Page:History of the French in India.djvu/25

INSTRUCTIVE NATURE OF THE STORY. post alone prevented the capture of Napoleon III. a Magenta. There are thus many causes, some natural, some dependent on the constitution of an individual man, some not to be foreseen, and in no way to be cal- culated upon, which affect the fortunes of a people. It is not that all the genius, all the strong character, all the valour are on the side of the conquerors. Genius, indeed, has been compelled to succumb to a combina- tion of incidents apparently insignificant, and impossible to have been guarded against. There suddenly appear, when least expected, influences, apparently small, and yet really so powerful, that all calculations are upset, and we are compelled to acknowledge the might of that Providential superintendence, which, working with its own instruments and for its own designs, fashions and directs the destinies of nations. But there is, nevertheless, always a great deal that is to be accounted for and explained on natural grounds. The character of the governing or directing body as a body, and the characters of the instruments used to carry out their policy, are sufficient to explain many results. In this respect the history of the French in India presents a most interesting and instructive lesson. That lesson is interesting, because the great deeds of great men always charm and excite the imagination : it is instructive, because we see in it a great deal of indi- vidual action, and obtain a great insight into individual character. The scene is laid at period so distant from the present, that whilst we have the actors before us conducting their skilful intrigues and engaged in their complex negotiations we have in addition, what their rivals had not, a clear view of the motives that prompted them, of the causes that urged them on. So rich in detail is this eventful period that the history possesses all the interest and excitement of a romance. Yet in no romance that was ever penned did any of the charac- ters dare to entertain plans so wide-spread and so deep- B 2