old, devote a certain portion of their leisure hours to study and
to writing; all their country residences and their thick forests
are redolent of their recollections and their learning; such are
Malesherbes, Baville, and Champlâtreux.
M. Pasquier's private life is very simple; he inhabits the apartments
of the _petit château_ at the Luxembourg, leaving the great palace
to M. Decaze. No person is easier of access; he speaks rapidly, and
apprehends and resolves questions with admirable perspicuity; his
habits are very industrious, and reading is his favourite occupation;
there is no time thrown away with him, for he contrives to make even
his visits a matter of business.
Perhaps he has been appreciated as president of the judicial court
and of the chamber. He exhibits the most perfect impartiality in his
regulation of the debates in the court of justice. His dislike to
useless words and lawyers' speeches, which are of no use either to
direct or enlighten, is very great, and he always exercises a degree
of firmness without severity, which abridges the proceedings without
in any way interfering with the defence of the accused. As president
of the chamber, he never separates himself from an idea or opinion in
politics: it has been written that the president of a chamber ought not
to have an opinion, but I think differently, for he is the expression
of a majority, and essentially the man of a system, and therefore I
think he ought to form his own opinion; he cannot allow every thing to
be said or to be done, and it would be very fortunate if the president
possessed authority to put a stop to all idle debates; we sink under
the press of words in France, when shall we come to business?
The political school of the restoration, of which M. Pasquier was one
of the most eminent chiefs, is gradually disappearing; it was the
heir of the moral and intellectual portion of the empire, and must
have afforded great strength of support to the Bourbons. Every time
that adverse parties have seized the reins of government by means
of its expulsion, the most serious catastrophes have ensued; it is
fortunate for the existence of kingdoms, and to preserve them from
dangers occasioned by the prevalence of excitement, that some men of
sense and reflection still exist, of a calm and prophetic turn of
mind, who render the transition between one system and another almost
imperceptible, and contrive that, in our capricious country, the
only definitive system should have been linked with moderation and a
constitutional government, which assumes its proper superiority after a
long struggle of adverse parties.
THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON.
The life of the Duke of Wellington forms, for England, a sort of
epitome of the glorious career of the Tory party. The venerable chief
of the British armies is not only endowed with extraordinary abilities
in military operations, he also possesses a cool head in politics,
and a wise and pre-eminently moderate mind. Few publications have
produced so deep and lively an impression as the "Despatches of the
Duke of Wellington, during the various Periods of his Military Command,
from India to Waterloo." It changed and modified all party opinions
concerning his character; Whigs and Tories were equally struck with the
forethought of his measures and the temperate current of his ideas,
both in the most difficult and the most varied situations, while in
power as well as during the time of war.
In France, opinions do not progress so fast, and people are still full
of prejudices concerning the talents and character of this great man.
The remains of the Buonaparte faction still affect us, and disfigure
history. His power of organisation and his restoration of the elements
of society, are not the qualities for which Napoleon's genius is
considered especially worthy of admiration, but people want to prove
impossibilities, even to the detriment of his fame; and the Duke of
Wellington is sacrificed to the resentments inspired by the battle of
Waterloo. We have been distinguished enough on the field of battle,
and our country has produced names sufficiently known to fame not
to make it necessary for us to sacrifice upon the tomb of Napoleon
all the rival reputations which opposed obstacles to his career. The
careful perusal of the Duke of Wellington's Despatches first caused me
to rectify my ideas concerning the man who has both filled the first
military place in his native land, and has also been, in the present
times, at the head of a powerful and organising party in the affairs of
government.
When you study with attention the splendid English engravings that
represent the misfortunes and downfall of Tippoo Saib, surrounded
by his mourning family; when you gaze upon the magnificent Indian
scenery, steaming with heat and moisture, the feathery palm-trees,
the elephants with their gilded howdahs, the black Sepoys in European
costume, intermingled with the English troops, whose cool determined
spirit and military resignation are stamped upon their countenance;
while in the back-ground appear the high walls of Seringapatam, and
their heavy cannon breathing forth slaughter and defiance; in these
scenes, amidst the wreaths of smoke and the gleaming of scimetars, the
figure of a young officer may be discerned, with a calm countenance,
quiet and reserved manners, and the meditative look which presages a
great destiny:--that officer is Sir Arthur Wellesley, since then so
celebrated as the Duke of Wellington.
