The herald., 1896-05-24
THE MAN WHO MAY
CONQUER THE SOUDAN

Sir Redvers Butler, the English general
who has been chosen. according to lat
est Intelligence, to command the army
now being organized in Egypt and in
England for the reconqueSt of the Sou
dan next autumn, may be said to owe his
appointment to the fact that Lord w olSe-
ley finds it impossible to get along with
him at the war department in London.
Sir Redvers holds the position at pres
, ent of adjutant-ge of the British
army, a post second only in rank to that
or the commander-in-chi now vested
in the hands of Field Marshal Lord
Wolseley. He already held this appoint
ment while the old duke of Cambridge
was generalissimo of the forces, and be-
came far too great a favorite of Duke
George to find grace in the eyes of his
successor, all the more as he had been
himself very popular candidate for
the command in chief and the favorite
OF all those many people who dislike
Wolseley and his ways. Lord Wolseley
cannot bear to have about him any
man who is not blindly obedient to his
behests, who Is not imbued with deep
admiration for his genius, and he has
likewise always made it point to keep
out of the way men whose rank, prestige
and fame in any way threatened to COM
pare with, and therefore, obscure, his
own. Butler was all very well as long
as he was content to occupy subordi
nate position, and just so long Lord
Wolseley pushed his fortunes and helped
his promotion. But the moment that
Butler got sufficiently near the top of the
tree to become a rival Lord Wolseley
had no further use for his former sub
altern.
Sir Redvers, who halls from the great
west of England family to which that
Hon. Mrs. Yarde-Buller, nee Miss Kirk
ham of California, the heroine of sem
sational divorce case now in progress
n dow, hA1x fe.T. coll i,it e
ed, heavily built man, with most pc
culiar nose, high cheekbones and some
what sardonic mouth and smile. Indeed
he is the reverse of handsome. Very
brusque and abrupt in his manner, he
has made many enemies thereby. He
is extremely direct in his dealings, and
enjoys the reputation of being
the most obstinate and opinionated man
in the British army.
A good story is told, by the by, con-
corning his obstinacy. 1t appears that
during the last Nile campaign, when de-
scending through one Of the cataracts
on board a river steamer he got into
discussion with Lord Charles Beresford
as to the proper channel that should be
taken. Each obstinately defended his
own course, but in the end that which
Butler insisted upon was adopted, and
the steamer got through without acct
dert.
You see, I was right" cried SIR Red
yers. mine was the proper charm Fl:
THAT was mine, too" coolly replied
Lord Charles; Il only re ;)mmended
the other because I knew you would go
against whatever I said"
Sir Redvers possesses large fortune
in his own right and another in that OF
his wife. Moreover he has a magnin-
cent country seat and large estate In the
west of England, and delights to live
the life of an English country gentle
man. He has served in almost every
quarter of the globe, and while on this
continent was employed as outpost OFF,
Ger; that is to say, he was in command
of all those English military stations
and posts that have been organized
along the Canadian frontier under the
plea of preventing the desertion on the
part of the British troops. He is one of
the best read men in the army, and has
every branch of military science at his
fingers end, which does not, however.
prevent him from being man Of great
action and above all a splendid fighter,
the highly priced Victoria cross. that
badge Of military heroism, dangling
from his breast. It may be asked that,
disilking Sir Redvers as he does, why
Lord Wolseley should thus give him an
opportunity Of acquiring fresh laurels