History of the war in the Peninsula and in the south of France from the year 1807 to the year 1814, vol. 6Napier, William Francis Patrick
History
History of the war in the Peninsula and in the south of France from the year 1807 to the year 1814, vol. 6
Napier, William Francis Patrick
Peninsular War, 1807-1814
Sir Julius Hartman, Colonel Wildman, Colonel Leighton! Oh! very
honourable men, but they know nothing of the fact they speak of, all
their evidence put together is worth nothing! But, my lord, it is
very exactly corroborated by additional evidence contained in Mr.
Long’s publication. Aye! aye! all are wrong; their eyes, their ears,
their recollections, all deceived them. They were not competent to
judge. But they speak to single facts! no matter!
Well, then, my lord, I push to you your own despatch! Away with
it! It is worthless, bad evidence, not to be trusted! Nothing more
likely, my lord, but what then, and who is to be trusted? Nobody
who contradicts me: every body who coincides with me, nay, the same
person is to be believed or disbelieved exactly as he supports or
opposes my assertion; even those French authors, whose generous
principles lead them to write falsehoods for the _honour of their
country_. Such, my lord, after a year’s labour of cogitation, is
nearly the extent of your “_Refutation_.”
In your first publication you said that I should have excluded all
hearsay evidence, and have confined myself to what could be proved
in a court of justice; and now when I bring you testimony which no
court of justice could refuse, with a lawyer’s coolness you tell the
jury that none of it is worthy of credit; that my witnesses, being
generally of a low rank in the army, are not to be regarded, that
they were not competent to judge. My lord, this is a little too much:
there would be some shew of reason if these subalterns’ opinions
had been given upon the general dispositions of the campaign, but
they are all witnesses to facts which came under their personal
observation. What! hath not a subaltern eyes? Hath he not ears?
Hath he not understanding? You were once a subaltern yourself, and
you cannot blind the world by such arrogant pride of station, such
overweening contempt for men’s capacity because they happen to be of
lower rank than yourself. Long habits of imperious command may have
so vitiated your mind that you cannot dispossess yourself of such
injurious feelings, yet, believe me it would be much more dignified
to avoid this indecent display of them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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