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CHAP.

XII.

1714.

1 Coxe, vi.

400.

22.

nimity and

architects of their own fortune, he was economical in his habits, and little inclined to spend money on personal gratifications. But on great occasions he exhibited a splendour worthy of his station and his character; he could give all the money in his possession to the wounded among his enemies, and present a friendless and deserving officer with a thousand pounds to purchase a commission.1

He possessed the magnanimity in judging of others His magna- which is the invariable characteristic of real greatness. humanity. Envy was unknown, suspicion loathsome to him. He often suffered by the generous confidence with which he trusted his enemies. He was patient under contradiction, placid and courteous both in his manners and demeanour, and owed great part of his success, both in the field and in the cabinet, to the invariable suavity and charm of his manners. His humanity was uniformly conspicuous. Not only his own soldiers, but his enemies, never failed to experience it. Like Wellington, his attention to the health and comforts of his men was incessant; which, with his daring in the field, and uniform success in strategy, endeared him in the highest degree to the soldiers. Troops of all nations equally trusted him; and the common saying, when they were in any difficulty, "Never mind, Corporal John' will get us out of it," was heard as frequently in the Dutch, Danish, or German, as in the English language. He frequently gave the weary soldiers a place in his carriage, and got out himself to accommodate more; and his first care, after an engagement, invariably was to visit the Capefigue, field of battle, and do his utmost to assuage the suffervi. 129. ings of the wounded, both among his own men and those of the enemy. After the battle of Malplaquet, he

Louis XIV.

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divided all the money at his private disposal among the
wounded officers of the enemy.

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CHAP.

XII.

1714.

23.

ter as drawn

Smith and

broke.

The character of this illustrious man has been thus portrayed by two of the greatest writers in the English His characlanguage, the latter of whom will not be accused of by Adam undue partiality to his political enemy. It is a char- Bolingacteristic," says Adam Smith, "almost peculiar to the great Duke of Marlborough, that ten years of such uninterrupted and such splendid successes as scarce any other general could boast of, never betrayed him into a single rash action, scarce into a single rash word or expression. The same temperate coolness and selfcommand cannot, I think, be ascribed to any other great warrior of latter times, not to Prince Eugene, nor to the late King of Prussia, nor to the great Prince of Condé, nor even to Gustavus Adolphus. Turenne seems to have approached the nearest to it; but several actions of his life demonstrate that it was in him by no means. so perfect as in the great Duke of Marlborough." "By King William's death," says Bolingbroke, "the Duke of Marlborough was raised to the head of the army, and indeed of the confederacy, where he, a private man, a subject, obtained by merit and by management a more decided influence than high birth, confirmed authority, and even the crown of Great Britain, had given to King William. Not only all the parts of that vast machine, the Grand Alliance, were kept more compact and entire, but a more rapid and vigorous motion was 1 Smith's given to the whole; and instead of languishing or timents, ii. disastrous campaigns, we saw every scene of the war lingbroke's full of action.1 All those wherein he appeared, and many the Study of of those wherein he was not then an actor, but abettor, 172. however, of their actions, were crowned with the most

Moral Sen

158. Bo

Letters on

History, ii.

CHAP.

XII.

1714.

24.

The five

triumphant success. I take with pleasure this oppor-
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 great gene- the achievements they effected, and the splendour of dern times. the talents they displayed - Eugene, Marlborough,

rals of mo

25.

Leading

characteris

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 rela-
tive 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 des-
tinies 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 tics of each. invidious task. A brief summary of the chief actions of 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

!

household words. It is not impossible to convey to those who are familiar with their exploits a pleasing 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.

CHAP.

XII.

1714.

26.

of Prince

EUGENE'S early history and great achievements in the 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, by the readiness with which he granted the most favourable terms to the illustrious besieged chief in Lille, who had, with equal skill and valour, conducted the defence.

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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 ascendency 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.

Great as had been the services then performed by Eugene for the Imperialists, they were outdone by those 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

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