Throwing Dice for "Victory."

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 17 April 1914, Page 8

Throwing Dice for "Victory."

DRAMATIC ENDS OF GREAT

WARS

When Fernando VII. died of apoplexy one September day in 1833, his death was the prelude to one of the most sanguinary dramas which even Spain has ever witnessed. For seven years the country was deluged with blood, and laid waste by fire. It was divided into two huge armies, one seeking to win the throne for Don Carlos, the dead King's brother, the other equally resolute to preserve the Crown for his infant daughter, Isabella.

Forward and backward the tide of war flowed and ebbed until at last , Marato leader of the Carlist forces, realising that his task was hopeless with an army demoralised by hardships and heavy losses, turned his thoughts towards an honourable peace. One morning he rode alone into the enemy's camp, abd asked to be taken to General Espartero. Brought face to face with him, he coolly proposed that they should throw dice for victory. His suggestion was accepted in the spirit in which it was made ; the dice were rattled and thrown ; Espartero won ; and the cruel war was at an end. "On the following day," we are told, "when the two opposing armies were drawn up a little distance from each other, and apparently ready for battle, Marato rode forward, and with every sign of emotion, declared he could no longer bear to see the sons of this noble land slaughter each other, or endure to take part in a war which brought such havoc and misery to all. At thq close of a brief, stirring speech, he flung himself into the arms of Espartero, who embraced him warmly." No sooner did the respective troops witness this scene than they rushed together and flung their arms round each other's necks in an orgy of embraces ; and a few hours later the rival armies were marching tow rards Madrid with linked arms, cheering, shouting, singing, and giving wild expression to their joy after a period of intolerable hardship. More than a century ago—it was in 1807—the little Prussian town of Tilsit looked, on at a scene as picturesque and romantic as any ever seen in the lurid drama of war. Napoleon had crushed the might of Prussia at Jena and Auerstadt, had brought Russia to her knees ; and a meeting of the two Emperors had been arranged at Tilsit to settle the terms of peace. In the middle of the river Memel, or Niemen, was a moored raft, on which were two small wooden huts ; and here Napoleon and Alexander held their conference while, from the river banks, anxious and mutinous thousands looked on. For Prussia it was a day of crowning tragedy and humiliation, [ for Napoleon a day of unclouded triumph ; for while Prussia was shorn of half her possessions and condemned to drink the cup of humiliation to its very dregs, the "Corsican upstart" was reaping a rich harvest of crowns for his brothers. And one can easily imagine the impotent fury that raged in the breasts of the Tilsiters when they caught an occasional glimpse on the raft of the man who had their beloved country under his merciless heel. But the men ,of Tilsit had not many years to wait for a revenge which was very sweet to the taste. Eight years later, Napoleon's fortunes lay wrecked on the field of Waterloo, and the Tyrant of Europe was a fugitive with no man to call true friend. The man who had played with dynasties and monarchs •as with pawns on a chess-board was execrated from one end of Europe to the other as the " Corsican Rebel,'"' "Murderer," and "Murderous scoundrel." Nothing but an ignominious death- on the scaffold was a .v.ii table punishment for his crimes ;i gainst humanity. lie fled to Paris, in danger of his life every step of the way; and escaping to Rochefort, found safety

and protection on board one of onr own men-of-war. But even in ttaas supreme and final humiliation he conducted himself with as much courage and pride as when he was the Despot of Europe. As he stepped on board the Bellerophon, with head erect, his breast ablaze with decorations, and followed by his retinue of officers and attendants, he saluted Captain Maitland with the air of an Emperoiv as he said, "Sir, I come to place myself under tha protection of your King and your laws." Such was the dramatic conclusion of the long years of wai and terror which had paralysed Europe. A scene little less picturesque was the signing of the famous Treaty ol Munster which brought to a close eighty years of bloodshed, and established Holland as a Republic among the nations of Europe. The Dutchmen had already proved themselves masters of the sea ; they had laid the foundations of their great Indian Empire by the establishment of the East India Company ; and f.:, the Spaniards, beaten and baffled a^^Jlast, were obliged to recognise thfl^f* rebels as an independent nation. It was a day of solemnity as of pride for the stout burghers who had thus lived to see the dawn of a new era ; and as one looks at the famous picture in the National Gallery—the stern-faced burghers standing around a table, each holding aloft two fingers in token of assent, one could almost hear the deep-throated chorus of "Ja" that greeted this solemn cradling of Holland's nefli power. But it is not in conclaves like this, such sedate bargaining and diplomatic wrangling as one recalls Berlin, Paris, and London, that was has its most dramatic ending. It ia ■ rather in the last scenes of hopeless struggle on the field of battle, aa when, half-a-century and more, General Williams was compelled to surrender Kara, the fortress in Russian Armenia, which he had held with such gallantry for six . months against such an overwhelming force. It was only when the last bullet and cannon-ball had been fired, the last mouthful of food eaten, that the brave Englishman would consent to parley with the enemy at his gates ; and one can picture hie feelings as he read the chivalrous reply returned by the Russian leader. "General Williams," the memorable message to a beaten enemy ran, "you have made yourself a name in history ; and posterity will be amazed at the courage, endurance, and discipline ■ which this siege has 'evoked in the. remnant .of your army. Let us then arrange a capitulation which shall satisfy the demands of war without disgracing humanity." Another picture, equally moving, conies to the memory, the crowning incident in the American Civil War, when General Lee, in spite of all his masterly strategy and desperate fighting, realised that further resiatance was hopeless. Fortunately he had in Grant an'enemy as chivalrous as he was brave ; for when at last he was compelled' to surrender his sword at the Appomattox Court House, the victor promptly handed it back to him with warm words of-sympathy, and congratulation on his splendid generalship.

The climax to this drama of defeat came when Lee's stalwarts, who had fought so bravely with him in a score of battles, filed past him ,to lay down their arms. Then it Was that their leader addressed them in words of pathetic farewell. "Men," he said, in a voice broken with deep emotion, "we have fought through the war together—and I have done my best for you."— "Weekly Telegraph."