New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-02-28

1 ma Y CT
Is heir he revealed his inner heart. The heart q
g., civilian who loved peace and hated war. and
who fought not for the love but FOR the need of
\ eobtfDz. So with the two American soldiers
whom WolseIey most admires. Jackson and Lee
/ ssRoth were great soldiers" he says or them.
"vet neither had any GOthlike delight Ia war
With professional soldiers OF Europe. even az
/ England. the case Is different Between tAen4
and the civilian there is a great gulf hxed The7
stand apart even Brahnin caste and IN
/ then, We not infrequentIy find the spirit OF de-
Ifght I'm war for the sheer lust OF force and
slaughter; fighting for fghting's sake We 90
not. we think, deal unjustly with our present
author in irnputing 20 him a measure or thar
spirit Eloquent pages are given % the praise
OF glory national glory, begotten OF honor and
courage. But the glory which he has m Mind
\ however pure and unselish, is that which pro-
ceeds from military prowess and from that
alone We do not misrepresent him when -
say that he regards war as an ennObI1S thing
and as q means Of national grace, entirely apart
from it's cause or it's necessity Win that Doc
trine we cannot agree. We believe pe-ce. not
war to be the normal condition OF mankind. and
we believe the highest virtues and the greatest
good Of mankind 70 be entirely compatible 7. =
the reign OF peace. Nevertheless, we shall rot
/ quarrel with Lord WoIseey for his opinion. nor
carp at it. for the reason that it is nothing but
| natural to the professional soldier OF his type
It is 4 fine type OF man; it has produced many
| men whom the world has delighted 20 honor.
/ But it is, after all. a peculiarly isolated class
or caste. and it is inevitably moved and gov
erned BY the spirit OF that caste
| With the detailed narrative OF the work before
| Us it is manifestly impossible TO deal II be-
gins with active service in Burmah in 1873. and
| comes down to the end OF the Ashantee war.
| more than q score Of years later. In al that
| time he was seldom elsewhere than in the field
| He was in the DOnnabew expedition. be went
| through the Crinean War and through the
/ SepOy MUtiny; he served in the Chinese War.
| He reorganized the Canadian militia, visited
the Confederate Army. helped to repel the
Fenian raid in Canada. and commanded the
| Red River Expedition He spent two years II
| the War Office. as a member OF u company %
| ''refOrmers." and then went to the West Coast
| Of Africa TO wage the horrible Ashantee war.
| 1t is not necessary to repeat what the world
| well knows that in al this varied service he
| was active, energetic. fearless and Efficient In
| the story in these volumes he begins as an en-
| sign and ends as q major general and 10 man
| will question that every one Of his promotions
was fully earned But he was not only active.
he was an acute and discriminating observer.
| and his relation Of what be saw and his COM
| ments thereon are as valuable as his tales Of
/ what he did are interesting and thrilling We
/ have scarcely met with q more telling exposure
| Of the incompetence Of the British military ad-
| ministratiOn in the Crirnean War. and OF is
| CHASTITY consequence, than is % be found in his
/ indignant pages. Nor can we seriously dissent
/ from his passionate prayer that the political
| gentlemen" who were responsible for that hid
| eous work in the next world may be the slaves
/ Of the noble spirits who died OF want before Sc
/ bastOpoL" His Judgment Of men is generally
| sound and admirable. and is not to be regarded
/ the more lightly because in these volumes il Is
/ recorded after history and the general jUds-
/ ment OF the world have fixed their place. 10 Is
well known that he was prompt and early in his
| recognition Of the genius OF Gordon and OF the
| greatness and the virtues Of others whom We
need not here recall Nor are some OF his judy
/ ments void OF startling courage Lee be de-
clares. was the abIest general and 70 ne
/ seemed the greatest man I have ever cOnversed
with; and yet 1 have had the privilege Of meet
\ ing Won MOltke and Bismarck" That IS not
merely what he thought then. IS a young man
and a Confederate sympathizer. over whom the
knishtly and stately captain OF the VirEinila
legiOns had cast an irresistible glamour. but L
/ is the MIXTURE Judgment Of the veteran soldier.
reviewing at leisure and advisedly the chlrac-
ters and action Of half century's drama We
shall not quarrel with those who place the fig
ure Of Lee upon exalted PEDESTAL Not many
men in any land or age have possessed in 50