diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/63148-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/63148-0.txt | 7547 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 7547 deletions
diff --git a/old/63148-0.txt b/old/63148-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index eb961c1..0000000 --- a/old/63148-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7547 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Men Who Have Made the Empire, by George -Chetwynd Griffith, Illustrated by Stanley L. Wood - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: Men Who Have Made the Empire - - -Author: George Chetwynd Griffith - - - -Release Date: September 8, 2020 [eBook #63148] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEN WHO HAVE MADE THE EMPIRE*** - - -E-text prepared by Tim Lindell, Charlie Howard, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 63148-h.htm or 63148-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/63148/63148-h/63148-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/63148/63148-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/menwhohavemadeem00grifiala - - -Transcriber’s note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=). - - - - - -MEN WHO HAVE MADE THE EMPIRE - - - * * * * * * - -_BY THE SAME AUTHOR._ - - - =VALDAR, THE OFT-BORN. A Saga of Seven Ages.= Imp. - 16mo, cloth gilt. Illustrated by HAROLD PIFFARD. - Price 6s. - - =THE VIRGIN OF THE SUN. A Tale of the Conquest of - Peru.= Crown 8vo, cloth. With Frontispiece by STANLEY - L. WOOD. Price 6s. - - =KNAVES OF DIAMONDS. Being Tales of the Diamond - Fields.= Crown 8vo, cloth. Illustrated by E. F. - SHERIE. Price 3s. 6d. - -LONDON - -C. ARTHUR PEARSON LIMITED - - * * * * * * - - -[Illustration: “ALMIGHTY GOD, OF THY GOODNESS, GIVE ME LIFE AND LEAVE -ONCE TO SAIL AN ENGLISH SHIP ON YONDER SEA!” - - (_See page 54._) _Frontispiece._] - - -MEN WHO HAVE MADE THE EMPIRE - -by - -GEORGE GRIFFITH - -Third Edition - - - - - - -London -C. Arthur Pearson Limited -Henrietta Street, W.C. -1899 - - - - - To - THE GLORIOUS MEMORY - OF - THE MIGHTY DEAD - AND TO - THE HONOUR OF THE LIVING - WHO ARE - CARRYING ON THEIR NOBLE WORK, - THE FOLLOWING PAGES - ARE INSCRIBED. - - - - - “_Fair is our lot--O goodly is our heritage! - (Humble ye, my people, and be fearful in your mirth!) - For the Lord our God Most High - He hath made the deep as dry, - He hath smote for us a pathway to the ends of all the earth!_” - - A SONG OF THE ENGLISH - - - - -CONTENTS - - - I. - PAGE - WILLIAM THE NORMAN 1 - - - II. - - EDWARD OF THE LONG LEGS 21 - - - III. - - THE QUEEN’S LITTLE PIRATE 39 - - - IV. - - OLIVER CROMWELL 71 - - - V. - - WILLIAM OF ORANGE 97 - - - VI. - - JAMES COOK 119 - - - VII. - - LORD CLIVE 143 - - - VIII. - - WARREN HASTINGS 169 - - - IX. - - NELSON 193 - - - X. - - WELLINGTON 223 - - - XI. - - “CHINESE GORDON” 249 - - - XII. - - CECIL RHODES 279 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - -BY STANLEY L. WOOD - - - “ALMIGHTY GOD, OF THY GOODNESS, GIVE ME LIFE AND - LEAVE ONCE TO SAIL AN ENGLISH SHIP ON YONDER - SEA!” _Frontispiece_ - - _Facing p._ - HE DROVE THE GOOD STEEL THROUGH MAIL AND FLESH AND BONE 10 - - DUKE WILLIAM ROARED OUT THAT HE WAS ALIVE 17 - - EDWARD GRIPPED THE WOULD-BE MURDERER 30 - - THEY CARRIED HIM DOWN TO THE BOATS 53 - - HE SWOOPED WITH HIS CAVALRY ROUND THE REAR OF THE KING’S ARMY 83 - - HE HALTED HIS ARMY ... AND SANG THE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEENTH - PSALM 94 - - MADE HIM REEL IN HIS SADDLE 112 - - “MEN OF ENNISKILLEN, WHAT WILL YOU DO FOR ME?” HE CRIED 113 - - MISSED HIM AND KILLED ANOTHER MAN BEHIND HIM 141 - - INSTEAD OF CHARGING THEY TURNED ROUND AND MADE LANES THROUGH - THE ARMY BEHIND THEM 158 - - HIS ENEMY WENT DOWN WITH A BULLET IN THE RIGHT SIDE 185 - - NELSON AT COPENHAGEN 214 - - THE ORDER THAT SENT THE BRITISH LINE STREAMING DOWN FROM THE - RISING GROUND 246 - - THE LONELY MAN WHO STOOD ON THE RAMPARTS OF KHARTOUM 275 - - THAT HISTORIC INDABA IN THE MATOPPOS 300 - - - - -FOREWORD - - -The Epic of England has yet to be written. It may be that the fulness -of time for writing it has not come yet, or it may be that Britain is -still waiting for her Homer and her Virgil. Perhaps the matured genius -of a Rudyard Kipling, that strong, sweet Singer of the Seven Seas, may -some day address itself to the accomplishment of this most splendid of -all possible tasks, and then, again, it may be that it is his only to -sound the prelude. That is a matter for the gods to decide in their -own good time, but this much is certain--that when this work has been -worthily done the world will hear echoing through the ages such a -thunder-song as has never stirred human hearts before. - -It will begin, doubtless, with the battle-cries of the old Sea-Kings of -the North, chanted to the music of their churning oars and the rush and -roar of the foam swirling away under the bows of their longships, and -from them it will go on ringing and thundering through the centuries, -ever swelling in depth and volume as more and more of the races of men -hear it rolling over the battle-fields of conquered lands, until at -last--as every loyal man of English speech must truly hope--the roar -of the Last Battle has rolled away into eternal silence, and north and -south, east and west, the proclaiming of the Pax Britannica heralds the -epoch of - - “The Parliament of Man, the Federation of the World.” - -But in the meantime, while we are waiting for the coming of the singer -whose master-hand shall blend the song and story of Britain into -an epic worthy of his magnificent theme, materials may be gathered -together, old facts may be presented in new lights, and the great -characters who have played their parts in the most tremendous drama -that has ever occupied the Stage of Time may be re-grouped in such -fashion as will make their subtler relationships more plain, and all -this will make the great work readier to the hand of the Master when he -comes. - -It is a portion of this minor work that I have set myself here to do. -The making of a nation and the building of nations up into empires -is, humanly speaking, the greatest and noblest work that human hands -and brains can find to do, for the making of an empire means, in its -ultimate analysis, the substitution of order for anarchy, of commerce -for plunder, of civilisation for savagery--in a word, of peace for -strife. - -Now, the British Empire as it stands to-day is unquestionably the -greatest moral and material Fact in human history, and hence it is -permissible to assume that the makers of it must, each in his own way, -whether of peace or war, have been the greatest empire-builders the -world has yet seen, and it is my purpose here to take the greatest of -these and tell with such force and vividness as I may, the story of -the man and his work. I am not going to write a series of biographies -arranged in prim chronological ranks, nor am I going to confine myself -to the narration of collated facts so dear to the hearts of educational -inspectors and scholastic examiners. Such you will find already cut and -dried for you in the school-books and in many ponderous tomes, from the -reading of which may your good taste and good sense deliver you! - -I shall seek rather to show you the living man doing the living work -which his destiny called him to do. The man will not always be found -of the best, nor the work, seemingly, of the noblest, but what I shall -seek to show you is that the work _had_ to be done in order that a -certain end might be accomplished, and that the man who did it was, all -things considered, the best and, it may be, the only man to do it. In -so far as I do not do this I shall have failed in the doing of my own -work. - -One more word seems necessary in order to anticipate certain possible -misconceptions. Our empire-making is not yet complete, even at home. -The centuries of strife during which the hammering and welding -together of the nations which now make up the United Kingdom has been -progressing have naturally and necessarily left certain national -jealousies and antipathies behind them, and the last thing that I -should desire would be to arouse any of these. - -There are two kinds of patriotism, a smaller and a greater, a National -and an Imperial. Both are equally good and noble, and it is necessary -that the first should precede the second. But it is equally necessary -that it should not supersede or obscure it, and it is to this later -and greater, this Imperial patriotism that I shall appeal, and I would -ask my readers, whatever their nationality, to remember that on the -burning plains of India and the rolling prairies of Canada, in the vast -expanses of the Australian Bush and the African Veld, there are neither -Englishmen nor Scotsmen, Welshmen nor Irishmen; but only Citizens of -the Empire, brothers in blood and speech, and fellow-workers in the -building up of the noblest and stateliest fabric that human hands have -ever reared or God’s sun has ever shone upon. - - - - -I - -_WILLIAM THE NORMAN,_ - -_PIRATE AND NATION-MAKER_ - - - - -I - -WILLIAM THE NORMAN - - -It may strike those of my readers who have only got their history from -their school-books as somewhat strange that I should begin my record -of British Empire-Makers with a man whom they have been taught to look -upon as a foreigner, an invader, a conqueror, and a ruthless oppressor -of the English. - -The answer is simple, though manifold. The school-books are only filled -with potted facts, and are therefore wrong and unreliable. It has been -well said that England was made on the shores of the Baltic Sea and the -German Ocean. The so-called Englishmen who occupied it at the time of -the Conquest were not Englishmen at all, for the simple reason that the -true English race had yet to be born, and, after it, the true British. - -The England and Scotland of the eleventh century were peopled, not by -nations, but by tribes mostly at bitter and constant war with each -other. There were still Jutes and Angles, Picts and Scots, Danes and -Swedes and Norwegians, each occupying their own little stretch of -country, and governed, more or less effectually, by their chieftains, -in proof of which it is enough to recall the fact that Harold’s last -fight but one was against his own brother, who had come across the -Narrow Seas at the head of a miscellaneous crowd of hungry pirates to -steal as much as he could of the ownerless heritage that Edward the -Confessor had left behind him. - -A good deal of sentiment, more or less born of deftly-written romances, -has glorified the memory of this same Harold. Whether it was deserved -or not does not concern us now, any more than does his right or unright -to the throne of England. It is enough here to grant him all honour as -an able leader of armies, and a man who knew how to snatch victory from -defeat, and glory from disaster by dying like a hero surrounded by the -corpses of his foes. - -The idle question whether he or William had the better right to the -crown of England may be left to those who care for such quibbling. Let -us, at the outset, in the words of the Sage of Chelsea, “clear our -minds of cant.” There is no “right” or “wrong” in these things, saving -only the eternal right of the strongest and wisest--the fittest or -most suitable, in short, to wield power and dominion whether the less -fit like it or not. The peoples are thrust headlong into the fiery -crucible of War, and, on the adamantine anvil of Destiny, the Thor’s -Hammer of Battle beats and crushes them into the shape that God has -designed for them. It seems a rude method, but in many thousands of -years we have found no other, so at least we may conclude that it is -the best one known. - -There is a very deep meaning in the seemingly flippant and almost -impious saying of Napoleon: “God fights on the side of the biggest -battalions.” He does--but you must reckon the bigness of the -battalions, not only by their numbers, but by the value of their units, -remembering always that one man with a stout heart and a cause he -honestly believes in is worth a score who have neither heart nor faith. - -Just such a man was William the Norman, son of Robert the Magnificent, -otherwise styled the Devil, and Arlette the Fair, daughter of Fulbert -the Tanner of Falaise. It is in this birth of his that we find the -first clue to his real greatness. He was born of a union unhallowed -by the sanction of the Church, among a people proud beyond all modern -belief of their royal sea-king ancestry. - -How did he come to achieve this almost miraculous triumph over a -prejudice and hostility of which we can now form but a very dim idea? - -We have to look no farther than his cradle to find the answer. Lying -there, the little fellow used to grasp the straw in his baby fists -with such a grip that it could not be pulled away from him. The straw -broke first, and ever in his after life what William the Norman laid -hold of he held on to; and that is why he became the first of our -Empire-Makers. - -No doubt it was the strain of the old pirate blood which ran so -strongly in his veins that made him this. If we have successfully -cleared our minds of cant, we shall see plainly that, since all nations -begin in piracy of some sort, it is natural to expect that the best -pirates will prove the best Empire-Makers. That old strain is, happily, -not yet exhausted. When it is, Great and Greater Britain will be no -more. - -Few men have passed unscathed through such a stormy youth as his was. -When he was seven years old his father, Duke Robert, having exacted -an oath of unwilling fealty from his under-lords to his bonny but -base-born heir, went away on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem from which he -never returned, leaving him to the wardship of his friend, Alan of -Brittany; and soon after Duke Robert’s death became known Alan was -poisoned. After that for a dozen years the boy Duke was in constant -peril of his life. - -One night two lads were lying sleeping side by side in the castle of -Vaudreuil, and in the silence and darkness of the night one of the -Montgomeries, bitter enemies of the Lords of Falaise, to whose hate -Alan of Brittany had already fallen a victim, crept up to the bedside -with a naked dagger, and drove it blindly into the heart of one of the -boys and fled. - -Young Duke William--he was only a lad of twelve then--woke up to find -himself wet with his playmate’s blood, but all unknowing then how -nearly the history of the world had come to being changed by that foul -and happily misdirected dagger-stroke. Had it found his heart instead -there would have been no Norman Conquest, no blending of the two -strains of blood from which has sprung the Imperial Race of earth, no -British Empire, no United States of America--without all of which the -world would surely have been very different. - -Seven more years of plot and intrigue, of strife and turmoil, young -Duke William lived through after this, growing ever keener in mind -and stronger in body, and, as we may well believe, hardening into the -incarnation of ruthless and yet wisely-directed Force which was so -soon to make him a power among men. Before he was twenty he shot his -arrows from a bow which no other man in his dukedom could bend, and he -was already a finished knight, a pattern of the gentleman of his age, -good horseman, good swordsman, gentle towards women and stern towards -men, pure in his morals and moderate in his living; a good Christian -according to his lights and the ideas of his day, and above all -faithful to the ideals that he had set before himself. - -Already at nineteen--that is to say in the year 1044--not only had he -shaped his plans for reducing the disorder of his turbulent dukedom to -discipline, but he had made his designs so manifest that the lawless -lords and robber barons could see for themselves how stern a master he -would make--as in good truth he did--and the deadly work of conspiracy -started afresh. One night when he was sleeping in his favourite castle -of Valognes, Golet, his court fool, came hammering at his bedroom door -with his bauble, crying out that some traitor had let the assassins -into the stronghold. He leapt out of bed, huddled on a few clothes as -he ran to the stable, mounted his horse, and galloped away all through -the night toward Falaise along a road which is called the Duke’s Road -to this day. No sooner was he safe across the estuary of the Oune and -Vire and in the Bayeux district than he pulled his dripping, panting -horse up in front of the church of St. Clement, dismounted and knelt -down to say his prayers and thank God for his merciful deliverance. -Such was the youth who was father to the man justly styled William the -Conqueror. - -It was not long after this that the years of intrigue and plotting -ended in armed revolt. Guy of Burgundy, William’s kinsman and once his -playmate, looked with greedy eyes on the fair lands of Normandy. He -was master of many provinces already, and among his hosts of friends -there were not a few of William’s own under-lords, in whose breasts -still rankled the shame of owning a bastard for their master. To his -side came the Viscount of Coutance, Randolph of Bayeux, Hamon of -Thorigny and Creuilly, and that Grimbald of Plessis whose hand was -to have slain William that night in Valognes, and in the end this -long-gathering storm burst on the grassy slopes of Val-ès-Dunes. - -Master Wace the Chronicler, in his “Roman de Rou,” gives us a brilliant -little picture of that long-past scene where the future Conqueror won -his spurs--of many a brave and gallant gentleman clad _cap-à-pie_ in -shining mail, seated on mighty chargers impatiently pawing the ground, -of long lances gay with fluttering ribbons tied on by dainty hands that -morning, of waving plumes and flaunting pennons, and mild-eyed cattle -grazing knee-deep in the long wet grass in peaceful ignorance of the -bloody work that was about to be done. - -But with all this we have little to do, and one episode must suffice. -The starkest warrior among the rebels was Hardrez, Lord of Bayeux, and -he, like many another, had sworn to slay William that day with his own -hands. The oath had proved fatal to others before it did to him, but -at length his turn came. Young Duke William saw him from afar, and -with lance in rest made for him at a gallop. One of the knights who -had followed Hardrez to battle charged at him in mid-course. The next -moment horse and man went rolling in the grass, and William, dropping -his splintered lance, drew his sword, and, the Lord of Bayeux coming up -at the instant, he drove the good steel with one shrewd, strong thrust -through mail and flesh and bone, and Hardrez never spoke again. - -That stroke won William his dukedom, and the Chronicler, though a man -of Bayeux himself, tells in stirring lines how the young lord and his -faithful knights hunted the flying rebels off the field and rode them -down like sheep. - -This was not the last fight that William had for the mastery of his -own land, but it left his hands free to begin the work that he had set -himself to do, and he did it. To him unity was strength, and he was -ready to go to any lengths to get it. His methods then, as afterwards -in England, were severe--we should call them brutal nowadays, but these -days are not those. - -[Illustration: HE DROVE THE GOOD STEEL THROUGH MAIL AND FLESH AND BONE.] - -When the citizens of Alençon defied him they indulged in the pleasantry -of hanging raw hides over the walls and beating them, shouting out the -while that here there was plenty for the tanner’s son to do. He set -his teeth and swore his favourite oath--by the Splendour of God--that -they should have work enough ere he had done with them. When the city -lay at his mercy he had two-and-thirty of the humourists sent out to -him, and cut off their ears and noses and hands and feet, and had -them tossed over the walls as a sort of hint that he was not quite the -kind of person who could appreciate jokes about his ancestors. It was -an inhuman deed, but history records no other public aspersions of the -good name of Duke William’s mother. - -Yet one more battle the young Duke had to fight before he crossed -the Narrow Seas to the famous field of Senlac. Henry of France, his -titular overlord, and Geoffrey of Anjou, jealous of the fast-growing -power of Normandy, united their forces in an expedition which was half -an invasion and half a plundering raid. Duke William, with infinite -patience, and a quiet, marvellous self-restraint, held his own fiery -temper and the angry ardour of his knights in check, watching the -invaders burn town after town and village after village, and turning -some of his fairest domains into a wilderness. - -He never struck a blow until, one fatal afternoon, he swooped down from -Falaise and caught the French army severed in two by the rising flood -of the river Dive. Then he struck, and struck hard, and when the bloody -work was over, Henry was glad to buy a truce and his liberty from his -vassal with the strong castle of Tillièries and all its lands, and so -heavy hearted was he at his defeat that, as the Chronicler tells us, -“he never bore shield or spear again.” - -Normandy had now become the most orderly and best governed country in -Europe. Robbers, noble and otherwise, were ruthlessly suppressed, and -the poorest possessed their goods in peace, while William himself had -time to turn his thoughts to the gentler, and yet not less important, -concerns of policy and love-making. - -The old story of his courtship of the fair Matilda of Flanders with a -riding whip is evidently a myth manufactured by some Saxon enemy, for -Duke William was in the first place a gentleman, and, moreover, the -lady and her parents were as anxious as he was for the marriage, seeing -that he was now the most desirable of suitors. The truth is that the -Church opposed their union on some shadowy grounds of consanguinity, -and it did not take place until after a courtship of four years. - -And now, having got our pirate Duke happily married and seen him -undisputed lord of his own realm, we may go with him to St. Valery on -the coast of Ponthieu and watch him working and praying and offering -gifts at the old shrine, during those fifteen long days that he watched -the weather-cocks and prayed for the south wind that was to waft his -fleet and army over to the English shore. - -It was on Wednesday, the 27th of September, that the wind at last -veered round. The eager soldiery hailed the change as the granting -of their prayers and the consent of Heaven to the beginning of their -enterprise, and flung themselves into their ships like a great host of -schoolboys setting out on a holiday. Soon the grey sea was covered -with a swarm of craft, and it must have seemed as though the old Viking -days had come back as the great square sails went up to the mast-heads, -and the shining shields were hung along the bulwarks. - -William himself, in his golden ship _Mora_, the present of his own -dear Duchess, led the way with the sacred banner of the Pope at his -mast-head, and the three Lions of Normandy floating astern. The _Mora_ -was lighter heeled or lighter loaded than the rest, for when morning -dawned she was alone on the sea with the Sussex shore in plain sight. -But presently a great forest of masts and clouds of gaily-coloured -sails rose up out of the grey waters astern, and the whole vast fleet -came on, urged by oar and wind, and by nine o’clock that morning the -fore-foot of the _Mora_, close followed by her consorts, struck the -English ground in Pevensey Bay. - -It has often been told how William, as he landed, stumbled and fell on -his hands and knees, and how those near him cried out that it was a -fatal omen. The story may be myth or fact, but nothing could be more -characteristic of the true man than his springing to his feet with both -hands full of sand and laughing out in that great voice of his: - -“Nay, by the Splendour of God, not so. See! Have I not taken seizin of -my new kingdom and lawful heritage?” - -But the army of the so-called English, that they had come to seek was -nowhere to be found, and some days were spent in uncertainty and debate -as to whether they should march on London or await battle on the shore -with their sea communications open, and in the end they took the latter -and the wiser course. - -Meanwhile, as has been said, Harold was away in the North fighting and -beating his brother Tostig and his fellow robbers, and the news of -Duke William’s landing was flying northward to him. It must have been -something of an anxious time for both--the Norman waiting day after -day in that deadly inaction which is most fatal of all things to the -courage and discipline of an army, and Harold hurrying southward at -the head of his victorious troops, knowing that he was about to try -conclusions with the best leader and the finest soldiery in Europe. - -It is of little import here and to us now which of them had the best -right, as the lawyer-quibble has it, to that which they were about to -fight for. The point is that such claims as either had they were going -to submit to the stern and final ordeal of battle--and in good truth a -stern ordeal it proved to be. - -As he came to the South the standard of Harold--the Fighting Man--was -joined by troops of recruits attracted by the fame of his northern -victory, and it was a great and really formidable army which at length -assembled between London and the Sussex coast. Meanwhile the Normans, -after the fashion of the pitiless warfare of those days, were dividing -their time between the building of entrenched camps and ravaging, -plundering, and burning throughout the pleasant Southern land. - -Of course messages and parleyings passed between them. Harold from his -royal house at Westminster bade Duke William come and fight him for his -capital and his kingdom, to which Duke William warily replied: “Come -and drive us into the sea if you can!” This at length King Harold was -forced to attempt. And so it came to pass that, at length, on the 14th -of October, the hosts of the Saxon and the Norman confronted each other -on the field of Senlac by Hastings, on the morrow to strike blows whose -echoes were to ring through many a long century, and to do deeds more -mighty in their effect than either Harold or William dreamt of. - -The Norman host has been called a horde of mailed robbers and -cut-throats, eager only for plunder, and the Saxon army has been almost -canonised as a band of heroes, gathered together to die in defence of -their native land and their lawful king. Yet, strangely enough, the -robbers and cut-throats spent the best part of the night confessing -their sins and praying for victory, as well as in making the best -dispositions to attain it. The patriots spent the same hours feasting -and drinking, and swaggering to each other about the brave deeds they -had done in the North and the greater things they were going to do on -the morrow. - -So the night passes, and the morning dawns grey and chill on the two -now silent hosts. Then from the Norman ranks rises the solemn cadence -of the Te Deum, and as this dies away the archers move out--forerunners -of those stout yeomen whose clothyard shafts were one day to win -Creçy and Agincourt. Then come the footmen with their long pikes, and -after them the mailed and mounted knights, in front of whom rides -Taillefer--Iron-Cutter and Minstrel--tossing his sword into the air and -catching it, and singing the while the Song of Roland and Roncesvalles. -As the archers and pikemen spread out in skirmishing order he sets -spurs to his horse and charges at the Saxon line. He kills two men, and -then goes down under the battle-axe of a third. - -Then the arrows flew fast and thick, and charge after charge was made -upon the palisades of stakes that fenced the Saxon position, high above -which floated the Dragon Standard of Wessex and the banner of the -Fighting Man. - -But the double-bladed Saxon axes were no playthings, and they were -swung by strong and strenuous arms, and every time the Norman -front came up to the breastwork it was hewn down in swathes by the -deep-biting blades. The arrows fell blunted and broken on the big -Saxon shields and stout Saxon armour, and so Duke William, with -that ever-ready resource of his, bade his archers shoot up into the -air, and then down from the grey sky there fell a rain of whirring, -steel-pointed shafts, one of which, winged by Fate, struck gallant -Harold in the eye--doubtless as he was looking up wondering at this new -manœuvre--and, piercing his brain, laid him lifeless in the midst of -his champions. - -[Illustration: DUKE WILLIAM ROARED OUT THAT HE WAS ALIVE.] - -Soon after this a cry went up that Duke William too was dead, and he, -hearing this, tore off his helmet--a somewhat unsafe thing to do in -such a fight--and roared out that he was alive, swearing--as usual by -the Splendour of God--that the land of England should yet be his by -nightfall. - -So they laid on again. William’s horse went down under a pike-thrust. -He clove the pike-man to the chin and asked one of his knights to lend -him his horse. The knight refused, thinking more of his skin than his -loyalty, whereupon William pitched him out of the saddle, swung himself -up, and led another charge against the ever-dwindling ring of heroes -who were still hammering away with their battle-axes--and this time the -stout line wavers and breaks; the mail-clad warriors pour up the slope, -shouting that the day is won; axe and sword ring loud and fast on helm -and mail, the Saxons reel back, closing round the body of their king -and the staff of his banner. - -“_Dex aide! Dex aide! Ha-Rou! Ha-Rou!_” Duke William’s men yell and -roar again as they scramble over heaps of mangled corpses filling the -trenches and blocking the breaches in the palisades. Another moment -or two of brief, bitter, and bloody struggle and the last Saxon ring -breaks and melts away, and Hastings and England are won. - -What followed is history so familiar that few words more from me will -suffice. What Duke William had done in his own land he did after the -same methods in the land that had been the Saxons’. Cruel, bloody, and -savage they were beyond all doubt, but it is a question whether, even -in the doing, they were more disastrous than the ferocious anarchy and -the unceasing plunder and outrage and murder that had disgraced the -weak and divided rule of the Saxon kings. In their effect they were -a thousandfold better. Duke William believed that order was Heaven’s -first law, and, by whatever means he had at hand, he was honestly -determined to make it earth’s as well. And he succeeded, which after -all is not an unsatisfactory test of honest merit. How well he did so -let us ask, not one of his own chroniclers or troubadours, but the man -who wrote the story of his own conquered people, and this is what he -will tell us: - -“Truly he was so stark a man and wroth that no man durst do anything -against his will. Bishops he set off their bishoprics, and abbots off -their abbacies, and thanes in prison. And at last he did not spare his -brother Odo. Him he set in prison. Betwixt other things we must not -forget the good peace that he made in this land, so that a man that was -worth aught might travel over the kingdom unhurt with his bosom full -of gold. And no man durst slay another though he had suffered never so -mickle evil from the other.” - -Such was this grim, stern, Thor’s-Hammer of a man, who by his strength -and cunning hewed into shape that which in after days was to become the -corner-stone of the glorious, world-shadowing fabric which we call the -British Empire. - - - - -II - -_EDWARD OF THE LONG LEGS_ - -“_BURY ME NOT TILL YOU HAVE CONQUERED SCOTLAND_” - - - - -II - -EDWARD OF THE LONG LEGS - - -Two centuries all but nine years have passed away since William the -Conqueror, unwept, if not unhonoured, lost his life in avenging a -paltry joke, and left his work for others to carry on. In the two -centuries not much has been done, although no little show has been made -meanwhile, and a great clash of arms has resounded through the world. - -William the Red has died, as he lived, in a somewhat ignoble and futile -manner. Henry I. has done one good thing, wedding, as it were, in his -own person and that of the Lady Matilda, the two races which were -afterwards to be one. - -Stephen and Matilda have settled their differences and died, after the -shedding of much wasted blood. Henry II., by the hand of Strongbow and -his licensed pirates, has done a piece of good work badly in beginning -that conquest of Ireland which is not to be completed until the Battle -of the Boyne is lost and won. - -Richard Lionheart has won much glory to very small profit in the -magnificent madness of the Third Crusade. The barons, recognising, -however dimly and clumsily, that they are, in good truth, citizens of -the infant State whose lusty, turbulent youth already gives promise -of its future strength and greatness, have become law-lords as well -as landlords, and with mailed hands have guided that unwilling pen of -John’s along the bottom of the parchment on which the Great Charter is -written. - -And, lastly, Simon of Montfort has taken a swift stride through several -centuries and, arriving at the modern idea that the making of nations -and the ordering of the world can be achieved by Talk, has, after -not a little violence and the spilling of considerable blood that -might have been better spent, got together that first Parliament or -Talking-Machine, whose successors have so sorely hindered the progress -of the world and balked the efforts of those appointed by God, and not -by the counting of noses, to do its work. - -So the two noisy and somewhat foolish centuries have rolled away into a -blessed oblivion with a good deal of shouting and swaggering, of strife -and bloodshed, but of little progress, saving that one Roger Bacon has -lived and written a certain book and made himself a name for ever. - -But all this time the work with which we are here most concerned, the -making of an empire, has been waiting for the next God-sent man to come -and do it, and this man was Edward Plantagenet, surnamed Longlegs, -next in lineal succession, not as king, but as Empire-Maker, to him who -won the fight at Senlac and got himself so well obeyed that “no man -durst do anything against his will”--which was a great deal to say of -any one in such days as those. - -Edward of the Long Legs came on to the stage of History with long, -swift, determined, and, in short, wholly characteristic strides. The -Talking-Machine of the good Earl Simon had worked noisily, as is usual -with such machines, and had produced little but sound and fury. - -There was war all round, and the usual anarchy in Ireland and Wales. -Llewelyn, Lord of Snowdon, for instance, had pitted himself gallantly -against the logic of circumstances, and was seeking to reconstruct the -ancient and now impossibly obsolete Celtic empire. - -“_Be of good courage in the slaughter, cling to thy work, destroy -England and plunder its multitudes!_” his bards had sung to him, and -so he had honestly set himself to do, not recognising the fact that -empires are neither made nor re-made by mere methods of miscellaneous -blood-letting. - -To the north, Scotland was divided by schisms and rent by the bitter -jealousies of its nobles and clan-chieftains, savage, rude and poor, -but gallant, strong, and very full of fight, as the English were to -learn later on. - -Over the Narrow Seas the wide domains which William the Norman had -kept with his sword and which the second Henry had greatly increased by -inheritance and marriage, were slipping piecemeal away from the throne -to which they did not of right divine belong, and with which it was -therefore impossible that they should remain. - -Such, in briefest outline, was the scene into which Edward Longlegs -strode, and of which he was to be for thirty-five years the central and -dominating figure. His first look round, as it were, showed him the -nature of the task which it was his destiny to forthwith set about. - -With that clearness of vision without which no man has any chance -of success in the business of empire-making, he instantly pierced -the dust-storms of battle that were rising all about him, and the -mist-clouds of debate which Earl Simon’s Talking-Machine had commenced -to vomit forth, and behind and beyond these he saw a certain Fact, a -prime necessity which had to be faced--in short a real Something of an -infinitely greater importance than tribal warfare, the aspirations of -bard-inspired princelings, or even parliamentary debates. - -This was neither more nor less than the fact that, when the Maker of -all things mapped out this part of the world, it pleased Him in His -wisdom to put England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland into one little -group of islands, and from this fact Edward Longlegs drew the deduction -that the King of Kings had intended them to be under one lordship. - -It seems a simple thing to say now, a fact so patent that the -mention of it seems superfluous. So does the larger fact that the -world is round; but it was a very different matter in the times -and circumstances of Edward Longlegs, and, indeed, his first and -greatest claim to stand next in succession to William the Norman -in the royal line of empire-makers consists in this: that he was -capable of that master-stroke of genius which clearly demonstrated an -imperial principle of which six hundred years of history have been the -continuous and emphatic endorsement. - -No sooner was the bloody fight of Evesham over and the good Earl Simon -had breathed out his generous, if somewhat premature soul in that last -cry of his: “It is God’s grace!” than Edward Longlegs seems to have -set himself to prepare for the task that was to be his. He was not to -be king in name for some seven years more, but as the historian of -the English People with great pertinence remarked: “With the victory -of Evesham, his character seemed to mould itself into nobler form.” -In other words he was, perchance unconsciously, performing that -indispensable preliminary to all really great and true public reforms, -the reformation of himself. - -Hitherto his life had been none of the best. He had been the leader of -a retinue that had made itself something like infamous in the land. -He had intrigued first with one party and then with another. He is -accused of a faithlessness which, it is said, forced the good, though -mistaken, Earl Simon into armed revolt against his liege lord--though -this may, after all, only have been a stroke of wise and necessary -policy, since he possibly saw even then that Chaos would not reform -itself into Cosmos just for being talked at. - -Then again, and with curious resemblance to William of Normandy, and -later of Hastings and England, he had avenged an insult to his mother -by the slaughter of some three thousand men in the rout of Lewes and -a quite unjustifiable indulgence in pillage and slaughter when the -Barons’ War was finally over. - -“It was from Earl Simon,” says John Richard Green in one of those -limpid sentences of his, “as the Earl owned with a proud bitterness -ere his death, that Edward had learnt the skill in warfare which -distinguished him among the princes of his time. But he had learnt from -the Earl the far nobler lesson of a self-government which lifted him -high above them as ruler among men.” - -It seemed, indeed, as though, by this reformation of himself, he was to -typify that reformation of England which it was his life-work to begin. -The new Edward was to be the maker of the new England. - -His first action after the war was characteristic of the man and -the work that he was to do. The cessation of the fighting, as was -usual in those days, had left an undesirable number of truculent -warriors of various ranks wandering at large about the kingdom with -their legitimate occupation gone. Edward, with that instinct of -order characteristic of all true empire-makers, saw in these the -possibilities of disorder, and with a happy combination of wisdom and -adventure turned their swords and lances away from the bodies of their -fellow-citizens by taking them to fight the Paynim in the Holy Land. - -An incident of this excursion has been adorned by one of those pleasant -fictions which, if the paradox may be pardoned, are none the less true -for the fact that they are false. Edward, having sent certain hundreds -of Moslems to Paradise with a perhaps unnecessarily ruthless dispatch, -was considered by the sect of the Assassins to be a person who would be -better dead than alive in Palestine, and so one of them, after several -attempts, succeeded, as one may put it, in interviewing him privately -with a poisoned dagger. The fiction has it that his consort, Eleanor of -Castille, sucked the poison from the wound with her own sweet lips and -so saved his life. - -It is a pretty story, but, unfortunately for its authenticity, no -one seems to have heard of it or thought it worth the telling until -Ptolemy of Lucca told it a good half-century afterwards. But the -truth underlying it remains, and this truth is that Edward Longlegs -was blessed with that greatest of all earthly blessings, a loving and -devoted wife. - -The facts of the matter are few but eloquent. Edward saw the dagger -before it struck him, and gripped the would-be murderer with a grip -worthy the muscles of Lionheart himself. There was a struggle, during -which the dagger-point scratched his arm. A moment after it was buried -in the assassin’s own heart. Then some of Edward’s retainers, hearing -the scuffling, burst into the tent and satisfied themselves that the -wretch had attempted his last murder by the somewhat superfluous method -of knocking out his brains with a foot-stool. - -Soon after this symptoms of poisoning showed themselves, and Edward, in -his usual businesslike way, made his will and his peace with God and -prepared to “salute the world” with becoming dignity. In the end not -Eleanor’s lips but the surgeon’s knife removed the danger, and so once -again a dagger-thrust which had come near to changing the history of -Britain missed its mark. - -It was during his return from this Crusade, as he was journeying -through Calabria, that he met the messengers who told him that his -father was dead and that he was King of England. Charles of Anjou, -who was riding with him at the moment, wondered at the great grief he -showed, and, being himself a man almost incapable of feeling, asked -him why he should show more grief at his father’s death than he had -done for the loss of his baby son who had died a short time before. The -answer was to the point and worthy of the man. - -[Illustration: EDWARD GRIPPED THE WOULD-BE MURDERER.] - -“By the goodness of God,” he said, “the loss of my boy may be made good -to me, but not even God’s own mercy can give me a father again.” - -It was on the same journey that there occurred that curious incident -which is called the “Little Battle of Chalons,” and which is also -instructive in giving us another view of the man who could use such -wise and pious words as these. While he was travelling through Guienne, -the Count of Chalons, one of the best and starkest knights of his age, -sent a friendly message to request the favour of being allowed to break -a lance with him. Edward, though he had been repeatedly warned of plots -against his life by those who had designs on his French dominions, and -though as a king he had a perfect right to decline the challenge of a -vassal, was, as we should say nowadays, too good a sportsman to say no; -but he took the precaution of going to the knightly trysting-place with -an escort of a thousand men--in doing which he was well justified by -the fact that the Count of Chalons was there waiting for him with about -two thousand. - -During the trouble which inevitably followed, the Count of Chalons did -break a lance with Edward, but it was his own lance, and this failing, -he gripped him round the neck in the most unknightly fashion and tried -to drag him from the saddle. The Count was a strong man, but Edward was -a little stronger, so he just sat still, and swinging his horse round, -pulled him out of the saddle instead, after which, to put it into plain -English, he gave him a sound thrashing, and when he at length cried -for quarter, Edward, ever generous in the moment of victory, gave him -the life that he had forfeited by his treachery, but, as a punishment, -which the coroneted scoundrel justly deserved, he compelled him to take -his sword back from the hands of a common soldier, and so disgraced him -for ever in the eyes of his peers. - -It may be added that the Little Battle of Chalons, in spite of the -difference of numbers, ended in something like a picnic for the -English, after which the king betook himself in leisurely fashion to -the throne, and the work that was waiting for him. - -No sooner was the crown upon his head, than he got to his task. The -Prince of Snowdon, now calling himself Prince of Wales, had not only -made himself master of his own country, but had pushed the war into -England and reduced several English towns, the chief of which was -Shrewsbury. Edward called upon him to restore the peace which he had -broken, and to come and do homage for his lands. Llewelyn, in the -plentitude of his pride, told him to come and fetch him. - -Edward took a note of this, but waited two years while he replenished -the royal treasury by more or less justifiable means. During this time, -as it happened, the Prince’s promised bride, Eleanor, daughter of Earl -Simon, fell into his hands. Again and again he summoned the Prince to -perform the act of allegiance, holding his sweetheart meanwhile as a -hostage in honourable captivity. - -At length a fresh defiance from the Welshman roused him to action, and -Longlegs strode swiftly across England and struck out hard and heavy. -A single blow dissipated the dream of Celtic empire for ever. Llewelyn -fled to his mountains and at length sued for peace. By rights his life -was forfeit for rebellion, yet Edward not only forgave him but remitted -the fine of £50,000 which he had imposed on the Welsh chieftains, and -then invited Llewelyn to his court and married him with all due pomp -and circumstance to the daughter of his old enemy--from which it will -be seen that Edward Longlegs, like William the Norman, and indeed all -good and capable empire-makers, was a gentleman. - -Unhappily, Llewelyn repaid the kindness and courtesy by new rebellion, -which ended, as it deserved, in disaster. Merlin had prophesied that, -when money was made round, a Welsh prince should be crowned in London. -During this last revolt Edward had caused round halfpence and farthings -to be coined. When it was over the head of Llewelyn was sent to London -and crowned with a garland of ivy on Tower Hill. - -What Longlegs had thus done with Wales he sought by more devious and -less effective means to do with Scotland. The dispute between Balliol -and Bruce gave him the opportunity of intervention, and of this the -dismal results are too well known to need detailed description at this -time of day. - -Here, again, we have nothing to do with personal right or wrong, or -with the ethics of national independence. The business of empire-making -is too urgent to wait for matters of this kind. It would perhaps have -been better if Edward, after the sack and slaughter of Berwick, had -hurled the whole weight of the English power against the object of his -attack, as William the Norman would have done, and once and for all -crushed the opposition into impotence. - -It would have been bitter and bloody work, as the work of empire-making -is apt to be, but the end might have justified the means. Certainly -some centuries of bloodshed and bitterness would have been saved. The -high ideal of a United Kingdom would have been realised nearly five -hundred years earlier, and the progress of both realms in civilisation, -wealth, and power might have been quickened immeasurably. - -And after all, neither side in the long struggle would have lost -anything worthy of being weighed against the greatness of the gain to -both. There would have been no Stirling Bridge, but then there would -have been no Falkirk; no Bannockburn, but also no Flodden Field. All -this, as it