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in the act of hooking on, by the rudder, to haul up, at the moment I have described that she slid past us, as it were, by magic! Our third lieutenant, lieutenant of marines, and several seamen were wounded. A day or two afterwards, we learned from an American, that he had spoken the privateer almost in a sinking state making her way to Monte Christo; great part of her deck was torn up by the 32-pound shot from the frigate's quarter-deck guns, and many of her men were killed and wounded; but the spirit of the commander remained unsubdued: he could be no other than our old acquaintance Jacque.

(To be continued.)

A SOLDIER OF FORTUNE.

"Le premier qui fut roi fut un soldat heureux,
Qui sert bien sa patrie n'a pas besoin d'ayeux."

THESE lines, so flattering to the noble profession of arms, bear upon two points, differing in their nature, yet equally honourable to the army; the one proves that the hero needs no ancestry to ennoble him; the other shows that the nobility ought to be the natural defenders of the crown, the natural guardians of that country, in which they have the largest stake, in that legislature of which they are the highest branch under royalty; and if the soldier of fortune (designated by the French, l'officier de fortune) is encouraged by this hope of advancement and of elevation not only in military, but in civil rank, the nobleman and gentleman are called upon to be the champiohs of their king and country:* the former, by joining the martial ranks, adds dignity and weight to the profession; the latter, by devoting himself to the service, blends the nobility and gentry in that happy union, so necessary to a monarchy like ours, and gains a livelihood at once fraught with respectability and honest pride. The army is bread to some, others are bred to the army; the accomplished officer should partake of both, the profession affording at least decent means, and a thorough military education fitting him for all ranks, from that of the subaltern to the highest grade-from the duty of obeying, to the high office and trust of commanding. The younger sons of our aristocracy and gentlemen of moderate fortune form, perhaps, the most natural and desirable nursery for the line. We might say the same of the navy, but that this article is exclusively (from its motto) dedicated to the military; and the reason why these junior patrician branches and gentlemen of moderate fortune seem to be suchi, is because, whilst they partake of all the feelings flowing from high blood and independence, the profession offers them an additional pecuniary resource and an emulative expectation of rising to higher honours and emolument, in which career, all that is chivalrous, animat

When Louis XVI. signed the act of the abolition of the nobility, the Viscomte Mirabeau, (brother to the Count,) being in a court dress, drew his sword and broke it against the wall, exclaiming, "Quand un monarque brise son sceptre, un gentilhomme doit rompre son épée."-When a monarch breaks his sceptre, a gentleman ought to smash his sword; indicating that the noble-born man, id est, the nobility and their descendants form the rampart of the throne, and that royalty com promised, "Othello's occupation's gone."

ing, exciting, high and ornamental, affords a powerful auxiliary, The standard, or colours, at once the ensign of royalty, the badge of nationality and the mute monitor to stand by and do our duty; the gorgeous trappings, the bristling of arms, the glittering of steel, which bespeaks bright polish and daring deeds, the brilliancy of intellect and the vigour of execution; then again the stately war-horse eager for the fight, and lastly the heart-stirring sounds of martial music, soothing, beguiling, encouraging and elevating the soul by turns: nor is the sulphurous canopy under which the soldier has to fight, nor the cannon's roar, less a stimulus to deeds of arms than the necessary offensive and defensive means of conquest.

These adjuncts assist and raise up alike the soldier and the chief, but the more highly educated and refined the martial youth entrusted with leading on his men is, the stronger will these accompaniments of war operate upon his conduct and courage; nay, if love and romance (and they are inseparable) inhabit his breast, prodigies of valour may be expected from him. Speaking of courage, the great Turenne was heard to say that the officer ought to be "cent fois plus brave que le soldat," because he has not only to avoid disgracing himself, but he has an example to set, on which not only a battle or a life may depend, but on which the records of posterity must report, and which will add lustre or sully the name and house to which he belongs. Nothing has ever been found more animating to the soldier in the hour of fight than reminding him of name, country, locality, former reputation and the like. "Voilà le Soleil d'Austerlitz !" said Buonaparte to his troops on an after occasion-this was enough to ensure similar bravery in his men. What did the sight of the Empress Marie Thérèse not do when, with her imperial infant in her arms, she showed herself to the grenadiers? The wings of victory from that moment hovered over them; for sentiment is a tower of strength-a female voice and royal suffering a wonderworking engine on a noble mind! These forceful appeals are electric to the heart beating under worsted lace,* as well as to that surmounted by the epaulette; but Honneur et patrie need not be on the star-it is engraven in the heart's core of the nobleman and gentleman who enters the service. To the first class, the device of the order of Saint Lazare was peculiarly appropriate, "Atavis et armis." Alas! the order has almost disappeared with the reign of chivalry, but the seeds of chivalrous daring are not lost, and they have sprung up and fructified in our three dear united kingdoms until they have produced a rich harvest of laurels. It may now not be out of place, in conformity to our device, to examine what materials are most calculated to form a fine army; the dazzling splendour of royalty, titles, riches and power; him whom the vulgar and base call the poor gentleman; or the valiant private, and the hardy, experienced veterans, who are les officiers de fortune, and who rise by merit to distinction and command. We would unhesitatingly say, that none of these would do exclusively, but that a judicious commingling of all three would be most likely to produce real invincibles: of the first,

