and it is only to be regretted that some of his officers should have had reason to complain that he subsequently appeared to listen more to the dictates of utilitarianism than to those of feeling, in parting, as they thought, too coldly and readily, from men who had so long and so well served under him; but let us remember that he had then ceased to be the independent head of the Survey. With ordinary men, and in common things, he was rather eccentric, like the well-known character in Goldsmith's "Citizen of" the World," never openly giving alms to the common beggar, and generally muttering something about the effects of idleness, whilst in secret he was warmly and liberally charitable. Here, however, this imperfect sketch of the man must cease, as it would be vain to attempt to pourtray his person more fully than has been done, or to bring home to those who knew him not the elasticity of his step, the rapidity of his movements in the streets, the slight peculiarities of dress which he so long retained.

The grandfather of General Colby was Mr. Colby, of Rhosygilwen, Newcastle Emlyn, South Wales, a gentleman of considerable landed property. His father, Thomas Colby, was an only son, and an officer of Royal Marines. For many years he appears to have been attached to the Chatham Division of Marines, and at that station most, if not all, of his children were born, the births of four being recorded in the registry of St. Margaret's next Rochester; a curious circumstance, as his family had already been connected with that locality through Sir Thomas

Colby, Knt., who, in 1724, was one of the representatives in Parliament of the city of Rochester, and contributed 2007. towards the repair of the Poorhouse of this very parish, St. Margaret's. After this time Captain Colby again went to sea, and was severely wounded at the glorious battle of the 1st of June, 1794; when the "Queen," the ship to which he belonged, commanded by Sir Allen Gardner, assisted in breaking the enemy's array, and leading along the line and receiving successive broadsides, finally engaged the "Jemmapes" in a desperate conflict, which, though successful, left her too crippled to be able to take possession of her vanquished opponent. Captain Colby then attained the rank of Major in the Army. The grand-uncle of General Colby was Captain Colby, of the Royal Navy, who lost an eye in the service; he was also a gentleman of considerable property, and his estate, including the beautiful demesne of Fynone, is now in possession of John Colby, his lineal descendant, and nephew of General Colby, whose sister married her cousin, Mr. Colby, of Fynone. On the mother's side, General Colby was descended from Captain Hadden, who served at the celebrated siege of Belleisle.

It will be remembered that in 1761, or some few years after the defeat of the French fleet by Admiral Hawke, off this island, which lies at the north end of the Bay of Biscay, it was determined to make an attack on the island itself; and that, in consequence, the British fleet, commanded by Commodore Keppel, and having on board a considerable land force (8,000

men), under General Hodgson, approached it on the 7th of April. The island of Belleisle originally belonged to the Comptes de Cornouailles, a small district of Bretagne, by whom it was bestowed on the Abbey of Quimperlé; but the monks, finding it very troublesome to preserve their property from depredation and pillage, whether in war by soldiers or in peace by pirates, petitioned Charles IX. to permit them to exchange it for other property with the Compte de Retz, then Governor of Bretagne; and on the completion of this exchange the Count was raised (1573) to the dignity of Marquis of Belleisle. In 1718, during the reign of Louis XV., and regency of the Duke of Orleans, the island became, by exchange, the property of the Crown. It is a little to the north-west of the mouth of the Loire, nearly parallel to, and about seventeen miles distant from, the general shore line of Bretagne, though the peninsula of Quiberon approaches within seven miles of it. The length is about twelve miles, and greatest breadth six; and the island stretches from north-west to south-east: it is surrounded by rocks, and the side facing Bretagne is nearly inaccessible, the sea breaking with violence against its cliffs. About midway between Point Loemaria, on the south-east point, and the Conigues Roches, close to the south-west point of the island, stands Palais, the principal town on the north-east side, or looking towards Bretagne. This town is divided into two by a canal or inlet which receives the tidal stream, and is crossed by a bridge of communication. It is fortified; the most inhabited

portion, which lies on the one side of the canal, being principally covered by a horn-work, which is commanded by the citadel on the opposite side.

On the 8th of April the English attempted to and in a sandy bay, near Point Loemaria, but were repulsed with considerable loss, the enemy being in possession of a small fort near the landing-place, land having also entrenched themselves on a steep hill, the base of which they had scarped so as to render it somewhat like the newly proposed earth forts of Mr. Fergusson. For some time the weather prevented a renewal of the attack, but at length the whole English force was landed, and the enemy driven within the walls of the town; this successful attempt having been commenced by a small body of men under Brigadier-General Lambert, who scaled the rocks at a part where their apparent inaccessibility had rendered the defenders less vigilant, and at a moment when the attention of the enemy was occupied by a continued cannonading of the hill forts, and by two feints or false attacks. The garrison was subsequently driven from the town into the citadel, which finally capitulating on honourable terms, the island remained in possession of the British until the peace of 1763, when it was restored to France. These particulars have been mentioned, as a curious tradition, preserved in the Colby family, relates that Captain Hadden was accompanied, on this arduous occasion, by his son, a child of eight years of age, who with the agility of boyhood first climbed either the rock or the wall of the town, and thus, being followed by his father,

pointed out to the soldiers the way to victory. This boy soldier was subsequently Colonel Hadden of the 11th Regiment, and Paymaster of the Forces in Portugal. General Hadden of the Royal Artillery was another son of the Captain: he first served in North America under General Burgoyne, in 1778, and remained in that country until captured at York Town, 1781. In 1793, when a Captain, he became Secretary to the Duke of Richmond, Master-General of the Ordnance, and was afterwards on the staff in Portugal as Adjutant-General under Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Stuart. On returning to England he again became Secretary to the Master-General, and was finally appointed Surveyor-General of the Ordnance. On the 29th of October, 1817, he died, and in the "Morning Chronicle" of Nov. 5, of that year, a biographical notice of him concludes with a warm eulogium on his honourable character as a brave officer and a good man, ending thus :— "Of him, as it was formerly of a virtuous patriot, it may be justly said, he lived honest and died poor."

Cordelia Hadden, the sister of these distinguished officers, was mother of General Colby, who appears to have been her eldest child. He was born on the 1st of September, 1784, at Rochester, and baptized at St. Margaret's, on the 29th. His years of infancy were, like those of his brothers and sisters, doubtless passed either at Rochester or Chatham; but when his father again went to sea, he was confided to the care of his father's sisters, who lived at the family seat, Rhosygilwen, and by them brought up until sent to school at Northfleet, in Kent, under