happens, however, was not written in the Book of Destiny, -and so it does not concern us here, since we have to consider how much -of the work of empire-making Edward did, not what he failed to do or -left undone. - -The surrender of Stirling in 1305 apparently completed the conquest of -Scotland, and Edward was for the time being the actual and undisputed -sovereign of the whole country from the Pentland Firth to the English -Channel, and it is probable that the conquest would have been a -permanent one but for the entrance of another power into the field, -and this was nothing less than the English Baronage itself. It was as -though the chiefs of his own army had turned against him, and, in the -fatal dispute which followed, Robert the Bruce saw his opportunity, and -in the end re-won for Scotland that independence which has cost her so -much and which, however precious as a matter of sentiment, was destined -to prove of so little value to her. - -All that is past and done with now, but still no one who holds that an -empire is greater than a nation, even as the whole is greater than its -part, can help looking back with regretful thoughts upon those pages of -our history which would have been so much brighter and more glorious if -those gallant Scots who fought through those long and bitter wars could -have stood, as they have done since, side by side with their brothers -of the South, and so made possible centuries ago the beginning of that -great work in which they have borne so splendid a part. - -Had that been so Edward Longlegs might have been the founder instead -of only one of the makers of the British Empire, and that last piteous -scene by the sandy shores of the Solway Firth would never have been -enacted. - -But though in the end he neither conquered Scotland nor founded the -United Kingdom, he did something else which, as the centuries went by, -proved but little less important, for he began to make the British -Constitution. - -Gallant soldier and great general as he was, he was perhaps an even -greater statesman. He saw far ahead of his times, too far indeed, for -in his enlightened conviction that in the matter of taxation “what -touched all should be allowed of all” we have the real reason for that -revolt of the Baronage, which made a United Kingdom of the Fourteenth -Century an impossibility. - -Yet as law-maker he did work which lasted longer than that which he -did on the battle-field. Like William the Norman, he was a stark man -who knew how to get himself obeyed, and order, no matter how dearly -bought, was the first thing to be got, and he got it. He could “make a -wilderness and call it peace,” as he did over and over again with Wales -and Scotland--and, indeed, to him a wilderness was better than a place -where disorder dwelt--but he also made another peace within his own -realms which was the first forerunner of that which we enjoy to-day. -The laws which he made were for rich and poor, great and small, alike. -The hand that was pitiless in destruction was also ready and strong to -protect. - -The manner of his death is as characteristic as any of the acts, good -or bad, of his life. Old and weak and sick, he made the long journey -from Westminster to the Solway to fulfil the oath which he had sworn at -the knighting of his unworthy son to avenge Bruce’s murder of Comyns -and to punish his rebellion. - -Too feeble to keep the saddle, he was carried in a litter at the head -of the hundred thousand men who were to be the instruments of his -vengeance, but at length the news of victory after victory won by the -Bruce stung him to a fury which for the time was stronger than his -weakness, and at Carlisle the old warrior left his litter and once -more mounted his charger. It is a pathetic sight even when looked at -through the mists of the intervening centuries. We can picture the -gallant struggle that he must have made to sit his horse upright and -to bear without fainting the weight of the armour that was oppressing -his disease-worn and weary limbs. The mailed hand which had struck the -great Count of Chalons down could not now even draw the sword that hung -useless at his side. - -Only one thing remained strong in the man who had once been the very -incarnation of strength. His inflexible will was still unbroken and -unswerving in its devotion to the great ideal and master-project of -his life. Had that will had its way, the flood of English strength -and valour that was rolling slowly behind him would have burst in a -torrent of death and desolation over the war-wasted fields of southern -Scotland, and there can be but little doubt as to what the end would -have been. - -But it was not to be. The Spectre Horseman was already riding by his -side, and, like the wine from a cracked goblet, the dregs of his -once splendid strength ebbed away. At last the skeleton hand was -outstretched, and he who had never been unhorsed by mortal foe was -stricken from the saddle. Yet even then the proud spirit refused to -yield. He took his place in the litter again. With almost dying lips he -ordered the army forward; and, though the end was very near, he did not -submit without a struggle, pathetic in its hopeless heroism, to conquer -even Death itself and carry out his purpose in spite of the King of -Terrors. Die he must, and that soon, but his spirit should live after -him and he would still lead his army. - -“Bury me not till you have conquered Scotland!” were almost the last -words he spoke. Though they were disobeyed and Scotland was never -conquered, yet they were well worthy of the iron-hearted man who said -them. - - - - -III - -_THE QUEEN’S LITTLE PIRATE_ - -“_THE MASTER-THIEF OF THE NEW WORLD_” - - - - -III - -THE QUEEN’S LITTLE PIRATE - - -Another couple of centuries with a few added years have slipped -away, and the next scene of the slowly-unfolding drama opens on the -sea instead of the land. The Idea which Edward of the Long Legs had -so clearly conceived and so very nearly realised, the idea that the -frontiers of the United Kingdom of which he had dreamt should be its -sea-coasts has all the time been growing and deepening, for, like all -ideas which faithfully reflect some fact in the universe, it could not -die, and was bound some day to become a fact itself. - -Politically, England and Scotland were still independent kingdoms, but -many old differences had been forgotten and forgiven, and they had -come a great deal closer, as it was fitting that they should do on the -eve of their final union. Moreover, they were one in their dread and -hatred of that cruel and implacable Colossus which, with one foot on -the East and the other on the West, bestrode the world, drawing vast -treasures from hidden El Dorados with which it built countless ships, -and hired and armed innumerable men for the enslavement of mankind. For -now we have reached those “spacious times of great Elizabeth,” when -that lusty young giant of Liberty, recently born into the world, was -girding on his armour, and making him ready to grapple with the powers -of oppression and darkness which were just then most fitly incarnated -in the shape of Spain. - -It is almost impossible for us of the present day to understand clearly -what the Spain of those days was. She was the first naval and military -Power in the world, her ships and armies were everywhere, her wealth -was honestly believed to be illimitable, and moreover she was the -recognised champion of the Catholic Church, whose spiritual thunders -mingled with the roar of her guns, and which supplemented the terror of -her arms by all the diabolical enginry of torture and the awful powers -of the Holy Office. - -The world, in short, was on the eve of great and marvellous doings--on -the one hand so terrible in their deadly earnestness and tremendous -consequences, and on the other so fantastically splendid in their -almost superhuman daring and undreamt-of rewards, that it looked as -though the Fates were preparing some gigantic miracle wherewith to -astound mankind. And so, in sober truth, they were, and the miracle -about to be wrought was the making of what we now call the British -Empire. - -In the beginning of the latter half of the sixteenth century there was -a yellow-haired, blue-eyed, round-faced and sturdily-built youngster -sailing to and fro as ship’s boy in a tiny cockle-shell of a craft -plying with the humbler kinds of merchandise between the Thames and -the coasts of France and Flanders. Whether or not he had heard any of -those wondrous stories which the western gales were wafting across the -Atlantic from the golden Spanish Main we do not know, but probably he -had, and, like many another sailor-lad of his day, he had dreamt wild -dreams of blue seas and bright skies, of white-walled cities crammed -with gold, and of stately galleons staggering across that mysterious -sea stuffed to the deck with the treasures they were bringing to pour -into the coffers of the King of Spain. - -And yet, wild as these dreams may have been, they would have been -commonplace in comparison with the bewildering exploits with which -this same blue-eyed sailor-lad was one day to realise and excel them. -For this was he whose name the mariners of Spain were soon to hear -shrieked out by the voice of the tempest, booming in the roar of guns, -and echoing through the crash of battle. This, in a word, was Francis -Drake--El Draque, the Dragon, child and servant of the Devil himself, -Scourge of the Church and Plunderer of the Faithful. - -As I say, he may or may not have heard the story of the Golden West, -but it is quite certain that he did hear much of the black and terrible -tales which the refugees and exiles from France and the Netherlands -had to tell, for not a few of them crossed over in the little barque -in which he served, and he could not fail to hear what they had to say -of the murders and massacres, the torturing and outrage with which -Spain was disgracing her knightly fame and her ancient faith. They are -horrible enough for us to read even here in the security which that -gallant struggle won for us, and now when we can only hear the shrieks -of the tortured and the groans of the dying echoing faintly across -the gulf of three centuries; but what must they have been to Francis -Drake when he heard them told by those whose eyes had only just before -looked upon the hideous reality--perhaps indeed by some of those racked -and mutilated unfortunates who had managed to escape with their lives -to seek the sheltering hospitality of Gloriana the Queen? Was it any -wonder that deep down in his boyish heart there were planted those -seeds of hate and horror which later on were to bear such terrible -fruit? - -The lad Francis seems to have performed his duties as ship’s boy as -well as he did everything else, whether it was leading the Queen’s -ships to harry the coast of Spain or raging and storming through one of -his piratical raids among the Fortunate Isles of the West, for when -his master died he made him his heir, and so Francis became a trader -on his own account. For a few years he was just a peaceful shipmaster, -making an honest and hard-won living; but all this time events were -arranging themselves in more and more martial array, and the bursting -of the storm was not very far off. - -The actual fighting did not begin in the guise of recognised warfare -for a very considerable time. Spain and England were at peace, each -trying to humbug the other, but between Protestant and Catholic it -was otherwise. Armed cruisers manned by angry Protestants made their -appearance in the Narrow Seas, and whenever they got a chance fell upon -Catholic ships and avenged the sufferings of their fellow-heretics in a -fashion at once prompt and pitiless, and this at length so exasperated -Philip that he closed his ports to English trade, and Drake’s -occupation was gone. Better, in truth, had it been for Philip if he had -left him undisturbed in his business! - -He sold his little vessel, went to Plymouth, and entered the service -of two kinsmen of his, one of whom was soon to prove somewhat of an -empire-maker in his own line and whose name, with certain others -soon to be mentioned, was destined to go down to everlasting fame -indissolubly linked with that of Francis Drake. This was Captain John -Hawkins, and when the young trader reached Plymouth he had just come -back with a shipload of gold and other precious things from his first -venture in slave-trading, and now at least Drake, who was still a lad -in his teens, must have heard something of the wonders of El Dorado. -Yet, curiously enough, when Captain Hawkins went back he did not go -with him. He sailed instead, as a sort of supercargo, in another of -Hawkins’ ships to Biscay, and there a momentous revelation awaited him, -as though to guide him on the path of his destiny. - -At San Sebastian about a score of English sailors, once strong and -stalwart men of Devon, crept out of the dungeons of the Inquisition and -took passage with him home. King Philip had taken off his embargo now, -and these men were the remnant of the crew of a Plymouth ship which he -had seized in port when the embargo was laid on. The others had rotted -to death during the six months that he had bestowed his hospitality -upon them. We can imagine what talks they had on the way home, and no -doubt El Draque bore the stories of these forlorn mariners well in mind -on that most memorable day when he “singed the King of Spain’s beard” -at Cadiz. - -John Hawkins came back from his second voyage richer than ever, and -now all the mariners of the South Coast were beginning to dream golden -dreams which were soon to become yet more golden deeds, and King -Philip, to whom all such ventures were the flattest piracy, began to -fear for his monopoly and instructed his ambassador in London to drop -the hint that foreign trade with the Indies was forbidden, upon which, -foolishly enough, or perhaps not knowing their own true strength, Queen -Bess’s councillors backed down and forbade John Hawkins to start again. - -He, obediently enough, stayed at home, but a certain George Lovell got -together an expedition and slipped out to sea, westward bound. With him -went Francis Drake, at length to see for the first time the blue waters -and green shores of El Dorado. This time, however, it proved anything -but golden for him or his companions, for they came back with shattered -ships and still worse broken fortunes. They had drawn a blank in the -great lottery which half Europe was wanting to gamble in. - -Nothing daunted, he shipped again, this time with George Fenner, bound -for Guiana. Again, financially speaking, the voyage ended in disaster, -but there was one incident in it destined to bear good fruit. A big -Portuguese galleasse, backed up by six gunboats, tried to enforce the -prohibition against foreign trade. Fenner had one ship and a pinnace, -and with these he fought the “Portugals” and thoroughly convinced them -by the logic of shot and steel that he was not the sort of man to be -prohibited from doing anything he wanted to do. - -This forgotten action is really one of great importance. It was -Francis Drake’s first taste of fighting, which in itself means a good -deal, but it was also the beginning of that lordly and magnificent -contempt which the English mariners of that day were soon to feel for -all enemies, no matter how strong they might seem. It was this spirit -which a few years later was to take Sir Richard Grenville - - “With his hundred men on deck and his ninety sick below,” - -into the midst of the fifty-three Spanish ships which he fought for an -afternoon and a night before he surrendered so sorely against his will -and fell dead of his wounds on the deck of the Spanish flagship. It was -this, too, which, when that long seven days’ fight against the Armada -was raging and roaring up the Channel, brought the flag of the Spanish -Rear-Admiral down with a run just because the Little Pirate stamped his -foot on the deck of that same _Revenge_ and said that he was Francis -Drake and had no time to parley. - -Meanwhile the rumblings of the war-storm in Europe had been growing -louder. The Netherlanders were at last turning on their torturers, -Darnley had been murdered and Mary Queen of Scots put in prison, so -Gloriana, feeling herself somewhat at leisure, took a hand in the -next buccaneering expedition. It may be noted here, by the way, that -there was no more ardent buccaneer and slave-trader in her dominions -than Good Queen Bess herself. She lent ships though she withheld her -commission, and her pirates did the rest. If disaster overtook them -or if the Spanish Minister raged against their doings she promptly -disowned them and felt sorry for her ships. But if they came back -happily filled to the hatches with plundered treasure, she took her -dividends and lent more ships. - -It was thus with the expedition which sailed out of Plymouth on October -2, 1567, under the command of Admiral John Hawkins, whose second -officer was Francis Drake. The diplomacy of the times called it the -trading venture of Sir William Garrard and Co., but for all that there -were two ships of the Royal Navy in it, the _Jesus_ and the _Minion_, -and the merchandise it carried consisted mainly of cannon and small -arms, powder and shot, and cold steel. - -The voyage began with a slave-raiding expedition down the Portuguese -coast of Africa, whence with five hundred slaves they crossed to the -Spanish Main. Here, after varying fortunes, they filled their ships -with treasure, and Hawkins turned his prows northward for home. But -while crossing the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico a furious hurricane -burst upon them and drove his gold-and-pearl-laden vessels so far into -it, that he came to the bold decision to put into the Spanish port of -Vera Cruz to refit. - -In the harbour he found twelve great galleons loaded with gold and -silver, waiting for the convoy to escort them to Spain. They were -utterly at the mercy of the English ships, but John Hawkins, pirate -and slave-dealer, was still an English gentleman, so he made a solemn -convention to leave the treasure-ships alone on condition of being -allowed to refit in the harbour. Hawkins was already known in Spain -as the “Enemy of God,” and Don Martin Enriquez, the new Governor of -Mexico, had come out with special orders to abolish him by any means -that might be found the readiest. - -Don Martin seems to have thought that in this case treachery would -suit best, so he signed the convention and gave his word of honour as -a gentleman of Spain that the English ships should be allowed to come -and go unmolested. So for three days the work of dismantling went on -in peace, and on the fourth, half-disabled as they were, they were -attacked. It was a fierce and bloody fight, and it ended in the sinking -of four galleons, the wrecking of the Spanish flag-ship, and the -killing of five or six hundred Spaniards. - -But on the English side only the _Jesus_, the _Minion_, and the -_Judith_ got away and, shot-shattered and half-provisioned, began to -stagger homeward across the wide Atlantic. On the way the _Judith_ was -lost, and took to the bottom with her all the proceeds of many months -of trading and fighting and privation. - -So the expedition came back poorer than it went, and Spain laughed -aloud, but, as will be seen, somewhat too soon. Drake got home first, -and no sooner did he land at Plymouth than he took horse for London. -It so happened that a little while before Spanish ships carrying a -huge amount of money to pay Alva’s army in the Netherlands, had been -driven into the Thames by the Protestant rovers lately mentioned, and -Gloriana, who never liked to let a good thing go, had held on to it on -one pretext or another until Drake came hot-footed and angry-hearted to -tell of the treachery of Vera Cruz. - -Gloriana wanted nothing better. Her buccaneering venture had been a -failure and here was a way of paying herself for the two ships she -had risked, so she turned upon the Spanish Ambassador and told him -point blank that until the injury done to her “honest merchants” was -redressed she would hold the treasure in pledge. Naturally after that -not a groat of it ever got to Alva or his soldiers. - -That year, which was 1569, Drake went to Rochelle with Sir Thomas -Wynter. The next summer he married Mary Newman, and a month or two -later he was again steering to the westward in two little vessels, the -_Dragon_ and the _Swan_. The next year he went again, with the _Swan_ -alone, and this time he came back with a certain idea in his head which -was magnificent to the point of absurdity. The adventures of the last -two or three years had deepened his contempt for Spanish prowess, and -now he laughingly proposed to go back, not to kill the goose that laid -the King of Spain’s golden eggs, but to rifle the nest in which they -were deposited. This was Nombre de Dios, the strongest city in the New -World, and the richest to boot. - -The means employed were, as was usual in this age of wonders, -ridiculously inadequate to the end to which they were devoted. Of late -years certain bold mariners have sought to win an ephemeral notoriety -by crossing the Atlantic in open boats. Francis Drake set out on a -serious and momentous expedition to the Spanish Main in the _Pasha_ of -70 tons followed by the _Swan_ of 25--that is to say in a couple of -fishing-boats. These two cockle-shells were manned by seventy-three men -all told, only one of whom had reached the age of thirty. It must have -looked more like a parcel of lads going afloat on a holiday spree than -an expedition with which all the world was soon to ring. - -There is no space here to tell of all that befel these absurd -adventurers on their devious and tedious way to Nombre de Dios, though -no romancer ever imagined such a story as their adventures make. So it -must suffice to say that on July 29th he started out across the Isthmus -of Darien at the head of seventy-three men to attack a strong city as -big as Plymouth, and with these he actually fought his way into the -town, established himself in the centre of it and held it for some -hours. - -[Illustration: THEY CARRIED HIM DOWN TO THE BOATS.] - -If his men had been the seasoned buccaneers of his later raids he -would probably have taken it altogether, but they unhappily found in -the Governor’s house a stack of silver bars twelve feet high, ten feet -broad, and seventy feet long. This was a little too much for the nerves -of the Devon boys, but Drake would not let them touch it, since the -town was not yet theirs. Then a fearful rain-storm came on just about -dawn and put out their matches and ruined their bow-strings, and then -a terrible misfortune happened. Drake had been severely wounded in the -leg, but he had concealed his hurt until the supreme moment came, and -then, as he was leading his handful of heroes to the last attack, he -went down with his boot full of blood. Something very like a panic now -took his men, not for their own sakes but for his. In vain he stormed -at them, and cried angrily: - -“I have brought you to the door of the Treasure-house of the World! -Will ye be fools enough to go away empty?” - -“Your life is more precious to us and England than all the gold of the -Indies!” they replied, and so by kindly force they carried him down to -the boats and rowed away, having accomplished perhaps the most splendid -failure in history. - -The fame of this exploit instantly echoed through the whole Spanish -Main and thence across the Atlantic to Europe. A few days later he -avenged his failure at Nombre de Dios by cutting a big ship out from -under the guns of Cartagena. Then he vanished, leaving no other trace -behind him than the poor little abandoned _Swan_. For the next few -months nothing was seen of him, though his hand was felt far and wide -along the coast. Spanish store-ships disappeared, dispatch boats were -intercepted, and coast-towns were raided with bewildering rapidity and -effectiveness. - -But all this time the deadly tropical fever was playing havoc with his -little handful of men. His brother John died of it, and man after man -was struck down till at last, out of the seventy-three who had sailed -with him from Plymouth, he could only muster eighteen fighting men when -he at length started to plunder the mule-train from Panama. - -On the fourth day of the journey a very memorable thing happened, for -that noon he reached the top of the dividing ridge of the Isthmus, and -lo! there before him, only a few miles away, lay the smooth, shining -expanse of the Pacific Ocean, that long-hidden, jealously-guarded sea -on which his were the first English eyes that had ever gazed. He did -just what such a man would have done in such circumstances. He fell on -his knees and, raising his hands to heaven, cried aloud: - -“Almighty God, of Thy goodness, give me life and leave once to sail an -English ship on yonder sea!” - -Years afterwards the prayer was granted, and not only did he sail on -the Golden Sea, but crossed it while he was making the first voyage -that an Englishman ever made round the world. - -Were I writing a book instead of an essay I could tell of the -plundering of the mule-trains, of the taking of Vera Cruz--where, to -the astonishment of the Spaniards, he would not allow a single woman or -an unarmed man to be hurt--and Nombre de Dios, which did not resist him -so well the second time. It must, however, be enough to say that this -time everything ended happily for the remnant that survived, and that -on Sunday morning, August 9, 1573, while the good folks of Plymouth -were in church, they heard a roar of artillery from the batteries -followed by an answering salute from the sea and, straightway quitting -their devotions, they ran out to learn the good news that Gloriana’s -Little Pirate had come back safe at last and well loaded up with -plunder. - -His next venture was nothing less than that famous voyage of his round -the world, with the fairy-story of which we have here nothing to do -save to say that the fame of it, no less than the enormous treasure, -the plunder of a hundred ships and a score of towns, with which the -poor sea-worn, worm-eaten, wind-weary _Golden Hind_, staggered one -Michaelmas morning into Plymouth Sound, at last convinced Queen Bess -that in her dear Little Pirate--whom, by the way, she had never yet -openly recognised--she had a champion who was worth a good many -thousands of King Philip’s soldiers and sailors. - -But now the first of Drake’s open rewards was to be his. The _Golden -Hind_ was hauled on to the slips at Deptford, and Gloriana and her -court dined on board. When the dinner was over she bade her Little -Pirate kneel before her, touched him on the shoulder with his own sword -and bade him rise Sir Francis Drake. The Spaniards, by the way, had -another title for him, no less honourable in his eyes, and this was -“the Master-Thief of the New World.” - -For some considerable time nothing happened beyond the failure of one -or two trifling expeditions--which failure was Gloriana’s fault, and -not Drake’s--and the setting of a price of £40,000 by favour of the -King of Spain on the Little Pirate’s head--an investment of which Drake -was soon to pay the dividend in the craft-crowded harbour of Cadiz. - -Meanwhile, matters between England and Spain were going from bad to -worse. For a few months unscrupulous intrigue, backed up by wholesale -lying, hampered Drake most sorely in the preparation of that great -work which was nothing less than the establishment of the sea-power -of England. Everything that the fickleness of his mistress, the -weathercock support of so-called friends at court, and the still more -dangerous machinations of English statesmen in the pay of Spain could -do, was done. The fleet, to his unutterable rage and disgust, was -even placed on a peace-footing, despite the fact that the noise of the -Armada’s preparations was still sounding across the Narrow Seas. - -But at last, by some means or other, a certain Spanish spy had got -himself suspected and stretched on the rack. Now the rack, as an aid -to cross-examination, is not an ideal instrument, but it certainly -served its purpose this time, for the spy in his torment gave away -all the details of a vast scheme which embraced an alliance between -France, Spain, and Scotland, together with a general Catholic uprising -in England, which was to take place simultaneously with the Triple -Invasion. - -Never had England, and with her the cause of liberty, stood in such -great and deadly peril. Gloriana at last flung diplomatic dalliance -to the winds, stopped her lying and chicanery, kicked the Spanish -Ambassador out of the country, and let her Little Pirate loose. Yet -even now there was another lull before the storm, and this lull Philip -took advantage of to invite a fleet of English corn-ships to his ports, -where he seized them to feed that ever-growing sea-monster which he was -going to pit against El Draque. - -This settled the matter. Drake, only half ready for sea, put out with -every ship that could move for fear more orders would come to stop -him and, with an insolent assurance which augured well for the great -things that he was about to do, actually ran his ships into Vigo Bay -and forced the Spanish Governor to allow him to finish his preparations -in Spanish waters. Then he turned his eager prows westward, stopping -on the way at the Cape Verde Islands to lay waste Vera Cruz and make -Santiago a heap of ashes. - -Five years before young William Hawkins had been taken prisoner here -and burnt alive with several of his crew, and this was El Draque’s way -of wiping out the old score. - -Then he sped on again, spent Christmas at Santa Dominica, refitted -his ships and refreshed his men, and then fell like a thunderbolt on -the famous city of Santo Domingo, the oldest in the Indies, founded -by Columbus himself and ruled over by his brother. It was this that -the Little Pirate had been preparing for during those other mysterious -voyages of his. The blow was as crushing as it was unexpected, and the -prestige of Spain in the West never recovered from it. The town was -utterly stripped and dismantled by the victors. Fifty thousand pounds -in cash, two hundred and forty guns of all calibres, and an immense -amount of other spoil was brought away, and the whole fleet, after -living at free quarters for a month, sailed southward, completely -refitted and re-victualled, as usual, at the Spaniards’ expense. - -When the news got to Europe, it was said that Philip had had “such -a cooling as he had never had since he was King of Spain.” It is -both interesting and instructive to learn that not the least part of -the booty took the shape of a hundred English sailors who were found -toiling as slaves in the Spanish galleys. - -Reinforced by these, Gloriana’s Little Pirate crossed the Caribbean Sea -and fell on Cartagena, the capital of the Spanish Main, and now the -richest city in the Indies. Paralysed by the insolence of the attack, -it soon fell under its fury and real strength. The booty was enormous, -but the moral effect was still greater. The new-born sea-power of -England had vindicated itself with triumphant suddenness, and Drake, -having picked up the unfortunate remnants of Raleigh’s colony in -Virginia--the time for colonising not having come yet--entered -Plymouth Sound again in the _Elizabeth Bonaventura_ at the head of his -loot-laden fleet, and reported his arrival, piously regretting that on -the way home he had missed the Spanish plate-fleet by twelve hours “for -reasons best known to God.” - -“A great gap hath been opened which is very little to the King of -Spain’s liking,” was the Little Pirate’s own comment on the brilliant -achievement which had ushered a new power into the world. He might also -have put it another way, and said that with his well-directed shot -he had plugged the source whence flowed the golden stream of Spanish -wealth, for indeed it was nothing less than this. The Spanish Colossus -suddenly found itself with empty pockets, Spanish credit was ruined -at a single blow, the Bank of Seville closed its doors, and when King -Philip tried to raise a loan of half a million ducats, he was flatly -refused. - -How hard hit he was may be seen from the fact that instead of hurling -the whole strength of his laboriously-prepared Armada on the English -coasts, he asked for explanations. Gloriana, with an almost splendid -mendacity, disowned her Little Pirate once more and swore she had -nothing whatever to do with him. But this Drake expected, and went on -with his own plans, having no doubt honestly paid up the Queen’s full -share of the plunder. - -A few months more of diplomatic dodgery followed, and then came the -final opening of Gloriana’s eyes. A letter stolen from the Pope’s own -cabinet proved to her beyond all possibility of doubt that the Great -Armada was intended for the invasion of England and nothing else. -Then she called her Little Pirate to her again and took counsel with -him, with the result that the next time he hoisted his flag he did -so on board the great _Merchant Royal_ at the head of twenty-three -sail including five battleships, two first-class cruisers, seven -second-class, and about a dozen gunboats. Nor did he go this time as -the Queen’s licensed pirate but as her Admiral of the Fleet, duly -commissioned in her name to burn, sink, and destroy, and to use all -means whatever to prevent the various divisions of the Armada coming -together. - -Even now, at the last minute of the eleventh hour, treachery almost did -its work, for there was an Opposition and Peace-at-any-price Party in -those days, as there has been in later ones. Drake seems to have known -what was coming, for, when the Queen’s messenger dashed into Plymouth -bearing the fatal orders, he had gone. - -Happily there was no telegraph in those days. If there had been it -would probably have proved the ruin of England and the triumph of -Spain. As it was the next news that came was from Drake himself, -telling, laconically as usual, how he had “singed the King of Spain’s -beard in Cadiz.” When the facts came out, the said singeing was seen -to amount to the destruction by burning and sinking of 12,000 tons -of shipping, including some of the finest ships of war that floated. -The whole English fleet had, as had now become the custom on such -occasions, been revictualled at Spanish expense, and four large ships -full of provisions were captured intact. - -From Cadiz the triumphant Admiral raged up and down the terror-stricken -coast, storming strongholds, and burning and scuttling the store-ships -of the Great Armada. He went to Lisbon, where Santa Cruz, said to be -the greatest sea-captain in Europe, lay, and, after vainly challenging -him to come out and fight, politely offered to convoy him and his -fleet to England “if by chance his course should lie that way.” The -fact was that the Colossus was paralysed. Drake had struck out straight -at its heart, and so doing had proved two principles of no small moment -to the making of the British Empire: first, the true frontiers of a -maritime nation are its enemies’ coasts; second, the only effective -method of defence for such a nation is attack. - -It was on his way home from this expedition, storm-shattered and -disgusted at missing the Plate-Fleet, which had once more slipped -through his fingers, that Gloriana’s Little Pirate took the richest -prize of his life. This was the _San Felipe_. She was the King of -Spain’s own treasure-ship, and she came, not from the West, but from -the East. Though he knew it not, Drake had that day done a very great -thing for England and the making of her Empire, for not only did the -_San Felipe_ carry treasure and rich stuffs to the value of something -like a million and a quarter of our money, but she had on board -dispatches, letters, and account-books which let the English merchants -into all the secrets of Spain’s East Indian trade, and led to the -almost instant formation of the Honourable East India Company, itself -an Empire-Maker of no small account. - -The epic of the Elizabethan era was now beginning to hurry towards its -climax. But Gloriana was still surrounded by traitors, and even now -temporising was the order of the day. She was cast down by remorse -for the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, and she even reprimanded her -Little Pirate for doing her too good service, and told Philip that he -was in disgrace for exceeding instructions. - -It was in vain that Drake and the other friends of England prayed -and entreated and stormed and swore. In vain they pointed across the -Narrow Seas to Parma in the Netherlands at the head of 30,000 of the -finest troops in Europe, and to the ports of Spain and Portugal, once -more swarming with shipping and echoing with the noise of warlike -preparations. For a time the liars and traitors had things their own -way again. Drake and Howard implored her to let them get their ships -fitted and go and fight the Armada in its own ports. No, she would do -nothing. And she did nothing till at last arrived that fatal evening on -which-- - - “There came a gallant merchant-ship full sail to Plymouth Bay.” - -Golden weeks and priceless opportunities had been wasted by the fatal -lethargy of the Court. Drake and Howard, instead of falling, as they -longed to do, on the wind-bound Armada in Vigo Bay, and doing with it -as Drake had done at Cadiz, were kept on the defensive, straining like -bloodhounds at the leash, knowing that every moment that the good wind -lasted was heavily fraught with fate for England and perhaps the world. - -At length the wind went round, and Drake, marvelling in angry wonder -“how God could have sent a south-west wind just then,” found himself -baffled and beaten back, while Medina-Sidonia with his released Armada -sailed triumphantly for the Channel. There was only one thing now to -do if England was to be saved. Valour and heroism, self-devotion and -skill, must repair the damage that treason, lying, and weakness of -head or heart had done. By this time the Armada should have been a -crushed and tangled mass of burning wreckage, and so it would have -been if Drake had had his way, and now here it was stronger than ever, -its ships covering the hitherto Inviolate Sea; and there was Parma, -with his transports still undestroyed, only waiting to join hands with -Sidonia to once for all strangle the Heretic in their pitiless grip. - -In the mighty and memorable fight that followed, our Little Pirate -commanded on his own ship, the immortal _Revenge_. With almost -incredible labour and skill the English fleet was somehow worked and -warped out to the westward until, when that famous Sunday morning -dawned, the sun looked, as has been truly said, upon a sight glorious -for England. There was the great Armada, crescent-shaped, rolling up -the Channel, and there, right in the wind’s eye and on its rear, were -two English squadrons, and a third was gallantly advancing out of -Plymouth. - -This one, with true Elizabethan insolence, steered right across the -front of the huge fleet, firing into such of the Dons as came within -range. Then it went about, and joined the other English ships to -windward. - -Every one has read of the long, running, seven-day fight that followed; -every one knows how the little, light-heeled English ships ran in and -out among the great unwieldy galleons, tempting them out of their -formation, and, having isolated one, fell on her like a pack of dogs -on a wolf; and how, in spite of all that the English Admiral and his -captains could do, the ever-changing wind and the ever-succeeding calms -so helped the Spaniards, that in the end they reached the Straits of -Dover but little worse off than they started. - -If Drake could have had his way, these tactics would have been pushed -farther, and every mile of the way would have been disputed; but Lord -Howard, though a brave man, lacked the all-daring assurance of the -conqueror of Santo Domingo and Cartagena. He would not fight until he -had joined with Seymour and Wynter in the Straits. So it came about -that on the seventh day--that is to say, Saturday afternoon--the Great -Armada, the poorer only by some dozen craft that had been captured -or battered into wreck and ruin, was sailing gloriously past Calais -with the French and English land well in sight, and Dunkirk, the -trysting-place with Parma, only eighteen miles away. - -England has never passed through such anxious hours as she did that -afternoon and night. It seemed as though, after all, her new-found -sea-strength had failed her, and that, despite all the brilliant -exploits of Gloriana’s Little Pirate in the West, he was powerless -to protect her nearer home. What would have happened in the ordinary -course of events no one now knows, for the Spaniards, stricken by some -inexplicable madness, suddenly altered the whole course of events by -what can only be called a freak of idiocy. - -Medina-Sidonia, after having accomplished the most brilliant feat of -seamanship that his age had seen, gave orders for the Armada to anchor! -A few hours more and its work would have been done, with what results -to England one scarcely cares to picture. So unexpected was this piece -of priceless good fortune by the English captains that they had to drop -their own anchors within range of the Spanish guns to save entangling -themselves with the big Spanish ships. - -All Sunday the two fleets lay within sight of each other; anxious -councils of war were held on both sides, and so night fell without a -shot being fired or anything done. By midnight the tide was swirling -strong and swift from the English to the Spanish ships, and Drake was -busy preparing his crowning piece of devilry for the edification of the -Dons. - -At about one o’clock on that calm, moonless morning, patches of -flickering, leaping flame began to show among the twinkling English -lights, and these grew swiftly higher and broader, and a few minutes -later the terrified Dons saw eight fire-ships crowned mast-high with -leaping flames, come reeling and roaring into their midst. - -Then there was cutting of cables and slipping of moorings, and -labouring with frantic haste to get the ships under sail. Galleon -crashed into galleasse, and galleasse into cruiser in the wild haste -and fatal confusion. - -Marvellous to say, not a single Spanish ship took fire, but behind -the fire-craft there was something more terrible and deadly still--El -Draque and his guns. At the supreme moment Lord Howard weakly and -foolishly turned aside to capture or sink a disabled galleasse. If the -rest of the fleet had followed him there might have been no Battle of -Gravelines, and the Trafalgar of the Sixteenth Century might never have -been fought. But, as has been well said, it was the hour for which -Francis Drake had been born. He set the _Revenge_ on the wind, and, -followed by the rest of the squadron, bore down in grim and ominous -silence on the huddled, entangled Dons. Within pistol range of the -great _San Martin_ the _Revenge_ burst into sudden thunder and flame, -and drove on enwreathed in smoke. In her wake ship after ship came -on in perfect order, each raining her iron storm into the rent and -splintering sides of the Dons as they passed. - -Then from Dover way came the roar of guns telling that Wynter and -Seymour had got to work, and so for three hours they went at it, the -Little Pirate ever first, and revelling in the work that he loved to -do for his dear England. He had forgotten all his mistress’s slights -and fickleness, all the harm that Court traitors had done him, all his -suffering and privation on the windless seas and burning lands of the -West. It was the hour of England’s fate and his own, and there he was -in the thick of it, and he was happy. - -After three hours Howard and his laggards came up, and the fight roared -on flank and front and rear. Although the school-books say but little -about it, there had never been such a sea-fight in the world before, -nor one on whose end such great issues hung. The Spaniards, caught -between El Draque and the sands of Dunkirk--which to them was something -worse than being between the devil and the deep sea--fought with all -their ancient valour, but ship after ship, as the battle roared on -through the day, went down riddled with shot or took fire and blew up, -till at length out of the forty battleships and cruisers which Sidonia -had somehow got together to protect his rear, only sixteen were left, -and they were little better than shot-shattered, fire-blackened hulks. - -The powder on both sides was nearly done, but so too was the work of -Drake and his ships. Fathom by fathom the north-west wind was driving -the Dons on to the mud-banks of the Netherland shore, and the Little -Pirate in his well-named _Revenge_ was hanging on their weather quarter -watching--and I doubt not praying--for the moment of their final ruin. - -And yet he was not to see it, for when there was but five fathoms of -water between the Spanish keels and the Dutch mud the north-wester -dropped to a calm, a fresh south-wester sprang up in its place, and -for the fourth time in seven days the Armada was saved from utter -destruction by those fickle winds to which a pious sentiment has -ascribed its ruin. - -Down went the Spanish helms, and round came the dripping, labouring, -Spanish prows, and ere long all that was left of King Philip’s fleet -was staggering away to the northward to begin that awful voyage round -the north of Scotland and past the wild Irish coast from which so few -were to return. Meanwhile the Little Pirate hung on to the heels of the -flying Armada for two days and nights, until at length a tempest came -rolling up over the Dogger Bank, and he ran in for safety under the -Scottish shore, cheerfully leaving the Dons to the winds of heaven, and -the rocks that were waiting to finish what his own guns had begun. - -With the victory of Gravelines, Drake’s work as an Empire-maker comes -to an end. The expedition to Portugal, for all its booty, was a failure -and did nothing to enhance his fame. If his advice had been taken -Spain might have been crushed and humbled for ever, but such was -the hopeless weakness and vacillation at Court that, even after the -Armada had shown her the true designs of Philip, Gloriana got into -negotiations with him again. Over and over again her Little Pirate -besought her to give him the means of striking the blow that should -crush Spain and make England undisputed mistress of the seas, but it -was not to be, and so at length, sick and sore at heart, he sailed away -again to his beloved West, never to return. - -There is nothing in this last expedition of his that is noteworthy -save its continued misfortunes. It seemed as though when the little -_Revenge_ went down, as she did in the midst of the fifty-three Spanish -ships which she had fought “for a day and a night,” she had taken her -old commander’s good luck down with her. At last on the deadly island -of Escudo de Veragua the two guardian demons of El Dorado, fever and -dysentry, struck him down with many another of his men. He lived to get -away, but not for long, and six days afterwards, when his fleet came to -anchor off Puerto Bello, the heroic Little Pirate breathed his last and -his gallant soul went to its account, passing away from earth on the -very spot that had been the scene of his first sea-fight and his first -victory. - - - - -IV - -_OLIVER CROMWELL_ - -“_HEALER AND SETTLER_” - - - - -IV - -OLIVER CROMWELL - - -“He is perhaps the only example which history affords of one man having -governed the most opposite events and proved sufficient for the most -various destinies.” - -No man’s character was ever so completely and so tersely summed up as -the great Oliver’s is here in these few words of a critic belonging -to another race and nation, and, as regards his varied destinies, it -may be added that no man ever was raised up and set to work by the -Controller of human destinies as opportunely as he was. - -History shows no parallel to it, not even in the oft-quoted story of -Cincinnatus, and certainly in all the long array of our rulers there -is none other whose story is so crammed with wonders or who crowded so -many notable and pregnant acts into the busy days of a few years as -this gentleman-farmer of Huntingdonshire, who at forty-three left his -farming and