YALE UNIVERSITY
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LOED SEATON'S EEGIMENT,
(THE 52KD LIGHT INFANTKY,)
AT
THE BATTLE OE WATEELOO;
ETC., ETC.

JIR. LEEKE'S REPLIES TO CERTAIN CRITICISMa ON HIS WORK BY OFFICERS OF
IHE FIBST GUATOS, AND SOME OTHEE MATTEBS, WILL BE FOUND BOUND UP IN THIS
FIRai VOLUME ,'SeETWEEN PAGES 104 AND 10^ IN WHICH ORDER THOSE PAMPHLETS
SHOULD BB EE%_.^^ ,-;^^ ^yy \^TytAX ,
THOSE WHO M^EADY HAVE THE WOEK SHOULD APPLY TO MESSES. HATCHAED,
187 PICCADILLY, FOE A COPY OF THE PAMPHLETS, WHICH THEY WILL 8END WITHOUT
CHARGE, AND THEY MAY BE FIXED IN THE PROPER PLACE, BY MEANS OF A THIN
RIBBON, UNDEE THE BACK OF THE COVER.
Mareh. 18B8

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THE HISTORY OF
LORD SEATON'S EEGIMENT,
(THE 52ND LIGHT INFANTRY,)
AT
THE BATTLE OF WATEELOO;

TOGETHER WITH VARIOUS

NOT ONLT AT WATEKLOO, BUT ALSO AT PABIS, IN THE NOETH OP FRANCE, AND
FOB BEVEKAL TEABS AFTEEWAEDS :
TO WHICH ASS ADDED MANT OT
THE ATJTHOE'S EEMINISCENCES OF HIS MILITAEY
AND CLEEICAL CAEEEES,
D0BINQ A PEEIOD OF MOEE THAN FIFTY YEAES.

EEV. WILLIAM LEEKE, M.A.,
(of QUEES's COI.I.EaE, CAMBBIDQE,) INCUMBENT OF HOLBBOOEE, DEBBTSHIBE, AHD BTTBAI. DEAH,
WHO CABEIED THE S2nD EBGIMBNTAIi COLOUB AT WATERLOO.
THE AUTHOR CLAIMS FOR LORD SEATON AND THE 52ND THE HONOUR OF HAVING
DEFEATED, SINGLE-HANDED, WITHOUT THE ASSISTANCE OF THE 1ST BRITISH
GUARDS OR ANY OTHER TROOPS, THAT PORTION OF THE IMPERIAL
GUARD OF FRANCE, ABOUT 10,000 IN NUMBER, WHICH ADVANCED
TO MAKE THE LAST ATTACK ON THE BRITISH POSITION:
THE 3BD BATTAIJON OF THE IST FOOT GUABDS, BT THE DUEE OF WELLUKrOTOH's OBDEB, DBOVE
THE 8KIBMISHEB3 OF THE IMPEBIAL (}UABD OFF THE BBITISH POSITION,
THE OTHEB BATTALION OF GENERAL MAITLAND*3 BBIdADE OF OaABDS BEMAININQ STATIONAET.

IN TWO VOLUMES.— VOL. I.
WITH A POETKAIT OF HBLD-MABSHAI. LOKD SEATON,
AND THKEE PLANS OF WATERLOO, SHEWING THB POSITIONS AND
MOVEMENTS OS THE 52nD DURING THE ACTION.
LONDON :
HATCHAED AND CO., 187, PICCADILLY,
1866.

YALE

PREFACE.

It is beginning to be more and more widely understood
that very great injustice has been done to Lord Seaton
and the 52nd Light Infantry, which regiment he com
manded at Waterloo, by those who have attempted, in
subsequent years, to write the history of that great
battle. My only reason for thinking of writing these
volumes was that I had always felt this injustice
very strongly, and that with other officers of the
regiment I thought, if it were possible, the truth,
with regard to what we knew the 52nd had achieved
at Waterloo, ought to see the light.
We knew that it had moved down 300 or 400
yards from the British position by itself, and had,
single-handed, attacked and routed two heavy columns
of the French Imperial Guard, consisting of about
10,000 men, and further we saw with our own eyes

^a PEEFACE.

that this defeat was followed by the flight of the
whole French army: why should this daring feat of
their great commander not be made known to the
British army and to the British nation ?
The having a very vivid recollection of the scenes
and events I witnessed at Waterloo, and the having
the written recollections of several 52nd officers, and
also other sources of information, led me to think I
had a mass of materials for the work I was contem
plating, which justified my proceeding with it; and I
more particularly felt justified in doing so, when I
considered, that amongst the few remaining officers of
the regiment, who served at Waterloo, from various
circumstances there was no one else who would feel
at all disposed to encounter the labour, and difficulties,
and perhaps annoyances, which such an undertaking
would involve.
My first idea was only to write about the 52nd at
Waterloo, and theu I thought I would give some little
account of the regiment during the time that it formed
part of the army of occupation in the North of France.
I found, as I proceeded, that my work took up more of
my time than I felt justified in giving to it, unless I
could hope in some way to make it not only interest
ing, but also calculated to be useful in a religious point
of view, to those who might read, it ; and thus I was
led on to adopt the plan set forth in the title page.
There have been three subjects, to which, in
addition to my duties as a clergyman, I have given
a great deal of time and earnest attention now for
xnore than thirty years. The first, to which I have

PIJEFACE. Vll

devoted more time than to anything else, and which
I have always considered to be one of the most
important objects which can engage the attention of
a Christian community, has been the endeavouring to
assist in promoting, amongst all classes of persons
throughout the country, more correct views of the
Divine Authority and of the perpetual and universal
obligation of the Lord's Day, or the Christian Sabbath,
and of the benefits, temporal, spiritual, and eternal,
which result to nations and individuals from its due
observance. Another object of great solicitude with me has
been the setting free the Protestant officers and men,
of the British army, from their forced attendance on
the idolatrous ceremonies of the Roman Catholic and
Greek Churches.
The third object, which at one time engaged a
great deal of my time and attention, was, what I
considered to be a great blot on the escutcheon of oui*
Established Church : I mean the plurality system, or
the holding, by the same clergyman, of more livings
than one, merely for his own personal advantage.
This system, I am thankful to say, now appears to
be in a fair way of gradual extinction.
It is natural, therefore, that, in such a work as this,
I should have devoted some chapters to these subjects,
which I trust wUl not be without interest and instruc
tion to the reader.
I shall be grieved if anything I have written
should occasion pain to any one. It is obvious that
I could not ask the permission of individuals, with

Vlll PEEFACE.

regard to the introducing particular names, or subjects,
or letters, without running the risk of placing myself
in a most difficult position.
There are two persons, to whom I, at one time,
thought of applying as to the desirableness (of which
I had no doubt myself) of stating certain details in
these volumes ; but I felt that such application would
only embarrass them, as well as myself, whether they
might or might not take the same view of the matter
which I did.
I did not originally contemplate the introduction
of the early and subsequent history of the 52nd into
this work, but it has lately occurred to me that I
should not be performing my duty to my countrymen,
(only a very few of whom can have access to the
52nd "Eecord,") if I did not take advantage of my
present opportunity to lay before them many most
interesting particulars relating to the high character,
military bearing and martial prowess of that old
"Light Division Regiment," which General Sir William
ISTapier, the celebrated historian of the Peninsular War,
has described as, "a eegiment nevee stjepassed est
" AEMS, SINCE AEMS WEEE FIEST BOENE BT MEN ! "
It will not be necessary to apologize to the reader
for writing in the first person singular, for it very soon
became evident that the doing so was a necessity, but
I should rather apologize to the printer, who has been
so frequently forced, in his proofs, to find substitutes,
in some of the chapters, for quite a company of capital
fellows, whom I have no better way of designating than
by calling them No. 9. This little double enigma the

PEEFACE. IS
reader will not fully understand tUl he has read well
on in the book.
And here I think I must plead guilty of having
introduced into this work some few puerilities, some
repetitions, and many defects, which I trust will be
forgiven; and I must also claim indulgence for the
style of writing : which I found could not very well be
other than that of the common familiar letter-writing
style, beyond which I have seldom attempted to soar.
In giving an account of the various incidents
which came under my observation at Waterloo, I
have been compelled to speak of myself and of my
own feelings, and in detailing many of the reminiscences
of both my military and my clerical careers, I must
I think, as a matter of course, lay myself open to the
charge of vanity ; but it must be allowed, in extenua
tion of what may appear to be a palpable fault in
that direction, that it is absolutely necessary that
the author of a book of this description, containing
as it does such a medley of subjects, and which is
written chiefly for the purpose of proving a particular
point with regard to Waterloo, but also with an earnest
desire to make it religiously useful to those who may
read it — -it is absolutely necessary, that a person so
circumstanced should have a fair character, in the eyes
of those whom he desires to convince, and entertain,
and benefit, for a certain amount of military intelli
gence, and also for uprightness of purpose : this must
be my apology for letting many things appear in this
work which bear favourably on my character both as
an officer and as a clergyman.

PEEFACE.

I cannot quite agree with one of my old and
valued brother-officers, that "he, who praises his
" regiment praises himself," and that that would be a
reason for not retaining in my book Napier's words
about the 52nd, already mentioned ; for a person may
assuredly have a comparatively humble view of him
self, who may at the same time think, that his regiment,
or his ship, or his wife, cannot be surpassed by any
other. I cannot expect, indeed I know it must be other
wise, that any person can read this work without
being annoyed at many things in it which he will
consider to be in bad taste; such persons must, how
ever, try and bear with, or pass over, what they dislike,
and see if there is not much which they approve of,
and which, by God's mercy, may be not without
benefit to them.
I wish to call special attention to Chapter LV of
this work, in which there is a strong recapitulation of
much that I have said, in the early chapters, about the
single-handed attack of the 52nd on the columns of the
French Guard, without the assistance of the British
Guards or any other troops. Some additional points
of interest are also brought forward in it.
I think all my readers will be pleased with the
fine portrait of Field Marshal Lord Seaton, which I
am enabled to present to them through the kindness
of Mr. Graves, the eminent engraver, of 6, Pall
Mall. Photographers must not copy it without his
permission, which I only have for its introduction
into this work, and any further edition of it.

PEEFACE. XI
My military readers especially will admire the three
plans of Waterloo, which very accurately represent the
various movements and positions of the 52nd throughout
the battle. They, the 52nd, must be looked for first
of all at Merbe Braine, in the north-western corner of
Plan I, and then in the same plan they may be traced,
over the Allied position, to the slope in rear of Hougo-
mont, where they were formed into two squares, and
proceeded, with their gallant friends the 71st and 95th
Rifles, to the north-east of Hougomont, where they
remained for two hours and a half In Plan II their
place on the position, which they reached about seven
o'clock, is marked by a dotted line from which their
advance, about eight o'clock, may be traced to the
flank of the French Imperial Guard. In Plan III
they will been seen, at 8. 30, close to the Charleroi
road, in front of, and two hundred yards from, the Old
French Guard; from that spot their track will be
found to the left of the Charleroi road and La Belle
Alliance as far as the farm of Rosomme where they
halted for the night at 9. 15. WILLIAM LEEKE.

Holbrooke Hall, near Derbt,
November 27, 1866.

CONTENTS OF YOL. L

CHAPTEE I.
1815.
02nD light infantry AT WATEELOO. PAGE
Selection of a profession — Death of my eldest brother — Bonaparte's landing
in the South of France — Joining 52nd Light Infantry in Flanders as a
volunteer — Sir John Colborne (Lord Seaton) — June 16, March to Eng-
hein — Cannonade at Quatre Bras — March to Waterloo — Bivouac on
the night of the 17th— Position of troops before the battle— Ordered
to carry the 52nd regimental colour . 1
CHAPTEE II.
1815.
52nd light infantey at wateeloo.
Commeneementof the battle at twelve o'clock — 52nd in reserve — Chalmers's
horse shot — Several casualties — First narrow escape — Attack on Hougo
mont — Attack on La Haye Sainte and Picton's division — Charge of
the Union Brigade and of the Life Guards — Grand charge of 6000
French cavalry — British gun,s deserted — 52nd form square, and advance
over and down the British position — Brunswickers — French cavalry
rally and are supported by 7000 fresh horsemen — Adam's brigade in
squares to the left of Hougomont — 52nd in two squares — Cannonade —
French cuirassiers— Various incidents — La Haye Sainte taken by the
French — The squares of the brigade ordered to retire up to the position 23

XIV CONTENTS.
CHAPTEE III.
1815.
DEFEAT OF THE IMPEEIAL GUAED BY THE 52ND LIGHT INFANTEY. PAGE
Form a four-deep line — Wounded men of the 52nd — Spent round-shot —
Duke of Wellington — French officer of cuirassiers — Advance of the
Imperial Guard — 52nd advances singly to meet them — Srd battalion of
1st Guards drives a mass of skirmishers down the position — Defeat of
the whole of the Imperial Guard by the 52nd alone — No other English
troops within 300 yards of them— Flight of the French army— 52nd
passes over the killed and the wounded of the French Guard — Various
incidents — Charge of cavalry — 52nd suffer from grape — Prussian round
-shot— Serious thoughts ... 39
CHAPTEE IV.
1815.
52nd attack and defeat the IMPEEIAL GEENADIEES.
52nd attack and drive off Old Guard — Duke of WeUington arrives— Lord
Uxbridge wounded — The Duke and Napoleon in nearest proximity —
52nd pass La Belle Alhance — No other troops in sight— Pass 75 pieces
of deserted cannon — Encounter a French division and guns — Their
surrender — Fire on French staff-officers — Last infantry shots at Waterloo
— Bivouac at Rosomme — The Duke and Blucher — The 1st Guards
between La Belle Alliance and British position — Sir John Byng's speech
about 52nd — Wounded officers at the village of Waterloo — Sir Thomas
ReyneU's letter — Wounded hussar and Imperial grenadier — Ammunition
waggon blown up — Various other incidents on the 19th . . .55
CHAPTEE V.
1815.
DEFEAT OF THE FEENCH IMPEEIAL GUAED BY THE 52nD ALONE.
Defeat of the Imperial Guard bythe 52nd, and not by the 1st British Guards
— Lord Seaton and Sir John Byng — Steadiness of 52nd when wheeling
in line, &c.— The Duke's despatch written on the night of the 18th —
Duke of Richmond — Colonel Gawler— Siborne's mistakes — Sir W.
Napier's statement about treachery and secret politics in connexion with
Waterloo — Napier's letter about officers being drilled with men, and
Lord Seaton with 52nd at Waterloo — Colonel Bentham and Minie rifle —
Bentham and Waterloo— Lieutenant Sharpin of the Artillery contra
dicts Siborne — Lord Seaton's letter to Bentham on defeat of French
Guard by 52nd — Mr. Yonge's conversation with Lord Seaton — Colonel
Brotherton . . . . . .79

CONTENTS. XV
CHAPTEE VI.
1815.
SIBOENE'S, ALISON'S, AND SHAW KENNEDY'S MISTAKES EEFUTED. PAGE
The Duke's memorandum of 1836 about Waterloo— Much confusion in it —
Confidence in the truth of history much shaken— Siborne, Alison, the
Chaplain-General, Gleig, make great mistakes — Hooper's account more
correct— Amount of the French Guard from 1804 to 1815— 52nd, "a
"bright beam of red light, &c." — Baron Muffiing— Shaw Kennedy—
What the 1st Guards did really doat the crisis of Waterloo — KiUed and
wounded of each battalion of the 1st Guards — How came Sir John Byng
to allow the 52nd to go on alone? — Great injustice perpetrated against
light infantry regiraents — Letter to "The Times" in 1855 — Brevet rank
of the Guards injurious to the service . . . 105

CHAPTEE VII.
1815.
MAECH TO PAEIS.
NiveUes — Letters to England — News of battle— Lists of kUled and wounded
— Mother ill — Alarm of sisters— March to Binche— Coal pit — Enter
France — Le Cateau — Loss of baggage — Claim for remuneration — Other
claims rejected — Fate of the baggage — Officers on baggage-guard —
Alarshal Mongey's Chateau — Distant view of Paris — Montmartre— 52nd
alone at Argenteuil — Pontoon bridge — Convention — Bridge and grave
yard of NeuUly — Enter Paris — Encamp in the Champs Elys6es . 138

CHAPTEE VIII.
1815.
PAEIS. THE 52nd ENCAMPED IN THE CHAMPS ELYSeES.
Two companies a guard to the Duke's house — Colonel W. Rowan comman
dant — Bonaparte finds refuge on board the Bellerophon — Entry of Louis
XVIII into Paris — The Imperial Guard— Position of 52nd in Paris —
Cricket and drUl — Dine with Sir John Colborne — Restoration of pictures,
&c., taken by the French — Review of Russian Guards — Accident —
Cossacks of the Don — Ecole de Natation — Practical jokes — Row in the
Palais Royal— Row at St. Cloud — Gaming-houses— Observations on the
evU of letting children play at games for money — Soldier condemned
to he shot — Caricatures of English — "Les Anglaises pour rire"—
" Monsieur Calico "—Playhouses to be avoided. .... 154

XVl CONTENTS.
CHAPTEE IX.
1815, 1816.
THE 52nd QUAETEEED AT VEESAILLES, ST. GEEMAIN, AND CLEKMONT. PAGE
Quarter at Versailles — Palace — St. Germain — Sir John Colborne goes on
leave — His good advice — Clermont — Anniversary ofthe death of
Louis XVI — A guard of honour in the church — Atchison and Dawson of
the artiUery ... . . 174
CHAPTEE X.
1816.
CANTONMENTS IN THE NOETH OF FKANCE.
Villages around Therouenne — Henry VIII — Siege of Th6rouenne and
Battle of Spurs three hundred years before — Honours gained by an
cestors — Alarming occurrence — Periodical encampment and march to
Valenciennes — Kind feeling between the villagers and our men —
Meadow at Therouenne — Bathing in the river Lys — Sir Denis Pack's
inspection — Brigade orders — Curious occurrence — Remarkable case of
one of the men becoming religious 180
CHAPTEE XI.
1816.
AMUSEMENTS IN CANTONMENTS.
The regiment start a pack of fox-hounds— Anecdotes connected with our
hunting— Accident— Go over to the cavalry quarters— Commandant of
St. Omer and his staff— Lord Combermere joins the party — His regret
at not having been at Waterloo —Dissertation on cruelty to the animals
hunted— A singular argument on the subject^Extmction of poaching
— A trumpeter-boy of the Life Guards . . . .191
CHAPTEE XII.
1816.
AMUSEMENTS AND INCIDENTS IN THE NOETH OF FEANCE.
Hunting at CaUone— Captain English— Duke of WeUington's hoar-hounds—
Lord HOI and his brother -Gymnastic club near St. Pol— 52nd play
the rest of ColvUle's division at cricket — Fatal accident— Mess at
Therouenne in the summer— Accident to a friend in the 71st— Medals
for Waterloo served out— Two of us wear them on going to Aire— Death
of a poor woman in the Grande Place— Curious anecdote about the
18th of June, 1816, by a corporal of the 23rd FusUeers— BaU given
by the English officers at St. Omer— My servant drowned— Remarkable
dreams— Holman's servant shot — A corporal stabbed by a French officer
— Capture of thieves— Winterbottom and his former comrade— Anecdote
of the master tailor . . _ 204

CONTENTS. xvn
CHAPTEE XIII.
1816, 1817, 1818.
LEAVE TO ENGLAND AND PAEIS. EETUEN OF THE AEMY TO ENGLAND. PAGE
Cheltenham — Duke of Wellington— Paris in 1817— French family—
Chef d' escadron — Labedoy§re's tomb — BaU at the English Ambassador's
— Denain— General Beckwith — Encampment again at St. Omer in 1818
— Sir John Colborne joins — Purchases a horse from me — The horse's
proceedings on parade — Last visit to Valenciennes — 52nd occupy citadel
— Review by the Emperor of Russia — 52nd the last regiment in France
— March to Calais— Embarkation — Arrival in England, November 29,
1818 . . ... 221

CHAPTEE XIV.
1818, 1819.
THE 52nd MAECH TO CHESTEE AND AEE STATIONED THEEE.
Dover — Deal — Ramsgate — Custom-house — Scene at Canterbury —Start for
Sheerness — Short visit to friends — Sir John Moore's mother — Various
incidents — Balls — Races — Hunting — The Bishop and Archdeacon —
Special assize — Lord Lyndhurst commandant of the garrison — Fire,
and amusing incident — 52nd ball given to the town and county — •
Several incidents — Visit to Bold Hall — Obtain leave to go to Germany
—Proceed to Plymouth— BaU at General Brown's— SaU in Myrmidon to
Spithead — Bishop Crowther rescued from slavery by Myrmidon —
Incidents connected with his deliverance 232

CHAPTEE XV
1819, 1820.
GERMANY, ENGLAND, PAEIS, NICE.
Calais to Brussels— Murder of English gentlemen — How discovered —
Tradition about the fight at Cheriton in the time of Charles I.— Visit
the field of Waterloo— Corn rank where we defeated the Imperial
Guard — The Rhine— Bhrenbreitstein, beautiful scenery— University of
Gottingen— Curious funeral ceremonies- Hanover— The Jager Guards
— Colonel Reynett — Leave Hanover for Sottrum— Arrangements for
learning German — Alarming iUness — ReUgious feeling — Return to
Hanover— Difficulty in speaking EngUsh properly— Advised to return to
England — Paper written on my 22nd birthday — Ludicrous difficulty at
Yarmouth — Thames frozen over— Anecdote connected with the loss of
the Royal George — Unpleasant occurrence at races— Think of going on
half-pay — Kind remonstrance from the regiment — Proceed to Nice —
Bonaparte at Frejus in 1814— ReUgious friends, &c.— Adventure with
a mosquito— The cUmate of the south of France and Italy 245

xvill CONTENTS.
CHAPTEE XVI.
1821.
ITALY. PAGE
Proceed by water to Genoa — From Genoa to Pisa — Cross a portion of the
Apennines — Misunderstanding with a vettv/rino — Bridge over the
Serchio carried away— The leaning tower at Pisa, etc. — The death of a
student — The Carnival, etc. — Florence to Rome — Austrians bivouacked
around Terni — St. Peter's at Rome— Curious scene — From Rome to
Naples — Appu Forum — Cicero's villa and tomb — Naples — Portici,
Pompeii — Go up Vesuvius— English squadron — Sir Graham Moore —
Return by Rome, Florence, Milan, Turin, and Geneva to England—
Dr. Malan at Geneva— Narrow escape at the mortar-practice there 268
CHAPTEE XVII.
1821.
AT HOME, AND THEN EEJOIN THB 52ND AT DUBLIN.
FeeUngs of my relatives with regard to my religious views — FamUy prayers
— Testimony of some now gone — Sir John Colbome — Coronation of
George IV — Queen Caroline — Feelings of the people — Rejoin the 52nd
at Dublin— My altered feelings with regard to religion— Found Gawler
a religious man — Several incidents connected with his change — First
intimation to the other officers of my altered views — Attendance at
mess — The King's visit to Dublin — Incidents on his landing — Levee
at the castle — A judge awkwardly circumstanced — 43rd and 52nd
reviewed by the King — In command of McNair's company that day —
A ramrod accidentally discharged — Charge of cavalry, shewing that the
horses would be wUling to go on to the bayonets — The King's visit to
St. Patrick's Cathedral— Mr. Guinness . 292
CHAPTEE XVIII.
1821.
DUELLING.
Major Oliver ofthe artiUery — Is sent to " Coventry " by the artUlery officers of
the Dublin district — I hecome acquainted with him — Discussions on duel
ling, at the 52ndmess — Colonel Rowan's opinion — Remarkable instance of
apology — Recent additions to the Articles of War — Roman CathoUc
officers of the Prussian Guards removed for declaring they would [not
fight a duel — Severe sentence on officers of the Russian Guards for
fighting a duel — Belgian Mioister of War sentenced to imprisonment
for engaging in a duel . . . 305
CHAPTEE XIX.
1821, 1822.
THB 52nd AT DUBLIN.
Meeting of naval and military officers for reading the Scriptures — Lady
Grey, Mr. Mathias, Mr. Nixon — Scripture argument against balls —
ViUage dances — Refuse an invitation to a ball at Dublin — Difficulties and
plan with regard to intercourse with the families of any neighbourhood . 314

CONTENTS. XlX
CHAPTEE XX.
1821, 1822.
THB 52nd at DUBLIN. page
The castle guard — The Montagus of the 71st 'and 52nd — Irritation of the
King about a sentry — ^Amusing order handed down by the sentries on
the bridge to the garden — Tracts and books for the men taken away
by the captain of the guard — Some reason to hope they were made
useful to him — Several anecdotes connected with that proceeding—
Winterbottom and religious tracts at the bank guard; curious and
important dialogue — Anecdote connected with Winterbottom's wound at
Waterloo— Mention of his services in 52nd record — PecuUarities of
religious people— Definition of a Methodist — A clergyman and his wife
each considering the other to be free from sin — What a blessing that
we have the first prayer of the liturgy — Expected Whiteboy attack on
the barracks — On detachment at the Pigeon-house Fort— Boldness and
discomfiture of rats — Detached to Wicklow — Rudiments of a savings'
bank . . . .318
CHAPTEE XXI.
1821, 1822.
DUBLIN. PAETICULAKS EELATING TO THEEE 52ND SOLDIEES.
Pat Kelly's proceedings in Spain and France — Remarkable visitation —
Becomes a reUgious man— One of the guard of honour to the King-
Selected as a trustworthy man— His suspicious death at the Pigeon-
house — Dogherty— Houghton's remarkable case — Benefit arising from
the distribution of the Scriptures— My visits to him in the hospital —
He leaves the army— His letter to me— Enters Trinity CoUege, Dublin
— Becomes a devoted minister of the Church of England— His death . 334
CHAPTEE XXII.
1822.
THE 52nd in THE SOUTH OF lEELAND.
March frora Dublin— Fair at Ballynahill— The county of Tipperary under
the Insurrection Act— Detached to New Birmingham— The Rev. John
Galway— Set up a school for the men— Two drunken men shot by sentry
near Carrick— Refuse invitation to dine out on Sunday — Extracts from
journal— The priest prohibits my tracts— Tracts given to beggars to seU
—Benefit arising from this— Interesting detaUs— Introduced to a very
clever nailer — Comes to compare Roman CathoUc catechism with Bible
—Praying to angels— Hopeful state of several persons— Joined at night
by a stranger on the road— The priest hums the tracts — Give Bibles and
Douay Testaments— Instance lately discovered of good done by the tracts
given to the soldiers— Relieved by Gawler— Clonmel, Ballynamult—
Escort prisoners to Fermoy— On duty to Dublin— Retum to New
Birmingham fora short time— Account in after years of one of the New
Birmingham converts— Converts become protestant Scripture readers—
EstabUshment of a regimental savings' bank— Compliment to my
efficiency— First epistle of St. Peter— Lord Seaton . . .344

XX CONTENTS.
CHAPTEE XXIII.
1823.
SANDHUEST. page
Senior department at Sandhurst— Determined to work hard — Religious
duties— Strict observance of the Lord's Day— Boerhave—Diggle's wound
— Serjeant Housley met him wounded at Waterloo — Diggle's anecdote
about a toast in Sicily — My order to join 52nd, and to embark for
America— Sir George Murray, the governor, opposes it, but without
success — Asks me to dine with him on Sunday — Correspondence with
the Horse Guards — Proceed to Cork — Find 52nd embarking . 363
CHAPTEE XXIV
1823.
THE 52nd GO TO NEWFOUNDLAND AND NEW BEUNSWICK.
Explanation with Sir John Tylden — Proceed with three companies to New
foundland — Off Kinsale and Castle Townsend — Sea sickness — Calm —
Visit timber vessel — Sudden squaU — Shark — A bonnet overboard —
Cards — Bible— Banks of Newfoundland — Fogs — Vessels— 74th at St.
John's — Found an order to proceed to New Brunswick — Naval officer
— Rencontre — Frigate — Go on board — Leave Newfoundland — Bay of
Fundy — St. John's — Annapolis — Proceed with one company to St.
Andrew's — Barracks — Expel vermin — Level a road — Prayer for the
people — Snow-shoes — Frost-bites — Kindness ofthe people— Many joined
us in meeting to read the Scriptures— Party kept up for many years 378
CHAPTEE XXV
1823, 1824.
ST. andeew's, new BEUNSWICK.
Benefit of religious tracts— One lent in twenty-two houses — Man with cart —
Tract given to one man, the means of the conversion of another 
Sermons — Mr.Simeon — Description of a good minister — H.M.S.Sparrow-
hawk— Smuggled provisions— Smuggled fowl for dinner— Meat pre
served by becoming frozen— Expedition into the uncleared woods —
American General — Charlotte county militia — Voyage to St. John's 
Find half the town on fire — Of some use in stopping the conflagration
— Armine Mountain . . . 397

LIST OF PXATES.

Portrait of Field-Marshal Lord Seaton, G.C.B.

Front-ispiece.

Plan of Waterloo, No. I

.

