing the common enemy.

Not only were the English ministry incapable of devising any plan of
action, but they were constantly changing the naval and military officers
of the forces. At one moment one general or admiral seemed to possess
their confidence, while soon afterwards, without the slightest reason, two
or three others with greater political influence were placed over his
head; and when at last Sir Arthur Wellesley, whose services in India
marked him as our greatest soldier, was sent out with supreme military
power, they gave him no definite plan of action. General Spencer was
nominally placed under his orders by one set of instructions, while
another authorized him to commence operations in the south, without
reference to Sir Arthur Wellesley. Admiral Purvis, who was junior to
Admiral Collingwood, was authorized to control the operations of Sir
Arthur, while Wellesley himself had scarcely sailed when Sir Hew Dalrymple
was appointed to the chief command of the forces, Sir Harry Burrard was
appointed second in command, and Sir Arthur Wellesley was reduced to the
fourth rank in the army that he had been sent out to command, two of the
men placed above him being almost unknown, they never having commanded any
military force in the field.

The 9,000 men assembled in the Cove of Cork knew nothing of these things;