vestry-meetings and the like and girded on his sword to go -and fight the good fight of freedom, and who at fifty-two laid it aside -to prove himself as good a statesman and ruler as he had been soldier -and general. - -His claim to a foremost place among the Makers of Britain is a twofold -one, for he was a restorer, a reinvigorator, as it were, of this realm, -as well as a very considerable widener of it. When the futile and -inglorious reign of “the most learned fool in Christendom” came to an -end, all the brilliant promise of the Elizabethan age had been wofully -obscured, and the glories of the great Queen and her pirates looked -like those of a summer sun setting behind a bank of fog. - -As Macaulay justly put the case: “On the day of the accession of James -I. England descended from the rank which she had hitherto held and -began to be regarded as a Power hardly of the second order.... He -began his administration by putting an end to the war which had raged -many years between England and Spain, and from that time he shunned -hostilities with a caution which was proof against the insults of his -neighbours and the clamour of his subjects.” - -How different this from the gallant days of Gloriana and her knights! -And yet this poor crowned and sceptred ninny aspired to be a despot -even as his son after him did. It is true that these realms were -beginning to need a despot and that badly, but not such a one as could -ever have been born of that hopeless House of Stuart. A despot who is -a strong man may be good or evil as he uses his opportunities and his -powers, but the whole stage of history has not yet held a despot who -was also a weak man who did not prove himself at once a curse to his -country and the world. - -The story of the feeble violence and silly cunning with which Charles -the First sought to enforce that ridiculous theory of his about the -Divine Right of Kings has been too often and too variously told for us -to need to trouble with it here. There _is_ a Divine Right of Kings, as -the great Oliver was very soon to show with most unmistakable and most -unanswerable logic, but the kind of king who really has Divine rights -does not usually have them because he is the son of his father, and -especially of such a father as James the First of England and Sixth of -Scotland. - -Our present concern is with the fact that this Empire of ours, in a -most critical state of its process of making which came very near to -one of unmaking, was saved and transformed from weakness to strength by -the substitution of the real despotism of the Lord Protector from the -sham or histrionic despotism of Charles the First. - -The fact was that the body-corporate of this infant empire was assailed -by the worst of all national disorders, internal disintegration. -England, the very heart and centre of it, was about to be rent in twain -by the frenzied and pitiless talons of civil war, and that is a war in -which the right side--which, of course, is always the best side--must -not only win, but utterly crush and pulverise the other unless wreck -and chaos irretrievable are to follow. - -This was the central idea that the Great Oliver grasped just as Edward -of the Long Legs had grasped his brilliantly premature idea of the -United Kingdom. He was the latest of that series of iron-handed men -that had begun with William the Norman. The watchword of his whole -public life was “healing and settling.” The wounds of his country had -to be healed and its disorders settled, no matter by what means, so -long as it was done, and in this deep-rooted conviction we see at a -glance his kinship with the other Empire-makers who had gone before him. - -Of his early life there is little to be said, though it is noteworthy -that he was once fined £10 for neglecting a summons to appear at the -King’s coronation and receive the honour of knighthood. He little -thought then that he would one day find it his duty to refuse the crown -and sceptre of England. - -Every one who has read even the school-books knows that when the -war actually began all the apparent advantages were on the side of -the Royalists. Though the first battles afforded the extraordinary -spectacle of mere conflicts of amateur soldiers, few of whom had ever -seen a real fight before, the Cavaliers, trained to horsemanship and -the use of arms, and versed in all manly sports, made far finer -fighting material than the raw levies of the Parliament. Had this -difference continued victory must have remained, as it began, with the -Royalists, with results to the nation that could hardly have failed to -be of the very worst sort. This is what Cromwell himself says on this -all-important subject: - -“At my first going out into this engagement I saw our men were beaten -at every hand. Your troops, said I, are most of them old, decayed -serving-men, and tapsters and such kind of fellows, and, said I, their -troops are gentlemen’s sons, younger sons and persons of quality. Do -you think that the spirits of such base, mean fellows will ever be able -to encounter gentlemen that have honour and courage and resolution in -them? You must get men of spirit and, take it not ill what I say--I -know you will not--of a spirit that is likely to go on as far as -gentlemen will go, or else you will be beaten still.” - -These wise words, which, by the way, were said to no less a man than -John Hampden himself, form a key to all the battles of the Civil -War. No sooner did Oliver come on to the field as a plain captain of -yeomanry horse than his keen, if untaught, eye instantly recognised the -one great virtue and strength of the Royalist party. They had an Idea, -a devotion, a principle for the sake of which men were ready to sell -their lands, melt their plate, beggar their families, and lose their -own lives, and men so equipped could only be successfully met and -withstood by men who, as he himself put it in that quaintly eloquent -phraseology of his, “made some conscience of what they did,” and -thereupon he set himself to find such men and make soldiers of them. - -How well he succeeded the following extract from a contemporary -news-letter written some ten months after the outbreak of war will -sufficiently tell: - -“As for Colonel Cromwell”--promotion, it will be seen, was somewhat -rapid in those stormy days--“he hath two thousand brave men, well -disciplined. No man swears but he pays his twelve pence. If he be drunk -he is set in the stocks, or worse. If one calls the other Roundhead he -is cashiered; insomuch that the countries where they come leap for joy -of them and come in and join with them. How happy it were if all the -forces were thus disciplined!” - -On the field of Marston Moor, Prince Rupert nicknamed Cromwell “Old -Ironsides,” and from that day to this the most invincible troops that -ever marched to battle have been named after him. Years afterwards, -when his work and theirs was done, their leader was able to say of -them: “From that day forward they were never beaten and wherever they -were engaged against the enemy they beat continually.” - -This is literally true. Whether in skirmish or battle, at home or -abroad, whether pitted against the disorderly chivalry of the Loyalists -or the rigid discipline of the finest Continental troops; whether -storming a breach or bearing the brunt of a half-lost battle, these -psalm-singing, hard-hitting Crusaders of the new Church Militant not -only were never beaten, but never once failed to hurl the enemy back in -confusion and disaster. - -In them, in short, that stubborn English valour which has since pushed -its way all over the world was first _disciplined_. They formed the -first model ever seen of an English regiment, a combination of many -units of strength and valour moving and fighting as one, and the fact -that “Old Ironsides” was the first man thus to add discipline to valour -is in itself no small portion of his title to fame as an Empire-Maker. - -The first occasion on which these Ironsides made their mark in battle -is one of even greater importance than the battle itself, for it -marks the entrance on to the stage of history of the first regularly -disciplined English regiment, the parent of those who, on a thousand -fields since then, have proved themselves worthy of their grim but -splendid ancestors. It was the first time, too, that they had a chance -to try conclusions with Rupert and his Cavaliers, hitherto unconquered -and irresistible. - -It was July 2, 1644, on a dull and storm-threatening afternoon, that -Cavalier and Roundhead first met in a really serious fashion. Compared -with what was now to be done Edgehill and all that had come after it -had been trifles, for so far the conflicts had been those of amateurs -at the art of war, each engaged, as it were, in licking the other into -shape, and the conclusion that they now had to try was which of them -had got into the best shape. There were about four-and-twenty thousand -each of them as they stood through the anxious hours of that summer -afternoon on either side of a ditch running across Marston Moor, each -watching for a chance to attack, but feeling, no doubt, that the doings -of the next few hours would decide an issue which needed a certain -amount of thinking over. - -The two armies were drawn up upon what is now the regulation pattern, -right and left wings and centre. Cromwell with his Ironsides on the -left of the Parliamentary army faced Rupert on the right of the -Royalists, and he was supported by the infantry of what was then known -as the Eastern Association. The King’s centre was held by Newcastle, -and against it was the Parliamentary centre reinforced by nine thousand -Scots infantry. The Royal left wing was composed of Goring’s cavalry -regiments and was faced by the Parliamentary right wing under the two -Fairfaxes. - -During the afternoon there was an exchange of cannon shots which -doesn’t seem to have done very much harm on either side. Prince Rupert, -with his usual impetuosity, had been for some hours wanting to get -over the ditch and try conclusions with the Ironsides, who were posted -on a little eminence amidst standing corn, and who had wiled away the -anxious hours of waiting with mutual exhortations and psalm singing, -not a little to the amusement of Rupert and his gallant scapegraces, -who were yet to learn that these close-cropped, grim-visaged Puritans -could ride and fight a great deal better than they could sing. - -The King’s older generals, no doubt contemplating Continental -etiquette, had decided that it was too late to fight that evening and -had withdrawn to their quarters. Cromwell, laughing at etiquette as -he did at everything else that was not of practical utility, saw his -chance, jumped the ditch, and went hot-footed and hot-handed into -Rupert’s ranks. A bullet scored his neck, and hearing some one cry -out that he was wounded he shouted: “All’s well. A miss is as good as -a mile!” and charged on. Whether or not he was the first to use this -now favourite expression I am not able to say, but at least it was -characteristic. - -The charge was met in a fashion worthy of Rupert and the gallant -gentlemen who followed him, and we learn that after the first onset the -Ironsides reeled back, but it was only for a moment. Some Scots cavalry -came up behind them, they surged forward again, discipline and valour -did their work, and a few minutes afterwards Prince Rupert and his -merry men had met more than their match, and, ere long, to use his own -words, Colonel Cromwell “had scattered them before him like a little -dust.” The remnants of them were chased and cut down with a ruthless -severity which was then part of the Puritan character, almost to the -gates of York, eight miles away. - -But Cromwell, profiting by the mistakes which Rupert himself had made -in his headlong charges, kept his men well in hand, and when once the -Royalist right wing was broken, led them round to see how the battle -had gone on the Parliamentary right and centre. - -If he had not done so Marston Moor might have replaced Charles Stuart -on the throne of England. Goring had broken up Fairfax’s cavalry as -completely as Oliver had broken up Rupert’s. He had flung them back -upon their infantry supports, breaking these in turn, after which he -flung himself with the seemingly triumphant Royalists of the centre on -the Scots Infantry, taking them in flank and almost routing them, too. -Only three regiments of them out of nine held their ground, the rest -had broken and fled, and the Earl of Leven, their leader, was already -making the best of his way towards Leeds. - -The battle at this moment presented one of the strangest spectacles -in the history of warfare. On the one side Prince Rupert with his -broken brigades was flying towards the North, on the other Leven -and Manchester and Fairfax, believing the day hopelessly lost, were -making equal haste towards the South. Such was the juncture at -which the Man of Destiny arrived. He was in command of the only really -disciplined force on the field. - -[Illustration: HE SWOOPED WITH HIS CAVALRY ROUND THE REAR OF THE KING’S -ARMY.] - -Mr. Frederic Harrison, in his excellent monograph on Cromwell, thus -graphically describes what happened: “In an hour the genius of Cromwell -had changed disaster into victory. Launching the Scotch troopers of -his own wing against Newcastle’s Whitecoats, and the infantry of the -Eastern Association to succour the remnants of the Scots in the centre, -he swooped with the bulk of his own cavalry round the rear of the -King’s army, and fell upon Goring’s victorious troopers on the opposite -side of the field. Taking them in the rear, all disordered as they -were in the chase and the plunder, he utterly crushed and dispersed -them. Having thus with his own squadron annihilated the cavalry of the -enemy’s both wings, he closed round upon the Royalist centre, and there -the Whitecoats and the remnants of the King’s infantry were cut to -pieces almost to a man.” - -Such was Marston Moor, and how completely it was the work of the one -man of destiny may be seen in the fact that, complete and crushing as -the victory was, its advantages were almost entirely negatived by the -incapacity and imbecility of the Parliamentary leaders in the West and -South. Every one of any consequence wanted to be supreme leader; no -one had either definite plans or the capacity to carry them through; -and when at last there was a prospect of bringing matters to an issue -on the field of Newberry, the Royalist forces, though half-beaten, -were allowed to get away with all their guns, stores, and ammunition -in spite of the fact that Manchester was in command of a very superior -force. - -This was as good as a defeat for the forces of the Parliament, for it -was the cause of dividing their councils. Manchester and those who -sided with him had apparently begun to fear the terrible earnestness of -the Captain of the Ironsides, and were for making peace with the King -and patching matters up somehow. But Cromwell, with deeper insight, saw -that the quarrel had now gone too far and that it could not stop till -one side or the other had had a thorough and decisive beating, and that -side he was fully determined should be the King’s. - -The dispute ended in the fall of Manchester and the triumph of -Cromwell. Then came the reorganisation of the Parliamentary forces -under what was at this time the New Model, and this New Model, be it -noted, was the first standing army of professional soldiers that the -United Kingdom had ever seen. Its nominal Commander-in-Chief was Sir -Thomas Fairfax, but its master spirit and guiding genius was Oliver -Cromwell. - -But meanwhile the tide of Royalism had been on the rise again, sweeping -up from the West and South. The armies faced each other on the borders -of Leicestershire, but Cromwell was not there. Fairfax, no doubt -knowing his own weakness, entreated that he might come and command the -horse. He came, and then, as Clarendon pathetically remarks, “the evil -genius of the Kingdom in a moment shifted the whole scene,” and it is -related that when, after rumours had been for some days flying through -both armies as to his arrival, “Old Ironsides” at last came upon the -field of action, all the cavalry of the Parliament raised a great shout -of joy. - -The battle that he came to fight was Naseby, and, saving for the -superior discipline displayed on both sides, almost exactly the same -things happened as at Marston Moor. Cromwell this time commanded on -the right wing, but Rupert was placed at the Royalist’s right, and -was therefore opposed, not to Cromwell, but to Ireton, his son-in-law -and second self. Once more the left wing of the Parliament was broken -and scattered by the furious charge of the gallant Cavaliers, once -more the centre under Fairfax was “sore overpressed” and thrown into -confusion, and once more Cromwell and his Ironsides, having ridden -down everything that opposed them, swung round behind the rear of the -victorious Royalists, swooped in a hurricane of irresistible valour and -determination on their flanks and rear, turned defeat into victory, and -snatched triumph out of disaster. - -It is true that even then there seemed so great a chance of the -Royalists retrieving the day that Charles, who had put himself at the -head of the flower of his cavalry, had thought himself warranted in -crying: “One charge more, gentlemen, and the days is ours!” But while -he was thinking about this, Cromwell, Fairfax, and Ireton had, by the -exercise of almost superhuman energy, reformed the whole of their army, -horse, foot, and artillery, into complete battle-array on a new front, -and against this the fiery valour of the Cavaliers dashed itself in -vain. - -Once more valour with generalship had conquered valour without it. The -defeat was utter and crushing. For fourteen long miles the pursuit -went on and only stayed when the walls of Leicester were in sight. The -King’s army was utterly destroyed and he himself never again appeared -at the head of a force in the field. - -During the twelve months that followed we see the erstwhile Farmer of -Huntingdon in a new light as the besieger and reducer of strong places. -His methods were logical, effective and, we may fairly add, pitiless. -Those days were not these any more than William the Norman’s or Edward -Longlegs’ were Cromwell’s, and moreover we must remember that he had -set himself with all the strength of his mighty nature to stamping the -plague of civil war out of the Three Kingdoms with such dispatch as -was possible, and it had got to be done speedily, for outside were the -enemies of Britain waiting to take advantage of the weakness that this -plague might leave her with. - -First he summons the stronghold to surrender, threatening all with -the sword. If this is refused he selects his point of attack, batters -away at it till he makes a practicable breach, then he gives another -chance of surrender, this time with somewhat better terms, but this is -the last grace. Refusal now means wave after wave of his irresistible -iron and leather-clad soldiery pouring into the breach, till at last -all opposition is beaten down and then massacre--for which, it may be -added, he and those with him are never at a loss to find a biblical -precedent. - -The victories that he won by this method were simply amazing. In about -sixteen months he was engaged in some sixty battles and sieges, and -took fifty fortified towns and cities with over a thousand pieces -of artillery, forty thousand stand of arms, and between two and -three hundred colours. The end of this wonderful campaign was the -Storm of Bristol. This happened on the 10th and 11th of September, -1646. As a feat of warfare it is almost incredible. The second city -in the kingdom, defended by properly constructed earthworks and -fortifications, and garrisoned by four thousand troops with a hundred -and fifty pieces of cannon, was stormed and taken with a loss of under -two hundred men! - -It reads more like one of Drake’s insolently valiant attacks upon a -Spanish treasure-city than a desperate conflict between Englishmen -and Englishmen. There can only be one explanation of it, and that -explanation is summed up in the two words: Oliver Cromwell. We are -bound to grant that the valour was equal on both sides, but equally we -are forced to admit that all the genius and generalship were on one. - -Looked at from our point of view, there were terrible blemishes on -these triumphs. Every advantage was pursued with the unsparing ferocity -which was possible only to religious bigotry fired to a white heat. It -is only reasonable to suppose that these Puritan champions of the new -faith were fired with just the same furious and pitiless zeal as that -which inspired the Israelites in their attack on Canaan, or the first -armies of Islam in their assaults on the idolaters of the East. They -slew and spared not, they hewed their enemies in pieces as Samuel hewed -Agag “before the Lord,” and they honestly believed that the Lord looked -down with approval on them and their bloody work. - -Priceless treasures of art were destroyed, not only without remorse, -but with grim exultation. To them they were abominations of the -heathen, just as the Canaanite idols of silver and gold were to the -armies of Israel. But however ferociously it was done, the work was -done thoroughly, and by August, 1646, the fall of Ragland Castle -following on the surrender of Oxford, brought down the curtain on the -first act of the Civil War. Charles gave himself up to the Scots at -Newark, and Oliver turned to fight the enemies of his own household. - -The chief of these enemies, curiously enough, was that same Parliament -in whose name he had won all his brilliant triumphs, and a conflict, -very interesting to the student of humanity, now began between the Man -of Action and one of those Talking Machines which the good Earl Simon -some four centuries before had found so singularly ineffective. - -There is no need to tell in detail how the struggle went. Every -one knows how Cromwell preached and prayed and stormed at the -self-sufficient busybodies who thought themselves a power in the land -because they called themselves a parliament. Then, seeing that no other -method would stop their gabble, he brought in his soldiers and turned -them out to talk in the streets or wherever else they could get any one -to listen to them, while he went on with his work. - -It is not very many years since Thomas Carlyle, who perhaps understood -Cromwell better than any other man not living in his own age, was -walking over Westminster Bridge with a very distinguished British -officer one night when the Mother of Parliaments was busy tearing her -hair and rending her garments over some wordy futility or other, and, -jerking his thumb towards the lighted windows, he said: “Ah, my lord, -I should like to see the good day when you would go in there with a -file of Grenadiers as old Noll did with his dragoons and clear that -nest of cacklers out. Maybe the nation would get some of its business -_done_ then instead of only getting it talked about.” - -From this there is a certain moral to be drawn by the wise. For my own -part I should dearly love to know with what words old Noll himself -would have answered the Sage of Chelsea. - -The payment of the Scots’ arrears by the Parliament, their surrender -of the king--who, by the way, was a great deal stronger in helpless -captivity than he had ever been at the head of an army--and his seizure -by Cromwell through the instrumentality of Cornet Joyce and his troop -of horse, now led up to a very singular situation. Cromwell, the -conqueror, went over to the side of Charles Stuart the captive, and -if it had not been for that fatal twist in the king’s moral nature, -there is no telling but that he might have been re-seated on a throne -supported and surrounded by the pikes and sabres of the Ironsides. - -But unhappily for him, it was not in Charles Stuart’s nature to “go -straight,” and, in the end, after Cromwell had faced and quelled a -mutiny among his own men on his account, he discovered that the king -was playing him false, that he did not honestly wish to follow his -policy of “healing and settling,” but only to regain his freedom and -try the hazard of battle again. - -From that moment Cromwell was his unsparing enemy. Now he saw in -Charles “The Man of Blood” who, for the sake of a personal aspiration -and for personal profit, was eager to once more set his subjects by the -ears and light the flame of war from end to end of the country. - -West and South and North the Loyalists were arming and rising again -and the Scots were marching across the Border, so the Man of Destiny -stopped talking and preaching, buckled on his sword and strode out to -battle once more. - -The first rising was in Wales, and that he crushed as promptly as he -did pitilessly. Then he turned with a weary and war-worn army of some -seven thousand men, so wasted with marching and privation and sickness -that, as a record of the time tells us, “they seemed rather fit for a -hospital than a battle,” to face the invading Scots in the North. - -He met them at Preston. They were three to one--or rather, to be more -exact, twenty-four thousand to seven thousand--well armed and found and -confident of victory. Yet never did the military genius of the great -Oliver shine out more brilliantly than now. What followed was not a -battle; it was an onset, a chase, and a massacre which lasted three -days and extended over some thirty miles of country. When it was over -Cromwell wrote in one of those marvellous dispatches of his: “We have -quite tired our horses in pursuit of the enemy. We have killed and -disabled all their foot and left them only some horse. If my horse -could but trot after them I would take them all.” - -The next act in the swiftly-moving drama was the trial and execution of -him who to this day is considered by some to have been a royal martyr, -who only exchanged an earthly for a heavenly crown, and by others is -looked upon as the man who deliberately made himself guilty of the -worst of all blood-guiltiness, the guilt of civil war. That is a matter -for each one to decide according to his own convictions, which, be it -noted, some two and a half centuries of argument have not yet altered. -Here we are only concerned with Cromwell’s share in it. - -There can be no doubt to an unbiassed mind that at one period he -honestly tried for a monarchical settlement of the difficulty. It -is equally undeniable that he considered Charles’s double-dealing -responsible for what he held to be the unpardonable crime of the Second -Civil War and therefore as having incurred for a second time the guilt -of blood. That the execution, or murder, of the king met with his -entire approval cannot be doubted, since before it happened he said to -Algernon Sidney: “I tell you we will cut off his head with the crown -upon it.” - -So, whether crime or act of justice, it was done, and Cromwell, perhaps -more than any one else, was responsible for it. - -The next act is the Dictatorship, and the first scene in it the -re-conquest of Ireland, with its massacres and bitter, pitiless -persecutions in revenge or punishment, as you will, for other massacres -which had gone before. It is a piteous story, and one of no great -credit to any one, but, to borrow the maxim of Strafford, the former -tyrant of Ireland, it was “thorough.” In nine months, with about -fifteen thousand men, the Dictator had stamped the Irish rebellion out -and made “the curse of Cromwell” a phrase that will dwell on Hibernian -lips for many a generation. - -But no sooner was the Irish revolt drowned in blood and flame than -Prince Charles, afterwards Charles II. of infamous memory, took the -Oath to the Covenant, and the Scots rose to support him. Cromwell -crossed the Border on July 22, 1650. - -As it happened, the Scottish general was Leslie, the old comrade who -had fought at his side at Marston Moor. For some weeks the Scots played -a waiting game, and Cromwell, with his men wearied and falling sick, -and with no other base than his ships on the coast, hurled texts and -biblical harangues at the enemy. In fact, as Mr. Harrison cleverly puts -it, “it was not so much a battle between two armies as between two -rival congregations in arms.” - -Leslie and his preachers fired other texts back at him and kept out of -his way until the fatal 3rd of September came. By this time Cromwell -had only eleven thousand men capable of bearing arms, and they were in -no great state for fighting. Leslie had twenty-two or three thousand -Scots and all the advantage of the position, but the Fates had already -taken the matter into their own hands. On the afternoon of the 2nd, -Cromwell saw that the wary Scot, as some say, driven by the frantic -exhortation of the preachers, had forsaken his post of vantage. “The -Lord hath delivered them into our hands!” he cried, and straightway -began to set his battle in order. - -The next morning, while it was yet moonlight, they came to blows. -In an hour or so it was all over. The Scots fled in utter panic and -confusion, “being made by the Lord of Hosts as stubble to our swords,” -to use Oliver’s own words. When the rout was at its height the sun -rose, scattering the morning mists. “Let God arise and His enemies be -scattered!” he shouted exultantly through the roar of the battle, and -then--how characteristic it was of the man!--he halted his army in the -very moment of triumph and sang the one hundred and seventeenth psalm, -beginning: “O praise the Lord all ye people, for His merciful kindness -is great towards us!” Then he unleashed his bloodhounds again, and the -rest was massacre. - -[Illustration: HE HALTED HIS ARMY ... AND SANG THE HUNDRED AND -SEVENTEENTH PSALM.] - -Another year passed in miscellaneous fighting and arguing, slaughter -and psalm-singing, and once more the sun of the 3rd of September, -Cromwell’s Day of Fate, or, as Byron puts it: - - “His day of double victory and death,” - -dawned, this time over Worcester, the scene of “the Crowning Mercy.” -The same miracles of generalship were accomplished, the same tremendous -victory was won at a ridiculously small expense--under two hundred men -to conquer an entrenched army of fifteen thousand--and this was the end -of the fighting at home. - -But meanwhile there was fighting abroad, and, more than that, the fame -of the great Oliver and his marvellous doings had been ringing from -end to end of Europe. As Clarendon, the historian of the Royalists, -candidly admits: “His greatness at home was but a shadow of the glory -he had abroad.” The mastery of the seas was wrenched out of the hands -of the Dutch by Blake, the sea-power of England was organised as its -land-power was, and Britain rose at a bound from the degradation to -which she had sunk under the first Stuart to the proud position of the -first naval and military Power of the world, and the greatest ministers -and monarchs in Europe, even the Pope himself, were forced to respect -the prowess and cringe for the friendship of the Farmer of Huntingdon. - -If, as has been aptly suggested, the great Oliver could have lived to -an age which is now a normal one for statesmen, the disgraceful and -ruinous interval occupied by the reigns of the second Charles and the -second James might have been spared with all their infamy and national -loss, and William of Orange might worthily have continued the work -which Cromwell so well began. But the time was not yet, and so it was -not to be. The great ideal of his life, a Protestant Alliance, was -never realised. His last days were days of darkness and suffering, -social, mental, and physical. - -Once more the Day of Fate came round, and between three and four in -the afternoon the watchers by his bedside heard him sigh deeply and -heavily. Some say that he whispered: “My work is done!”--and then he -died. This may be fact or fancy, but, be that as it may, no man had a -better right to pass out of the mystery of the things that are into the -mystery of the things that are to be with such words on his lips than -Oliver Cromwell, General, Statesman, and King in everything but the -empty name. - - - - -V - -_WILLIAM OF ORANGE_, - -_OVERCOMER OF DIFFICULTIES_ - - - - -V - -WILLIAM OF ORANGE - - -It is perhaps one of the most curious facts of our history that the -Empire-Maker who, as it were, finally completed the work begun by his -namesake William the Norman, should, like him, have been a foreigner, -should have sprung from similar ancestry, and should have been his -exact reverse in every mental and physical quality save one--an -inflexible determination to do the work which he was appointed to do in -spite of every conceivable kind of obstacle. - -It is noteworthy also that this man should have come from those same -Low Countries from whose shores our Saxon ancestors had first come -on their plundering forays to do their share of the work of making -the English people. The ancestry of the great-grandson of William -the Silent stretched far back, probably even into those remote and -turbulent times, and it is within the limits of possibility that some -stalwart ancestor of the ancient House of Nassau may himself have had -something to do in the early making of that Realm, over which, a -thousand years later, his descendant was to rule during one of the most -critical and perilous periods of its existence. - -Be that, however, as it may, the central fact which stands out in the -story of William III. is this: Whatever his country or ancestry, he -was, so far as we have any means of judging, the one man in the world -just then who could have accomplished the difficult and, as it must -often have seemed even to him, almost impossible task which had to be -performed if the work of the other Empire-Makers who had gone before -him was not to be sadly marred, if not altogether undone. - -William of Orange may perhaps be most truthfully described as an -overcomer of difficulties. Probably no other man ever had so many -difficulties to conquer as he had, and his triumph over them is one of -the finest examples of irresistible will-power and purely intellectual -force that all history has to show. Mentally he was a giant, and as -such he acquitted himself in what was undoubtedly a battle of giants -fighting for the spoils of Europe. Physically he was a miserable -weakling, shattered by disease, seldom free from bodily pain, and -foredoomed from his youth by an exhausting and incurable malady. - -Yet even his sports and pastimes were those, not only of a healthy, -but even of a robust constitution. His pale, sickly, small-pox-pitted -face never flushed save under the stimulus of battle or the chase. He -fought his fight with Fate and won it by sheer intellectual strength, -yet none of the pleasures of intellect were his. He knew nothing of -science, little of literature, and less of art. - -Apparently fitted by Nature only for the pursuits of the study, he -found his rare moments of real happiness when riding down a stag or a -boar in the forests of Windsor or the woods of Flanders, or, sword in -hand, leading his men wherever the battle was hottest or the danger the -greatest. A creature of contradictions, in short, determined to make -himself that which Nature had seemingly _not_ made him, and to do that -which he appeared least fitted to do. - -No one possessing an intelligent grasp of the deplorable state of -affairs which obtained in England, and the threatening aspect of -matters on the Continent during the last decade but one of the -seventeenth century, would have guessed for a moment that this -“asthmatic skeleton,” as Macaulay somewhat roughly describes his -hero, was the man to turn England’s weakness into strength, and even -in defeat to grapple successfully with the colossal Power which was -threatening the liberties of Europe. - -In England the weakness and baseness of the two last Stuart kings had -more than undone the work of the great Oliver. He had, as has been -shown, made England one of the first Powers in the world, strong at -home and respected and even courted abroad. Charles II. had sold his -country, or at any rate his own independence and what should have been -his royal honour, to France. He had, in fact, exhibited to the world -the disgraceful spectacle of an English king who was the pensioner of a -foreign monarch. - -The for-ever infamous Treaty of Dover had brought the prestige of -England to its lowest ebb. For the first time in nearly seven hundred -years the Isle Inviolate had been seriously threatened with invasion, -and London, for the first time since it had been a city, had heard the -sound of hostile guns. Now this of itself, taking the whole history of -these islands into consideration, is a fact of absolutely unparalleled -infamy, and yet if such infamy could have been equalled, the brother -and successor of Charles II. would have done so. Indeed, from one point -of view it may be said that he excelled it. - -The guns of William’s countrymen were heard in the Thames because -Charles II., having his brother James for Lord High Admiral, had so -scandalously wasted the funds which should have been devoted to the -maintenance of the Navy that no adequate defence was really possible; -but it was left for James II., the last and most contemptible, if not -in all respects the worst king of the royal and miserable House of -Stuart, to be the only British monarch who ever brought a foreign army -on to British soil for the purpose of coercing by force the will of -the British people. More than this, too, it must be remembered that -these foreign troops were Frenchmen supported by renegade English, -Irish, or Scotsmen who had deliberately deserted their own country to -serve under the standard of a man who was to the seventeenth century -what Phillip II. of Spain had been to the sixteenth. - -So low, then, had Britain sunk in the scale of nations when William of -Orange made his entry upon the stage of British history. The fact which -made his entry possible is hardly of the sort that would commend itself -to people of a romantic turn of mind, although few romances have been -really more romantic than his own life-story. - -He could never have become King of England, nor is it likely that he -could even have been asked to constitute himself the protector of -English liberties, had it not been for the fact that he was married -to the daughter of James II., and of this marriage Lord Macaulay -truly says: “His choice had been determined chiefly by political -considerations, nor did it seem likely that any strong affection would -grow up between a handsome girl of sixteen, well-disposed, indeed, and -naturally intelligent, but ignorant and simple, and a bridegroom who, -though he had not completed his twenty-eighth year, was in constitution -older than her father; whose manner was chilling, and whose head was -constantly occupied by public business or by field sports.” - -His marriage was, in short, “a marriage of convenience,” and yet, in -defiance of all the rules that are supposed to govern the most intimate -of all human relationships, it was one of the best and, in the end, -most devoted unions that history has to record. It is hardly possible -to doubt that William of Orange married Mary Stuart because he saw -with that keenly penetrating foresight of his that such a union would -strengthen him in his life-long combat with the arch-enemy of his -faith, his family, and his nation; and this enemy was that same Louis -of France who had made Charles II. his pensioner, and was soon to make -James II. his dependent. - -To quote Lord Macaulay again: “He saved England, it is true, but he -never loved her, and he never obtained her love.... Whatever patriotic -feeling he had was for Holland ... yet even his affection for the -land of his birth was subordinate to another feeling which early -became supreme in his soul, which mixed itself with all his passions -and compelled him to marvellous enterprises, which supported him -when sinking under mortification, pain, sickness, and sorrow ... and -continued to animate him even while the prayer for the departing was -read at his bedside.” - -It was this hatred of France and her king which nerved him to do for -the liberties of Europe and Great Britain what Francis Drake had done -for England against Philip of Spain, and in the doing of this he won -the conspicuous glory of forcing the paymaster of the two English -sovereigns whom he succeeded, to make peace with him on equal terms; -and this, too, although he lost more battles than he won, and had to -surrender more strong cities than he took. - -It is comparatively easy for a conqueror to take triumph out of -victory, but it is a higher quality which patiently endures defeat and -confronts disaster, and by sheer genius wins triumph in the end. This -is what William of Orange did, and it is from this fact that he derives -his title to be ranked among the Makers of that Empire to whose throne -he came as an alien, and whose honour he restored and upheld, as one -might say, in spite of herself. - -So far as England is concerned, the male line of Stuart came in with -a fool and went out with a coward. One does not even care to imagine -what would have happened if James II. had remained on the throne; or if -William of Orange, with his hereditary and deep-rooted hatred of Louis -XIV. and his policy, had not come to take his most miserably-vacated -place in the nick of time. - -The sentimentality which makes such a fuss about loyalty to persons as -distinguished from loyalty to country, and the lawyer-quibbles which -occupied men’s minds in the dispute as to whether James II. was King -_de facto_ or _de jure_, or both, of the country from which he had run -away like an absconding debtor, may be dismissed, just as Harold the -Saxon’s claims had been some six hundred years before. It is merely a -question of the Fit and the Unfit, and James was Unfit. - -James Stuart deserted his post as ruler of these realms because he -found himself assailed by difficulties which the most ordinary ability -ought to have overcome. William assumed the same position in the face -of difficulties which only the highest qualities of kingcraft and -statesmanship could have enabled him to successfully grapple with. In -a word, James possessed no ideal that qualified him to be a king, much -less an Empire-Maker. William _did_ possess such an ideal, and that is -the only reason why he became King of England, _vice_ James Stuart, -absconded. - -Next, perhaps, to Henry VII., William was the most business-like -sovereign who has occupied the British throne. With him all men -and things, all beliefs and sentiments, were subordinated to the -achievement of the one great end--the curbing of the power of France, -and consequently the furtherance of political and theological liberty -in Europe. He was, in fact, only incidentally an Empire-Maker, although -without him and without the broad and firm basis of popular liberty and -national strength which he laid down, as it were, in the doing of his -greater work, the building up of the Imperial fabric would undoubtedly -have been long delayed and seriously impeded. - -He got himself made King of Great Britain and Ireland, not because he -wanted to occupy the throne, but because from that eminence he would be -able to look the Grand Monarch more equally in the face. - -We get a luminous insight into the character of the man in his reply to -the Convention or conference of the two Houses of Parliament which had -proposed that his wife as actual and lawful heir to the throne which -her father had forsaken, should occupy it as queen, and that he should -reign by her authority as a sort of Royal Executive. - -“My lords and gentlemen,” he said, “no man can esteem a woman more than -I do the Princess, but I am so made that I cannot think of holding -anything by apron-strings, nor can I think it reasonable to have any -share in the government unless it be put in my own person, and that for -the term of my life. If you think fit to settle it otherwise I will -not oppose you, but will go back to Holland and meddle no more in your -affairs.” - -That was the kind of man William of Orange was. He had come to be a -king, and a king he would be or nothing. And so king he was, and it -was not very long before he was to show how well his self-confidence -was justified. He had scarcely seated himself on the throne before the -Parliament, recognising the fact that his work was something other than -merely filling James’s place, deliberately suggested that he should -resume as King of England the hostilities which he had begun against -Louis as Stadtholder of the Netherlands, and he on his part showed how -ready he was to take up the task by exclaiming, in one of his rare -bursts of exultation, after reading the address: - -“This is the first day of my reign!” - -This address, however, welcome as it was, was somewhat belated. For -more than a month before it was presented, Louis, under the pretence of -helping the runaway, whom for his own purposes he affected to believe -still lawful King of England, had committed the gravest of all acts of -war, and James had crowned the disgrace of his flight by the infamy of -heading an invasion of British territory by foreign mercenaries. On the -12th of March, 1689, he landed at Kinsale as enemy and invader of his -own country, convoyed by fifteen French men-of-war, and supported by -2,500 French troops. - -The story of this Irish war needs no re-telling here, save in so far -as it brings out the contrast between William and James as the Fit and -the Unfit for the doing of that work which had just then got to be done -if England was not to sink back to the degrading position of a French -dependency, and if the way of future progress and Imperial expansion -was to be left open. William no sooner saw that the scene of the fight -for constitutional liberty and religious freedom had shifted for the -time being from the Low Countries to Ireland than he sent Marshal -Schomberg, who was then one of the most skilful soldiers in Europe, -with an army of sixteen thousand men to the scene of action. - -Meanwhile the heroically stubborn resistance which has won immortal -fame for the men of Londonderry had proved, not only to James and his -foreign mercenaries, but to Louis himself and all Europe, that the -struggle which was just then renewed was no mere war of dynasties, -and that something very much greater than the mere question as to who -should be king of England had got to be decided before the trouble was -over. - -James in Ireland and Louis in France stood for the already discredited -and exploded doctrine of the divine right of kings to rule as they -pleased because they were the sons of their fathers; for the dark -tyranny of Rome, now almost equally discredited; and for the domination -of Europe by the French autocracy. In Holland and England and Germany -William and his allies stood for the very reverse of all this, so that -it was not only the destinies of the United Kingdom, but those of the -greater part of the civilised world that had to be decided, and it was -by procuring through mingled victory and defeat, confronted by powerful -enemies abroad and by conspiracy and threatened assassination at home, -that the worthy descendant of William the Silent proved his real right -divine as king of these realms and champion of those principles of -which the British Empire of to-day is the concrete expression. - -It was really on the shores of an insignificant Irish stream that -William fought and won the battle of European liberty. But before he -did this he had another battle to fight, as it were, in front of his -newly-given throne. - -His reign, unhappily, saw the commencement of that system of government -which an intelligent Chinese Minister to the Court of St. James’ once -described as “the election of one party to do the business of the -nation, and of another to stop them doing it.” In other words, it was -William’s fate, among all his other difficulties, to have to contend -with the bitter and usually dishonest strife of Parliamentary parties, -and so keen did this strife become after the foreign enemy had actually -landed on British soil, that he was even then on the point of throwing -up the whole business in disgust, and going back to Holland to fight -his battles out there. - -What would have happened if he had done so is anything