29

Plan of Waterloo, No. II

43
Plan of Waterloo, No. Ill
, ,
55
CHAPTEE I.
1815.
52nd LIGHT INFANTEY AT WATEELOO.
Selection of a profession — Death of my eldest brother — Bonaparte's landing in the
South of Prance — Joining 52nd Light Infantry in Flanders as a volunteer —
Sir John Colborne (Lord Seaton)— June 16, March to Enghien— Cannonade
at Quatre Bras — March to Waterloo — Bivouac on the night of the 17th —
Position of troops before the battle — Ordered to carry the 52nd regimental
colour.
It was intended that I should have been a sailor, in which pro
fession my two elder brothers were, but my eldest brother having
been killed in action in 1810,* my mother no longer thought
of that career for me, and it was never mentioned to me ; she
then intended me for the church, but to this arrangement I
had a great repugnance, as I considered myself altogether unfit
to be a clergyman ; then the law was very seriously thought of,
and I turned my attention to it for some months after leaving
school at the age of sixteen ; but all intentions in that direction
were completely upset by my meeting at a ball a young officer
of the 51st Light Infantry, who had just returned from Spain,
and to whose account of his adventures I listened with the
greatest avidity for two or three hours, and then immediately
determined that I would go into the army. Our friend and
relative. Sir John Colborne, afterwards Lord Seaton, then in
command of the 52nd, was written to ; but before any course
could be recommended, the Peninsular war came to an end.
He, some time after, advised that I should go to a military
* See Appendix No. 1 . B

2 52nd light INFANTRY
institution, at which Captain Malortie de Martemont received a
few young men who were preparing for the army. Captain
Malortie was a French royalist, and professor of fortification at
the Woolwich Academy. I was there for several months, and
made some little progress in fortification and military plan
drawing, &c.
In the early part of 1815, Sir Theophilus and Lady Pritzler
and their family were staying with my mother, preparatory to
their embarking for India ; they were relatives of ours, and he
commanded the 22nd Light Dragoons. On hearing of my plans,
they proposed that I should purchase a vacant cornetcy in the
22nd, and follow them to India. Arrangements were made
accordingly at the Horse Guards, and I was written to, and a
little time was allowed for my decision. It had, however, been
before arranged with Sir John Colborne that, if the American
war continued, I should proceed with the 52nd to America.
Just at the time that the cornetcy in the 22nd Dragoons was
mentioned to me, we were daily expecting to receive the account
of the ratiflcation of peace with America, so that, although I
was much pleased with the arrangement about India, I felt that
I had better not take the decided step about going there, until
there was an end of all hope of seeing active service on the
other side of the Atlantic. In a short time, the news of the
ratification of peace with America appeared in g, second edition
of the papers ; and, in the very same papers, was a third edition,
announcing the landing of Bonaparte in the south of France
from Elba, on the 1st of March. If the inteUigence of Bonaparte's
return to France had reached me four-and-twenty hours later, all
my steps for getting my cornetcy and for proceeding to India
would have been taken, and probably mine would have been an
Indian life for many years. As it was, I determined on doing
nothing until I saw what success Bonaparte's enterprise met with.
I knew that, if it succeeded, the 1st battalion of the 52nd,
already embarked at Cork, would most probably be ordered with
other troops to reinforce the 10,000 men we already had in
Flanders under the Prince of Orange.
When we heard of Bonaparte's arrival at Paris on the 20th
of March, I immediately wrote to Sir John Colborne, who was

AT WATEELOO. 3
military secretary to the Prince of Orange, to beg of him to let
me know what I had better do under the circumstances. Several
weeks passed away, and I received no reply to my letter, and I
hardly knew what to think of Sir John Colborne's silence, when,
towards the end of AprU, a letter arrived from him, but it was
directed to my mother, who -opened it with considerable anxiety,
and then produced the one which had been sent in answer to my
first letter some weeks before. My poor mother had felt justified,
considering my youth, (I was rather more than seventeen,) in
opening and keeping back from me my own letter, until she
should again communicate with Sir John Colborne on the sub
ject. His reply was, that he could not give any other advice
than that which he had already given in his letter to me. The
advice he had given, which so alarmed my mother, and which he
stm gave, was that I should at once lodge my money for an
ensigncy in the 52nd, and come out immediately and join the
1st battalion as a volunteer.
The day after the arrival of Sir John Colborne's letter, on
Friday, the 28th of April, I left home for London. I am writing
this more than fifty years after that first step in my mUitary
career, and so rapidly has the time passed away, that it seems to
be only a few years since my dear mother, when the carriage
was at the door, to convey me to the place where I should meet
the coach for London, pressed me to her, and begged me with
many tears not to go, saying, it was not necessary that I should
run into such danger, or that I should go into any profession
whatever. I felt this parting very much, but of course it was
impossible for me to yield to her wish, dearly as I loved her.
The kind relatives, at whose house I was ¦ during the few days
that I remained in London, had secured for me the assistance
of a colonel in the Guards, who kindly devoted to me many
hours on the day after my arrival, and went with me to the
several tradesmen to order my outfit. During my short stay in
town I saw Mrs. and Miss Moore, the mother and sister of
General Sir John Moore, who fell at Corunna, and who had been
so much respected and beloved by the 52nd. At the house of my
aunt, I met with the widow of my cousin. Captain Bogue, who
had faUen at the battle of Leipsic about eighteen mouths before,
B 2

4 52nd light INFANTEY
in command of the British Eocket Brigade.* I recoUect she
regarded me and my enthusiasm about the 52nd, and my com
mencing career, with much kind and melancholy interest.
On Tuesday, May 2nd, I left London for Dover by the
evening coach, with aU my outfit, as a 52nd of&cer, complete.
i was to embark for Ostend on the- evening of the Srd, and did
not know very weU what to do with myself during the day.
The 2nd battaUon of the 52nd was stationed at Dover, and,
under my circumstances, I was not anxious to fall in with any
of the officers, having some undefinable fear that something
might turn up to prevent my getting out at once to the 1st
battalion. However, I only came across one solitary bugler of
the regiment the whole day. I was in a mUitary great coat,
with 52nd cap and sword. After seeing what there was to be
seen, I stroUed into a bUUard room, where I found several officers
of the old 95th, (now the Eifle Brigade) ; they were very civU
and kind, and I played with them for some hours. I was rather
a good player at bUliards, and consequently won almost every
game we played ; and, although we played for small sums, I was
ashamed to find, when it was nearly time for me to embark, that
I was a winner of between four and five pounds. I had hardly
time for another game, but stiU I arranged to play one, and
contrived, by offering odds, to have quite as much at stake as I
had won altogether, with the full intention of losing the game.
When I had got about half way through it, and was rather
behind-hand in my score, I told them I feared I should be too
late for the packet, and that, as I was sure to lose the game, I
would pay my losses and not play it out. My 95th friends,
however, I think rather suspecting what I was aiming at, begged
me to finish it, which I did to save appearances, and to prevent
them from refusing to take the money I had won from them. I
soon managed, by making two or three bad hits, to lose the
game, and, putting down my money, I hastened off, and was
just in time not to lose my passage. I must not conclude this
without referring my readers to the Appendix,-f- for my opinions on
the subject of the immense evUs which arise from young persons
being aUowed to learn and play at games of chance.
* See Appendix No. 2. t See Appendix No. 3.

AT WATEELOO. 5
I left Dover for Ostend on the evening of the Srd of May.
I recollect little more of the voyage than that I was dreadfuUy
sea-sick — so much so, that it was a great trouble to me to think
that I could not reach England again without passing through
the same fearful ordeal. We had rather a head wind and a short
chopping sea ; and the first time we tacked and were in stays,
when I was half asleep in my berth in the middle of the night,
I, who had never been at sea before, fancied, for a few seconds,
that the ship had met with some disaster and was settling down
and sinking. I well remember that the first thought was. Oh,
then, I shall get rid of this horrid sea-sickness !
I arrived at Ostend in the forenoon of Thursday, the 4th of
May, which, as I afterwards found, was the date of my com
mission as ensign in the 52nd. As I landed on the quay, they
were unloading cannon-baUs from an arsenal transport, pitching
them up as bricklayers do bricks ; I thought it looked very war
like. At Ostend I found Lieutenant Cottingham, and four men
just come out of hospital, who were going up in four days from
that, to join the regiment at Lessines ; I arranged to wait and go
with them. The only thing I recollect doing at Ostend was the
buying a baggage-horse ; I took a fancy to him from his very
superior powers in leaping over the very broad gutters across the
street, which were filled with water by the pouring rain.
I went part of the way to Ghent in the canal-boat ; my only
fellow-passenger was Major-General Sir James Kempt, who was
going up to the army to take the command of a brigade in
Picton's division. He was very kind to me : when, after some
hours' abstinence, we began to feel hungry I volunteered to go
and see what was the state of the larder, and came back with
the report that there was literally nothing to eat on board, the
general produced two gingerbread nuts from a paper, and gave
me one of them. Even little kindnesses of that sort are often
remembered for years afterwards.
The having faUen in with Cottingham made my march up
from Ghent very agreeable, and also took off from the awkward
ness attending my first introduction to the officers of the regiment.
We reached Lessines on the llth of May, exactly five weeks and
three days before the Battle of Waterloo. When we arrived

6 52nd LIGHT INFANTEY
the regiment had marched out some mUes, and we only found a
Serjeant's guard at the entrance of the town. Soon, however,
we heard the martial notes of the bugles, and I had the
great deUght of seeing a regiment of upwards of 1000 men,
whom I looked upon as the finest soldiers in the world, come
winding down the road amongst the corn, marching to the sound
of one of those stirring tunes, which one always connected with
feats of arms and deeds of daring.
When the regiment was dismissed, many ofthe officers gathered
round Cottingham and me, and he talked away with them for three
or four minutes, quite forgetting that he was leaving me in a some
what awkward position, as I was unknown to any of them, till
at last one of them said, " Cottingham, wUl you not introduce
your friend to us ?" when, they of course, received me very
kindly. That afternoon I was put in orders, as Volunteer Leeke,
and attached to Captain McNair's company.
During the Peninsular war, and how long before I know not,
it was very occasionally permitted to young men, who had
difficulty in getting a commission, with the consent of the
commanding officer, to join some regiment on service before the
enemy. In action the volunteer acted as a private soldier,
carrying his musket and wearing his cross belts Uke any other
man. After a campaign or two, or after having distinguished
himseU at the storming of some fort or fortress, he would probably
obtain a commission. He messed with the officers of the com
pany to which he was attached. His dress was the same as that
of an officer, except that, instead of wings or epaulettes, he wore
shoulder straps of sUver or gold, to confine the cross belts.
My case was somewhat different ; my money was lodged for
the purchase of my commission, and it was known that only a
short time would elapse before I was gazetted, and that I had
come out as a volunteer to avoid being sent to the 2nd battalion
in England, with which I should have had to remain for at least
six months. In fact, the notification of my having been gazetted
as an ensign in the regiment appeared in orders about ten days
after I joined. Under the circumstances Colonel Charles Eowan
desired me not to have the wings removed from my jacket. I
was an anomalous sort of personage; and I recoUect at first

AT WATERLOO. 7
some of the men saluted me, and others did not, when they
passed me in the streets.
Two or three days after I arrived. Sir John Colborne joined
from Brussels, and took the command of the regiment. I had
oiUy seen him once before, and stood in considerable awe of him,
though I was thoroughly convinced that he had the kindest
feeling towards me. He was a sort of nephew of my mother's,
her brother having married his mother. He told me, I remember,
that he thought, from Sir James Kempt's description of the
person he had met in the canal-boat, that I had arrived out. He
recommended me to purchase a riding-horse in addition to the
one I had for my baggage ; I told him I had been intending to
try and do without a horse, untU after the first action, in which,
no doubt, many officers would be killed, and then a horse would
be purchased at a cheap rate ; he smUed, I suppose at my war
like and sanguinary ideas, and merely said, " You had better get
" a horse at once." This I did, and purchased a black horse with
a long taU, very much like those used by the Life Guards and
Blues; he was consequently caUed in the regiment "the Life
" Guardsman." Sir John Colborne always strongly advocated the importance
of infantry officers, when on active service, having riding-horses,
and used to say, that i:^ from insufficiency of income, they found
it difficult to manage this, stUl they should stint themselves in
wine, and in every thing else, in order to keep a horse if possible.
As mounted officers they were more useful, under very many
circumstances ; they were less tired at the end of a day's march,
and more ready for any duty which might be required of them ;
they could be more effective in bringing up stragglers on a long
and weary march ; some of them might be usefuUy employed
when extra staff officers were required. I think, on the long march
of upwards of fifty mUes, which we had from Quevres-au-camps
to Waterloo, aU but two of the officers of the 52nd were mounted.
During the five weeks between my joining at Lessines and
our start for Waterloo, I went through some portion of my driU,
which, soon after our arrival at Paris, was completed in the
Champs Elysees.
At Lessines, on one occasion when the regiment was at baU-

8 52nd LIGHT INFANTEY
practice not far from the bank of the Dender, and were firing
voUeys by companies at targets set close to a very thick wood, we
were aU astonished and horrified, and our firing put a stop to, by
the appearance, round the side of the wood, of a man and woman
with uplifted arms and horror-stricken countenances. ISTo one
had the least idea that there was any habitation in the wood ;
but it turned out that these poor people occupied a cottage some
where within it. No wonder that they were alarmed, for, before
they could get round the skirts of the wood, several voUeys had
been fired into it by the ten companies, each consisting of about
one hundred men.
There were fuUy sixty officers with the regiment at that time.
We messed at the same hotel, in two separate rooms ; after mess,
each day, between thirty and forty horses were usually paraded,
and we used to have some exceUent steeple-chasing or rather
brook-leaping in the meadows adjoining the town. I recoUect
particularly AVhichcote, now General Whichcote, as the most
determined rider on those occasions ; it was really a very pleasant
and happy time.
About 150 of the 52nd had volunteered from the South
Hants MUitia, and I selected a servant from amongst them, that
I might have one who came from the same part of the country
that I did. I recollect well the being laughed at by my brother
officers, when first I joined, for talking of the right or left " side "
of the company instead of the " flank,'' and of being " behind "
instead of being " in the rear " of it. In our company's mess,
they voted me a very good messmate, for uot liking eggs, or
strong tea, or brandy. When furnishing a canteen which I pur
chased in London, I was wise enough, although I was going to
the continent, to desire the two large bottles, containing about
three pints each, to be fiUed with the best brandy which the
canteen maker could procure. Before I lost my canteen, which
I did with the rest of my baggage at Waterloo, I foimd that,
although I did not drink brandy myself, some of my friends had
no objection to it, for without being particularly invited to do
so, they had emptied my bottles of brandy in no very long
space of time. One of their jokes with me was that, if I was a
lucky feUow, I should get made " a field officer " before LUle, by

AT WATEELOO. 9
which they meant that I should perhaps be kUled and buried
under the sod before Lille.
Whilst we were at Lessines there was a grand review of the
greater portion of the splendid cavalry and horse-artUlery of
Great Britain and of the King's German Legion. This took
place near Grammont, about eight or nine miles from Lessines.
There were about "7000 men present. There were no particular
incidents ; but we were exposed to a most drenching rain for some
time. The Prince of Orange and his brother, who were on a
break with some young Englishmen, were placed by them, well
wrapped up in great coats and tolerably well exposed to the
storm, on the box of the break, the seat of honour, whUst their
young friends got a much better berth themselves under the body
of the vehicle.
When I had been four weeks at Lessines ,1 one day asked Sif
John Colborne if he had any objection to my going for a day to
Brussels, which was about twenty mUes off, as possibly I might
not again have so good an opportunity of seeing it. He told me
he thought I had better be getting on with my driU ; he however
kindly added, " but you can go if you like." As I saw he had
some reason for thinking I had better not go there at that
time, I gave it up ; and it was weU that I was not there on the
16th of June, for two of the 52nd captains, who were at Brussels
on leave at that time, had the misfortune not to be able to flnd
their regiment. They probably, misled by various reports, rode
about in vain on the roads between Brussels, Lessines, Ath,
Enghien, and Quatre Bras. One of them never reached the
regiment at all, until after the action at Waterloo ; the other
only reached it in the evening, just at the moment it was
advancing to charge the French Imperial Guard, and thereby,
to the regret of his brother officers, lost his brevet-lieutenant-
colonelcy, which feU to the lot of a junior brevet-major.
Towards the latter end of May, Sir Henry CUnton's division,
of which Adam's light brigade, in which the 52nd was, formed a
part, proceeded to occupy the country beyond Ath towards the
French fortress of Cond^ and they assembled for division drUl
in a large domain, surrounded by extensive plantations, in the
neighbourhood of Quevres-au-camps. Here they practised the

10 52nd light INFANTEY
formation of an encampment by means of blanket tents, which
appeared to be a most troublesome affair, and did not meet with
much favour on the part of officers or men.
We remained there only a few days, and then returned to
our former cantonments. About the 12th of June, the 52nd
flnally left Lessines, and the 2nd division of the British army
made another demonstration towards Cond^.
It was known that the Emperor Napoleon was Ukely soon to
make his attack either on the Prussian or the English army, and
great watchfulness was exercised along the front of both armies,
which extended over a length of upwards of 100 mUes. Eegular
information also reached the Duke of WeUington of the move
ments of various bodies of the French troops ; but stUl aU was
uncertainty as to the point at which Bonaparte would strike his
flrst blow.
Sir Henry Clinton's division had been some days near Quevres-
au-camps, occupying the vUlages near that place in the direction
of Ath, and were preparing for a division field day, on the
morning of the 16th of June. The 52nd were at EUeguies St.
Ann, and were assembling on the various company parades at ten
o'clock. I was on the parade of No. 9, Captain McNair's com
pany, with one man and one bugler only besides myself, when
the general's aide-de-camp came cantering down the viUage, and
delivered the foUowing order to me, " Your company. Sir, is to
" be a mile on the Ath road tn twenty minutes from this time." He
then rode forward, the bugler sounded the assembly, and the men
who were close at hand, came pouring in immediately, and the
company was at the rendezvous on the Ath road at the time ap
pointed. Every one was on the qui vive, and various reports of the
advance of the enemy were afloat. After halting a short time,
that the baggage might come up, we were ordered to move on
Ath and Enghien ; we reached the latter place a Uttle after two
o'clock. There we halted for two or three hours, and the men
cooked their ration beef. During this time we distinctly heard
the cannonade of Quatre Bras, although it was twenty-two
miles from us. Yet strange to say, two days afterwards, the
troops at Hal, imder Sir Charles ColvUle, though they were only
eight miles distant, never heard the firing or anything about the

AT WATEELOO. 11
action at Waterloo, tUl the morning of the 19th. When we first
heard the cannonade at Quatre Bras, one of the old soldiers
exclaimed, "there they go shaking their blankets again." The
sound of a distant cannonade is not unlike that arising from the
shaking of a carpet or a blanket.
From Enghien we marched a considerable distance on the Hal
road, passing the road leading back towards Mons. After proceed
ing several miles towards Hal, we countermarched, and I think
retraced our steps tUl, about two mUes before reaching Enghien
again, we struck into the above-mentioned road leading to
Mons, and afterwards, leaving that road, we must have got, by
some cross road to the left, to Braine-le-comte, without going
through Soignies, which place I have no recoUection of I
remember one good halt after leaving Enghien, which we made
from about eight tUl half-past nine. There was also another halt
on the 16th, which took place in a large open wood. As we
moved off again, the band struck up a march, the horse in a
sutler's light covered cart, frightened by the band, dashed off
amongst the trees, and the last I saw of the occurrence was that
the body of the cart separated from the wheels and axletree
and shafts, with which the horse ran off, leaving the poor woman
inside the body of the cart. I think she could not have been
much hurt; but it would probably be some considerable time
before she and her husband, if she had one, would be able to
join the division again.
We reached Braine-le-comte at midnight, on the 1 Gth, and
remained there tUl a little after two on the morning of the 17th,
in the midst of torrents of rain. It was with some difficulty that
I got my horse under cover. I found there were some persons
in a large barn, and, on making some attempt to open the large
door, was told in a strong Scotch accent, " There's no room here,
" we are aU fuU here ;'' however by kicking up a great row and
insisting on having the door opened, I at last succeeded, and
found within only two men of the 71st Highlanders. The lower
room of an adjacent auberge I found crowded with men of the
brigade waiting for their turn to purchase something to eat ; I
was directed to a room upstairs, where I found some bread and
cheese on the table, and two 71st officers lying their fuU length

12 52nd light INFANTEY
on two beds fast asleep. After eating some bread and cheese, I
took the Uberty of lying down by the side of one of them,
although they were perfect strangers to me, judging that, accord
ing to the laws of war, the one half of the bed fairly belonged
to me. I could not sleep, so, after lying there about an hour
and getting a good rest, I left my friends of the 71st not at all
aware of the honour I had conferred upon them.
We reached NiveUes about seven o'clock ; the narrow streets
were full of cavalry horses tied to the doors and windows of the
houses. The morning had become fine, and the 52nd got into
a large orchard. Here we got our breakfast, and here about
thirty of the officers of the 52nd, I being amongst the number,
saw their baggage for the last time. There was much confusion
on the road between Waterloo and Brussels on the 18th, and
thus the baggage of nearly half the officers of the army was
plundered, either by foreign aUies running away from the action
or by the Belgian peasantry.
In the middle of the day on the 17th we moved off from
NiveUes along the direct road from that place to Hougomont,
Waterloo, and Brussels ; this road joins the road from Charleroi,
Quatre Bras, and Genappe, on which the French were advancing,
near the farm of Mont St. Jean. Shortly after leaving NiveUes,
we found ourselves marching in a parallel line with British
artiUery and cavalry, we being on the road and they moving for
some distance along the flelds on either side. At the same time
a Dutch Belgian battalion was trying to cross our line of march
in the direction of Genappe. We moved very slowly, the men
being wearied with their long march, and by the heavy load
which each had to carry ; this consisted of the knapsack, con
taining the kit and blanket, (the great coats had been sent to
England,) the musket, and bayonet, and 120 rounds of ball-
cartridge, sixty rounds of the latter being in the knapsack ; this
was a wise precaution adopted by the commanding officer. Had
the Germans, posted in the farm house of La Haye Sainte on the
18th, been thus provided with the reserve of ammunition in
their knapsacks, it is very probable that the French would never
have taken that important post; and had the brigade of the
1st British Guards been simUarly provided, the 52nd would

AT WATEELOO. 13
probably not have been left without support in their single-
handed attack on the columns of the French Imperial Guard.
Sir John Byng, who succeeded to the command of the two
brigades of Guards when General Cooke was wounded, gave this
to Sir John Colborne as his reason for not advancing Maitland's
brigade to his support.
Colonel HaU tells me, " Near NiveUes we overtook Barlow,
" captain in the 69th. He had been promoted from the 52nd
" about a year before. Through the fault of the Prince of Orange,
" the 69th, in the act of changing position, had been charged by
"French dragoons. Barlow, and many others, lay down and
"escaped hurt, except from the trampling of the horses. He
"was limping along, very sore and lame, and feeUngly declaimed
" against the common notion, that a horse wUl not tread on a
" man lying on the ground. His jacket was blackened with the
" marks of horse shoes. I suppose in such a case the horse has
" no choice and cannot pick its way."
About midway between NiveUes and Hougomont, the 52nd
halted for rather more than two hours, 200 yards to the left of
the road. I heard Sir John Colborne (for the future I think I
shall caU him Lord Seaton,) asking if any of the officers could
lend him the cape of a boat-cloak, as he wished to lie down for
a couple of hours, and try and get some sleep ; I had a very
large boat-cloak with a cape and hood to it, I unhooked the cape
and hood and handed them to him. He wore them over his
uniform during the whole of the Battle of Waterloo.
WhUst we were halted on this occasion, several waggons,
with those wounded at Quatre Bras, passed along the main road
towards Waterloo and Brussels.
After our halt we came on to the road again just ahead of a
regiment of Dutch Belgians, and formed open column of com
panies from subdivisions as each company reached it, so that our
aUies had to halt tiU we were aU on the road. Each side of the
road was now lined with soldiers of different regiments, and with
some women and drummer boys, who had fallen out from fatigue.
From this time untU some time after we had reached the entrance
to Hougomont, no less than flve mounted officers were sent, one
after the other, to bring up stragglers belonging to the 52nd.

14 52nd LIGHT INFANTEY
About a mUe and a half before we reached Hougomont, we
saw something of the French troops on our right, marching on
the Charleroi road, towards Maison du Eoi and Eosomme. This
was the flrst we had seen of them. Shortly after this we halted,
stUl in open column of companies, and loaded. Two French
staff officers rode down to within 200 yards of us to recon
noitre, and one of them I saw writing down what he observed.
On our arriving at the avenue leading to the Chateau of Hougo
mont, the head of the column turned to the right, and had
advanced some distance down the avenue, when it was halted
and countermarched, from which it was supposed that the original
intention was that our brigade should occupy Hougomont for the
night. About this time, half-past seven, the British and French
armies were taking up their positions on the Field of Waterloo.
The French, at flrst, appeared not quite to understand that the
English had arrived at their position, and had to be restrained by
Picton, from behind La Haye Sainte, opening a cannonade from
two brigades of artiUery upon a mass of French infantry, which
had advanced along the Charleroi road to some Uttle distance in
front of La Belle Alliance. In other parts of the fleld, between
the two positions, there were some spirited Uttle affairs of cavalry
at intervals, in which our troops, forming part of the rear-guard
under the Earl of Uxbridge, very much distinguished themselves.
When we were on the slope, to the rear of Hougomont, looking
towards La Belle AUiance, we had close to us a British light
dragoon regiment with white facings, who appeared to have just
come up the slope after one of these encounters. As they faced
about and re-formed on our position there was some cheering
amongst them. As we were marching at ease across the slope
just about this time, and appeared to be not far from the French,
I heard one of our men say we were likely to be engaged at once,
when another replied, " There wUl be no battle to night, but
" to morrow; aU the Duke of WeUington's great battles have been
" fought on a Sunday."
WhUst we were halted near Hougomont, a heavy clap of
thunder from the direction of Mont Plaisir startled us all ; my flrst
idea was that the French artUlery in that direction were opening

AT WATEELOO. 15
upon us. Siborne speaks of there having been much thunder
and lightning during the evening and night of the 17th of June,
but that was the only clap of thunder I heard ; there was much
rain during the night. Just after this, when it was decided to
what part of the ground we should move. Lord Seaton directed
me to ride and see if the regiment could get through a hedge
about two hundred yards off, in the direction of the viUage of
Merbe Braine ; it was a stiff hedge cut down to stakes nearly
five feet high, with gaps here and there through which a single
file might pass, and I was somewhat afraid if I reported that the
regiment might pass through it, I might get into a scrape, if the
column should be brought up by it. I reported it passable, and
we marched through it without any great difficulty, and took up
our position in a ploughed field, just in advance of Merbe Braine,
looking towards Hougomont, and at about two miles to the
eastward of the town of Braine-la-leud.
I was ordered with a fatigue party to go into the vUlage to
bring straw for the company. As we passed along the street we
saw lying in the middle of the road, opposite to one of the
cottages, the dead body of one of the 95th Eifles ; I supposed
he had been plundering and had been killed by one of the
inhabitants. I proceeded with my fatigue party to the principal
farm, where I found our general of brigade, Adam, who had
taken up his quarters there. We could find no straw in the barn,
and so, as " necessitas non habet leges," we took the straw from
the roof of the barn itself, which had been recently thatched.
A German soldier was walking off with a fine calf about a month
old, when the mistress of the house appealed to us for assistance,
and the general's aide-de-camp, Campbell, coming out at "the
moment, gave the fellow a good kicking, and took the calf from
him. On my return to the bivouac, our servants made a bed of
straw on the wet ploughed field, and aU four of us, McNair,
Hall, Yonge, and I, lay down and, being covered with our boat
cloaks, tried to go to sleep ; it was very hot and there was heavy
rain, and the straw conducted the rain into the inside of my stock,
so that I was soon glad to get up. I think it was a little after ten
o'clock when we were ordered to faU in again, as we were going to

16 52nd light INFANTEY
move, and each man was to take his straw with him. I don't
know where the others were, but I found myself to be for a short
time the only officer with the company. We moved in flie, left
in front, and I was very proud of my command, when Colonel
Charles Eowan rode up to me, as No. 9 formed up into Une on
the left of No. 10, and said to me, "Leeke, dress your company
in a line with that distant flre." Our line then faced the French
position, and was about 400 yards in rear of the crest of the
British position, and about 500 yards from Merbe Braine. Here,
having formed open column of companies, we pUed arms and
remained for the night. My friend Yonge shared my boat-
cloak and straw with me, and we consequently both of us got
very wet. The horses were picketed near us, and very soon
some half-dozen of them got loose and gaUoped away towards
Hougomont and the French position, and then came back again
at speed towards the horses they had left, nearly passing over us,
and only being prevented from doing so by our jumping up ; they
galloped about in this way the whole night, and thus made this
wretched night stUl more wretched. I feU asleep several times,
then dreamt we were advancing and closing with the enemy, then
started up again, then thought of home and aU my beloved ones
there; again I dozed off, then came our horses like a furious
charge of cavalry, and we had to start up and scare them off;
and this kind of thing went on tUl the night had passed, and the
morning of the 18th broke upon us.
As the morning of this eventful day advanced, the heavy rain
of the preceding night passed off and was succeeded by flne
weather. The men of the regiment were soon to be seen in every
direction in their shirt sleeves, drawing the charges from their
muskets and cleaning and drying their arms, and thus preparing
for the coming conflict. The French line of battle was about
three-quarters of a mile from that of the English. The great
road from Charleroi to Brussels ran through the centres of each
Une, dividing the right wing of each army from the left. On
the right of the British army were the chateau and farm and
grounds of Hougomont, the whole in a square each side of which
was a quarter of a mUe in length. The northern side of the
inclosure towards Brussels was nearly a quarter of a mile from

AT WATEELOO. 17
the British position; the southern side of the inclosure was about
the same distance from the position occupied by General Foy's
9th division of the French army, and the western side was a
quarter of a mUe from Prince Jerome's division. In the centre of
the British position, 300 yards down the slope and close to the right
of the Charleroi road, was the farm house of La Haye Sainte ; its
yard and orchard extended nearly a quarter of a mUe along the
right of the road, and the inclosure, in its whole length, was about
eightyyards in width; theleftof theBritishpositionextended about
a mUe and a half from the centre above La Haye Sainte, and was
composed of Picton's division (in which were Kempt's and Pack's
British, and Von Vincke's Hanoverian brigades) containing up
wards of 7000 men; and of Lambert's and Best's brigades of
Cole's division, containing upwards of 5000 men, and, further to
the left, of Vandeleur's and Vivian's brigades of light cavalry,
containing 2500 men. Along the front of the left wing, and
extending down to the farm of Papelotte and the vUlage of
Smohain, were Perponcher's Dutch Belgian division, in which
were Bylandt's and Prince Bernhard of Saxe Weimar's brigades,
containing 7500 men; a quarter of a mile in rear of Kempt's
infantry brigade was Sir WiUiam Ponsonby's Union Brigade,
containing the Scots Greys, the EnniskUlens, and 1st Eoyal
Dragoons, about 1200 heavy cavalry; 300 yards to the rear of
these, to the left of the farm of Mont St. Jean, were a reserve of
upwards of 1000 Belgian horse under General Ghigny ; so
that from the left of La Haye Sainte and of the Charleroi road to
the extreme left of the British position there were stationed
about 24,000 men, who formed the left wing of the army.
The right wing of the army extended away, from the centre
to the right, for about the same distance of a mile and a half
Colonel Von Ompteda's brigade of four battaUons of the King's
German Legion, had its left resting on the Charleroi road. To
the right of Ompteda's brigade stood Count Kielmansegge's
brigade of six battalions of Hanoverian landwehr or mUitia;
and further to the right was Sir Colin Halkett's British brigade
of four battalions. These three brigades formed Count Alten's
division, and occupied about 800 yards of the British position,
from the centre towards the light ; they contained about 8000
c

