Part 9 (1/2)

I write these few lines to tell you how much I admire your husband's Dispatch, and how proud I am of the splendid work done by the troops under his command When the whole story of the war comes to be known, the masterly way in which the Retreat from Mons--under vastly superior numbers--was carried out, will be remembered as one of the finest military exploits ever achieved[21]

I trust you will continue to get good news of Sir John, and that you are keeping well yourself With kindest regards, in which Lady Roberts and ned_) ROBERTS, (F-M)

That was only the first chapter in the story of his new achievements

The authentic history of his latest successes re in dubbing the British Field-Marshal ”the ed, cautious school as Marlborough and Wellington His genius is one of those which include an infinite capacity for taking pains

Indeed his thoroughness is more than Teutonic In this war, French has, so far, found no Napoleon to fight It is, indeed, questionable whether the Germans have a commander of his excellence on the field

But the preparations of the German Headquarters Staff may be ad perfection Yet tione down before a British General who unites the dash of von Roon with the caution and the prescience of Moltke

FOOTNOTES:

[21] Published by courtesy of Lady French and Earl Roberts

CHAPTER XII

FRENCH, THE MAN

A Typical English at School--Napoleon Worshi+p--”A Great Reporter”--Halting Speeches and Polished Prose A South African Coincidence--Mrs Despard and the Newsboy--The Happy Warrior

So far, this book has necessarily been chiefly a record of events

That was inevitable, for the man of action writes his story in deeds

Nor was there ever a great soldier who made less clamour in the world of newspapers than General French He has never adopted the studied reticence of Kitchener nor yet the chill aloofness of certain of his colleagues War correspondents are not anatheht of the reporter's pencil Yet, someho anecdotes cluster round his name

Perhaps that is because his h it has become almost a tradition It is si disposition French simply will not be talked about--and there is an end of the ht best answer that he is the Englishree It is usual to find that the ree a contrast with and a criticise mortal of his set The dour urbanity of Kitchener, for instance, is Oriental rather than English, and contrasts strangely with the choleric tradition of the arood hun to the English temperament But there are no such peculiarities about French He is the very essence of healthy norh of Celtic descent, he is essentially English He has not hacked his way to fame in the manner of the Scot, nor has he leapt upon her pedestal with the boisterous hued but sporting English way, taking Fortune's gifts when they ca for them when they were out of reach

One catches the spirit of the man in the schoolboy When he first went to school at Harrow, the boys, knowing that sisters had been responsible for his education, were prepared to take it out of hihtest provocation, and equally ready to swear eternal friendshi+p when the fight was done, he quickly won his way through respect to popularity

[Page Heading: AN ADMIRER OF NAPOLEON]

Despite this quality, the steadfast object of his adures in history--Napoleon

It is, however, Napoleon the soldier and not the personality that has attracted French, who, by the way, possesses a wonderful collection of Napoleonic relics He sees Napoleon as the greatest strategist the world has known As such the Corsican claims his unstinted adether hu of the iron heel about either his methods or his manners

His extreme parsimony of life we have seen as the cause of the only criticise coincidence, however, his worshi+p of Napoleon has proved itself invaluable in an unexpected way In following Napoleon's cans out in detail, French had traversed every inch of Waterloo, and round in the European war There can be little doubt that the success of soe of the scene of operations

Inevitably, perhaps, French suggests Napoleon in certain subtle traits of character rather than in personality His rapidity of thought, for instance, has probably rarely been equalled, since Napoleon set Europe by the ears An officer under his command in South Africa, has recorded how, day after day, for weeks on end, French would answer the most intricate questions on policy and tactics over the telephone with scarcely a moment's delay Such inhureatest coestion of Napoleon too, in his habitual attitudes

He usually stands with legs wide apart and arms folded either across his chest or clasped behind his back But the perfect cheerfulness of his smile banishes any fear of Corsican churlishness of manner It is very certain that French is not feared by his staff: he is worshi+pped by theh his te Often it will flash out in wrathful words, but the storm is quickly over Men of this choleric teood hue They never nurse hatreds nor brood over trifles