but a pleasant -subject for speculation. Happily, at the eleventh hour he refused to -acknowledge himself beaten. Sick of the strife of words and longing for -the reality of deeds, he announced his intention to place himself at -the head of the English forces in Ireland, “and with the blessing of -God Almighty endeavour to reduce that kingdom that it may no longer be -a charge to this.” - -In this we may see more than the expression of a pious hope. As -statesman and soldier William had seen that Ireland was the back-door -of Great Britain, and that so long as it remained open so long would -the whole kingdom be vulnerable to foreign invasion, and so he went to -close it. - -It was a strange position for any man to be placed in. He was going -to fight for everything that he held dear. He knew that if he lost in -Ireland he must lose also in England and the Netherlands, but he was -also going to fight against the father of the woman whom he had now -come to love so dearly that her death, when it happened, came nearer to -wrecking his imperial intellect than all the other trials and troubles -of his laborious and almost joyless life. He had no feeling of personal -enmity against James as he had against Louis, and it was duty, and duty -alone, which took him to the Irish war. Almost the last words that he -said to his wife concerning the enemy whom he was about to meet on the -battlefield were: - -“God send that no harm may come to him!” - -Mr. Traill has thus tersely summed up the condition of affairs at this -moment: “Ireland in the hands of a hostile army, the shores of England -threatened by a hostile fleet, a dangerous conspiracy only detected on -the eve of success, a formidable insurrection imminent in the country -he was leaving behind him....” - -And yet, gloomy as the outlook seemed, his spirits rose as they ever -did when he saw the moment for doing instead of talking draw near, -and Bishop Burnett tells us that he said to him on the eve of his -departure: “As for me, but for one thing I should enjoy the prospect -of being on horseback and under canvas again, for I am sure that I am -fitter to direct a campaign than to manage your Houses of Lords and -Commons.” - -These words were well worthy of the man who, not many days later, -quietly sat down to breakfast in the open air beside Boyne Water, -within full sight of the enemy and within easy range of their guns. -Breakfast over, he mounted his horse and was promptly fired at. The -first shot from two field-pieces which had been trained on him and his -staff killed a man and two horses. The second grazed his shoulder and -made him reel in his saddle. - -“There was no need for any bullet to come nearer than that!” was his -remark on the occurrence. Certainly not many bullets have ever come -nearer to changing the history of Britain, and therefore of the British -Empire, than that one. - -[Illustration: MADE HIM REEL IN HIS SADDLE.] - -After the wound had been dressed, instead of taking the rest which -a good many strong men would have taken, this consumptive and -asthmatic invalid re-mounted his horse and remained until nightfall -in the saddle, making his dispositions for the battle of the morrow, -and attending to every detail himself. His prudent uncle and -father-in-law, apparently bent on fulfilling William’s pious wish, was -meanwhile taking very good care to keep himself out of harm’s way. - -[Illustration: “MEN OF ENNISKILLEN, WHAT WILL YOU DO FOR ME?” HE CRIED.] - -The battle itself, which, as every one knows, was fought on the 1st of -July, brought out with startling clearness the contrast between the -man who was king in his own right and the man who called himself king -because his name was James Stuart. - -“Men of Enniskillen, what will you do for me?” he cried at the critical -moment of the fight, when Caillemot and Schomberg, his two best -captains, had been killed, and he, drawing his sword and swinging it -aloft with his wounded arm, led his trusty Dutch guards and Ulstermen -against the Irish centre. James, meanwhile, having watched the first -part of the fight on which all his fortunes depended from the safe -eminence of the Hill of Donore, had already given up for lost the -day which he had done nothing to win, and was making the best of -his way to Dublin, whence, in due course, leaving the beaten and -demoralised rabble that had once been his army to its fate, he fled -to the congenial ignominy of his safe retreat at St. Germain, and the -fostering care of his country’s worst enemy. - -The Battle of the Boyne not only settled the fate of the Stuart -dynasty for good; it decided the question whether this country was to -be ruled by a feeble despotism under the patronage of France, or by -that constitutional monarchy under which Great Britain has so worthily -proved her title to be called the Mother of Free Nations, and in -winning this battle and deciding this all-important question, William -of Orange won the right to be counted among the wisest and strongest -of our Empire-Makers. The disgusted Irishmen, too, had some reason on -their side when they said to the victors after the battle: “Change -leaders, and we’ll fight you again!” - -The story of his wars in those countries which have been aptly termed -the cockpit of Europe is the story of the continuation of that work -which he came to England to do; not, as has already been pointed out, -for England as a country, but for the establishment of those principles -for which the British Constitution, of which he was one of the makers, -stands. Ignorant or prejudiced critics have accused him of sacrificing -English blood and treasure to the furtherance of his own ambition. The -fact is that he employed them upon the best and most necessary work -that there was for them to do just then. - -“Look at my brave English!” he said to the Elector of Bavaria one -day during the siege of Namur, while a British regiment was carrying -the outworks on one side of the city. But they were doing more than -carrying earthworks. They were fighting for the principles which their -descendants crowned with everlasting glory at Trafalgar and Waterloo. -They were showing the soldiers and generals of France, then held to -be the best in the world, the sort of stuff that they were made of, -and giving promise of future prowess that was soon to be splendidly -redeemed at Blenheim and Ramillies, Oudenarde and Malplaquet. - -It was a singular war, and by all the rules of warfare the issue should -have been the reverse of what it was. But again and again William’s -wonderful genius and indomitable persistence snatched victory out of -defeat, and turned disaster into advantage, until at last the Grand -Monarch himself had to confess the power of the enemy whom he had once -thought so insignificant, and the signing of the Treaty of Ryswick left -William triumphant if somewhat dissatisfied. - -The results would no doubt have been much greater if William could have -had his own way, and if the strife of parties in the British Parliament -had not so sorely crippled him. But at least he had the satisfaction -of knowing before he died that, whereas a few months before the French -men-of-war had with impunity insulted and threatened the English -coasts, and landed a small army on Irish soil, a few months afterwards -every invader had been driven from British ground, and the French fleet -almost destroyed, while the Mediterranean, on which British ships -had sailed only by sufferance, was now well on the way to becoming a -British lake. - -And yet, in spite of all the triumphs that he had won over so many -difficulties and so many dangers, and in spite of the consciousness of -work well and nobly, if quietly and unostentatiously, done, William’s -last days, like those of many another man who has deserved well of the -world, were full of sorrow and suffering. - -The death of his now adored queen had so shaken his mighty nature that -for some days his reason was despaired of, and there can be no doubt -but that it hastened his own end. And yet, weak and far advanced in -disease as he was when he went out for that fatal ride from Kensington -to Hampton Court, he was even then going a-hunting. The brutal Jacobite -toast: “To the little gentleman in black velvet who works underground!” -still serves to remind us of the mole-hill over which his horse -stumbled and fell, breaking his rider’s collar-bone, and inflicting the -death-wound which he had escaped on a score of battle-fields. - -His death was worthy of his life, for it was the death of a brave, -patient man and a Christian gentleman. No doubt he himself would have -preferred to have died at the head of a charge, or in the thick of an -assault on a French fortress, but his destiny ordered it otherwise, -and the man who had a hundred times faced death in the most reckless -fashion for the purpose of inspiring his followers with his own courage -and enthusiasm, died quietly in his bed, leaving behind him the -greatest work ever done by an individual British sovereign, and a fame -which, but for the one dark and inexplicable blot of Glencoe, is as -fairly entitled to be called spotless as that of any man who ever sat -upon a throne and accomplished great things with such means as came to -his hand. - - - - -VI - -_JAMES COOK_, - -_CIRCUMNAVIGATOR_ - - - - -VI - -JAMES COOK - - -Once more I am going to ask you to take your seat with me on the ideal -equivalent of the Magic Carpet and skim across another time-gulf some -half-century wide. This time we alight on the morning of Monday, July -5, 1742, before the door of a double-fronted shop, one side of which is -devoted to the sale of groceries and the other to the drapery business. -This shop is situated in a little village on the Yorkshire coast a few -miles from Whitby, Staithes, or more exactly The Staithes, so called -from the local name for a pier or sea-wall of wood jutting out a few -feet into the German Ocean, and built partly to protect the little bay -from the North Sea rollers and partly to afford accommodation for the -fishing-boats and colliers. - -The shop belongs to a substantial citizen of Staithes named Saunderson, -and this morning Mr. Saunderson is a very angry man. In fact, if we go -into the shop, which is not yet open, we shall find him with a cane -or some similar weapon in his hand, leaning behind the counter and -hitting blindly at a bed there is beneath it, shouting the while sundry -excellent maxims on the virtue of early rising, especially modified for -the benefit of apprentices. - -But no response comes from the bed, and Mr. Saunderson stoops down to -make closer investigation. The bed is empty, and the fact dawns on him -that his last apprentice has followed the example of all the others -and run away to sea. It was a very common event on the Yorkshire coast -in those days, but this particular running away was destined to be a -very memorable one for the world, for the lad who, instead of being -in the bed under the counter, was just then striding rapidly away -over the fields to Whitby with one extra shirt and a jack-knife for -his sole possessions, was James Cook, a name as dear to the lovers of -the romance of travel and adventure as Robinson Crusoe, and one of -infinitely more importance in the annals of mankind. - -In following his fortunes, so far as the brief limits of such a -sketch as this will permit, we shall bid a perhaps welcome adieu for -a while to the roar of guns and the shock of battle, to the blaze of -burning towns and the fierce cries ringing along the decks of captured -treasure-ships, to watch the contest of a clear head and a strong will -against those foes which may be overcome without bloodshed, although -not always without loss of life--the hidden dangers of unknown oceans -strewn with uncharted reefs and shoals lying in wait for unwary keels, -the sudden hurricanes of the Tropics, and the storms and fogs and the -floating ice-navies of the far North and South. It was these that -Captain Cook went out to fight and overcome, and in doing so to prove -eloquently that: - - “Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war.” - -Nevertheless there are certain points of likeness between James Cook, -Geographer and Circumnavigator, and that other Circumnavigator, Francis -Drake, Pirate and Scourge of Spain. Both began life as ship-boys, -and both rose, by sheer ability and strength of purpose, far above -their original station in life to positions of command in the service -of their country. Both were men of iron will, far-reaching design, -unshakeable self-reliance, and passionate temper, and, lastly, both -were possessed by that irresistible spirit of roving and adventure -which, when it once seizes a man, but seldom lets him rest in peace. In -short, though the vocation of one was piracy and war, and that of the -other the peaceful, but none the less adventurous service of science, -both were stamped with the supreme and essential characteristics of the -Empire-Maker. - -Naturally, the world had changed a good deal by the time James Cook -started out to add so enormously to men’s knowledge of it. Spain had -fallen from her high estate and was living in slothful ease on the -dregs and lees of that strong wine which she had drunk to intoxication -in the golden days of Cortez and Pizarro. But Britain, no longer only -England, had become Great Britain, and was fast expanding into Greater -Britain. Cowley, Dampier, Clapperton and Anson had circumnavigated the -globe more than once, and people were beginning to have something like -a definite notion of how very big a place was this world which now -seems so small to us. The Imperial Idea was beginning to take hold of -men’s minds. They wanted to know, not so much how big the world was, -but what other unknown lands might be lying waiting for the discoverer, -hidden away among the vast expanses which were still an utter blank -upon the map. - -The maritime nations of the world, too, and Britain, now foremost among -them, had unconsciously taken a very great stride along the pathway of -real progress, and they were beginning to grasp the higher ideal of -colonisation as distinguished from mere conquest, and to James Cook -belongs the high honour, if not of discovering, at least of first -definitely locating and in part mapping out the greatest of all the -British colonies. - -Indeed, it may be said that, in sober fact, he added a whole continent -to the British Empire, and that without the striking of a single blow -or the loss of a single life in battle. - -The first few years of James Cook’s seafaring life were eventless, -just as Francis Drake’s were, but for all that he, like Gloriana’s -Little Pirate, was doing that minor but no less essential part of his -life-work which was the necessary preparation for the greater. He was -doing his work first as ship’s boy, then as sailor before the mast, -then as second mate, first mate, and so on up the laborious ladder -which was to lead him in the end to an unequalled eminence among -mariners. - -Thus for thirteen years he served what may be called his apprenticeship -to his life’s work; learning in the most practical of all schools, -a North Sea collier of the eighteenth century, not only the science -of seamanship in all its details, but also what was hardly less -important--that science of taking things as they came, of looking upon -hardship, privation and danger as the commonplaces of a seaman’s life, -incidents in his day’s work, as it were, and as such scarcely worth -even the mention, and hence much less worth troubling about. - -A curiously instructive fact strikes one in contrasting Captain Cook’s -own account of his voyages with those of others, such as Anderson and -Gilbert, who sailed with him. They expatiate largely on the miseries -of heat and cold, ice and mist, the almost uneatable character of the -sea-fare of those days, disease among the crew, and so on; but Captain -Cook hardly ever mentions them, saving only the scurvy, of which more -hereafter. - -But there was something else that James Cook had already learnt long -ago while he was yet a boy. When he was a lad of six or seven he had -been set to work on a farm belonging to a man named William Walker, -and this William had a wife named Mary who, taking a fancy to the lad, -taught him his letters and encouraged him to read, and so, without -knowing it, put into his hands the talisman which was to win his way to -future greatness. She not only aroused in him that passion for reading -which distinguished him among the sailors of his time, but she gave him -what might have been the only means of gratifying it, for not every -farm-lad and ship’s-boy of the middle of the eighteenth century had -learnt, or ever did learn, to read and write. - -It may have been that James Cook’s latent ambition had never looked -beyond the possibility of becoming master of one of the vessels of -which he had been mate, and it is also possible that he might never in -reality have been anything more, but it so happened that his ship, the -_Friendship_, was lying in London river in May, 1756, and that at the -same time the war with France, which had been brewing for a year, broke -out. - -As usual the Press Gang set instantly to work, and now came Cook’s -chance. He was mate of a ship, albeit only a collier brig; still he -was a thorough seaman, an excellent navigator, and, more than that, he -seems to have known something of the theory as well as the practice of -his science. These accomplishments, however, did not put him beyond the -reach of the Press Gang. - -Now, in those days there were two ranks of seamen before the mast in -the King’s navy--the pressed man, who might be anything from a raw -land-lubber to an escaped convict, and the volunteer, who was probably -and usually a good sailor, if not something better, as Cook was, and -he, guided either by inspiration or deliberate resolve, eluded the -Press Gang by offering himself as a volunteer, and so in due course -took his rating as able-seaman before the mast on board his Majesty’s -frigate _Eagle_, of sixty guns, of which shortly afterwards the good -genius of his life, Sir Hugh Palliser, was appointed captain. - -During the next four years there was fighting, but we have no record -of any share that Cook took in it. What we do know is that by the time -he was thirty he had risen to the rank of master of the _Mercury_, a -King’s ship which went with the fleet to the St. Lawrence at a very -critical juncture in British colonial history. - -So far it would appear that he had worked himself up by sheer ability -and industry, but now his chance was to come. The river St. Lawrence at -that time had never been surveyed, and it was absolutely necessary that -soundings should be taken and the river correctly charted before the -fleet could go in and with its guns cover Wolfe’s attack on Quebec. -The all-important work was entrusted to the master of the _Mercury_, -and although the river was swarming with the canoes of hostile Indians -in the service of the French, and though he had to do his work at -night, he did it so thoroughly that not only did the fleet go in and -out again with perfect safety, but the work has needed but little -re-doing from that day to this. - -Thus did James Cook, not as sailor or fighting-man, but as good mariner -and skilful workman play his first part as Empire-Maker, and in an -unostentatious fashion contribute his share towards the capture of -Quebec and the acquisition of one of the widest and fairest portions of -Greater Britain. - -He was at this time, as has been said, only thirty. As regards the -outer aspect of the man he stood something over six feet, spare, hard, -and active. His face was a good one and suited to the man, broad -forehead, bright, brown, well-set eyes, yet rather small, a long, -well-shaped nose with good nostrils, a firm mouth, and full, strong -chin. - -In short, his best portraits show you just the kind of man you would -expect Captain Cook to be. For the rest he was a man of iron frame, -tireless at work, resting only when it was a physical necessity, with -few friends and fewer confidants, cool of judgment save during his rare -and deplorable fits of passion, self-contained and self-reliant--just -such a sea-king, in short, as we may imagine Heaven to have -commissioned to carry the British flag three times round the world and -to the uttermost parts of the known earth, and to plant it on lands -which until then no white man’s eye had seen or foot had trodden. - -In the same year Cook was promoted from the _Mercury_ to the -_Northumberland_, the Admiral’s flag-ship, and in her he came back -to England, and at St. Margaret’s Church, Barking, married Elizabeth -Batts, a young lady of great beauty and of social standing far above -that of the grocer’s apprentice and collier’s knockabout boy, but not -above that of the Master of a King’s ship. His married life lasted -some seventeen years, and of these he spent a little over four in the -enjoyment of the delights of home. - -For the next four years or so he was regularly employed in surveying -and exploring work off the Atlantic coast of America, and this -of itself shows that he had already made his mark in his chosen -profession. But much greater things were now to be in store for him. It -will be remembered how Drake, when he first saw the smooth waters of -the Pacific, prayed God that He would give him life and leave to sail -an English ship on its waters. That prayer had been granted, and his -and many another English ship had crossed the great Sea of the South. - -Meanwhile the realised dream of El Dorado had been replaced in men’s -minds by another, even more vast, shadowy, and splendid. This was the -dream of the Great Southern Continent, and in this imagination revelled -and ran riot. Grave scientists, too, demonstrated beyond all doubt that -there must be such a land far away to the south since how, without it -as a counterpoise to the continents of the north, was the rolling world -to be kept in equilibrium? - -So they took it for granted, laid it down upon the maps, and wrote -glowing descriptions of the varieties of climate, the splendour of -scenery, the wealth of treasures and the strange peoples and animals -that it must of necessity contain. Above all, it would be a new El -Dorado which would not be under the control of Spain. - -What more could men want, unless indeed it was the actual discovery of -the Terra Incognita Australis? This was the new world of which Cook was -to be the Columbus. Others had seen parts of it just as others had seen -parts of America before the great Genoese reached the West Indies, but -he was the man who was to do the work of putting its existence beyond -all doubt. - -The Royal Society found that there would be a transit of Venus in the -year 1769, and that it would be best observed from some point in the -great Southern Ocean, say Amsterdam Island or the Marquesas Group, -lately discovered by the Dutch and Portuguese, and as the result of -representations made to the King, an expedition was set on foot to -carry out suitable persons to observe it. Of this expedition James -Cook, raised from the rank of master to that of lieutenant, was placed -in command. On his own recommendation the ship chosen for the purpose -was the _Endeavour_, a Whitby-built craft of 370 tons, broad of bow and -stern and fairly light of draft, and built for strength and endurance -rather than speed. - -She sailed, carrying a complement all told of eighty-five men, from -Plymouth on August 26, 1768, which as Cook’s latest biographer happily -remarks, was a Friday, and the starting-day of what was, all things -considered, the most successful voyage of discovery ever made. Just -before she sailed Captain Wallace had come back bringing the news of -the discovery of Otaheite, otherwise known as Tahiti, and as this -island was considered a more favourable position, Captain Cook, as we -may now fairly call him, was ordered to proceed there first. - -It is of course utterly out of the question to attempt any connected -account even of one voyage round the world, let alone three, within -such limits as these, therefore I cannot do better than let the great -navigator describe his achievements, as he actually did, in three -modest paragraphs: - -“I endeavoured to make a direct course to Otaheite” (this was after -he had crossed the Atlantic and doubled the Horn, which doubling, by -the way, took thirty-three days), “and in part succeeded, but I made -no discovery till I got within the Tropic, where I fell in with Lagoon -Island, The Groups, Verde Island, Chain Island, and on the 13th of -April arrived at Otaheite, where I remained three months, during which -time the observations on the transit were taken. - -“I then left it, discovered and visited the Society Islands and -Ohetoroa; thence proceeded to the south till I arrived in latitude -40°22 south, longitude 147°29 east, then on the 6th of October, fell in -with the east side of New Zealand. - -“I continued exploring the coast of this country till the 31st of -March, 1770, when I quitted it and proceeded to New Holland; and -having surveyed the eastern coast of that vast country, which part had -never before been visited, I passed between its northern extremity and -New Guinea, and landed on the latter, touched at the island of Savu, -Batavia, Cape of Good Hope, and St. Helena, and arrived in England on -the 2nd of July, 1771.” - -I have seldom come across such a masterpiece of eloquent simplicity as -this, but then, of course, Cook’s voyages were made before the days -of the lecture-exploiter and the Age of Booms. There is, however, one -remark that may be made on it. What Cook calls New Holland we call -Australia, and Botany Bay, the first point he touched at, is hard by -Port Jackson, on the flowery shores of which now stands the lovely -capital of New South Wales. Terra Incognita Australis was unknown no -longer, but the days when it was to prove itself even more golden than -El Dorado were yet distant nearly a hundred years. - -If you would read the marvellous tale of frozen lands and seas, of the -sunlit coral-islands gemming the sparkling waters as thickly as the -stars stud the Heavens, of the delights of Paradise and the terrors -of Nifflheim told and written by sundry members of this expedition -after their return, you must go to your library and find them in the -originals, for there is no space to give them here. Suffice it to say -that, though somewhat prolix and diffuse, you will, if you are blessed -with an intelligent taste for that kind of thing, find them more -delightful reading than any of the countless romances whose writers -have taken their materials out of them. - -But there is one circumstance which for the honour of James Cook ought -to be mentioned. The curse of sea-voyaging in those days was scurvy. -Out of forty sick, nearly half of the little company, no fewer than -twenty-three died, and this terrible fact set the captain thinking, -with the result that he, first of all mariners, grappled with and -conquered this worst of the dangers of the ocean. If he had never done -anything else he would have deserved a niche in the Temple of Fame. In -his second voyage round the world, which lasted three years and sixteen -days, he only lost four men, three of whom died by accident and the -fourth not of scurvy. - -The Circumnavigator was now promoted to the rank of Commander, a -modest enough reward for the achievement of the greatest work of his -generation. He remained ashore just a year, probably the longest period -he had ever spent on land since he first went to sea. - -During this time the publication of a collection of travels started -people talking about the Southern Continent again. Captain Cook had -found it, but that didn’t matter. His discovery was not splendid enough -by any means, so it was decided to send another expedition, this time -of two ships, “to complete the discovery of the southern hemisphere” -(!) and Cook sailed again in command aboard the _Resolution_ of 462 -tons having for consort the _Adventure_ of 336 tons. - -They sailed on July 13, 1772, and on October 30th reached Table Bay--a -hundred and nine days, think of that, you who take a run out to the -Cape and back again for a winter holiday! Truly the world was somewhat -larger in those days. - -From Cape Town they steered straight away for the South, and on -December 10th they sighted for the first time the ice-fringe of what we -know now to be the _true_ Terra Incognita Australis. - -The landsmen on board seem to have had a dreadful time during this part -of the voyage and Foster, one of the naturalists of the expedition, -bewails “the gloomy uniformity with which they had slowly passed dull -hours, days and months in this desolate part of the world.” What a -change it must have been from the rigours and horrors of Antarctica to -the paradisaical delights of Tahiti, which, after surveying the coast -of New Zealand and deciding that it consisted of two islands and not -one, the expedition reached on the 16th of the following August. - -There is perhaps no other spot on earth which so completely fulfils -one’s ideas of what Paradise ought to be as this same island of -Tahiti even now, but what must it have been in those days, when white -men first saw it in all the beauty and simplicity of its primeval -innocence. Now, alas, it is very different, cursed by the diseases and -vices of civilisation and afflicted by a cast-iron _régime_ which the -people seem to think a little worse than death, since they are dying as -fast as they can to get away from it. - -After this again New Zealand was visited, and once more the two ships -plunged into the icy solitudes of Antarctica, only to return again, -baffled by the impenetrable ice-wall. From here the ships steered -northwards for Easter Island and Crusoe’s Island. It is noteworthy -that on the way Captain Cook, the great Medicine Man of the sailors, -himself fell sick, and that, for want of anything better, “a dog was -killed to make soup for him”--from which it will be seen that voyages -of discovery were not exactly picnics in his time. - -From Juan Fernandez he steered for the Marquesas again, once more -visited New Zealand, and once more his sea-worn crews revelled in the -unrestrained delights of Tahiti. Then again to the south, this time -not to rest until the whole circle of the Southern hemisphere had been -made without the finding of any other southern continent than the -unapproachable Antarctica, and so in due course and without mishap -came the Sunday morning, July 30, 1775, when the _Resolution_ and the -_Adventure_, having well vindicated their names, dropped their willing -anchors into the waters of Spithead. - -More honours, though not of the nineteenth-century-boom order, were -now most justly bestowed on the Circumnavigator. He was promoted to -the rank of Post-Captain in the Navy, and made a Captain of Greenwich -Hospital, a post which carried with it a home and honourable retirement -for the rest of his life--of which he was the very last man in the -world to avail himself. He was also elected Fellow of the Royal -Society, and presented with the gold medal for his treatment of scurvy. - -Captain Cook as sailor, as scientific navigator, and as explorer was -now at the height of his fame. He was forty-eight years old, and had -spent thirty-four years at sea, and it is no exaggeration to say -that during this time he had added more geographical knowledge to -the history of the world than any one had ever done before, and had -probably covered a larger portion of its surface. He had at once proved -and disproved the dream of the Southern Continent, and, potentially -speaking, he had added enormous areas to the ever-growing realms of -Greater Britain. - -He might well have rested on such laurels as these, but there was more -work for him to do, and he went to do it. One of the greatest questions -of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, was the -possibility of the North-West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. -So far every attempt had ended in failure, and generally in disaster, -but now, when men’s minds were full of the wonders Captain Cook had -achieved, there arose another question: Might not a _North-East_ -passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic be possible, and, if so, who -better to try it than the great Circumnavigator? An expedition was -promptly decided on. Captain Cook was not offered the command, as the -Government probably and rightly thought he had won his laurels. But -one fatal evening he dined with Lord Sandwich, the promoter of the -expedition, and at table he met his old patron, Sir Hugh Palliser, and -his friend, Mr. Stephens, Secretary to the Admiralty. Ostensibly the -object of the dinner was to consult him as to the best leader for the -new venture, but the moment the subject was broached the unquenchable -passion for travel blazed up again, and the great Navigator rose to his -feet and said gravely: - -“My lord and gentlemen, if you will have me I will go myself.” - -So was decided the fatal voyage which was destined to end a glorious -and almost blameless career by an ignoble and unworthy death. - -The expedition consisted of the old _Resolution_ and the _Discovery_, -a vessel of three hundred tons. The voyage lasted four years and nine -months, but the loss of life by sickness was only five men, of whom -three were ill when they started. A good deal of the old ground was -gone over, more islands were discovered, more unknown coasts surveyed. -Fair Tahiti was visited once more, and the expedition, so far as its -principal object was concerned, came to an end, as the search for the -Southern Continent had done, in a way blocked by impenetrable barriers -of ice--this time the ice of the North. - -Thus turned back, they steered southward, and on December 1, 1778, -they discovered Hawai, which discovery the great Navigator in his last -written words somewhat strangely says, “seemed in many respects to be -the most important that had hitherto been made by Europeans throughout -the extent of the Pacific Ocean.” - -It was here, as all the world knows, that he met his death, and the -story of it is, unhappily, at sad variance with that of his life. - -The one blemish on Captain Cook’s otherwise noble character was a -liability to outbursts of ungovernable temper, and during these he -seems to have behaved on more occasions than one in a manner almost -befitting one of the old buccaneers. For instance, he would punish -paltry thefts by cutting off the ears of the islanders, firing small -shot at them as they swam to the shore, chasing them in boats, and -ordering his men to strike and stab them with boat-hooks as they -struggled out of the way. On one occasion he punished a Kanaka who had -pilfered some trifle by “making two cuts upon his arm to the bone, one -across and the other close below his shoulder.” - -Again, at the island of Eimeo, because a goat was stolen, he landed -thirty-five armed men, blockaded the island with armed boats, and burnt -every house and canoe that he came across, and, as an eye-witness -says, “several women and old men still remained by the houses, whose -lamentations were very great, but all their tears and entreaties could -not move Captain Cook to desist in the smallest degree from those cruel -ravages.” - -Now it was undoubtedly this anger-madness of his, combined with an -equally incomprehensible act of duplicity, which cost him his life. -When he returned from his attempt to find the North-East passage and -landed at Hawai, he was hailed by the natives as Lono, a god who had -disappeared ages before, saying that he would return in huge canoes -with cocoa-nut trees for masts. Now unhappily there is no doubt that -Captain Cook, for some reason or other, took advantage of this belief. -Not only did he not undeceive the natives, but he permitted divine -honours to be paid to him. - -From personal knowledge of the Pacific Islanders I am able to say that -in their pristine state they look upon deception and lying as the -gravest of crimes, and usually punish them with death, and Captain -Cook, with his vast experience of them, must have known this also, -and therefore he must have been fully aware that the moment anything -happened to show the natives that he was _not_ a god, his life would -not be worth a moment’s purchase. - -Shortly after this the ships sailed, and it would have been well for -Cook, who had been guilty of some very high-handed acts, if he had -never returned. But they came back a week afterwards to find the -island under the mysterious _tabu_--which is the Kanaka equivalent -for an interdict, and by far the most sacred institution known to the -Polynesians. Some of his marines broke this _tabu_ in the most flagrant -fashion. In revenge one of the _Discovery’s_ cutters was stolen. When -anything of this sort happened Captain Cook was accustomed to inveigle -a chief or two on board his ship and keep them there till the thing -stolen was restored. He tried to do this with the King of Hawai, but -the people suspected his design, and at the critical moment news came -that a canoe had been burnt and a chief killed. The King refused to go -another step, and then Captain Cook, who was armed with a hanger and a -double-barrelled gun, did a terribly foolish thing for such a man to -do. - -[Illustration: MISSED HIM AND KILLED ANOTHER MAN BEHIND HIM.] - -He began to walk away to his boat, turning his back on the armed and -angry natives. To do so was to invite certain death, and one of the -warriors attacked him with his spear. He turned and shot at the man, -missed him, and killed another man behind him. A shower of stones -followed, and the marines fired on the natives. - -Cook appears now to have seen the seriousness of the situation, and -signalled to those in the boat to stop firing. While he was doing this -a chief ran up and drove his spear through his body. Some accounts -say that it was an iron dagger, others that he was clubbed on the -head simultaneously. At any rate he staggered forward and fell face -downwards in the water, on which the natives “immediately leapt in -after and kept him under for a few minutes, then hauled him out upon -the rocks and beat his head against them several times, so that there -is no doubt but that he quickly expired.” - -Such was the end of the great Circumnavigator, the greatest seaman of -his time, and a man honoured wherever the science of navigation was -known. It was a miserable end to such a brilliant career, miserable as -was that of the great Magellan, who lost his life and the deathless -honour of being the first sea-captain to sail round the world in just -such a petty and ignoble squabble on the beach of a lonely islet in the -Phillipines. - -But though his death was ignoble, it can detract nothing from the -splendour of his life’s work. He was not perfect--no great man -is--and it is only the mournful truth to say that the meanest and most -unlovable trait in his character was the direct and culpable cause -of his death. Among sailors this is already forgotten, and they only -remember him, as they are well warranted in doing, as the greatest of -English mariners, and the man who conquered their most terrible enemy -and their deadliest destroyer. - - - - -VII - -_LORD CLIVE_, - -_QUILL-DRIVER AND CONQUEROR_ - - - - -VII - -LORD CLIVE - - -It is one of the distinctions of Robert Clive to be at once the model -of all bad boys and the forlorn hope of their despairing fathers. He -was probably the very worst boy that ever became a really great man. -Of his early youth there is absolutely nothing good to be said, saving -only the fact that he was possessed of that brute, bulldog courage -which thousands of English boys, whose names have never been heard -beyond their native towns, have possessed in common with him. - -He was idle, passionate, aggressive, not over truthful, and of a -distinctly turbulent, not to say piratical disposition. For instance, -he had not reached his teens before he established a sort of juvenile -reign of terror in the sleepy old town of Market Drayton, which had at -once the misfortune and the honour of being his birthplace. - -Even the school-books have not omitted to tell us how the boy became -the father of the future pirate and Empire-Maker, by organising the -kindred spirits of the town into a buccaneering band, as captain of -which he levied blackmail in the shape of nuts, apples, sweetmeats, and -even coin of the realm on the shopkeepers. - -If the tribute were punctually paid, well and good; but if one rebelled -or defaulted, the odds were that he very soon had a heavy bill to pay -for window-repairing, or else there would be sudden deaths in his -fowl-house, or, peradventure, his errand-boy, if not an accomplice -of the gang, would return prematurely from his rounds with his goods -missing and undelivered, and his person in a somewhat battered and -dishevelled condition. - -The most respectable feat that he appears to have accomplished in -these days would, after all, appear to be the climbing of the lofty -church steeple, and his enjoyment on that dizzy eminence of the horror -and consternation of the townsfolk. This feat was, in its way, as -characteristic of the man that was to be as was his first essay in -world-piracy, for later on we shall see how he reached a far more dizzy -eminence than this and kept his head as few others would have done. - -His school life appears to have been as unsatisfactory as his home -life. He was sent to academy after academy, and at each, ushers and -pedagogues struggled with him in vain--although of itself this fact was -not greatly to his discredit, since the methods of alleged education in -the first half of the eighteenth century were even more unnatural than -they are now. Still, the fact remains that he was a hopeless dunce, -self-willed and idle, and of an unlovable disposition, redeemed only by -the one good quality of intrepid pluck. - -One of his uncles, in a family letter, says, semi-prophetically of him: -“Fighting, to which he is out of measure addicted, gives his temper -such a fierceness and imperiousness that it flies out on every trifling -occasion.” - -It is also said that one of his schoolmasters saw signs of future -greatness in the dullard of whom neither he nor any of his brethren -could make even a presentable schoolboy, but this is probably a story -of the “I told you so” order, possibly invented by the worthy pedagogue -some time after the event. Be this, however, as it may, the fact is -that in the end the last of the pedagogues seems to have thrown the -job up in despair and returned him back on his father’s hands as a -hopelessly hard case. - -Now it so happened that in those days there was a refuge for -the destitute, or perhaps it would be more correct to say the -ne’er-do-well, which in these days is hardly represented by any portion -of our Colonial Empire. - -If there appeared to be no chance of a lad doing anything decent at -home; if his parents were too poor to buy him a commission in the Army, -and hadn’t interest enough to get him into the Navy, and if he were, -as Clive undoubtedly was, too much of a dunce to have a chance in -any other respectable profession, the last thing that could be done -for him was to get him a writership in the service of the East India -Company. - -If this could be done, two prospects were open to him. He would die -of fever in a year or two, after a hard struggle to live upon his -miserable pay, or he would “shake the Pagoda Tree,” and come home a -wealthy nabob, with a brick-dust complexion, a sun-dried and somewhat -shrivelled conscience, and a liver perpetually on strike. As it -happened, however, Robert Clive availed himself of neither of these -prospects, since the mysterious Fates had a third one in store for him. - -Certainly they were _very_ mysterious Fates which presided over the -early fortunes of the future Conqueror of India, and upon none of their -darlings have they frowned so blackly and then suddenly turned round -and smiled so brightly as upon the scapegrace of Market Drayton. - -To begin with, the voyage to India in those days, even for people with -large means, was a weary and miserable business. Ocean greyhounds, the -Suez Canal, and the Peninsular Railway, were undreamt of; and the heavy -Indiamen lumbered toilfully round the Cape, across the Indian Ocean, -and up the Bay of Bengal, taking their time about it--sometimes six -months, sometimes a year, or more. In Clive’s case it was more, for -his ship first crossed the Atlantic to the Brazils, and stopped there -for some months. Here he spent all his money, and got in return a -smattering of Portuguese, which he afterwards found useful. - -When he eventually landed on the surf-beaten beach of Madras, he was -not only penniless but in debt. The only person of influence to whom -he had an introduction had left for England. His duties were both -laborious and distasteful. He had no friends and was too shy and -awkwardly proud to make any, and for months he was veritably a stranger -in a strange land, and, to crown all, he became wretchedly ill. - -How mournful he really felt his position to be, and how far the stern -discipline of misery had already softened his intractable disposition, -may be seen from one of his letters home, in which he says: - -“I have not enjoyed one happy day since I left my native country. If -I should be so far blest as to revisit it again, but more especially -Manchester” (this, by the way, was his mother’s native place) “the -centre of all my wishes, all that I could hope or desire for would be -presented before me in one view.” - -How little did the despairing lad dream as he wrote thus in some -interval of his weary drudgery that when he did revisit his native land -it would be as a conqueror, laurel-crowned, and hailed as one worthy to -rank with the first soldiers of his age! - -But, bright as his fortune was to be, he appears just now to have been -doing very little to deserve it. Macaulay tells us, in that brilliant -essay of his, that he behaved just as badly to his official superiors -as he had done to his schoolmasters, and came several times very near -to being dismissed, and at length, so heavily did sickness of body -and weariness of soul lie upon him, that twice in quick succession he -attempted to blow his brains out, and twice the pistol missed fire. - -If those had been the days of central-fire, self-cocking revolvers, -instead of flint-lock pistols, the history of Asia would have been -changed, and what is now our Indian Empire would probably have been a -French possession. - -It will be necessary just here to quote a little history with a view -to seeing how matters stood in India at the time when Clive, as it is -said, flung away the second useless pistol, and, like Wallenstein, -exclaimed that after all he must have been born for something great. - -The map of India then was very different to what it is now. There was -no red about it at all. In the East, France was practically mistress of -the seas, whatever she might be elsewhere. The British flag only flew -over one spot, and that only by sufferance. This was the little trading -settlement of Madras, which was rented from the Nabob of the Carnatic, -who was only the deputy of the deputy of the once mighty prince whom -Europe knew vaguely as the Great Mogul. - -Fort St. George and Fort St. David were mere parodies of military -stations, and the nucleus of the army which was to conquer the whole -Peninsula consisted chiefly of half-trained natives, miscellaneously -armed with bows and arrows, swords and bucklers, and here and there a -firelock. On the other hand, France possessed the Island of Mauritius -and the town and district of Pondicherry, the former governed by -Labourdonnais and the latter by Dupleix, both men of great capacity and -still greater ambition. - -France and England were just then at war in Europe, and Labourdonnais -thought it a good time to crush English trade in India while it was yet -in its infancy, so, in spite of all the British East Indian fleet could -do to stop him, he appeared with his ships off Madras, landed a large -body of troops, forced Fort St. George to surrender, and hoisted the -French flag on its battlements. - -Happily, this roused the jealousy of Dupleix. Labourdonnais had pledged -his honour that Madras should be restored on the payment of a moderate -ransom. Dupleix, who had already dreamt