] If this has been the case in
the numerous small wars in which her forces have been engaged for
the last twenty-five years, what may be expected from the strain of
a great international campaign.
On the other hand, Great Britain can boast of an inexhaustible
capital, not alone of the revenues which have been accumulating
during the last quarter of a century, but of patriotism, physical
strength, courage, and endurance, peculiar to a race of conquerors.
IV.
THE RUSSIAN FORCES AND APPROACHES.
A mere glance at the ponderous military machine with which Russia
enforces law and order within her vast domain, and by which she
preserves and extends her power, is all that we can give here.
No army in the world has probably undergone, within the last thirty
years, such a succession of extensive alterations in organization,
in administrative arrangements, and in tactical regulations, as that
of Russia. The Crimean War surprised it during a period of
transition. Further changes of importance were carried out after
that war. Once more, in 1874, the whole military system was
remodelled, while ever since the Peace of San Stefano, radical
reforms have been in progress, and have been prosecuted with such
feverish haste, that it is difficult for the observer to keep pace
with them.
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