arms, and afterwards to arrive at as
great distinction in the arts of peace. Rarely, at long intervals in the
lapse of time, such opportunities have been afforded to great men; but
still more rarely have even the greatest men been able to use them. To
the Duke of Wellington, in our own time, has this high honour been
especially vouchsafed; and no man ever yet lived who shewed himself more
worthy the distinction, or more able to fulfill the demands of his
country, whether in peace or in war. His youth and prime were spent in
achieving victories: to preserve to posterity the fruits of those
victories, in steady government, together with free institutions; to
make England such an example for foreign nations as would render all
such victories unnecessary hereafter; this has been the still more
glorious task of his declining years.

The military reputation of the Duke of Wellington rests on so firm a
basis, that it will never be shaken. So long as military science is
necessary in the world, so long will his system of tactics be followed
by commanders responsible in their own hearts for the lives of their
soldiers, and to their country for the conduct of their enterprises.

Of the military value of his dispositions and movements, military
critics have recorded, almost universally, their unqualified praise. To
civilians, it is left to admire the constant and watchful care of the
Duke, whether in India or the Peninsula, in securing the due provision
for his troops, while he at the same time maintained the strictest
honour towards the natives who supplied them; and to respect the
clearness of his perception, the sagacity of his decisions, and, above
all, the firmness and determination of purpose which sustained him
amidst every drawback and difficulty, until by his success he compelled
his detractors to yield themselves captive to his judgment. It is only
necessary to read the dispatches and general orders of the Duke of
Wellington, in order to be convinced that he is not a mere soldier
winning battles by superior tactics, but that he is also a man of a
very high order of general talent, with an unusual insight into human
nature, and possessing almost an instinctive knowledge of how mankind
are to be governed. By that wonderful exposition of the comprehensive,
wise, and philanthropic mind of the man, even his enemies were subdued.

Much controversy has been spent upon the demeanour of the Duke towards
his soldiers, which has b