of being sole master of India, -was determined that it should be wiped off the map altogether, so he -accused his fellow Governor of trespassing on his preserves, and in the -end succeeded in annulling his conditions and marching the Governor of -Fort St. George, with the principal servants of the Company, in triumph -off to Pondicherry. - -Unfortunately for him, there was one whom he did not take, not a -principal servant by any means, only an insignificant, underpaid -quill-driver, who had slipped out of the town disguised as a Mussulman, -and yet Dupleix would have made a very good bargain if he could have -exchanged all his other prisoners of war for him. - -Clive reached Fort St. David, a dependency of Fort St. George, in -safety, and there, taking advantage of the anger roused by this gross -breach of faith, he exchanged the pen for the sword, and the writer -became an ensign in the East India Company’s army, such as it was. - -Scarcely, however, had he done so than peace was made in Europe, and -therefore in India. Clive, no doubt in great disgust, was sent back to -his desk, but, happily for him and the British Empire, not for long. -Fortunately, too, submarine telegraphs had not been invented then, and -India was almost always a year behind Europe, so Governor Dupleix made -up his mind to have a war on his own account, and the prize of this -war was to be, as Macaulay puts it, “nothing less than the magnificent -inheritance of the House of Tamerlane.” - -To this end he took such skilful advantage of the disputes of the -pretenders to the throne of Nizam al Mulk, the last of the great -Viceroys of the Deccan, that within a very short time he secured the -triumph of Mirzapha Jung, his _protégé_, and rose himself to such a -position that, in the name of this puppet, he was the virtual ruler -of thirty millions of people, and master of the whole Carnatic, -saving only the city of Trichinopoly, which was all that was left to -Mohammed Ali, the candidate with whom the English Company had sided in -a half-hearted and wholly futile fashion. - -At this juncture, Clive, who was now twenty-five years old, and who -occupied a sort of hybrid post with the title of Commissary of the -forces, took upon himself to represent to his superiors that unless -something very decided was done, the French must invariably become -Lords Paramount of the whole Peninsula. They hadn’t a notion what was -to be done, but Clive had, and the brazen effrontery of his plan seems -to have paralysed the authorities into giving him a free hand. - -The situation was this: The triumphant Frenchman, believing his -quickly-acquired dominion a permanent one, had raised a tall pillar to -his own glory on the site of his greatest victory, and round this was -growing up a city, the name of which in English meant the City of the -Victory of Dupleix. Chunda Sahib, successor of Mirzapha, was besieging -Trichinopoly, supported by several hundred trained French soldiers. -Major Lawrence, commander of the English garrison at Madras, had gone -to England, and the English Company possessed no officer of proved -ability. The natives, dazzled by the rapid and brilliant triumphs of -Dupleix, and remembering the times when they had seen his colours -flying over Fort St. George, looked with contemptuous pity on the -English as a remnant of feeble shopkeepers who were soon to be cast -into the sea. And so, in all probability, they would have been if that -historic pistol had gone off a few years before. - -Clive, viewing the situation with true military genius, saw two facts: -first, that it would be ridiculous with the force at his disposal to -attack the besiegers of Trichinopoly; and second, that, if a dash were -made at Arcot, the capital and favourite residence of the Nabobs of the -Carnatic, which is rather less than a hundred miles inland from Madras, -the siege of Trichinopoly would probably be raised, and so this he -determined to do. - -His army consisted of two hundred English soldiers and three hundred -Sepoys, with eight English officers, of whom only two had ever seen an -action. He made the journey by forced marches through the thunder and -lightning and rain of the wet season, and so astounded the garrison of -Arcot by his utterly unexpected appearance before the gates that they -ran without striking a blow. - -Clive now found himself master of a half-ruined fort, which he at -once proceeded to strengthen and victual as best he might, well -knowing that he would have to fight for what he had got. Presently the -panic-stricken garrison came back, and brought with it reinforcements -which gave it the respectable strength of three thousand men. In the -middle of the night on which they arrived and sat down before the -town to think matters over, Clive, without waiting to be besieged as -he should have done by all the rules of Eastern warfare, marched out, -caught them napping, cut them to pieces, and marched back again without -losing a man. - -Naturally the news of such doings as this flew fast to Trichinopoly -and Pondicherry, and clearly something had to be done to crush this -insolent upstart before he gave any further trouble. To this end four -thousand men were sent by Chunda Sahib, under his son Rajah, and by the -time these reached the walls of the old fort they had been increased -by reinforcements to ten thousand, and had, moreover, been joined by -a detachment of a hundred and fifty French soldiers whom Dupleix had -dispatched in hot haste from Pondicherry. - -As has been said, the place they had come to attack was a half-ruined -old fort, with dry ditches and hardly any defences worth serious -mention, and its garrison by this time consisted only of a hundred and -twenty Englishmen and two hundred Sepoys. Four of the eight officers -were dead, and the commander of what looked very like a forlorn hope -was an ex-quill-driver twenty-five years old. - -And yet for fifty days and nights the besiegers hurled themselves in -vain against the rotten and crumbling battlements behind which that -dauntless handful of half-starved men had made up their minds either -to stand till help came, or to fall like the heroes that they were. - -The confidence and affection which the gallant young commander inspired -in his men--European and native alike--during this terrible time is one -of the most splendid tributes to his fame. When there was nothing left -but rice to live and fight on, the very Sepoys came to him of their -own will to ask that all the grain should be given to the Europeans, -who wanted more nourishment than they did. As for them, they would -gladly be content with the water that it was boiled in! Men like this -are bad to beat, and so Rajah Sahib found in spite of all his enormous -advantages. - -But the splendid defence of Arcot had by this time done something more -than hold the French and their allies in check. One Morari Row, the -chief of a body of six thousand Mahrattas--the bandit ancestors of some -of the finest soldiery that now fights under the flag of Britain--had -been hired to defend Mohammed Ali against his enemies, but so far, -instead of helping, he had been waiting to see which way the cat would -jump. His personal experience of the British had taught him that, if -they were not dogs or old women, they were seemingly only fit for the -bazaar and the counting-house, and certainly no worthy allies for -a race of warriors. But now the gallantry of Clive and his men was -ringing all through the Carnatic, and Morari swore by all his gods -that, since the English really could fight after all, and were able to -help themselves to such purpose, he hadn’t the slightest objection to -helping them. - -Having decided this in his own prudent mind, he gave his warriors -orders to march, and no sooner did it transpire that their objective -was the sorely beleaguered fortress of Arcot than Rajah Sahib came -to the conclusion that he had got a harder nut between his teeth -than his jaws could crack, and so he made overtures of peace in the -true Oriental style--that is to say, he offered a huge bribe for an -unconditional surrender, and accompanied the offer with a threat of -general assault and subsequent extermination if the offer were refused. -The young quill-driver’s reply was characteristic. - -“Tell Rajah Sahib,” he said to the envoy, “that I refuse his bribe with -as much scorn as I receive his threat. Tell him also that his master -and father is a usurper and his army a rabble, and bid him beware how -he brings them into a breach defended by English soldiers.” - -Rajah Sahib declined the warning, and prepared for attack by making his -fanatic followers gloriously drunk with bhang and ether assorted drugs. -He also selected the day of a great Moslem festival for the assault, -and enlisted the services of some elephants, whose heads he covered -with spiked plates of iron, and these, when the attack was delivered, -were driven against the gates to act as living battering-rams. - -But Clive had already foreseen that living battering-rams had the -disadvantage of working both ways, and so the elephants were received -with such a galling fire that, instead of charging the gates, they -turned round and made lanes through the army behind them with -distinctly demoralising effect. - -This was a bad beginning, but the end was worse. Clive acted not only -as general-in-command, but also as an ordinary gunner, and he seems, -moreover, to have pretty well filled all the posts between. He worked -as hard as any soldier or Sepoy of them all. There were more weapons -than men to use them, so the rear ranks loaded and primed the muskets, -and passed them up to the front as fast as they could be fired, and -Rajah Sahib speedily learnt what Clive had meant by a breach defended -by English soldiers, for the fire was so fast and fierce that the more -men that he sent into the breach the more stopped there--and that was -about all there was in it from his point of view. - -Three times the onset was repeated, and three times the attacking -swarms were mown down by the leaden hail-storm that swept the breach, -and after the third time the Rajah and his merry men had had enough of -it and retreated to their lines. - -[Illustration: INSTEAD OF CHARGING THEY TURNED ROUND AND MADE LANES -THROUGH THE ARMY BEHIND THEM.] - -The night passed in anxious watching, every man in his place and every -gun loaded, but their last shot had been fired and the morning light -showed that Rajah Sahib and what was left of his army had found the -work too much highly seasoned for their taste; that they had just run -away, leaving all their guns, ammunition, and stores to be picked up by -the victors at their leisure. - -Such was the forever memorable defence of Arcot, and such too was the -practical foundation of the British Empire in India. It was the work -of a hundred and twenty-five English soldiers and two hundred Sepoys, -inspired to heroism by a young man whom Fortune had suddenly plucked -out of the wrong place and set down in the right one. - -Clive was by no means the man to look upon work as done because it -was well begun. The authorities at Fort St. George promptly sent him -two hundred more English soldiers and seven hundred Sepoys, and with -this force--which was quite a large army for him--he marched out to -join hands with Morari Row, attacked Rajah Sahib at the head of five -thousand men with a stiffening of three hundred French regulars, hit -him very hard, and generally convinced people that an Englishman worthy -of his name and race had at length taken matters in hand. - -Unhappily, however, the English were not as strong in the -council-chamber as they were in the field, and while the authorities -were hesitating, Rajah Sahib and Dupleix retrieved their loss to such -purpose that a native army supported by four hundred French troops -marched almost up to the walls of Fort St. George and proceeded to -amuse themselves by laying the settlement waste, with the result that -Captain Clive had to come to the rescue, and the end was another -overwhelming defeat, during which about half of the French regulars -were either killed or taken prisoners. - -This physical victory was followed by a moral one no less effective. -The vaingloriously-named City of the Victory of Dupleix, surmounted by -its magniloquently inscribed pillar, lay at Clive’s mercy and directly -in his path, and he promptly pulled the pillar down and wiped the city -off the face of the earth. He didn’t do this because he personally -disliked either Dupleix or his nation, but in doing it he showed -that he was statesman as well as soldier, for, as he well knew, the -destruction of the City of Victory was to the waiting and watching -millions of India the symbol of the destruction and discredit of the -French power, and the establishment and vindication of the British. -From that day to this Britain’s star in the East has been in the -ascendant and that of France on the decline. - -How completely all this and what followed was the work of one man, and -one only is eloquently shown by the pronouncement of old Morari Row -to the effect that the English who followed Clive must be of quite -a different tribe or breed to those who followed anybody else, and -further by the fact that he inflicted two decisive defeats upon the -French at Covelong and Chingleput, with a force consisting of five -hundred raw Sepoy levies, and two hundred newly-imported scourings of -the London slums, who had so little of the soldier in them that when a -shot killed one in the first skirmish all the rest turned round and ran -away; while on another occasion the report of a cannon so frightened -the sentries that they all left their posts, and one of them was -discovered occupying a strategic position at the bottom of a well! - -And yet Clive, somehow, made steady, disciplined soldiers out of this -miserable rabble, and, though at last he was so ill that he could -hardly stand, led them to victory and turned the French out of their -forts--which was perhaps a miracle even greater than the making of -Cromwell’s Ironsides. - -After this the young man, having well earned a holiday, got married and -came home for his honeymoon. He was at once hailed as the saviour of -India--or at any rate of the East India Company, the directors of which -drained many a good bottle of port to the toast of “General” Clive; and -even his father half incredulously admitted that “after all it seemed -that the booby had something in him.” - -But “the booby,” who had come back moderately rich, bore no malice, -and at once began to repair the evil of his youth by paying off all -the debts of his family. He then proceeded to waste his substance and -his time by getting into Parliament and getting turned out again on -petition, after which he very properly went back to India to do work -that parliamentary orators couldn’t do. - -His first exploit was the reduction of the pirate stronghold of -Gheriah, which had long dominated the whole Arabian Gulf, the next -was the Avenging of one of the blackest crimes in history. There is -no need to tell of it here, for is not the story of the Black Hole of -Calcutta deep-graven in the memory of every man and woman, boy and -girl, of Anglo-Saxon blood? Forty-eight hours after the news reached -Madras Clive was given the command of nine hundred British infantry and -fifteen hundred Sepoys, and with this army, supported by a fleet under -Admiral Watson, he marched to the conquest of an empire half as large -as Europe. - -Curiously enough, however, he began by treating with Surajah -Dowlah--the arch-criminal of the Black Hole--instead of crushing him, -and, more amazing still, during the course of the negotiations, he -deliberately forged Admiral Watson’s name to a treaty intended to -deceive an adherent whom he knew to have made terms with the other -side. It is the most inexplicable act in his career, and, being so, it -is only a waste of words to try and explain it away. He did it, and -there’s an end of it. - -The next act in the now swiftly passing drama was the first and only -council of war that Clive ever held. It was the eve of Plassey, an -occasion ever memorable in the annals, not only of Britain but of the -whole Orient. He was on one bank of the river, Surajah Dowlah was on -the other with an army outnumbering his by twenty to one, splendidly -equipped, very strong in artillery, and, as usual, supported and -officered by the inevitable Frenchmen. The river was the Rubicon which -lay between Clive and the Empire of India--and for once in his life he -hesitated. - -He called a council of war. It decided against crossing the river with -three thousand men in face of sixty thousand, and Clive endorsed the -verdict. Then he went apart under some palm trees and held another and -a wiser council with himself, and this council promptly and utterly -revoked the decision of the other. - -The next morning the river was crossed and the next night the little -army encamped within a mile of the Nabob’s host. At sunrise the next -day Surajah Dowlah, who in the midst of his myriads had passed a night -haunted, as has been suggested, by the ghosts of the men and women who -perished in the Black Hole, sent forth his forty thousand infantry, -his fifteen thousand cavalry, his batteries of fifty guns, and his -iron-plated war-elephants to crush the invader once and for all, and on -they went like some huge tidal wave, roaring and rushing, to overwhelm -some little tree-clad island--and then, just as the human avalanche was -in mid-career, the despot weakling’s will wavered, or, more probably, -his mind broke down, and he gave the order to halt and retreat, almost -before a blow was struck. - -It was the moment of grace for Clive and he seized it. The three -thousand charged the sixty thousand, and all of a sudden the impending -tragedy on which the fate of all India from the Himalayas to Cape -Comorin depended, was turned into a farce. Of the sixty thousand only -five hundred were slain; of the three thousand twenty-two were killed -and fifty wounded. The whole thing was over in an hour, and India was -won. - -To Clive himself the result was an appointment as Governor-General over -the whole of the Company’s territory in Bengal, and this virtually -raised him to an authority higher than that of a throne, and, to his -everlasting honour be it said, that in an age and country of almost -universal corruption, he never abused it. Victory after victory in the -field, and triumph after triumph in policy now followed fast upon each -other, till French, Dutch, and native princes alike were crushed to -impotence or reduced to grovelling submission, and the crowning victory -of Chinsurah set the seal of absolute supremacy upon British rule in -India. - -Three months after this Clive again came home, the possessor of fairly -won wealth which was only exceeded by the magnitude of his fame, to -be hailed as the greatest of British living Commanders, and to be -rewarded, first with a place in the Irish, and then with one in the -British Peerage. - -The story of his five years’ stay in England is not an edifying one. -It is a story of wild extravagance, fierce and unworthy jealousies in -the very councils of that Company to which he had given more lands -and subjects than any European monarch possessed, and of general -dissatisfaction and disillusion. - -But meanwhile the way to his last and perhaps his greatest triumph was -being prepared for him. As year after year passed it became more and -more plain that the empire he had created could not get on without him. -The men put in authority after him by the Company had but one object -in life and that was to “shake the Pagoda Tree.” In other words, to -set prince against prince and state against state for the sole purpose -of making money out of their differences, and generally to squeeze the -utmost amount of gold out of the country in the shortest possible time. - -Corruption which scandalised even that corrupt age revelled in hitherto -unheard-of excesses. Everything was neglected but money-making, and the -lately-terrible English name was fast becoming a scoff and a by-word -even to the plundered and the oppressed. So in the end Clive went out -again, it being seen that he only could end a situation fast becoming -impossible. - -But this time it was not to fight French, or Indian, or Dutchman, but -his own countrymen, and to win in the Council Chamber a victory that -was perhaps greater than any he had won on the battlefield. In eighteen -months he did what he had said he would do, and replaced chaos with -cosmos. It was a fitting climax to his life’s work, and yet such is the -irony of Fate and the baseness of human nature that it also came near -to proving his personal ruin. - -He had fought and conquered the evil spirits of greed, corruption, -and private extortion, but he had not killed them. The hatred of -the evil-doer pursued him across the seas and roused up all the old -jealousies at home. On his first and second returns he had been hailed, -first as a man of the most brilliant promise and then as a man who had -splendidly fulfilled that promise. But now, in the country which he had -enriched by the addition of a whole empire no charge was so base that -it was not believed against him. He had put down the oppressor, the -extortioner, and the money-grubber, and he came back to his native land -to be arraigned before a committee of the House of Commons as all these -and something of a criminal to boot! - -But with this third home-coming of his, his story as an Empire-Maker -ends. It is well to know that he came triumphantly out of all the -toils that his jealous and unworthy enemies had laid for him, and in -this he was happier than his great rival Dupleix, who sank through all -the gradations of poverty and misery into a nameless grave. But still -the work of his foes and that of the terrible Indian climate had -not been without effect. Crippled both in mind and body, he at last -sought refuge in opium from the tortures of the diseases which he had -contracted in the service of his country. - -Time after time his genius blazed out again through the glooms that -were settling over his later days, and so great was the faith of the -Government in him that he was actually asked to go and do for North -America what he had done for India. - -If the broken invalid of those days had been the same man as the -defender of Arcot and the victor of Plassey, the history of the -Anglo-Saxon race might well have been changed, for Robert Clive would -not only have been strong to crush the rebels, but also just and -generous to procure them afterwards those equal rights of citizenship -the denial of which split Anglo-Saxondom in two. - -Of this, at least, we may be fairly certain: there would have been no -Bunker’s Hill and no Brandywine River save as geographical expressions, -and there would have been neither a Saratoga nor a Yorktown save as -towns and nothing more. - -But this was not to be. Clive’s genius had given forth its last flash -and the eclipse had come. On November 22, 1774, some ten weeks after -the assembly of the Revolutionary Congress at Philadelphia, Robert, -Lord Clive, Baron of Plassey, and Conqueror of the domains of the great -Tamerlane, for the third time put a pistol to his head--and this time -it went off. - -It was, as Macaulay says, an awful close to such a career, and yet, -after all, granted even everything that his worst enemies said against -him, Robert Clive had well and worthily earned a place in the front -rank of Britain’s Empire-Makers. - -On Sir Thomas Wren’s tomb in St. Paul’s stands the Latin legend which -translated reads: “If you seek his monument look around you!” If a man -could be endowed with an infinite range of vision he might be placed on -the highest pinnacle of the Himalayas, and as he looked east and west -and south the same might be said to him as the epitaph of Robert Clive; -for all that he could see from the Arabian Gulf to the Bay of Bengal, -and from the Himalayan slopes to the coral reefs of Cape Comorin, would -be the monument of his eternal fame--and is there man born of woman who -could desire a worthier? - - - - -VIII - -_WARREN HASTINGS_, - -_THE FIRST UNCROWNED KING OF INDIA_ - - - - -VIII - -WARREN HASTINGS - - -Both in point of time and personal capacity, Warren Hastings, first -Governor-General of the British Empire in India, was the successor -of Robert, Lord Clive. At the same time it may be as well to point -out in this connection that there might be more literal correctness -in describing Warren Hastings as an Empire-Preserver rather than an -Empire-Maker. - -It was the victor of Plassey who rough-hewed the stones upon which the -now gorgeous fabric of our Indian Empire stands. It was Hastings who, -in spite of stupendous difficulties, took those stones and laid them -down according to that plan which he had formed, and which has been -followed in the main by all who have added to the structure. - -As was said in other words of William of Orange, one of the greatest -claims that the great Governor has to the interest and admiration of -those who have a share in the splendid inheritance that he built -up, lies in the fact that he did his work in the face of everlasting -hindrances and in the midst of perpetual embarrassments, which must -infallibly have discouraged and bewildered any but a man upon whom the -gods had set the stamp of greatness, and, in their own way, crowned -him one of the kings of men. In short, like the grandson of William -the Silent, Warren Hastings was first and foremost an overcomer of -difficulties. - -Great and splendid and enduring as his work undoubtedly was, it would -not, after all, have been very difficult to do if he had just been left -to do it--not helped, because he wasn’t the kind of man who wanted -help, but just left alone. Instead of this, however, as though it were -not enough that his work of organising and consolidating what the -sword of Clive had won, and combating the infinity of complications -arising out of the rivalry of a dozen warring native potentates, he -was purposely surrounded in his own council-chamber by unscrupulous -enemies of his own blood and country, whose only title to historical -recognition is now the infamy that they have earned by failing to -prevent the doing of that work which Warren Hastings saw had got to be -done, and which he, with an inflexible heroism, decided to do in spite -of everything that his enemies, white or brown, Mohammedan, Hindoo or -British, could do to cripple him. - -Sir Alfred Lyall, his most recent biographer, has very happily said of -him that “perhaps no man of undisputed genius ever inherited less in -mind or money from his parents or owed them fewer obligations of any -kind.” His father, Pynaston Hastings, was the vagrant ne’er-do-well son -of a fine old family. He married when only fifteen without any means or -prospect of supporting a family. Warren was the second son. His father -was only seventeen at his birth, and his mother died a few days later. -As soon as he was old enough Pynaston took holy orders, married again, -obtained a living in the West Indies, and there died, leaving his son -to be put into a charity school by his grandfather. - -This is not much for a father to do for a son, but there was something -else that Pynaston Hastings did which was of very great consequence, -though in the nature of the case no credit is due to him for it. -He transmitted to him the blood of a long line of ancestors, which -stretched away back through one of the followers of William the Norman -to the days of those old pirate kings of the Northland who, as I have -pointed out before, were none the worse fathers of Empire-Makers -because they were pirates as well. - -One of his ancestors, John Hastings, Lord of the Manors of -Yelford-Hastings in Oxfordshire, and of Dalesford in Worcestershire, -lost about half of his worldly goods, including the plate that he -sent to be coined at the Oxford Mint, in helping Charles Stuart to -fight the great Oliver, and afterwards spent most of the remainder in -buying his peace from the Parliament. It was on the ancient estate of -Dalesford, long before sold to the stranger and the alien, that Warren -Hastings was born, some two hundred years later, practically a pauper -and almost an outcast, under the shadow of his ancestral home. - -When he came to reasoning years he made a boyish resolve, challenging -fate with all the splendid insolence of a seven-year-old dreamer, that -some day he would make his fortune and buy the old place back--which -in due course he did, although in those days his prospect of doing so -was about as small as it was of reigning over the millions of subjects -whose descendants to-day revere his memory almost as that of one of -their own demigods. - -When he was twelve years old Warren was taken away from the charity -school by one of his uncles and sent to Westminster, where he -distinguished himself by winning a King’s scholarship in the year 1747. -Even when his poor old grandfather, the last Hastings of Dalesford, and -the miserably paid rector of the parish which his ancestors had owned, -sent Warren to sit beside the little rustics of the village school, he -immediately singled himself out from them by the willing intelligence -with which he took to his work and afterwards the headmaster of -Westminster had high hopes of university distinctions for him. It was -indeed a somewhat curious coincidence that Robert Clive should have -been such an exceedingly bad boy and the completer of his work such a -good one. - -But the Fates had already decided that Warren Hastings was to graduate -with honours in a very much bigger university than that on the banks -of the Isis or the Cam. His uncle died suddenly, and the orphan lad -was passed on to the care of a distant connection who happened to be a -director of the East India Company. - -His headmaster remonstrated strongly, but happily without effect, -against his immediate removal to Christ’s Hospital to learn -account-keeping before going out to Bengal as a writer in the service -of “John Company.” - -It seems as though the worthy Dr. Nichols had a very high opinion of -his intellectual abilities, for, when all his protests failed, he -actually offered to send his brilliant young pupil to Oxford at his own -expense. - -Happily for the British Empire Mr. Director Chiswick, the relative -aforesaid, stuck to his selfish project of getting him off his hands as -quickly and permanently as possible by sending him out to Calcutta to -take jungle fever or make a fortune, just in the same way that Clive’s -despairing parents had done. - -He sailed for Calcutta when he was seventeen, the same age as his -precious father was when he was born. He had been two years at the desk -in Calcutta when there came the news that Clive had taken Arcot and put -a very different complexion on the struggle between the English and -French Companies for the supremacy of India. - -About that time he was sent to a little town on the Hooghly about a -mile from Moorshedabad, and while he was here driving bargains with -native silk-weavers and tea merchants, Surajah Dowlah marched into -Calcutta and cast such English prisoners as he could lay hold of into -the Black Hole. - -Hastings was also taken prisoner, but most fortunately did not get -into the Black Hole, and he appears to have been set at large on the -intercession of the chief of the Dutch factory. During the period which -followed his partial release--for he was still under surveillance at -Moorshedabad--he made his first essay in diplomacy, or what would -perhaps be more correctly described as political intrigue, with the -result that the city got too hot for him, and he fled to Fulda, an -island below Calcutta, where, as has been pithily said, the English -fugitives from Fort William “were encamped like a shipwrecked crew -awaiting rescue.” - -The rescue came in the shape of the combined naval and military -expedition, commanded by Admiral Watson and Robert Clive, which was -destined to end in the triumph of Plassey, and Warren Hastings, as -Macaulay aptly suggests in his brilliant but singularly misinformed -essay, doubtless inspired by the example of Clive and the similarity of -their entrance on to the stage of Indian affairs, like him exchanged -the pen for the sword, and fought through the campaign. But Clive saw -“that there was more in his head than his arm,” and after the battle -of Plassey he sent him as resident Agent of the Company to the Court -of Meer Jaffier, the puppet-nabob who had been set up in the place of -Surajah Dowlah. - -He held this post until he was made a Member of Council in 1761, and -was obliged to remove to Calcutta. Clive was at home now, and the -interregnum of oppression, extortion, and general mismanagement was -in full swing; but the man who was afterwards so grossly wronged and -falsely impeached, and who passed through the most celebrated trial in -English history charged with just such crimes, had so little taste for -them that three years later he came back a comparatively poor man, and -the fortune he had he either gave away to his relations or lost through -the failure of a Dutch trading-house. - -After a stay of four years, during which he renewed his intimacy with -his old schoolfellow, the creator of the immortal John Gilpin, and made -the acquaintance of Johnson and Boswell, he found himself so reduced in -circumstances that he not only had to ask the Directors of the Company -to give him more employment in India, but when he got it he was forced -to borrow the money to pay his passage out again. - -It is quite impossible to form any just and reasonable judgment of the -work which Warren Hastings now went out to do unless one first gets an -adequate idea of the condition of things obtaining in India before the -English went there, and of the conditions that would have obtained, -if men like Clive, Hastings, Cornwallis, and Wellesley had not by one -means and another--some good, some bad, but all just what were possible -under the circumstances--succeeded in imposing the _Pax Britannica_ -upon the rival and constantly warring potentates who governed the -native populations. - -No doubt the war on the Rohillas, or the so-called spoliation of the -Begums of Oude, together with more or less magnified incidentals, -formed famous themes in after years for the inflated eloquence and -grandiloquent over-statements of Edmund Burke and Sheridan, and for the -far less comprehensible or excusable special pleading of Lord Macaulay. - -It was, no doubt, very affecting to see the patched and powdered fine -ladies who paid their fifty guineas a seat in Westminster Hall to -watch the men of words mangling the reputation of the man of deeds, -weeping and fainting at the harrowing pictures they drew--mostly on -their own imaginations--of the sufferings which he had _not_ caused; -but we of to-day are sufficiently far removed from the personal spite -and the passion and rivalry which inspired the enemies and accusers -of the great Governor to be able to look at things as they actually -were, and in doing so we shall see that, however heavy was the hand -that Warren Hastings laid upon the subject peoples, it was but as a -caress to a blow when compared with the oppression and extortion with -which conqueror after conqueror, Mohammedan and Hindoo, Sikh, Afghan, -and Mahratta, had ground down and despoiled the helpless races which -successively passed under their sway. - -Order, however dearly bought, is always less expensive than anarchy, -and the impassioned periods of Burke and Sheridan look somewhat silly -when we compare them with the sober facts. It never seems to have -struck them or their audience to make any comparison between the -English gentleman and loyal servant of his country whom they would have -handed down to history as a monster of iniquity, and those real tyrants -of the type of Surajah Dowlah, Hyder-Ali, and Nana-Sahib, whose brutal -rule and ruthless wars of conquest and extermination must have been, -under the circumstances, the only possible alternative to the strong -and steady control of the Englishman. - -The first thing that Warren Hastings did on his return was to -reorganise the trade of the Province, and in this he succeeded so -well that the Directors rewarded him in 1772 with the Governorship -of Bengal; and if they could have stopped there, leaving him to do -the rest, the immediately subsequent history of India might have been -very much more creditable to the rulers and more pleasant reading -for the descendants of the ruled than it was. But unhappily a body -of traders and shareholders became possessed with the idea that they -were the proper sort of people to rule a country divided by political -and religious factions, with a history of almost constant warfare -stretching back for centuries, and situated fifteen thousand miles away. - -This, on the face of it, was an impossibility. When they had found -their Governor they should have trusted him to govern, instead of -sending out his personal enemies to sit at his council-table to spy -upon his actions and hamper and oppose him in everything that he did. - -But there was something else in its way quite as serious as this. -Practically all the charges that were brought against Warren Hastings -on his impeachment are answered and disposed of by the fact that the -only condition upon which he could retain his position and do the work -that he had set his soul upon doing was, in three words, making India -_pay_. John Company looked upon his new possession as a trader on a -market. With the Directors, who, after all were Hastings’ masters, it -was business first, and policy and government a good distance after. - -Even Macaulay admits that every exhortation to govern leniently and -respect the rights of the native princes and their subjects was -accompanied by a demand for increased contributions. “The inconsistency -was at once manifest to their vice-regent at Calcutta, who, with an -empty treasury, with an unpaid army, with his own salary often in -arrear, with deficient crops, with Government tenants daily running -away, was called upon to remit home another half-million without fail.” - -There is another thing to be remembered before we can judge Warren -Hastings fairly in the matter of his forced contributions. The tea -that was flung overboard in Boston Harbour in the December of 1773 was -imported by the East India Company. The connection will appear more -obvious when we look at what followed. - -Great Britain was about to plunge into war, east and west, north and -south. Criminal misgovernment at home had produced revolt abroad. -Disaster after disaster and disgrace after disgrace were soon to befall -the British arms. The Anglo-Saxon race was about to be split in two, -and England herself was to fight, if not for her very existence, at -least for her honourable place among the nations. - -All this Warren Hastings foresaw with that marvellous prevision which -made some of his actions look almost prophetic, and determined that, -come what might elsewhere, the Star of the East should not be plucked -from the British Crown. He was not a soldier. He was an administrator. -His task was not to increase but to hold. He was by no means always -successful in war, and in all his long rule he never added a province -or a district to the area of British India; but what Clive won he held -and strengthened during those fateful years when the destiny of Britain -as an empire was trembling in the balances of Fate. - -Now, to keep India, money was absolutely necessary, and the getting -of it was not always work that could be done with kid gloves on, and -the greatness of Warren Hastings as Empire-Maker or Holder may be seen -in the fact that he deliberately, and with his eyes open, risked his -future fortune and reputation in the doing of this work by the only -means available. - -He knew that his methods would be censured by his masters and made -unscrupulous use of by his enemies, and he said so in so many words, -and, careless of criticism and undeterred by the most virulent and -treasonable opposition, he succeeded so far that he was able to say -with truth that he had rescued one province from infamy, and two from -total ruin. It is simply amazing to the dispassionate reader of the -present day to watch the needless struggles which were imposed upon -this man, already confronted by a titanic task, by the very men who -ought to have been the first, for their own sakes and their country’s, -to have made his way as smooth and his burdens as light as possible. - -The man who may be fairly described as the evil genius of Warren -Hastings’ career was that Sir Philip Francis who is generally looked -upon as the author of the far-famed Letters of Junius. He and Sir John -Clavering, both personal enemies of the Governor-General--as he was -now--were sent out as members of the Council, and to the days of their -death they never ceased to thwart and embarrass him by every means in -their power. - -One reason for their enmity was undoubtedly the sordid motive of -getting him turned out of the Governor-Generalship in order that one -of them might succeed to his office, and that both might share in the -fruits of the extortions which, in him, they condemned. - -This was not only unjust to Hastings, but it was also a crime against -their country, committed at a moment when she had all too much need of -such men as he was. - -To my mind, at least, there is a very strong resemblance between -the savage invective of Junius and the consistent and unscrupulous -malevolence with which Sir Philip Francis tried to wreck the life-work -of a man at whose table he was not worthy to sit. - -Those were days in which political rivalry and personal enmity -entailed personal consequences if they were pushed too far. Hastings -seemed to have come at length to the conclusion that India was not -large enough to hold himself and Francis. He had submitted to insult -after insult, and he would have been something more than human if his -enemy’s unceasing efforts to make his life a misery and his work a -failure had not left some bitterness in his soul, and so one fine day -he sat down and embodied his opinion of him in a Minute to the Council, -and in this he purposely put words which meant inevitable bloodshed: - -“I do not trust to his promise of candour; convinced that he is -incapable of it, and that his sole purpose and wish are to embarrass -and defeat every measure which I may undertake or which may tend even -to promote the public interest if my credit is connected with them.... -Every disappointment and misfortune have been aggravated by him, -and every fabricated tale of armies devoted to famine and massacre -have found their first and most ready way to his office, where it is -known they would meet with most welcome reception.... I judge of his -public conduct by my experience of his private, which I have found -void of truth and honour. This is a severe charge but temperately and -deliberately made.” - -These were not words which a man in those days could write without -taking his chance of a bullet or the point of a small-sword, and -Hastings knew this perfectly well. Francis challenged him on -the spot, and the day but one after they confronted each other -with pistols at fourteen paces. Francis’s pistol missed fire, and -Hastings obligingly waited until he had reprimed. The second time the -pistol went off, but the ball flew wide. Hastings returned it very -deliberately and his enemy went down with a bullet in the right side. - -[Illustration: HIS ENEMY WENT DOWN WITH A BULLET IN THE RIGHT SIDE.] - -The difference between the two men may be seen from what followed. -After his adversary had been carried home, the Governor-General sent -him a friendly message offering to visit him and bury the hatchet for -good, as was customary in such affairs between gentlemen. Francis, not -being a gentleman, refused, and as soon as he was well enough to travel -he came home to England to injure by backstairs-intrigue and the most -unscrupulous lying and misrepresentation the man who, in the midst of -his difficulties and dangers, had proved all too strong for him in the -open. - -To use his own words, “after a service of thirty-five years from -its commencement, and almost thirteen of them passed in the charge -and exercise of the first nominal office of the government,” Warren -Hastings at last laid down his thankless task and came home to render -an account of his stewardship before a tribunal which possessed neither -adequate knowledge to judge of his actions nor that judicial spirit of -calmness and impartiality which could alone have guaranteed him such a -trial as English justice accords to the vilest criminal. - -His impeachment is not only the most notable but altogether the -most amazing trial in the history of British Law. It would be alike -superfluous and presumptuous to reproduce here an account of that which -has been described in the incomparable sentences of Lord Macaulay. His -essay on Warren Hastings has been considered by many to be the finest -of that magnificent collection of Essays and Reviews, and the story of -the Impeachment is undoubtedly the finest portion of it. Hence those -who read these lines cannot do better than read it as well. If they -have read it before they will simply be repeating a pleasure; if they -have not, then a new pleasure awaits them. - -What we are concerned with here are the bare facts of the matter; but -we may first pause for a moment to look at the man as he was when he -came across the world to face his mostly incompetent and prejudiced -judges. This is how his picture is drawn by Wraxall, a contemporary and -a personal acquaintance. The portrait is certainly more faithful than -the ridiculous caricatures drawn by Burke and Sheridan. - -“When he landed in his native country he had attained his fifty-second -year. In his person he was thin, but not tall, of a spare habit, very -bald, with a countenance placidly thoughtful, but when animated full -of intelligence. Placed in a situation where he might have amassed -immense wealth without exciting censure, he revisited England with -only a modest competence. In private life he was playful and gay to -a degree hardly conceivable; never carrying his political vexations -into the bosom of his family. Of a temper so buoyant and elastic that -the instant he quitted the council-board where he had been assailed by -every species of opposition, often heightened by personal acrimony, he -mixed in society like a youth upon whom care had never intruded.” - -Such was the man who, in a period of national dejection which almost -amounted to disgrace, came back, the one man of his generation who -had upheld the honour of the British name abroad in a post of great -difficulty and danger, to receive, not reward, but impeachment. - -He first faced his judges on February 13, 1788, “looking very infirm -and much indisposed, and dressed in a plain, poppy-coloured suit of -clothes.” He was finally acquitted on March 1, 1794! The trial thus -languished through seven sessions of Parliament, the total hearing -occupied one hundred and eighteen sittings of the Court, and the -vindication of his personal and official character from the slanders -of enemies, who were at last refuted with complete discredit to his -slanderers cost him about £100,000, of which no less than £75,000 were -actually certified legal costs--and this was the reward that England -gave to the one man who was capable of preserving to her the fruit of -the victories of Clive and his gallant lieutenants! - -Modern opinion, endorsed by the high legal authority of the late Sir -James Stephen, has completely rejected alike the personal vilifications -of such self-interested traitors as Francis and Clavering, and the -emotional special-pleading of Burke and Sheridan. - -“The impeachment of Warren Hastings,” he says, “is, I think, a blot on -the judicial history of the country. It was monstrous that a man should -be tortured at irregular intervals for seven years, in order that a -singularly incompetent tribunal might be addressed before an excited -audience by Burke and Sheridan, in language far removed from the -calmness with which an advocate for the prosecution ought to address a -criminal court.” - -To some extent Hastings was recouped for the cost of his persecution, -even if he was not rewarded for his distinguished services. He was -granted a pension of £4,000 a year for twenty-eight and a half years, -part paid in advance, and a loan of £50,000 free of interest. But -meanwhile he had been fulfilling the dream of his boyhood by buying -back his ancestral estate for £60,000, and another £60,000 was still -owing to the lawyers. - -Henceforth, disgusted, as he may well have been, with the ingratitude -of the country he had served so well in so difficult a time, he retired -to his old home and spent the remaining years of his life in the calm -pursuits of a country gentleman, diversified by the cultivation of -letters and the writing of verses. - -It was in these days that he used to tell his friends how, as a little -lad of seven, he had lain in the long grass on the banks of a stream -that flowed through the old domain of Dalesford and dreamt the wild -dream whose fulfilment had, after all, been stranger than the dream -itself--for not even his boyish romance could be compared with the -fact that, during the winning of the means to buy back the home of his -fathers, he had risen to be the actual ruler of something like fifty -millions of people, and the dictator of terms of peace and war to -princes who governed territories half as large as Europe and even more -populous. - -But in the end he outlived both his enemies and the discredit they had -tried to cast upon him. Two years before the battle of Waterloo he was -summoned before the Houses of Parliament in the evening of his days to -give evidence on the work of his manhood, and when he retired, after -nearly four hours’ examination, the whole crowded House of Commons rose -and stood uncovered and in silence as the old Empire-Keeper walked out -of the Chamber. - -He lived to see that empire, for which he had striven so painfully and -so manfully, redeemed by the genius and valour of Rodney and Nelson -and Wellington from the disgrace and degradation which had threatened -it during the last decades of the eighteenth century, and three years -after Waterloo he died. - -His remains lie in the family church at Dalesford, and, to once more -quote the words of Sir Alfred Lyall, “in Westminster Abbey a bust -and an inscription commemorate the name and career of a man who, -rising early to high place and power, held an office of the greatest -importance to his country for thirteen years, by sheer force of -character and tenaciousness against adversity, and who spent the next -seven years in defending himself before a nation which accepted the -benefits but disliked the ways of his too masterly activity.” - -Lord Macaulay, who throughout his famous essay does him less than -justice, concludes it by making almost generous amends. “Not only had -the poor orphan retrieved the fallen fortunes of his line--not only -had he re-purchased the old lands and rebuilt the old dwelling--he -had preserved and extended an empire.