I quite agree with you that England can
put nothing worth calling an army in the field, and that it would be
madness to send a fine regiment out of the country at the present
moment. But everyone knows the lack of wisdom with which we are
governed, and the miserable slowness of our military authorities. It
is not likely even to occur to any one to countermand our orders, but
it will certainly be disgusting in the extreme to have to start just
at the present moment."
"Beside," another officer said, "it will be maddening to be two months
at sea without news, and to know that perhaps all Europe is in arms
and tremendous events going on and we out of it altogether."
"I should think nothing will be done just at present," the major said.
"Every country in Europe has been disbanding its armies just as we
have since peace was proclaimed, and it will be a long time before any
of them are ready to take the field in anything like force. Even
Napoleon himself, great organizer as he is, will take some time to put
all France under arms again. An army is a machine that cannot be
created in a day. The soldiers have to clothed, arms to be
manufactured, the cavalry to be mounted, the artillery to be
organized, and a field train got together. No, I should say that at
least four months must elapse before fighting begins in earnest.
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