Sir Arthur, the fourth son of Gerard Colley Wellesley earl of
Mornington, and of Anne Hill, daughter of Viscount Duncannon, was born
at Dungan Castle, on the 1st of May, 1769, one year after that which
gave birth to Napoleon; it was a period fertile in great geniuses of
all kinds, who came to humanise and to add greatness to the times of
the Revolution. Sir Arthur was brought up at Eton, and afterwards went
to the military college of Angers in France: our country at that time
possessed the best military establishments and the most frequented
universities; and I have already observed that Prince Metternich and
Benjamin Constant were educated at Strasbourg.
Arthur Wellesley entered the army at an early age, and obtained
a commission in the 41st Foot; in 1793 he purchased the
lieutenant-colonelcy of the 33d regiment, and made part of the
expedition to Ostend against the French republic, where he commanded,
at the age of twenty-four years, a brigade in the retreat from Holland
under the Duke of York. The English dominions are so vast, that it
is by no means uncommon to see men even of the noblest families sent
from one extremity of the earth to the other in the service of their
country, and young Arthur Wellesley embarked for Jamaica; but the
fleet was driven back by a tempest, and after recruiting his regiment
in Ireland, the young officer found his destination had been altered;
and he was now directed to proceed with it to the banks of the Ganges,
with his brother, the Marquis Wellesley, who had been appointed
governor-general of India. He distinguished himself greatly in the
war with Tippoo, that noble ally of France and of Louis XVI; and was
present at the taking of Seringapatam, at the head of the auxiliary
troops furnished by the Nizam; he was afterwards acting as governor of
the conquered city in 1800, when Dhoondiah Waugh, an Indian adventurer,
made an incursion into the Company's territory at the head of 5000
horse.
Imagination carries us back to the times of the "Arabian Nights," when
we turn our attention upon the power of the English in India, with
their immense establishments among the Hindoos and Mahrattas, and the
vast capitals of Calcutta and Madras, almost as highly civilised as
Paris or London; where habits of extreme softness and indolence prevail
in the midst of active military life.
Shall we long continue to be dazzled by that fairy land, sparkling with
diamonds and rubies? I think so; for no government possesses all the
qualities necessary to insure the colonisation of distant countries
in so eminent a degree as the noble and elevated system pursued by
England. People constantly talk of the projects of Russia: what need
has she of extending her conquests? These are dreams only fit for the
period of the empire under Napoleon. Russia and England are united by
the most powerful of all bonds, that of commerce.
Sir Arthur Wellesley distinguished himself in the war against the
Mahrattas, and was appointed to the command of 12,000 men destined to
attack the enemy's country. Owing to the sagacity of the measures he
pursued, in order to secure the movements and subsistence of the troops
during his long march, he accomplished this difficult campaign, though
undertaken at a very unfavourable season, with hardly any loss.
Buonaparte at this time occupied Egypt; and it is rather a curious
circumstance that Sir Arthur's name was suggested for the command of
the expedition which was to embark from Calcutta, cross the Isthmus
of Suez, and attack the French in the Desert. Had the appointment
taken place, young Wellesley would have been called upon, at the
very commencement of his career, to encounter the General Buonaparte
whose power as Emperor was finally annihilated by him on the plains
of Waterloo. The Indian campaign of this year is remarkable, because
the Company had to encounter the combined forces of Scindiah and the
Rajah of Becar. They were attacked by Sir Arthur near the fortified
village of Assaye, which has given its name to the battle. He destroyed
Scindiah's cavalry, defeated the infantry of the Rajah of Becar on the
plains of Argaum, and seized the fortress of Gawoneilgar,[32] which
was quickly followed by the submission of the two chiefs. A monument,
in memory of the battle of Assaye, was erected at Calcutta. The
inhabitants of that city presented the victorious general with a sword
of the value of 1000_l._, and the officers of his army subscribed for a
golden vase, still preserved by the Duke at Apsley House. The English
parliament also passed a vote of thanks, and the king conferred upon
him the order of the Bath. A person should read the first part of the
Duke of Wellington's Despatches to be able to form a correct idea of
the perils of this campaign and the precautions necessary to be taken,
as well as of the moderation and judgment displayed in his orders.