[1] He had founded a policy. He -had administered government and war with more than the capacity of -Richelieu. He patronised learning with the judicious liberality of -Cosmo. He had been attacked by the most formidable combination of -enemies that ever sought the destruction of a single victim; and over -that combination, after a struggle of ten years, he had triumphed. He -had at length gone down to his grave in the fulness of age, in peace -after so many troubles, in honour after so much obloquy.” - - [1] In the territorial sense this is hardly correct. The - great essayist probably meant extension in the sense - of increase of prestige and influence over the still - independent states of the Peninsula. - - - - -IX - -_NELSON_ - -“_ENGLAND EXPECTS THAT EVERY MAN WILL DO HIS DUTY._” - - - - -IX - -NELSON - - -I am conscious of more difficulties ahead in beginning this sketch -than I have felt with regard to any other of the series, for, while on -the one hand it would be absurd to omit from the glorious ranks of our -Empire-Makers the most glorious of them all, it is at the same time -practically impossible to say anything fresh or even anything that is -not very generally known about the man who, however much he may once -have been slighted, and however inadequately his earlier services may -have been rewarded during his life, has now come to be the idol of the -country that he saved from invasion and the Empire that he preserved -from destruction. - -His life has been written and re-written, his character and his actions -have been discussed and rediscussed, the most private acts and thoughts -of his life have been dragged out into the full glare of publicity--a -fate which any great man would have to be a very great sinner to -deserve--but when all this has been said and done there remains a -single, sharply-defined individuality of this incomparable naval -captain whom the whole world now acknowledges and reveres, quite apart -from all national considerations, as the greatest sailor who ever trod -a deck and the greatest naval strategist who ever planned a battle or -took a fleet into action. - -It has been said that when a nation is on the brink of ruin the Fates -either hasten its end or send some great man to restore its fortunes. -It certainly was thus with the Britain of Nelson’s early youth. On the -17th of October, 1781, Lord Hawke, the victor of Quiberon Bay, and the -last of the great line of seamen of whom Admiral Blake was the first, -died, leaving, as Horace Walpole said the next day in the House of -Commons, his mantle to nobody. - -Apparently, there was no one worthy to wear it. The fortunes of England -were indeed at a low ebb. Both her naval and military prestige had very -seriously declined. The American colonies had been lost by the worst -of statesmanship at home and the worst of bungling incompetence and -cowardice abroad. We had been beaten by the raw colonists on land and -by the French and Dutch at sea. - -At home the very highest circles of the realm were polluted by such -corruption and crippled by such imbecility as would be absolutely -incredible to us now, Imagine, for instance, what would be thought -to-day of the post of Secretary of State for War being given to a man -who had been explicitly declared by a court martial to be absolutely -incapable of serving his country in any military capacity!--and yet -this is only one example out of many of the flagrant abuses of this -amazingly disgraceful period. - -Happily, however, for the honour of the race and the safety of the -Empire there had been born, twenty-three years before to a country -parson in Norfolk, a boy, the fifth in a family of eleven, who fourteen -years later was destined to die in the moment of victory, happy in the -knowledge that he had not left his country a single enemy to fight -throughout the length and breadth of the High Seas. When Horace Walpole -spoke his panegyric on Lord Hawke he would probably have been very much -surprised if he had been told that it was this then insignificant and -unknown cousin of his own who was not only to take up the mantle of the -hero of Quiberon, but to bequeath it in his turn, not to a rival or a -successor, but to the country which his last triumph left mistress of -the seas. - -Although there doesn’t seem to be any direct proof, it may be admitted -that there is sufficiently strong presumption to warrant us in -believing, if we choose to do so, that Horatio Nelson, son of the Rev. -Edmund Nelson, Rector of Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk, could one way or -another have traced a lineage back to the old Sea Kings of the North. - -Certainly he must have had some of the blood of those who fought -the Armada in his veins, and it is noteworthy that a Danish poet in -celebrating his valour, wisdom, and clemency during and after the great -battle of Copenhagen, attempted to soothe the wounded pride of his -countrymen by pointing out that Nelson was indubitably a Danish name -and that after all they had only been beaten by the descendant of one -of their old Sea Kings. - -But however this may be, the immediate facts all show that the man who -crowned and completed the work which Francis Drake and his brother -pirates began came of a stock that seemed to promise but little in the -way of hereditary battle-winning. - -Every one on his father’s side appears either to have been a parson or -to have married one. His mother’s father was a parson too, but happily -she had a brother Maurice who was a captain in the Navy, and had done -some very good work at a time when good work was badly wanted. - -This gallant sailor was a great grand-nephew of Sir John Suckling, -the poet, and it may be noticed, in passing, that on the 21st of -October, 1757, the day which we now know as the anniversary of -Trafalgar--Captain Maurice Suckling in the _Dreadnought_, in company -with two other sixty-gun ships, attacked seven large French men-of-war -off Cape François in the West Indies, and gave them such a hammering -that they were very thankful for the wind which enabled them to escape. - -But still more noteworthy is the opinion of Captain Maurice Suckling of -his nephew when he first received his father’s request to give him a -place on board his ship. - -“What,” he wrote in reply to the application, “has poor Horatio done, -who is so weak, that he above all the rest should be sent to rough it -out at sea? But let him come, and the first time we go into action a -cannon-ball may knock off his head and provide for him at once.” - -The weakness here somewhat grimly alluded to was the curse of Nelson’s -existence from the day that he first set foot on the deck of a ship to -the moment when the bullet from the mizen-top of the _Redoubtable_ made -his almost constant bodily suffering a matter of minutes. - -His physical infirmities, or at any rate the weakness of his body -as compared with the vast strength and tireless energy of his mind, -bring him into very close relationship with William of Orange. Putting -nationality aside, he was, in fact, on the sea what William was on -land, and the central point in his policy was also the same--tireless -and unsparing hostility to France. - -With Nelson, indeed, this appears to have gone very near to the borders -of fanaticism. Some of his sayings with regard to the Frenchmen of his -day are absolutely ferocious. Hatred and contempt are about equally -blended in them. “Hate a Frenchman as you would hate the devil!” was -with him an axiom and was his usual form of advice to midshipmen on -entering the service. - -On one occasion in the Mediterranean he said to one of his captains who -had got into a dispute about the property which the defeated French -garrison at Gaieta were to be allowed to take away with them: - -“I am sorry that you had any altercation with them. There is no way to -deal with a Frenchman but to knock him down. To be civil to him is only -to be laughed at when they are enemies.” - -The same spirit breathes through nearly all his letters. Thus, for -instance, he concluded a letter to the British Minister at Vienna with -these words: “_Down, down with the French_ ought to be written in the -council-room of every country in the world, and may Almighty God give -right thoughts to every sovereign is my constant prayer.” - -He seems to have had respect for every other enemy that he met; but for -the French he had nothing save contemptuous and unsparing hostility. -“Close with a Frenchman, but out-manœuvre a Russian” was another of his -favourite sayings. This, it is to be hoped, is all past and gone; but -it is instructive as giving us the key, not only to Nelson’s policy, -but also to that spirit which made the British man-of-warsmen of the -day absolutely prefer to fight the French at long odds than on even -terms. - -It was this spirit which was embodied in another of Nelson’s pet -phrases: “Any Englishman is worth three Frenchmen.” Of course that -would be all nonsense now; but in justice to our neighbours it ought to -be remembered that the Frenchmen whom Nelson and his sailors met and -conquered were the worst and not the best of their nation. - -The old navy of France, the navy which had commanded the Eastern -Seas in the days of Clive and which had with impunity insulted the -English shores and brought an invading force into Ireland in the time -of William the Third no longer existed. It had been essentially an -aristocratic service like our own, its officers were gentlemen and -thorough sailors, and its seamen were brave, disciplined, and obedient. - -But in her blood-drunkenness France had either murdered or banished -nearly every man who was fit to command a ship or who knew how to -point a gun. The fleets of revolutionary France were for the most part -commanded by ignoramuses or poltroons, or both, and manned by a rabble -who had neither stamina, training, or discipline. - -Without the slightest wish to detract from the splendour of the -victories of Nelson or his comrades, I still think it is only fair to -point out again, as has once or twice been done before, that when we -read of French Admirals declining battle even when they had superior -force, or of running away before the battle was over, or of a small -British squadron crumpling up a whole fleet with very trifling loss to -itself, we ought to remember that the French Admirals had little or no -confidence in their officers, while the officers had still less either -in their admirals or their men. - -On the other hand, such a man as Nelson, Collingwood, or Hardy had -simply to say that he was going to do a certain thing to convince every -one serving under him that it was about as good as already done. - -This brings me naturally to one of Nelson’s most striking -characteristics. No man who rose to distinction in the Navy was ever -guilty of so many barefaced acts of insubordination as he was. Happily -for him and for us his disobedience or neglect of orders was always -justified by victory. The genius for supreme command, which was far -and away the strongest point in his character, manifested itself very -early in his career. The event proved that he was the superior of every -naval officer then afloat, whether admiral or midshipman, and he seemed -instinctively to know it. - -When he was commanding the old _Agamemnon_ in the Mediterranean, at -the time when it was in dispute whether Corsica should fall under the -rule of France or Britain, he fought two French ships, the _Ça Ira_ -and the _Sans Culottes_, for a whole day and beat them. The next day a -sort of general action was fought, Admiral Hotham being in command of -the British fleet. Nelson naturally wanted a fight to a finish, but -the Admiral was content with the capture of two ships and the flight of -the rest, and in reply to Nelson’s remonstrances he said: “We must be -contented. We have done very well.” - -In a letter home on the subject of this action, Nelson penned -a sentence which was at once prophetic in itself and closely -characteristic of the writer. It was this: “I wish to be an Admiral and -in command of the English fleet. I should very soon either do much or -be ruined. My disposition cannot bear tame and slow measures. Sure I am -had I commanded on the 14th, that either the whole French fleet would -have graced my triumph or I should have been in a confounded scrape.” - -That is Nelson’s mental portrait drawn by himself. No half measures -would ever do for him, and in most of the letters that he sent home -from his various scenes of action, whether they were written to his -wife, his private friends, or the Lords of the Admiralty, we find -the constant complaint, made with an insistence amounting almost to -petulance, that when he saw complete triumph within his grasp his -superiors either would not help him to secure it or forced him to be -content with a mere temporary advantage. - -Under such circumstances it was only natural that such a man should now -and then break loose. He saw quite plainly that there were confused -councils at home, and timid tactics afloat. He saw also that under -Napoleon the power of France was growing every day. - -The Board of Admiralty was apparently both corrupt and incompetent. The -Mediterranean fleet had been so shamefully neglected that after Nelson -had fought an action off Toulon even he was afraid to risk another -without the certainty of victory because there was “not so much as -a mast to be had east of Gibraltar,” and he could not possibly have -re-fitted his ships. It was about this time that he said in one of his -letters home: - -“I am acting, not only without the orders of my commander-in-chief, but -in some measure contrary to him.” - -If the authorities at home had only had the same opinion of his -abilities as those had who were able to watch his operations on the -spot, and particularly in Italy, it is quite possible that the whole -history of Europe might have been changed and that Napoleon would never -have won that series of brilliant victories which cost such an infinity -of blood and treasure, and which bore no fruits but such as resembled -all too closely the fabled Dead Sea apples. - -Nelson’s patriotism may have been of a somewhat narrow-minded order, -and his hatred of the French may have partaken somewhat of the nature -of bigotry, but there can be no doubt that he was the one man in Europe -who saw what was coming and had the ability, if he had only had the -power, to save the world from the horrors of the Napoleonic wars. - -Thus, for instance, if his advice had been taken, the splendid victory -of Aboukir Bay might have been turned into the decisive battle of the -war which only ended with Waterloo. As it was, he to some extent took -the law into his own hands. He saw perfectly well that Napoleon’s -ultimate point of attack was not Egypt but India. He sent an officer -with dispatches to the Governor of Bombay, advising him of the defeat -of the French Fleet, and in this dispatch he said: - -“I know that Bombay was their first object if they could get there, but -I trust that now Almighty God will overthrow in Egypt these pests of -the human race. Buonaparte has never yet had to contend with an English -officer, and I shall endeavour to make him respect us.” - -In another dispatch to the Admiralty he taught a lesson which we have -only lately begun to learn. In those days of the old wooden-walls the -handy, light-heeled frigate was to the ships of the line what the swift -cruisers of to-day are to the big battleships. They were the eyes -and ears of the fleet, and they could be sent on errands which were -impossible to the huge three-deckers. After the battle of the Nile was -won he said in this dispatch: - -“Were I to die this moment _want of frigates_ would be found stamped -on my heart. No words of mine can express what I have suffered, and am -suffering, for want of them.” - -The inner meaning of these bitter words was one of vast importance, -not only to Britain, but to all Europe. They meant really that the -most splendid victory that had so far been won at sea had been robbed -of half its results. For want of the lighter craft, even of a few -bomb-vessels and fire-ships which he had implored the authorities to -send him, Napoleon’s store-ships and transports in the harbour of -Alexandria escaped attack and certain destruction. - -Their destruction would have enabled Nelson to carry out the policy -which his genius had told him was the only true one to pursue at this -momentous crisis. He would have cut off Napoleon’s communications and -deprived him of his supplies. Then he would have blockaded the Egyptian -Coast and left the future conqueror of Austerlitz to perish amidst the -sands of Egypt. As he said to himself: “To Egypt they went with their -own consent, and there they shall remain while Nelson commands this -squadron--for never, never will he consent to the return of one ship or -Frenchman. I wish them to perish in Egypt and give an awful lesson to -the world of the justice of the Almighty.” - -This was a pitiless pronouncement, but no one who has read the history -of the Napoleonic wars can doubt the accuracy of Nelson’s foresight or -the true humanity of his policy, for, if this had happened only a few -thousands out of the five million lives which these wars are computed -to have cost would have been lost. There would have been no Austerlitz, -or Wagram, or Jena for France to boast of; but, on the other hand, -there would have been no Leipsic, no Moscow, and no Waterloo. - -As usual, however, Nelson, although he had magnificently restored the -credit of the British arms at sea, was crippled by shortness of means -and baulked by the stupidity and incompetence of his masters at home. -Sir Sidney Smith’s policy was preferred to his, with the result that -Napoleon was permitted to desert his army and live to become the curse -of Europe for the next seventeen years. - -But, if he did not do all he wanted to do, when Nelson won the battle -of the Nile he completely established his claim to be considered one -of the Empire-makers of Britain, for if he had not followed the French -with that unerring judgment of his, and if he had not, in defiance of -all accepted naval tactics, attacked them in what was considered to be -an unassailable position--that is to say, moored off shore in two lines -with both ends protected by batteries--all the work that Clive and -Hastings had done in India might have been undone, and, considering the -miserable state of our national defences, we might either have lost -India or had to wage such an exhausting war for it that we could not -possibly have taken the decisive share that we afterwards did in the -overthrow of the French power. - -As he said in one of his most famous utterances while the British fleet -was streaming into the bay: “Where there is room for a Frenchman to -swing, there is room for an Englishman to get alongside him.” - -That was Nelson. His idea was always to get alongside, to get as close -as possible to the enemy and to hit him as hard as he could. Mere -defeat was not enough for him. He wanted a fight to a finish, the -finish being the absolute destruction or capture of the hostile force. - -This was not because there was anything particularly ferocious in his -nature. On the contrary, a more tender-hearted man never lived. - -Before that one defeat of his at Teneriffe when he lost his arm, he -wrote to his Commander-in-chief--this letter, by the way, was the last -he ever wrote with his right hand--expressing solicitude for everybody -but himself. None knew better than he the desperate nature of the -venture, for in this very letter he said that on the morrow his head -would probably be crowned either with laurel or cypress, and the last -thing he did before he left his ship was to call his stepson to help -him in burning his wife’s letters, and then ordered him to remain -behind, saying: “Should we both fall, what would become of your poor -mother?” - -Happily Lieutenant Nisbet disobeyed the order to his face and went. -When the bullet shattered Nelson’s arm at the elbow, it was his stepson -who had the presence of mind to whip off his silk handkerchief and bind -it round above the wound. But for this, Nelson would never have fought -another battle, for he must have bled to death before he reached his -ship. - -It so happened that he could have been put much sooner on board the -_Sea Horse_, but her commander, Captain Freemantle, was still on shore, -and, for all he knew, might be dead or alive. His wife was on board -the _Sea Horse_, and Nelson, wounded and bleeding as he was, insisted -on going on, saying: “I would rather suffer death than alarm Mrs. -Freemantle by letting her see me in this state when I can give her no -tidings of her husband.” Freemantle, as it turned out, had been wounded -in almost exactly the same place only a few minutes before. - -When Nelson got back to his own ship, he would not hear of being slung -or carried up on deck. - -“I’ve got one arm and two legs left,” he said, “and I’ll get up by -myself.” - -And so he did, and up a single rope at that. In a strong man this -would have been wonderful; in a mere weakling as Nelson physically was, -it was little short of a miracle. - -This was the man who, in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, with an -utterly disabled ship, boarded and took two Spanish men-of-war both -bigger than his own. One of them had eighty and the other a hundred and -twelve guns; his own only mounted seventy-four. - -It is, of course, entirely out of the question that in such a mere -sketch as this I should attempt to follow Nelson through even a -moderate proportion of the hundred and five engagements in which he -personally fought, nor would it be fitting that I should attempt to -emulate the brilliant and detailed descriptions which have illustrated -the principal of them. - -With his doings at Naples and Palermo, and his much-debated and -inexplicable attachment to Lady Hamilton which unhappily began during -this period, we have here no concern. The hero of the Nile, like every -other great man, had his faults. Those who cavil at them are really -blaming their possessors for not being perfect, for if really great -men had no faults they would be perfect, and that is impossible, -and, so much being said, the scene may now shift forthwith from the -Mediterranean to the Baltic. - -The Armed Neutrality is now only a phrase in history, but in the year -1801 it was a very serious reality. It was a league between Russia, -Sweden, and Denmark. From the English point of view it meant this--that -France, with whom we had now practically embarked in a struggle to the -death, would be able, under the sanction of this league, to import from -the shores of the Baltic the very articles that we did not wish her to -have, and which she couldn’t get elsewhere. These were naval stores, -pine-trees for masts and spars, hemp for rigging, tar, and so on. - -It was very easy to see that this Armed Neutrality meant in plain -English that these three Powers were quite agreeable to the smashing-up -of Great Britain by France provided that they were not called upon to -pay any of the expenses or suffer any of the other losses of the war. -Denmark was therefore politely but firmly requested to detach herself -from this league, the reason being that Denmark in those days kept -the key of the Baltic. Denmark refused, and unhappily for her she did -so just at the time when the Victor of the Nile had come home for a -well-earned holiday. - -We are not accustomed now, in the pride of our unequalled naval -strength, to take very much account of the fleets of these three -countries, but just before the Battle of the Baltic was fought it was a -very different matter. - -The Danes had twenty-three line-of-battle ships and thirty-one -frigates, not counting bomb-vessels and guard-ships. Sweden had -eighteen ships of the line, fourteen frigates and sloops and -seventy-four galleys, as well as a small swarm of gun-boats, while -Russia could put to sea eighty-two line-of-battle ships and forty-two -frigates. - -Such a force within the narrow waters of the Baltic was a very -formidable one, but before we can arrive at a just appreciation of -the magnificence and importance of the service which Nelson did for -his country we must remember that of all European waters those of the -Baltic, and especially of the approaches to it, are the most difficult -and dangerous. Even with the aid of steam it would be no light matter -to take a fleet into the Baltic under the guns of Elsinore and Kronberg -were the lamps of the lighthouses extinguished and all the buoys -removed. - -What then must it have been to go in with a fleet of sailing ships -utterly at the mercy of wind and current, to say nothing of the ice? -Indeed, Southey tells us that when Nelson went to Yarmouth to join the -fleet under Admiral Sir Hyde-Parker he found him a little nervous about -dark nights and ice-floes. - -His own remarks on the subject are very well worthy of remembrance: -“These are not times for nervous systems,” he said. “I hope we shall -give our northern enemies that hailstorm of bullets which gives our -dear country the dominion of the sea. We have it and all the devils in -the North cannot take it from us if our wooden walls have fair play.” - -It was a most egregious mistake not to have made the Victor of the -Nile and the Conqueror of the Mediterranean commander-in-chief of the -Northern Squadron. His fame was already resounding through the world, -and every one except the Lords of the Admiralty seems to have already -recognised the fact that he was by far the finest sailor of the age. - -Here again, too, officialism at home sadly crippled the work of valour -and genius abroad. As usual Nelson had his own plans, and as usual -they were the very best possible. His idea was to attack the Russian -Squadron in Reval and the Danish in Copenhagen simultaneously, and by -preventing their coalition make it too risky for the Swedes to join in. - -Captain Mahan, who is certainly entitled to be considered one of the -foremost naval authorities of the day, describes Nelson’s plan of -attack as worthy of Napoleon himself, and says that if adopted it -“would have brought down the Baltic Confederacy with a crash that would -have resounded throughout Europe.” As it was, more timid counsels -prevailed, but thanks to Nelson the end was the same, or nearly so. - -We may gather some notion of the difficulty of getting on to the scene -of battle when we read that no less than three English line-of-battle -ships went aground before the battle began, and we also get an -interesting glimpse of that old hand-to-hand style of naval warfare -which has now passed away for ever, when we are told that the ships -opened fire at a range of two hundred yards! Nowadays firing would -begin at between three and four thousand. If two modern fleets were to -get to business at that range the said business would probably consist -of one broadside from each, one discharge of the big guns, and after -that general wreck and ruin. It is not likely that either side would -win, and it is certain that both sides would lose. - -From ten to one the battle raged fast and furious, and so much damage -had been done on the English side that Sir Hyde-Parker made a signal -to leave off action. It was at this moment that Nelson uttered those -immortal words, which were destined to be as famous even as his signal -at Trafalgar: - -“What? Leave off action? No, damn me if I do! You know, Foley, I have -a right to be blind sometimes. No, I really don’t see the signal. Fire -away!” - -Those were days of hard swearing as well as hard hitting, and, -considering all the circumstances, even the purest of modern purists -may forgive a little vehemence of expression to the man who that day -did such good work, not only for our grandfathers, but for us and our -children. - -[Illustration: NELSON AT COPENHAGEN.] - -An hour or so later Nelson performed one of the most memorable actions -even of his life. The Danish ships and floating batteries were moored -in-shore. The fire of the English guns was, as usual, terribly -accurate, but as fast as the Danes were shot down, fresh crews were put -on board the ships, and Nelson very soon saw that this simply meant -butchery as long as a Danish ship floated. - -Consequently he sat down and wrote a note to the Crown Prince of -Denmark which he sent on shore under a flag of truce. This was the -letter: - -“Lord Nelson has directions to spare Denmark when no longer resisting, -but if the firing is continued on the part of Denmark, Lord Nelson -will be obliged to set on fire all the floating batteries he has taken -without having the power of saving the brave Danes who have defended -them.” - -The result of this letter was a truce, and the truce led to an -armistice and the separation of Denmark from the Armed Neutrality. -This was very different treatment, we may well imagine, to anything -that the French might have expected. In their case he considered -extermination to be the only remedy for the disease which in his eyes -they represented on earth. - -It was curious that after such a day’s work this man, who had probably -saved Europe from one of the greatest menaces that ever threatened it, -should go back to his cabin and copy out love verses to send to Lady -Hamilton--and yet that is just what he did, and at the end of them he -wrote: “_St. George_, April 2nd, 1801, at 9 o’clock at night. Very -tired after a hard fought battle.” - -The Battle of Copenhagen and the death of the Tsar Paul put an end -to the Northern Confederacy and to all the hopes of France in that -direction. But Nelson was not satisfied, for the Russian fleet had -escaped. He was, however, in some measure consoled by the recall of -Sir Hyde-Parker and the realisation of his old ambition by his own -appointment as commander-in-chief. - -His next service was as commander of a sort of patrol fleet on the East -Coast. Those were the days of the great invasion scare. Nelson never -believed in it. In one of his letters to Lord Addington on the subject -he said: - -“What a forlorn undertaking! It is perfectly right to be prepared -against a mad government, but with the active force your lordship has -given me I may pronounce it impracticable.” - -Soon after this, preliminaries of peace were signed, and to Nelson’s -intense disgust the French Ambassador was enthusiastically received in -London. Writing to his physician soon after he said: - -“Can you cure madness? for I am mad that our damned scoundrels dragged -the Frenchman’s carriage. I am ashamed for my country.” - -The Peace was hollow and brief, for the mastery of the sea was not -yet decided, and by the middle of 1803 we find Nelson back in the -Mediterranean, not blockading Toulon, but rather trying to tempt the -French out to a battle. - -He even went so far as to appear to run away, and the French Admiral, -Latouche-Treville, promptly wrote a letter giving a most glowing -account of how he had chased the English away from Toulon. The idea of -a Frenchman daring to say such a thing naturally made Nelson furious. -Writing about it to his brother he said: - -“If this fleet gets fairly up with M. Latouche his letter with all his -ingenuity must be different from his last. We had fancied that we had -chased him into Toulon, but from the time of his meeting Captain Hawker -of the _Isis_ I never heard of his acting otherwise than as a poltroon -and a liar. I am keeping his letter, and if I take him by God he shall -eat it.” - -This amiable design, however, the French Admiral baulked by dying, and -when Nelson heard the news he remarked half-angrily: “He is gone, and -all his lies with him.” - -That is what he thought of the Admiral. This is what he thought of the -fleet: “The French fleet yesterday was to appearance in high feather -and as fine as paint could make them. Our weather-beaten ships, I have -no fear, will make their sides like a plum-pudding.” - -The interval between the ending of the Toulon blockade and the -Battle of Trafalgar was filled chiefly by what may be described as -a huge naval hunt. On the one hand, there were three French fleets -manœuvring to get out and come together in the Channel with the object -of overwhelming any English force that might try to prevent the -embarkation of the Grand Army at Boulogne. But they had another object, -and that was to get as far as possible out of Nelson’s way. - -The first idea was to make a feint at the West Indies, and so away went -Admiral Villeneuve with his fleet across the Atlantic, and away went -Nelson post-haste after him. He got to the West Indies only to find -that the Frenchmen had doubled on their tracks and gone back again, and -so he immediately turned the prows of his weather-beaten and almost -unseaworthy ships to the eastward, and for the second time chased the -French across the Atlantic. But he missed them again, and on July 20, -1805, Nelson made an entry in his diary to the effect that he had that -day gone ashore at Gibraltar--the first time that he had left the -_Victory_ for two years all but ten days! - -From Gibraltar he came home and spent a few weeks of rest at Merton, -the estate which he had bought in Surrey. During this time a momentous -naval duel was fought in the Channel. Admiral Villeneuve had sent some -very important dispatches containing the plans for the concentration -of the French and Spanish fleets to the commander of the Rochefort -squadron by the _Didon_, a forty-four-gun frigate; but on her way the -_Didon_ was met by the _Phœnix_, an English forty-gun frigate which, -after the fashion of the times, proceeded to pound her to helplessness, -then ran alongside and carried her by the board in the good old -style. The result of this was that Villeneuve gave up all hope of the -concentration and retreated to Cadiz, where he anchored on August 17th. - -Admiral Collingwood, in command of the Atlantic squadron, at once -sent off the frigate _Euryalus_ home with news. She dropped anchor at -Spithead on the 1st of September. At five o’clock the next morning her -captain presented himself at Merton and found Nelson already up and -dressed. The moment Captain Blackwood entered the room Nelson’s face -lit up and he said: - -“I’m sure you bring me news of the French and Spanish fleets and -I think I shall have to give them a beating yet. Depend upon it, -Blackwood, I shall yet give Mr. Villeneuve a drubbing.” - -He left for London the same day to consult with the Admiralty, and it -was on one of the visits that he then paid to the Secretary of State -that he met for a few minutes--and for the only time in his life--the -man whose name was destined to be linked with his in everlasting fame. -This was Arthur Wellesley, some day to be Duke of Wellington, who was -to do for the French on land what Nelson had been doing for them at sea. - -Sir Arthur came away with a curious opinion of the little, pale, -nervous, fidgety, one-armed man, who had won the two greatest battles -in the history of naval warfare, and was about to surpass himself by -winning yet a greater one. - -From one point of view he was a vain, boastful, and somewhat womanish -little man. From another, he was not only a great leader of men, but -a statesman to boot. On the whole, the future Iron Duke came to the -conclusion that the Hero of the Nile was “a very superior person.” - -Nelson’s opinion of Wellington is unhappily lost to posterity. One can -imagine the sort of language he would have used if any one had told him -that a soldier had ventured to call him “a superior person.” - -“For charity’s sake, send us Lord Nelson, ye men of power.” Such -was the prayer of Captain Codrington of the _Orion_, serving with -Collingwood’s fleet off Cadiz. But by the time this letter got home -Nelson was with the fleet, and it is worthy of note that he reached the -last and most glorious of his hundred battlefields on his birthday, the -twenty-ninth of September. - -The first thing that he did was to send home for more ships, not -because he wasn’t ready to fight the French with what he had, but -simply in pursuance of his constant policy with regard to them. In his -dispatch to the Admiralty he said: - -“Should they come out, I shall immediately bring them to battle, but -though I should not doubt of spoiling any voyage they may attempt, yet -I hope for the arrival of the ships from England that as an enemy’s -fleet they may be annihilated.” - -In a private letter which he wrote at the same time he said: - -“It is annihilation that the country wants and not merely a splendid -victory of twenty-three to thirty-six--honourable to the parties -concerned, but absolutely useless in the extended scale to bring -Buonaparte to his marrow-bones. Numbers can only annihilate. Therefore -I hope the Admiralty will send the fixed force as soon as possible.” - -He hoped for forty sail of the line, but when the ever memorable -morning of the 21st had dawned he was only able to muster twenty-seven -against thirty-three. At half-past eleven the famous signal: “England -expects that every man will do his duty!” flew from the main-royal of -the _Victory_. - -I have no intention of attempting to re-write the thousand-times told -tale of Trafalgar or of the disaster which plunged the nation into -mourning in the midst of the exultation of triumph, for to do so would -be alike superfluous and impertinent. Let it be enough to point out -that the firing of the first gun marked the moment that Nelson had -lived and fought for. - -He was Commander-in-chief, as he had so often prayed to be, of the -British Fleet, and there in front of him was the last fleet of any -strength that his hated enemy France could muster. The battle, like the -triumph, was his and his alone. Every man who that day did his duty -fought by Nelson’s directions and, as it were, under Nelson’s eye, and -never was victory more complete or defeat more crushing. - -When it was over eighteen out of the thirty-three French and Spanish -ships had been captured, and finally only eleven got back to Cadiz so -shattered that they never again took the sea as men-of-war. - -The crowning triumph of Nelson’s life left Britain without a rival so -far as the mastery of the sea was concerned and threw the way open for -conquest and colonisation in all parts of the world. Well might the -great Admiral say when he lay dying in Captain Hardy’s arms: “Thank -God, I’ve done my duty!” - -No man ever died with nobler or more truly spoken words on his lips -than these, for he had not only given his country the empire of the -sea, but he had saved her from invasion by one who was perhaps the -greatest military genius the world has known. - -On the heights above Boulogne there stands a tall column surmounted -by a figure of Napoleon. It was raised to commemorate the assembly of -the Grand Army--that army which during the next ten years swept in an -irresistible torrent of conquest from one end of Europe to the other. -Napoleon’s back is turned on the white cliffs of England. If Nelson had -never lived, he might have been facing the other way. - - - - -X - -_WELLINGTON_ - -“_THE PRIDE AND THE GENIUS OF HIS COUNTRY._” - - --QUEEN VICTORIA. - - - - -X - -WELLINGTON - - -There is a very considerable amount of uncertainty, and there are -also a few somewhat remarkable coincidences associated with the early -youth of Arthur Wesley, better known to fame under the expanded form -Wellesley, son of Garret, Earl of Mornington, and his wife Ann Hill, -one of the daughters of Lord Dungannon. - -It is somewhat singular, for instance, that the birthday of a child -born in such a position should not be known within a day or two. His -mother, who ought to have spoken with authority, said that the future -conqueror of the great Napoleon entered the world on May-Day, 1769. - -The date on his baptismal certificate is the 30th of May, and -twenty-one years later a committee of the Irish House of Commons, to -which he had just been elected, investigated the question on a petition -which sought to show that he was not of full age, and this committee -decided that he was born on or before the 29th of April. With regard -to this latter date, however, it has been suggested that with the -money and influence that he had behind him there would have been no -difficulty in getting the Irish Parliament of those days to make him -any age that he pleased. - -But these things are only trifles. The fact of moment to the world is -that Arthur Wellesley managed to get born into the world some three -months before a certain other boy-baby was born at Ajaccio in Corsica. -No one, of course, dreamt then that these two babies were going to grow -up into Titans whose final struggle for the mastery of Europe was to -shake the world forty-six years later. - -There is perhaps no more noteworthy coincidence in modern history -than the fact that Nelson, Wellington, and Napoleon should all have -been born about the same time--for without Nelson’s victories at sea, -Napoleon would in all probability have been irresistible on land, -while, without Wellington’s splendid conduct of the Peninsular War, the -crowning victory of Waterloo would perhaps never have been won, and so -at least half the effects of Nelson’s hundred and five fights would -have been destroyed. - -This is all the more singular from the fact that nothing within the -limits of human probability save the supreme genius and individual -capacity of this Englishman and this Anglo-Irishman could possibly have -stemmed the tide of Napoleonic conquest. - -As I have pointed out in another of these sketches, the last decade but -one of the eighteenth century was one of disaster and degradation for -this country both at home and abroad. The national strength was sapped -by corruption, and the national spirit was daunted by defeat. - -The history of the next thirty or forty years distinctly shows that we -had but one Nelson at sea, and but one Wellington on land. If they had -been born a quarter of a century later, or even if they had not both -come into the world about the same time as their mighty antagonist, the -map of Europe would certainly be very different to what it is to-day, -and it is also fairly safe to say that the map of the world would not -now show nearly as much red as it does. - -Arthur Wellesley, like certain others of our Empire-Makers who will -be remembered, was a delicate, weakly boy and also, curiously enough, -a dunce at school. As far as we know he was first sent to a school at -Chelsea, whence in due course he went to Eton. Now there came a time -when Eton was very proud indeed of being his Alma-Mater; but when she -came to look back to see if she could remember anything about him she -found that his career was absolutely undistinguished. - -There was only one incident in it all that any one remembered, and that -was a fight that he had had with one Bob or “Bobus” Smith, of whom also -nothing is known save the fact that he had a brother who was afterwards -known to the world as Sydney Smith--not the defender of Acre, but the -clerical humourist who divided the human race into three sexes: Men, -women, and curates. - -It would seem that he was all along intended for the army, for when his -undistinguished career at Eton had closed he went to a French military -school at Angers, somewhere about the same time that a certain young -cadet of Artillery was beginning to learn his business in Toulon. Here, -again, we get very dim glimpses of the future conqueror, Empire-Maker, -and preserver. One of them, however, is fairly distinct. He had a -little terrier called Vick to which he was a great deal more attentive -than he was to his studies and which repaid his attention by constant -and unswerving devotion. - -When he left Angers is not known to a year or so, but in 1787 we come -across something definite, for in this year Arthur Wesley, as he still -spelt himself, was gazetted as ensign to His Majesty’s 73rd Regiment of -Foot. - -He now stood on the lowest of the gentlemanly rungs of the military -ladder and his upward progress was for a time somewhat bewildering. -Those were the days when money and social and political influence, -which came to about the same thing, did everything in the Army, the -Navy, the Church, and everywhere else, and, curiously enough, this -apparently absurd system produced the finest array of soldiers and -sailors that has ever adorned the annals of our empire. There are, -indeed, certain blasphemers who venture to suggest that it worked -quite as well as our much-boasted compound of mechanical cramming and -competitive examination does now. - -But, be this as it may, Arthur Wesley’s first steps up the ladder were -distinctly erratic. First he became a lieutenant of the 76th and 41st, -then a sub. in the 12th Light Dragoons, then a captain in the 58th -Foot, then captain of the 18th Light Dragoons, and so on till by the -autumn of 1793, when he had reached the mature age of twenty-four, he -was gazetted lieutenant-colonel of the 33rd Foot. - -There were two reasons for this rapid promotion. The first undoubtedly -is the fact that his elder brother Richard was now Earl of Mornington -and a wealthy man and a social power to boot. The second, as Mr. George -Hooper in his excellent biography suggests, is probably the perception -by his brother of qualities which so far nobody else had discovered. - -How far his Lordship was justified was speedily shown when in -1793--which the historical reader will note was the date of the driving -out of the English and Royalists from Toulon by the well-directed guns -of Citizen Buonaparte--he was given the command of the 