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takrn * the choras from his lips . He , too , thinks just as we have been thinking . Vive iJZxtnoer / It is the secret of his feme . The Dublin University Magazine contains a second paper by Doctor Latham on the Ethnological Relation of the . Irish , to the Northmen , ' in which he wars vigorously against the originality of the Norse mythology and literature . ' Harry Lorrequer / who has been so long absent from the pages of the Dublin , resumes his old place in the present , number . The title of the new story is Gerald Fitzgerald , the Chevalier . ' The leading characters are Jacobites , the period the middle of the last century , and the scene of the opening chapters the neighbourhood of Rome .
Are the days of monthly magazines gone by ? We do not include in this expression of a doubt Blackwood or Fraser , which are institutions ; but we speak of new , and likely , competitors . The conductors of the Train begin the new year with great spirit , and their motto , Vires acquirit eundo is at all events realized in the contents of the present number , which are sound and strong in character and substance . It is difficult for a periodical to shake off its first reputation : On est toujotirs Vesclave de son premier talent , and the Train , by its very title , and , perhaps , by the names of its conductors , b « s been supposed to be necessarily a ' fast' publication . Some of the articles have occasionally , we confess , been a little too Towny for our taste , and probably for the taste of that important personage , the General Reader ; but there has always been a wonderful amount of interest and amusement for the price—a shilling ! And the Train has now settled down into a sober rate of speed , with , we trust , a proportionate increase of safety to all concerned . The light
literary skirmishers are reinforced by a big gun or two , and the instructive is added to the amusing without any loss of character . The January number opens with the first instalment of a story , ' The Dead Lady ' s Ring / by the author of ' Sketches of Cantabs / reminding us more than once of the peculiar power of Wilkie Coixins ; we can scarcely pay it a higher compliment , or give a better idea of the force with which it fastens upon and compels the reader ' s interest and attention until he stops breathless at the close of the chapters , and with feverish impatience asks for more . Mr . Godfrey Turner's sketch of a London Fire' is very pleasant reading , and his verses , ' The Fleeting and the Abiding , ' prove that he has heart as well as wit . Indeed , wit without heart is but crackling thorns . Under the title of ' Soothing the Savage Breast / Mr . Yates describes the nightly vocal haunts of London witli a graphic fidelity due to an intimate acquaintance with his subject , and to a shrewd ,
kindly , and observant eye for London life . Two young periodicals deserve special notice—The Atlantic Monthly and The Month . The Atlantic is based on the principle of cordial co-operation between British and American authors , and claims a distinct place among monthly magazines . The Month is the first ' monthly' established in New South Wales . It is carefully written and pleasantly varied , and promises to do credit to the colony .
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THE CAMPAIGN OP 1815 . r _ 8 ECOM > NOTICE . ] Histoire de la Campagne de 1815 : Waterloo . Par le Lieutenant-Colonel Charraa . London : Jeffs . Thb results of the operations of the 17 th June , as we have shown , * were decidedly in favour of the allies . At dawn on the 18 th , the chances which , a few hours before , had ranged themselves under the banners of Napoleon , had passed over to Bliicber and Wellington . Napoleon had , indeed , sucooorloH in unWin < r t . wn . tViirda nf his forue in front of Wellington ' s chosen
position ; but while he was separated by nearly twenty miles from Grouchy , and while Grouchy was at sunrise as far distant from Blucher , that audacious veteran had united his whole force at Wavre , within little more than half the distance of Wellington ' s right flank . At dawn on the 18 th , when Bulow ' s corps was moving up to St . Lambert , and Blucher was preparing to follow with the larger part of his army , Grouchy was still at Gembloux , anxious and undecided / and uncertain what route would put him on the track of the Prussians ; and it was not until he arrived at Sart-lez-Walhain that he knew for certain that Blucher was at Wavre . When from
