eventually became General Sir Alexander Cameron, K.C.B., of Inverailort, Colonel of the 74th Highland Regiment, and his son, Arthur Wellington Cameron, served in the 92nd from 1844 till 1876, and commanded the regiment in India.

R.O., March 24th, 1800.-As the issue of beer ceased to-day, and as in future the men are to receive 1d. a day in lieu thereof, that sum is to be added to their present weekly rate of subsistence.*

On April 10th, 1800, the regiment was ordered to the Isle of Wight, marching in three divisions on the 12th, 14th, and 15th, and arriving at Newport on the 23rd, where they were quartered in billets, a detachment being at West Cowes.

A severe scarcity had followed the disastrous harvest of 1799, and provisions had risen almost to famine prices; † consequently, the commanding officer allowed married men with families to add to their means by working in the neighbourhood.

R.O., Newport, May 15th, 1800.-The lieut.-colonel begs officers commanding companies to impress on their men's minds that meat of every kind is procured at present with the greatest difficulty, and they cannot expect to receive it of as good quality as when it was in greater abundance. The soldiers, in looking about them and comparing their own comfortable position with that of the labouring class of people, the produce of whose labour does not admit of their buying meat at all, should submit with cheerfulness to bear, in common with the people in general, their share of the dearth and scarcity which at present unfortunately exists.

R.O., Newport, 17th May.-The regiment to be ready to

letter was brought to him, then a rare event in the distant Highlands. It announced his commission in the Gordon Highlanders. "Cha rùisg mi caoraich tuilleadh." "I'll clip no more sheep," said he, tossing aside the shears, and left the Highlands, to return a general, with a "Sir" to his name. Lieutenant Alexander Stewart, an original officer of 92nd, became captain in Rifle Corps.-See Appendix.

* The pay of the soldier, which in 1797 had been increased from 6d. to 1s. a day, with allowance of beer or wine, has been increased at various times, generally by waiving deductions and adding advantages, as better clothing, barrack and hospital accommodation. The 1d. beer money was given till 1867, when it stopped on an increase of money being given.

† Alison.

embark at an hour's notice. Officers to have only one portmanteau, and no women or children to go, but they are to receive an allowance from Government.

Each company to carry a box for the new feathers which are to be served out on arrival at their destination.

The British Government had determined to send a secret expedition to France, of which the Gordon Highlanders were to form part. They embarked on ships of war on the 27th of May at Cowes, but did not sail till the 30th. In the interval they were joined on board ship by a large draft of volunteers from Highland Fencible Regiments, especially the Caithness, a regiment recruited chiefly in that county and Ross-shire.* Nineteen recruits had also joined from Scotland during the month, but the regiment was still below its establishment of 1000 rank and file, the embarkation strength being:-1 lieut.-colonel, 2 majors, 7 captains, 16 lieutenants, 6 ensigns, 6 staff, 36 sergeants, 22 drummers, and 600 rank and file. Several men had returned from French prisons, but 28 of those wounded in Holland, who had not yet recovered, and 8 who were still missing (supposed to have been killed or died of wounds) are struck off the strength. There were also recruiting parties in the north, and those attached to the "Rifle Corps."

Stewart's "Highlanders of Scotland." Mil. Journal, November 1800. H.M. thought fit to order the 21st, 71st, 72nd, 79th, and 92nd Regiments to be filled up by volunteers from Scotch Fencible Regiments in Ireland. Bounty 10 guineas, unlimited service, and the colonels could appoint an officer to an ensigncy in the line for every fifty men who volunteered. The numbers asked from each were :

The latter was called Rothesay and Caithness because the Prince of Wales had allowed his title as Duke of Rothesay to be added. The 200 men of this regiment went to the 79th and 92nd; the 92nd also got men from the Clanalpine and Lochaber Fencibles, etc.

Their destination proved to be against the forts in Quiberon Bay, where it was expected the Royalist party of that district would join them.

The troops, consisting of artillery, infantry, and royal marines, were in three divisions, commanded by Colonel the Earl of Dalhousie, Lieut.-Colonel Erskine, and Lieut.-Colonel Clephan. Erskine's Division consisted of the 1st Battalion 20th Regiment and his own regiment (the 92nd), with three six-pounders and two howitzers.

On the 7th of June the expedition disembarked at the Isle of Houat, in Quiberon Bay, where they encamped, and were constantly exercised in heavy marching order, recruits included, to prepare them for the expected "most active and honourable service." "It is not necessary," say the General Orders, " to ask the men to do their duty bravely, but whosoever is catched plundering or marauding after landing will suffer death."