[32] Gawilghur.--_Ed._
The Duke of Wellington thus commenced his military career in India. He
returned to England in 1805, to take the command of a brigade in the
army about to proceed to the Continent, under Lord Cathcart; Germany
being now the destination of the general who had lately gathered
laurels on the burning plains of Hindostan. The expedition, however,
was recalled, in consequence of the glorious victory obtained by
Napoleon at Austerlitz, which caused the death of Mr. Pitt; for in
England, that country of noble and elevated feelings, the destruction
of a great enterprise breaks the heart of a statesman. The political
life of Wellington dates its commencement from this period. The English
aristocracy are filled with devotion to their country, and the Tories
enter into her interests with their whole hearts; indeed, it is by
no means a rare occurrence in England to see a man at the same time
a member of parliament and employed on active service, for the life
of Toryism is essentially patriotic. This intermingling of political
situations and duties with military customs leads to the habits of
order and method observable in the majorities and minorities that occur
upon parliamentary questions; people obey their party or their opinions
as they would their commanding officer. In 1806 the town of Newport, in
the Isle of Wight, elected Sir Arthur as their representative in the
House of Commons, and in the same year he married Miss Pakenham, sister
to the Earl of Longford; shortly after which he was appointed secretary
to Ireland under the Duke of Richmond. He commanded the reserve of the
army under Lord Cathcart during the expedition to Copenhagen, which
occasioned such stormy debates in parliament; and the capitulation of
the city, an affair discussed, settled, and signed in the course of
one night, was entrusted to him. By the terms of this capitulation the
whole of the Danish fleet fell into the hands of the English. Upon this
occasion an unanimous vote of thanks to the army was passed in both
houses of parliament, and the Speaker of the House of Commons addressed
the general individually when he again took his seat after his return
to England.
The theatre of war was gradually increasing, and, in 1808, Sir Arthur
received orders to embark for Corunna and oppose the victorious
armies of France, now assembled under chiefs whose fame resounded
through the whole of Europe; for Spain had been invaded, and England
sought to measure her strength in the field with that of Napoleon.
The fleet was directed towards Oporto, and Sir Arthur effected his
landing in Portugal in the face of the brave regiments of the great
army, at the time when Junot was assuming a regal position at Lisbon:
the monarchy of the house of Braganza appeared at this period like a
brilliant ring, which was successively fitted on the finger of all the
adventurous chiefs, despatched as a sort of disgrace to Portugal by
Napoleon. General Junot compromised the army by his want of capacity
and his vain pretensions, and the 21st of August was marked by the
battle of Vimiera, where the attack was commenced by the French. The
complete destitution of the army rendered a treaty necessary, and by
the miserable capitulation, called the Convention of Cintra, it was
agreed that the French should evacuate Portugal and return into France
with their arms and baggage. Sir Arthur did not sign this convention,
and the real author of it, Sir Hew Dalrymple, being violently attacked
by the opposition, Sir Arthur quitted the army to be present at the
debates, and at the trial of Sir Hew by a court-martial. The Convention
of Cintra has been greatly blamed by Lord Byron in his poem of "Childe
Harold." Dalrymple was deprived of his command, and he was succeeded
by Sir Arthur Wellesley, who landed at Lisbon on the 22d of August,
1809. By the direction of Napoleon, the most bitter ridicule was
cast upon him in the _Moniteur_; those wretched declamations against
his adversaries were a weak and contemptible trait in the emperor's
character, shewing a spirit of littleness in the midst of all his great
qualities. The following is the article he dictated in Paris, with a
mixture of folly and presumption:--
"We are very well pleased Lord Wellington should command the armies,
for, with the disposition he evinces, he will meet with great
catastrophes.... Sir John Moore and Lord Wellington shew no symptoms
of the provident forethought which is so essential a quality in
warlike operations, which leads people to do nothing but what they can
maintain, and to undertake nothing but what offers a probability of
success: Lord Wellington has not shewn more talent than the cabinet
of St. James's. To attempt to support Spain against France, and to
enter into a struggle with France upon the Continent, is to form an
enterprise which will cost dear to those who have attempted it, and
occasion them nothing but disasters."