18 52nd LIGHT INFANTEY
men. In rear of Alten's division were General Von Krase's
Nassau contingent of 3000 infantry. Lord Edward Somerset's
brigade of the Life Guards, Blues, and 1st Dragoon Guards,
Trip's and Van Merlen's brigades of Dutch Belgian cavalry, and
Arentschildt's light cavalry brigade. On the right of Alten's
division were Cooke's 1st division of the British army, composed
of Maitland's and Byng's brigades of Guards. Maitland's brigade
consisted of the 2nd and Srd battalions of the 1st regiment of
Guards, and Byng's consisted of the 2nd battalion of the 2nd
or Coldstream Guards, and of the 2nd battaUon of the Srd Guards.
The division was nearly 4000 strong; Byng's brigade was posted
on the higher ground above Hougomont; the light companies
of aU the four battalions of the division occupied the farm house
and buildings, and the garden of Hougomont ; there were also in
the inclosure of Hougomont a battalion of the Nassau troops
and two companies of Hanoverians. To the right of the Guards
and to the rear and north-west of the grounds and inclosure of
Hougomont, Mitchell's brigade, of Sir Charles ColvUle's division
was posted ; it consisted of the 51st Light Infantry, and of a
battaUon of the 14th regiment and another of the 23rd Fusi-
leers, and was about 1800 strong.
Between these last mentioned troops and the vUlage of Merbe
Braine, on the reverse slope of the British position, there was a
most imposing force, which formed a very strong reserve; and
which, if the French had attempted to advance upon Brussels
to their left of Hougomont and by Hal, as the Duke of WeUing
ton expected, would most completely have intercepted them and
defeated their intention. These troops were composed of the
three brigades of Sir Henry CUnton's division, namely. General
Adam's brigade, consisting of the 52nd Light Infantry, the 71st
Highland Light Infantry, six companies of the 2nd battaUon of
the old 95th Eifles (now the Eifle Brigade), and of two companies
of the Srd battaUon of the 95th Eifles ; these flne regiments
contained 2600 men. The other two brigades of CUnton's
division, amounting together to 4000 men, were Colonel Du
Plat's 1st brigade of the King's German Legion, and Colonel
Halket's Hanoverian brigade. To the left of Merbe Braine and
between it and the road from NiveUes to Brussels, were the

AT WATEELOO. 19
Brunswickers, infantry, cavalry, and artUlery, making up 6000 or
7000 men; in rear of the guard, also, were Grant's, and Dornberg's,
and other brigades of cavalry. The British and AUied artUlery,
amounting to 196 guns and upwards of 8000 men, were attached
to their several divisions or brigades.
The above is a rough but tolerably accurate account of the
positions occupied by the British and AUied troops on the
morning of the 18th of June; but whUst some of the troops
occupied the same ground the whole day, others, and more es
peciaUy our own brigade, passed over a large portion both of
the British and French positions.
Here I beg leave to state, that I do not profess to give any
detailed account of any other regiment than my own. I may
have occasion to mention some of those other glorious regiments,
but I have scarcely any detaUs which I could give, if I wished
to do so, excepting such as relate to the 52nd ; and those state
ments which I may make respecting the 52nd at the battle of
Waterloo wiU be almost aU such as I witnessed myself.
Early on the 18th, Captain Diggle's company. No. 1 of the
52nd, was sent with two or three companies of the 95th into the
inclosures of the vUlage of Merbe Braine, facing Braine-la-leud ;
they were withdrawn sometime before the action commenced.
Some little time after we were all stirring, I wandered off a short
distance to a flre belonging to the 71st, at which one or two
officers were standing ; I was very glad to get the opportunity
of warming and drying myself I found a plank, of about my
own length, near the flre; where it came from I have no idea, but
I took the liberty, as no one was using it, of laying myself at fuU
length on it before the fire ; I very soon feU asleep and must
have slept three hours, which much refreshed me, when my ser
vant came to teU me some breakfast was going on amongst the
officers of Captain Mc Nair's company, the company to which
I belonged. Our breakfast consisted of a biscuit each and semi
soup, which was in one of the servants' mess tins ; I was, unin
tentionaUy on his part, done out of my drink of broth by one of
the officers exclaiming, just as I put my lips to the tin, " Come,
" Master Leeke, I think you have had your share of that." This
half-mouthful of broth and a biscuit were aU I tasted that day
0 2

20 52nd LIGHT INFANTEY
until after nine o'clock, when I got a lump of bread about as big
as my fist from a French loaf. About ten o'clock, Lord HUl,
with his staff, came galloping along, about fifty yards in the rear
of the 52nd, through the high corn ; he was riding towards the
extreme right of our position ; as he passed me, I recoUect he
gave me one of his pleasant smUes. Shortly after this we got
under arms, and Nettles and I were warned by Winterbottom,
the adjutant, that we were to carry the colours ; on our taking
them over from the serjeants, we both agreed that it was not our
turn to carry the colours, and wondered why we had been told off
to them, t recoUect observing, that it would suit me very weU,
that I had not been long enough in the regiment (I had only
joined five weeks before) to be of any other use, b'ut that I could
carry a colour. Major WUUam Chalmers rode up to us and said,
" The regiment is going to act in separate wings ; I am going to
" command the right wing, and one of you gentlemen wiU go to
" my wing," and addressing me, he added, " You, sir, wiU go to the
" right wing." Now I was anxious, as I did not know so much of
the other officers as I did of those belonging to my own company.
No. 9, to be in the left wing with them, wliich I knew was the
proper wing for the regimental colour, carried by me as the junior
ensign of the two. I therefore ventured to tell Major Chalmers
that mine was the regimental colour which should be with the
left wing, but he did not choose to rectify the immaterial mistake,
which nobody else, probably, discovered at the time, for our
colours, which had been with the regiment and the Ught division
aU through the Peninsular War, were Uttle more than bare poles.
Immediately afterwards, poor Nettles and I separated, not to meet
again ; he was kiUed by a cannon-shot, about seven o'clock in
the evening. There were two brevet-maj.ors by the name of
William Chalmers in the 52nd ; the one at Waterloo, being a
dark man, was always caUed " Black WUl," the other, " White
" wm."
The foUowing extracts, from a letter I have lately received
from Captain the Hon. WiUiam Ogilvie, relates to circumstances
which occurred before the action commenced, and should find
insertion here, and wiU be read with interest : — " I was in Eobert
" CampbeU's company, commanded by Captain Cross, afterwards

AT WATEELOO. 21
" Lieut.-Colonel of the 68th. I was the senior subaltern, poor
" Nettles also belonged to the company, I am not sure if we had
" any other officer at this time. I happen to have preserved the
" parade state of the company on the 16th of June, on which
" morning I dare say you will remember we turned out for one of
" Sir H. Clinton's fleld days. Cross, not being very weU, did not
"come out, and, by the time I had inspected the company, a
" cavalry man was seen on a jaded horse coming up the road, and,
" it was soon known that he brought an order for the division to
" march on Enghien, &c. In the agreeable excitement at the news,
" Winterbottom did not coUect the states. The state is interest-
" ing from shewing the splendid condition of the corps then. The
" company, 87- rank and flie, under arms, flve taUors left at Les-
" sines employed on the soldiers' clothing,* and only one man
" sick ; officers' servants, bS.tmen, band, &c. making a total of 104
" rank and file. I have no doubt the other companies were equaUy
" strong. What a noble battaUon it was !
"One additional circumstance, which I have not seen anywhere
" mentioned, occurred shortly before the action. An order came
" for a working party from the brigade with intrenching tools ; it
" was accordingly paraded ; WUliam Eowan, now General Sir
" WilUam Eowan, commanded it, and it chanced to be my turn for
" that duty also. When ready, I heard the brigade-major direct
" Eowan to march on a single tree, far to our left, where he would
" receive further orders. The party, however, had proceeded but a
" very short way, when the French attack on Hougomont com-
" menced, and we were immediately recaUed. I have since had
" very Uttle doubt that the purpose was to have used the working
" party to strengthen the post of La Haye Sainte, had time aUowed,
"and it was unfortunate it was not thought of a few hours
" sooner." About eleven o'clock the 52nd moved from the ground on
which it had bivouacked, about 300 yards more to the rear. The
right wing of the regiment was in column of subdivisions, about
twenty yards in front of the stgep bank between it and Merbe
* The men at Lessines, amounting to between forty and fifty, probably joined
us at Enghien or NiveUes. Siborne states, that the 52nd had 1038 men at
"Waterloo, wliich amount would agree with tbis company's parade state.

22 52nd LIGHT INFANTEY AT WATEELOO.
Braine ; the left wing was in Une to the left of the front sub
division of the right wing, with an interval of a few paces
between the wings. Captain Siborne, in his flrst plan of the
fleld of Waterloo, places the 52nd, when in reserve, 200 yards
more in advance, and 100 yards more to the eastward than they
were.

.23

CHAPTEE II.
1815.
52nd LIGHT INFANTEY AT WATEELOO.
Coinmencement of the battle at twelve o'clock — 52nd in reserve — Chalmers's horse
shot — Several casualties — First narrow escape — Attack on Hougomont —
Attack on La Haye Sainte and Picton's division — Charge of the Union
Brigade and of the Life Guards — Grand charge of 6000 French cavalry —
British guns deserted — 52nd form square, and advance over and down the
British position — Brunswickers — French cavalry rally and are supported by
7000 fresh horsemen — Adam's brigade in squares to the left of Hougomont —
52nd in two squares — Cannonade — French cuirassiers— Various incidents —
La Haye Sainte taken by the French— The squares of the brigade ordered
to retire up to the position.
Exactly at twelve o'clock, by Chalmers's watch, the battle was
begun by a cannon shot flred from the French position at
the Duke of WelUngton, who, with a numerous assemblage of
general and other staff officers, had taken post about a third of a
mile in our front on the high ground in rear of the north-eastern
corner of the enclosure of Hougomont, from whence he could
see the greater part of the French position. Such an assemblage
was sure to attract the attention of the enemy, and unnecessarUy
to bring on itself the opening cannonade. It was said the Duke
told some of the generals they were "rather too thick upon
" the ground."
WhUst we were in reserve above the village of Merbe Braine,
the regiment suffered several casualties from the shot and shell
which passed over the British position in our front. I think
the first occurred to Major Chalmers. The regiment was lying
down ; I was forced to remain with the colour in rear of the
centre subdivision of the right wing, but several of the officers
were standing in a group round Chalmers's horse when a ricochet

24 52nd light infantey
shot came lobbing in amongst them, but fortunately did no other
injury than that of breaking the horse's leg; Chalmers drew
a pistol from his holster and put the animal out of his misery.
Most of our casualties at this time were occasioned by sheU
bursting over us, but we saw many cannon-shot ploughing up
the ground near us : I had been already regarding several of
them with great respect, when my colour-serjeant, Ehodes, who
took gi'eat care Of me and shewed me much kindness all the day,
said, pointing to a shot passing through the standing corn, on
the right ofthe column, "There, Mr. Leeke, is a cannon-shot, ifyou
"never saw one before. Sir!" Serjeant Houseley,* whilst standing
in rear of the column, narrowly escaped having a round shot
through him, by stooping just as he saw it in a line with him at
some little distance ; this was quite aUowable when his comrades
were lying down at their ease. One of my narrow escapes
occurred whilst we were lying here in reserve ; I had my head
against my colour-serjeant's knapsack, and was trying, but in
vain, to get some sleep, when aU at once there was a great rattle
against the mess- tins, which, fitting one within the other, were
strapped to the back of every man's knapsack ; a piece of sheU
about the size and about as thick as the half of the palm of
one's hand, had struck, and lodged in the inner tin ; we both sat
up, and he extracted the inner tin and the piece of shell, saying,
as he pitched them both away, "If that had hit either you or me
" on the head. Sir, I think it would have settled our business for
" us." On our leaving this ground I looked back and saw we had
left two poor fellows in 52nd uniform lying dead under a tree,
and could scarcely refrain from shedding tears at the melancholy
sight ; one of them was the assistant serjeant-major, a man
greatly respected in the regiment. We lost, whilst in reserve,
these two men kUled, and I think about ten or twelve men
wounded, who were taken to Merbe Braine.
Colonel Hall, speaking of the casualties which occurred at
this time in the 52nd, says : — " A young lad, (Keams) of our com-
" pany was struck by a cannon-shot, and was borne off motionless
" and white as a sheet. Those about me and myself concluded he
" was dying. Two or three days afterwards I could scarcely be-
* See Appendix No. 4.

AT WATEELOO. 25
" Ueve my eyes, when I saw him walk into the bivouac. The shot
" had carried away his pouch so cleanly, that he suffered no injury
" beyond the temporary shock and fright."
The 52nd remained about three hours in reserve just above
Merbe Braine, and during that time three of the principal attacks
of the French took place on our position. The first of these was
made on the post of Hougomont, by large bodies of skirmishers
and their supports detached from Prince Jerome Bonaparte's and
General Foy's divisions. Hougomont was defended by the light
companies of the two brigades of the British Guards, by the
Hanoverian riflemen, and by the Nassau battalion. The French
and English skirmishers advanced on and gave way before each
other with alternate success. At one time the French, superior
in numbers, had almost got into the farm yard of Hougomont,
but were repulsed by the light company of the Coldstream
Guards ; the French did actuaUy pass round to the northern
side of the inclosures near to the British position. Some of the
masses sent forward by Foy and Prince Jerome, were forced to
retire by the fire opened on them from the British and German
guns and howitzers. Some companies from the Coldstream and
Srd Guards, having reinforced the gallant defenders of Hougo
mont, the enemy were driven off from the chateau to the lower
inclosures of the place.
The attack on Hougomont was preparatory to, and appears
alsp to have been, in a great measure, a feint to draw off attention
from, a grand attack which the Emperor caused to be made
about half-past one or two on La Haye Sainte and the centre of
the Allied position, by the whole of Count d'Erlon's corps, which
formed the right wing of the French army, supported by a
division of cavalry from the left wing and by the flre of no less
than seventy-four pieces of cannon, intended, whUst the troops
were forming for the attack in advance of La Belle AUiance, and
whUst they crossed the lower ground and the first rise of the
British position, to draw off the fire of the British artUlery from
them. In the latter part of the action, the most of these pieces
and many others were abandoned by the French, tn conse
quence of the rapid advance of the 52nd to the British left of
La BeUe AUiance between eight and nine o'clock in the evening.

26 52nd LIGHT INFANTEY
after they had defeated the columns of the French Imperial
Guard. This attack of the centre and left wing of the AUied
position was made by about 17,500 infantry supported by cavalry.
The left division of this force under General Donzelot tried in its
advance to gain possession of the farm of La Haye Sainte,
but were successfuUy resisted at that time by Major Baring
and his Hanoverians. The French attack embraced the whole
of the left wing, so that the Nassau troops under Prince
Bernhard, of Saxe Weimar, were driven by the French skir
mishers from the farm of Papelotte, which, however, they
speadily retook.
The first and chief brunt of the attack appears to have fallen
on Kempt's brigade of Picton's division, composed of the
battalions of those fine regiments, the 28th, S2nd, 79th High
landers, and (those old friends of the 52nd in the light division
in Spain) the 95th Eifles. The French sent forward as usual a
mass of skirmishers. Bylandt's Dutch Belgian brigade was in
advance of the interval between Kempt's and Pack's brigades,
and shamefully fled past the British brigades, notwithstanding
the efforts of their officers to restrain them, directly they felt the
flre of the advancing skirmishers ; Picton ordered Kempt's
brigade to advance on the enemy, which they did, and flred
on them and charged them as they were reaching the crest of
the position and completely routed them. In this melee the
gaUant Sir Thomas Picton was kiUed.* The 1st light battaUon
of the King's German Legion, belonging to Colonel Von Ompteda's
brigade, crossed to their left of the Charleroi road, and joined
Kempt's brigade in this charge. The French advancing in front
of Pack's brigade were repulsed with equal gallantry by that
brigade, consisting of the 1st Eoyals, the 42nd, and 92nd
Highlanders, and the 44th regiment.
'After his death it was discovered that his hip had been very severely
contused by a spent cannon shot at the action of Quatre Bras, two days before ; this
wound he had concealed, that he might not be absent from the grand battle,
which was fought at Waterloo. In the United Service Museum, on the wall just
above Captain Siborne's model of the battle of Waterloo, hangs the map of
Belgium which poor Picton carried in the breast of his coat when he was kUled.
It is stained in several places with his blood.

AT WATEELOO. 27
Some of the French supporting cavalry advanced to their
left of La Haye Sainte and inflicted severe loss on one of
Kielmansegge's Hanoverian regiments, which had been sent by
the Duke to reinforce the troops holding La Haye Sainte.
WhUst this was taking place, and during the advance of Kempt's
and Pack's brigades. Lord Uxbridge ordered forward the House
hold Brigade of cavalry under Lord Edward Somerset, consisting
of the Life Guards, Blues, and the 1st Dragoon Guards ; and
also Sir William Ponsonby's brigade, consisting of the EnniskiUen
Dragoons, the Scots Greys, and 1st or Eoyal Dragoons. Pon
sonby's brigade charged to the left of Kempt's brigade and was
somewhat mixed up with Pack's. They took two eagles, and
with Somerset's brigade, which advanced more to the right,
greatly contributed to consummate the rout of this large French
force, which Picton's division had initiated. The French fled in
in all directions, leaving two eagles and 3000 prisoners in our
hands, and having many pieces of cannon disabled.
The EngUsh had two generals, Sir Thomas Picton and Sir
WUliam Ponsonby, killed on this occasion. The Union Brigade,
as Ponsonby's was called, from its consisting of an English, an
Irish, and a Scotch regiment, and also a portion of the Household
Brigade, after the rout of the French, did not know when to
pull up, but followed them on to the French position, and thereby,
after causing much confusion, suffered mostseverely,when attacked
in their scattered state and cut off by the formed cavalry of the
enemy. Sir CoUn Campbell, who was on the Duke of Welling
ton's staffj told me that he saw what I have attempted briefly to
state, respecting the attack and defeat of the French on this
occasion, including the splendid charge of the two brigades of
cavalry, and that he saw the white horses of the Scots Greys
carrying confusion into the French ranks, as far as the eye could
reach; he saw also the enemy detaching troops in various
directions to cut them off in detail. The supporting regiment of
the Union Brigade in charging got mixed up with those in ad
vance, and Vandeleur consequently moved down two of the regi
ments of his brigade, the 12th and 16th Light Dragoons, in
support, and by charging and routing the French lancers, secured
the retreat of some of the scattered remnants of Ponsonby's

28 52nd light infantey
brigade. In the charge of the 12th Light Dragoons, Colonel the
Hon. Frederick Ponsonby was disabled in both arms, and his
horse carried him on to the French position where he was struck
to the ground by a sabre cut.*
About three o'clock, the Emperor ordered Marshal Ney to
make a grand attack with 6000 cavalry on the right wing of the
British; it extended from La Haye Sainte in the centre to
Hougomont on the right of the position; as these troops advanced
they could only see the British artUlery standing to their guns
on the crest of the position; the infantry was in battalion
squares on the reverse incline of the position. The Duke had
moved up the Brunswickers from their place in reserve, and also
Colonel Du Plat's brigade of the King's German Legion. After
firing round shot and grape into the advancing cavalry of the
enemy tUl they could no longer stand to their guns, the British
and German artiUerymen took refuge in the squares nearest to
them. The French, on reaching the summit of the position,
found the whole line of guns deserted, and found themselves in
presence of the British, German, and Brunswick squaresy which
they charged and which opened fire upon them. The French
cavalry did not attempt to charge home on any one of the squares,
but inclined to the right and left and rode between them,
receiving the fire of the four faces of almost every square. They
were thrown into much confusion, which the AUied cavalry
taking advantage of, charged and drove them from the position.
Directly this occurred, the artiUerymen ran to thefr guns and
opened a most destructive fire on the retfring squadrons. The
French soon raUied, and supported by 7000 fresh cavalry, again
attacked the guns and the squares with the same result, suffering
very severe loss in kUled and wounded and being thrown into
very great and frretrievable confusion by the mixing up of
various divisions, and various brigades, and regiments. On one
of these occasions. Sir CoUn Campbell told me, that he, having
lost his horse, got under an ammunition waggon near the centre
of the position, to avoid the charge of the French cavafry.
Dfrectly the Frencli cavalry had fled, the French artillery again
opened a tremendous flre on our position, under cover of which the
* See Appendix No. 5.

WATERLOO 18^'^ JUNE 1815 FROM 4.30 TO 6.30 O'CLOCK P M.

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at WATEELOO. 29
enemy sent forward a large force of infantry and cavalry, which
maintained itseU in the hollow to the AUied right of La Haye
Sainte untU nearly the close of the action.
During the occurrence of nearly all the stirring events briefly
recorded in the foregoing portion of the chapter, the 52nd were
lying down in reserve in front of Merbe Braine. About three
o'clock or a little after, the whole regiment formed open column
of companies to the left, and proceeded about a quarter of a mile
along the right of the road from Braine-la-leud, in an eastern
direction, nearly to the angle formed by the junction of that
road with that running from NiveUes to Brussels, and formed
square on No. 10 company. We there saw the grand charge of
the French cavalry, before described, aU along the British position,
a quarter of a mile in our front, and numbers of our guns
deserted. Colonel Charles Eowan addressed the regiment, and
said, he did not think " those fellows would come near us, but
" that if they did we would give them a warm reception." Sir
John Colborne was somewhere away in front at that time.
Almost immediately after the formation of the square, the 52nd
advanced in square, up to, and over the British position. Some
little time before it crossed the position, Cottingham, who was
the first officer wounded, was struck by a spent cannon-baU on
the right ankle. He had a trick of continually exclaiming " By
" Jove ! " and was often joked about it. I had a little joke against
him on the subject, as on our march up from Ostend, in describing
to me an attack by a German regiment of cavafry on a body of
French, he concluded by saying, " By Jove, they cut them up
" Uke sparrows." When he received this very severe contusion, he
was immediately supported by one of the serjeants, and hopped
about on his other foot, crying out " Oh, by Jove, by Jove ! "
One could hardly help smiling at the exclamation. This shot
must have been fired from the extreme left of the French army,
at the troops of MitcheU's or Du Plat's brigade, stationed on the
higher ground in rear of Hougomont, and have flrst taken the
ground near them. It passed over, or through the lengthened-
out right face of the 52nd square, and spent its strength on poor
Cottingham's ankle. I was marching about flve or six feet
behind him ; and flrst of aU thought it was a sheU, but, on

30 52nd LIGHT INFANTEY
looking at it, I found it to be a round-shot, from one of the
French twelve-pounder batteries.
On the position we passed over the spot on which one of the
Brunswick squares had stood, and found lying there many of
their kiUed and badly-wounded men. They had suffered most
severely from round-shot and sheUs. It was one of the most
shocking sights we saw even on that most blood-stained battle
fleld. One poor feUow, whose thigh was completely taken off
high up, by the explosion of a sheU at the moment it struck him,
and who was black in the face, raised himself and caught hold
of the hand of one of our men, and then feU dead. Another,
who had not long to live, shook the hand of another 52nd man,
as we were passing to the front, and cried " Brave Anglais."
Close to this was a Brunswick square, prepared to receive
cavalry, with the front rank kneeling, as steady as a rock ; but
whether it was the square these wounded men belonged to,
which had been removed out of its exposed position, or another
square, I know not. We must have passed here near to .the
right square of Maitland's brigade of Guards, but we saw
nothing of them. Our advance was just at the close of the
flrst attack of the French cavalry on the Allied squares. I
think, but am not sure, that we saw at this time, the 13th Light
Dragoons, of Grant's brigade, ride down the slope on our left,
to charge some French cavalry on their left front.
Immediately on descending the slope of the position towards
the enemy, the regiment, almost concealed by the taU rye, which
was then for the flrst time trampled down, formed two squares.
I remember that when we formed these two squares, we were
not far from the north-eastern point of the Hougomont inclosure,
and on the narrow white road which, passing within 100 yards
of that point, crosses the interval between the British and
French positions in the dfreetion of La BeUe AUiance.
The squares of Adam's brigade advanced tUl the 71st were
nearly half way down the inclosure of Hougomont, and about
300 yards from it ; the right square of the 52nd was nearly 150
yards down the line of the inclosure and about 400 yards from
it, the left square of the 52nd being on its left, and more up the
British position, whUst the square of the 2nd battaUon of the

AT WATEELOO. 31
95th Eifles, was the left square of the whole brigade, and was
stUl further up the position.
When I was talking with Sfr Colin CampbeU on the subject
of the battle of Waterloo, he said he never understood why
Adam's brigade was placed in that advanced and exposed
position, and inquired if I knew what the object of it was.
I told him that we had supposed we were placed there as a
support to the troops in Hougomont. It has, however, occurred
to me whilst I have been writing this portion of my book,
that this brigade posted in squares in the manner above
described, if it could maintain its ground, in spite of the
tremendous cannonade to which it must necessarUy be exposed,
would so break the force of any fresh cavalry attack on the
English guns and squares on the crest of the position, as to
render it abortive ; and also, that its maintaining its ground
so far in advance of the other troops, many of whom were
young battalions who had never been in action before, would
tend to inspire them with confldence. In the next chapter I
shaU bring before my readers many events of interest which
occurred in connexion with the 52nd squares. Of the 71st and
95th squares I only know that they suffered very severely
from the flre of the French artillery ; and they appeared, as
the French General Foy said of the squares of this brigade, to
be rooted to the ground, so steady were they, under the
tremendous flre to which they were exposed.
The old officers, who had served during the wliole of the
Peninsula war, stated that they were never exposed to such a
cannonade as that which the 52nd squares had to undergo on
this occasion for two hours and a half, from the French artiUery
planted about half a mile in their front. Our own artiUery,
on, or just under the crest of our position, were also flring over
our heads the whole time, either at the enemy's troops or at
their guns. Some shrapnel-shells burst short, and wounded
some of the 52nd men; but the flring of these sheUs was
discontinued, on our sending notice of what they were doing
to the artUlery above us. In the right square of the 52nd, and
I suppose it was the same in aU the squares of our brigade, there
was one incessant roar of round-shot and shells passing over

32 52nd light infantey
or close to us on either flank ; occasionally they made gaps in
the square. The only interval that occurred in the cannonade,
was when we were charged by the French cavalry, for they,
of course, could not flre on our squares for fear of injuring their
own squadrons, so that the charges of cavalry were a great
relief to us all I believe, at least, I know they were so to me.
The standing to be cannonaded, and having nothing else to
do, is about the most impleasant thing that can happen to
soldiers in an engagement. I frequently tried to follow, with
my eye, the course of the baUs from our own guns, which were
flring over us. It is much more easy to see a round-shot
passing away from you over your head, than to catch sight of
one coming through the air towards you, though this also occurs
occasionaUy. I speak of shot flred from six, eight, nine, or
twelve-pounder guns. Some of the artillery above us were
flring at one time, over our square, at a body of cuirassiers
drawn up to their right and rear of the lower inclosure of
Hougomont; one of the round-shot, which I caught sight of,
made a regular gap, and occasioned some confusion in their
front squadron. After this, as the officer in command of the
regiment was riding up and down about twenty yards in front
of the leading squadron, I saw a round-shot which I thought
would have struck his horse's head ; it however appeared to
pass about half a foot from his head, causing him to start back
affrighted, and in a way calculated to have unseated his rider
had he not been a superior horseman.
My position in the right square was in the rear of the centre
of the front face. I have before stated that it is only very
occasionaUy that a person can see a round-shot, coming from
a twelve-pounder gun, or from one of smaUer calibre. After
we had been stationed for more than an hour so far down in
front of the British position, a gleam of sunshine, faUing on
them, particularly attracted my attention to some brass guns
in our front which appeared to be placed lower down the
French slope, and nearer to us, than the others ; I distinctly
saw the French artilleryman go through the whole process
of spunging out one of the guns and reloading it ; I could see
that it was pointed at our square, and when it was discharged

AT WATEELOO. 33
I caught sight of the baU, which appeared to be in a direct
line for me. I thought. Shall I move ? No ! I gathered
myself up, and stood firm, with the colour in my right hand.
I do not exactly know the rapidity with which cannon-baUs fly,
but I think that two seconds elapsed from the time that
I saw this shot leave the gun untU it struck the front face
of the square. It did not strike the four men in rear of whom
I was standing, but the four poor fellows on thefr right. It
was fired at some elevation, and struck the front man about
the knees, and coming to the ground under the feet of the
rear man of the four, whom it most severely wounded, it rose
and, passing within an inch or two of the colour pole, went
over the rear face of the square without doing further injury.
The two men in the first and second rank feU outward, I fear
they did not survive long ; the two others feU within the square.
The rear man made a considerable outcry on being wounded,
but on one of the officers saying kindly to him, " 0 man, don't
" make a noise," he instantly recollected himself, and was quiet.
This was the only noise, except the " By Jove ! " mentioned
before, which I heard from any wounded man during the battle,
although I must have been within hearing distance of many
hundreds of the wounded, particularly later in the day, when
we passed over the kiUed and wounded of the French Imperial
Guard. The story one used to hear in one's boyhood, of the
bands of regiments playing during the raging of a battle to drown
the cries of the wounded, is a myth. The men of the band and
some of the buglers generally make themselves useful in action,
in attending to the wounded. This cannon-shot coming through
the centre of the front rank of our square without touching
me was, I think, my narrowest escape up to that period of
the action. I should not omit to mention that it was said,
after the action, that a round-shot had expended its force in
the solid square of the 71st Highland Light Infantry on our
right front, and only stopped when it had kUled or wounded
seventeen men ; I can easily suppose this to be possible from
what I saw of the effects of the shot which passed so close to
me. We stood in the right square, not on rye, or wheat trampled
D

