attain an adequate result, and the confidence in his troops which induces a reciprocal feeling.

It was said by the Duke of Wellington that there were not half a dozen generals in the British army who could march a body of 10,000 men into and out of Hyde Park without confusion; and if this is so, few indeed are the generals in ours or any other army who would undertake to march a force of 14,000 men and 60 guns, forming a line nearly four miles in length, for a distance of eight miles over the trackless desert, guided only by the glimmer of the stars. To perform this operation so that, at the moment of attack, the whole line should have taken up their assigned positions with absolute accuracy, is a feat unprecedented in ancient or modern warfare. With such judgment was the time for the final rush selected, that had it been a few minutes earlier it would have been too dark, and had it been a few minutes later the surprise would have failed; while, as planned, the exact moment was chosen when the assault could be delivered with the smallest loss, the distance to be crossed under fire was moderate, and the leaden hail mostly passed over the heads of the stormers.

Again Lord Wolseley displayed his military genius,* which in him is almost an instinct, in dividing his operations into two distinct attacks, so that in the event of one failing, the chance of the second succeeding would not be lessened. Between the two attacks the artillery was massed; on the right flank was the whole of the cavalry, to profit by success or cover a retreat; and on the left flank, south of the Canal, marched the Indian Contingent, which moved one hour and a half after the main body, in order that it might

་

A writer of acknowledged originality and graphic power, Mr. Kinglake, in his latest published (the seventh) volume of the Invasion of the Crimea,' goes out of his way to compliment Lord Wolseley and his army for their achievements in Egypt. The passage is as forcibly and picturesquely written as anything from the pen of the author of Eothen.'

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

xi

press home its attack only in the event of success. Lord Wolseley knew that if one of the attacking brigades could establish a footing within the enemy's works, all would be lost for the Egyptians; and so it proved when the Highlanders crossed the ditch and scaled the intrenchments.

It was the chief characteristic of Napoleon that he gave no time to a beaten enemy to rally, but followed up a victory with crushing effect. In this crucial test of a great general Wolseley is not wanting. Having defeated the Egyptian army, he gave no thought to his rear or transport-these had been sufficiently provided for in the busy days since landing at Ismailia; but he directed his undivided attention to crushing the enemy in his front beyond the power of his again rallying, and seizing the strategic points, above all the capital, menaced with the fate of Alexandria. Within forty-eight hours of his victory, he had reaped the full fruits of that surprising success. The country had been overrun, the army dispersed, and, with the surrender of Cairo and of the rebel leaders, the resistance to the authority of the Khedive collapsed.

Lord Wolseley has had to pay the penalty of greatness, and cavillers have sought to detract from the credit due to him for the uniform success he has achieved; but since his last surprising performance the voice of envy and detraction, which, in former campaigns, attributed success to fortune, or to his staff (who repudiated the honour), has been silent under the unanimity with which foreign as well as home critics have lauded the originality of his plans for the conquest of Egypt, and the boldness and promptitude with which he put them into execution. From a political point of view the services he has rendered to his country by the rapidity and completeness of his success can scarcely be exaggerated, and will become more apparent with the lapse of time. That trite phrase of Julius Cæsar-Veni,

vidi, vici-has never been more aptly applied than to the conquest of Egypt by the British General. To have overrun and subdued in twenty-five days the country of the Pharaohs and Ptolemies-the classic land that has witnessed the glories of Alexander, Cæsar, and Napoleon-must be a proud recollection to Lord Wolseley, to the brave army he has led to victory, and to the country that gave them birth. C. R. LOW.

KENSINGTON, January, 1883.

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.

SOME explanation appears necessary in publishing the Biography of a man still living. On the 6th of May, 1874 immediately on the return of Sir Garnet Wolseley from Ashantee, I commenced to write this Memoir of his military services. The task was a difficult one, for Sir Garnet had lost all his papers and journals. During the Indian Mutiny they were stolen, and what remained to him were burnt at the great fire at the Pantechnicon, where all his furniture and effects were consumed. When, therefore, I applied to him for assistance, he expressed his regret that he had no private papers whatever in his possession, but consented to give me all the information in his power. Thus, at numerous interviews, whenever he had a spare hour from his duties at the War Office, as head of the Auxiliary Forces, he told me

'The story of his life,

From year to year; the battles, sieges, fortunes,
That he had passed.

He ran it through, even from his boyish days,
To the very moment that I bade him tell it.'

As I was not unfamiliar with the military events of the wars in which he had participated, I was enabled to put to him what lawyers call 'leading questions;' and these, as he frequently owned to me, assisted a naturally retentive memory

in reviving his recollections of the past. In this story of an eventful life, he

'Spoke of most disastrous chances,

Of moving accidents by flood and field;

Of hair-breadth 'scapes i' the imminent deadly breach.

By correspondence and personal acquaintance with officers of his Staff, and others who had served under his orders, I learned anecdotes illustrative of traits of character, which will lend an additional interest to the narrative. In this manner the book was written, and Sir Garnet Wolseley, after perusal, testified to its absolute veracity in a letter addressed to me. The Memoir, especially the earlier portion, may, therefore, almost be regarded as an Autobiography.

The Memoir was passed through a military magazine, but it was not until early in the present year, when war with Russia was imminent, and Sir Garnet was placed under orders as Chief of the Staff to the Expeditionary Army, that I decided to republish, in book form, the military experiences of an officer whose name was in everyone's mouth, as that of a General of established reputation, from whom great things were expected. The Press and periodicals of the day were full of speculations as to his chances of success, and the events of his past career, so far as they were known, were eagerly discussed, thus showing the public interest in him. I accordingly revised the work, and completed it up to date, including an account of the Natal Mission, derived from papers supplied by Sir Garnet Wolseley. However well or ill, from a literary point of view, I may have acquitted myself of the task, at least I may claim for the book the merits of authenticity and completeness, and trust it may be found interesting, as the hero's life has been a changeful scene of adventure, such as falls to the lot of few men in this prosaic age.

In writing of one still among us, it would be unseemly to