334

REVIEW. Twelve Years'

row windows, fewer in number than the arches below, and rarely corresponding with them in position: the roof was of timber, and not concealed from view; and the middle nave terminates in a semicircular recess, covered with mosaics, forming the apsis...... If we do not observe in the workmanship any very distinct marks of difference between the productions of the fourth and sixth centuries, we do in the design of the ornamental parts; the capitals and mouldings in the latter being much more fanciful. In the time of Constantine, the architects seem to have copied the antique, though very badly. Under Theodoric they abandoned it wantonly, and we find frequent indications of the whimsical style of capital, which afterwards prevailed in the Gothic. In the same building, however, each capital is alike, or at least intended to be so. A block from which the arch springs, is uniformly placed over the capital; it is in the shape of the inverted frustum of a pyramid, but not perfectly regular, as it generally slopes more on the front and back, than on the sides. In the early Saxon architecture (I use this incorrect term for want of a better), a block is sometimes found above the capital to support the springing of the arch, but it is in the shape of a thickened abacus, and has sometimes dentils or mouldings, which show it to be a degradation of the whole entablature; at St. Mark's at Venice, and at Ravenna, it is evidently a stone block, without any relation to the parts of the ancient order." ii. 125.

Here we must leave this copious work. We know not its equal as to the number of objects architecturally criticized, and microscopically scrutinized. To a professional man and connoisseur, it is an inestimable encyclopedia; and where the author indulges in enlivening digression, he gives us valuable remarks or curious descriptions of incidents, manners, and customs; and happily he never judges by English prejudices. We shall conclude with his opinions of preaching stuff (as he justly calls it) to please the ignorant, because he very plainly shows its pernicious operation:

"To amuse and to cheat the people has

been too often the endeavour of those who think themselves called to rule the world; but if they vitiate the taste of the multitude by furnishing them with unwholesome food, it is the fault of the teachers, not of the people, if the latter lose their relish for plain and salutary truths." ii. 386.

Yet Englishmen patronize such mischievous expedients, under the notion of improvement of the people.

Military Adventure.

[April,

Twelve Years' Military Adventure, &c.

(Concluded from page 241.)

WE proceed with the second volume.-At Java, our author enquired for the famous Upas trees, but found only the apparent foundation of the fable, namely, a vegetable, with which the natives used to poison their weapons. ii. 84.

Some light shall now be thrown upon the substantial massiness of Egyptian building, a style supposed to have been borrowed from India. In the ruins of Beejanaghur, or Anagoondy, are a set of Elephant stables, of which the very high pillars and connecting beams are formed of single blocks of granite, and the roof is composed of slabs of the same material. Our author next observes,

"While the religious Hindoo is content with a humble habitation for himself, composed of the most perishable materials, those edifices which he raises to the honour of the Deity approach as near to perpetuity in their durability, as human works are capable of doing. No timber whatever is introduced in these buildings; they are mostly composed of huge blocks of stone, which it must have required no small ingenuity or patience, which is fully equal to supply its place, to transport from the spot where they were hewn, as well as to fix in their places. The expiatory system among the Hindoos, like that of the Christians of old, has been the cause of innumerable edifices to the honour of God, or for the convenience of man; for it is only those who cannot propitiate the Deity, or atone for their sins by their purses, that are compelled to inflict penance on their bodies. The erection of a pagoda, a choultry, or an aqueduct, or the excavation of a tank, are generally the subjects of their vows." ii. 104.

That this practice obtained among the Romans, in the erection of temples, ex volo, and among our ancestors, in regard to abbeys, is well known. We consider it folly, in an expiatory view, but it was exceedingly useful in a public one. It stocked a country with magnificent public buildings.

In the same volume (ii. 316), we have the following character of the Duke of Wellington:

"My old commander, Sir Samuel Auchmuty, used to say, that Job wanted one more trial of his patience, and that was the command of an army. Not that this kind of responsibility affected Lord Wellington much. If any thing went wrong, he vented his spleen at once, and it must be confessed in no very measured terms; but, as far as

1829.]