34 52nd light infantey
down, but, I think, on clover or seeds which had been recently
mown. I furnished information to Captain Siborne with regard
to this crop, and to that on which we afterwards stood on the
British position, when he was forming his beautiful model of
the Field of Waterloo, and was very anxious to procure accurate
information on the subject. It was generaUy supposed that
there would have been a much greater loss in kUled and
wounded at Waterloo, if the heavy rain on the nights of the
16th and 17th had not well saturated the ground. Many of the
sheUs which feU near the troops went so far into the ground,
perhaps a foot or more, that they exploded without doing any
injury. This was the case in and near our squares. A company
of the 95th Eifies were extended in front of the brigade at one
time, that they might flre into the French cuirassiers, who were
drawn up some three hundred yards from us. One of the flies
was about ten paces in front of our right square; they were
both kneeling, and the front rank man was taking aim at the
cuirassiers, when a sheU pitched two or three feet before
them ; they hastUy retired towards our square, when, from its
not exploding, they supposed it was a round-shot, and returned
to the spot and knelt down, and the front rank man was just
raising his rifie again to take aim, when the shell exploded,
covering them with dfrt, and they retired, the front rank man
having evidently been wounded.
It was said some little time after the action, but I did not
observe it myself, that in one of the squares, probably the
left, wliilst Colonel Nicolay or some other officer who had come
down from the position, was speaking to Colonel Charles
Eowan, a shell feU in the midst of the square, when on Colonel
Eowan saying, " Steady, men ! " Colonel Nicolay observed, " 1
"never saw men steadier in my life." The sheU burst, and seven
poor fellows were struck by the fragments.
Speaking of the left square of the 52nd, Colonel HaU writes,
" AFrenchhalf battery (i.e. two guns) about 600 yards distantfrom
" the farthest advance of this square, made it their especial object.
"They hit us several times whUst we stood halted, yet the
" casualties were not so numerous as might have been expected.
" I should say the enemy fired well but not with rapidity. Did

at WATEELOO. 35
" you notice any of the caimon-shot wounds ? WhUe the left
"wing square stood under the cannonade, one of Shedden's
" company (Woods I think) was struck down by a baU fuU on
" the knee. He was removed into the centre of the square. I
" observed the Umb above the knee quickly sweU tiU it became
" the size of his body. The poor feUow was left upon the ground,
" I suppose to die there." In addition to one or two advanced
batteries, the brigade, being almost the only British infantry in
sight, must have been cannonaded by a considerable portion of
the artUlery of the left wing of the French army.
I have a very vivid recollection of the charge of the French
cavalry. Those who advanced on the right square of the 52nd
were cufrassiers, having not only a steel breastplate but- the
same covering for the back. As I observed before, the pleasing
part of the charge was that, for several minutes, perhaps ten, we
were relieved from the cannonade which the French had kept up
upon us, except when their cavalry charged. They came on in
very gallant style and in very steady order, flrst of aU at the
trot, then at a gallop, till they were within forty or fifty yards of
the front face of the square, when, one or two horses having
been brought down, in clearing the obstacle they got a somewhat
new direction, which carried them to either flank of the face of
the square, which direction they one and all preferred to the
charging home and riding on to our bayonets. Notwithstanding
their armour many of the men were laid low, many horses
also were brought down, and the men had a difficulty in disen
tangling themselves from them. The cuirassiers passed the
square, receiving the fire of all the four faces, and proceeded up
to the crest of the British position. They then re-formed, and
came down the slope again upon us in the same way, and again
avoiding to charge home upon the rear face of the square, as
they could scarcely hope to penetrate the squares; possibly it
was a reconnoisance ordered to be made by the Emperor, who
had no other means of ascertaining what force the Duke of
WeUington had at that time on the reverse slope of the position.
From the French position scarcely any of the British troops
could at that time be seen, except our own and the other
regiments of General Adam's brigade. J) 2

36 52nd light infantey
An interesting anecdote was mentioned to me not long ago,
by the late General Sir Frederick Love, who was a captain and
brevet-major in the 52nd at Waterloo : — "Some years ago he and
" his brother were retuming through the South of France, from a
" trip they had been taking to the Pyrenees, when they feU in
"with a nice gentlemanly Frenchman in one of the public
" conveyances, who, in the course of conversation, told them that
" he also had served at Waterloo; and it turned out, on thefr com-
" paring notes, that he had been an officer of some standing in the
" very regiment of cuirassiers which had charged the right square
" of the 52nd in that action. Amongst other things, the French
" officer said that whUst the cufrassiers were re-forming, just under
"the British position, preparatory to renewing their attack
" upon us, he observed that the men had ordered their arms and
" were standing at ease, and that he said to a young officer near
" him, 'Seehow cooUy those feUows take it; depend upon it that
" ' is one of the old Spanish regiments, and we shaU make no
" ' impression on them.' "
This officer added, that on charging back again he rode close
to the right face of our square, so close, that a young feUow
sprang from the square and wounded him with his bayonet, on
the left side of his neck, it was a slight wound, but he showed
them the scar which it had left. My attention, when the
cufrassiers charged back upon us, was chiefly dfrected to those
who were brought down by our flre, about twenty yards from the
angle formed by the front and right faces ; but I have a recol
lection of something having occurred at that time, without
knowing what it was, in the front ranks of the right face of the
square, not far from its junction with the rear face.
When we were in squares of wings, to the left of Hougomont,
the French had two divisions, consisting of 12,000 men and
some cavalry, in the neighbourhood of La Haye Sainte, from
which, about six o'clock, they, after a severe flght, succeeded in
driving the Germans under Major Baring, who had expended
all thefr ammunition. The left square of the 52nd was not
much more than a quarter of a mUe from La Haye Sainte, and
in much closer proximity to General Donzelot's division, which
waa between La Haye Sainte and the square. At one time some

AT WATEELOO. 37
skirmishers from Donzelot's division crept up through the high
standing corn and flred into this left square. There being some
difficulty about the Srd battalion of the 95th Eifles sending out
skirmishers to drive them in. Lord Seaton ordered the front rank
of the left face of the 52nd square to do so, thus leaving that
face of the square with only three ranks for a short time.
Captain Yorke of the 52nd, who served at Waterloo as extra
aide-de-camp to General Adam commanding our brigade, had
his horse kiUed by a cannon-shot or a sheU, when riding near
the 52nd squares.
The foUowing circumstance mentioned to me by Lord Seaton,
when I was dining with him in London some years ago, will
help to shew that the cannonade our squares were exposed .to at
Waterloo was something out of the common way. His words
were, " I recollect a friend of mine, Beckwith of the 95th, riding
" down to the square in which I was, and when the men had
" opened out and let him pass into the square, he threw his bridle
" on his horse's neck, and said, ' I hope you are satisfled now, I
"'hope you are satisfled.'" Major Beckwith was an assistant
quartermaster-general, and, after leaving the square, lost his leg
by the explosion of a shell I recollect his dining with us, when
we were encamped some miles from Valenciennes in the autumn
of 1816, and keeping the whole mess in roars of laughter, with
anecdotes relating to the light division in Spain. At one time
Lord Seaton desfred the right square to kneel, thinking, from
the peculiar formation of the ground in front, that it would
thereby be somewhat protected from the enemy's fire. We were
told, when we arrived at Paris, that Napoleon had said of the
British squares, that they stood like waUs, and that the French
cannon-baUs seemed to make no impression on them.
About half-past six o'clock, the Duke of WeUington sent an
order by his aide-de-camp. Colonel Hervey, to the commanding
officer, ¦ that the 52nd should retfre ; but he replied that, if it
was necessary, he could remain, for although the squares appeared
very much exposed, the shot generaUy passed over them. Imme
diately afterwards, however, when the Nassau troops were driven
back in the inclosures of Hougomont, the 52nd squares were
ordered to retire up and over the position. Whilst this move-

38 52nd light infantey at wateeloo.
ment was taking place, the fire of the French artUlery was more
furious than ever, and several casualties occurred. In the left
square Colonel WUUam Eowan was wounded in the elbow by a
shot which passed through his horse's neck and kUled it, bring
ing its rider very heavUy to the ground. Poor Nettles, who
carried the king's colour, was killed just before reaching the
summit of the position, by a cannon-shot through his body ; and
it was said that his colour-serjeant was killed at or about the
sarae time ; and, in some unaccountable way, the colour was left
under the body of poor Nettles tiU the next moming, when it was
discovered by a serjeant of Captain Mercer's troop of horse-
artillery. The other two serjeants attached to that colour, I
presume, were in front of it when retiring in square, and poor
Nettles, if he kept his relative position, would be just in front of
the rear rank of what had been the front face of the square
before it faced about to retire. As we neared the summit of our
position, it seemed as if the whole of the French artUlery was
firing round-shot at our devoted squares. Almost every shot
which took effect, brought death or some dreadful wound to the
person struck. It certainly was a pleasant relief from "one
" of the most murderous cannonades ever recorded in the annals
" of war," when, on passing the crest of the position, we found
ourselves, at forty paces from it, out of flre on its reverse slope.

39

CHAPTEE III.
DEFEAT OF THE IMPEEIAL GUAED BY THE 52ND LIGHT INFANTEY.
Form a four-deep line — Wounded men of the 52nd— Spent round-shot— Duke of
Wellington — French officer of cuirassiers — Advance of the Imperial Guard
— 52nd advances singly to meet them— Srd battalion of 1st Guards drives a
mass of skirmishers down the position — Defeat of the whole of the Imperial
Guard by the 52nd alone — No other English troops within 300 yards of them
— Flight of the French army— 52nd passes over the kUled and the wounded
of the French Guard — Various incidents^ — Charge of cavalry — 52nd suffer
from grape — Prussian round-shot — Serious thoughts.
It was now getting on for seven o'clock. The 52nd formed line
four deep, the right wing being in the front Une, and the left wing
having closed up upon it. The regiment stood about forty paces
below the crest of the position, so that it was nearly or quite out
of flre. The roar of round-shot stiU continued, many only just
clearing our heads — others striking the top of the position and
bounding over us — others, again, almost spent and roUing down
gently towards us. One of these, when we were standing in
line, came rolling down Uke a cricket-baU, so slowly that I was
putting out my foot to stop it, when my colour-serjeant quickly
begged me not to do so, and told me it might have seriously
injured my foot. Exactly in front of me, when standing in line,
lay, at the distance of two yards, a dead tortoise-sheU kitten. It
had probably been frightened out of Hougomont, which was the
nearest house to us, and about a quarter of a mile off. The
circumstance led me to think of my friends at home.
For some Uttle time there was a luU in the battle aU along
the British line, excepting that the French artUlery kept up their
fire on the British artillery, almost the only force which could
then be seen by them. No shells were at that time directed against

40 defeat of the IMPEEIAL GUAED
the troops posted just behind the summit of the British position.
Here was a most interesting scene ! Ever3i;hing was wUd and
strange, yet everything was quiet and natural. This is rather a
bold paradox ! Bounding our -view, about forty paces in our
front, was a bank not quite three feet high ; there was a stunted
hedge on it away to the right of our centre, but not so to the
left. Under this bank and hedge to the right lay some twenty
of our badly and mortally wounded men, covered by thefr
blankets, which some of the poor fellows had got out from their
knapsacks. I particularly remember at that time two poor
feUows passing through the Une to the rear, who, I think, must
have had their arms carried away by the same cannon-shot, for
they were both struck exactly in the same place, about four
inches below the shoulder, the wounded arm being attached to
the upper part by a very small portion of skin and flesh, and
being supported by the man taking hold of the hand of that arm
with his other hand. About the same time, I made way also for
one of the Eifles, who was seriously wounded in the head, to pass
to the rear. Lieut-Colonel George Hall, then a Ueutenant in
McNair's company, teUs me that at that time most of the buglers
had, with the permission of the officers, gone to the rear with
wounded men ; and that Captain Cross, at his request, aUowed
his last remaining bugler to take charge of and convey to the
rear a severely wounded man of McNair's company.
In front of our left company were several killed and wounded
horses ; some of the latter were lying, some standing, but some
of both were eating the trodden down wheat or rye, notwith
standing that their legs were shot off, or that they were otherwise
badly wounded. I observed a brigade of artillery, eoming from
our left, pass over the bank into action in a very cool and gallant
style. In doing this, some of the guns went over the legs of the
wounded horses — ^the wounded men were out of thefr way. It
often happens in action that, in charges of cavalry and in rapid
advances of artiUery, wounded men are ridden or run over. It
is mentioned that at the battle of Ligny, two days before
Waterloo, Blucher's horse feU, and that, before he could dis
entangle himself from it, the French and Prussian cavalry
charged each other twice, passing over him and his horse without

BY THE 52nd light INFANTEY. 41
his being hurt. There was a peculiar smell at this time, arising
from a mingling of the smell of the wheat trodden flat down
with the smell of gunpowder.
Half an hour, or perhaps three-quarters of an hour, had
elapsed after our return to the position, when a French cuirassier
officer came galloping up the slope and down the bank in our
front, near to Sir John Colborne, crying, "Vive le Eoi !" He was
a chef d'escadron, and took that opportunity of escaping from
the French left wing, that he might shew his loyalty to Louis
XVIII. He told Sir John Colbome that the French Imperial
Guard were about to advance, and would be led by the Emperor.
I think the officer of cuirassiers was sent, under the charge of a
Serjeant, to the Duke of Wellington.
Soon after this, when it was nearly eight o'clock, the Duke
rode across our front from the left of the Une quite alone, and
spoke to Sir John Colborne, as they were both sitting on their
horses observing the enemy. The Duke's dress consisted of a
blue surtout coat, white kerseymere pantaloons, and Hessian boots.
He wore a sword with a waist-belt, but no sash, and had a small
extended telescope in his right hand. He rode a chestnut horse.
He rode across our front within flfteen paces of our centre, so
that I had a complete view of him. I remember him and his
cool, quiet demeanour as well as if I had seen him only yester
day. This was the flrst time the 52nd had seen him on the 18th.
He wore no cloak, but Sir John Colborne wore then and during
the whole of the action, as a short cloak, the cape and hood of
my blue camlet boat-cloak, which I had lent him on the afternoon
of the 17th. After speaking for a short time to Sir John
Colborne, the Duke rode quietly away again in the direction of
the centre of the position, still unattended.
We heard what the officer of cuirassiers had said to Sfr John
Colborne about the attack of the Imiperial Guard, and not long
after we heard them advancing with continued shouts of " Vive
" I'Empereur" away to our left front. The drummers were beat
ing the " pas de charge," which sounded, as weU as I recoUect,
very much like this, " the rum dum, the rum dum, the rumma-
" dum dummadum, dum, dum," then " Vive I'Empereur." This
was repeated again and again, tUl, in about a quarter of an hour

42 DEFEAT OF THE IMPEEIAL GUAED
or twenty minutes, we put an end to it in the manner mentioned
a Uttle further on.
The Imperial Guard advanced from the low ground in front of
La Belle Alliance, and on the French left of the Charleroi road.
At the same time a forward movement, in support of this attack,
was made both by the right and left wings of the French army,
whUst the troops forming the centre of their left wing under Foy,
made a corresponding advance within the inclosures of Hougomont.
The French had maintained themselves in force for several hours
to the right and left of La Haye Sainte, about 300 yards under the
crest of the British position, and had taken that post from the
Germans about six o'clock. Thus, when the Imperial Guard
were advanaing from the low ground towards the right centre of
the position, the Duke could not withdraw any of his brigades
of infantry from any other part of the Une. A mass of skfr-
mishers was sent forward from the Imperial Guard, who were
joined on their right by skirmishers from Donzelot's division ; both
sets of skirmishers getting, I believe, intermingled in some
measure. Whether the Imperial Guard skirmishers fired into
the right regiment of the 1st British Guards, that is, the 2nd
battalion, and into the left of the 2nd battaUon of the Eifles, I
am uncertain, but the brunt of the attack from the French skir
mishers fell upon the 3rd battaUon of the 1st Guards.
Under these circumstances, when the leading battalion of the
flrst column of the Imperial Guard was about 400 yards from
that part of the British position occupied by Maitland's brigade of
Guards, Sir John Colborne, who had been watching his opportu
nity, ordered No. 5 company of the 52nd, under Lieutenants
Anderson, CampbeU, and F. W. Love, to extend and move down and
fire into the enemy's columns, looking to the regiment for support.*
• The left of the skirmishers of the 52nd and the left of those of the
Imperial Guard could not have passed very far from each other, for only the four-
deep line of the six companies of the 95th Rifles intervened, between the left of
the 52nd and the right battalion of Maitland's brigade of Guards, yet the
hostile skirmishers did not meet or even see each other ; probably when the 52nd
skirmishers advanced from the left of the regiment, whioh, owing to the for
mation of the ground, was more forward on the British position than the troops
on its left, the French skirmishers were just surmounting the more retired crest
of the position in front of the British Guards, and had commenced firing into them.

WATERLOO 18^" JUNE 1815 AT 8.10 O'CLOCK P.M.

J. JoKbins , 3 ."Warwifflk. Court

0 IOO zoo 300 400 vos

BY THE 52nd LIGHT INFANTEY. 43
He then, without having received any orders from the Duke
or any other superior officer, moved forward the 52nd, in
quick time, directly to its front. As we passed over the low
bank and the crest of our position, we plainly saw, about
300 or 400 yards from us, in the direction of La Belle AUiance,
midway between the inclosures of Hougomont and La Haye
Sainte, and about a quarter of a mile from each of those places,
two long columns of the Imperial Guard of France, of about
equal length, advancing at right angles with the position and in
the direction of Maitland's brigade of Guards, stationed on our
left. The whole number of these two columns of the French
Guard appeared to us to amount to about 10,000 men. There
was a smaU interval of apparently not more than twenty paces
between the flrst and second column ; from the left centre of our
Une we did not at any time see through this interval ; I think
they were all in close column.
As the 52nd moved down towards the enemy it answered the
cries of "Vive I'Empereur," with three tremendous British
cheers. When the left of the regiment was in a Une with the
leading company of the Imperial Guard, it began to mark time,
and the men touched in to their left, every one seeing the
necessity for such a movement, and that, if they proceeded, they
would be outflanked by the French column, which was then not
quite two hundred yards from us. In two or three seconds the
word of command, "Eight shoulders forward," came down the
line from Sir John Colborne, repeated by the mounted officers,
and the officers commanding the front companies ; the move
ment was soon completed, and the 52nd four-deep line became
paraUel to the left flank of the leading column of the French
Guard, there being a slight dip and rise again of the ground
between us and the enemy. The 52nd was alone, the other regi
ments of Adam's brigade having been thrown out by the sudden
ness and peculiarity of the movement. In this dangerous and
exposed advance Sir John Colborne was on the right of the
regiment, anxiously watching a large mass of the enemy's
cavalry, which was seen between us and the French position.
From the left centre of the 62nd Une we saw a numerous body
of skirmishers of the Imperial Guard running towards, and then

44 DEFEAT OF THE IMPEEIAL GUAED
forming about 100 yards in front of, their leading column.*
These appear not to have been seen by the 52nd officers on the
right ; possibly the head of the French column intervened. I
recollect seeing a French officer strike, with the flat of his sword,
a skirmisher, who was running farther to the rear than the point
at which the others were forming ; at that time I could see 300
yards up the slope of the British position to our left, and not a
British regiment or a British soldier was in sight. These
skfrmishers no doubt were the troops driven in from the British
position, by the 3rd battaUon of the 1st Guards, which was the
left battaUon of Maitland's brigade ; Lord HiU was on the right
of the 2nd battalion of the 1st Guards, which was the other and
right battalion of the brigade, and it was " stationary and not
" firing.'' The 3rd battaUon of this brigade of Guards was lying
down in square, on the reverse incline of the position, to the
left of their 2nd battalion and at some distance from it, when
the Duke, coming back from the centre of the position, and
seeing how they were fired into by a large mass of skirmishers of
the Imperial Guard, desfred the conkmanding officer "to form
" line on the front face of the square, and to drive those feUows
" in," (this was the origin of " Up Guards, and at them," words
which were never uttered.) The Duke's order was immediately
obeyed, and the 2nd battalion of the Guards drove them some
little distance down the slope, when there was a cry of "cavalry,''
and the Guards retired up and over the British position in some
disorder. This agrees with Colonel Gurwood's statement, that as
the 10th Hussars, in which he commanded a troop, were moving
from the left to the right centre of the position, they saw the
Guards retiring in some confusion. This, from aU accounts, was
the only movement made against the enemy by Maitland's
brigade of Guards (and this was made by one battaUon of
it only) during the action. They suffered severely from the
carmonade, and were charged, as all the troops were, by the
French cavalry, and suffered very much from the fire of these
skirmishers of the Imperial Guard, whom they drove in ; but
this was the only forward movement they made against the
. • This was erroneously spoken of after the battle, as "an attempt at
" deployment."

BY THE 52nD LIGHT INFANTEY. 45
enemy. Gurwood must have seen them at some distance down
the reverse slope of the British position, just about the time that
the 52nd were completing thefr right-shoulder-forward movement,
and that the skirmishers of the Imperial Guard were forming in
front of thefr leading column. I must not now stop to prove
that the story of Maitland's brigade of Guards having attacked
and routed the leading column of the Imperial Guard is a mere
myth, and that this has been aU along well known to every
officer of the 52nd who was present at Waterloo, from Lord
Seaton down to myself, the youngest ensign, but wiU hereafter
devote a chapter or two to the subject.
This advance of the 52nd line and its right-shoulder-forward
movement was seen from the height above, and was spoken of
by Lord HiU as one of the most beautiful advances he had ever
seen. Sir John Byng, who had succeeded to the command of
the whole division of the Guards when General Cooke was
wounded, and was at the time near Maitland's brigade, said of
it to one of the 52nd officers that night, " We saw the 52nd
" advancing gloriously, as they always do." The Duke of WeUing
ton also was much pleased with it, as I shall have to state more
particularly in a subsequent chapter.
It is very difflcult to calculate time during the progress of a
battle ; one officer told me that the whole action only appeared
to him to last two hours, whereas it commenced exactly at twelve
o'clock at noon, and lasted tUl a quarter after nine at night. It
must have been nearly a quarter past eight when the 52nd
stood paraUel with the left flank of the Imperial Guard.
Our artUlery on the British position, 300 yards above, had
been playing upon the masses of the French Guard, but when
we saw them there appeared to be no confusion amongst them ;
our advance put a stop to the flre of our artUlery ; it was not
till the 52nd skirmishers flred into them that the Imperial
Guard halted,'' then as many flies as possible, on the left of each
company of their leading column, faced outwards and returned
the flre ; as the 52nd approached, our skfrmishers feU back to
the regiment, two of the three officers being severely wounded,
and many of the men being either kUled or wounded. The
regiment opened flie upon the enemy without halting ; the men

46 DEFEAT OF THE IMPERIAL GUAED
flred, then partly halted to load, whUst those in the rear sUpped
round them in a sort of skirmishing order, though they main
tained a compact Une, occupying, however, nearly double the
extent of ground, from front to rear, which a four-deep Une
usually requires.
The French writer, Quinet, although his account of this
action contains aU kinds of mistakes, speaks of this attack
of the 52nd on the flank of the Imperial Guard as foUows :
" Le 52e regiment Anglais en proflte pour venir audacieusement
" se d^ployer sur le flanc gauche. Quand le regiment Anglais
"I'eut d^bord^e tout entike, il ouvrit son feu k brMe-pourpoint
"  qui r^crasait."
Here was a most exciting as weU as a most critical period in
this famous battle. The far-famed Imperial Guard of France,
led on by the gallant Marshal Ney, whom the French styled
" Le plus brave des braves," came into contact with that British
regiment, of which Sir WUliam Napier, the historian of the
Peninsular War, had written that it was " a regiment never sur-
" passed in arms, since arms were first borne by men ;" and this
regiment was commanded by Colonel Sir John Colborne (after
wards Field-Marshal Lord Seaton) one of the most experienced,
steady, cool, and at the same time, gallant and dashing officers
of the British or any other army.
The mounted officers rode to the front of the line. There
were Colonel Sir John Colborne, Lieut.-Colonel Charles Eowan,
Major Wm. Chalmers, Adjutant Winterbottom, and Assistant-
Adjutant Nixon, also our general of brigade, Adam, who had just
come up, and some ofhis staff. Lieutenant Campbell, 7th FusUeers,
and Maj or Hunter Blair, 91st regiment, brigade-maj or. Chalmers,
in front of the right of No. 4 company, placed his cap on the
point of his sword, and, standing up in his stirrups, cheered the
regiment on. Here I saw Winterbottom badly wounded in the
head, and brought by his horse through the Une, without his
cap, the blood streaming down him ; the poor feUow managed to
hold on by the pommel of his saddle. Captain Diggle, com
manding No. 1 company, had been desperately wounded just
before on the left temple. Lieutenant Dawson was shot through
the lungs ; Anderson lost a leg. Major Love was severely wounded

BY THE 52nd LIGHT INFANTEY. 47
in the head, and afterwards, as he lay on the ground, in the foot
and in two other places. Lieutenant CampbeU, who had been
skirmishing, came through the line severely wounded in the
groin ; General Adam was severely wounded in the leg, but did
not quit the field. Colonel Charles Eowan was also sUghtly
wounded ; Sir John Colborne had his horse kUled under him,
and was grazed in the hand and on the foot. Several of the
other officers were very slightly hit, but were not returned as
wounded ; I consider that about 140 of our men were kUled or
wounded at this time, in the course of five or six minutes. I
missed Sir John Colborne for two or three minutes, and felt very
anxious about him, but presently he came quickly down the
front on foot, giving directions, stUl wearing a portion of my
cloak, and wiping his mouth with his white handkerchief.
As we closed towards the French Guard, they did not wait
for our charge, but the leading column at first somewhat receded
from us, and then broke and fled ; a portion of the rear column
also broke and ran ; but three or four battalions of the Old Guard,
forming part of this second column, retired hastily, in some degree
of order, towards the rising ground in front of La BeUe Alliance,
with a few pieces of the artillery of the Guard, which must have
been on their right flank when they advanced, as we did not see
them, and those ¦ which were left by the gunners on the ground,
untu the French Guard had given way; indeed, had these guns been
on the left flank ofthe columnsof the Imperial Guard, when wewere
bringing our right shoulders forward, they might have pUed our
line with grape, and have caused us the most serious loss ; or,
possibly, had they been there. Sir John Colborne would not have
ventured on the movement at all. With the exception of these
battaUons of the Old Guard, the whole French army, as far as
the eye could reach, appeared to us to be in utter confusion.
The 52nd stUl advanced by itself, in the direction of the
lower inclosure of La Haye Sainte, towards the Charleroi road,
and nearly at right angles with that part of the British position
behind which, on the reverse slope, stood Maitland's brigade of
Guards, and Sir CoUn Halkett's, Count Kielmansegge's, and Colonel
Von Ompteda's brigades, at a distance from the 52nd varying,
as the regiment continued to advance, from 350 to 700 yards.

48 DEFEAT OF THE IMPEEIAL GUAED
Immediately after the defeat of the Imperial Guard, the 52nd
passed over their kUled and wounded, who, poor feUows, were
lying very thick upon the ground, where I passed on a breadth of
about fifty yards ; in some places I had to spring over heaps of
them lying over each other. One of the 52nd officers, who has
now been dead for many years, told me, some time after the
action, that an occurrence had taken place as we passed the
kUled and wounded of the French Guard, which had since given
him at times some uneasiness. It was this : — ^As he was advancing
in rear of the regiment, he saw a Belgian soldier, who was
foUowing us in pursuit of plunder, try to take money from a
wounded Frenchman, who begged him to let him keep what little
he had ; on which the Belgian dealt him a heavy blow on the head
with the butt end of his musket, which appeared to kiU him,
and that he was so indignant at this atrocity, that he immediately
ran the Belgian through the body with his sword. He asked
me what I should have done under the circumstances, and I
replied, that I most Ukely should have done the same ; but that
I was not sure it was the right thing to do ; yet, as the scoundrel
had left his own corps in search of plunder, and had under those
circumstances taken away life, his own life seemed to be fafrly
forfeited. I saw a man of the 40th regiment about the same
time, who also was probably on the same sort of errand, and
I only mention him, because I observe that in Colonel Ponsonby's
account of what happened to him when he was lying wounded
on the ground, he mentions amongst other things that a soldier
of the 40th came across him late at night, and took care of him
tUl the moming of the 19th. This was probably the same man
we had seen earlier in the evening.*
The 52nd had only got a very short distance from the kUled
and wounded of the Imperial Guard, when suddenly, through the
smoke, it saw a charge of cavalry coming upon its fianks and
centre. They consisted of British and German Ught dragoons,
mingled with French cuirassiers, before whom they were retfring
at speed. We took them all for the enemy, and they were fired
on and lost some men before it was discovered that many of
them were EngUsh. Some went round the flanks, but many
* See Appendix No. 5, again.

