New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-03-14

BRII!s4F7 s,,terant Colonel Vandeleur. D. S. o.
Brsye' -1,1-s-1ss and Irish Guards with General
psssrigtioH : q +. s 9. With nine maps and
Z Me- nllstrstions N coiors from water color
tos-1iar. by Nico Jungusnn svo PIP 2sS
eTssr.sns. Green 4 CO.
citing that the brief but brilliant ca
lieutenant Colonel vandeleur should be
Eee - by the publication OF some sort OF
Teoos.,oal record. He represented the finest
Dos ne progressive soldier OF to-day. Well
rS sslthy. handsome and a member OF
pa'- -srirlent-the Scots Guards-he was not
's"e- with a perfunctory performance Of rou-
oo-'' Antics a. home. but sought and obtained
u' .,s service abroad. for which he fitted him
A. serious study. Most Of his ten years
r,,,-v lie was spent in the hardest kind of
N.,,rninc IN various parts Of Africa: and
=. ,st the Junior captain Of his regiment
- r4sen. by brevet. TO field rank had been
-,.e--ed 10 the newly formed Irish Guards as
- captain and had led a battalion OF mount
-ssss in the Boer war. He was his way
,.ts over an independent command when the
- IN which he was travelling was blown UP
- ruerIlas and he was shot by one Of them
:, 10 emerged from the wreck.
sr,b & career IS naturally full CT suggestion
= i,sriratioo 70 q biographer who is also
fEierp
Ems q our young hero Yet II is safe TO say
~, rarely. II ever. has memoir taken quite
-, sane form as that given TO this account Of
=. NE OF Lieutenant Colonel Vandeleur by
oo7ns Maxse. Its course, indeed. serves but as
,s-sad upon which the author strings his own
,..rs n ne campaigns IN which his hero fought
:, British colonization and craftsmanship, OF
..-ear history and Of affairs IN general. We
- his ova views, because, although Colonel
-, had 70 assist him in his work. Vandeleur's
s,,-r-''herl!n n The age % fifteen at Elton and
,,,snue5 without The break Of q day until his
ss.h"-there is nothing 10 indicate that the
,-pons expressed in the book are IN any way
ss,,nd hand. Possibly they would not have
bssr 50 instructive and entertaining If they had
Len Il is, AZ least, fair 10 assume that they
trs not contrary 10 the ideas Of Vandeleur as
recorded in his diary and as expressed by him
N his volume. Campaigning on the Upper Nile
,n5 Niger" published in 1895
colonel Maxse's book is not so much a biog-
,sphy Of Tandeleur as II is 3 narrative Of the
evsrts IN which Nandeleur took part and dis
eussior q the problems which absorbed him; its
ru-Dose being In The main 30 afford to Yande
lsu-s couutrymen a glimpse Of what IS being
done By hundreds Of picked officers. who are the
rss builders Of the dependencies and crown
r9o-.es Of our empire" OF whom, Incidentally,
Co,oaeI Naxse was one. No doubt he IS right
n asserting his belief that this is what Van
des-. who was as modest as he was brave,
would have preferred 10 a more personal mar
ratvs": hu, there is no blinking the fact that
here Is good deal more Of MaXse's views than
c.Tsndeleur's activities in the volume. For I'm
sanoe the fact that Vandeleur went TO Elton
is made the text Of a dissertation on English
public schools. their courses Of study and their
tendency 10 breed a race Of amateurs rather
t-r Of trained specialists in statecraft, finance,
ts-nng or warfare. Colonel Naxse declares. in
ise that "a careful study Of his (Vandeleur's)
If does not enable one 10 attribute his advance
rem 70 the training he received at school, ann
ne fact that he was q public school boy-as are
rost ~ the men Of his class-cannot be cited
n favor Of our system OF educating average
boys"
= FIVE months leave spent in shooting big
game in S0TnaIland. in 1894 proved so rascinat-
ing 10 Tandeleur and so opened his eyes TO the
opportunities granted 10 energetic men in At
RIGA that Immediately or his return he volun-
tesred for period q service with the Uganda
Rifles This gives Colonel MaKse an opportunity
70 write chapter or The Story Of Uganda"
i is an exceedingly Interesting chapter, too,
giving comprehensive account OF the history
q the region from the earliest ages 70 the pres
elt day OF its peoples its explorers and the di-
Tomscy by which Il was finally delimited and
acquired by Great Britain. together with some
observations on its railway and future devel-
opreut, Then follows a chapter on soldering
n Uganda" where we again meet the hero and
accompany him through his lively experiences
in putting down native instructions. but not
without digressions, by the author on Great
3ritaiu's amateur foreign policy and exasperat-
ing tendency 70 'uuddle along and trust every
Thing 70 chance" Vandeleur found time 70 do
some valuable map making between skirmishes,
and after his arrival IL England was awarded
ne AUrchison grant 10y the Royal Geographical
Society and =. :. o. from the Queen for his
ostnguishr- services He was then only TWEEN
ty-seven years old. Almost Immediately he vol
unteersd for six months special service in the
Afer Protectorate. under Sir George Goldie'
ard took part in she short but spirited cam
12.gn that established British supremacy in that
eEiraor5.uari.y fertile and highly interesting
country. However" in the words Of Colonel
Ea1se, before we follow his footsteps any fur
ther Il VII Doe advisable 10 acquaint ourselves
With the story q Nigeria"
This we do IN two Illuminating chapters, in
he latter ~ which we catch occasional glimpses
y Lieutenant VandeIeur. but learn more about
NE peaceful and industrious Hausas and their
eoaquerors The uomadic Fulani, supposed to be
an oHsh9ot Of the same race Of Asiatic shep-
herds that invaded Egypt in 2136 B. c. and
.'ehtua.ly este bnshed the dynasty Of the shep-
.slo Kings. Then, skipping a few millenniums.
So.one. MaXse taxes up the story Of England
~ ne Nile" whittier Lieutenant Yandeleur was
~s'ening on tweuty-fours hours notice. in 1897,
% become a bimhashi (Inajor) IN the Egyptian
amy Under Kitchener Here ne gained the real
Ueihing that enabled him so 70 distinguish him
~ N the Boer War, for, as Colonel MaXse de-
I@tes. II British officers have done much for
~e Egyptian army. il is also plain 10 any one
-no served ln N -Lal Tho Egvntian army has