It must certainly be admitted, that Sir Arthur had no longer to contend
with an inexperienced general like Junot, the command of the army of
Portugal having been conferred upon Marshal Soult, an old soldier, who
would not fail to display the perfect knowledge of military tactics
which had raised him to the highest rank in his profession. The
uncertain battle of Talavera de la Reyna was celebrated in England as a
most decisive victory; great enthusiasm was excited, and, in spite of
the speeches of the opposition, a vote of thanks to the English general
was passed by both houses of parliament, and a pension of 2000_l._ per
annum was settled upon him; he was also raised to the peerage by the
title of Viscount Wellington of Talavera. The junta of Cadiz, which
had hitherto opposed him from motives of pride and national feeling,
now offered him the rank and allowances of captain-general of the
Spanish army; but Lord Wellington declined accepting any thing but a
present of a few horses of the Andalusian breed, which the Spaniards,
in the name of Ferdinand VII., offered him for his stud. The conduct
of the commander of the British armies on this occasion was quite in
keeping with the English character; he considered a few fine horses,
of a noble breed, as his most distinguished trophy. The rapid march
of Marshals Soult and Ney from Salamanca into Estramadura compelled
him to retreat as quickly as he had advanced; he therefore crossed the
Tagus, and took up a strong position to defend the passage at Almarez
and the lower part of the river. He was now destined to encounter the
two most remarkable lieutenants of Napoleon; for Massena, in his turn,
had entered Portugal, and commenced operations by the sieges of Almeida
and Ciudad Rodrigo.
The Duke of Wellington, in his old age, takes pleasure in talking over
the campaign of Portugal at Apsley House, because he there offered a
powerful resistance to the French army, displayed the most consummate
strategic skill, and was opposed to the most renowned marshals of the
empire; first Soult and Massena, and afterwards Marmont, who, though
skilful in his arrangements, was always unfortunate, and Ney, the
boldest and most adventurous of them all. The Duke of Wellington has
caused drawings to be made of the celebrated lines of Torres Vedras,
whose plan he traced himself, and had executed with a rapidity and
perseverance that appear almost to belong to fabulous times. They were
intended to protect Lisbon, and extended from the sea to the Tagus,
at the point where the river, being about six miles broad, defended
them as completely as the sea itself. They were constructed with so
much secrecy, that Marmont was struck with amazement at the sight of
them; and the English system of tactics, which consists in taking up a
fortified position, was displayed on this occasion in all its glory.
The brave Massena passed nearly six months before these lines,--this
magnificent military work, roaming like a chafed lion desirous of
engaging with his enemy around these masses of granite, and the waters
of the great river, almost as vast as the sea. The old general of the
Italian campaign expected reinforcements from France, but he received
no assistance either in men or provisions--a circumstance which must
have rendered his retreat to the frontiers of Spain very difficult to
accomplish. The Duke of Wellington always does justice to the skill
of Marshals Soult and Massena; and, in speaking of them in present
times, he acknowledges them both to have been men of great military
capacity. The English general again received the thanks of both houses
of parliament on this occasion; an additional subsidy was voted him,
and the title of Marquis of Torres Vedras was conferred upon him,
to perpetuate the memory of the military resistance that had saved
Portugal.