On the 18th of June the regiment embarked on board H.M.S. Terrible, destined with others to attack the fortress of Belle-Isle, but the orders were countermanded on the 19th, and they returned to the Isle of Houat next day, without having landed on the mainland of France. "Embarking and disembarking, vessels running foul of each other, such is what we are engaged in," writes an officer; as the song says

At the siege of Belle-Isle

I was there all the while;
I was there all the while
At the siege of Belle-Isle.

The Gordons returned to camp at Isle of Houat, but they had little rest for the soles of their feet on land. On the 23rd they were on board H.M.S. Diadem, bound for Port Mahon, in the island of Minorca, where a large force was assembling.* They arrived on July 20th, but remained on board ship till the 7th August, when they landed and occupied barracks. Here they found the 42nd Royal Highlanders, who received them with the hospitality so characteristic of the Scot abroad. Wine flowed, the quaint old streets of Mahon re-echoed Highland toast and song, and no doubt many a Highland head ached next morning!

* General Sir Ralph Abercromby took the command on August 4th.

R.O., August 8th. The lieut.-colonel will not take any particular notice of the irregularities which happened last night, on account of the men meeting so many of their friends, but he expects not to have anything more happening of the same nature.*

All officers of the 42nd and 92nd had two epaulettes, while officers of the other regiments in garrison under field rank had but one, so their men presented arms to the Highland subalterns, till cautioned in Garrison Orders how to distinguish them.

The men were not so healthy as they had been at sea,† which was attributed to excess in wine and in the delicious fruits with which Minorca abounds; but, though they indulged occasionally too freely in the juice of the grape, the Highlanders did not forget the old folks at home. When there were neither savings banks nor postal orders it was not easy for a soldier to send money. According to Sergeant Duncan Robertson's journal, most of the Gordon Highlanders belonged to the estates of their officers, and they seem to have entrusted to them, as their natural guardians and friends, the money they wished to send to their parents. In Captain Cameron's letters I find constant reference to this practice, mentioning the sums belonging to each man, with his name or the by-name by which he was distinguished at home from others of the same name- -as "Ewen dubh Tailear," "Ewen dubh Coul," both men of the name of Ewen Cameron, etc.

The regiment embarked on the 30th August, forming part of the greatest armament which had left Britain during the war, which was collected in the Straits of Gibraltar, menacing the coasts of Spain. The united fleet consisted of twenty

The influx of so many troops seems to have caused scarcity of fresh meat in Minorca. The magistrates, with the approval of the Commander-inChief, fixed the price. The naval and military hospitals were first served, then what was absolutely necessary was allowed to the sick of the town, onefifth of the remainder was set apart for the supply of the town-no more than lb. to any one family, while three-fifths was apportioned to the army and navy.

+ Very great care was taken to keep the lower decks clean and well aired, and the bedding was brought on deck in dry weather.

+ Alison.

sail of the line, twenty-seven frigates, and eighty-four transports, having on board about 20,000 foot soldiers. This formidable force appeared off Cadiz on the 5th October, but, finding that yellow fever was raging in the city, the British commanders, dreading the contagion among the troops which would result if the city were taken, countermanded the orders to land, decided to withdraw from the enterprise, and returned to Gibraltar.

By Regimental Orders of September 23rd, on board the Stately, the men of the regiment were ordered to have "half gaiters" made; hitherto they seem only to have had their hose.

October 31st. The discharge of Sergeant Donald MacKinnon, of the recruiting company, is mentioned, which is the only reference to any kind of depôt.

After remaining a short time on board ship at Gibraltar, where they lost Sergeant Lachlan MacIntosh, who was drowned in the bay, the regiment proceeded to Minorca,* and, after a fortnight's stay, sailed again on the 21st November, and anchored at Malta on December 1st.

Here the troops.
The detachment

were landed as often as possible for exercise. of riflemen rejoined, and the regiment received a draft of recruits and volunteers from the Fencibles. Officers are desired to make most minute inquiries into the wants of these men, and to provide them with everything that can be procured. There was evidently some difficulty in fulfilling these orders, and old bonnets and jackets had to be made up for them; " and collect all the yellow cloth they can, so that at all events they may have yellow cuffs and collars."

At Malta the regiment furnished four carpenters, two masons, and one blacksmith to be employed under the chief engineer.

Minorca, which had been off and on in British possession for about a hundred years, was finally given up to Spain by treaty in 1803. There are still many remains of the British occupation in the island. English expressions and names are adopted into the language of the people. There is also a family of Frasers owning an estate, descended from a Highland officer who married the heiress.

+ Malta, having been closely blockaded by the British for two years, had surrendered in September 1800, the French being permitted to march out with the honours of war.