t correct and luminous notices, of the preceding or contemporaneous
political and military events which are alluded to, but not described,
in the despatches, and which are necessary to understand many of their
particulars. Nothing, in a word, has been omitted by the accomplished
editor which could illustrate or render intelligible the valuable
collection of materials placed at his disposal; and yet, with all his
pains and ability, it is often very difficult to follow the detail of
events, or understand the matter alluded to in the despatches:--so
great is the lack of information on the eventful War of the Succession
which prevails, from the want of a popular historian to record it, even
among well-informed persons in this country; and so true was the
observation of Alexander the Great, that but for the genius of Homer,
the exploits of Achilles would have been buried under the tumulus which
covered his remains! And what should we have known of Alexander himself
more than of Attila or Genghis Khan, but for the fascinating pages of
Quintus Curtius and Arrian?

To the historian who is to go minutely into the details of Marlborough's
campaigns and negotiations, and to whom accurate and authentic
information is of inestimable importance, it need hardly be said that
these papers are of the utmost value. But, to the general reader, all
such voluminous publications and despatches must, as a matter of
necessity, be comparatively uninteresting. They always contain a great
deal of repetition, in consequence of the necessity under which the
commander lay, of communicating the same event to those with whom he was
in correspondence in many different quarters. Great part of them relate
to details of discipline, furnishing supplies, getting up stores, and
other necessary matters, of little value even to the historian, except
in so far as they illustrate the industry, energy, and difficulties of
the commander. The general reader who plunges into the midst of the
Marlborough despatches in this age, or into those of Wellington in the
next, when contemporary recollection is lost, will find it impossible to
understand the greater part of the matters referred to, and will soon
lay aside the volumes in despair. Such works are highly valuable, but
they are so to the annalist or historian rather than the ordinary
reader. They are the materials of history, not history itself. They bear
the same relation to the works of Livy or Gibbon which the rud