* At the battle of Lugo, the French having most furiously attacked the right of the line, one regiment, (the 51st) being driven back behind the walls, Sir John Moore, at the head of his staff, perceiving them fall back, rushed forward with his hat in his hand, exclaiming, "Recollect, men, I was your lieutenant-colonel-follow me!" when gallantly leading them, they rapidly drove the French before them.

the proportion should be comparatively small to the second, and the third still smaller, because we have seen, in foreign countries, the worst results from titled children of staff rank, sickly diminutive lieutenant-colonels and colonels without talent, martial education and experience, calculated to bring the profession into contempt; and because la haute noblesse cannot devote a whole life to a military career, nor even sacrifice time and pleasure enough to form a scientific soldier's education; whilst the third class lacks in study, accomplishments and other useful and ornamental acquirements, what he makes up for in personal bravery, discipline, and practical knowledge, and therefore is incomplete, less fit to command than to obey, less effective in the cabinet than in the field, and wholly ignorant of various branches of education which give perfection to the officer and the man; mathematics, for example, geography, military and other history, languages, the graces, and those exercises which are attractive in society and of great utility in a campaign.

The nobility and gentry are, according to the accustomed laws of the country, both civil and military, formed to command, the inferior ranks to obey, yet this does not preclude transcendant valour or talent from mounting to higher rank. A royal name, illustrious ancestry, ancient title and good fame are becoming to the military man, but the mere possession of riches is no recommendation, and an extravagant officer, either from habit, or from thus having an extensive command of money, is no advantage to the regiment nor to the service; a certain degree of honourable and becoming economy being the very soul of a military life. Whilst, however, we praise the economist, and consider the officer who devotes his life to, and depends, in a certain degree, on the service, we are very far from thinking the gayest cavaliers, the very votaries of fashion, are so enervated as to be unfit for the profession of war. Men who take the greatest care of their person out of the field are found to be the most regardless of it in it, and the most courtly youths in the high circles, both of ton and town, have been found the first in the ranks of danger, and ever ready to be an example to others; of this the beaux militaires abroad, our Household brigade, and our crack pattern regiments, hussars, lancers, &c. at home, present a striking proof.

The perfection of an army is the mixing up of great men as a high example to others; the general main body being composed of highly educated military noblemen and gentlemen of minor means, whose early studies have been directed to their profession, and a third portion being open to the officier de fortune, tried and approved in the field, and owing to practice only what the former derives both from the theory and practice. There cannot be a greater error than the idea of a rough soldier and a rough sailor being a better warrior than a thorough-bred child of Mars, a man of high blood, an infant brought up in honour's school. How will the scholar, the linguist, the historian, the travelled man, the fine draughtsman, the able horseman, the fencer, the gymnastic scholar, feel his pre-eminence in all the stages of a military life! And these advantages (we speak it with all deference and high approbation) cannot belong to him who is raised from the ranks; nevertheless it is acceptable to find him as a companion in the harvest of laurels. It may, perhaps, not be amiss to add one more remark to military qualifications, namely, that in those countries where the nobility serve as cadets, or volunteers, for a certain time, they become at once soldiers

and officers, and this we have a substitute for in our military schools, and in our best regiments where the drill extends to this duty. We have seen, in the olden time, in Germany, princes en faction (as sentries), and observed their respect to their superiors.

