r 
45 
at Les Echelles, along the vale to Cham- 
berry, up the banks of the Isere, by Con- 
flans and Moustier, over the gorge of the 
Alps, called the Little St. Bernard, aud 
elown their eastern slopes by Austi, and 
Ivrea, to the plains of Piedmont, in the 
neighbourhood of Turin. » 
In tracing this route,which seems to have 
been strangely disregarded by commen- 
tators, historians, and antiquarians, of 
the greatest note, although certainly the 
most obvious for that illustrious Cartha- 
ginian to have followed, General My 
tound the nature of the country, ihre dis- 
tances, the situations of the rivers, rocks, 
and mountains, most accurately to tally 
with- the circumstances related by Poly- 
bius; nay, even the Leucopetron, that 
celebrated cruz criftcarum, he discovered 
still to subsist in its due position, and 
still to be: known under the identical 
denomination of La Roche Blanche. Not 
satisfied however with the evidence arising 
from so many comcidences, General M. 
erossed and re-crossed the Alps in various 
ether directions, pointed out forthe track 
of Annibal’s march: but of those not 
one could, withvut domg great violence 
indeed to the text of Polybius, be brought 
inany reasonable way to ee ‘to 
the narra tive. 
Newton is reported to have said, that 
if he possessed any peculiar advantage 
ever his fellow-labourers in the field ‘ 
science, it consisted merely in his ailow- 
ing! himself to consider matters more pa- 
‘tiently and deliberately than the genera- 
lity of mankind.» [t was.-General M.’s 
practice, in his researches into truth; first 
to collect all the information to be pro- 
cured ‘on the subject, next to weigh the 
aurhorities and evidences the one against 
the other, in order to ascertain those to 
which the greatest credit was to be al- 
lowed, and lastly to apply hisown reason 
m tracing out the object of his enquiry, 
confurmably to the evidences he fiad ap- 
proved. By'this process, simple in ap. 
‘pearance, but which few men are able 
ta follow, he scived difficulties and-dis- 
covered broths, which had been aban- 
doned by many alsle Investigators, as 10- 
sdluble and unattainable. On ether oc- 
casions, when evidences were evenly ba- 
lanced, or where te estimomies were per- 
peat his method was to enquire whiat 
would ‘be’the conduct of a given pearson, 
endowed with ordinary faculties, and 
possessed of a due portion of infortiation 
on bis subject, for the ‘attainnient of a 
certain end. Placing himself thas, in 
that person’s situation, he often arrived 
Memoirs of the lute General Melvitie. 
/ 
(Feb. 1, 
at an object which, in the usual mode 
of research, had: remained for ages un~ 
known, Of the former mode of in- 
vestigation, an example has just been 
given, in the discovery of the true route. 
of Annibal across the Alps. Of the lat- 
ter mode, a pregnant instance was, his 
Theoi y of the Order of Battle employed 
by the Ancient Romans. It has been 
assigned as oné reason, why military an- 
tiguities have been less satisfactonly ex- 
plained:than the other branches of anti- 
quarian research; that scholars and anti~ 
quarians have seldom been military mens 
and that military men have seldom Nene 
scholars and antiquarians. Polybius’s 
Treatise on Tactics has unfortunately ~ 
perished; and the other ancient writers 
who have noticed military aflairs, have 
only mentioned the legionary arrange- 
ment in battle, an a cursory way, asa 
subject familiar to their readers: little 
direct information therefore has‘ been af- 
forded by them on the subject. 
revival of learning in Europe, ecclesias- 
tics, and other men of a recluse life, 
were almost its only encouragers and pro- 
moters; it isnot therefore a wonder if 
these stoutd , by their writings, furnish but 
little hght on this matter. 
the sixteenth century, Justus Lipsius, of 
Louvain, a writer not more distinguished 
by lus learning than by his singularity 
and love of par ‘adox, sent into the world 
a system ofthe Roman art of war, pro= 
fessed to be drawn from certain passages. 
in Polybius. This system, borrowed, 
with very little acknowledginent indeed, 
from a preceding work of Patrizzi, of 
Ferrara, coming from such an author, 
was implicitly received and repeated by 
all succeeding writers on the subject. 
The absurdity, nay, the utter impracti- 
eability, of the Lipsian system, placed in 
On the 
‘In the end of 
contrast with the learning and albality of 
its propagator, reduced other enquirers 
to the necessity of abandoning the mat- 
ter as altogether inexplicable, Amongst 
these enquirers was General M. when 
but a young man: but happening in 
Scotland to be shown what was called 
a Romaw gladius, or legionary sword, 
(not however genuine, ) he discarded at ) 
once all his systemacdc knowledge, and © 
handling the weapon, asked himself in 
what manner menarmed with that sword, 
shield’in ‘the left,’ ought to be arranged, 
in order that they might be able tamake 
the best possible-use of their arms, offens 
sive and defensive. He immediately 
.saw-that they ought to. or ih igs not mm 
dee i 
in the right hand, and with a legionary 