the garden of the notary Hollaert he heard the first cannonade at Waterloo , Bulow had nearly reached St . Lambert , and Blucher was galloping along the road to join him . While he was debating with GeVard whether he should ' marcher ait feu , and strive to take part in the grand battle which it became evident was in progress in front of the forest of Soignes , or whether he should move upon Wavre , the superior energy , promptitude , and daring of the allied commanders had effected that combination which decided the fate of Grouchy ' s master , of his own , of France , and of Europe . Napoleon was fairly out-generaled . He believed the Prussians were far awaythey were near at hand ; he believed he was the strongest at the decisive
point—a few hours disclosed to him the terrible fact that his enemies had effected the masterstroke in war , and had brought the larger to bear upon the smaller force with irresistible effect . They and not he were the stronger at-thepoint-oCcontaot .-, — .. . .. , . Here we may dismiss Marshal Grouchy . Colonel Charras partially attempts to vindicate his conduct at the expense of Napoleon . It is a tempting theme which Charras treats at great length and with great force , but not altogether tp our satisfaction . Obviously , we eannot enter into the merits of Grouchy ' s manoeuvres here ; nor can we afford space to cxpluin ¦ wh y he exercised ho practical influence whatever on the battle pf Waterloo . We will not enter into the question whether he could have done better than lie did . The single fact that he was taking breakfast at Sart-lez-Walhain at mid-day on the 18 th , upwards of fivo-and-twenty mjlea from the extreme
ri ^ ht Napoleon ' s position , force did not press with a feather ' weight either on one side or the other . Grouchy thus neutralized , Napoleon was left to fight it out alone on th e field of Waterloo . All things considered , there was at first a pretty close approximation to equality between the combatants . Napoleon had a splendid army . He had a slight superiority in number ; he had more infantry , more cavalry , and between seventy and eighty more guns . But , above all , he had an army composed of the soldiers of one nation , nearly all inured to war . These were his advantages over his rival . But Wellington had in his favour a very strong position , and the promise , the certainty of Prussian supportand he knew well that , if afforded at all , that support ***
; would be afforded in a manner the most advantageous to him and the most disastrous to his enemy . He had also 23 , 000 British troops and upwards of 20 , 000 Germans , some of them hardly inferior to the best oi their British comrades . These were his advantages . On the other hand , he had upwards of 17 000 troops Dutch-Belgians , upon some of whom he could not rely at all and upon the remainder he could only place a partial reliance . These were his disadvantages . For the rest Colonel Charras only finds one fault with Wellington—the fault of not concentrating his whole force upon the field of battle . Strongly impressed with the belief that Napoleon might attempt to turn his right by N ivelles , he bad actually upwards of 20 000 men rJotanhed unon his ri < rht and rear . If we take the tactics of Napoleon , who
threw the whole of his force into the fight , as a standard , this was undoubtedly an error . The strategy of Wellington , however , may be regarded from another point of view ; and the detached troops , the greater part of whom could have been easily rallied to the main body , may be looked upon as a precaution against a disaster . This is not the place in which to attempt a popular description of the battle of Waterloo even in outline ; but we may pause a moment over some of its grander features , and afterwards correct some of the errors in the detailed , but hardly happy , account in the pages of Colonel Charras . Ea ^ er as he was to make sure that Wellington still held his position , NapoTeon , apprehensive , as he alleges , that the ground would be too heavy for his artillery , delayed the moment of attack until the forenoon was nearly spent . Colonel Cbarras , rejecting the plea that the state of the rendered this thinks
ground and the fatigues of the troops delay necessary , that the French army might have been thrown into action as early as eight o ' clock . " Tout le temps ecoule depuis , " he says , " etait du temps livre a l'inconnu , perdu absolument ; et souvent , a la guerre , des pertes de ce genre ne se reparent pas . Wellington devait mesurer avec bonheur les retards de son adversaire . " The weakest part-of the British line was the left wing . The ri « ht , covered by Hougouuiont , was impregnable ; the centre , naturally strongfwas rendered stronger by the outpost at La Haye Sainte . Napoleon recognized at a glance the weakness of the allied left , and determined to assai ? it , hoping to break through , and thus efFectually sever the British from the Prussian army . He did not even suspect , as Colonel Charras justly remarks , that Wellington had a good reason for accepting battle with his left 'in the air / that reason being the confidence he felt in the early support of the Prussians , without which he would not have fought the battle
at all . , TT The combat began by a persistent and fruitless attack upon Hougoumont , and a tremendous fire of artillery ( heard by Grouchy at Sart-lez-Walhain ) from the right centre of the French position . This fire was intended to shake , disorganize , appal the British troops , and to prepare the way for the first grand attack—that of the infantry of the French right wing upon the British left . But before D'Erlon could launch his columns the wandering gaze of Napoleon had caught sight of troops at Chapelle St . Lambert . They were Prussians ; yet even when he learnt that they were Prussians , ¦ when he learnt that the whole Prussian army had concentrated at Wavre . il » * . ;_» * 4 ? j-l , ^ . i rr * l » K ^ ^ titi V \ a 1 * a « paj 1 Im i » r \« ilrl r » K *» r » lr TClllnw'ft ftfkVDS . avkik uc&ic 1 * —»— ^—
, „ CHI tIJC tJVwlnnti vJk tuc i f Lily lii- v wu **\* V . UWU «*««* - < w » <_ , » -- , -- tr ' and beat Wellington . Colonel Charras evidently thinks that Napoleon should have retreated the moment he discovered that a Prussian army was marching direct upon his right flank and rear . He did not . He trusted his 4 star . ' Lobau was detached to control Bulow , and D'Erlon was sent against the British left . As our readers probably know , this grand infantry attack , the first great event in the sanguinary drama , was an utter failure . The Iieavy French columns advancing in echelon , left in front , were mot by Picton ' s division and our heavy cavalry , and literally hurled backwards by the rapid application of the bullet and bayonet , or tlie irresistible charge of the British dragoons . Of the four columns , not one remained entire ; five thousand men were put hors de combat , between two and three thousand of whom were made prisoners , two eagles were taken , and upwards of thirty—Charras says fifteen—pieces of cannon rendered useless for the rest of the day . Colonel Charras attributes the defeat of the French to the strange formation of the columns . This ia an interesting point : —
" Soit malentondu , " ho writes , "dans la transmission do Vordre , soit aberration du marshal fNoy ] ou do d'Erlon , los divisions so formerent , chaoune on masso ploino , par batuillons deployed , a cinq pus do distance lea uns des autros . . . . [ There wcro four eohelons . ] La distance d ' un tfulielon h l ' autre fut do quatro cents paa ; cheque division avait huit bataillons , oxcoptc" cdlo do Donzolot , qui cu nvait ncuf . tea eVnngoa colonnoa prf'sontaiont dono ioi douzo , la vingt-quatre ot vingt-sept rangs d'dpaiesour et un front variant do cent cinquanto a deux conta homines , auivant la force des bataillons . " Colonel Charras says that this formation placed the infantry at the mercy of cavalry . But it cannot be denied that it placed them at the mercy ot infantry also , for the moment they come within short range of Brown Bess , tnin line ui comuDiu ¦—
tlio concentrated lire trom tno reu pui cra mw » r" they found it impossible to deploy . The bayonet and the sabro did the rest ; no attack was over made with more spirit ; no attack was over more completely repulsed . The French infantry were routed from the field . Not a single column gained the crest of the position , except where the flight of Bylandt ' a brigade had left an interval . This brigade was not , us Colonol Charras states , overthrown and dispersed by the impetuous shock ot the French . There was no overthrowing , no shock . Before oven the skirmishers could reach them , Bylandt ' a men , oppalled by the sight of the musses in their front , fled to the rear . Unfortunate in his great infantry attack , wasting many men in an ousti-
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* Seo Leader , December 10 .
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of is sufficient in itself to show that he and his THE L E ADEfe . p * ° » 407 , January 9 , 1858 . ^ B \^ ¦— - " ¦ ' " " - . ^—^ i^—i —^^ M ^ M^^^^^^^^^^^^^——¦"' _ ¦ . • . « . __ _ . 1 j . T __ A 1 ¦» «
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 9, 1858, page 40, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2225/page/16/
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