The last consideration in amalgamating the materials of an army, and the mixing up the soldier of fortune with his titled and fortunehaving comrades, is, that as brethren in arms are not only to combat, but to associate together,-not only to meet on parade and drill-ground, at home and in the battle-field abroad,-not only to march, but to mess together, the gentleman is as often called into action as the soldier; and there polish and brilliancy of mind will avail more than pipe-clay and heel-ball; the social and companionable virtues and qualities will be found more necessary than a loud, commanding voice, a sharp, quick, and detecting eye. There, the chief and the campaigner, the martinet and algebraist, will merge into the convivial brother and the man of anecdote and taste. These properties will equally endear brother-soldier to brother-soldier, and promote an inviolable harmony amongst men, who have, on one side, virgin, unsullied honour to direct them, and, on the other, a variety of vicissitudes to share with the corps to which they belong, which thus becomes a noble and united family, respected in quarters, and looked up to in all the scenes of a campaign, of which life is a mere picture; for we enlist in its warfare, glitter in the promised advantages of youth, sleep one day in the bed of roses strewed by pleasure, and another, bivouac in adversity's cold and hard field. Our time, our quarters, our existence, are uncertain; climate or common accident, the bullet or the war of the passions, all conduct us alike through the skirmish. Virtue, honour, and glory, ought always to be our aim, and will alone gain us promotion here and hereafter.

We return to the soldier of fortune. To the difficulty of mounting on the scale of promotion, (not being educated for its higher steps,) is superadded the consideration, that such advancement does not always bring with it the comfort which is essential to the happiness of the fortunate individual. Our private is not a conscript, who is as likely to be a gentleman as a peasant; or rather, who has a chance, in the number, of being such; nor is he educated like the soldat Français, so full of pride, conceit, and military romance. He attends no regimental dancing-master and fencing-master, nor can he bear being made free with by his superiors, without being spoiled. There is no talking over battles, and drawing plans of sieges, no familiar conversing speculatively on military events with our men: they are content to obey, satisfied with doing their duty; and although they have their passions, like other men, and though none are braver, yet there is no l'amour et la gloire ever in their mouths, as with the French soldier. In this point, John Bull and Monsieur le Caporal are different beings; and one should as soon think of seeing the former cap in hand, to demand the honour of waltzing with some sprightly brunette, as we should expect an elephant to sing an adagio; neither do we ever find a private, after rising respectfully to salute an officer, sit down by his side, and continue reading the newspaper or a novel, which we have witnessed at the Chaumière at Paris. The promoted soldier, highly honourable as his feelings are at receiving the price of his deserts, has been known to regret the companions of his barrack-room and mess, and the humble

pleasures and pastimes of the pot and pipe, and therefore is always more at his ease if promoted in another corps, where a new life and society are chalked out for him. But they manage these matters far otherwise in France; and particularly when the rapid promotion of Napoleon skipped over grades to elevate the daring soldier to the pinnacle in the shortest time; an instance of which existed in a lieutenant-colonel, whose greatest pride was to be called Napoleon's Corporal, from which station he rose. The ex-emperor had, nevertheless, some prejudices; to wit, against any one who had battu caisse, (had beat the drum,) or was tinged with the blood of Africa; so that a certain major, long quartered at Calais, and who was decorated with the Legion of Honour's distinction, and the Cross of St. Louis, received this encomium from Napoleon :-" Vous avez deux fois mérité le prix de votre valeur, je vous le donne (the Legion of Honour's badge), et je vous avoue que votre couleur a été contre vous." This the major repeated in the presence of the late Lady Hamilton. And here we must remark, that so much is warlike honour the soul of our neighbours, that the battalionman actually thinks himself a cubit higher in society when he becomes a gren-a-dier," which he syllables thus. "Honneur aux braves!" say we; with which ejaculation we shall conclude this imperfect sketch, preferring our own manners and customs, and wishing that the army may neither be made a trade of, nor the rich merchant and trader ever forget what the army has done for them in the hot hour of sanguinary trial; how it has carried the destructive war into the enemy's country, allowing the happy and affluent to repose peacefully in beds of down. AN OLD LIFE-GUARDSMAN.

66

SIR,

66
ON LETTING WELL ALONE."

TO THE EDITOR OF THE UNITED SERVICE JOURNAL.

Having seen the admirable doctrine of "letting well alone" most ably advocated by one of your correspondents, and being myself a great upholder of that respectable old principle, before which all official men, with whom whatever is is right, perform the kotoo nine times a day, I think it right to send you, in an extract from the Rhine Graff Von Felsenstien's Reminiscences of the Thirty Years' War, a most striking illustration of our ancient doctrine, and a proof that it was long since known and acted upon by high military authority. How the valuable Memoirs from which this is taken came into my hands need not at present be told; let it suffice that they contain many curious and interesting disquisitions on love, war, religion, and politics, some of which I may, perhaps, send you when occasion calls, as the author appears evidently to have been a most acute and observing person.

Speaking of the period that preceded the great battle of Leipzig, he relates the following anecdote; which, constituting the illustration, I beg to submit to you.

I am,

&c.

DUGAL DHU MACDIRK.

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