REVIEW.-Twelve Years' Military Adventure.

regarded himself, there was an end of it. He had, what I have rarely seen in any one, the power of dismissing a subject from his mind, whenever he chose; so that, in the most difficult situations, he could converse on familiar topics; or, while ordinary minds were fretted to death, he could lie down and sleep soundly under the most trying circumstances. A cavalry officer related to me, that he was sent express one night to Lord Wellington, from a distant part of the army, with information of a sudden movement of the enemy, which all supposed to be of great consequence. His Lordship received him in bed, heard the communication, asked a few questions, and with the laconic observation of all's right,' fell back on his pillow, and resumed his repose; leaving the officer, who, big with the important intelligence of which he was the bearer, had nearly killed his horse in his haste, quietly to retrace his steps, and to convey to the General, who had sent him, this very satisfactory answer to his message." ii. 317.

Our author (p. 332) observes that, if soldiers carry their packs well, it is a sure sign that they belong to a good service regiment; and (p. 366) that so great had been the scarcity of sugar and coffee during the war, that the French coffee-cups had dwindled down into the size of good large thimbles, and the lumps of sugar extracted from beet-root, to the size of a marrow-fat pea.

In a book so wholly entertaining as this, it is hard to know where to pick and chuse; and we are sure that, with regard to our extracts, we may have done as badly as if we had been blindfolded; but in American phraseology, we guess that we may certainly do well to conclude with the following military character of the Duke of Wellington, and the tactics at Waterloo, because they are professional opinions.

"With respect to the Duke of Wellington himself, it might be enough to say, that he is in every respect worthy to command British troops; but my admiration of his Grace's talents will not allow me to be silent. The two principal qualities in a general, firmness and decision, the Duke of Wellington eminently possesses. His coup d'ail is just, his apprehension quick, and his judgment sound. His military operations are all on the grand scale, deep-laid, well-combined, and consecutive. He never troubles his head about the petite guerre; and, as his subordinates have little or no latitude allowed them, it must sometimes happen that the opportunity of a good coup is lost; but this is more than compensated by the general result of well-combined movements. He chooses rather to employ

335

men with cool heads and strong hearts, than men of talent or genius, who his knowledge of mankind teaches him are seldom the best tools."

"The Duke has been accused, particularly by our enemies, of being overcautious. I shall content myself with saying, that the number of defeats which he has inflicted on the French, ought to have whispered to them to be silent on that point; for if, in being over-prudent, he achieved so many victories over them, what must have happened, if, in accordance with their notions, his operations had possessed more vigour? It has been also said, that he does not take sufficient advantage of his victories; that is, that he does not follow up his enemy properly. There is, I think, some truth in this assertion, and a fault it certainly is, but it is the fault of a great mind, and one of which no little mind could be guilty. Perhaps he is not so great a tactician in battle, as in the previous operations; nor does he, I think, make sufficient use of his cavalry. But this is in some degree the consequence of his system. The cavalry do not enter into his calculations; for he plays off his divisions of infantry as a chess-player does his pieces, and by a series of skilful movements, puts his adversary in such a situation, that check-mate follows as matter of course. In any case cavalry is an arm which should in a great measure be left to act at discretion. One principle of his tactics is, to keep large reserves, for he knows that a momentary impression is as easily made with a small body as a large one, and at whatever point he is successful, there he follows up the blow."

"The Duke has not, it must be confessed, been so successful in his sieges, as in the other operations of war; but this is be

cause his talents, as a tactician, cannot enter into them."

surprise previously to the battle of Waterloo. "Some pretend that he was taken by This I deny. No doubt he was surprised to find Buonaparte come so suddenly on him aud Blucher, but in a military sense he was not surprised that is, taken off his guard. His rendezvous is always so situated with regard to his cantonments, that, at whatever point the enemy may penetrate, or however rapidly they may advance, his army can always be concentrated before any considerable portion of it can be attacked. It would have been so in the instance alluded to, but that Blucher thought proper to take a position in advance; the Duke was therefore compelled to move up to his support. Had it not been for this, he would doubtless have fallen back to some position in his rear, probably Waterloo.

"Was it because the Duke was in his silk stockings at a ball in Brussels, at the time of Buonaparte's irruption, that he was taken by surprise?

$36

REVIEW. Liber Scholasticus.

"How completely in the end did he outmanœuvre Buonaparte, and how different was his generalship from that of Blucher's. That honest, brave veteran, at the first intelligence of the advance of the French, threw himself directly across their path, and encountered almost the whole of their army. As might have been expected, he received a sound drubbing. This very error the Duke of Wellington turned into the principat means of defeating the French army. "Blucher retires precipitately after his defeat, but in good order. Buonaparte detaches of course a considerable force in pursuit of him. The Duke retires also; and on the morning of the 17th, sends word to Blucher, who he was informed had intended to concentrate at Wavre, that he proposed to offer the French battle at Waterloo, and that the Prussians must march in the night of the 17th, or early on the morning of the 18th, to join him. Now Buonaparte could not know that the Duke of Wellington intended to give him battle at Waterloo, till the morning of the 18th, when he saw our army in position. He himself says, that he could hardly believe it then-well, this being the case, he did not and could not send to Grouchy to join him till then. But Blucher having been warned the preceding day of the Duke's intention to fight, put, or ought to have put, his army in motion to join the English either on the night of the 17th, or early on the 18th, leaving a sufficient force to mask the movement, or to keep Grouchy in check for some time. Blucher must therefore have joined the Duke long before Grouchy could have joined Buonaparte. Nothing but a combination of untoward circumstances prevented the Prussians from coming up sooner. Blucher should not have allowed his army to be detained by his artillery, which from the heavy rain during the preceding night, could hardly proceed, but should have pushed on with his cavalry and light troops.

Had

he done so, the battle would have been decided at an early hour. As it was, although the Prussians contributed to render the defeat of the French more complete, they had no share in the glory of the day. The enemy were completely beaten before they came up. was desperation only that made Buonaparte persist in his attacks on the British position. As a General, he should have retired before the arrival of the Prussians."

It

Thus it is plain, that Buonaparte gained nothing by the defeat of the Prussians on the 16th. On the contrary, he weakened his own force considerably, by sending Grouchy in pursuit, to such a distance, that he could not rejoin him, till long after the junction of Blucher and Wellington. Thus Grouchy was disenabled from being of and service to Napoleon. The Eng

[April,

lish and Prussian Generals improved upon the error, and utterly annihilated the French army before Grouchy's force could come up to assist it. A similar disjunction of the English and Prussians was meditated by Buonaparte, and a similar result expected; but Wellington turned the tables upon him by exactly the same manoeuvre; and through more caution, and better calculation, completely succeeded.

Liber Scholasticus; or an account of the Fel-
lowships, Scholarships, and Exhibitions of
the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge;
by whom founded, and whether open to
Natives of England and Wales, or re-
stricted to particular places and persons ;
also of such Colleges, Public Schools, en-
dowed Grammar Schools, Chartered Com-
panies of the City of London, Corporate
Bodies, Trustees, &c. as have University
Advantages attached to them, or in their
Patronage, with appropriate Indexes and
References. Post 8vo, pp. 500. Rivington.
IN the days of our grandmothers,
there was an old adage,

"When House and Land is gone and spent,
Then Learning is most excellent;"
and there was a custom also of teaching
children the Church Catechism, and
instilling observation of the Ten Com-
mandments. In short, these were
days when knowledge and puddings
were both solid, and morality formed
an integral part of piety. Frothy edu-
cation, like living upon pastry, is now
however so patronized, and the purposes
of life are so easily conducted by means
of superficial acquirements, that deep
qualifications are reduced to the rank of

mere hobbies of individuals. Plausible
garrulity carries all before it in the
Senate and the Bar, in the Pulpit, and
Dining-room. But amid this circula-
tion of paper, what has become of the
cash? what has become of the strong
reason which formerly distinguished
debate, pleading, preaching, and com-
position? Now all these matters, like
tents pitched for temporary occupation,
or plays and farces, are got up for the
nonce; and every thing has the same
fluctuating character, as fashions in
dress. Events only descend to poste-
rity, not the grand and solid thinking
and philosophy, which distinguish the
works of Millar, Hume, Gibbon, Ro-
bertson, or Blair. Men in office, like
horses in stage-coaches, think only of
trotting through their stages, and being
stabled and fed in a comfortable man-

REVIEW.-Rev. E. Irving's Sermons.

REVIEW. Rev. E. Irving's Sermons.