Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol 7.djvu/459

 APPENDIX, 415 tragedy, caused simply — again the old fault ! — by want —grievous want — of that topographical knowledge which must needs have been ready at hand if England had had a department prepared for the business of war. It proved that the low marshy island c! Walcheren was rank with a kind of malaria which, although not destructive to the health of the natives, was known to have a deadly effect on strangers. The autumn — a perilous time — was already beginning ; and exposed at that season to the germs of marsh-fever, our troops fell sick in great numbers. The Expedi- tion lost on the whole no less than 7000 dead ; but this, after all, was only a part of the calamity ; for of those who survived nearly half were stricken down by the fever ; and of these, when brought back to their country, nearly 13,000, it seems, were still lying prostrate with sickness. Before December closed, our troops were withdrawn, and the occupation of Walcheren ceased. Thus, twice over, a gross want of knowledge contributed to cause the misfortunes of the Wal- cheren Expedition, and in each case, the want of fit knowledge resulted from that other want — the want of a real War Depart- ment to which, as shown in this volume, our country had long been submitting under stress of the ' personal kingship. ' The same fatal spell proved baneful to this Walcheren Expedition in yet one other way ; for, unless the world erred, it was once more that fell dispensation of a ' personal king,' which, in spite of the 'standing compromise,' brought about the unfortunate choice of a Court favourite, that is, of John Pitt (Lord Chatham), as the commander of the land forces. The high hopes that had been founded upon this great Expedi- tion rested partly on the secrecy that was to hide its destination from the enemy until a very late moment ; but the intended con- cealment failed, and Napoleon at an early period was apprised of the English design.* Who really divulged the secret few perhaps ever knew ; but it must be owned that ' personal ' kingship was here once more a grave obstacle in the way of plans based on the hope of maintain- ing concealment ; for, according to the ideas of those days, it was certain that the king — the father of the garrulous ' Frederick ' — would have been entrusted with the secret ; t and it is plain that this unfortunate necessity must have largely increased the prob- ability of a baneful disclosure. the Expedition set sail, the French newspapers were accurately announc- ing its destination. t It was on the 28th of March in this year (1809) that the king— under stress of the ' Mrs Clarke scandal '—reluctantly accepted tlie resignation of the Duke of York as Commander-in-Chief at the Horse Guards. There is no harshness in speaking of H.R.H.'s garrulity, for it was upon this defect substantially that he himself based his defence.
 * So early as April, it was said ; but at all events iu July, and before