33rd Foot. A few -months later the 33rd was officially recognised as the most effective -regiment on the Irish establishment. - -The next year Lieutenant-Colonel Wesley saw his first active service. -It was not an encouraging experience, but it was sufficient to show the -sort of stuff that the future Iron Duke was made of. The allied armies -in the Netherlands, with the English under the Duke of York among them, -were retreating after a series of disasters before the triumphant -onrush of the French legions. - -Near the town of Boxtell the retreat began to get uncomfortably like -a rout. Horse and foot were getting mixed up in a narrow lane and the -French, seeing this, were getting ready to charge into them; whereupon -Colonel Wesley planted his men skilfully across the mouth of the lane -and, when the French charged, the well-drilled 33rd stood so steadily -and used their muskets with such deadly precision that the French -thought better of it and the pursuit stopped there and then. - -That was the young Colonel’s first experience of actual war. It was -also the first check the French had so far received in the Netherlands, -which is also significant in the light of after events. - -After that he commanded the rear-guard in the retreat to the British -transports at Bremen. He did his duty as well as the hopeless -carelessness and incompetency of those over and above him permitted. -“It was a perfect marvel,” he said afterwards, “how a single man of us -escaped,” from which it will be gathered that British military genius -and discipline were somewhat at a discount during the campaign which -we may regard as the prelude to the stupendous struggle which was to -culminate on the field of Waterloo. - -When Colonel Wesley got home he did a very curious thing. He asked to -be allowed to resign his commission and to be given some post, however -humble, in the Civil Service. It is easy to see from his letter of -application to Lord Camden that he was utterly disgusted with the Army, -or rather with the way in which it was mismanaged. He also felt, as -he distinctly says, that he had in him the makings of a successful -financier, and certainly if great business capacity, instantaneous -knowledge of men, unequalled power of organisation, and absolutely -tireless energy are the principal requisites for commercial success, -Arthur Wesley might have died a millionaire. - -Happily, however, Lord Camden refused to grant his request. No doubt -the Earl of Mornington had something to say about it and good officers -were quite rare enough just then to make the abilities of the Colonel -of the 33rd fairly conspicuous. Soon after this he had an attack of -yellow fever in Ireland, probably by infection, which very nearly -killed him. Just at this time too, that is to say the end of 1795, an -expedition was organised to the West Indies and the 33rd were to form -part of it. - -It is interesting to us with our wind-defying monsters of steel and -steam to learn that the squadron tried for six weeks to get out of -the Channel and then had to come back. By this time the destination -of the expedition had been changed from the West to the East Indies. -The Colonel of the 33rd was too ill to sail with his regiment. A swift -frigate enabled him to overtake it at the Cape; but for all that he was -nearly thirteen months before he got to Calcutta. - -Arthur Wellesley, as he now began to sign himself, although nothing -more in the eyes of his comrades and commanders than a Colonel of Foot -who was a good disciplinarian and a promising soldier, had now entered -that theatre on the stage of which he was to play a brilliant part to a -world-wide audience. - -Nearly thirteen years before Warren Hastings had finished his work and -gone home to take his reward in impeachment and ruin. The brilliant -administration of Lord Cornwallis and the less conspicuous rule of Sir -John Shore were now to be followed by a double command which was to -extend, complete, and crown the great work of empire-making in the East -which had begun when Robert Clive left his desk to go and capture Arcot. - -A few weeks after Colonel Wellesley landed in Calcutta, his brilliant -brother, the Earl of Mornington took his seat on the Viceregal throne. -No happier combination could well have been possible. The elder brother -was a scholar, a statesman, and a broad-minded man of affairs. The -younger was, even then, the same man who won Vittoria, Talavera, and -Waterloo. - -The two acted in perfect unison. There was none of that bungling -timidity and incompetency in high places which confused the counsels -and crippled the activity of Robert Clive and Warren Hastings, and the -result was, as might have been expected, a succession of triumphs won, -be it noted, not only by consummate generalship, but also by incessant -vigilance and hard work resulting in perfect organisation. - -These triumphs culminated, as every one knows, in the crushing of -the Mahratta power--the last serious obstacle to the universality of -British rule in India--on the memorial field of Assaye. - -It was a magnificent combination of courage, calculation, and -generalship. With a force of five thousand men and eighteen guns and -with only two thousand European troops in his army, Wellesley defeated -and utterly cut up an army of over forty thousand men and an artillery -force of a hundred guns, and these, too, were the finest native -fighting troops in the Peninsula. In less than three hours after the -first assault the five thousand had conquered the forty thousand and -captured a hundred and two guns and all the stores and ammunition, -and it should always be remembered that Assaye was a very different -business to Plassey. It was a battle, not a rout, a tragedy rather -than a farce. Of the two thousand Europeans over four hundred were -killed and wounded, and of the three thousand natives, who fought -magnificently as they have ever since done in company with British -troops, there were no less than sixteen hundred killed and wounded. - -As for Wellesley himself, he was wherever he was wanted, and that was -usually in the thick of the fight. But there is another fact which -gives us a glimpse of the great general who was the master spirit of -the Peninsular Campaign. His men fought the battle of Assaye at the -end of a twenty-four mile march, and no military force that is not -commanded by a military genius could do that. - -There were other actions after Assaye, but it was there that the final -blow was really struck. Holkar, it is true, had seemed to turn the tide -for the time, but in the December of 1804 General Lake finally crumpled -him up. In March, 1805, the Colonel of the 33rd, now Sir Arthur -Wellesley, sailed from Madras in the frigate _Tridant_. We may pause to -note that in the following July he wrote from the Island of St. Helena -to tell his brother that his health, which had been very bad, was now -restored. - -He said: “I was wasting away daily, and latterly when at Madras, I -found my strength failed which had before held out.” If his strength -really had failed, it is quite probable that St. Helena would never -have known its most distinguished resident. - -A short time after, Wellington returned to England--he was known just -then as the “Sepoy General”--William Pitt remarked that he was at a -loss which most to admire--his modesty or his talents, and he added -that “he had never met with any military officer with whom it was so -satisfactory to converse.” This was a saying both accurate and just, -and it must be admitted that there is a very considerable difference -between the dispatches which Nelson wrote and those which Wellington -sent home after his greatest victories. - -It was during this brief stay at home that the one little romance of -Wellington’s life had a happy “finis” written to it. In the days before -he had given any public sign of the great genius that was in him, he -had wooed Lady Catherine Pakenham, a daughter of Lord Longford. Not -possibly without apparent reason, Lord and Lady Longford came to the -conclusion that he was an altogether ineligible person, and refused -their consent, and Arthur Wesley sailed away to the East, disconsolate -but not despairing. - -It is pleasant to be able to look over his shoulder just before he -returned, and read a letter in which Lady Catherine tells him that -such beauty as she had has been ravaged by small-pox. It is pleasanter -still to know that this information by no means cooled his ardour to -get home, and that when he did come back a Major-General, the victor in -many fights, and Sir Arthur Wellesley, my Lord and my Lady had reversed -their decision, and the course of true love was allowed to run with -perfectly satisfactory smoothness. - -Just before this he entered Parliament as member for Rye, on the -invitation of Lord Grenville. One didn’t need much more than the -invitation of a powerful minister to get into Parliament in those days. -At Westminster he distinguished himself chiefly as the vindicator of -his brother’s policy in India, and, more than this, he used his pen, -which was not much addicted to flourishes, but nevertheless wrote -good, strong, nervous English, to the same good purpose. There is one -sentence in an open letter to his brother which exactly sums up the -situation. - -“By your firmness and decision you have not only saved, but enlarged -and secured the invaluable Empire entrusted to your government at a -time when everything else was a wreck, and the existence even of Great -Britain was problematic.” - -Those are weighty words indeed, coming as they do from the man who won -the battle of Assaye and established, let us hope for ever, the British -Empire in India. - -All the same he doesn’t seem to have liked this talking business in -Parliament at all, for in a letter written in July, 1806, he says: -“You will have seen that I am in Parliament, and a difficult and most -unpleasant game I have had to play in the present extraordinary state -of parties.” From this it will be seen that Arthur Wellesley, like any -other good man of action and capable Empire-Maker, had a wholesome -contempt for the miserable and sordid game which is called party -politics. - -All the same we find him a few months afterwards as Chief Secretary -for Ireland, buying, that is to say bribing and corrupting with open -candour and unconcealed disgust, a sufficiency of votes and influence -to keep the Ministry in power. He said plainly: “Almost every man of -mark in the state has his price.” And when he was taxed with bribery -and corruption, he remarked with that marvellous insight of his, that -an inquiry into such practices would open up the whole theory of -constitutional government. - -We are supposed to have improved ourselves out of the venality of -buying and selling votes and seats, at any rate for cash down, but -we still bribe and we still corrupt. There are still titles for rich -men who will spend lavishly to support their party, there are still -innumerable advantages for the tradesman, and the contractor who -are loyal to their party and their ticket, and so it will be while -constitutional government and human nature remain what they are; but -for all that we may learn a good deal from a remark like this made -by a man who was so absolutely incorruptible that when he was made -Captain-General of the Spanish Army, he refused to draw his salary, and -who later on when his justly grateful country presented him with an -estate, paid the rent of it into the Treasury as long as the war lasted. - -It is not often, even among the great ones of the earth, that you meet -with an absolutely honest man, but there is no doubt about Wellington. - -After a little subordinate foreign service in Denmark, in which he -distinguished himself as usual, he went back to the Irish office for -about eight months. This particular eight months was a very critical -period indeed, and looking back at the facts across a gulf of eighty -years, one is inclined to wonder how it was that no better work could -be found for the already well-proved genius of Arthur Wellesley than -the ordinary routine work which a very much smaller man could have -done, if not as well, at least sufficiently well. It will have been -noticed more than once by those who have managed to get through the -foregoing pages, that one of the greatest and most dangerous faults of -British officialism, has been the employment of giants to do the work -of pigmies. But officialism would not be official if it were not dull, -so I suppose there is no help for it. One of the elements of greatness -is the faculty of recognising greatness in others, and officialism is -very seldom great. - -This was the year 1807, and that is the same thing as saying that it -was the period which marked the zenith of Napoleon’s power. The little -cadet of Artillery who had been teaching the raw republicans of France -how to construct fortifications, and how to knock them down, while -Arthur Wellesley was training the 33rd Foot, was now Emperor of the -French. - -More than that, he was practically master of Europe. From the Atlantic -Ocean to the Ural mountains he had not a single foe left in arms. -Some he had crushed, others he had over-awed or conciliated, but all -the nations of Europe were either his subjects or his forced allies. -Nelson, it is true, had made Britain the mistress of the seas, but, -saving only these little islands of ours, it must be confessed that -Napoleon was master of the land. - -There was, however, just one weak point, one loose joint, as it were, -in the armour of the conquering Colossus who now bestrode the Continent -from one end to the other. - -If you take the map of Europe you will see that Portugal is a very -small patch on it, and yet if it had not been for Portugal being -just where it is, and if there had not been such a man as Sir Arthur -Wellesley ready to turn its geographical advantages to the best -possible use, Napoleon would very probably have ended his career on a -throne, instead of on that lonely island in the Atlantic. - -This is not the place for me to attempt to redescribe the long glories -of the Peninsular War. In the first place, to do so would necessitate -more pages than I have paragraphs at my disposal; and, in the second -place, are they not already painted with a worthy splendour on the -glowing pages of Napier and Allison? - -But what does fall within the scope of such a sketch as this is the -business of pointing out a fact which the school books say nothing -about. The work that Wellington did in the Peninsula was of two sorts. -He not only saw the weak joint in Napoleon’s armour and struck hard and -straight at it. He did a great deal more than that. - -The genius of his combinations, the tenacity of his purpose, and that -inspired confidence which practically doubled the effectiveness of his -fighting force, compelled Napoleon to employ his greatest generals, and -some of his finest troops in the work of “flinging the English into the -sea,” as he himself phrased it. - -“There is nothing,” he told his marshals over and over again, “there is -nothing to be reckoned with except the English.” And it may be added -that if the English had not been led by such a man as he who was now -Viscount Wellington and Baron Douro the reckoning might have been a -somewhat short one. - -The actual effect of the Peninsular War and of Wellington’s genius -is not to be seen so much in the splendid triumphs of Vittoria and -Salamanca, or the awful slaughters of Albuera and Busaco. It is to be -found rather in the fact that Soult, Ney, and Masséna, the three finest -marshals of the Grand Army, were kept there, campaign after campaign, -fighting battle after battle, and suffering defeat after defeat, in the -hopeless effort to do what it was absolutely necessary to be done if -the conquests of Napoleon were to be anything more than a passing dream -of empire. - -Thus, for instance, when at the end of the campaign of 1810, Masséna -finally retired upon Salamanca he had lost every fight in which he had -engaged, and the Grand Army was the poorer by no fewer than thirty -thousand men. We have simply to ask ourselves what Napoleon would have -been able to do if he had only had all these men free to work his will -upon Continental troops and win more triumphs like Austerlitz and Jena, -instead of being forced to send them battalion after battalion, and -army after army, to dash themselves to pieces against that unbreakable -phalanx of British valour and determination which the genius of -Wellington had drawn up across the Portuguese frontier. - -Magnificent as were the efforts he made, and tremendous as were the -sacrifices which France submitted to for his sake, all the genius even -of Napoleon was of no avail as long as the life-blood of the Napoleonic -system was draining away through that open wound in the Peninsula. But -for this there would have been no Leipsic, and probably no Moscow, no -Waterloo, and no St. Helena. - -The most splendid military triumph in the history of the world is the -uninterrupted march of victory made by Wellington and the soldiers -whom his genius had made unconquerable for more than a thousand miles -from the lines of Torres Vedras to the banks of the Seine. But behind -the brilliance of this incomparable triumph there is something better -still, something which Napoleon himself was first to see, and this was -the supreme genius which planned, and the untirable pertinacity which -carried out, without one hitch or fault from start to finish, that -marvellous series of operations which began with the first move of the -pawns at Rolica, and ended with the triumphant checkmate at Waterloo. - -Although, as I say, it would be quite out of the question to attempt -to draw even the briefest outline of these magnificent campaigns, -yet there are one or two incidents in them which may be looked at in -passing for the sake of the glimpses they afford of the man in the -midst of his work, and, few though they may be, there is yet more real -knowledge to be got from them than from many pages of descriptions of -battles and sieges. - -Thus, for instance, shortly after he landed for the second time in -Portugal there was a conspiracy among the French officers to depose -Marshal Soult, and one of these men came to Wellington across the -Douro to tell him of this so that he might make their work easier by -a crushing defeat. This might have been of enormous advantage to him, -but he refused point blank to avail himself of such base assistance, -and sent the traitor back to the master whom he had betrayed. He was -not the man to work by methods like this. He had his own methods, and -so effectual were they that ten days after he had landed at Lisbon -there was not a single French soldier on Portuguese soil who was not a -prisoner of war. - -A month afterwards Napoleon writing to Soult and Ney said: “You are -to advance on the English, pursue them without cessation, beat them -and fling them into the sea. The English alone are redoubtable--they -alone. If the army is not differently managed, before the lapse of a -few months they will bring upon it a catastrophe.” How prophetic these -words were a glance at the splendidly inscribed colours of the British -Peninsular Regiments will amply suffice to show. - -As usual, Wellington in the Peninsula, like Nelson in the -Mediterranean, was forced by the incompetence or imbecility of the -authorities at home to do his tremendous work with most inadequate -means. In Spain the people whom he had come to save refused his -soldiers food, and those at home, whom he was no less fighting to save, -refused him money enough to buy it. In a letter written in January, -1811, he put the position very plainly. - -“If we cannot persevere in carrying on the contest in the Peninsula -or elsewhere on the Continent we must prepare to make one of our own -islands the seat of war. I am equally certain that if Buonaparte cannot -root us out of this country he must alter his system in Europe and give -us such a peace as we ought to accept.” - -This was the work that he had to do and did, and here is a glimpse -of the means he had to do it with. “I have not,” he says in the same -letter, “authority to give a shilling or a stand of arms or a round of -ammunition to anybody. I do give all, it is true, but it is contrary to -my instructions and at my peril. Not another officer in the army would -even look at the risks that I have to incur every day.” There are not -many more eloquent pictures than this of a man serving his country and -saving it in spite of itself. - -Like all good generals, Wellington insisted upon absolute obedience, -and nothing could excuse in his eyes even the most splendid breach of -discipline. After the taking of Ciudad Rodrigo, General Crawford, the -leader of the famous Light Division, had been ordered not to push his -operations beyond the river Coa, but he forgot his instructions in the -temptation to make a splendid dash at an overwhelming force under Ney. - -Nothing but the magnificent valour and discipline of the Division saved -it from utter destruction. Still it was saved, and when its gallant -leader reported himself to Wellington he said: “I am glad to see you -safe, Crawford.” - -“Oh, we were in no danger I can assure you!” was the answer. - -“No, but I was through your conduct!” came the dry retort, and Crawford -walked away crestfallen, remarking to himself that the General was -“damned crusty to-day.” - -Wellington’s best known title is the Iron Duke, and yet no man ever -had less iron in him than he. It is true that he armed himself from -head to foot with a mail which his enemies found impenetrable, but the -gallant heart whose high courage carried him through so many dangers -and difficulties was withal as tender as a woman’s. - -When his last great fight had been fought and won, when the long -tragedy of the Napoleonic wars was over, and the curtain had just -fallen upon the tremendous climax of Waterloo, Dr. Hume, his physician, -went to see him early on the morning of the 19th of June to tell him -of the death during the night of his friend Gordon, and this is how he -described the conqueror on the morrow of his greatest victory. - -“He had, as usual, taken off his clothes, but had not washed himself. -As I entered he sat up in bed, his face covered with the dust and -sweat of the previous day, and extended his hand to me which I took -and held in mine while I told him of Gordon’s death and of such of the -casualties as had come to my knowledge. He was much affected. I felt -the tears dropping fast upon my hand, and, looking towards him, saw -them chasing one another in furrows over his dusty cheeks.” - -This is a touching little picture of the one man in the world who has -proved himself capable of grappling with and overthrowing the Corsican -Colossus, and with it we may here bid him farewell. Waterloo was the -last as well as the greatest of his fights. He had given the world -peace. He had overthrown the most grievous tyranny that had threatened -it for many a long century. - -He had found Europe under the heel of France. He had conquered her -conqueror; and yet it was he who, when terms of peace were being -dictated in Paris, stopped his ferocious old ally Blücher from blowing -up the Bridge of Jena, and got such concessions for France in the hour -of her defeat and humiliation as none but the victor of the Peninsula -and the hero of Waterloo could have done. Like all really strong men, -he was merciful in his strength; and like all really great soldiers -he looked upon his enemies as his friends as soon as he had soundly -thrashed them. - -With his after career as a politician and a statesman I have here -nothing to do. His empire-making ended with the order that sent the -whole steadfast British line streaming down from the rising ground -which they had held so stubbornly all through that famous day. It is -better to take leave of him here, for Arthur Wellesley was too good -and too great a man for politics. He was the idol of the army he had -created, but he didn’t know how to lead a mob. - -[Illustration: THE ORDER THAT SENT THE BRITISH LINE STREAMING DOWN FROM -THE RISING GROUND.] - -Seventeen years after Waterloo, to the very day, he was beset in London -streets by a howling multitude of the very people he had served so -splendidly. - -If he had not found a refuge in the Temple and a bodyguard of Benchers, -it is probable that they would have pulled him from his horse and torn -him limb from limb. It is a sorry spectacle, although relieved by the -quaintness of the vision of this unconquered hero of a hundred fights -trusting for his life to a bodyguard of lawyers. - -He never forgot this, and probably never forgave it. Every one knows -how, when Apsley House was threatened by a mob, he made ready to defend -it in a businesslike and soldierly way. When the mob broke his windows -he coolly ordered iron shutters and put them up. Afterwards, when the -fickle tide of popular fancy had turned the other way, and the mob -was wont to cheer instead of cursing him, he used to point to these -shutters and laugh good-humouredly but seriously withal. - -In one sense, however, it is hardly true that Wellington’s last fight -was at Waterloo. The last time that he really made a display of his -military capacity was in London. It was he who on the 10th of April, -1848, saved London from the Chartists. He never allowed a soldier to be -seen, much less a weapon, and when it was all over, Sir John Campbell -came to him and said: - -“Well, Duke, it all turned out as you foretold.” - -And this was the answer: - -“Oh, yes; I was sure of it, and I never showed a soldier or a musket, -but I was ready. I could have stopped them whenever you liked, and if -they had been armed it would have been all the same.” - -That was Wellington’s last victory--bloodless, and, therefore, since -the enemy would have been his own countrymen, all the more glorious for -that. - -In the article on Nelson, I mentioned the well-known fact that the -greatest soldier and the greatest sailor of their age met but once, and -that Wellington so far gauged the character of the hero of Trafalgar -as to describe him as “a very superior person.” In the spirit they not -only met again, but they will live together in everlasting honour in -the memory of the British people. - -Their last resting-places are side by side, as they should be, in St. -Paul’s Cathedral, and side by side their glorious memories will remain -as long as the noble qualities which made them the greatest men, not -only of their nation, but of the age which their great deeds made -splendid, are held in honour--and that is the same thing as saying as -long as the human race endures. - - - - -XI - -“_CHINESE GORDON_” - -“_HONOUR--NOT HONOURS_” - - - - -XI - -“CHINESE GORDON” - - -We are living rather too near to the days of the man himself, to be -able to say what place History will ultimately assign to the greatest -and most famous of the old fighting stock of the Gordons. Probably the -discriminating historian of the day after to-morrow will look upon him -ethnologically as a queer survival or throwback--a man who lived and -did his work in the nineteenth century in the style of the fifteenth, -or even the fourteenth. - -In the military sense he would seem to be the last of our great -soldiers of fortune--for soldier of fortune he undoubtedly was far more -than soldier of Britain--and the work that he did as one of the makers -of the British Empire was done under foreign flags. - -It might, indeed, be asked by the superficial observer in what sense -he was an Empire-Maker at all, or what right he has to claim a place -in that long and splendid array of great men, only a few of whom can -be silhouetted within the limits of such a volume as this and whose -succession stretches through the centuries from William, Duke of -Normandy to Cecil John Rhodes of Rhodesia. - -The answer is plain enough, though not very obvious at first sight. The -British Empire is twofold. It is not only the greatest concrete Fact -that the world has ever seen; it is also a vast and very splendid Idea, -and in this sense it covers, not only just that portion of the earth’s -surface over which the Union Jack flies, but also every other land -known and half-known, old and new, civilised and savage, into which -the genius of the Anglo-Saxon has forced its way and over which it has -exercised that peculiar influence for which the word “English” stands -in the dictionaries of our foreign competitors. - -Charles George Gordon never added a square yard to the British Empire, -considered as a geographical expression. He very seldom fought at -the head of British troops, and when he did, it was not to any very -great purpose--in fact his witnessing of the murder of many hundreds -of gallant British soldiers by the officials who were guilty of the -criminal mismanagement of the Crimean War was about the sum total of -his experiences of warfare under the Flag. - -It is a not altogether curious fact that, although Gordon was one of -the very ablest leaders and organisers of men, and although he, shortly -after thirty, proved to demonstration that he possessed most of the -qualities of a great soldier, his native country didn’t appear to have -any use for him, or at least no adequate use. As I have said before, -the curse of both our Services, and therefore, in a very definite and -practical sense, of the whole Empire, is officialism, or officialdom. - -Two very different men grasped this fact in its relation to Gordon. One -was Nubar Pasha, Egyptian Minister at Constantinople, and the other was -John Ruskin. Nubar said: “England owes little to her officials; she -owes her greatness to men of different stamp.” Ruskin said practically -the same thing in one of his lectures at Woolwich, but in different -fashion and in many more words, while Gordon, within a mile or so of -the lecture-hall at Woolwich, was bending his great soul to the routine -duties which appear to have been about the best work that the British -Government could find for him to do. - -When the British Government did at last get him to take his share in -the doing of the most difficult and dangerous work which was just then -necessary to be done upon the very outskirts of civilisation, those -who were responsible for the exercise of the executive power deserted -him and left him to his death by what is probably the basest and most -criminal betrayal of a man of deeds by men of words that can be laid to -the charge of a British Government. - -History will probably say with truth that every member of that fatally -futile Cabinet who had any hand in sending Gordon to Khartoum and -neglecting to give him reasonable support incurred a direct and -personal responsibility for his death, from which the dispassionate -verdict of Posterity will be very slow to relieve their memories. - -It is a stain that can never pass away from their public reputations. -There are other faults of a similar sort for which these men will be -arraigned at the bar of History, but the fate of the lonely, betrayed -man, who day after day left his starving and ever-diminishing garrison -to look out across the desert from the battlements of Khartoum for -the help which, for him, never came, will certainly be considered the -blackest if not the greatest of them all. - -But there is another and very practical sense in which Gordon was -a British Empire-Maker. This realm of ours is what it is, not only -because we have fought for some parts of it and successfully stolen -others. It is ours because we knew how to make use of it after we got -it; because of all other men now existing on the face of the earth the -Anglo-Saxon is the best leader and governor of savage and semi-savage -men that has so far been evolved, and of such leaders and governors -Gordon plainly proved himself to be one of the very best. - -Under the British flag he never won a battle for Britain. The genius -which his Motherland might have made such splendid use of did its best -work under the dragon-flag of China and the crescent-flag of Egypt, but -nevertheless on the day when the last mile of the British high road -from Cairo to Cape Town is thrown open, and the _Pax Britannica_ is -proclaimed from north to south of Africa, men will remember Gordon and -confess that without him this might never have been done. - -It will have been noticed by those who have read between the lines -here printed that where Empire-Makers are concerned the old-fashioned -idea of ancestry seems to be not altogether the fiction that certain -latter-day theorists, men of words to a man, have sought to make it, -and Gordon was no exception to this rule. - -His lineage stretches away back into the dim mists which lie behind the -history of all these islands into the days when Englishmen, Scotsmen, -and Irishmen had yet to be thought of, and when the divisions of -mankind were racial rather than national. - -Of course the Gordons of last century were for the most part desperate -Jacobites, and as such were hinderers rather than doers of the work -of empire-making. But, curiously enough, this particular Gordon did -not come from these. On the contrary, there was a fight during that -miserable business of 1745 in which, on the field of Gladsmuir, -a couple of thousand Highland clansmen played havoc with some -English regiments fresh back from the Flemish wars, and after the -slaughter they took many prisoners, one of whom was David Gordon, -great-grandfather of the hero and martyr of Khartoum. - -From this it will be seen that, whether by design or accident, his -branch of the ancient and widespread stock had managed to get upon the -right side--that is to say, the side which was to fight for imperialism -as distinguished from mere nationalism, which in many cases is only -another way of spelling parochialism. - -It is noteworthy, by the way, that Gordon’s grandfather, William -Augustus, so named after “Butcher Cumberland,” fought at Louisburg and -on the Heights of Abraham, after Captain Cook had taken those soundings -on the St. Lawrence. His son, William Henry, fought as an officer of -artillery at Maida, and it was his grandson who won the yellow jacket -and mandarin’s button in suppressing the Taiping rebellion, who refused -a roomful of gold as a bribe, and who, after carefully scratching out -the inscription, gave the huge gold medal which he had received from -the Emperor of China anonymously to the Coventry Relief Fund. - -This “give away your medal,” to use his own words, is the keynote of -his whole life. Gordon worked “for honour, not honours,” and that one -letter makes a great deal of difference. We see here, too, the sign of -his kinship with other Empire-Makers, the faculty of seeing what work -had to be done and the power of doing it for its own sake, whatever -difficulties there might lie in the way. - -As a boy he seemed to combine in the most curious fashion a -constitutional sensitiveness amounting almost to timidity, with a -contempt for personal danger, and an equal contempt for authority which -individually he was unable to respect. - -Altogether, in fact, his was a nature which had very little to expect -in the way of promotion or favour from conventional officialdom, and -it was very little that he got. This view was no doubt amply justified -by his first experience in warfare in the trenches before Sebastopol, -for if ever heroism and devotion abroad were crucified by authority at -home, this was the case during the Crimean War. - -From the Crimea the scene shifts somewhat suddenly to China. And yet -here we may note that this is not the place to stop and worry about the -morality or otherwise of those so-called opium wars which led up to the -trouble of 1860. If the opium trade was bad, the opening of the Flowery -Land to European commerce was good, and one usually does find good and -bad mixed up in the most extraordinary manner in matters of this sort. -The point here is that the brief war which ended with the taking of the -Taku forts in the August of 1860, and the capture of Pekin, was the -beginning of the career of “Chinese Gordon.” - -He did not see the taking of the forts, but he did see the destruction -of the Summer Palace, “the Garden of Perpetual Brightness,” which was -destroyed as an act of revenge at the order of a British envoy who may -here be left nameless in the infamy that he earned by it. Gordon was -one of the involuntary Vandals, and this is what he said about the -business when writing home: - -“You can scarcely imagine the beauty and magnificence of the palaces -we burnt. It made one’s heart sore to destroy them. It was wretchedly -demoralising work.” - -After this for a year and a half he fulfilled the duties of a Captain -of Engineers in the camp at Tien-Tsin in the midst of a vast dreary -plain. During this time the Taiping rebels had been industriously -employing fire and sword to make one of the most fertile portions of -the Flowery Land the reverse of worthy of the name and, at length -Shanghai itself, the headquarters of the foreign traders, was -threatened by the ever-advancing wave of barbarism. - -A defensive force was hurriedly raised by an American named Ward, who -for nearly two years led it to constant victory and earned for it the -somewhat magniloquent title of the Ever-Victorious Army. - -Then a chance bullet killed Ward at the beginning of what might have -been a most brilliant career. Under his successor everything went -wrong. Victory was replaced by defeat and success by disaster. This -incompetent person being removed, the hitherto obscure officer of -Engineers stepped into his place. It was a time when a leader of men -was badly wanted. It was also the moment when Fate knocked at the door -of Charles George Gordon and found him in. - -Within a very short time disorganisation was replaced by discipline, -despair by confidence, and the Ever-Victorious Army was once more made -worthy of its name. It was here that Gordon really began his career -as a soldier of fortune. When he took command he told Li-Hung-Chang -that he would turn the rebels out of the score of walled cities which -they had captured and strengthened, and put the rebellion down within -eighteen months. As a matter of fact he did it in fifteen. - -The story of the doing of this so clearly shows the extraordinary -capacity that Gordon possessed for both the organisation and the -execution of a military campaign, as well as the faculty of inspiring -confidence in all sorts and conditions of men, that it is simply -amazing that the home authorities did not immediately recognise the -fact that he was something a good deal more than they had hitherto -taken him for. This, however, it was to take them some twenty years -more to find out. - -Still there was one incident at the close of the rebellion which -might have shown even the official mind very clearly what sort of -man this Major of Engineers was. The last incident of the war was -the surrender of the great lake-city of Soo-Chow, and the Wangs, or -chiefs of the rebels, laid down their arms on a guarantee of safety and -good treatment. The Chinese way of acting up to this was to chop the -heads off the whole lot. Now Gordon considered himself in a measure -responsible for this guarantee, and the way in which he marked his -sense of the breach of faith was characteristically unique. - -The brilliancy of his services was recognised by a money gift of 10,000 -taels (between three and four thousand pounds of English money). -Gordon acknowledged it by writing on the back of the Imperial letter: -“Major Gordon regrets that, owing to the circumstances which occurred -since the capture of Soo-Chow, he is unable to receive any mark of his -Majesty the Emperor’s recognition.” - -If ever a sceptred monarch got the snub direct the Son of Heaven must -have got it then, although the probability is that the 10,000 taels -never found their way back to the Imperial treasury. Gordon also wanted -to throw up the whole business, but the rebellion suddenly broke out -again in another place, and so he went on with his work until it was -finally crushed, for he was not the sort of man who liked to begin a -thing and not get through with it. - -His brilliant success in every single operation that he conducted -clearly proved, as I have said, that in Gordon Britain possessed a true -leader of men and master of affairs; in other words an Empire-Maker of -the first order. And yet she first ignored and undervalued him, and -then, as David did with Uriah, put him in the forefront of the battle -and left him there to die. - -For twenty years after we had wars in many places--in South and West -Africa, in Egypt, Abyssinia, and Afghanistan. In some we gained credit -and in some disgrace, but during all that twenty years the leaden eye -of officialdom never seems to have fallen upon Gordon. The Chinamen -were quicker sighted. He was the first and I believe the only “foreign -devil” who was endowed with the Yellow Jacket and made one of the -bodyguard of the Son of Heaven. - -If he had chosen he might have made an enormous fortune and risen to -any dignity short of the throne that the Flowery Land had to offer, -but as a matter of fact he left China poorer than he went into it, -bringing away with him only that big gold medal which he afterwards -gave anonymously to charity. - -And all this time he was, as one of his biographers and a fellow -soldier has truly said, “not only without honour in his own country, -but was regarded by many of the mandarins and ruling classes of his -fellow countymen as a madman.” The use of the word “mandarin” there -will be understood if we remember that his brother mandarins of China -held him in the highest honour. - -He came back to England in 1865, and was given the command of the Royal -Engineers at Gravesend, and there for six years he did the routine work -of a soldier, and in his spare time won a reputation for missionary -work of the unofficial and unassuming sort which will live as long as -his fame as a soldier and leader of men. - -Here in the interval between his two careers we may take a glance at -the physical man as he was just about now. This is how his comrade Sir -William Butler describes him: “In figure Gordon, at forty years of -age, stood somewhat under middle height, slight but strong, active, -and muscular. A profusion of thick, brown hair clustered above a -broad, open forehead. His features were regular, his mouth firm, and -his expression when silent had a certain undertone of sadness which -instantly vanished when he spoke. - -“But it was the clear, grey-blue eyes, and the low, soft, and very -distinct voice that left the most lasting impression on the memory of -the man who had seen and spoken with Charles Gordon, and an eye that -seemed to have looked at great distances and seen the load of life -carried on men’s shoulders, and a voice that, like the clear chime of -some Flemish belfry, had in it fresh music to welcome the newest hour, -even though it had rung out the note of many a vanished day.” - -Such was, then, the outer aspect of the man who at length went to Egypt -at the invitation of Nubar Pasha and the Khedive Ismael, to begin that -work which in the end cost one of the most valuable of British lives, -and made the delta and valley of the Nile what they are to-day in -everything but name--a British province. - -In this sense Gordon was _de facto_ an Empire-Maker. The mendacious -amenities of Diplomacy may lisp out meaningless phrases about the -evacuation of Egypt, but the fact is that we have re-created the land -of the Pharaohs, we have brought it from bankruptcy to prosperity, we -have released the fellah from the terror of the lash and the servitude -of forced labour. We have raised a downtrodden peasantry to the -position of self-respecting citizens, and we have turned slaves into -soldiers. This was the work that Gordon began for us, although we did -not employ him to do it, or recognise that he was doing it; but, having -taken it over and carried it so far, it is hardly likely that even -British officialdom will commit such a crime against civilisation as -the surrender of the almost completed task would now be. - -Gordon went south from Cairo by way of Suakin and Berber to Khartoum, -taking with him the somewhat curious title of Governor of the -Equator--which of course meant the Equatorial Provinces--and a very -distinct conception of a Central African Dominion which the soldiers -and statesmen of other generations will realise in due course, -provided always that the onward march of the Anglo-Saxon is not turned -aside or stopped by faint-heartedness within or disaster without. - -His headquarters or capital was a place called Gondokoro, situate in -the midst of a ghastly region of river, lake, and swamp, sunbaked by -day, and miasma-haunted by night. He went up by steamer from Khartoum -and, some two hundred miles above the city, he passed the island of -Abba in the White Nile, and in one of his letters home he wrote these -words which read somewhat weirdly in the lurid light of the camp-fires -which seven years later closed round Khartoum: - -“Last night, March 26th, we were going slowly along in the moonlight -and I was thinking of you all and of the expeditions and Nubar and Co., -when all of a sudden from a large bush came peals of laughter. I felt -put out, but it turned out to be birds, who laughed at us from the -bushes for some time in a very rude way. They are a species of stork, -and seemed in capital spirits and highly amused at anybody thinking of -going to Gondokoro with the hope of doing anything.” - -But the laughing storks were not the only inhabitants of the Island -of Abba, for, in a cave among its rocks, there was dwelling at that -very moment a certain Moslem monk, or dervish, named Mohammed Achmet, -who had already won some reputation for sanctity among his fellow -tribesmen. - -It would have been a most unwarrantable and, for Gordon, quite an -impossible thing to do, and yet, so far is fact stranger than fiction, -that the whole history of about a quarter of a continent would have -been changed for the better, and the march of civilisation and humanity -in Northern Africa would have been incalculably accelerated if the -Governor-General of the Equator had stopped his boat just at that -point, landed his men on the island, routed the holy man out of his -cave, and either put a bullet through his head or drowned him in the -Nile; for this recluse, then unknown beyond the confines of his native -desert, was destined seven years later to be hailed by the Soudan -tribesmen as the Mahdi--a word which to us means so much disgrace and -disaster as well as hard and tardily won triumph that there is no need -here to further elaborate the coincidence. - -It was not a pleasant land, this scene of Gordon’s first government. -As he himself says of the wilderness: “No one can conceive the utter -misery of these lands. Heat and mosquitoes day and night all the -year round.” These are few words, but I am able to say from personal -experience that to those who know what African heat and African -mosquitoes _are_ they speak very eloquently. - -Here, until October, 1876, Gordon lived and worked and suffered, making -maps, building forts, enticing traders to come to him, teaching his -soldiers to work and to till the ground and raise crops instead of -plundering the natives. One by one his staff died about him, but still -somehow the work went on. - -When he first arrived he wrote: “the only possessions Egypt has in my -province are two forts, one here at Gondokoro and the other at Fatiko. -There are three hundred men in one and two hundred in the other. You -can’t go out in safety half a mile.” - -But towards the end of ’76 the line of posts had been pushed to Duffli, -a place on the Nile only three degrees north of the Equator itself. -Lake Albert Nyanza had been circumnavigated for the first time by a -steamboat and mapped out--not by Gordon himself, who declined the -honour of first steaming on its waters, but by an Italian lieutenant -of his, named Gessi, and his reason for doing this was “to give a -practical proof of what I think regarding the inordinate praise which -is given to an explorer.” - -His idea was that those who did the hard work, the getting up of -stores and boats and other impedimenta over rapids and across deserts, -were the real men who deserved the honour. “But all this would go for -nothing in comparison