So early as the reign of Henry the Second, Woodstock was famed for being the residence of the beautiful Rosamond, and it is thus quaintly described by Speed. “Henry the Second built an intricate labyrinth at Woodstock, and therein he stowed this pearl of his esteem (Rosamond), unto whose closet, for the inexplicate windings, none could approach but the king, and those instructed by him. Notwithstanding, his jealous queen, Eleanor, favoured by accident, thus discovered the privacy of the favourite, for a clewe of silk having fallen from Rosamond’s lap, as she sat to take the air, and was suddenly fleeing from the sight of the searcher, the end of silk fastened to her foot; the clewe, still unwinding, remained behind, which the queen followed up till she had found what she sought, and upon Rosamond so bestowed her spleen, that the gentle ladye lived not long after.”
Characteristic Mark of a skilful General--Importance anciently attached to military Stratagems--The Stratagem of Joshua at Ai, the first which is recorded--Stratagem of Julius Cæsar in Gaul--Favourable Omen derived from Sneezing--Artifice of Bias at Priene--Telegraphic Communication--Mode adopted by Hystiæus to convey Intelligence--Relief of Casilinum by Gracchus--Stratagem of the Chevalier de Luxembourg to convey Ammunition into Lisle--Importance of concealing the Death of a General--The manner in which the Death of Sultan Solyman was kept secret--Stratagem of John Visconti--Stratagem of Lord Norwich at Angoulême--Capture of Amiens by the Spaniards--Manner in which the Natives of Sonia threw off the Yoke.
The part of a skilful general does not only consist in the capability of gaining a great battle, but also in knowing when to avoid the risk of an engagement. So numerous, and so variable are the chances of war, that a commander of even the best appointed army should be prepared to meet all emergencies, in the event of its strength being destroyed, or its numbers diminished, by famine, fatigue, or desertion; so that, notwithstanding these adverse circumstances, he may still have a chance of overcoming by policy those enemies whom he had hoped to subdue by the sword.
Discretion is always the better part of valour, and, in some cases, a handful of men may decide the event of a campaign, in which, otherwise, the blood of thousands might be spilt in vain. The old writers on the art of war did not fail to attach great importance to those _stratagems_, by which much was effected, or attempted, when one side was reduced to the necessity of maintaining a defensive system of warfare.