We greatly regret to record the death on Tuesday of
Lord Wolseley in his eightieth year. We need not reproduce here a list of his numerous campaigns. His -Ashanti campaign in 1873, his Egyptian campaign in 1882, which included Tel-el-Kebir, his unsuccessful expedition for the relief
of Gordon—all these are familiar episodes. His prin- cipal talent did not lie in strategical brilliance or in the clever movement of troops in action, sound soldier though he was. It was as a reformer that his genius was supreme. He was the military heir and successor of Cardwell, and it has often been said that as a matter of fact he had done much towards inspiring the whole Cardwellian system of short service (which made it possible for a Reserve to be built up) and the abolition of purchase. Wolseley turned the Army into a serious profession. He had much resistance to wear down, but his earnestness and sincerity made him an easy victor in the end. It often seemed impossible that his frail body, worn with wounds and recurrent fever, should continue to stand the strains he put upon it. But he had an invincible spirit. He was ambitious, but was incapable of vanity. He always placed his ideal before his personal gratification. He was a really great reformer, and his country will not do his memory more than justice in burying him in St. Paul's.
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