with the fact of going on the lake, which you -may say is a small affair when you have the boats ready for you”--from -which certain much-boomed and belauded explorers known to latter-day -fame might well learn wisdom as well as a little becoming modesty. - -The farther south the bounds of Equatoria were pushed the more dismal -the country seems to have become. He calls it “a dead, mournful spot, -with a heavy, damp dew penetrating everywhere. It is as if the angel -Azrael had spread his wings over this land. You have little idea of the -silence and solitude. I am sure no one whom God did not support could -bear up. It is simply killing.” - -At length the three years of his miserable service came to an end. In -October he set his face northward from Khartoum and ate his Christmas -dinner in London. - -It was in those days that Britain woke up to some sense of her -opportunities and responsibilities. She had begun what was then called -the “forward” policy, and which to-day with wider vision and sounder -wisdom we call the Imperial policy. - -Unhappily the fickle breath of popular favour soon blew the other way -for a space; a halt was called, then a retreat was sounded, and of -course with the inevitable result. The arms of Britain were sullied -by defeat, and her ancient honour was stained by the breach of her -plighted word and the desertion of those who had trusted to her faith. - -This was the dark and disgraceful period which lasted from the end -of 1880 to the beginning of 1885. It began with the desertion of the -heroic British garrisons in the Transvaal and the everlasting shame -of Majuba Hill, and it ended with the political betrayal and the -constructive murder of Charles George Gordon. - -It was on January 31, 1877, that Gordon went back to Africa as -Governor-General of the Soudan. On May 5th he was installed at -Khartoum; on the 19th he left to strike his first blow against slavery; -by June 7th he had crossed four hundred miles of wilderness and passed -the frontier of Dafour. - -His movements during this time, amazing as they are now to us, were -absolutely paralysing to the chiefs and officials of the country. To -them a Pasha of Egypt was a portly gentleman, never in a hurry, never -inclined to leniency or mercy, a staunch upholder of the slave trade in -its worst as well as its best aspects, and possessing a very keen eye -indeed to the main chance. - -But the quite phenomenal Pasha who now flits across their astonished -vision is a lean, yellow-faced little man, clad in the gorgeous but -dusty and travel-stained uniform of a Marshal of Turkey, mounted on a -swift dromedary which out-distances every other animal of the desert -save the beast ridden by the Arab sheikh who accompanies him. The two -fly from point to point with incredible rapidity; the words of the -Pasha are sometimes stern and sometimes mild, but always just and -always dead against slavery. There is no talk of what he wants for -himself, but only of what he wants done or left undone, because this or -that is right or wrong--and what he wants he gets. - -The troops that came labouring after him were of such miserable -material that they deserved only to be made slaves themselves, and such -the Arabs would speedily have made them but for this yellow-faced, -bright-eyed man, who set them one against another, played off their -jealousies and hatreds, and generally out-manœuvred them with such -consummate and incomprehensible skill, striking at such vast distances -with such incredible rapidity, that in four months a seemingly -impossible feat had been accomplished, and the rebellion of the -slave-kings put down. - -And yet it was all hopeless. The slave trade was too much for him, as -it has so far been too much for every one else. “I declare I see no -human way to stop it!” he writes in one of his letters. “When you have -got the ink that has soaked into blotting-paper out of it, then slavery -will cease in these lands.” - -In the November of 1877 there occurred an incident which was destined -in after years to bear terrible fruit. He travelled from Kordofan -_viâ_ Khartoum to Merawy. He was on his way to Wadi Halfa to see about -pushing on the railway from there to Dongola. But before he got there -a dispatch reached him saying that the Abyssinians had invaded the -Eastern Soudan. Back he went, post-haste, only to find the news was -false. - -If it had not been for this the railway would have been completed, and -the cataracts of the Nile would not have delayed the tardily-sent -Relief Expedition until the Arab bullets had done their work and -gallant Gordon’s busy head had rolled to the foot of the Mahdi’s throne. - -A few weeks after this he is once more in Cairo in obedience to an -urgent summons from the Khedive. The work was this time financial. The -grip of the foreign bondholder was closing round the throat of the -fellaheen, and the bill for official extravagance and incompetence had -to be paid. It was characteristic of Gordon that his first financial -reform was the cutting down of his own salary from six thousand to -three thousand a year. - -This was all very well, but when he proposed to apply the same methods -to other people’s salaries he was very soon given to understand that -he was not the kind of man who was wanted in Cairo just then, so he -promptly threw up his presidency of the Committee of Inquiry and -went back to two years’ more work in the Soudan, to fight the slave -trade again in the old heroic, hopeless fashion, and to make maps and -plans; to fly hither and thither over the ghastly, waterless country, -sometimes riding for as much as two months at a time, till at last the -replacement of his old friend Ismael by Tewfik Pasha once more called -him back to Cairo. - -This time he went to Abyssinia also, and got arrested twice, a -circumstance which enabled him to give us the following word picture of -King Johannes. “He is of the strictest sect of the Pharisees. He talks -like the Old Testament. Drunk overnight, he is up at dawn reading the -psalms. If he were in England he would never miss a prayer-meeting, and -would have a Bible as big as a portmanteau.” - -After his release he came home again to rest, as he thought, but as a -fact to be called after a few weeks’ run on the Continent to take the -command of the Colonial Forces at the Cape of Good Hope. - -It was the eve of the Transvaal War, and now Gordon made the first and -the greatest mistake of his life. He refused the command. If he had -taken it there might have been no Transvaal War; certainly there would -have been no Ingogo or Majuba Hill. He started instead to India to be -Secretary to Lord Ripon, the new Liberal Viceroy. - -Three days after he landed he threw up his appointment, and two days -later he received an urgent invitation from China. He asked for leave, -and the War Office refused. He threw up his commission, making a -present of its value, about £6,000, to his stupid and graceless masters. - -He stopped the war with Russia, and sped back again to London, -receiving a telegram on the way telling him that his leave had been -cancelled and his resignation refused. - -He afterwards made a futile visit to Ireland and an equally futile -trip to South Africa. He offered to go and help in settling the Basuto -trouble. The Cape Government, to its loss and its shame, had not even -the politeness to reply to his offer, but when two millions of money -and a great number of valuable lives had been lost, they asked him a -year later if he would renew his offer, and, like the generous and -single-hearted hero that he was, he did so. - -Unhappily, however, when he got on the scene of action he spoilt -everything by allowing the enthusiast in him to get the better of -the soldier and the skilled man of affairs. The Cape Government was -certainly in the wrong as regards the Basuto question. Gordon’s advice -to them was to admit their wrong and begin to do right. Very good -indeed from the ethical point of view, but in practice hopelessly wrong -and bad where the South African native is concerned. With him, as with -the Boers, to admit yourself in the wrong is to own yourself defeated, -and to invite instant aggression. - -Of course the Cape Government could do nothing of the sort. To have -done so would have been to have kindled the flames of native war over -the whole southern half of the Continent. This was the fatal policy -which had already lost us the Transvaal when Sir Evelyn Wood had it in -the hollow of his hand. To have repeated it would probably have been -to lose all South Africa. Gordon, in his usual fashion, threw up his -appointment at once and came back to England. - -It was now November, 1882. Naturally he was coldly received at home, -but his reception was somewhat mollified by a letter which the King -of the Belgians sent him, for the second time asking him to enter his -service. - -“For the moment,” says his Majesty, “I have no mission to offer you, -but I wish to have you at my disposal, and I wish to take you from this -moment as my counsellor. You can name your own terms. You know the -consideration I have for your great qualities.” - -The post that he would probably have had was the Governorship of the -Congo. One can imagine how in such a position he would have dealt with -an unhung blackguard like Lothaire, the murderer of a man who had -confided himself to his hospitality. - -He spent most of the following year in travel, chiefly in Palestine. -The Delta of Egypt had been conquered, Mohammed Achmet, the carpenter’s -son, had become Mahdi, and the Soudan revolt was in full blast. Now at -last the British Government called upon the one man who, had his genius -and his work been recognised ten years sooner, could have saved so much -disgrace and disaster. - -How utterly he had been neglected and how completely he was unknown -in his own country even now, may be guessed from a remark made by a -gentleman to an officer of the Pembroke garrison. - -“I see,” said this person, “that the Government have just sent a -Chinaman to the Soudan. What can they mean by sending a native of that -country to such a place?” - -He thought, alas, that “Chinese Gordon” was a yellow-faced Asiatic who -wore a pigtail--and yet, after all, did British Officialdom know very -much more about the hero it was now sending to his death? - -In Egypt all was panic. The army of Hicks Pasha had been annihilated. -All Gordon’s work was undone, and the Mahdi was practically master of -the Soudan. But meanwhile Gordon had decided to accept the King of -the Belgians’ offer. On New Year’s Day, 1884, he reached Brussels to -tell him so, and the same day he learnt that the British Government -would not let him go. His thoroughly justified answer was a request to -be allowed to retire from Her Majesty’s service, “without any claim -whatever for pension”--King Leopold, with a juster estimate of the -man’s value, having promised to make up the loss to him. The refusal -was withdrawn, and he prepared to start for the Congo. - -Then on the 17th of January there came that memorable telegram from -Lord Wolseley asking him to come to London. He knew what he was wanted -for and he went. The work was the pacification and then the evacuation -of the Soudan. - -By the 18th of February he was in Khartoum again. His old influence -at once reasserted itself. What followed is too recent and too -well known for detailed repetition here: the vacillation between war -and peace, between diplomacy and force, argument when there should -have been hard-hitting, and hard-hitting when there should have been -argument. - -[Illustration: THE LONELY MAN WHO STOOD ON THE RAMPARTS OF KHARTOUM.] - -The net result was only fully known to the lonely man who month after -month stood on the ramparts of Khartoum, beleaguered by the Mahdi’s -innumerable hosts, looking out over the desert and down the Nile for -the army of relief which ought even then to have been there, and which -was waiting for politicians to finish their wrangles before it even -started. - -Then, week after week, the weary working and waiting went on, the ring -of spears drawing ever closer and closer round the doomed city, the -provisions within rapidly dwindling, and the lonely soldier, the last -of his blood now left in Khartoum, was still looking vainly northward. - -So Monday morning, the 26th of January, came, and in the dim light -that comes before the dawn the Arabs made their last and successful -assault. The moon had set at one o’clock. The famished garrison made -but little resistance. Gordon at the head of about a score of men faced -the incoming victors near the church of the Austrian mission. - -The eastern sky was just reddening with the coming dawn when a stream -of Arabs, shouting for Islam and victory, rushed into the open space -that had been made round the church. They stopped and put up their -rifles. An irregular volley crackled along their line, and when the -smoke had drifted away there was nothing for the belated expedition to -do but avenge the death of the betrayed and deserted hero. - -It was about midday on the 28th when a couple of steamers, with Sir -Charles Wilson and a detachment of the Sussex Regiment on board, -steamed out on to the broad stretch of river above which Khartoum -stands at the junction of the Blue and White Nile. Half-an-hour told -the miserable truth. There was no flag flying from the battlements, and -no English voice to bid the tardy comers welcome. - -But there is to be a welcome of a sort, for, as the boats come within -range, the guns of Khartoum open fire on them and a spattering hail of -rifle-balls drop about them, and the puffs of smoke leap up from every -point along the banks till the circle round the boats is completed. Of -this there could be only one meaning: Gordon the deserted was dead. -And this meaning was true, though we did not know the full truth of it -until long after all that was left of him on earth had been scattered, -graveless and uncared for, over the wind-swept sands of the Soudan. - -There is his grave; there, too, now is his monument--the memory of the -work he did and the deathless fame he earned. On those who sent him -to the forefront of the battle and left him there to die History has -not yet given her verdict. When she does it will, as usual, be a just -one, and, in all probability, it will not form very pleasant reading -for those of their descendants who may be animated with anything like a -proper pride of ancestry. - - - - -XII - -_CECIL RHODES_ - -“_ALL ENGLISH--THAT’S MY DREAM!_” - - - - -XII - -CECIL RHODES - - -Although there are obvious difficulties in the way of writing at once -without fear and without favour of a man who is unquestionably one of -the great ones of the earth while he is still alive, there are yet two -very cogent reasons why Cecil Rhodes should be the subject of this -concluding essay. - -In the first place, he is the last of our Empire-Makers in order of -time, and, in the second place, he has done his empire-making in the -last region of the earth in which this empire, or any other, can be -extended without coming into direct armed conflict with the great -Powers of the earth. - -If you get a map of Africa published thirty years ago, and lay it -beside a quite recent one, a very little intelligent observation -will enable you to see, at any rate, what I may be allowed to call -_prima facie_ evidence of the magnificent work which this last of our -Empire-Makers has done, not so much for this generation, perhaps, as -for the next, and the next. - -It is all very well for the goose that has never seen over its own -farmyard wall to assume a lofty, and possibly sincere, contempt for the -vast stretches of prairie and forest land that may lie outside. He is -quite justified in saying to his brother geese: “This is our home; all -our wants are supplied here. What do we want to go and lose ourselves -for in the long grass, or expose ourselves to the wild animals that -may be lurking about the dark depths of the forest? This farmyard -where we have lived all our lives, and where our long and honourable -ancestry has lived before us, is surely enough for us. There is a -nice pond yonder fringed with succulent mud. It has nice worms and -other things in it, and there doesn’t seem any prospect of our general -supply of goose-food coming to an end. What do we care about what there -is outside? Why should we trouble ourselves about the fortunes of -silly birds who go and fly over the wall, and lose themselves in the -wilderness? Let them go. What are they to us, even if they were born in -the same farmyard?” - -That is all very well as far as it goes, but there comes a time when -the farmyard fills up, and the duck-pond becomes over-crowded, and -worms and goose-food, &c., have to be scrambled for, and sometimes even -fought for, and it is just here that the larger wisdom of those who not -only look over, but fly over, the farmyard wall comes in. - -The fact is, that the known world is fast filling up. It may be that -Nature is preparing some colossal cataclysm for the destruction of this -civilisation, just as she has done for the subversion of others; but, -for the present, what those who have looked over the farmyard wall -have to consider is the fact that vastly improved conditions of life -in the older countries of the world have, with the sole and ominous -exception of France, had their inevitable result in a vast increase of -population, and that meanwhile, for the last three hundred years or so, -the available portions of the world have been getting discovered, and -filled up according to their capacity of sustenance. - -It is not, therefore, a merely predatory instinct, or a felonious -desire to go and steal away from the gentle savage those lands which he -is mostly accustomed to use as battlefields, that sends out the pioneer -to the uttermost ends of the earth. It is that ineradicable instinct -planted deep in all healthy human nature to get elbow-room, and behind -this instinct there is the necessity which Providence provided against -when it gave us this instinct, and that is the necessity of getting -out of a place that is overcrowded, into some other where muscles and -brains can get a better chance. - -It is probable, too, that that widespread passion which we are -accustomed to call “land-hunger” has been given to us in order to -compel us to carry out the vast scheme of human progress under the -impression that we are benefiting ourselves. - -Of course, as a rule, we do benefit ourselves, but it is reserved for -the few to see that greater Purpose which we are fulfilling at the -same time that we are serving ourselves, and of all the men who ever -lived no one has seen this more clearly than Cecil Rhodes. Accident and -weak lungs took him to Africa--that is to say to the only continent in -which it is yet possible for the British Empire to be increased without -violating the territory of some already established and recognised -Power, more or less civilised. - -Like Nelson and Warren Hastings, he came of a clerical stock. If it had -not been for those weak lungs of his it is possible that he might have -passed through a distinguished career at Oxford, and either entered the -church, or gone into business--probably the latter--but in either case -the map of South Africa would have looked very different to what it -does to-day. - -In one respect he presents a very strong and striking contrast to -our other Empire-Makers. Francis Drake went on his filibustering -expeditions, looted plate-ships, and sacked towns, no doubt with a -worthy intention of hurting the Queen’s enemies, but also with a very -definite idea of making money. John Hawkins started the Slave Trade for -the same reason; so too that East India Company which made it possible -for Clive and Warren Hastings to do their work, was in its beginnings -a money-making concern, and little else. It will be remembered, -for instance, how Warren Hastings was grievously hampered in his -empire-making by the incessant demands of his directors for money. - -Now the distinctive fact of Cecil Rhodes’s career is that he started -the other way. The first solid and salient fact that he appears to have -grasped in those old days in the early seventies, when he used to sit -under the burning African sun at a rough deal table picking diamonds -out from the yellow earth as it was brought by his kaffirs from the old -Kimberley mine, was the transcendent and almost irresistible power of -money. - -In Drake’s day valour and endurance were used to earn money in the -first case, or, if the reader prefers it, to steal money or its -equivalent. This was well enough in its way, and the British Empire -would have got on rather badly without it, but Cecil Rhodes appears to -have had an inspiration on this subject of the sort which only comes -to men of real genius. He seems to have said to himself: “How would it -be to earn the money first in thousands, in hundreds of thousands, in -millions if possible, and then use it to employ in more legitimate work -the same valour and enthusiasm which are just as conspicuous British -qualities now as they were in the days of Queen Elizabeth?” - -It is quite possible that, being an Oxford undergraduate, he remembered -the famous aphorism of Horace: “Honestly if possible--but still make -it.” There may have been some of his transactions which if submitted -to the legal scrutiny, say, of the Lord Chief Justice, would possibly -move him to another exhibition of that “unctuous rectitude” such as -that with which he, the sometime forensic defender of traitors and -sedition-mongers, outpoured on Dr. Jameson and his comrades. - -I have heard stories of the sort myself in Kimberley and elsewhere in -South Africa, but what of that? There are a good many things in our -history that it would be difficult to defend on moral grounds, and yet -without them we should have little or no history at all. - -There are several of Cecil Rhodes’s own sayings on record which show -clearly the light in which he looked upon large quantities of money not -merely as money, not as vulgar riches, but as an indispensable means to -an exalted end. - -He was with Gordon in that sadly futile expedition of his to -Basutoland, and during one of their conversations Gordon told him how -he had been offered a roomful of gold as a reward for his services in -China. - -“And you mean to say you didn’t take it?” said Rhodes, possibly with -some doubt of the great Crusader’s sanity in his mind. - -“No, I didn’t,” said Gordon. “I didn’t feel altogether justified in -doing so. I had been paid already for what I’d done.” - -“I should have taken it, and as many more roomfuls as they would have -given me,” said Rhodes, without hesitation. “Just think how much more -you could have done with it. It’s no use for us to have big ideas if we -have not got the money to carry them out.” - -That was Cecil Rhodes. He didn’t say: “Think how much it would have -come to,” or “How rich a man it would have made you,” or even “What you -would have been able to buy with it,” but “What you could _do_ with -it.” Those who call Cecil Rhodes a money-grabber, a financial schemer, -and all the rest of it, might learn something from that conversation -were they not as they are. - -There is no doubt but that he first of all devoted himself body and -soul to the making of money, and yet in the meanwhile he must have been -slowly shaping this Ideal of his. Early in the eighties he was talking -about South Africa generally with a friend, and during the course of -the conversation he pointed to the map and said: “There! All English! -That’s my dream.” And all English it would have been if it had not been -for the stupidity, the ignorance, and the cowardice of the vote-hunters -in Downing Street, who were afraid to be worried with the cares, though -they had no objection to avail themselves of the honours and profits of -empire-making. - -It is a favourite theory of my own that no man ought to be allowed to -sit either in the House of Lords or the House of Commons unless he has -been at least once round the world and visited the greater part of the -British Empire. - -If this had been the rule during the present reign, I am perfectly -certain that, whether by purchase, conquest, or colonisation, the whole -of Africa from the Zambesi to the Cape would now be coloured red, and -there would probably have been a red streak stretching from Cairo _viâ_ -Khartoum to the shores of Lake Tanganyka. - -In one of his speeches, Cecil Rhodes aptly described South Africa as -the Cinderella of the British Colonies, and this is perfectly true. -There is hardly a single instance in which Downing Street has not tried -to lose what every one now recognises as of almost priceless importance. - -Thus, for instance, in 1872 Lord Kimberley might have bought Delagoa -Bay, “the keyhole of Africa,” for the paltry amount of twelve or -fifteen thousand pounds and he refused the bargain. It would be cheap -now at ten millions. Unfortunately, as his biographer aptly puts it, -there was no Cecil Rhodes then to find the money out of his own pocket. -He was still sitting on a bucket and sorting diamonds in Kimberley. - -Again, in 1875, the Cape Colonial Government strongly urged the -annexation of Walfisch Bay and Damaraland on the south-west coast. The -reply of Downing Street was: “Her Majesty can give no encouragement -to schemes for the retention of British jurisdiction over Great -Namaqualand and Damaraland.” - -This, by the way, is a somewhat important point to those who wish to -get a clear view of Cecil Rhodes’s work as an Empire-Maker in South -Africa. Twenty-two years ago Ernst von Weber, who had been prospecting, -as it were, for a German South African Empire, said: “What would not -such a country full of such inexhaustible natural treasures become if -in course of time it is filled with German emigrants! Besides all its -own natural and subterraneous treasures, the Transvaal offers to the -European Power which possesses it an easy access to the immensely rich -tracts of country which lie between the Limpopo and the Central African -lakes and the Congo.” - -In 1884 Prince Bismarck said before a committee of the Reichstag: -“No opposition is apprehended from the British Government, and the -machinations of the Colonial authorities must be prevented.” - -Now look at any modern map of South Africa. Damaraland is now German -territory, the Transvaal has been given back to the corrupt and -tyrannical government which has of late made itself a libel on the -name of civilisation. A German railway runs from Pretoria to Delagoa -Bay, the only road from the sea to the Transvaal which does not pass -through British territory. There is a regular line of German steamers -to Delagoa Bay, and through this channel have come in the German -officers who have drilled the Transvaal army and built the forts which -command Johannesburg and Pretoria, as well as the field-pieces and -machine-guns, the thousands of rifles and the millions of cartridges, -which have no other purpose than the oppression of British subjects and -the slaughter of British soldiers as soon as the psychological moment -arrives. - -This much for the present has been lost, and unhappily no one has been -hung for the losing of it. Some day it will have to be taken back, -probably at a frightful loss of life and an enormous expenditure of -money. - -But there is one bright spot in the picture. Between the German -territory of Damaraland and the western frontier of the Transvaal and -the Free State there is a broad stretch of red. It was only painted red -just in the nick of time, and it was Cecil Rhodes who painted it. - -Another glance at the map will convince you in a moment what would have -happened if he had not made Bechuanaland British. To the east there is -the ignorantly hostile Transvaal. Behind that and stretching far away -to the northward is the Portuguese territory of Mozambique. Farther -north are the southern confines of the Soudan, and the enormous virgin -lands of Central Africa. To the west is German West Africa. Hence, -but for that red strip, there would be no way either by sea or land -through British territory--that is to say, through no territory that -would not be hostile--to the Central African Empire of the future, most -of which is, thanks to Cecil Rhodes, already called Rhodesia. - -People who only read the English papers, some of which would appear, -like the Pretoria _Press_ and the _Standard and Diggers News_, to be in -the pay of Mr. President Krüger and his corrupt legislature, have an -idea, and a very natural one too, that the great company known as the -De Beers Consolidated Mines is just a money-making concern and nothing -else. There never was a greater mistake. The De Beers Company is the -creation of Cecil Rhodes, and therefore it had to be an empire-making -concern one way or the other. - -One night there was a conversation between three men in Kimberley, -which deserves to become historical. The three men were Alfred Beit, -Barnie Isaacs Barnato, and Cecil John Rhodes. Each of these three men -had something that the others wanted. Beit and Barnato don’t seem to -have wanted much more than good business, but Alfred Beit already -knew Cecil Rhodes for something much greater and better than merely a -business man and piler-up of money-bags, so he supported them. - -What Rhodes wanted was nothing less than the levying of a subsidy -on the diamond mining industry of Kimberley, for the purpose of -empire-making in the north. Barnie Barnato kicked at this. In the end -he gave way, as he always did to Rhodes, and the result was that the De -Beers Corporation was virtually taxed to the extent of half a million -sterling for that northward expansion which Cecil Rhodes made possible -when he persuaded Sir Hercules Robinson to proclaim the Bechuanaland -Protectorate and checkmated the Germans on the west and the Boers on -the east just as they were going to join hands across it. - -What they really meant to do may be easily inferred from Van Niekerk’s -raid into the so-called Stella-Land which necessitated Sir Charles -Warren’s expedition--for which the Pretorian Government still owes -us about a million and a half--and Colonel Ferreira’s attempted raid -across the Limpopo into Matabeleland which was only stopped by Dr. -Jameson’s Maxims. - -If it had not been for Cecil Rhodes and the De Beers half million, the -British flag would not now be flying over a region as large as France -and Germany combined which, by all appearances, is destined to be the -nucleus of the South African Empire of the day after to-morrow. - -In such a vast country as South Africa--how big it is may be guessed -from the comparison between it and England on the map--the first -requisite for advancing civilisation is a road, the next a telegraph, -and the next is a railway, and the absolute necessity of these to -the new domain that he was making for Britain was of course plainly -apparent to such a man as Cecil Rhodes. - -His dream, which, if he lives long enough, he will certainly realise, -is the making of that British high road from Cairo to Cape Town -which Gordon, but for the baseness which betrayed him to his death, -would certainly now be helping to make from the other end. Therefore -when there was a shortness of money for the making of the railway -to Mafeking, and for carrying the telegraph up through Rhodesia and -northward across the Zambesi, the deficiency was supplied out of the -capacious pockets of the man who, if he had only had the chance, would -have been so glad to give that £12,000 for Delagoa Bay, and who knows -Africa well enough to see that with its rinderpest, its locusts, and -its horse-sickness, it stands in more need of mechanical transit and -communication than any other part of the world. - -When the extension of the Beira railway became necessary Cecil Rhodes, -by the sheer force of his own character, persuaded Lord Rothschild to -put down £25,000, every penny of which the great financier believed -was going to be “chucked into the sea.” His Lordship probably thinks -differently now. - -Perhaps the most salient feature in the contemporary history of South -Africa is the silent but ceaseless struggle for mastery which is going -on, and has been going on for years, between Cecil Rhodes and Paul -Krüger. - -There are some people who say that there are only two men in South -Africa. In the political sense this is probably true. So far, with the -single exception, perhaps, of the Jameson Raid and the consequences -which the weakness of our officials abroad and the cowardice of our -government at home made so deplorable, the enlightened Englishman has -scored at every move over the dishonest cunning of the ignorant Dopper. - -He prevented him joining hands with the Germans across Bechuanaland, -he stopped his raid into Matabeleland, he got his raiders stopped on -the confines of Amatongaland--and so destroyed his cherished dream of a -Transvaal seaboard--and, worse than all, he has made Rhodesia a so much -better place even for Dutchmen to live in than the Transvaal, that the -Boers are every day treking through the drifts of the Limpopo to live -on British soil and under British rule--that of Paul Krüger and his -German and Hollander hangers-on becoming impossible for self-respecting -men to submit to just as fast as their avarice and stupidity can make -it so. - -Both these men have their dreams. Paul Krüger is not the sort of person -whom any one would associate with an ideal. Still he has got one. It is -a United States of South Africa, under what he is pleased to consider -republican rule. - -He is probably too ignorant to know that, with the possible exceptions -of Russia and Turkey, there never was a civilised or half-civilised -Government less like a republic than the corrupt and tyrannical -oligarchy of Pretoria, but that’s what he means, and it is to fight for -that and not to fight for the independence of the Transvaal, which he -knows perfectly well is secured by the Imperial Government, that he has -built his forts and imported his German officers, German cannon, and -German rifles and ammunition. - -Cecil Rhodes also has an ideal. It is a federation of the South -African states, crown colony, republic and self-governing colony, -each possessing the management of its own affairs, and directing them -according to the will of the majority, and all united under the ægis of -the British flag, and enjoying that equal freedom and security which -cause nineteen out of every twenty emigrants from France and Germany to -go and settle in British colonies rather than in their own. - -Which of the two ideals will be realised is not very difficult to see. -The one is artificial, unnatural, and two hundred years behind the -times. The other is natural, logical, and if anything, a little bit -ahead of the times, and the difference between them is not altogether -unlike the difference between Paul Krüger and Cecil Rhodes. - -It would, of course, be quite outside the range of human possibility -for a man to have attained to the real greatness of Cecil Rhodes -without having made a good many enemies, public and private. - -Of his private enemies there is no need to say very much. In the first -place, until human nature has changed very considerably, it would -be quite impossible for any man to have been so uniformly and so -brilliantly successful as Cecil Rhodes has been without making plenty -of enemies both private and public. One of the very worst methods -of promoting brotherly love in the breasts of men whose standard of -manliness is not quite up to the average is to out-distance them in -the race for political distinction, or to out-wit them in the trickery -of finance--and I don’t suppose that any one would be readier to admit -that, in its ultimate analysis, finance is mainly trickery than Cecil -Rhodes himself. - -This category would include practically all the private and personal -enemies of Cecil Rhodes save one. The exception is, I regret to say, a -woman, and that is a fact which naturally blunts the pen of criticism -when it is held in the hands of a man. There would be no need to -mention Mrs. Cronwright-Schreiner--better known in literary circles as -Olive Schreiner--here but for the fact that she has made it impossible -to pass her over without notice by writing the most recent and, I fear -I must also say, the most virulent and untruthful attack that has been -made upon the personal character and public policy of our South African -Empire-Maker. - -And yet even this attack is in its way a sort of testimonial to the -greatness of the man whose reputation it was intended to demolish, -despite the fact that in it Cecil Rhodes is depicted as a monster of -iniquity and as the head of a soulless and tyrannical corporation -which has not only been guilty of all the crimes in the Decalogue, but -has invented a few new ones to go on with. Strange to say, however, -when Mrs. Cronwright-Schreiner was once interrupted in one of her -well-known denunciations of the greatest Englishman of his day with -the remark that after all he was a great man, she exclaimed: “A -great man! Of course he is, a very great man, and that’s the pity of -it!” The almost unanimous verdict of the English and South African -press on the deplorable literary and political blunder which Mrs. -Cronwright-Schreiner perpetrated in writing “Trooper Peter Halkett,” -goes far to show that her personal estimate of her enemy is a good deal -more correct than her literary and political estimate. - -Of the public enemies of Cecil Rhodes it will suffice to point out -briefly that, without one exception and whatever their nationality, -they are also the enemies of his country. It is noteworthy too that -Cecil Rhodes himself seems to have an instinctive perception of real -as distinguished from apparent or merely superficial hostility to the -British Empire. - -He recognised long ago, for instance, that our most dangerous enemies -both at home and abroad are the Germans, and throughout his whole -career he has lost no opportunity of checking and checkmating, so far -as the cowardice and apathy of the Colonial Office has permitted him, -their innumerable and dishonest attempts to undermine the British -supremacy in South Africa. - -If I were asked to name the three men who hate him most bitterly I -think I should say Paul Krüger, Dr. W. J. Leyds and the German Emperor. -It is something more than a coincidence that these three men should -also be the bitterest and most determined enemies of the British Empire. - -There can hardly be any doubt now in the minds of well-informed people -that the conditions which provoked the pitiful attempt at revolution in -Johannesburg and led up to the Jameson Raid were made in Germany, or -at any rate by German hands. The whole thing was what may be described -with more force than elegance as “a put up job.” - -The idea was to goad the Outlanders to revolt, put the rebellion down -by armed force, assert the absolute independence of the Transvaal as a -consequence, and get rid of that awkward clause in the Convention of -1884 which asserts the suzerainty of Great Britain over the Transvaal -by compelling the Pretorian government to submit all its foreign -treaties to the supervision of the Colonial Office. - -The next step would have been an offensive and defensive alliance with -Germany, and then, if there had been no Special Squadrons or obstacles -of that sort in the way, the Transvaal would have been gradually -Germanised. - -It was this that Cecil Rhodes foresaw when he ordered Dr. Jameson to -mass his men on the Transvaal frontier. This was, in fact, his answer -to the German application to the Portuguese Government for permission -to land sailors and marines from the _See-Adler_ in Delagoa Bay with a -view to sending them up to Pretoria in violation of the most explicit -treaty obligations. - -It is quite plain now that Cecil Rhodes intended this force as a -practical hint, and not as an invading army. I remember one night -shortly after the Raid, I was smoking the pipe of peace with some of -the Transvaal officials on the stoep of President Krüger’s house in -Pretoria. We were discussing Cecil Rhodes’s complicity in the Raid, -and in answer to a suggestion that he was at the bottom of it all, I -said: “No doubt Rhodes knew all about it. I needn’t tell you gentlemen -that nothing happens in South Africa that he doesn’t know, but he -never meant Jameson to cross the frontier when he did. If he had meant -invasion he would have had the country by now, but you won’t convince -me that Cecil Rhodes is such a fool as to try and jump the Transvaal -with five hundred men.” - -The only answer to this was a general laugh. President Krüger is not -supposed to understand English, but he laughed too. - -Of Cecil Rhodes’s enemies at home it is so difficult to speak with -anything like patience that they had better be passed over as briefly -as possible. The unceasing hostility of a certain section of the -British Press may, to some extent, be accounted for by the fact that he -has many powerful financial rivals, and that the Transvaal Government -has almost unique opportunities for bribery. - -Few newspapers are quite incorruptible. They are primarily run to -pay, and, therefore, it is hardly to be expected that they should be -entirely proof against the manifold seductions which an individual -millionaire, or a government with a vast secret service fund, is able -to practise upon them. - -It is almost impossible to believe that their hostility is really -sincere. They know perfectly well that empire-making cannot be done -with kid gloves on. They know, also, that the amount of actual -good that Cecil Rhodes has done in South Africa, even apart from -empire-making, is almost incalculable. None know this better than the -loyal Dutch burghers of the Cape and the Kaffirs. The former call him -“the Englishman with the Afrikander heart”; the latter call him their -father. But for him there would probably not be many loyal Dutch at -all at the Cape; and but for him also Matabeleland and Mashonaland -would still be the happy hunting-ground of King Lobengula’s murdering, -ravaging, and slave-making impis. - -[Illustration: THAT HISTORIC INDABA IN THE MATOPPOS.] - -He is, in fact, as was plainly shown in that historic Indaba in the -Matoppos, the one white man in South Africa whom the natives -love and trust. It is not many men who, with millions enough to buy -everything that the world has to sell in the way of comfort and luxury -and honours--as distinguished from honour--who would have gone as -he did, armed only with a walking-stick, into the stronghold of the -Matabele, and there won from them the title of “the bull that separates -the fighting bulls,”--in other words, the peacemaker--and stopped a war -which, if the Imperial authorities had had their way, would have gone -on into the next year, and would have cost four or five millions at -least. - -It is, by the way, characteristic of the strength of mind and fixity of -purpose of this man, that he solemnly warned Sir Richard Martin that, -if, after this, the war was continued, he would himself go and live -among the Matabele, and wash his hands of the whole affair. - -It is noteworthy, too, that this man, whom Olive Schreiner describes by -the mouth of her impossible trooper as “death on niggers,” is, in the -opinion of the niggers themselves, the greatest friend they ever had. - -If all the work of all the societies and associations of amiable old -ladies of both sexes for the Protection of the Aborigines and the -Elevation of the Savage were put together, it would not amount to a -tithe of what Cecil Rhodes has done for the natives of South Africa. -The Glen-Grey Act alone has almost emptied the prisons of kaffir -offenders, and as for his work at Kimberley, the effects of which I -have myself seen, it would be difficult to speak too highly of it. - -Thus, for instance, it is not generally known that Cecil Rhodes is the -greatest practical temperance worker in the world. Every one knows that -the curse of all savage races in contact with civilised peoples is -liquor. When he was moving the second reading of the Glen-Grey Act he -said: - -“I know the curse of liquor. Personally at the Diamond Fields I have -assisted in making ten thousand of these poor children hard-working -and sober. They are now in compounds, healthy and happy. In their -former condition the place was a hell upon earth, therefore my heart is -thoroughly with the idea of removing liquor from the natives.” - -I have myself seen “these poor children” happy, healthy, and sober, -in the compounds of Kimberley. In the Transvaal and the Portuguese -territory I have seen them drunken, degraded, and diseased, and I am in -a position to say that every word of the above quotation is solid fact. -I wonder how many of our professional temperance agitators could point -to such a splendid achievement as that. - -It seems, perhaps, a good deal to say of Cecil Rhodes that, not only -has he enormously increased our area of empire in South Africa, but -that he is the only man who can efficiently protect that empire from -the two greatest dangers which threaten it. - -These are, first, a war of Dutch against British, such as the Pretorian -Government and its German allies have been trying so hard to bring -about, and for the purposes of which they have been arming themselves -to the teeth; and, second, a general native uprising, which would very -probably follow hard on the heels of the racial war. - -Now the only English statesman who is thoroughly believed in by the -Dutch majority at the Cape is Cecil Rhodes, and the only white man who -is thoroughly trusted and respected by the natives of all tribes is -also Cecil Rhodes, and this is a fact which goes very far to account -for the desperate anxiety of the Hollander-German-Boer party in South -Africa and Europe to get him thoroughly disgraced and discredited over -the Jameson fiasco. - -The measure of their failure is not only the measure of his triumph. It -is also the measure of the future peace and prosperity of British South -Africa. We live too near the man to see him in his just proportions, -but, unless Downing Street excels, if that be possible, its own -blunders in the past, and unless this royal race of ours suddenly -belies all its best traditions, a day must come when the British flag -will fly over a federated and united South Africa, when the rule of the -Boer will have gone the way of all anachronisms--and in that day men -will look back and see, in juster perspective than we can do, the great -qualities of the man who has made it all possible. - -It is probable that in that day the very names of his enemies and -detractors will be forgotten, or remembered only as we remember the -name of Cataline in connection with that of Cicero. Then Cecil Rhodes -will take his place beside Robert Clive and Warren Hastings, and in -some great square of the future Metropolis of the British African -Empire, there will stand a statue of him, and on its base will probably -be inscribed those memorable words of his:-- - -“All English: That’s my dream!” - -And with such words I, too, may fittingly bring to a close this all too -imperfect series of word-portraits of some, at least, of the Men Who -Have Made the Empire. - - -UNWIN BROTHERS, THE GRESHAM PRESS, WOKING AND LONDON. - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber’s note: - -Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a -predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they -were not changed. - -Simple typographical errors, including occasional missing letters and -punctuation at the ends of some lines, were corrected; unpaired -quotation marks were remedied when the change was obvious, and -otherwise left unpaired. - -Illustrations in this eBook have been positioned between paragraphs -and outside quotations. - -Page 8: “Oune” probably is a misprint for “Orne”. - -Page 204: “Sir Thomas Wren” should be “Sir Christopher Wren”. - -Page 261: “countymen” may be a misprint for “countrymen”. - -Page 268: “Dafour” was printed that way. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEN WHO HAVE MADE THE EMPIRE*** - - -******* This file should be named 63148-0.txt or 63148-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/3/1/4/63148 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you - are located before using this ebook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - |