6 NOVEMBER 1909, Page 37

THE HAPPY WARRIOR.*

THE life of a soldier who died at thirty-two, told mainly in his letters, is a new and bold form of military biography. A hero in undress is always a disquieting thought to a world which loves picturesque conventions. On the whole, Wolfe comes well out of the ordeal. In his letters to his friends and to his family the stiff young soldier reveals many traits which round off our picture of the conqueror of Quebec. We see more plainly his absorption in his work, his strangely mingled candour and pride, his generous egotism ; and we see a very human and trivial side of his nature, which redeems it from priggishness. Mr. Heckles Willson for the most part lets the letters tell their own story. The narrative which he gives us is always clear and picturesque, and he has a shrewd eye for dramatic effects. He is in love with his subject, which, after all, is the first requisite for a good biography. It is a con- scientious and able piece of work, and, we trust, will find a multitude of readers. Our only criticism is that sometimes he is too obviously picturesque, and too fond of pointing needless morals,—a fault it is hard to avoid when you are acting as guide through a man's correspondence. Also the description of the battle of Culloden on p. 61 is quite out of date. The story of the Macdonalds' conduct has been long exploded.

The early letters are mainly a bald chronicle of cam- paigning incidents. Wolfe began his military career at the age of thirteen, though in his first service he got no further than the Isle of Wight. He next smelt powder in the Low Countries and was at Dettingen with his regiment. The " Forty-five " brought him to Scotland, and he was at Falkirk and Culloden. Then followed some dismal years of Scottish service, where he laboured at his profession and improved his education by studies at Glasgow College. It was dreary work, but he got rapid promotion, and at twenty- three found himself a Lieutenant-Colonel. One of the letters gives the story of the Appin murder, and from others we learn that he relieved the tedium of garrison life by fishing and shooting,—one of the first Englishmen to pursue Highland sport. How warm and considerate a- friend he could be his letters to Rickson show. Indeed, this eager, ambitious young Elan had no lack of human virtues. He was an admirable son, a loyal comrade, an ardent if whimsical lover, devoted to his dogs, and greedy of the company of friends. He had the sl:ght priggishness, of course, which belongs to every ambitious young man who does not suffer fools gladly, and is restlessly conscious of his own capacity. The early episodes in his affection for Miss Lawson are a little comic as narrated in his letters, though most men would be equally ridiculous if they were as candid correspondents. Hungry ambition makes a young man metaphysical and introspective, and the letter written to his mother from Inverness when he was only twenty-five has an odd Byronic flavour. The truth is that Wolfe had an unquiet youth. The vis vitrida vitae was so strong in him that he bore delays and disappointments hard, and the inferiority of his fellows drove his mind back on itself. For all his humanity, he was very old for his years. He had reflected deeply on the problems of war, and had no tolerance for slipshod incapacity. As Mr. Willson says justly, he is an instance of the truth of• Napier's saying that every great General has been also a well-read man, for his letter of 1756 to Thomas Townshend shows him really learned in the literature of his profession. In a letter to Rickson written in 1751 he suggests the employment of independent Highland companies in the American War, and though we cannot agree with Mr. Willson that his was the famous scheme submitted to Cumberland in 1756, yet he deserves the credit of having first entertained the idea. He thought, too, of statesmanship as well as of war. There is a letter to his mother from Louisburg dated 1758 which in eloquent words forecasts the future of the American Colonies. With such a temperament he found waiting a hardship, and grew despairing when he was disappointed of regimental • The Lifs and Lettere of James Wo;fo. By Beetles Willson. London : W. Heinemann. [lBs. net.]

promotion. The futile R,ochefort Expedition first revealed him to Pitt as an exceptional man. At Louisburg be was given his chance, and convinced the Minister that in him he had the man for his purposes. Mr. Willson, on the whole, tells the story of the Quebec Expedition with vigour and

judgment, and the chapter on the battle of the Plains ot Abraham could hardly be bettered. But, like Mommsen in

the case of Caesar, he is anxious to prove too much, and he leaves the impression, not warranted by the evidence, that Wolfe had the great final coup in his mind for long. Rather it seems to us to have been one of those flashes of heroic inspiration which come to a great man sometimes when he believes that all is over. Wolfe had all but given' up hope when he saw his way to this one supreme effort. Mr. Willson also makes too much of the difficulties with the Brigadiers. Monckton and Murray were admirable and loyal soldiers, and Charles Townshend, though of an awkward temper, was an efficient enough subordinate. Many great captains have been worse served.

One fact is well brought out in these letters which the dramatic interest of the Quebec campaign is apt to make us

overlook. Wolfe was one of the best of regimental officers,— a rare combination in a man born for independent command in the field. We see him in Flanders and Scotland jealously cognisant of every detail, anxious about the troops' comfort. and conduct, at once a leader and a governor of men. It was this quality which first recommended him to. his superiors. "A young officer," Walpole calls him, 'who' had extracted reputation from his intelligence of disci- pline, and from the perfection to which he brought his own regiment. The world could not expect more from him than he thought himself capable of performing." This thoroughness in routine matters shows the excellent good sense of the man, for Wolfe had that rare combination,—good judgment and great warmth of imagination. We think that there is every reason to believe the story of his gasconade in Pitt's presence. An eager soul is apt to rush after purple, and what is theatrical in everyday life may be an inspiration in the crisis of battle. Like Nelson, Wolfe had a kind of cool insanity about him. He was all for desperate paths, but so far as mortal prescience could go, he knew every detail of the road. To such a man fate is kind. He saw the service of a veteran before he was thirty, and he had high independent command at an age when a soldier nowadays has scarcely got his company. His great coup, which depended upon a hundred accidents, succeeded, and if he fell in the moment of victory, his death only made the tale of his exploit the more immortal. When one compares him with Howe (whom he thought "the noblest Englishman that has appeared in my time "), dead in a petty fight with his life's work unaccom- plished, one realises how amply fortune gave him the career of his ambitions. He was the true hero, of like passions with other men, but with one purpose consuming all lesser

ends. Two sentences in a letter to Rickson show the man in his essential simplicity:— "I have this day signified to Mr. Pitt that he may dispose of my slight carcase as he pleases, and that I am ready for any undertaking within the reach and compass of my skill and cunning. I am in a very bad condition both with the gravel and with rheumatism, but I had much rather die than decline any service that offers."