The Sun.
London, England, 1858-06-29 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

History of the Life of Arthur Duke of Wellington ;
from the-French of M. Briainaontswith emenda-
tions and addictions by the Rev. G. R. Gleig,
M, A. In three volumes. Vol. I. and 11.
Longman.
The work before us is something of a literary
curiosity, possessing as especial attraction fur the
historical student, and the unbiassed seeker for the
truth on both sides. The age it treats of Las long
since become a part of history. The great men
who wielded the sword, or thundered in the senate,
have long since bid farewell to the battle-field and
the siege,F,,or the fier,:e rivalry of political contests.
But though another generation may criticise with
calmness the actions and principles of its prede-
cessor, the feeling of nationality must unconsciously
intervene, and colour the views of English, French,
Spanish, or Prussian, as they trace the part played
by their own country in the war of netions.
Though every generous spirit will look wills the
same admiration ou the charge of the French
cavalry and the resistance of theEnglieh squares, on
the defence of Sr. Sebastian and the retreat of
Corunna, a r toady fair and correct account cf
ee een,luet cf carnpaigna
will be tar more chtlicalc to
tribute to the valour that ennobles ceurage
the heroism that conquers defeat. It is in sttclr
a case that a work, "compiled by one who claims
kindred neither with the victors nor with the
vanquished," has an cspeeial value. M. Brialmont,
captain on the staff of the Belgian army, naturally
familiar with military questions from his position,
has evidently devoted to the completion of. his
history much time, labour, and research. In some
respects his work is limited iu its interest by the
fact of its being almost entirely a military history,
but this feature will heighten its attractions to these
who regard the subject in a military point of view.
The careful details of the relative positions of the
combatants in every engagement, the facilities or
impediments which the nature of theground offered,
the plan of the attack, is strength or weakness, the
oversights, the petty negligences which turned the
sca'e, the abilities of the rival commanders, the
jealousies and misunderstandings that intelfered,
all are carefully chronicled and fully examined—
the opinions of great military authorities being
sometimes cited!. Maps and plans of all the
campaigns are given, which will greatly assist the
reader's comprehension of tee relative positiens of
the belligerents. It will be remembered that the
work before us was issued. in the original French a
short time since. It is now presented to the
English public in a more accessible form under the
auspices of the Rev. Mr. Gleig, Chaplain-General
to the Forces, already known as an essayist and
military critic. There was a time, lie tells us,
when the idea of becoming a biographer of the
Duke haunted him. He mentioned it to the Duke
himself. But on his jlistly objecting that the time
had not come when such a memoir cou1:1 be pub-
lished with due regard to the feelings and
reputation of others, Mr. Gleig aA,andoneel the
project. Although the subsequent appearance of
the duke's despatches have in some degree altered
the circumstances, the time has not yet a:rived, in
Mr. Gleig's opinion, when a full and complete
biography of the great soldier can with propriety,
and fitting respect for the living and the dead, be
given to the public. Oa the appearance of M.
Brialmont's history, it was proposed to him to
translate it, and endeavour to add to its interest.
This task, after some hesitation, he undertook, and
has acquitted himself of it with credit. It has been,
he tells Ile, easy to follow the duke's military caner
with M. Brialmont's assistance, but, in tracing
his civil and political life, the historian gives little
help, and consequently tte translator has contented
himself for the present wild' narrating the events
of his mil tare life nearly in the words of the Bel-
gian biographer. The, other volume demands
from hint so much more time and ca-.-e, that
ho has judged it best to avail himself of the natural
division in the life of the great duke, and publish
the earlier portion of the work by itself. Few will
be disposed to deny that this arrangement was
judicious, as it presents the military history in a
complete form, and neither division will suffer from
being read alone. Mr. Gleig has seldom bad occa-
sion to differ from M. Brialmont, the chief subject
of it s remonstrance being the chart- cter of the
British soldier, which is unfairly represented by
M. Brialmont, who judged only from the duke's
despatch cc, in which, with characteristic decision,
he censures; every breach of disciplire, and iu
which, according to Mr. Gleig, ho of, en expressed
himself more strongly than he felr. The difficul-
ties with which he had to contend are strongly
painted by M. Brialmont, especially in the con-
duct of the Peninsular war, carried on in that
country, in which, according to Henry IV.,
"large armies are always starved, and small armies
always beaten." his summary of the results of
the Peninsular war is interesting :
" It has been calculated that the war in the Peninsula
cost England upwards of a hundred. millions sterling, ex-
clusive of the large subsidies which she furnished to the
Spanish and Portuguese Governments. It is right, how-
ever, in order to reduce these sacrifices to their proper
value, that we should balance against them the successive
repayments of advances in treasure made upon letters of
exchange, iu goods received from America, or in bills upon
the public treasuries of Peru and Mexico, which for the
most part were faithfully paid. We must likewise take
jute account the many openings which the war created to
English industry anti enumerce, both in America and the
Peninsula, which, if the Spaniards had not risen against
Napoleon, would have had no existence. Be this, how-
ever, as it may, it is certain that England never made so
great an effort upon the Continent. Her troops fought
nine pitched battles, besides numerous combats; all
honourable for them, and almost all ending in favour of
the Spanish cause. They captured four important places,
and undertook the siege of several others. They killed,
wounded, and made prisoners about 200,030 Frenchmen,
and left upon different fields of battle, 40,000 of their
comrades. Undeniable proofs these of their heroism, per-
severance, and endurance.
"The English fleet disquieted the enemy by continual
descents upon his coasts; and yet, notwithstanding these
sacrifices, Great Britain was still able to supply the wants
of the Portuguese army, of which the organisation and
discipline were effected entirely by her officers. As to the
armies of Spain, Wellington was obliged to furnish to them
provision arms, ammunition, and everything else, as
often as desired to bring them into play. This was
especially the case in the campaigns of 1812, 1813, and
1814, during which alone the national troops obtained any
measure of success."
The chief attraction of the work, no doubt, exists
in its fair and meritorious impartiality—au impar-
tiality which gives praise to both sides—which can
appreciate the magnificence of Napoleon's designs
no less titan the steady opposition which baffled
them, and which, regardless of popular opinion,
often censures men and measures that have been
lauded, and praises those whom the fickleness of
public favour has condemned. A keen and search-
ing investigation into the excuses or defences put
forward by partisans does not suffer false pretences
or elaborate arguments to escape. Whether all
M. Brialmont's plans and criticisms would be of
equal value on the field,of battle as on the library
table, must be left for military strategists to de-
cide, but there can be little doubt that he has pro-
duced a valuable contribution to biographical lite- I
rature, and has acquitted himself of an arduous
and elaborate undertaking without depreciating the
merits of the dead, or wounding the national sensi-
bilities of the living.

Day by Day at Lucknow. By Mrs. 00.20, widow of

Col. Case, 32d &gime- nt. Bentley.
This volume, as may be inferred from its title, is
:•another of the daily records of the sufferings and the
heroism which characterised the p:otracted s'ege
of Lucknow. The authoress is tone of those wham
that terrible siege deprived of her nearest relative,
and her records possess a mournful intoree. They
wen.) written, like most of the other diaties which
have been published, for the perusal of friends in
England, who would naturally be desirous of know-
ing the full particulars and ntinu'e details which
the pressure of anxiety and lapse of time m;ght
very probably cause to be forgottt..n. Tires© friends,
when they had perused them, very naturally sug-
gested to the writer that so few journals had sur-
vived the siege and the wreck, that any particulars
would be read with great interest by the relatives
of these who hid shared in the dangers and de-
: \IT!: s- ire rrlii-tAnce 014 Agreed, and
those whom death or ciicumstane. ki have pie.
from receiving. the desired intelligence from their
friends, will be interested to find their natnes or
ac'ions chronicled by another. There is not much
that is striking in the work itself, but the. ciremn.-
stances give it a peculiar attraction, and the uni-
versal sympathy and admiration felt for the besieged
in Lucknow has not yet abated sufficiently to de-
prive it of its charm, nor have the records been so
numerous that another journal should not be wel-
comed by the pub Fe.

DEATH CAUSED BY AN EXPLOSION AT THE BEENTPORD
DISTILLERY.—An inquest was held at St. George's Hos-
pital, on Friday right, on the body of Wm. Morris, who
worked at the Brentford Distillery. A few days ago
the spit it vat was to be cleaned out and the manager
went down into it, tut returned, saying it waR not hate.
Tae deceased, however, 'went down will a bull's-eye lat.-
tern, but had only got a few steps when he was tlawn
up again and thrown on the fluor, so hurtled by the ex-
plosion that ho died op Wedneseay last. The jury re-
turned a verdict of accidental death, at the same time
recommending more caution in future.
DEATH BY A BITE PROM A RAT.—At a recent trial of
dogs in a rattery of e of the rats escaped the farrier, mid
got below a chair upon which one of the fancy hapi.ened
to be at the time sitting. The man, wishing to expose
the rat to the dog, put down his hand ; the animal,
boa ever, taking offence at the liberty used, bit his
thumb. Thinking the matter slight, that the bite vas a
simple scratch, he allowed it to go on for a few days
unnoticed, till dangerous symptoms appearing he became
alarmed, and was obliged to go into the hospital, wher.3,
mortification having ensued, the man in a short time
after died perfectly iusalfe.-1170714 Bi•itidvDail