THE FRENCH GENERAL TURENNE. THE Viscount de Turenne was one of the most famous generals of France. He lived in the seventeenth century, in the reigns of Louis XIII. and Louis XIV., and his life was almost entirely spent in war; for he entered the army when about thirteen years old, and he was still commanding the armies of France when he was killed at the age of sixty-four. Although he was such a brave warrior, however, and such a skilful commander, so as to be almost always victorious, this alone would not have made him a pattern which it would do any good to set before us, or such a character as it should give us pleasure to read and think of. But he was much more than a brave soldier and renowned generalhis character was a very noble one, for it was truly a Christian one; and so, for many reasons, we may learn much from what we are told of his life. It is said of him, that in the midst of wars and victories he never forgot that he was also a soldier of Jesus Christ. This we, too, have all promised to be; and, from the example of Turenne, we may learn that no circumstance or situation can really prevent it, APRIL 1845. if we in earnest desire to fulfil our vow. There are things, too, in which the example of a brave soldier in earthly wars may teach us what the conduct of those should be who serve in another kind of warfare; and may help us the more to understand why Christians are called soldiers of Jesus Christ. These lessons we should try to learn from the history of any great warrior of whom we read. And some must still serve in the armies of their country, and fight when called upon to defend it; and they especially should remember how such a soldier as "the great Turenne" (for so he was called) found it possible while he served his king so faithfully, also to serve God. He first entered the army in Holland, under the care of his uncles, Prince Maurice and Prince Henry. He served for twelve months as a private soldier, that he might, from the very beginning, learn all that belonged to military duties. He took the greatest pains to do so, though it required much patience and resolution; and when, after this time, he was made a captain, he shewed equal diligence, although he was so young, in fulfilling the duties of an officer. He behaved so kindly to his soldiers, that he gained their affection, as he never failed to do all through his life, while at the same time he required from them strict obedience, and watched over their general conduct as well as their behaviour as soldiers. He accustomed himself from the first to bear hardships, and would even go without necessaries, that he might be able to give rewards to the men under his command, and so encourage them in good conduct. At the age of twenty-three, he was made a major-general, and sent with the army into Germany to assist the great Gustavus, king of Sweden. The long war which had been carried on in Germany had ruined the country; and the distress of the troops became very great for want of provisions. Turenne sold his plate and carriages, that he might be able to supply their wants as far as he could; and when a long and painful retreat followed, he comforted, encouraged, and sympathised with all; relieving all the distress he could, whether of Frenchmen, or strangers, or enemies; and he caused all he could spare of his baggage to be thrown out of the waggons, to make as much room as possible for those who were not able to walk. Soon after this time, the commander-in-chief died; Turenne was next in command, and every one thought he would succeed him. But Cardinal Richelieu, the prime-minister, appointed another; for he did not understand the merits of Turenne. Far from shewing displeasure or jealousy, however, the viscount continued to serve willingly under the new commander. He was about thirty-two when he was made a marshal and general of the French army in Italy; but he always received his honours with such simplicity and modesty, that he seemed as if scarcely conscious of them. He never took any merit to himself for his victories, or appeared proud of the successes which astonished every one else. He wrote his accounts of them in the most short and simple manner; and it was his custom, when he told of any victory, to say, "We gained;" but if he spoke of any failure, he said then, "I lost." Among the many proofs of the nobleness of his disposition, as well as the sweetness and moderation of his temper, it is said that he passed his life without ever having a personal quarrel with any one. And the generous kindness with which he treated those who had acted most unjustly or maliciously towards him many times overcame their envy and ill-will, and even changed them into friends. would always, if possible, conquer without bloodshed, and would wait long without attacking a town or fortress, if he thought it might be brought to yield without an assault, even when his soldiers were impatient, and murmured at his delay. And often did his humanity and disinterestedness gain him the He hearts of his enemies. On one occasion, the inhabitants of a large town offered him 10,000 crowns if he would not lead his troops so as to pass through it; but he answered, that as he had not intended to take the army that way, he could not receive the money they offered him. All After the murder of our King Charles I. when the queen and royal family of England took refuge in France, the young Duke of York joined the army under Turenne, and became exceedingly attached to him, as the viscount was also to the duke. A little afterwards, a short time of peace left Turenne at liberty to form a noble project, which he was exceedingly anxious to accomplish,-that of himself restoring Charles II. to the English throne. He offered his own regiment of 1200 men, with arms for four or five thousand more; besides provisions and money, and ships to transport the troops. was prepared, indeed, and the troops were on the point of embarking, when the state of things in England made it necessary to delay. Turenne in the mean time corresponded with the English royalists, and seems to have done more than any other foreigner towards bringing about the happy restoration of Charles II. This took place soon afterwards; and although the noble French general had not the opportunity of making the personal efforts and sacrifices that he had intended, yet Englishmen should gratefully remember how ready he had been to do so, and how earnestly he had desired to serve the English king in his distress. In the year 1666 Turenne lost his wife, to whom he had been married about twelve years. She is said to have been worthy of the Viscount de Turenne, and her character is thus described: "She was of one of the noblest families in France, but her birth and fortune distinguished her less than her piety, her virtues, and superior understanding. Noble and elevated sentiments, with knowledge not common in the female sex, were in her accompanied by All sweetness and modesty, and an inexpressible delicacy and simplicity of manners.' In the deep affliction caused by this loss, and during a short peace which followed about this time, Turenne devoted himself to the study of religion. He does not seem ever to have been thoughtless of it; his letters to his wife, as well as his whole conduct, shew that he was far from being so; but he now became more truly in earnest; and it was said of him after his death, by a bishop who knew him, "the light of grace now caused him to perceive that in vain would his name fill the noblest place in history, if it were not found written in the book of life." things were now seen by him in a different light, and wars and victories could no longer fill his whole mind. He desired to retire from the world, and give himself altogether to religious thoughts and employments; but the king would not give his consent to this; and Turenne believed it to be in this case his first duty to obey his sovereign: he received the commands of his king as shewing him what was the will of God. But he continued to lead as retired and simple a life as his public duties allowed; and it was said of him, that he lived in Paris like a hero of ancient Rome. Those who said so probably did not understand how much more high and pure was the life of a Christian hero. After two or three years of quiet, however, those wars began with the Prince of Orange and the German Emperor, in which the remainder of the life of Turenne was passed. In these wars he more fully than ever acted as a Christian warrior should do. The bishop before mentioned said, in a kind of sermon preached after his death, when speaking of these last campaigns of Turenne,-"To begin battles by prayer, to restrain impiety and blasphemy, to protect holy persons and things, to invoke the Lord of Hosts in all dangers, is the duty and ordinary care of all generals. But Turenne went further: while he commanded the troops, he looked upon |