114 MARLBOROUGH AND HIS METHODS OF WARFARE. 
published to celebrate the triumphs of Marlborough. It is almost a 
shame to think of the evil effects of party spirit in England. There is 
no writer of the period who praised Marlborough so much as did the 
greatest enemy whom ever England had, that is to say Napoleon. In 
point of fact Marlborough got more abuse for winning the battle of 
Blenheim in England than Tallard got for losing it in France. But 
there was no party spirit in France at the period (applause). 
“ Honour,’ says Napoleon’s editor, “ great honour to the writer who 
shall have any share in the immortality of Marlborough, and one is 
much astonished at not finding abundance of biographies of his life. 
In France, as well as in England, his name” (this was printed in 1808) 
‘‘resounds every day in the midst of us, it is repeated without ceasing 
by our very children and our nurses.” Gentlemen, to be mentioned 
by nurses and children is the truest fame of all, and probably the most 
permanent, for the children will remember from their nurses when they 
forget everything else. ‘‘ We constantly have sounding in our ears a 
song full of the fame of Marlborough” that is of course the curious 
old song “ Malbruk sen va-t-en guerre.’ Now, if Napoleon 
ordered these sentences to be written I hope you, gentlemen, will 
excuse me for not exactly following in the footsteps of Napoleon, but 
for this evening adding a humble tribute to the fame of our most 
illustrious soldier. 
Now what greater things can be done than to conduct a British 
army and troops of many other nationalities from Ruremond to 
Cologne, from Cologne to Mayence, thence to give an example to 
Napoleon of how to get to the Danube, then to traverse Bavaria, then 
to get back again to the Rhine, then to fight along the Moselle, and 
finally to almost fight a battle in 1705 on the very battle-field where 
the fate of Europe was determined in 1815. You may say we could 
not do that now. Why, gentlemen? I do not see any reason in the 
world why we could not do similar things now. Let me for a moment 
recall the resources that Marlborough had. I see that some of my 
audience think that a German army on the Danube might bea trouble- 
some business, or a French army between Metz and Paris; but why 
could we not be ready for great enterprises? The fact of the matter is, 
if we cannot do as great things now, that it is not for the lack of 
resources, it is for lack of energy, determination, strength of will and 
for no other reason: possunt quia posse videntur. What was the popu- 
lation of England in the time of Anne? not more than 8,000,000 in 
England and Scotland together. What was the population of France 
then? 19 or 20,000,000. Whatis the population of the United Kingdom 
now ? 88,000,000. What is the population of France now ? 38,000,000. 
Do not you see that the population has changed enormously in favour 
of England. The capital of Hngland in the time of Anne was 
about £490,000,000; the capital of England now is much more like 
£12,000,000,000. The property of every Englishman in the time of 
Queen Anne was £79 per head—hbis property was at least £249 per 
head in 1882. So that whether you look at it from the point of view 
of men or money (and men are far more important than money, 
whatever the importance of the latter may be), I say that anything 