BY THE 52nd LIGHT INFANTEY. 49
rode at the centre of the regiment, and, when they were about
twenty yards off, the Une opened about six or eight feet in the
centre to let them pass. I thought at the moment that the men
were not right in making an opening for those whom we regarded
as enemies, and should have received the charge on their bayo
nets ; I, therefore, stood to the front, on the right of the formed
Une and to the left of the opening, and attempted to draw my
sword from the scabbard that I might attack the leading horse
man. It was hanging on my left side, hooked up to the waist-
belt, as officers carrying the colours do not draw thefr swords in
action, except in cases of emergency. To my great dismay, the
looped sword-knot was entangled in the button of the scabbard,
and I could not get my sword out, and therefore I instantly took
the colour in both hands with the intention of using it as a
lance against the foremost dragoon. The poor feUow was, how
ever, shot dead by our men, and feU headlong from his horse on
his back, with his head towards us, about six feet in front of the
opening ; I then saw by his three stripes that he was a serjeant.
The horse passed through the centre of the interval, and, as he was
at speed, the stirrups flew out at right angles from the saddle,
and the right one nearly struck me in the face. There was
then a cry, " They are EngUsh," and the firing ceased. Opposite
to the centre of the 52nd, the cuirassiers were seen to draw off in
admirable order. On the right, one gaUant cuirassier penetrated
the line and was cut down, just as he got through it, by the
serjeant-major. Just clear of the right of our line, an encounter was witnessed
between a cufrassier officer and a cadet, (answering to a volunteer
in our service,) attached to one of the German Ught dragoon regi
ments of Dornberg's brigade. The latter was retreating at speed
before his antagonist, with his head down on his horse's neck and his
sword over his own neck. The German cadet was watching his
opportunity, and on finding himself near his friends, on the right
of our Une, suddenly pulled his horse up upon his haunches, and
dealt the cufrassier a blow across his face ; he wheeled round
and engaged the cadet in single combat, who managed to
strike him again on his face, so that he feU over on one side, and
was pierced under the arm and kiUed. E

50 DEFEAT OF THE IMPEEIAL GUAED
Colonel Hall, writes as foUows, on the subject of this passage
of the light dragoons through our centre : — " The unUorm of the
" Ught dragoons had just been altered, and they were dressed as
" the French chasseurs, so it was quite natural that they should
" receive a voUey. I remarked that but few fell in front of the
" line, but a considerable number in the rear. The coolness of
"our men in this unfortunate mistake was admirable; in the
" smoke and noise and confusion, no one knew if his comrade was
" cut down or not, but there was no thought of dispersing or of
" lying down for safety ; they just faced about and prepared to
" fire on the supposed enemy in the rear. I believe some did do
" so before the officers, who had discovered the error, could stop
" them. Anderson told me that the dragoons who rode through
" our line, re-formed close to where he was sitting wounded, and
"that he heard the commanding officer exclaim, in a tone of
"vexation, 'It's always the case, we always lose more men by
" ' our own people than we do by the enemy.' "
It was said that some of the 23rd Light Dragoons (and it
seems there were German light dragoons with them) had
attacked a body of French infantry, probably some of the
defeated Imperial Guard, and that being consequently somewhat
broken, they were charged by a formed body of cuirassiers,
bpfore whom they had to retire, in order that they might re-form.
Tiiey did good service in engaging the enemy, but when they had
to letire, they ought to have ridden round the flanks, and not
through the Une, of one of their own infantry regiments. I may
remark that if all our soldiers, cavalry and infantry, wore the
scarlet uniform, these unfortunate mistakes of taking friends for
foes would be of less frequent occurrence.
Almost immediately after we had become disengaged from the
above-mentioned cavalry, we suddenly found that some guns on
our right, towards La Belle AlUance, were flring grape into the
front of the regiment, and making some serious gaps in our
line. One discharge came into the centre, and the rattle of
the grape against arms, accoutrements, and men, was something
very different from the roar of round-shot, the noise from the
explosion of shells, and the whistling and humming of buUets,
which we had hitherto been accustomed to. Sir John Colborne

BY THE 52nd LIGHT INFANTEY. 51
who was not then mounted, anxiously exclaimed, as he went
quickly towards the right of the line, " Where are these guns ?
" they are destroying the regiment." Lieutenant Gawler, who, after
Captain Diggle was wounded, had taken command of the right
company, told him they were not far away on the right, and
asked if he should take the right section and drive them in ; Sir
John Colborne told him to do so, and he then wheeled the right
section to the right, extended it, and advanced towards them. As
soon as the French gunners saw the red coats through the smoke,
they immediately Umbered up and retired. Gawler found a con
siderable body of French infantry in front of him, at 200 or 300
yards distance, and collected his men and waited for the regiment,
which in the meantime had bi^ought its left shoulder rather more
forward. When the discharge of grape came into the centre, I saw a man
spring behind to take the musket of one who was killed, as his
own would not go off. Another man near me said, in an under
tone to his comrade, " the top of  's skuU was taken off,"
mentioning the poor fellow's name, which I do not now recollect.
Shortly after, as we were advancing, (there was no halt,) I found
about a foot-and-a-half of my colour-pole was very wet with
blood, about the height of my shoulder, and that there was blood
on the buff cuff of the left sleeve of my jacket. It was not my
own blood. The next morning I found that the thumb of my
left hand was black and sore. I think my left hand and the
colour-pole must have been struck, without my perceiving it at
the moment, by a part of the skull of the man mentioned above,
for the contusion could not have been occasioned merely by
blood. I beUeve it was at this time that Lieutenant Holman
had three musket-baUs through the blade of his sword, without
being touched himself I have often seen the sword, and the
holes made by the balls are connected with each other, as if they
had been made by canister-shot; the thick rim of the sword
holding the two parts of the blade so strongly together, that
Holman used the sword for several years afterwards whenever he
was on duty. He was the brother of Mr. Holman the blind
traveUer, whom. I afterwards met at Nice and Eome.
I have mentioned that Sir John Colborne was on foot when
E 2

52 DEFEAT OF THE IMPEELAL GUAED
the French flred grape into our Une. Just before this, both he
and the present Lieut-General Sir WUliam Eowan, G.C.B., now
colonel of the 52nd, made an ineffectual attempt again to
become mounted officers. I think I may venture to relate the
circumstance in Sir WUliam Eowan's own words:— "I was
"mounted, and my horse shot under me by a grape shot,* which
" flrst grazed my right arm and then passed through my horse's
" head. The faU stunned me a good deal. Sfr John Colborne's
"horse was also (afterwards) shot, which led to a laughable scene.
" On our coming up to an abandoned French gun, with the horses
" stUl attached to it, Sfr John and I mounted two of the horses,
" caUing to our men to cut the traces, which they were unable to
" accompUsh ; and as the regiment was advancing rapidly, we had
" to dismount and foUow as fast as we could. Shortly after we
" met plenty of horses with empty saddles."
It has been said that the guns which retired with the rear
battaUons of the second column, and which afterwards, as I have
related, flred grape into us, were directed to open flre on the
advancing 52nd line by the Emperor himself ; but I think it
more Ukely they were dfrected to take up their ground by
General Drouot, who was with the Imperial Guard when they
gave way. The Emperor was then on the height above, in front
of La BeUe AUiance. Drouot had commanded the artiUery of
the Guard in several of the former campaigns of the Emperor,
and had accompanied him to Elba, and afterwards went with him
to St. Helena. At Waterloo he was the " G^n^ral aide-de-camp
" de rEmpereur."t
Directly after the guns were driven in on our right by Gawler,
we distinctly saw on our left, 300 or 400 yards up the British
* I think it must have been a round-shot.
+ It is recorded of Drouot that he always carried a small Bible with him to
read, which constituted his chief delight ; and he avowed it openly to the persons
in the imperial suite, a pecuUarity not a Uttle remarkable on that staff, and the
admission of which required no smaU degree of moral courage. Napoleon often
placed him in the most exposed positions, so that his situation was full of perU.
He was said to be somewhat superstitious, because in action he took care to wear
his old uhiform of general of artillery, as he had long worn it and had never been
wounded. The probability is, that he considered it unwise to draw the fire of
the enemy upon himself by wearing a splendid uniform. He also always dis
mounted when near the enemy.

BY THE 52nd LIGHT INFANTRY. 53
position, and on the Hougomont side of La Haye Sainte, four
battalions in column, apparently French, standing with ordered
' arms. According to all accounts they were too far down the
British position to be Dutch Belgians ; they certainly were not
EngUsh. It was thought they were French, and part of Donzelot's
division, who did not know how to get away, and therefore
remained quietly where they were untU the 52nd had passed. We
were then about 200 yards from the Charleroi road, and I think
a line in prolongation of our front would on the left have cut the
farm house of La Haye Sainte, at 300 yards distance, and on our
right the south-eastern point of the inclosures of Hougomont, at
a distance of rather more than half a mUe from us. The 52nd
was then, as before, quite alone, and had these four battaUons of
Donzelot's division come down upon our left flank with a regular
British charge, they would possibly have prevented the rout of
the French army from becoming so complete as it was. The
brigades of Alten's division could not at this time haye made
any forward movement down a portion of the British position,
which they did afterwards, when the Duke ordered the whole line
to advance, or we should have seen them. I think the 71st, the
right regiment of our brigade, and the left regiment, the 2nd
battaUon of the i^es, both of which had been thrown out by
the sudden advance of the 52nd, and perhaps the Osnabruck
landwehr battalion, under Colonel Halkett, were the only
British troops which had left the crest of the British position
at this time; and we saw nothing even of these tUl the
next morning, though Captain Siborne and other historians of
the battle place the 71st and Eifles in Une with us in our attack
on the battaUon of the Old Guard, which wiU presently be
described. When we were about 200 yards from the Charleroi road, the
Prussian round-shot, directed either at our line or at the French
extreme right, began to strike near us, one about fifteen yards from
the centre, but apparently none of them touched the regiment.
The Prussians had come up on the right flank of the French
from the dfreetion of Wavre, and at that time were trying
to drive them out of the vUlage of Planchenoit; rather later
they succeeded in doing so, at an immense loss to themselves.

54 DEFEAT OF THE IMPEEIAL GUAED BY THE 52ND.
The Prussian guns were more than a mUe from us; they
soon discovered that we were friends, and ceased to cannonade
us. I weU remember thinking, when I saw some of these Prussian
round-shot striking the ground not far from us, that it would be
very unfortunate to be killed or wounded just at the close of the
action, when the enemy were in fuU retreat. I think it must
have been at a rather earlier period of our advance, that my first
thought occurred, of what would become of my soul in case I
shoiUd be kUled ; I recoUect I quieted the thought at once, by
thinking that those who believed in the Saviour, the Lord Jesus
Christ, would be saved; and that, as I beUeved in Him, all would be
right if I should be killed that day. Of course most of my readers
wUl be aware that such a mere belief in the history given in the
Bible of what our Saviour did and said and suffered is not that
saving faith or trust in Him, spoken of in John i, 11, 12; in
John iii, 14 — 16 ; in Eomans viii, 1 ; in 2 Corinthians v, 17 ; and
in many other passages of the word of God. My careless and
sinful Ufe for several years afterwards, evidently shewed that,
though I beUeved the history of the Saviour's life and death, I
had, at the time referred to, no saving knowledge of Him. As
1 write this, I desire and pray that those of my readers, who
have not hitherto laid this matter to heart, wiU look out
these passages and consider them and the whole subject,
with humble prayer that their God will, by means of His word,
guide them into the way of salvation, holiness, peace, and
eternal life.

WATERLOO 18" JUNE 1815 FROM 8.30 TO 9.15 O'CLOCK P.M.

p«i4.

VVvv* \V

^

il^  . ^... ..'..^
" m .i.:^^^~j^
J Joblm u"Warwj k f'u rt
0 IOO 200 300 4O0VD*
55

CHAPTEE IV.
1815.
52nd attack and defeat the IMPEEIAL GEENADIEES.
52nd attack and drive off Old Guard — Dukeof WeUington arrives— Lord Uxbridge
wounded — The Duke and Napoleon in nearest proximity — 52nd pass La BeUe
Alliance — No other troops in sight— Pass 75 pieces of deserted cannon —
Encounter a French division and guns — Their surrender — Fire on French
staff-officers — ^Last infantry shots at Waterloo — Bivouac at Rosomme —
The Dukeand Blucher — The 1st Guards between La BeUe AlUance and British
position — Sir John Byng's speech about 52nd — Wounded officers at the
viUage of Waterloo — Sir Thomas ReyneU's letter — Wounded hussar and
Imperial grenadier — Ammunition waggon blown up — Various other incidents
on the 19th.
It was about twenty minutes after eight, when Sir John
Colborne seeing a considerable body of troops in his front incUned
to make a stand, halted the 52nd in the low ground close to the
Charleroi road, for the purpose of dressing the line, which had
then advanced more than half a mile without any halt from the
time it had left the British position. The regimental colour and
the covering-serjeants were ordered out, and Nixon, the acting
adjutant, had just dressed them, when the Duke of Wellington,
attended by Sfr Colin CampbeU, rode up to Sir John Colborne,
who was in the rear of the centre of the 52nd, and I heard him
say, as I looked back from my position in front of the centre,
" WeU done, Colborne ! Well done ! Go on, don't give them
" time to raUy."*
*The Duke, referring to this part of the action in a memorandum written
in October, 1836, twenty-one years after the Battle of Waterloo, has shown
perhaps a very pardonable forgetfulness of the exact circumstance here related.
He writes, " The infantry was advanced in Une. I halted them for a moment in
" the bottom, that they might be in order to attack some battaUons of the enemy

56 52nd attack and defeat
The French had then opened flre on our line at about 200
yards distance, and I weU recoUect that several buUets streaked
the ground close to me, many others seemed to whiz very close to
my ears, so that I suspected the French were directing more atten
tion than was quite pleasant to me and my colour. It may
however have beeu principally attracted by the Duke, and Sfr
Colin CampbeU and Sfr' John Colborne, who were immediately
in my rear and about ten paces from me. The colour and the
covering serjeants were immediately caUed in, without the Une
being dressed, and the regiment advanced and drove off the
enemy. It was here that the Marquis of A.iglesea, then Lord
Uxbridge, rode up to the Duke and said, " For God's sake, Duke,
" don't expose yourself so, you know what a valuable life yours
" is,'' and that the Duke replied, " I'll be satisfled, when I see
" those feUows go." Lord Uxbridge was wounded by a grape or
musket-shot in the knee. I did not see it, nor was it observed
by Sir John Colbome or by any of the officers of the regiment,
our attention being engaged by the enemy's troops in our front.
Sir CoUn CampbeU told me, several years afterwards, that, on
observing that Lord Uxbridge was wounded, he rode up to him
and laid hold of him by his collar and held him on his horse tUl
his aide-de-camp took charge of him.
These troops, who acted as a rear guard to the French army
now retiring in the greatest confusion, were, it is said, three
battalions of the Old Guard, a smaU body of cuirassiers of
the Guard, and a few pieces of artUlery, probably the same
guns which had been driven off by the right section of the 52nd
under Lieutenant Gawler. It has been stated and is supposed
that the Emperor Napoleon was with these troops. If so, the
Emperor and the Duke were at this time in closer proximity,
than they ever were at any other time ; and I am not sure that
" stUl on the heights." This is altogether incorrect. The Duke found the 52nd
already halted, and said " Go on, don't give them time to rally." I find tKat
after the lapse of several years, almost aU those who were present at Waterloo
forget many circumstances, which one is perfectly astonished at, whUst they are
very clear about other points even of very minor importance. The being always
able to distinguish between what they themselves witnessed and what they have
heard from others or read of, is a great difficulty with some of my friends, after
the lapse of fifty years. I do not experience the same difficulty myself.

the IMPEEIAL GEENADIEES. 57
I have not a good claim to having been at this time, for a few
seconds, for the second time the foremost man of the British
army, and the one nearest to the French Emperor ; excepting of
course the three or four persons who had been taken prisoners
during the action and had been brought before him to see what
information he could draw from them.
Here again was a most interesting period of the Battle of
Waterloo, a battle of which the Duke of WelUngton wrote, that
being "possibly the most important single miUtary event in
" modem times, it was attended by advantages sufficient for the
" glory of many such armies, as the two great AUied armies en-
" gaged." Here the 52nd, certainly a most distinguished regiment
in the British army, and one of the regiments formerly composing
the famous light division in Spain, were opposed to the Old
Guard, which was recruited from the Toung Guard and from the
other French regiments, not a man being admitted into it, who
had not seen twelve years' service and who was not distinguished
for good and gaUant conduct. No man was admitted into the
Young Guard who had not been in the army for four years.
These flne fellows had never met with any defeat before, unless
such had happened to them in other corps of the French army.
Twenty minutes before this they had witnessed the defeat by the
52nd of the first column of their Guard aad of the leading portion
of their own column, from which they had hastily retired to their
present position, where they were making something of a stand
against us.
As I have observed above, here were the choicest troops of
France, opposed to one of England's choicest regiments. Many
fine and gaUant officers had faUen on both sides, but here were
on one side the Duke of WeUington, the Earl of Uxbridge,
Commander-in-Chief of the British cavalry. Lord Seaton (then
Sfr John Colborne), an officer of the very highest repute in the
English army, and Sir Colin CampbeU (not the one who was
afterwards Lord Clyde), Chief of the Duke's staff. On the other
side were the Emperor Napoleon, Marshal Ney, Prince of Mos-
kowa, Bertrand, General Drouot, Count D'Erlon, and probably
Soult. From my point of view, I saw in front of us two or three
bodies of men on the rising ground before us, but I could not see

58 52nd attack and defeat
clearly their formation, for they were either kneeling, or no more
of their bodies could be seen than to about a foot below their
shoulders, owing to the ruggedness of the ground ; they are, how
ever, described by others of the 52nd as having been three
squares, with a body of cavalry on their right ; they had three
guns on thefr left, which fired a round or two of grape at us. The
52nd did not return the fire of these troops of the Old Guard.
On our advancing, the French retfred in good order. The cavalry
on thefr right faced about to cover the retreat of thefr squares,
but, on our pressing on in pursuit, they prudently refused the
encounter with our compact four-deep Une. Only one of their
squares retreated by our left of La Belle AUiance and the
Charleroi road ; and this square the 52nd kept in view for
nearly a mUe further, until they lost sight of it about a quarter
of a mUe before it reached the farm house of Eosomme, where
we brought up for the night.
Sir CoUn CampbeU told me that, when Lord Uxbridge was
wounded, he himself again pressed the Duke not to expose, as
he was doing, his valuable life, and that he received the same
reply which the Duke had immediately before given to Lord
Uxbridge, that " he would be satisfied when he saw those feUows
" go." He told me several other things about the Duke, most of
which I noted down the day after I had the conversation with
him. He told me that, when the 52nd advanced, the Duke and
he went off to our right, which would probably be towards the
lower part of the inclosures of Hougomont, and that some Uttle
time afterwards they crossed over some rising ground to their
left, where they witnessed the unsuccessful charge by Major
Howard and a party of the 10th Hussars upon a body of French
infantrj^, and that the Duke was very angry when he saw them
make the attack without having any support. Before he had
accompanied the Duke down to the rear of the 52nd and about
twenty minutes after we had advanced from the British position,
he had taken an order from the Duke of WeUington to Sir
Hussey Vivian to bring forward his hussar brigade, consisting
of the 10th, 18th, and 1st German Hussars. He met him
coming down the slope of the position and Vivian told him his
brigade was just behind him. It appears from Vivian's cor-

THE IMPEEIAL GEENADIEES. 59
respondence with Gawler of the 52nd in 1833, that ie must
have come down the British position, through the interval made
by the sudden advance of the 52nd, and that he saw no British
troops as he advanced at right angles with the position, either to
his right or left, ,and that his brigade came upon and charged a
large body of cavafry somewhere in front of the 2nd French
corps. These cavalry were mixed ; there were cuirassiers, lancers,
and guns with their horses attached. Colonel Gurwood, who had
been in the 52nd, but at Waterloo commanded a troop in the 10th
Hussars and was wounded, told me that, as he lay on the ground,
he saw poor Howard's charge ; that Vivian, after the charge of
the 10th, observing some formed infantry in front, desired
Howard to coUect as many men as he could of those who had
got into confusion in their charge on the French cavalry and to
attack this infantry. This was looked upon as a very desperate
service, as cavalry have rarely been known to defeat regularly
formed and steady infantry. Gurwood told me that a young
officer said to Howard, " If I were you, Howard, I would'nt do
" it," and that Howard replied, " You heard the General's order,
" and you know my position in the regiment." The charge was
made and repulsed, Howard being kiUed. The infantry they
attacked appears to have been one of the squares of the Grena
diers of the Imperial Guard, which had retired just to the right
of La BeUe AlUance and^Ainiotion, when the square, followed by
the 52nd, retired to the left of those houses, and to the left of the
Charleroi road. As far as I can make out, this square and another
were under Cambronne, and were closely followed, when he came
near them, by Colonel Hugh Halkett with the Osnabruck bat
talion, one of the regiments of his Hanoverian brigade. Halkett
had seen the sudden movement of the 52nd, and ha%dng sent his
brigade-major* to order the rest of the brigade to foUow, he moved
the Osnabruck battaUon down the slope of our position from the
right of the 71st, and came away to the right of the 52nd, when
these squares of the Imperial Guard were attacked by us ;
Halkett with his Hanoverian battaUon got so near to one of these,
that he made a dash at General Cambronne, who was at some
Uttle distance from the square, and took him prisoner with his
* The brigade-major was kiUed before he could deUver his order.

60 52nd ATTACK AND DEFEAT
own hands.* The other square, which Major Howard charged,
was farther to the rear of the French position, and more to our
right than the square which Halkett was so close to. Vivian,
in his correspondence with Gawler, eighteen years after the action,
mentions that he expected a regiment of Hanoverians, on his
left and rear, to have advanced to attack the square that
Howard charged, but that this regiment, instead of doing so,
followed another square more to its left.
I must now return to the account of the advance of the
52nd in its pursuit of the square of the Old Guard to our left
ofthe Charleroi road. It graduaUy brought its left shoulders more
forward, till opposite to La Belle Alliance the line was exactly
at right angles with this road, the British position being about a
mile directly in our rear. We passed great numbers of guns
and ammunition waggons, which had been deserted in conse
quence of our rapid advance. Lord Seaton stated that at this
time we passed no less than "seventy-five pieces of French
" artiUery, and that very shortly after the French columns dis-
""persed." Leaving La Belle AlUance and, farther on, the farm of Pri-
motion on its right, the 52nd advanced in pursuit to the left of
the Charleroi road, and at no great distance from it. It had been
* French writers assert that General Cambronne never exclaimed, " La Garde
" meurt et ne se rend pas " (The Guard dies and does not surrender), but that these
memorable words were uttered by General Michel, " who was kUled at Waterloo
" at the head of the square of the grenadiers of the Old Guard." In 1845, the
two sons of General Michel addressed a request to the French King that a
royal ordinance which authorised the town of Nantes to erect a statue to the
memory of General Cambronne might be modified, that is to say, that the
commission, charged with the erection of this monument, should not be autho
rised to cause to be engraven on the base of this statue those admirable words,
" La Garde meurt et ne se rend pas." In support of their request, the sons of
General Michel brought forward many witnesses to prove that Cambronne him
self had denied using these words, and others to prove that they heard General
Michel use them. Amongst these last was Baron Martenot, who com
manded the battalion in which the Emperor took refuge " for a moment at the
"end of the battle." Bertrand presented to General Michel's widow a stone
detached from the Emperor's tomb, at Sainte Helena, on which he had inscribed
these words and signed them : — " A la Baronne Michel, veuve du G6n6ral Michel,
" tue k Waterloo, oil U r6pondit aux sommations de I'ennemi par ces paroles
" sublimes—' La Garde meurt et ne se rend pas' !
" Pierre du tombeau de Sainte Hlline. [SignS,] Bertrand."

THE IMPEEIAL GEENADIEES. 61
quite alone since it left the British position, and continued so tUl it
halted for the night.
I think it was after passing the farm of Primotion that I
remember seeing, on the other side of the Charleroi road about
300 yards to our right, a smaU body of cavalry riding to the
charge, probably it was poor Howard's charge, before referred to.
Sir Colin Campbell thought, on examining with me a plan of
the Field of Waterloo, that this charge took place not far from
Primotion ; he remembered there were some trees there near to
a house, and that it then wanted a quarter to nine by his watch.*
One hundred yards to the south of the inclosures of Primo
tion, we being about the same distance to the left of the Charleroi
road, the 52nd found itself on the edge of a deep hoUow road
with steep banks, in which were a large body of French infantry
retiring from their right. In the centre it appeared to be a
mutual surprise; they threw down thefr arms in token of sur
render, and we rapidly passed through them. In the centre not
a shot was exchanged. Captain McNafr, however, made the
men break some of the French muskets by knocking them
against the ground, thinking it unwise to leave so large an armed
body of the enemy in our rear, but there was no time for much
of this, and probably not more than a dozen muskets were
smashed. What took place on the right of the 52nd was thus
graphicaUy described by Colonel Gawler, in his "Crisis of Water-
" loo," thfrty years ago : — " A hundred yards to the AlUed left of
* The foUowing letter from the Duke of York to the Duke of WeUington
is published in the tenth volume of the Duke's supplementary despatches : —
" Horse Guards, June ZQth, 1815.
" Mt dear Lord Duke, — The fanuly of the late Major Howard, of the
" 10th Hussars, have urged so earnestly that every possible measure should
" be adopted for finding the body of that officer, as to induce me to desire that the
" officer commanding at BruxeUes should be written to on the subject. I under-
" stood that two serjeants of his regiment were employed to bury him ; and if you
" wUl give orders that one of them should be sent back to BruxeUes to give any
"information on the subject, the famUy wUl feel that both your Grace and
" myself have done aU that is practicable to effect their wishes.
" I remain, my dear Lord Duke, yours smcerely,
" Frederick."
[" Let i-nquiry be made on tkis subject at the regiment for the two serjeants
" mentioned. Wellihqtoh."]

62 52nd attack and defeat
" La Belle AUiance, a hollow road runs, nearly at right angles
" towards the chauss4e, up which a column of artiUery and infan-
" try was hastUy retreating. The square (of the Imperial Guard)
" crossed the head of this body, but the high bank concealed the
" approach of the52nd, untUthe distancebecame too small toadmit
•¦ of any but ahand-to-hand contest. The column seemed not suffi-
" ciently aware of its desperate cfrcumstances to surrender without
" hesitation, and for a moment the scene was singularly wild. The
" infantry, before they threw down their arms, made an effort
" either at defence or escape. The artUlery dashed at the opposite
" bank, but some of the horses of each gun were inan instant brought
« down. A subaltern of the battery, threw his sword on the
" ground in token of surrender ; but the commander, standing in
" the centre of his guns, waved Ms above his head in defiance. A
" soldier sprang from the British ranks, parried his thrust, closed
" with him, threw him on the ground, and keeping him down with
" his foot, reversed his musket in both hands to bayonet him ;
" when that repugnance to shedding of blood, which so often rises
" in the hearts of British soldiers even under circumstances of
" personal danger and prudential necessity, burst forth in a groan
" of disgust from his surrounding comrades ; it came, however, in
" this case too late, the fatal thrust was sped, and the legion of
" honour lost another member.''
On the left fiank of the 52nd line, at no very great distance
from it, a French officer brought up and formed about a hundred
men from the hoUow road, apparently with the view of making
some attack upon us, but, on this being observed, the left company
of the 52nd brought up its right shoulders to drive them in, when
they retired back into the hoUow road much faster than they
came out of it ; there was no firing on either side.
I was the first up on the top of the opposite bank, and the
regiment formed on the colour. It was then getting somewhat
duskish, and must have been close upon nine o'clock. At a
distance of about 200 yards we observed four French staff-officers.
McNair who was on the right of No. 4, (his own company. No. 9,
being in the rear) gave the word, " No. 4, make ready," when I,
who was next to him on his right, begged him to " let those poor
" feUows off." He repUed, " I dare not, I know not who they

THE IMPEELAL GEENADIEES. 63
" may be." He then completed the word of command, and No. 4
fired a volley ; No. 3, on the right did the same. The " cease
" firing " sounded down the line from the right, and I'believe these
were the last infantry-shots flred at Waterloo. The horse of one
of the French officers fell, and we soon lost sight of them. I
have thought it was probably Marshal Ney, who thus had his
horse shot under him. It tallies with his own account; he
speaks of Ungering on the fleld, and of all his horses being shot.
When McNair said, " He did not know who they might be," he
was thinking of Napoleon, and thought it was not right to let
him get away, if he could prevent it. It is very possible that
the Emperor did form one of this group, for in the note at page
60, he is spoken of as having at ihe end of the battle been, " for a
moment,'' in one of the squares of the Old Guard. Now one of
them was retiring before the 52nd, and the other two or three
were in our immediate vicinity on the other side of the Charleroi
road. He may have been in the square we pursued, and have
left it when they halted for a moment to throw off their knapsacks.
This they were seen to do I think before we reached the hoUow
road. Being thus lightened they gained on us and we no longer saw
them when, from the top of the hollow road, the two centre
companies, 3 and 4, flred on the four mounted French officers.
There was no pursuing-cavaliy on our side of the main road.
Vivian's brigade of cavafry came up into line with us, far away
to the right, when we were somewhere abreast of Primotion.
Vandeleur's brigade of cavalry, came up rather later in pursuit.
Halkett, with the Osnabruck battaUon, must have been not very far
in our rear, on the other side of the chauss^e ; and I conjecture
from Colonel Eeynell's letter that when we were at Primotion, or
at the hollow road beyond it, the 71st, one of the two other regi
ments of our brigade, must have been away on the other side of
Vivian's brigade, in a line with us, but at a distance from us of
nearly 700 yards. The 71st, [perhaps the 2nd and Srd Eifles,]
and Halkett's Osnabruck battalion, afforded a most important
support to the 52nd in its single-handed attack on the French
Imperial Guard, but none of them nor any other regiment
of the British or AUied troops were at aU engaged with them. As
far as I have been able to make matters out, the above mentioned

64 52nd attack and defeat
regiments were the only infantry which advanced that night
beyond the low ground between the French and British positions.
The rest of the infantry bivouacked on the lower part of the
slope of our own position ; the enemy having been fafrly routed
and dispersed, long before th e rest of the British and AUied army
passed over the crest of that position.
In the advance of the 52nd from the hoUow road to the farm
of Eosomme, where it halted for the night, it passed at one place
within a quarter of a mile of the nearest houses of Planchenoit,
but saw nothing of the French who nearly up to that time had
been keeping the Prussians in check in that vUlage, and had
inflicted severe loss upon them. They had now made off, with
the rest of the French army who could get away, in the direction
of Genappe and somewhat to their right of it, between it and
Maison du Eoi. About a quarter of a mUe before we reached
Eosomme we came upon the knapsacks of the square of the Old
Guard. My colour-serjeant took possession of a havre-sac and
afterwards took from it a loaf, from which he cut a good sUce of
bread, and offering it to me said, " Won't you have a sUce of bread,
Mr. Leeke ? I am sure you deserve it, sir ! " I was very glad of
the bread, for I had eaten nothing but one biscuit for more than
twenty-four hours ; and I was pleased also with the kind and
approving words of the serjeant. Shortly after this we reached
Eosomme, and forming column of companies on the northem side
of the farm, we halted in the angle formed by the Charleroi road
and the road leading into it from Planchenoit, and piling arms
bivouacked there for the mght. It was a quarter after nine
o'clock. The farm of Eosomme is three-quarters of a mUe from La
BeUe AUiance, and exactly the same distance from the church of
Planchenoit. On this ground we found the straw which the
French Imperial Guard had collected for themselves, and slept
on the night before. The Duke himself must have ordered Sir
John Colbome to halt there, for General Adam had not been
with us since the defeat of the 10,000 men of the Imperial Guard,
but had, notwithstanding he was severely wounded, been away
to look after the 71st, who had been so much separated from the
52nd. I did not see the Duke at that time, but I recoUect hear-

THE IMPEEIAL GEENADIEES. 65
ing that when he came up to the regiment at Eosomme, he asked
Sir John Colborne "if there was anything he could do for the
" 52nd," and that Colborne replied he should be very glad if the
Duke could send them abarrel of biscuits ; which he proinised to do.
As there has been so much controversy as to whether or not
the Duke of Wellington and Marshal Blucher met, after the battle,
at La Belle Alliance, the Duke himself even having declared
that they met flrst at Genappe, and his memory evidently hav
ing been confused about it, I wiU copy verbatim the note I made
of the information I got from Sir Colin Campbell the very day
after I had the conversation with him in 1833. It is as foUows:
—"The Duke, seeing where we (the 52nd) were to halt for the
" night, returned to La BeUe AlUance and arranged with Blucher
" that the Prussians should undertake the pursuit."
Soon after we halted a large flre was Ughted, round which the
officers stood, and talked over the events of the battle. WhUst
we were thus engaged, we heard some cheering away in our rear,
near La Belle Alliance, and May, of the 52nd, coming up shortly
afterwards, told us that it proceeded from those who were pre
sent when WeUington and Blucher met.*
One of the flrst duties attended to when the regiment had
piled arms and were lying down in column, was the calling the
roU by a serjeant of each company. I observed that in almost
every case of absence, some of the men could say what had hap
pened to the man, whether they knew him to be kiUed or only
wounded. We had left, including officers, exactly 206 of our
* The foUowing is from the " Edinburgh Review " ior April, 1864: — " In a letter
" to Mr. Mudford, dated June Sth, 1816, he (the Duke) wrote : — ' A remarkable
" ' instance of the falsehoods, circulated through the evidence of unofficial des-
" ' patches, is to be found in the report of a meeting between Marshal Blucher
" ' and me at La Belle Alliance, (and some have gone so far as to have seen the
" ' chair in which I sat down in the farm house.) It happens that the meeting
" ' took place after ten at night, at the village of Genappe, and anybody who
" ' attempts to describe with truth the operations of the different armies wUl see
" ' that it could not be otherwise.'
" Captain Gronow has gone so far as to say that he was present, with other
" officers, at the meeting at La Belle AlUance. Confidently as the Duke writes,
" there are strong reasons for suspecting that he was mistaken as to the precise
" place. It is clear, from French official accounts, that the French did not
" abandon Genappe tUl past eleven ; from the Prussian, that Blucher and his
" staff did not reach it till near midnight." F

66 52nd attack and defeat
poor feUows on the Field of Waterloo. Many of the wounded, T
believe, but not all, got into houses at Merbe Braine or at the
vUlage of Waterloo.
The foUowing was the return of the casualties of the 52nd
at Waterloo : —
Geneeal Eetuen. Officees' Names.
Killed. Killed.
1 Ensign Ensign Nettles
1 Serjeant TVounded.
36 Rank and File Major and Bt.-Lieut.-Col. Charles Rowan Slightly
Capt. Charles Diggle . . Severely
'Wounded. Capt. and Bt.-Major J. F. Love Severely
1 Major Lieut, and Adjt. John Winterbottom Severely
2 Captains Lieut. Charles Dawson Severely
6 Lieutenants Lieut. Matthew Anderson . Severely
10 Serjeants Lieut. George Campbell . . Severely
150 Rank and File Lieut. Thomas Cottingham Severely
Major Hunter Blair, our brigade-major, who was in much
concern about General Adam, whom he had not been able to flnd,
came up to me about half an hour after we had halted, when I
was near the men, and inquired if anybody had seen General
Adam, and stated that he would reward any man who would
flnd the general This I made known, neither the brigade-
ma.] or nor I thinking at the moment that by so doing we were
giving an opportunity to any bad feUows, who might be so dis
posed, an opportunity of quitting the column for the purpose of
plundering the killed and wounded they might meet with ; I am
not aware that any did so ; but within half a minute, a man
came to me in front of the general, who rode into the bivouac
from the direction of Genappe, and said, " Here is General
"Adam, sir!" Neither Blair nor I thought him entitled to the
promised reward, as the general had found the regiment and was
within a few paces of it when the man saw him. Adam had con
ducted himself with great gallantry in front of the 52nd when
they took the French Imperial Guard in flank, and evinced his
pluck also in not leaving the fleld, when severely wounded in
the leg. As he sat on his horse for some little time near our fire,
I heard him say that " he should never forget the honour of hav-
" ing commanded the 52nd on that eventful day."

the IMPEEIAL GEENADIEES. 67
The foUowing is taken from the 52nd record : —
"On returning to England for the recovery of his wounds, the
" following extract of a letter from Major General Sir Frederick
"Adam was communicated to the 52nd regiment : —
" ' I request you wiU express in my name to the officers, non-
" ' commissioned officers and men of the brigade, (52nd, 71st, and
" ' 95th regiments,) how much I regret my separation from them.
" ' The expectation of being early enabled to rejoin, and the hope
" ' of doing so, (which tUl within these last few days I have
" 'continually entertained,) have alone prevented my sooner ex-
" ' pressing to the several corps of the brigade the admfration I
" ' shaU ever entertain of thefr intrepid and noble conduct in
" ' the battle of the 18th of June. To have had the good
"'fortune of being at their head on so glorious an occasion
" ' wUl be to me a subject of increasing satisfaction. In pro-
"' portion as I have regretted being separated from the light
" ' brigade, I shaU look forward with anxiety to resuming that
" ' which through life it wUl be my pride to have held.
" (Signed) ' Feedeeick Adam,
" ' Major-General.' "
After our arrival at Eosomme I lay down for a few minutes
on the flank of No. 9 company, and on my saying "Can any one
" give me a drink of water," I was gratifled with the kindness of
the men, for there was no getting a supply of water where we
were, yet four or flve of them, directly they heard me, readUy
began to pass their canteens (wallets) towards me. I have always
retained a grateful recollection of this little kindness. It is a
rule with soldiers to go into action,' if they can, with their can
teens fuU of water, for, when a man is severely wounded, the
desire for water is sometimes almost intolerable. I shaU have to
relate an instance of this presently.
About three-quarters of an hour after we had halted at
Eosomme, the flrst column of the Prussians, by whom the pur
suit was to be taken up, arrived from Planchenoit. As they
marched round the column of the 52nd from Planchenoit into
the Charleroi road, they broke into slow time, and thefr bands
played, " God save the King." A mounted officer, who rode up
the bank, and passed along the flank of the column, which was
F 2

68 52nd attack and defeat
•lying down, puUed up and asked me in French " if that was an
" English colour ;" (I stiU kept it in my possession, to give some
poor tired feUow a little rest before he was placed on sentry over
it.) On my replying that it was, he let go his bridle, and taking
hold of the colour with both hands, pressed it to his bosom, and
patted me on the back, exclaiming, " Brave Anglais."
The 52nd record relates the above occurrence as foUows : —
"The Prussian regiments, as they came up the road from
"Planchenoit and wheeled round into the great chaussde by
" Eosomme, moved in slow time, their bands playing our National
"Anthem, in compUment to our success; and a mounted officer at
" the head of them embraced the 52nd colour, (which had been
" carried that day by Ensign WUliam Leeke,) to serve as the
" expression of his tribute of admiration for the British army."
In a note from my name is the following : " Now the Eev.
" W. Leeke, of Holbrooke, near Derby. The king's colour was
" singularly lost for a time, buried under the body of Ensign
"Nettles, who was kUled in retiring from the square near
" Hougomont, about 7 p.m. It was recovered on picking up the
" wounded." Some few of the Prussian soldiers passed up the bank and
along the flank of our column with strings of three or four horses
each, which they had picked up between Planchenoit and
Eosomme. They were apparently horses taken from the French
guns and ammunition waggons. One man, to whom I spoke, I
found very ready to part with a couple of horses for a few francs.
Probably the thinking he would have considerable difficulty in
conducting his prizes very far, in the confused state of the roads
by which the Prussians were to advance, may have had some
thing to do with his willingness to part with them at so small
a price. I had no deflned object in the purchase, except that I
thought it unfair that the Prussians should walk off with all the
horses they came across, whUst we got none of them for our por
tion of the spoil I took one of the horses for myself, and the
other as a mess horse for the officers of the company. It turned
out to be a very useful purchase ; for half the officers of the
regiment lost the whole of their baggage and baggage-horses, in
the confusion which prevailed duruig the whole of the 18th

the IMPEEIAL GE3ENADIEES. 69
on the road between Waterloo and Brussels. The officers of
McNair's company were amongst the unfortunate sufferers. In a
pocket on one of the saddles I found a quart bottle of brandy,
which I suppose the Prussian soldier had not discovered. I do
not think I tasted any of it myself, but I have no doubt it was
properly appreciated by some of the more experienced officers,
in the absence of anything else to drink or to eat.
Major Chalmers had a smaU straw hut constructed for him
self just large enough to cover the upper half of his body. I
took the liberty of lying down at the back of it with my head
near to his and my legs stretched out in a contrary direction. I
slept soundly and sweetly that night frOm eleven tiU about half-
past two. How many thousands, within the space of two mUes
from us, British, Hanoverian, Brunswick, Nassau, Dutch, Belgian,
Prussian and French, who bid as fair for life as any of us on the
morning of the 18th, were now sleeping the sleep of death or
lying desperately wounded on the field of Waterloo amidst what
Marshal Ney described, as " the most frightful carnage he had
" ever witnessed ! " Including the battle of Ligny, between the
French and Prussians, on the 16th, and that on the same day be
tween the French and English, &c., at Quatre Bras, the English,
Germans, and Prussians lost about 33,857 in kiUed and wounded,
from the 16th to the 18th inclusive. The loss of the French
must have been much greater. Probably the whole amount of
the -loss on both sides during those three days would be about
75,000 men. Almost aU the 52nd wounded officers were very
" severely wounded." The late Lieut.-General Sir James Frede
rick Love, then a brevet-major, was wounded in the head in our
attack upon the columns of the Imperial Guard. On faUing, he
lay on the ground stunned, for some moments ; and, on recover
ing, he put his finger into the wound, and, in his confusion, it
appeared to him to go straight down into his head, and, feeling
convinced that no man could recover with such a wound, and
seeing the 52nd advancing, he ran after them, thinking that he
would die with his regiment, instead of lying to die where he
was. He, however, after making the trial, had to succumb. He
remained on the ground and there received another severe wound
in the foot, besides two other slight wounds. There was some

70 52nd attack and defeat
serious intention at one time of taking off his leg, but BeU, the
eminent surgeon who wrote one of the "Bridgewater Treatises," to
whom he was known and who had received some attention from
him in the Peninsula, hearing that he was lying badly wounded
at the viUage of Waterloo, went to see him, and by his advice
the operation was delayed and the Umb was saved.
Sir J. F. Love had two brothers in the 52nd, and they, hear
ing that their brother was severely woimded, obtained leave from
Sir John Colborne, after the action, to go back and look for him.
As people are so apt to do in the night, they completely missed
their direction, and after wandering about for a considerable time,
tiU they were regularly knocked up, they determined to remain ioi
the night at a farm house which they had come to. Here the
people, who were very glad of thefr protection, were very kind to
them; and after getting something to eat, they had just laid
themselves down on some straw in the large kitchen, when there
was a loud knocking at the great gates of the farm, and, on these
being opened, in stalked three grenadiers of the Imperial Guard
with their firelocks and with bayonets fixed. They would not
have been pleasant opponents perhaps for two young officers, but
on the elder Love saying to them " Vous §tes prisonniers ? " they
very gladly acquiesced in the proposal, and their firelocks having
been placed against the corner of the room, after a little time the
five wearied soldiers, who had so lately met in mortal strife,
were lying side by side on the same straw, and there slept to
gether till daylight. The French soldiers, no doubt, were most
thankful for the protection thus secured to them ; for soldiers of
a^defeated army can never feel quite sure that their Uves wUl be
spared by any of thefr enemies whom they may faU in with ;
and I suspect the French were that night especially, to make use
of an elegant expression recently imported from Cambridge,,
"awfuUy afraid " of the Prussians.
I may here mention that General Gneisenau, who had the com
mand of the Prussian advanced troops on the night of the 18th,
gave the French no rest. When his infantry, who had been on
the march or in action since daybreak, were unable to march
any further, he mounted a drummer on one of the horses taken
rom Napoleon's carriage at Genappe, and made him every now

THE IMPEEIAL GEENADIEES. 71
and then beat his dram, to make the French, who did not care
so much for the cavalry, think that the infantry were close at
their heels. It is stated that in this manner Gneisenau drove
the French from seven bivouacs which they had taken up, that
he passed through Quatre Bras, which had been abandoned on
his approach, and advanced beyond Frasne, a distance of eight
mUes from Eosomme, before he halted. The French army, com
pletely scattered and disheartened, fled beyond the Sambre with
out venturing to make the least stand against their pursuers.
Soon after the 52nd had halted at Eosomme, the present Sir
WiUiam Eowan, then a brevet-major, received permission from
Sir John Colborne to go and look after his brother, the late Sir
Charles Eowan, K.C.B., who had been wounded. After passing
beyond La Belle Alliance and the ground beyond it, he found
Maitland's brigade of Guards between the British and French
positions, with thefr arms pUed, he thought. He fell in with an
officer of the 1st regiment of Guards, whom he knew ; whUst he
was speaking to him Sir John Byng rode up and asked " Who is
" that ? " and on the officer replying, " It is Eowan of the 52nd,
" Sir,'' Sir John said, " Ah, we saw the 52nd advancing gloriously,
" as they always do." Sir John Byng, in the early part of the
action, commanded the brigade of Guards, composed of a battaUon
of the Coldstream and one of the Srd Guards, which was posted
in and to the rear of Hougomont. When General Cooke was
wounded, Byng succeeded to the command of the whole division
of the Guards, and was with Maitland's brigade when the 52nd
attacked the Imperial Guard and advanced in the manner described
by him in such glowing terms. Now this conversation happened
about a quarter past ten o'clock, two hours after the 52nd had
crossed the whole front of the right wing of the British army, 300
yards and more below the crest of the position; and the fact
that Maitland's brigade was stUl at that late hour below the
French position, helps to confirm the idea I have before advanced
that scarcely more than four infantry regiments and two brigades
of cavalry, Vivian's and Vandeleur's, advanced over the low ground
towards the French position on the evening or night of the 18th
of June, notwithstanding all that has been said about the Duke's
advancing his whole line in support of those troops. I suppose

72 52nd attack and defeat
that the greater portion of the British and Allied troops left their
stations on the reverse slope of our position, and sought out for
themselves ground on which to bivouac, more free, than that on
which they had been stationed, from the melancholy sight of the
slain and from the groans of the wounded and dying. I fear it
was an unavoidable necessity that many of the wounded should
be left for the night on the field of battle. One of the 52nd
officers who was ordered on duty to Brussels the next moming,
on passing over the ground by which we had advanced, was
caUed upon by name by some of the 52nd men, who had been
lying wounded aU night, to get something done for them. He
was unable to assist them, but at a very early hour a strong
fatigue-party was sent out from the regiment to place them under
the care' of the surgeons. Another fatigue-party was sent out to
coUect the arms belonging to the regiment. I think by far the
greater number of the wounded on our side were removed into
houses at Waterloo, Merbe Braine, and other viUages, before it
became dark on the evening of the 18th. Sfr WUliam Eowan
proceeded to Waterloo and there found his brother and all the
52nd wounded officers, except Anderson, in the same house.
At daylight on the 19th aU were stirring. It was some time
before we left our bivouac at Eosomme, perhaps an hour or two.
On the opposite side of the Charleroi road was a battalion of the
95th Eifles, whom we had not seen the night before ; probably
they were the 2nd battalion of the 95th, who belonged to our
brigade, and had come up some time after we had halted for the
night. About a third of a mUe from the 52nd bivouac, near the farm
of Eosomme to the south-east, is the house in which Bonaparte
is said to have slept on the night of the 17th. On the other
side of the Charleroi road, we found at some Uttle distance some
dead bodies, and swords and cuirasses which had been thrown
away. This would be the ground over which some portions of
Vandeleur's and Vivian's cavalry brigades must have passed in
pursuit the night before. In one place were a number of letters
strewn about which appeared to have been taken from the dead
body of a French officer ; they were the letters of a young lady
in Scotland, to her husband, a French officer, who had recentl-y

the IMPEEIAL GEENADIEES. 73
left her to join the French army. They were just the tender
affectionate letters which a young loving wife would wiite to a
husband under such circumstances. I well remember the follow
ing sentence in one of them, " How I pity the poor English."
Portions of these letters were listened to with great interest by
several officers who were present, and all felt distressed at the
thought that such a bitter cup of sorrow awaited the poor young
widow. It was observed that one of those present took a pecu
liar interest in the writer of these letters ; he frequently spoke of
them, and of her afterwards, and it turned out that he had taken
down her name and address, and that on his going on leave to
Scotland some time after, he determined to go to the place in
which she Uved and to make enquiries about her. The sequel of
the story is, that he was somewhat disappointed to flnd, that she
and her husband were living most happily together. The hus
band had only been severely wounded at Waterloo, and had lost
his letters.If the French officer and his wife should be stUl living, and
this should be read by them, the aecount of a matter, with which
they were so closely mixed up, wUl be interesting to them, and
it is hoped its public narration wiU not occasion them any
annoyance. The Scotch officer died many years ago.
On moving from Eosomme, we passed through the burning
village of Maison du Eoi, about a quarter of a mile off, and joined
the 71st on the other side of it. The following soldier-like letter
to " The United Service Journal" from Sir Thomas EeyneU, who
commanded the 71st at Waterloo, wiU shew the good service
that regiment performed when the 52nd moved down alone upon
the two columns of the Imperial Guard. It also helps to shew
that these columns were " at the bottom of the deelivit-y" that is,
three or four hundred yards from the crest of the British position,
so that the 2nd battaUon of the 1st Guards could not have come
in contact with them, but only with their skirmishers : —
Sir Thomas Reynell on the Movement of fhe 71st during the
"Crisis" at Waterloo,
" Me. Editoe, — I am induced to address you in consequence of
" some observations on Sir Hussey Vivian's Eeply to ' The Crisis
" ' of Waterloo,' that appeared in your last Journal, which leave in

74 52nd attack and defeat
" doubt whether the 71st regiment was not that 'regiment in red'
" represented to have halted and opened a flre more destructive
" to their friends than foes, instead of charging at a very critical
" moment, and thus 'contributing to prevent the complete success
" ' of the attack.'
" Although Sir Hussey adds that the officer whom he sent to '
" stop the flre of this battalion reported it to be a regiment of the
" Hanoverian Legion, and asserts, in another part of his reply,
" that the impression on his mind has always been that they were
" so, and not the 71st regiment, still something less questionable
" seems indispensable for the honour and character of the latter
" distinguished corps ; and I trust that I shall be able, in a few
" words, to supply that something.
"From having commanded the 71st regiment from the com-
" mencement to the close of that eventful day of Waterloo, and not
" having for a moment quitted its ranks, it may be presumed that
" no other person can speak with so much correctness as I can as
" to the part it performed during the battle.
" After the deployment from square, the 71st regiment moved
" in line, the right wing to the front, the left wing to the rear,
" forming a third and fourth rank. We passed Hougomont ob-
"liquely, throwing the right, shoulders a little forward, as stated
"by the author of 'The Crisis,' and experienced some loss in the
" companies nearest to the orchard hedge from the flre of the
" tiraiUeurs posted there. We had in view, at the bottom of the de-
" clivity, two columns ofthe enemy's infantry; and my object, and
" I believe the object of every officer and soldier in the corps, was
" to come in contact with those columns, but they did not wait
" our approach, or afford us an opportunity of attacking them.
"I can positively assert that from the time the 71st regiment
" commenced this forward movement it never halted, but main-
" tained a steady advance upon the only enemy in front, until it
" reached the vUlage of CaUlojl^ against the waUs of which were ^-^
" deposited a considerable quantity of arms, as if abandoned by
" the soldiers composing the enemy's two columns. It was becom-
" ing dark at this period, and after scouring the vUlage of Guillcg^, lAf
" we retired to a fleld to the right of it, where we bivouacked for
" the night, near to our friends the 52nd.

THE IMPEEIAL GEENADIEES. 75
" I do not recollect to have seen in our advance any body of
" men, cavalry or infantry, to our front, but the two colum-ns of the
" enemy ; nor do I know that there was any on our right flank so
" much advanced as we were. I can well imagine that the move-
"ment of the 7 1st, conducted, as I trust it was, in a steady and
" soldier-like manner, must have afforded a very decided and im-
" portant support to the troops acting to our left, who approxi-
" mated closer to the point of the enemy's flnal attack.
" I have no desire whatever to attract notice to the services of
" the 7lst regiment in the battle of Waterloo, flrmly believing that
" every battalion and corps of the British army engaged did the
" duty assigned to it fuUy as weU; but I confess that I have every
" wish to remove the possibUity of its being supposed that at any
" moment the regiment could have hesitated to attack an enemy
" opposed to it; and I only hope that this plain statement of facts
"wUl convince the readers of your valuable Journal that the
" ' regiment in red,' alluded to in Sir Hussey Vivian's Eeply, was
" not the 71st Light Infantry.
" I remain. Sir, your most obedient humble Servant,
" Thos. Eeynell, Major-General.
" Devonshire Place, 18th July, 1833."
The 52nd remained for several hours on the morning of the
19th near Maison du Eoi, before they marched to NiveUes.
Meat was served out, and the men cooked. I recoUect having
there flrst eaten "beefsteaks fried at the end of a ramrod." My
servant brought some water for us to drink from a pond in which
he said there were the dead bodies of two French soldiers, and
that he could not flnd any other water. Some of our men had
some orders and other things, which they had picked up on the
field of battle ; probably the men had belonged to one of the
fatigue-parties sent out to take up any of our wounded who had
remained on the ground all night, and to coUect arms belonging
to the regiment. I bought a pair of brass-barreUed pistols from
one of the men. In a field about two hundred yards off, to the
left of the chauss^e, I found a French ammunition- waggon, and
supplied myseUwith some cartridges, whichfittedmypistols.for the
purpose of putting an unfortunate horse, that had had its leg shot
off, out of its misery. I did not succeed very weU, as the horse.

76 52nd attack and defeat
whenever I pulled the trigger, so suddenly moved his head that
my aim did not take effect. Two Prassians coming up from
Planchenoit, one of them a serjeant, shot the horse for me. After
this I rode forward to a hamlet nearly half a mile in advance. I
took three or four canteens with me to see if I could not get
some water fit to drink ; but one of our men whom I desired to
fill them for me, told me when I was leaving the place after
wards, that he had filled them with beer, which he thought better
than water. I remained in a farm house at this place for some
time, as there were several wounded men filling aU the lower
rooms, to whom I and some of our men tried to render some little
services. One was a man of the 7th Hussars who had received
seven wounds when that regiment charged the French lancers,
just to the north of Genappe, on the afternoon of the 17th. He
described to me the manner and order in which he had received
his wounds, aU of which I do not distinctly recoUect ; but seve
ral of them, though not all, were lance wounds, infficted whUst
he was lying on the ground. There appears to have been much
of this unnecessarily cruel work of piercing those lying on the
ground wounded, carried on by the French lancers at Waterloo.
Some of our cavalry regiments have since that time been armed
with lances ; but it may be worthy of the consideration of our
own military authorities and of those of other nations, whether
the use of a weapon, which appears to be chiefly used for the un
manly and cruel purpose of putting the wounded to death, might
not be altogether given up. This 7th Hussar man, who had not
till then been discovered and visited by any surgeon, was, whUst
I was at the place, taken away by his own regiment. How he
had got so far away from the ground on which he was wounded
I do not know ; but I think the distance from Genappe must
have been nearly two mUes. I had some hope that the man
would recover.
On the other side of the flreplace, on a bed or mattrass, lay
a poor fellow belonging to the grenadiers of the French Guard.
He had, I thought, a fatal wound from which the bowels pro
truded. When he saw one of our men washing the wounds of
the hussar, he begged that he would bring the water to him also;
and on this being done, he eagerly seized the basin, and quenched

THE IMPEEIAL GEENADIEES. 77
his burning thirst by drinking deeply of the bloody water which
it contained. On my retum to the regiment, with my canteens hanging on
each side of my saddle, and my pistols stuck through the straps
which fastened on my boat cloak in front of me, I saw our gene
ral of division. Sir Henry Clinton, and some of his staff coming
towards me. He looked all the more formidable from a fashion
he had adopted of wearing his cocked hat, not in the usual way, ¦
" fore and aft," but with the small ends over either shoulder. I
thought I must look so much like a marauder, that I was rather
ashamed of being seen by him. I soon disposed of my pistols
by pitching them over a hedge on my right, never to see them
again, and thus freed from the chief appendage I was ashamed
¦ of, I passed the general without attracting his particular atten
tion. Whilst I was away, a French ammunition-waggon was blown
up not far from the regiment, and two men of the brigade were
kUled. I think one belonged to the 71st and the other to the
95th Eifles. They were on the top of the waggon, hacking at it
with a hatchet or bUl-hook to get some wood for cooking. I am
not sure that it was not the same ammunition-waggon from
which I had been helping myseU to cartridges some little time
before. When the regiment feU in for the march to NiveUes, an in
spection of knapsacks took place and several things were thrown
away with which some of the men had encumbered themselves.
We formed square either before or after this inspection, and some
men were paraded as prisoners, who had faUen out drunk at
Braine-le-comte on the morning of the 17th, in consequence of
getting access to some wine vaults in that town, and had thus
missed being with their regiment at Waterloo. Sir John Colborne
addressed them, and said he should forgive them, as he considered
it was a sufficient punishment for them that they had been
absent from their regiment " vjhen they had the honour of defeaf-
" ing the Imperial Guard of France, led on hy the Emperor
" Napoleon Bonaparte in perso-n." We supposed then, from what
the French chef d'escadron had reported, that the Emperor was
with his guard when we attacked them; but it afterwards

78 52nd ATTACK and defeat the IMPEEIAL GEENADIEES.
appeared from the French accounts that it was not so, and that
after they had marched past him in the low ground between the
two armies, he had gone back to the French position, from which
he only retired with the squares of the Old Guard.

79

CHAPTEE V.
1815.
DEFEAT OF THE FEENCH IMPEEIAL GUAED BY THE 52nD ALONE.
Defeat of the Imperial Guard by the 52nd, and not by the 1st British Guards —
Lord Seaton and Sir John Byng — Steadiness of 52nd when wheeliog in
Une, &c. — The Duke's despatch written on the night of the 18th — Duke of
Richmond — Colonel Gawler — Siborne's mistakes — Sir W. Napier's state
ment about treachery and secret politics in connexion with Waterloo — Napier's
letter about officers being drilled with men, and Lord Seaton with 52nd at
Waterloo — Colonel Bentham and Minie rifle — Bentham and Waterloo —
Lieutenant Sharpin of the ArtiUery contradicts Siborne — Lord Seaton's
letter to Bentham on defeat of French Guard by 52nd — Mr. Yonge's con
versation with Lord Seaton — Colonel Brotherton.
I MUST now, before I proceed to give the account of our march
from Waterloo to Paris, enter upon the consideration of the
foUowing questions : —
1. Did the 52nd, as I have asserted in my account of what
that regiment achieved at Waterloo, move down at least 300
yards from its position in the right wing of the AUied army, and
defeat, single-handed, by an attack on their left flank, the two
heavy columns of the Imperial Guard, apparently consisting of
about 10,000 men ?
2. Did the 1st Guards on that occasion, or on any other on that
day, do anything beyond receiving and defeating various charges
made by the French cavalry, and driving off, by an advance of
thefr left battaUon in line, the mass of skfrmishers of the French
Guard, and perhaps of Donzelot's division, who were flring into
them? I must endeavour to bring forward the various proofs I have
of the correctness of my assertion relative to the defeat of the
Imperial Guard by the 52nd alone, in the best order I can.
Every officer of the regiment who served at Waterloo has
never had the least doubt of the correctness of the statement that

80 DEFEAT OF THE FEENCH IMPEEIAL GUAED
the 52nd, and the 52nd alone, moved down upon the left flank of
the Imperial Guard and defeated it, and. when the Duke of
Wellington's despatch reached us on our march to Paris, all
considered themselves as most unjustly treated because Colborne's
daring feat was not even alluded to.
Shortly after the 52nd reached Paris and were encamped in
the Champs Elys&s, Sir John Colborne gave us the foUowing
account of what Sir John Byng had said, on meeting him a day
or two before. He said, " How do your feUows Uke our getting
" the credit of doing what you did at Waterloo ? I coiUd not
" advance when you did, because all our ammunition was gone.''
Some Uttle time afterwards, when Sir John Colborne met Byng,
and tried to lead him to speak on the subject again, he found
him quite disinclined to do so. Many years afterwards, I think
it was in 1850, when I was dining with Lord Seaton in town,
one of his sons requested me to try and draw his father out to talk
about Waterloo, saying that he often told them about his other
battles, but they could not get him to speak much about that.
I took an opportunity of asking him if he recollected much about
Waterloo, and I suppose I particularized the charge of the 52nd
on the Imperial Guard, for I remember he said, " Did you ever
" hear what Sir John Byng said to me at Paris ?" I replied that I
had a very distinct recollection of it ; but that I should be very
much obliged if he would repeat to me what Sir John Byng had
said, in order that I might see, if my recollection of it exactly
tallied with his. Lord Seaton then gave me the account of what
passed on the two occasions of his meeting Byng, just as I have
related it above, and exactly as I remembered to have heard it
from him flve and thirty years before in the camp at Paris.
An old officer of the 52nd, who has now been dead for many
years, wrote as follows in 1853, in reference to the advance of the
52nd on the the French Guard and to the subsequent unjust
treatment the regiment received, in that the credit of, and the
reward for, their splendid charge was given to the 1st regiment
of the British Guards, who really had nothing at all to do with it: —
" The wheeling of a battalion in line, though under such cir-
" cumstances the only practicable mode of changing front, was
" altogether unprecedented, just one of those promptings of inspi-

BT THE 52nd ALONE. 8]
" ration that mark the mind of a great general. Executed amid
" a continued roar of artiUery that rendered words of command
" inaudible, trusting chiefly to the further companies that they
" would be guided by the touch to their inward flank, it could
" hardly have been ventured at all, but for the previous precaution
" of the commanding officer, who, when the order was given by the
" Duke, that all the Regiments in the centre should form four deep,
" rather than loosen his flies by that formation, had prepared to
" double his Une by placing one wing closed up in rear of the
" other; another instance, to show how the knowledge of details,
" and constant attention to them, are essential in order to enable
" an officer to apply his men to the best purpose.
" Owing to the skill with which the movement was made,
" the very acm6 of time being seized, never perhaps was more
" signal service done by a body of troops so disproportionate in
" number to the force attacked ; that force being composed of the
" Uite of the enemy's army, the most veteran troops in Europe.
" A line on the flank of a column exhibits in the highest degree
" the triumphs of skiU over number. The column has only the
" alternative of flight or destruction.
" This adventurous movement was undertaken upon his sole
" responsibUity, by the commanding officer of a single battalion,
" and, from the flrst onset of the 52nd, that regiment and the
" 71st proceeded to the close of the day without receiving orders
" from any general officer, whether of brigade or division*,
" The successful charge and immediate pursuit of the broken
" columns carried Adam's brigade far ahead of the other troops,
•• constituting them, as it were, an advanced guard to the main
" body of the British army.
" We must not omit the admirable steadiness and intelligence
" of the men, mostly veterans of the Peninsula, enabling the com-
" manding officer in the first place to rely on them for taking up,
"amid a deafening fire, such a movement as a wheel in line,
" which every military man knows would in general be an awk-
" ward business for the first time on a quiet parade-ground, and
* The movement of the 71st in support of the advance of the 52nd is
described in Sir Thomas ReyneU's letter, which wUl be found towards the close
of the last chapter. G

82 DEFEAT OF THE FEENCH IMPEEIAL GUAED
" next exhibited in the cool way in which they treated the irriip-
" tion of cavalry on them, causing the officers to remark, that
" with such seU possession, they need never be under any appre-
" hension from a charge.
" The Duke in his account of the battle entered but little
" into particulars. Of the period here referred to he says, ' These
" ' attacks were repeated tUl about seven in the evening, when the
" ' enemy made a desperate charge with cavalry and infantry, sup-
" ' ported by the fire of artillery, to force our left centre near the
" ' farm of La Haye Sainte, which, after a severe contest, was
" ' defeated.' It is to be recoUected that the despatch was written
" during the night succeeding the day of the battle in the house
" in which some of his staff were lying wounded and dying, and
" that it comprised also the action of Quatre Bras.
" These circumstances may account for its being somewhat
" brief, but certainly when the Gazette came out, a good deal of
" disappointment was felt that more detaU had not been given. It
" was not only those who were engaged in that particular part of
" the flght we have been describing who were impressed with the
" importance of the service rendered in that conjuncture, but, two
" days after the battle, it so happened that sufficient means were
" afforded of leaming something of the general sense of the army
" on the subject. Two officers from every regiment of cavalry and
" infantry were ordered back to Brussels to look after any missing
" soldiers, and among these, on their meeting there in the public
" rooms, discussing the events so fresh in their minds, it was the
" common consent that the charge of the 52nd was not only the
" decisive action of the day, but that itwas one of the most gaUant
" feats ever performed. And it may be said that a feeling stronger
" than disappointment arose, when it appeared that the defeat of
" Napoleon's last great effort was attributed to the Guards. The
" error was thus occasioned : — The battle commenced by the attack
" on Hougomont, which was occupied by a detachment of Byng's
" brigade of Guards, who held it during the day, had a hard service,
" and performed it well. So the Duke in his despatch said, ' The
" ' Guards set an example which was followed by aU.'
" This therefore was true enough, but Lord Bathurst, at that
" time Secretary for War and the Colonies, having to make a

BY THE 52nd alone. 83
" speech on the occasion in the House of Lords, founded a romance
" upon it, and said that the British Guards had encountered the
" grenadiers of the Imperial Guard and overthrown them. Then
" too was invented the story of ' Up, Guards, and at them,' a
" myth of the same baseless character with the ' Meurt mais ne
" ' se rend pas ' of the French. It was a piece of gossip picked
" up in the camp by Sir Walter Scott on his visit to Paris, flrst
" appearing in his ' Paul's letters to his kinsfolk,' and from
'' thence gravely adopted by Alison as an historical fact.*
"However, these flctions served as an excuse for making the
" 1st Guards grenadiers, and giving the ensigns of aU three regi-
" ments precedence over those of the Line by lieutenant's rank.
" And as most writers of narratives of battles think it is excu-
" sable to cover their ignorance of facts, by the use of inflated
"language and flgurative descriptions of unreaUties, so these
" inventions have become the staple of almost every subsequent
" account of Waterloo, and this trash has been handed on from
" one to the other till, by force of repetition, there is risk that at a
" future day, when none remain to contradict, it may be recog-
" nized as authentic ; while the knowledge of such a piece of
" generalship as the charge of the 52nd, so fuU of interest and
" instruction to military men, is in danger of being altogether
"lost." The writer of the above says, in a letter I received from him
in June, 1853. "The Duke of Eichmond,-f- 1 mean the present
" one, was with the Duke very near the Guards, and he says that
"until the 52nd began their movement the Duke was very
" anxious ; that his anxiety was to be seen in his countenance,
* An instance of the common proneness to fiction respecting the events of
great battles is to be observed in the repeated French assertions, that the British
at Waterloo fought behind entrenchments. It had been proposed to the Duke,
when he looked over the ground a month before, to throw up some redoubts, but
he refused, saying, " No, no, that would tell them where we mean to fight." The
choice was decided rather by the junction of the great roads to Brussels, than
by any great advantage of the ground : so that Picton, half an hour before the
action began, said, " I have just ridden along the whole length of the Une, and
I never sawa worse position."
+ The Duke of Richmond was a captain in the 52nd at that time, but served
on the staff of the Prince of Orange at Waterloo. After the Prince was
wounded he attached himself it appears to the Duke of WelliDgton.
G 2

84 DEFEAT OF THE FEENCH IMPEEIAL GUAED
" and that he never saw such evident relief of mind as when the
"52nd appeared moving across the ground so strong and
" steady." I have mentioned before that aU the officers of the 52nd who
served at Waterloo were fuUy convinced that a very great in
justice had been done to the regiment by the attempt to give to
the British Guards the credit of having repulsed the attack of
the French Imperial Guard, or, as Captain Siborne has ventured
to state, of having repulsed the leading column of the Imperial
Guard. In 1833 my friend and relative Colonel Gawler, then a major
in the 52nd, published his admirably written work, "The Crisis of
"Waterloo," and the wonder is how, with the few materials he had
at command for such a work, he described so accurately, as he
did, the movements of the two brigades of cavalry, and of the three
or four regiments of infantry who were engaged at the crisis.
From being on the extreme right of the 52nd he was not aware
of the great distance (300 yards) of the left of our line from the
British position, when it became paraUel with the leading
column of the French Guard, nor did he see, as we on the left
and left centre of the 52nd Une saw, the skirmishers of the
Imperial Guard forming about a hundred yards in front of the
leading battalion, when they had been driven down from the
British position — no doubt by the 3rd battaUon of the 1st
Guards; he therefore feU into the mistake, which has been
adopted by subsequent writers, of thinking and stating " that
" the headmost companies of the Imperial Guard [those that the
" 52nd attacked] crowned the very summit of the position — their
" dead bodies, the next day, bore unanswerable evidence to the
" fact." When he wrote "The Crisis'' he was not aware, that the
columns of the Imperial Guard had been preceded by a mass of
skirmishers, and that the bodies he saw the next mornincr on the
summit of the position, must have been the bodies of some of
these skirmishers. But Colonel Gawler, although supposing that
the head of the columns of the Imperial Guard had reached the
summit of the British position, never for a moment had the idea
that these columns were repulsed by the British Guards, but
solely by the flank attack of the 52nd. His book was oiUy

BY THE 52nd ALONE. 85
written to refute the claim put forward on the part of the Guards,
and he thus expresses himself on the subject : —
" AU the accounts of the battle which have hitherto come
" before the public, including those by the standard writers of the
" day, (and general opinion even in the army has much foUowed
" the same current), assert more or less directly, that the attack
" of the Imperial Guard was repulsed and the French army thrown
" into irretrievable confusion — either by a charge of General Mait-
" land's brigade of Guards — or by an advance of the whole line.
" But, if the leading points in the preceding account be, as they
" are maintained to be, correct, it foUows, that the attack of the
" Imperial Guard was repulsed, and the French army thrown into
" consequent irretrievable confusion by neither of these causes,
" but by a charge of the 52nd covered by the 71st regiment, with-
" out the direct co-operation of any other portion of the AlUed
" army. For as the 52nd charged across the whole front of attack
" from right to left, a simultaneous successful attack from any other
" corps must have crossed the charge of the 52nd, and no such event
" took place. These points are not advanced in a spirit either of
" display or dispute, but simply for the purposes before described.
" If incorrect they are open to refutation ; and no one wiU be more
" gratifled than the writer to see correction or refutation ably and
" thoroughly, if candidly attempted by any, who, having been
" eye-witnesses of these events, may conceive they have sufficient
" grounds for establishing either. If injustice in any shape has
" been done to the corps, to whom the credit of deciding the crisis
" has been hitherto more or less imputed, it is altogether uninten-
" tional. These battalions very hardly earned the honours justly
" due to them, not at the crisis and close, but by a most successful
" defence of their place in the position, during the reiterated
" attacks of the ordinary progress of the battle : they earned them
" weU, and may they long, very long, continue to wear them un-
" tarnished. General Adam's brigade, posted during the early
" part of the day in reserve on the extreme right of the line *
• It wUl be perceived that Colonel Gawler has here omitted to mention the
advance of Adam's brigade over the British position and a quarter ofa mUe down
the slope towards the enemy, and our standing there for nearly three hours,
exposed to a furious cannonade from the artiUery of the centre and of a part of
the left wing of the French army.

86 DEFEAT OF THE FEENCH IMPEEIAL GUAED
" came up to the right centre at an advanced period of the action,
" principaUy to meet the fresh and desperate masses of the enemy
" which pressed on for the crisis ; it was then their opportunity,
" and why should they not also wear the laurels they then as fairly
" gained ? The battalions flrst referred to, possess too many indis-
" putably their own, gathered on this and other flelds, to require
" for the completion of thefr reputation a leaf to which they have
" no just title, while that leaf, torn as it was from the bearskin
" caps of imperial grenadiers at the grand crisis of the fate of
" Waterloo, of Napoleon, and of Europe, should not for ever be
" silently relinquished of those, by whom it was reaUy won.
" Eighteen years* have elapsed without an effort to correct the
" error or to establish the claim, and if the attempt had further
" been deferred to any much later period, the generation of those
" who fought at Waterloo might so far have passed away, as to
" have left the question, without sufficient supporting evidence
¦' on either side, a standing subject of doubtful dispute and of
" historical obscurity."
It wUl have been observed from what has been stated, that
those on the left of the 52nd line, when it was nearly parallel with
the flank of the columns of the Imperial Guard, could see up the
British position 200 yards beyond the ground on which the
French skirmishers formed, when repulsed by the Srd battalion
of the Guards. This ground was entirely clear of anything in
the shape of a defeated column of the Imperial Guard. And
we were not a little astonished when we lound that Siborne had
stated in his "History of Waterloo" thatthe Guards had defeated
the leading column ofthe French Guard. He was fuUy aware, when
compUing his history, of what the 52nd claimed to have done ;
but yet, on weighing all the intricate and contradictory accounts
which he received from officers of different corps, with whom he
corresponded, he sought to reconcile them aU by adopting this
myth about a leading column having been defeated by our Guards.
The history of a great battle, especiaUy if the materials for it
are collected by one who did not see the principal events which
he attempts to describe, must necessarily abound in mistakes.
Captain Siborne took immense pains in collecting information,
* Colonel Gawler published " The Crisis of Waterloo " in 1833.

BY THE 52nd ALONE. 87
both when he flrst determined to construct his beautiful model
of the Field of Waterloo, and afterwards when he was about to
write the history of the battle, nearly thirty years after it was
fought. Of course after the lapse of so many years, the greater
portion of those he consulted could not be expected to recollect
much that they had witnessed with any great degree of accuracy,
or to be able always to distinguish between what they themselves
had witnessed and what they had heard from others or had read
of in accounts of the action.
In the preface to his history, dated March, 1844, he says :—
" Anxious to ensure the rigorous accuracy of my work, (the
" model,) I ventured to apply for information to nearly aU the
" surviving eye-witnesses of the incidents which my model was
" intended to represent. In every quarter, and amongst officers of
" all ranks, from the general to the subaltern, my appUcations
" were responded to in a most generous and liberal spirit, and the
" result did indeed surprise me, so greatly at variance was this
" historical evidence with the general notions which had prevailed
" on the subject. Thus was suggested the present work. I was
" induced by the success of this experiment, to embrace a wider
" fleld, and to extend my inquiries over the entire battle, and
" ultimately throughout the campaign itself, from its commence-
" ment to its close.
" Having become the depositary of such valuable materials, I
"felt a duty to the honourable profession of which I am a
" humble member, to submit to it and to the world a true and
"faithful account of this memorable epoch in the history oi'
" Britain's mUitary greatness.
" Though not so presumptuous as to imagine that I have fuUy
" suppUed so absolute a desideratum, yet I consider myself fortu-
" nate in being the instrument of withdrawing so far the veU from
" truth. One of my Waterloo correspondents has humourously
" remarked that ' if ever truth lies at the bottom of a weU, she
" ' does so immediately after a great battle, and it takes an
" ' amazingly long time before she can be lugged out.' The time
" for her emerging appears to have at length arrived, but, whUe
" I feel that I have brought to light much that was involved in
" obscurity, I cannot but be sensible that I may have faUen into

88 DEFEAT OF THE FEENCH IMPEEIAL GUAED
" errors. Should such be the case, I shaU be most ready, here-
" after, to make any corrections that may appear requisite, on
" my being favoured, by eye-witnesses, with further well authenti-
" cated information."
I flnd the following note written by me some years ago on
the pages of my copy of Captain Siborne's work which contain
the preface from which the above is extracted: — "Captain
" Siborne appears to have consulted more than one officer, and in
" some cases, several officers of the same regiment. Thefr accounts
" would of course vary as to the exact time and as to circumstances.
" In the case of the 52nd, and I think in the case of the Srd
" battalion of the 1st Guards, he mentions things somewhat simUar
" to each other, as having taken place on separate occasions, when
" in fact they only occurred once." It may be weU to remark here
that in nothing have I found so much difference as in the ideas
which people have formed respecting the time occupied by the
several events, which occurred in connexion with the proceedings
of the 52nd at Waterloo. Even under the long and severe
cannonade we experienced, time passed much more quickly than
it appeared to do. One inteUigent 52nd officer, who, some years
ago, was arguing with me about the time occupied by a certain
movement or event — I forget now what it was — very soon gave
way, saying, "I must not argue with you about the time it occu-
" pied, for I confess the whole of the Battle of Waterloo appeared
" to me only to last two hours.''
The foUowing are instances in which Captain Siborne has
been led, in the arrangement of the immense amount of conflicting
information supplied to him, to mention the same event as having
happened at two or three different times. At page 116 of the second
volume of the second edition of his work, in speaking of events
which took place some considerable time before the advance of
the Imperial Guard, he gives the following description of an event
which resembles in some of its principal features, what did after
wards reaUy take place as regards the 3rd battaUon of the
Guards,* with the exception that the skirmishers are not repre
sented as being Imperial Guardsmen, but as having come from
the hoUow near La Haye Sainte : —
* See my account at page 44.

BY THE 52nD ALONE. 89
" A mass of tirailleurs now ascended by their left, from the
" hollow westward of La Haye Sainte, and pushed forward with
" great boldness against the advanced square of Maitland's British
" brigade formed by the 3rd battalion of the 1st Foot Guards.
" Their flre, concentrated upon the square, and maintained with
" astonishing rapidity and vigour, was most gaUing to the British
" Guards. Also upon thefr left another portion of their numbers
" poured a destructive flre upon the left square of Adam's brigade,
"formed by the 2nd battaUon of the 95th Eifles. The exposed
" situation of the Srd battaUon of Guards, the flre from which in
" square was necessarUy so vastly disproportioned to that by which
" it was assailed, caught the eye of the Duke of WelUngton, who
" immediately rode up to the battaUon, and ordered it to form Une
"and drive the skfrmishers down the slope. Its commander,
" Lieut.-Colonel D'Oyley, wheeled up the right and left faces of the
" square — the right half of the rear face accompanying the former,
" and the other half the left face — into line with the front face,
" and charged the enemy down the hUl. A body of French cavafry
" was now seen approaching, but the battalion re-formed square
" with great rapidity and regularity. The cavalry refused the
" square, but receiving its flre, and then dashing along the front
"of the 52nd regiment, it exposed itself to another vigorous
" fire by which it was nearly destroyed ; whUst the Srd bat-
" taUon of the Guard retfred, iu perfect order, to its original
" position." As regards the 52nd, aU that is said in the above paragraph
is mere moonshine ; the 52nd never fired on the enemy's cavafr}-
at the time referred to ; indeed they never flred, whilst in line,
on any cavafry excepting on a mixed body of EngUsh and French,
immediately after passing the kUled and wounded of the Imperial
. Guard, and both on that occasion and when in square they were
charged by the French cuirassiers, they were some hundreds of
yards from the Srd battaUon of the 1st Guards.
It must be remembered that the 2nd battaUon of the 1st
Guards, which was the right battalion of Maitland's brigade, was
stationary and not flring at the time of the attack of the Imperial
Guard. This was Lord HUl's statement, who was ou the right
of the brigade, and from the position saw the advance of the

90 DEFEAT OF THE FEENCH IMPEEIAL GUAED
Imperial Guard and also the right-shoulder-forward move
ment and charge of the 52nd. The 3rd battalion of the 1st
Guards only claimed to have advanced against the enemy once,
and that was against what they caUed a column of the Imperial
Guard, and that advance took place as I have before described
it. Not only the Imperial Guard skirmishers, whom we saw
form in front of their leading column, were driven in by this
advance, but also the skirmishers and their supports said to have
been sent forward from Donzelot's division to attack the right
of Alten's division ; this might account for their being caUed a
column, and some of the skirmishers being Imperial Guardsmen
may have led to its being caUed the leading column of the Imperial
Guard ; but as I have stated, and as wUl be shewn stUl more
clearly hereafter, no column of the French Guard preceded those
with which we came in contact.
At pages 168 — 171 of the second volume of Siborne's history,
we have his account of the attack of the French Imperial Guard
on the British Guards, and it wiU be seen from the foUowing
extracts, how it coincides, in various particulars, (such as the
Duke riding up, the square forming line on its front face, the
driving the enemy down the slope, the alarm of cavalry, and the
retiring to the position,) with the advance of the Srd battaUon of
the 1st Guards related above as having taken place a consider
able time before : —
" Pressing boldly forward, they had arrived within flfty paces
" of the spot on which the British Guards were lying down, when
" WeUington gave the talismanic caU, 'Up, Guards, make ready!'*
" and ordered Maitland to attack."
" The British Guards had continued their charge some dis-
" tance down the slope of the hiU, when Maitland perceived the
" second attacking column of the Imperial Guard advancing on
" his right, and exposing his brigadef to the imminent risk of being
* Neither this, nor the more current expression of " Up, Guards, and at
" them ! " was ever used by the Duke of Wellington. He merely told the
commanding officer of the 2nd battaUon of the Guards to " form in line on the
" front face of the square and drive those feUows in."
t Who would gather from this description the fact, that the 2nd battaUon of
the 1st Guards never moved from their place on the position all this time, as
there is abundant testimony to prove, besides that of Lord HiU and Sir John

BY THE 52nd alone. 91
" turned on that flank. He accordingly gave the order to face
" about and retire ; but amidst their victorious shouts, and the
" noise of the firing of cannon and other arms, the command was
" imperfectly understood, and the first sense of danger led to a cry
" of ' Form square ' being passed along the line, it being naturally
" assumed that the enemy's cavalry would take advantage of their
" isolated position ; which, however, was not the case. The flanks
" of battalions gave way as if to form square. Saltoun conspicu-
" ously exerted himself in endeavouring to rectify the mistake,
" but in vain ; and the whole went to the rear."
At page 100 of his second volume, Captain Siborne, in
attempting a description of the advance of our brigade over the
British position, four hours before the driving in of the skir
mishers of the Imperial Guard by the Srd battalion of the 1st
Guards, makes statements and brings forward expressions, so
similar, in some respects, to those used in relation to this latter
event, that I cannot but look upon them as reaUy belonging to
that period. They certainly do not at all properly describe what
happened to Adam's brigade on that occasion, for the Duke was
not then near them, nor were any French skirmishers attacked by
them, and therefore the Duke could not order them, as Siborne
states in the following extract, to " drive those feUows away ;"
but aU these things did occur to the Srd battalion of the 1st
Guards, and the very words just mentioned were uttered by the
Duke to Colonel D'Oyley, four hours afterwards, when they
attacked and drove off the Imperial Guard skirmishers. This I
had several years ago from a very inteUigent officer of the Srd
battalion of the Guards, who was present in the action.
The extracts referred to above are as follows : —
"Suddenly the summit in front of Adam's brigade was crowded
" with the French skirmishers, who were almost as quickly con-
" cealed by the smoke from the rattling flre which they opened
" upon the Allied artiUery and the squares. The gunners, whose
" numbers were fearfuUy diminished, were speedily driven back
" from their crippled batteries upon the nearest infantry, upon
" which the concentration of this most gaUing fire threatened the
Byng ? There were only two battaUons in Maitland's brigade of the 1st regi
ment of Guards— the 2nd and Srd battalions.

92 defeat of THE FEENCH IMPEEIAL GUAED
" most serious consequences. But succour was at hand. WeUing-
" ton, in the midst of a shower of bullets, had gaUoped to the front
" of Adam's brigade, ordered it to form line, four deep, and then,
" pointing to the daring skirmishers on the height, called out, with
" perfect coolness and unaffected assurance, ' Drive those fellows
" 'away.' With loud cheers the brigade moved rapidly up the slope,
" eager to obey the Duke's commands.
" The French skirmishers began to give way as the firm and
" intrepid front of the brigade presented itself to their view. Adam
" continued his advance, driving the French infantry before him.''
I have thus endeavoured to point out how Captain Siborne
has mentioned things as having taken place on two or three sepa
rate occasions, when in fact they only occurred once. In the
case of the 3rd battalion of Maitland's brigade of Guards, they
themselves only claim to have advanced and driven the enemy
down the slope on one occasion, and that this advance was not
an advance of the whole brigade, but only of one battalion,
whereas Siborne makes them to have done so twice. And he
has also scattered some leaves of laurel on the 52nd which they
are not entitled to, whilst at the same time he has treated them
most unfairly by attempting to deprive them of that full share
of honour and glory, and of that very large branch of the emble
matic evergreen, which so justly is their due, for having so
steadUy and "gloriously," under thefr noble and gaUant com
mander, moved down upon and defeated, without the direct help
of any other regiment or portion of a regiment, ten thousand of
the best and most veteran troops of Europe, led on by Marshal
Ney, " the bravest of the brave," and others of the most experi
enced officers of the French army, and accompanied by their
artiUery, and having large bodies of cavalry not far from them.
Perhaps this was one of the most dashing exploits ever performed
by a single regiment ;— and I trust the 52nd wiU no longer be
deprived of the laurels they so nobly and fafrly won on the
blood-stained field of Waterloo. It must be remembered also
that the defeat of the two columns of the Imperial Guard by
the 52nd led immediately to the flight of the whole French army.
The Prussians till then had been completely held at bay by the
French at Planchenoit.

BY THE 5 2nd ALONE. 93
Some time after the completion of the model of Waterloo,
and when it was about to be removed from London for exhibi
tion in the large towns of England and Scotland, I went to see it
for the flrst time, and met Captain Siborne there. I had given him
information, in consequence of his having applied to me through
Colonel Gawler, as to the crops growing where we stood in square
to the left of Hougomont, and where we stood in line on the
reverse slope of the British position just before we advanced to
the attack of the Imperial Guard, and with regard to some other
matters connected with that attack. I therefore introduced my
self to him, and spoke in terms of admiration of his beautiful
model ; but I told him that we of the 52nd were dissatisfied with
the forward position he had given to Maitland's brigade of
Guards, and to his representing a first French column as having
been routed by them, and as flying in disorder towards and near
to the Charleroi road, as we knew hoth these things to be incorrect.
He merely shrugged his shoulders as much to say he could not now
help it, and that there was no use now in discussing the matter.
There was a serjeant there who was helping to exhibit the model:
he had been in the 1st Guards at Waterloo ; on my asking how
far they had gone down the slope, from the British position, in
pursiut of the French, he said " a few yards only, and that then
" they retired again."
It seems somewhat astonishing that when Captain Siborne
must have known that only the 3rd battalion of the 1st Guards
made the forward movement, and that the 2nd battahon of that
regiment was stationary at the time, he should have ventured to
place the latter on his model in a forward position, and on a Une
with the Srd battalion within 100 yards of the French Guard, at
the moment that he represents the 52nd as being at exactly the
same distance from the flank of the same Imperial column.
When the 52nd was within that distance of the column of the
Imperial Guard, the French skirmishers had just been driven in,
the Srd battalion of the Guards, on the cry of " cavalry,'' had
retired over the British position and some considerable distance
down the reverse slope to the point at which Vivian'shussar brigade
had arrived, for they were seen by that brigade retiring in some dis
order. They would have arrived at a point at some distance below

94 DEFEAT OF THE FEENCH IMPEEIAL GUAED
the British position on its reverse slope, at the very time that the
French skirmishers were seen by the 52nd to run in and form
100 yards in front of the leading column of the Imperial Guard,
and 200 yards from the British position ; these 300 yards being
seen by us to be clear of aU troops excepting these two or three
companies of the Imperial Guard, containing perhaps three
hundred men who had been skirmishing and flring into the square
of the 3rd battaUon of the Guards, and had then been driven off
by them. If there had been a first column of the Imperial Guards
defeated and driven down the slope, as Siborne represents the
case, how is it that the skirmishers, we saw, ran down to the long
columns the 52nd attacked, and formed up in such a soldier-like
and steady way a little a-head of that mass of troops ? besides
which. We must have seen such a defeated column, if there had
been one at the time and on the ground indicated by Siborne
both on his model and in his history of Waterloo.
In the "Life'' ofthe late Lieut.-General Sir WUliam Napier, the
historian of the peninsular war, the foUowing paragraph appears
in one of his letters : —
" Depend upon it, Waterloo has a long story of treachery and
" secret poUtics attached to it, which wiU not be made known in
" our days, if ever.''
I have frequently wondered if Sir WiUiam Napier wrote this
in connexion with the wrong, which he knew very weU had been
perpetrated on the 52nd, in what has somewhat the appearance
of a systematic plan to deprive that regiment of the honour of
having done, what the world never saw before, in having
made single-handed the most glorious advance against, and the
most successful defeat of, ten times thefr own number, of the
best disciplined troops of any age or country, barring always our
own gallant army.
I shaU here introduce what I had intended to place in the
appendix — a letter, taken from Sir WUliam Napier's "Life," on
the regimental traimng of our young officers, written some time in
1853, in which he speaks of the defeat of the French Imperial
Guard by the 52nd, under Lord Seaton, in connexion with Sir
John Moore's system of training : —

BY THE 52nd ALONE. 95
" To the Editor of ' The Naval and Military Gazette.'
"Sir, — Introducing the letter of 'Veritas,' you say, the late Duke
" of Wellington opposed, ' as contrary to our national feelings'
" the having officers taught practically the whole routine of regi-
" mental discipline, from the first position of the drUl-squad to
" marching in the ranks and mounting guard with the privates,
" which you nevertheless think would be useful.
" Did the Duke reaUy object ? He must have known that
" at Shomcliffe Sir John Moore introduced, and rigidly enforced
" that very system, and thus formed the British regiments of the
" Ught division, who were perhaps, or rather certainly, the best
" instructed, the most efficient miUtary body in the field that
" modern times has produced — not excepting Na'poleon's Guard,
" as Lord Seaton well proved with the 52nd regiment at Water-
" loo. The officers of those regiments, the 43rd, 52nd, and 95th
" Eifles, were never averse to, or mortifled at, being made to
" acquire, amidst the private soldiers, a complete knowledge of
" what as officers they were to exact from, and superintend with,
" those privates. Never did the system lead to disrespect or un-
" due famiUarity on the part of the soldiers ; on the contrary, it
" produced the natural effect of knowledge, combined with power,
" wUUng and entire obedience from the soldiers, whUe the officers
" were proud of their acquirements, knew their men, and were
" known to them ; knew when to exact and when to relax, and
"were in every sense commanders. This knowledge carried
"them through many a hard struggle, when ignorance would
" have gone to the wall.
"Much, very much, now forgotten and unknown, did Sir
" John Moore do for the British army, and I may perhaps here-
" after recall some of it to pubUc recoUection. At present I halt
" at this point."
Whilst reading Sir WUliam Napier's "Life," I made also the
foUowing extract, as it bears upon my present object : —
" What would become of mankind if the arena where must
" be fought out the great battle of right against wrong should be
" deserted by the champions of the good cause ? "
In accordance with this sentiment I have felt it to be my

96 DEFEAT OF THE FEKXCH IMPEEIAL GUAED
duty to endeavour to set forth in its right and true light the
great event which took place at the crisis of the battle of Water
loo — the defeat of the French Imperial Guard. I believe there
is no one now remaining of the 52nd officers, but myself, who has
both the recoUections and the materials necessary for bringing
before the public the " wrong " which was perpetrated against
that regiment immediately after Waterloo, and which has con
tinued to be perpetrated, though not to the same extent, ever
since. I think I have observed before, that the officers of the 52nd
always felt, with great indignation, the wrong which had been
inflicted on the regiment.
Lord Seaton was very decided in his statements on the sub
ject, though he always spoke about the charge of the 52nd with
his usual modesty.
The late Lieut.-Colonel John Bentham, who served in the 52nd
for many years, and afterwards did himself so much credit, and
rendered good service to his country, when in command of the 3rd
regiment of Lancashire mUitia, and also by his unwearied efforts to
introduce the use of the Minie rifle into the British army, took a
most enthusiastic interest in the 52nd, and especiaUy in its glori
ous advance on the French Imperial Guard at Waterloo. In a
letter on this subject, written to me in 1853, he shews his strong
feeling about it, when he says, " I hope to Uve to see this matter
" made transparent." He entered into correspondence with many
of the old officers of the regiment, and especiaUy with Lord
Seaton and Mr. Yonge, the latter a very intelUgent officer who
served in the 52nd, in the Peninsula and at Waterloo, and who
also exerted himself for the introduction of the Minie rifle. The
foUowing testimonial was sent to Mrs. Bentham, sometime after
the death of Colonel Bentham, by Lord Seaton:— "At the
" request of Mrs. Bentham I have great satisfaction in stating
" that the late Colonel Bentham served under my command in
" the 52nd regiment ; that he was one of the most active and
" efficient officers in that distinguished corps ; and that by his
"exertions and perseverance, for ten years, he accelerated the
" adoption of the Enfleld rifle — having visited Vincennes fre-
" quently, and established by his inspections of the rifle-practice

