CHAP. of those wherein he was not then an actor, but abettor, however, of their actions, were crowned with the most XII. 1714. triumphant success. I take with pleasure this oppor 24. The five great gene dern times. tunity of doing justice to that great man, whose faults I know, whose virtues I admire, and whose memory, as the greatest general and greatest minister that our country or any other has produced, I honour." Five generals, by the common consent of men, stand forth pre-eminent in modern times for the magnitude of rals of mo- the achievements they effected, and the splendour of the talents they displayed-Eugene, Marlborough, Frederick, Napoleon, and Wellington. It is hard to say which appears the greatest, whether we regard the services they have rendered to their respective countries, or the durable impress their deeds have left on human affairs. All had difficulties the most serious to contend with, obstacles apparently insurmountable to overcome, and all proved in the brightest parts of their career victorious over them. All have immortalised their names by exploits far exceeding those recorded of other men. All have left the effects of their exploits durably imprinted in the subsequent fate of nations. The relative position of the European states, the preservation of public rights, the maintenance of the balance of power, the salvation of the weak from the grasp of the strong, have been mainly owing to their exertions. To their biography is attached not merely the fortune of the countries to which they belonged, but the general destinies of Europe, and through it of the human race. To give a faithful picture, in a few pages, of such men, may seem a hopeless, and, compared to their merits, an invidious task. A brief summary of the chief actions of CHAP. XII. 25. characteris those of them least known to ordinary readers, is, however, indispensable to lay a foundation for their comparison with the character of those whose deeds are as 1714. household words. It is not impossible to convey to Leading those who are familiar with their exploits a pleasing tics of each. resumé of their leading features and salient points of difference; to those who are not, to give some idea of the pleasure which the study of their characters is calculated to afford. Generals, like writers or artists, have certain leading characteristics which may be traced through all their achievements; a peculiar impress has been communicated by nature to their minds, which appears, not less than on the painter's canvass or in the poet's lines, in all their actions. As much as grandeur of conception distinguishes Homer, tenderness of feeling Virgil, sublimity of thought Milton, nobleness of character Tasso, does daring of design distinguish Eugene, perfection of combination Marlborough, invincible tenacity Frederick, vastness of genius Napoleon, profound wisdom Wellington. A summary of the characters of these illustrious men, a comparison of their excellencies, a glance at their failings, however imperfectly executed, will not be an unprofitable task, and form a fit conclusion to this history. of Prince EUGENE's early history and great achievements in the 26. War of the Succession, have been already detailed; but Character it is hard to say whether his greatness did not appear Eugene. more strongly in the magnanimity of his private life than in the brilliancy of his public actions. It has been already mentioned how noble and cordial was his cooperation with Marlborough, and how entirely destitute those great men were of jealousy toward each other. He gave equal proof of the magnanimity of his disposition, XII. CHAP. by the readiness with which he granted the most favourable terms to the illustrious besieged chief in Lille, who 1714. had, with equal skill and valour, conducted the defence. When the articles of capitulation proposed by Boufflers were placed before him, he said immediately, without looking at them, "I will subscribe them at once: knowing well you would propose nothing unworthy of you and me." The delicacy of his subsequent attentions to his noble prisoner evinced the sincerity of his admiration. When Marlborough's influence at the English court was sensibly declining, in 1711, he repaired to London, and exerted all his talents and address to bring the English council back to the common cause, and restore his great rival to his former ascendancy with Queen Anne. When it was all in vain, and the English armies withdrew from the coalition, Eugene did all that skill and genius could achieve to make up for the great deficiency arising from the withdrawal of Marlborough and his gallant followers; and when it had become apparent that he was overmatched by the French armies, he was the first to counsel his Imperial master to conclude peace, which was done at Rastadt on the 6th March 1714. 27. ishing suc the Turks. Great as had been the services then performed by His aston- Eugene for the Imperialists, they were outdone by those cesses over which he subsequently rendered in the wars with the Turks. In truth it was he who first effectually broke their power, and for ever delivered Europe from the sabres of the Osmanlis, by which it had been incessantly threatened for three hundred years. Intrusted with the command of the Austrian army in Hungary, sixty thousand strong, he gained at Peterwardin, in 1716, a complete victory over a hundred and fifty thousand Turks. This glorious success led him to resume the offensive, and in the following year he laid siege, with forty thousand men, to Belgrade, the great frontier fortress of Turkey, in presence of the whole strength of the Ottoman empire. The obstinate resistance of the Turks, as famous then as they have ever since been in the defence of fortified places, joined to the dysenteries and fevers usual on the marshy banks of the Danube in the autumnal months, soon reduced his effective force to twenty-five thousand men, while that of the enemy, by prodigious efforts, had been swelled to a hundred and fifty thousand around the besiegers' lines, besides thirty thousand within the walls. CHAP. 1714. 28. cape from wonderful Belgrade. Everything presaged that Eugene was about to undergo the fate of Marshal Marsin twelve years before at Narrow esTurin, and even his most experienced officers deemed a ruin, and capitulation the only way of extricating them from victory at their perilous situation. Eugene himself was attacked and seriously weakened by the prevailing dysentery, and all seemed lost in the Austrian camp. It was in these circumstances, with this weakened and dispirited force, that he achieved one of the most glorious victories ever gained by the Cross over the Crescent. With admirable skill he collected his little army together, divided it into columns of attack, and, though scarcely able to sit on horseback, himself led them to the assault of the Turkish intrenchments. The result was equal to the success of Cæsar over the Gauls at the blockade of Alesia, seventeen centuries before. The innumerable host of the Turks was totally defeated-all their artillery and baggage was taken, and their troops were entirely dispersed. Belgrade, immediately after, opened its gates, and has since remained, with some mutations of fortune, CHAP. XII. 1714. the great frontier bulwark of Europe against the Turks. The successes which he gained in the following campaign of 1718 were so decisive that they entirely broke the Ottoman power; and he was preparing to march to Constantinople, when the treaty of Passarowitz put a 482-491. period to his conquests, and gave a breathing-time to the exhausted Ottoman empire.1 1 Biog. Univ. xiii. 29. From this brief sketch of his exploits, it may readily His charac- be understood what was the character of Eugene as a general, and general. He had none of the methodical prudence of Napoleon. Turenne, Marlborough, or Villars. His genius was ter as a parallel to 30. skill with which he extricated himself entirely different; it was more akin to that of Napoleon, when he was reduced to counterbalance inferiority of numbers by superiority of skill. The immortal campaigns of 1796 in Italy, and of 1814 in Champagne, bear a strong resemblance to those of Eugene. Like the French Emperor, his strokes were rapid and forcible; his coup-d'œil was at once quick and just; his activity indefatigable; his courage undaunted; his resources equal to any undertaking. He did not lay much stress on previous arrangements, and seldom attempted the extensive combinations which enabled Marlborough to command success; but dashed fearlessly on, trusting to his own resources to extricate himself out of any difficulty-to his genius, in any circumstances, to command victory. Yet was this daring disposition not without peril. Daring and His audacity often bordered on rashness, his rapidity on haste; and he repeatedly brought his armies into situations all but desperate, and which, to a general of less capacity, would unquestionably have proved so. But in these difficulties no one could exceed him in the energy and vigour with which he extricated himself from from dangers. |