B. H. COWPER. _Who was the greatest General_ (Vol. vi., p. 509.).--In reply to the following Query, "Who was the greatest general, and why and wherefore did the Duke of Wellington give the palm to Hannibal?" I think the following note appended to the eloquent sermon of Dr. Croly, preached on the death of the Duke, Sept. 19th, not only shows the humility of the Duke in giving preference to Hannibal over himself, but it contains so just a comparison between the two generals, that it deserves recording in the valuable and useful pages of the "N. & Q." as well as being a perfect and true answer to C. T.: "It has been usual," the note says, "to compare Wellington with Hannibal. But those who make the comparison seem to forget the facts:-- "Hannibal, descending from the Alps with a disciplined force of 26,000 men, met the brave Roman Militia, commanded by brave blockheads, and beat them accordingly. But, as soon as he was met by a man of common sense, Fabius, he could do nothing with him; when he met a manoeuvring officer, the Consul Nero, he was outmanoeuvred, and lost his brother Asdrubal's army, which was equivalent to his losing Italy; and when he met an active officer, Scipio, he was beaten on his own ground. Finally, forced to take refuge with a foreign power, he was there a prisoner, and there he died." "His administrative qualities seem to have been of the humblest, or of the most indolent, order. For fourteen years he was in possession of, or in influence with, all the powers of southern Italy, then the richest portion of the peninsula. Yet this possession was wrested from him without an effort; and where he might have been a monarch, he was only a pensioner. His _punic_ faith, his flight, his refuge, and his death in captivity, might find a more complete resemblance in the history of Napoleon." The following, concluding sentence of Dr. Croly's note conveys a truer and far more just comparison with another great general: