civilians, it is left to admire the constant and watchful care of the
Duke, whether in India or the Peninsula, in securing the due provision
for his troops, while he at the same time maintained the strictest
honour towards the natives who supplied them; and to respect the
clearness of his perception, the sagacity of his decisions, and, above
all, the firmness and determination of purpose which sustained him
amidst every drawback and difficulty, until by his success he compelled
his detractors to yield themselves captive to his judgment. It is only
necessary to read the dispatches and general orders of the Duke of
Wellington, in order to be convinced that he is not a mere soldier
winning battles by superior tactics, but that he is also a man of a
very high order of general talent, with an unusual insight into human
nature, and possessing almost an instinctive knowledge of how mankind
are to be governed. By that wonderful exposition of the comprehensive,
wise, and philanthropic mind of the man, even his enemies were subdued.

Much controversy has been spent upon the demeanour of the Duke towards
his soldiers, which has been stigmatised as cold, distant, at times
harsh, and even selfish. For the charges of coldness and distance there
appears to be some foundation. Unlike Napoleon, the Duke of Wellington
never appealed to the enthusiasm of his soldiers; but he always relied
upon their sense of duty. He regarded his army, organized by discipline,
as a perfect machine, upon the performance of which he could calculate
with precision, and as he never expected it to do more than it ought, so
he never looked to see it do less. The idea of duty, of absolute
responsibility and subordination from rank to rank, seems to have been
that to which he was always content to appeal. Accordingly, his troops
never failed him. Their rock-like steadfastness and constant unimpulsive
bravery, it was that enabled him to carry out his plans with such
certainty.