At this period the English government lavished marks of gratitude upon
its generals, in order to excite them to fresh acts of self-devotion;
and England already discerned in the Duke of Wellington a man capable
of coping with the power of Napoleon. An attempt had been at first made
to institute a comparison between Admiral Nelson and the Emperor, and
after his death at Trafalgar the Duke of Wellington succeeded him in
public estimation; such, at least, was the opinion expressed and acted
upon by the British parliament.
The English army were guilty of many faults, from the time of the
blockade of Almeida up to the siege of Badajos; and the battle of
Fuentes d'Onoro was a severe lesson for their commander. The juntas
were not favourably disposed towards England, in spite of which Lord
Wellington had organised the Portuguese army, and placed it on a firm
military footing; and every thing at Lisbon was already under the
influence of England, which furnished provisions, artillery, clothing,
and arms. The Tagus was now occupied by a formidable English fleet,
and from this time forth the cabinet of London gradually extended its
influence in the Peninsula; in fact, Lisbon was actually in a state of
vassalage, and commercial relations contributed their share towards
strengthening the military bonds which war had imposed with such mighty
power.
Lord Wellington passed the Tagus to prevent supplies of provisions and
ammunition being thrown into Ciudad Rodrigo, which was now the central
point of the military operations; and the city was carried by storm
after a siege of ten days.[33] Fortune had ceased to smile on Napoleon;
Massena had been recalled, and Marshal Soult shortly after him, leaving
Marmont, who was always unfortunate; while the Duke of Wellington, on
the contrary, had just succeeded in overcoming the repugnance of the
regency of Cadiz, by whom, after the taking of Badajos,[34] he was
created a grandee of Spain of the first class, Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo,
and commander-in-chief of the Spanish army. The English parliament also
voted him an additional pension of 2000_l._ per annum.
[33] 20th January, 1812.
[34] 7th April, 1812.
Badajos was taken by storm some months after the fall of Ciudad
Rodrigo, and our eagles veiled their heads before the British armies.
His flanks being secured, Lord Wellington crossed the Tagus and entered
Castile; his means were very superior to those of his antagonists;
besides which the generals did not agree in opinion, and the court was
totally devoid of energy: Napoleon was not there to interpose his will,
which bore down all opposition. The battle of Salamanca,[35] which
decided the fate of Spain, took place shortly after. Lord Wellington
hastened on, with forced marches, towards Valladolid, and turning
suddenly to the right he made a bold movement towards Madrid, while
Joseph Buonaparte retreated to Burgos. I cannot imagine what induced
Napoleon to send Marshal Jourdan as a military guide to his brother,
for he was the most inferior of all his captains, and the Emperor had
greatly ridiculed his first revolutionary successes. Lord Wellington
again received the thanks of parliament on this occasion, the Prince
Regent conferred upon him the title of marquis, and the House of
Commons voted him the sum of 100,000_l_.
[35] 24th July, 1812.
It is necessary to enter into these details to understand the source
of the political fortune of the Duke of Wellington. We here see that
all his rank, his honours, even his income, are derived from the field
of battle. The rewards granted by parliament were profuse, because it
was of the highest importance to create a military existence capable
of opposing the wonderful fortunes of Napoleon. At this time, Marshal
Soult, who had raised the siege of Cadiz and abandoned Andalusia,
made so well-arranged a movement in concert with the main body of
General Souham's army, that Lord Wellington's line of communication
was compromised; he was compelled to make a precipitate retreat, and
Marshal Soult resumed a glorious offensive position.
The English general having here forgotten the prudent system he usually
observed, for two days his whole army was exposed to the enemy, and
it is evident, from this circumstance, that the Duke of Wellington's
talent for defensive measures was greater than for an active military
campaign.[36] He never appeared to understand how to observe an exact
medium between the well-considered temerity, which seizes upon a fault
for the chance it affords of success, and the prudence which foresees
all the chances that may occur, even in a bad position.
[36] Witness Assaye, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajos, Vittoria,
&c.--_Editor._