entleman's training school, so far
as the officers were concerned. Any one who had good family
connections or money could get a commission. The skill and experience
were supposed to come later, on the field of action.

This fact explains the early promotion of Arthur Wellesley. At the age
of seventeen, soon after leaving Angers, he was made an ensign in a
regiment of infantry, and within five years, by the time he was
twenty-two, he had been made a captain. Nor did his rapid advancement
end here. In 1793 he became a major, then a lieutenant colonel; and by
1796 he was a full-fledged colonel--at twenty-seven! The secret "power
at court" was his brother Richard, who was a secretary to Pitt, the
statesman. But another friend was Lord Westmoreland, Lord Lieutenant
of Ireland, who took a fancy to him and made him a staff officer.

As one historian puts it, regarding army commissions: "Wealth and
interest were nearly all-powerful; it was the palmy day of purchase
which George the Third had tried and had failed to abolish, and, until
the Duke of York became commander-in-chief, infants of both sexes
figured in the army list as the holders of commissions."

It is interesting to note--to resume our parallel--that this was the
stormy time of the French Revolution, when Napoleon was painfully
carving his way upward by the edge of the sword, and by push rather
than "pull" had achieved high command in early life.

But we would do the young Wellington a grave injustice if we pictured
him as leading a life of inactivity, awaiting a promotion through
"pull." He had qualities which now began to assert themselves and were
to contribute to his larger fame. For one thing, he was something of a
diplomat. He remembered names and faces, and turned every acquaintance
to account. Later, he was credited with a marvellous memory--such as
also had his great French rival.

These qualities, it is true, were slow in ripening. At the age of
twenty-one, he was elected to the Irish House of Commons, from his home
County. This was done in order to give him parliamentary training, and
such service was allowed without the necessity of relinquishing his
military rank or duties. It was merely an extra tail to his kite. He
is thus described by a colleague, Sir Jonah Barrington:

"Wellesley was then ruddy-faced and juvenile in appearance, and popular
enough among the young men of his age and station. His address was
unpolished; he occasion