Famous regiments of the British army: their origin and services. With a sketch of the rise and progress of the military establishment of England, and brief memoirs of eminent British generals

While these pages were passing through the press, the additional volumes of Mr. Carlyle's History of Frederick the Great have appeared, and we extract from vol. 3 of that elaborate and important work the following correction of a wellknown anecdote. Mr. Carlyle first relates the anecdote, and then demolishes it: "The head of the English column comes to sight, over the rising ground close by; the officers doff their hats, politely saluting ours, who return the civility; was ever such politeness seen before? It is a fact, and among the memorablest of this battle. Nay, a certain English officer of mark-Lord Charles Hay, the name of him valued, surely, in the annals of the Hay and Tweeddale house-steps forward from the ranks, as if wishing something. Towards whom (says the accurate Espagnac) Marquis d'Auteroche, Grenadier Lieutenant, with air of polite interrogation, not knowing what he meant, made a step or two. "Monsieur," said Lord Charles (Lord Charles-hay), “bid your people fire" (faites tirer vos gens!) "Non, Monsieur, nous ne tirons jamais les premiers" (We never fire first). It is almost a pity to disturb an elegant historical passage of this kind, circulating round the world, in some glory, for a century past; but there has been a small irrefragable document come to me which modifies it a good deal and reduces matters to a business form." This document is a letter from Lord Charles Hay to his brother, from which (with alterations of spelling) the following is an extract:-"It was our regiment that attacked the French Guards, and when we were within twenty or thirty paces of them, I advanced before our regiment, drank to them" ("to the French," explains Mr. Carlyle, "from the pocket-pistol one carries on such occasions"), and told them that we were the English Guards, and hoped that they would stand till we came quite up to them, and not swim the Scheld as they did the Mayne at Dettingen. Upon which I immediately turned about to our own regiment, speeched them, and made them huzzah. An officer (D'Auteroche) came out of the ranks and tried to make his men huzzah; however, there were not above three or four in their brigade that did." Upon which Mr. Carlyle comments in these words:-" Very poor counter-huzzah; and not the least whisper of that sublime After you, Sirs!' but rather in confused form of quite the reverse; Hay, having been himself fired into ('fire had begun on my left; Hay, totally ignorant on which side first), fired into, rather feebly, and wounded by those D'Auteroche people, while he was still advancing with shouldered arms. From all which one has to infer, that the mutual salutation by hat was probably a fact; that, for certain, there was some slight preliminary talk and gesticulation, but in the Homeric style, by no means in the Espagnac-French-not chivalrous epigram at all, mere rough banter, and what is called 'chaffing;' and, in short, that the French mess-rooms (with their eloquent talent that way) had rounded off the thing into the current epigrammatic redaction; the authentic business form of it being ruggedly what is now given."

UNIFORM WITH FAMOUS REGIMENTS,'

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

DEDICATED, BY PERMISSION, TO THE

FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY.

Price 3s. 6d., with Illustrations by Weedon and others,

FAMOUS SHIPS OF THE

BRITISH

OR,

NAVY:

STORIES of the ENTERPRISE and DARING of BRITISH SEAMEN.

Collected from Our Naval Chronicles. With a Sketch of the RISE of the BRITISHL NAVY, a Chapter on IRON-CLAD SHIPS, Chronological Table of ACTIONS

at SEA, Descriptions of SHIPS' RIGGING, SAILS, etc., and

a Glossary of Naval Term

FAMOUS REGIMENTS

THE BRITISH ARMY.

INTRODUCTION.

THE ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF THE BRITISH MILITARY SYSTEM.

Next comes the soldier,

Seeking the bubble reputation

Even in the cannon's mouth.-SHAKSPEARE.

EVERY nation which has to defend its liberties against the aggression of another, or even to maintain peace within its own limits, finds it needful to maintain a regular armed force. In England the establishment of such a force dates from a very early period; from the consolidation of the eight Saxon principalities under one king, when a military organisation was requisite both for the purpose of internal government and external defence. The Saxon law esteemed every man a soldier unless incapacitated by age or physical weakness, and he was regularly trained in the use of arms by a special officer. The head of a family was the leader of the capable males in that family. The families formed a tything, whose commander was named a borsholder: ten tythings composed a hundred, whose captain was termed a hundredary; while several hundreds were included in the trything, under the orders of the 'trything-man.' Finally, the armed men of each shire were commanded by its hertoch (dux or duke), or by the kyning's or koning's hold; but as the latter, who corresponded in some respects to the lordlieutenant of the present day, only held his commission during

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Famous regiments of the British army: their origin and services. With a ...