BY THE 52nd ALONE. 97
" at that military station, the superiority and precision of the
" Minie Eifle.
" I am persuaded that the attention of the authorities at the
" Horse Guards was flrst attracted to this subject, in consequence
" of his strong representations, and of his having, in conjunction
" Avith the late Mr. Yonge, of the 52nd, published the report of
" Colonel Sir Frederic Smith of the trial of the old musket at
" Chatham, proving its defects. " Seaton, Field-Marshal.
"London, May 16, 1860."
As some acknowledgment of the service thus rendered by
Colonel Bentham to the army in the above matter, the Govern
ment have given his son an appointment in the War Office.
The foUowing are extracts from a letter written to me by
Bentham, in November, 1853 : —
" I read with very great interest and satisfaction your remi-
" niscences of Waterloo, forwarded to me by Yonge, and coneider-
"ing the intense excitement and bustle at the period chiefly
" dwelt on, it is marvellous how closely all the statements of
" 52nd men agree thereon.''
" It can hardly be conceived that the Duke, who witnessed
" the glorious swoop, and would not give the men time to inflate
" their lungs, but urged ' Colborne to go on,' could not only com-
" pletely ignore this astounding flight, but aUow others to have
" the credit of it, by strong marks of distinction.''
" I can fuUy bear you out as to Gurwood's declaration about
" the Guards. He was always very strong on this point. I met
"Gurwood in London, about 1828; he was then staying at
" Apsley House, and I asked him why he never drew the Duke
" out about the catastrophe at Waterloo. He said that he had
" repeatedly made the attempt, but that it was a subject which
"always excited great impatience. On the last attempt the
" Duke said, ' Oh, I know nothing of the services of particular
" ' regiments ; there was glory enough for us all.' But had he
" written his annals true. Baron MufiUng would not, as he has
" done recently, have charged him with ' policy ' in advancing
" his weak battalions to prevent the Prussians coming in for the
H

98 defeat of the feench IMPEELAL GUAED
" victory. Baron Muffling and the world would have known that
" the genius and daring of Colborne gave the panic and death-
" blow, before the French began to yield to the Prussians. Let
" us yet have the whole truth."
In a letter I received from Colonel Bentham, dated May 16,
1854, he gives the account of an interview he had with Lieut.
Sharpin, of Captain Bolton's brigade of artillery, attached to our
division; it was stationed just to the left of the 52nd, and
not far from the right of the 2nd battaUon of the 1st Guards. It
must be borne in mind that Captain Siborne, in his history of
the Battle of Waterloo, has stated, on what the 52nd knew to be
incorrect information, that a first column of the Imperial Guard
was repulsed by Maitland's brigade of Guards, and that I main
tain no such column, (but only the skirmishers of the Imperial
Guard) reached within three hundred yards of the British Guards,
and that these skirmishers were driven off the British position,
not by an advance of the whole of Maitland's brigade, but by the
advance of the Srd battaUon of the 1st Guards, whUst the 2nd
battaUon remained stationary. Captain Siborne has ventured to
dress up his account of the supposed column (" which, as far as I
can gather," writes Colonel Bentham, " was a column in buck-
" ram,") with several details, which belong to the advance of the
two long columns of about 10,000 men, which the 52nd encoun
tered and defeated. It must be bome in mind also that these
two columns of the Imperial Guard were apparently of equal
length, and were so close to each other that, although we could,
in the left centre of the 52nd, see that there was an interval be
tween them, we could not see through it. I should say that the
interval did not exceed twenty paces.
Before I give the account of Colonel Bentham's interview
with Lieutenant Sharpin, I must give the foUowing extract from
Siborne's history, in that part in which he is giving his account
of what he calls a. first column of the Imperial Guard : —
" WelUngton rode up to the British foot battery, posted on
" the immediate right of Maitland's brigade of Guards, with its
" own right thrown somewhat forward, and addressing himself to
" an artillery officer, (Lieutenant Sharpin) hastUy asked who
" commanded it. The latter repUed that, Captain Bolton having

BY THE 52nd alone. 99
"just been killed, it was now under the command of Captain
" Napier. The 'Duke then said, ' Tell him to keep a look out to
" ' his left, for the French wUl soon be with him.' The message
" had scarcely been communicated, when the bear-skin caps of
"the leading divisions of the column of the Imperial Guard
" appeared just above the summit of the hUl. The cannonade,
" hitherto directed upon this point from the distant French bat-
" teries, now ceased, but a swarm of skirmishers opened a sharp
" and teasing flre among the British gunners. In the next
" moment, however, they were scattered and driven back upon
" the main body by a sudden shower of canister, grape, and
" schrapnel shells, poured forth from Napier's guns, which now
" kept up a terriflc flre upon the column, within a distance of
" forty or flfty yards. Nevertheless the French Guards continued
" to advance. They had now topped the summit. To the
" astonishment of the officers who were at their head, there ap-
" peared, in their immediate front, no direct impediment to their
" further advance. They could only distinguish dimly through
" the smoke extending from Napier's battery, the cocked hats of
" a few mounted officers, little imagining, probably, that the most
"prominent of these was the great Duke himseU. Pressing
" boldly forward, they had arrived within flfty paces of the spot
" on which the British Guards were lying down, when WeUington
" gave the talismanic caU, 'Up, Guards, make ready,' and ordered
" Maitland to attack, &c., &c."
In contradiction of the above statement of Captain Siborne's,
relating that Napier's battery flred into a column of the Imperial
Guard which the British Guards had defeated, Colonel Bentham
says, in his above-mentioned letter to me : —
" Since I wrote to you I ferretted out a Lieutenant Sharpin,
" of the artillery, who was attached to the battery in the angle
" made by the Guards and 52nd. He teUs me that, until he saw
" the statement in Siborne, he never saw or heard of two attempts
" on our centre by the Imperial Guard ; and subsequently in a
•' detailed description, he says that Siborne was wrong in making
" his battery flre on any column but the one taken in flank by
" the infantry on the right. He is an exceUent witness on our
" side." H 2

100 DEFEAT OF THE FEENCH IMPEEIAL GUAED
I now introduce in extenso a letter written by the late Field-
Marshal Lord Seaton, (formerly Sir John Colborne) to the late
Colonel Bentham, on the subject of the defeat of the Imperial
Guard of France solely by the flank attack of the 52nd on their
columns. I prefer giving it in fuU, although I think there are
one or two sUght mistakes in it, which I can rectify in a note. I
copy from the letter in Lord Seaton's own hand-writing : —
Deer Park, Honiton, October 15, 185S.
" My deae Bentham,
" I forwarded to Lord Hardinge your letter addressed to
" him, and your suggestions relative to the extension of the system
" of education at Sandhurst. I do not, however, think that the
" authorities will encourage the establishment of an 'Ecole de Tir '
" at that college on the scale proposed by you.
" With reference to your letter of the 7th, it may be more
" satisfactory to you, instead of replying to your queries, to draw
"your attention to the principal movements which accelerated
" the termination of the battle of Waterloo, and to the facts which
" would have been admitted as evidence in support of the claims
" of the 52nd, to the merit of having first checked the advance of
" the Imperial Guard at the crisis of the battle, and of having
" completed their diroute, by marching directly on their dense
" columns, and by a fiank movement charging them so vigorously,
" that the whole gave way and retired in confusion. The state-
" ments of officers, engaged at Waterloo, I found were generaUy
" so different and conflicting, that it was impossible to draw up
" any correct account of them. Captain Siborne, I believe, con-
" suited every officer in command with whom he was acquainted,
" or to whom he was introduced, and endeavoured to make their
"versions correspond with the facts generaUy known relative to
"the movements of regiments, brigades, and divisions. I have
" never read his account. If you bring the 52nd into a contest
"with the Guards by attempting to prove from rumours that the
" latter were retiring at the time they are said to have charged
" and defeated the French troops, you will raise up a host of op-
" ponents to your account, which would rather injure the cause
" of the 52nd. I suppose the Guards must have made s ome for-

> BY THE 52nd ALONE. 101
" ward movement, and that many officers must have seen it, but
" I contend that the French column had been checked and
" thrown into disorder before the Guards moved. I saw the
" column of the Imperial Guard steadUy advancing to a certain
" point, and I observed them halt, which was precisely as the
" skirmishers of the 52nd opened flre on their flank. My atten-
" tion was so completely drawn to our position and dangerous
" advance — a large mass of cavalry having been seen on our
" right, exposed as it was, that I could see no movement what-
" ever on the part of the Guards, and indeed, as we advanced, I
" believe, we were too much under the position to have been able
" to have them in sight. Sir John Byng's brigade * remained in
" line without firing or making any movement, while we passed
" along its front, our line forming a right angle with that brigade,
" and being about two hundred yards nearer to the French. Sir
" John Byng told me afterwards at Paris, that he had his whole
" attention drawn to our movement, and that his brigade had no
" ammunition left. He gave us, at that time, full credit for our
" advance. Till the Duke of Wellington's dispatch was made
"known at Paris, we had never heard of the charge of the
" Guards ; and I am inclined to believe that the attack of the
" French had been checked by the advance of the 52nd, and the
" movements afterwards of the whole of Sir H. Clinton's division,-f
" before any forward movement had been made by the brigade
"commanded by Sir P. Maitland. This account corresponds
" with that given to me by Lord HUl, who was close to the
• It was Sir Peregrine Maitland's brigade, composed of the 2nd and Srd
battalions of the Ist Guards. Sir John Byng commanded the other brigade of
Guards composed of the 2nd battaUon of the Coldstream, and of the 2nd battalion
of the Srd Guards. This brigade was principaUy engaged in the defence of
Hougomont. Major-General Cooke commanded the whole division, and on his
being wounded, Byng sucoeeded to his command, and thus was with Maitland's
brigade towards the close of the action. The whole of this brigade was not in
line (possibly the right battalion was) when it was attacked and fired into by the
skirmishers of the Imperial Guard ; the Srd battaUon was at first 'vn square, and
was ordered by the Duke to " form line on its front face, and drive those feUows
" in," which it immediately did, and the 2nd battaUon remained stationary.
+ Besides Adam's brigade, the Osnabruck battaUon, under Colonel Hugh
Halkett, was the only infantry regiment which advanced at that period of the
close of the action. Vivian's hussar brigade appears to have come up with
them somewhere between La Belle Alliance and Hougomont.

102 DEFEAT OF THE FEENCH IMPEEIAL GUAED
" Guards and ' saw us moving across the plain.' When we
" followed the French towards La Belle Alliance, no troops from
" the part of the position occupied by the Guards were near us,
" and we passed eighty guns and carriages, a short time after the
" French had retired, which they had left on the road between
" La Haye Sainte and La Belle Alliance.
" I have written this, as cfrcumstances have occurred to me
" to remind me of the part we performed, without method — but
" with these remarks and the facts mentioned in the inclosure,
" you may be able to judge correctly of the claims of the 52nd.
" Yours very faithfuUy, " Seaton."
The foUowing passages, bearing upon the defeat of the French
Imperial Guard by the single-handed attack of the 52nd, are
extracted from some remarks on Waterloo by Lord Seaton ; —
" The crisis may be called the period when the French columns,
"advancing with the intention of penetrating our centre,. were
" checked and compeUed to halt by the flank movement and flre
" of the 52nd. This was the very flrst appearance of a change in
" our favour. The attackers were attacked and checked in their
" assault, and driven from the ground they had gained before
"they could deploy. The whole of the Imperial Guard
" advanced at the same time, and their flank was flrst attacked
" by the 52nd, before any forward movement was made to check
" them in front. The Prussians could not have attracted
" the attention ofthe French, so as to cause the throwing back of
" their right wing, until after the Imperial Guard had commenced
" their attack on our centre. No regiment except the 52nd
" fired on the flank of the Imperial Guard."
The late Mr. Wm. Crawley Yonge, of the 52nd, in a letter to
Colonel Bentham written in November, 1853, says: — "He (Lord
" Seaton) was saying here last week that after his conversation with
" the French cuirassier officer, he kept watching the heavy column
" advancing, saw it directed against a very weak part of the line,
" saw no attempt at preparation to meet it, and therefore, (making
' light of his own exercise of judgment and decision,) he said,
" there was nothing else to do, having such a strong battalion in

BY THE 52nd alone. 103
" hand, but to endeavour to stop them by a flank attack' for it
" seemed quite evident that, if something of that sort was not
" done, our line would unquestionably be penetrated. With a
" man looking on in this inteUigent way, and acting on what he
" saw, how is it possible that all this fanfaronade, of Guards
" charging the head of this column, can have the smallest found-
"ation in truth?"
The same officer writes : — " It is the dearest wish of my heart
" to see that affair put to rights in the eyes of the world. As to
" Lord Seaton, I think there never was a man so Ul-used as he
"was — only fancy how many men were there at any time,
" who would have done what he did, being only the commanding
" officer of his own regiment, without orders or sanction from any
" superior officer, his own general of brigade yet on the fleld, to
" take upon himself such responsibility ; first, in acting without
" orders, and secondly, daring to expose his flank to the enemy
" as he did ? How few would have seen and caught the right
" moment ; and was there another man in the army who would
" have ventured on it, if he had seen it ? As for the regiment, if
" they had their rights, they ought to have more credit for their
" exemplary steadiness under heavy flre for a good while previous
" to the charge, than for the charge and pursuit itself. It was
" capitally done, and few regiments could have borne to be so
" handled without getting into confusion, but it was easy work
" compared with the other."
On another occasion he speaks of Lord Seaton's characteristic
humUity and modesty in the foUowing terms : — " Meeting him
" in London a little while ago at the house of a lady, a mutual
" friend, she, hearing us talk OA^er some of the occurrences of the
" war, remarked, ' How proud you gentlemen may feel at the
" ' recoUection that you had a share in those great events ; ' on
" which he replied very gently, ' Proud ! No, rather humbled, I
" ' think.' How characteristic this is, is it not ? It puts me in
" mind of two lines in 'The Christian Year' on St. Philip and St
" James's day. The stanza ends —
" ' Thankful for all God takes away,
" ' Humbled hy aU He gives. ' "
In "The United Service Journal" for 1833, Colonel Gawler

104 DEFEAT OF THE FEENCH IMPEEIAL GUAED.
published a letter from Colonel Brotherton, from which the fol
lowing is an extract : —
" Some years ago, not long after the Battle of Waterloo, in
" conversation with a French officer of the staff, who had accom-
" panied the column led by Marshal Ney at the close of the day,
" we were describing the relative merits of our different modes of
" attack. I observed to him that to us it seemed surprising and
"unaccountable that our gaUant opponents should obstinately
" persist in a practice, which experience must have taught them
" to be so unavailing and destructive to themselves, viz., their
" constant attacks in column against our infantry in Une. I
" cited as a last and conclusive instance, the faUure of the attack
" at the close of the day at Waterloo, where a column composed
" of such distinguished veterans, and led by such a man as Ney,
" was repulsed and upset by some comparatively young soldiers
•' of our Guards, (for of such I understood the brigade in ques-
" tion to be composed,) adverting also to the singular coincidence
" of the Imperial Guard encountering our British Guards at such
" a crisis. Upon which he observed, without seeming in the
" least to detract from the merit of the troops which the column
" had to encounter in its front, who, he said, showed ' tr^s bonne
" ' contenance,' * that I was wrong in adducing this instance in
" support of my argument, or in supposing the attack was solely
" repulsed by the troops opposed to it in front ; ' for,' added he,
" ' nous fumes principalement repousses par une attaque de flanc,
" ' trhs vive, qui nous eceasa.' f
" As far as I can recollect, these were his very words. I retain
" aU the feelings of a Guardsman, in which corps I served several
" years, and should feel as jealous of its honours as if stUl in
" its ranks, &c.
" Cavalry Depot, August 2nd, 1833."
* This expression would fairly apply to the driving in of the skirmishers by
the charge of the 3rd battalion of the 1st Guards.
-ir "'We were chAeJl-y repulsed by a very sharp flank attack, which destkoybd
"us." These last words are the same as those employed by Quinet in
describing the result of the flre of the 52nd, on the same occasion.

105

CHAPTEE VI.
1815.
siboene's, Alison's, and shaw Kennedy's mistakes eefuted.
The Duke's memorandum of 1836 about Waterloo— Much confusion in it— Confi
dence in the truth of history much shaken — Siborne, Alison, the Chaplaia-
General, Gleig,mak e great mistakes — Hooper's account more correct — Amount
of the French Guard from 1804 to 1815— 52nd, "a bright beam of red light,
" &c." — Baron Muffling— Shaw Kennedy— What the 1st Guards did really
do at the crisis of Waterloo — Killed and wounded of each battalion of the
1st Guards — How came Sir John Byng to allow the 52nd to go on alone? —
Great injustice perpetrated against light infantry regiments— Letter to " The
" Times" in 1855 — Brevet rank of the Guards injurious to the service.
In reading over the numerous accounts, both printed and in
manuscript, both English and French, of the Crisis of Waterloo,
that is, of the advance of the two long columns of 10,000
men of the French Imperial Guard, towards the British position,
supported by a forward movement of a great portion of the re
mainder of the French army, and of the total defeat of these
columns, foUowed by the flight of the whole of the French army,
one has been almost struck down with a feeling of despondency
and of utter despair of being able to unravel the confused and
compUcated mass of detaU, into which the various writers on the
subject have together managed to work the history of that event.
Many of these writers have foUowed in the wake of Captain
Siborne, who, not having had the good fortune to be at Waterloo,
and not having witnessed the attack, was sure, as I have before
shewn, to faU into the most terrible mistakes with regard, to per
sons and time, in working up aU the confficting information

106 mistakes eefuted.
which he received, so many years after the battle, from great
numbers of officers who were present at it.
The Duke of Wellington, whose own memory, with regard to
many things which occurred at Waterloo, has been found to be
exceedingly defective in after years, wrote as follows to a person
whom he wished to deter from attempting to write a history of
the Battle of Waterloo : — " Paris, Sth August, 1815.
" I have received your letter of the 2nd, regarding the Battle
" of Waterloo. The object which you propose to yourself is very
" difficult of attainment, and, if really obtained, is not a Uttle
" invidious. The history of a battle is not unlike the history of
" a ball. Some individuals may recollect all the Uttle events, of
" which the great result is the battle lost or won ; but no indi-
" vidua] can recollect the order in which, or the exact moment
" at which they occurred, which makes all the difference as to
" their value and importance.''
To another person he writes, in 1816 : — "The Battle of Water-
" loo is undoubtedly one of the most interesting events of modern
"times, but the Duke entertains no hopes of ever seeing an
" account of all its details, which shaU be true.'' Again in 1816
he says :¦ — " The people of England may be entitled to a detailed
" and accurate account of the Battle of Waterloo, and I have no
" objection to their having it ; but I do object to their being mis-
" informed and misled by those novels called ' Eelations,' ' Im-
" 'partial Accounts,' &c., &c., of that transaction, containing the
" stories which curious travellers have picked up from peasants,
" private soldiers, individual officers, &c., &c., and have pubUshed
" to the world as the truth. I am really disgusted with
" and ashamed of all that I have seen of the Battle of Waterloo.
" The number of writings upon it would lead the world to sup-
" pose that the British army had never fought a battle before ;
" and there is not one which contains a true representation, or
"even an idea, of the transaction; and this is because the writers
" have referred as above quoted, instead of to the official sources
" and reports.''
Alas! the official reports are very meagre, and the Duke's
own despatch is particularly so, and I must say, and every 52nd

mistakes eefuted. 107
officer who fought at Waterloo, from the gaUant Colborne (Lord
Seaton) to the youngest ensign, always felt that that despatch
was most unjust towards that man and that regiment, which
very probably had saved himself and his army from an ignomini
ous defeat. The Duke surely knew the great exploit which had
been performed by Lord Seaton and the 52nd, when he rode down
with Sir Colin CampbeU to the rear of the centre of the 52nd line,
near the Charleroi road, eight hundred yards from their original
position on the right of the 1st Guards, and found them there by
themselves preparing to attack the three battalions of the grena
diers of the Old Guard, and when he exclaimed, as he rode up to
us, " WeU done, Colborne ! WeU done ! Don't give them time
" to rally."
In after years the Duke's recollections of what took place at
the crisis of Waterloo were most confused, as wUl be seen from a
memorandum written by him in October, 1836, one-and-twenty
years after the battle, which I shall take the liberty of extracting
from the despatches and memoranda published by his son. I
shall also number the several paragraphs, and give my commen
tary upon some of them in brackets : —
Memorandum upon the plan of the Battle of Waterloo,
written in October, 1836.
1. " I have looked over the plan of the ground of the
" Battle of Waterloo, which appears to me to be accurately
" drawn." 2. " It is very difficult for me to judge of the particular posi-
" tion of each body of the troops under my command, much less
" of the Prussian army, at any particular hour."
3. " I was informed that the smoke of the flre of cannon was
" seen occasionaUy from our Une, behind Hougomont, at a dis-
" tance, in front of our left, about an hour before the British
" army advanced to the attack of the enemy's line." [The Italics
are mine here, and in the succeeding paragraph.]
4. " The attack was ordered possibly at about half-past seven,
" when I saw the confusion in their position upon the result of the
" last attack of their infantry,'' and when I rallied and brought
" up again into the flrst line the Brunswick infantry."
[The hour was much later than " haU-past seven," at which

108 mistakes eefuted.
the Duke of WeUington ordered the whole of his troops, then in
position, to move forward, " when he saw the confusion on the
" French position upon the repulse of the last attack of their in-
" fantry." It must have been a quarter past eight o'clock when the
52nd repulsed this last attack of infantry, which was made by the
10,000 men of the Imperial Guard. It wUl here be seen that
the Duke himself makes a distinction between the repulse of
this last attack of the French Guard by the 52nd, followed by
the advance of the 7lst and of the Osnabruck battalion on the
right, and the subsequent advance of his cavalry and infantry
from the British position. He calls this last advance an "attack,"
but it wiU have been seen that after the return of the Srd bat
talion of the 1st Guards from driving off the Imperial Guard
skirmishers, and the defeat of the columns of the Imperial Guard
by the 52nd, and the flight of the French army, there were no
remaining French infantry to be attacked, except the three or
four battalions of the Old Guard, who had retired hastUy, without
breaking, from the rear of the columns repulsed by the 52nd, and
had brought up, 500 yards to their proper right and rear, on the
rising ground situated about midway between the lower end of
the inclosures of La Haye Sainte and La Belle AUiance, and
which is crossed by the Charleroi road ; and these battalions
were attacked and driven off by the 52nd ; and it would appear
from Sir Colin Campbell's and Sir Hussey Vivian's statements
that one, if not two of them, was afterwards foUowed and fired
into by Halkett's Osnabruck battalion, and that one of them was
that charged by Major Howard and a smaU party of the 10th
Hussars. Vivian's and Vandeleur's brigades of cavalry found
and " attacked " the retiring French on and beyond the French
position.] 5. " The whole of the British and AUied cavalry of our army
" was then in the rear of our infantry. I desired that it might
" be coUected in rear of our centre ; that is, between Hougomont
" and La Haye Sainte."
6. " The infantry was advanced in line. I halted them for a
" moment in the bottom, that they might be in order to attack
" some battalions of the enemy stUl on the heights."
[There is much confusion in the statements made in the

mistakes eefuted. 109
whole of this memorandum, but this Oth paragraph must refer to
the 52nd and 7lst, who were each in a four-deep line, and the
Duke says, in the 9th paragraph, " the infantry was formed into
" columns, and moved in pursuit in columns of battalions," which
9th paragraph must therefore refer to the infantry which ad
vanced after the repulse of the Imperial Guard by the 52nd.
What the Duke means, when he says these columns advanced in
pursuit, I do not quite understand ; but they probably moved
down the British position some distance, and bivouacked on
the lower slope of it, when it was ascertained that the whole
French army was in utter diroute far beyond the French
position. The infantry, which the Duke says he halted for a moment
in the bottom, was the 52nd by itself, which Lord Seaton had
halted for a moment close to the Charleroi road, (immediately be
fore the Duke rode up) in order to dress thd line before he
attacked the battalions of the Old Guard in his front. The Duke
never halted the regiment, but on the contrary, found it just
halted, and said, " WeU done, Colborne ! Go on, &c." One does
not altogether wonder at mistakes on the part of the Duke when
speaking of movements which had been made by portions of his
army at Waterloo one-and-twenty years before, but they help to
shew that his statements with regard to the events, and with
regard even to the very great events, of that battle, must be received
with caution.]
7. " The cavalry, halted likewise. The whole moved forward
" again in very few moments. The enemy did not stand the
" attack. Some had fled before we halted. The whole abandoned
" their position."
8. "The cavalry were then ordered to charge, aud moved
" round the flanks of the battalions of infantry."
[I believe scarcely any one but myself could possibly discover
what movements the Duke had in his mind when he wrote down
paragraphs 7 and 8. I think, after some amount of puzzUng,
I have found the clue to his meaning. No. 8, which shoidd
have preceded No. 7 paragraph, must refer to the advance of Sir
Hussey Vivian's hussar brigade, from the British position round
the flank of the Guards or of the 2nd battalion of the 95th

110 mistakes eefuted.
Eifles,* the left battaUon of our brigade, which, if it had not then
left the position, would be in line to the right of the 1st Guards.
In a note made the day after a conversation I had with Sir Colin
CampbeU in 1833, I find the following entry: — "Sir Colin
" Campbell told me distinctly that he did not go with the order
" to Sir Hussey Vivian until twenty -minutes after our advance
" against the Imperial Guard ; that he went before the three
" squares of the Old Guard and the cuirassiers gave way before
" us ; that he met Sir Hussey coming down the hill, who said
" his brigade was close at hand in his rear.'' " The cavalry halt-
" ing likewise,'' in paragraph 7, refers to Vivian's disposition of
his brigade on the rise of the French position, before they made
tMir charge on the intermingled French cavalry of all arms,
somewhere in a line with La Belle AUiance, away to our right.]
9. " The infantry was formed into columns, and moved in
" pursuit in columns of battalions." "Wellington."
[This 9th paragraph I have endeavoured to explain under
paragraph 6.]
What the Duke has said of the inaccuracies and mistakes of
others, and of the confusion they would be sure to faU into, in
attempting to give a history of the Battle of Waterloo, I have
found, to my very great disgust and annoyance, to be perfectly
and painfuUy true; but I think my readers wiU agree with me,
that the Duke, in his memorandum of 1836, which I have just
quoted and commented on, has shewn himself not to be a whit
behind the writers ofthe "Eelations," "Impartial Accounts," and
"Histories ' of Waterloo, whom he so properly denounces, in the
inaccuracies, mistakes, and confusion of ideas which he himself
has fallen into.
It may be asked, Are the histories of all battles equaUv in-
* I am exceedingly sorry not to be able to speak of the position or movements
of our gallant friends of the 2nd battaUon of the 95th Rifles after the 52nd moved
down from the British position on the flank of the Imperial Guard. They were
of course, thrown out by our sudden movement, and were not with us when we
defeated the 10,000 men ofthe French Guard ; nor when we afterwards drove oif
the battalions of the grenadiers of the Guard from the height in front of La Belle
AUiance. We were alone from the time we left the British position tUl we halted
for the night at Rosomme, at about a quarter past nine.

mistakes eefuted. Ill
correct ? Perhaps never were there anything like so many his
tories of any other battle written, either before or since, as have
been written about Waterloo. I must, however, for myself con
fess that my confidence in the accuracy of history in general,
which was never very great, has received the very rudest possible
shake from all that I have read, both in English, German, Prus
sian, Belgian, French, and Spanish accounts concerning this great
battle. I feel that I must not leave the subject I am endeavouring to
elucidate, without introducing one or two specimens of the man
ner in which persons, professing to describe the leading events of
the crisis at Waterloo, have made the most egregious mistakes.
The foUowing is one in which much credit is given to General
Adam's brigade, consisting of the 52nd, the 71st, and the 2nd
and Srd battalions of the 95th Eifles, for repulsing the French
Imperial Guard. I wUl mark those portions of the account,
which I know to be incorrect, in italics, and afterwards advert to
it within brackets. It is called. An .extract from a letter from an
eye witness : —
" After various hot and desultory attacks of the day, the last
" and most dreadful was made by the Old Imperial Guard, grown
" grey in an umnterrupted career of victory. In black, massive,
" soUd columns, supported and covered by the fire of a numerous
" artillery, they advanced in spite of the most desperate resist-
" ance. Lord Hill, who had seen the approaching storm, having
"formed General Adam's brigade a little 'enpotence' on the enemy's
" left, placed himself at its head, and advanced with dreadful regu-
" larity to the assistance of the Guards. General Adam's veterans
" of the Peninsula, after one terrible volley within a few yards of
" the Imperial Guard, cheered and charged. These gallant
" troops (the Imperial Guard) for the first time fled, although
" encouraged to the last by the conduct of the brave but unfor-
" tunate Ney. Lord Hill followed with his usual rapidity, the
" British Guards supporting Mm, and at the same instant our great
" Dulie ordered the general and decisive advance of the whole
" army." [Lord HUl, "and the British Guards, and the 71st, and 2nd and
3rd battalions of the 95th, were not engaged in the attack on

112 mistakes eefuted.
these " black, massive, solid columns " of the Imperial Guard.
It was made by the 52nd alone. The name of Sir John Colborne
(Lord Seaton) should be substituted for that of Lord HiU. Gene
ral Adam came up at the exact moment of the charge, and
behaved most gaUantly in front of the 52nd Une, and was
severely wounded, but he did not at aU interfere with the com
mand of the 52nd, which was left entfrely to Colborne. After
the Imperial Guard had fled, we saw no more of him untU he
rode into our bivouac at Eosomme, towards ten o'clock. With
regard to the " general advance of the army,'' I have shewn a few
pages back, under the paragraph in the Duke's memorandum
which I have numbered 6, that it could not have taken place till
about twenty minutes after the 52nd had routed the French Im
perial Guard.]
I have shewn that Siborne, in his account of the crisis of
Waterloo, has made most terrible mistakes. Alison, in his his
tory of Europe, has followed him and taken much of his version
of the crisis from Siborne. The Chaplain-General, Gleig, whilst
following the account of a French writer, has written a work on
the Battle of Waterloo, and dedicated it to the Queen, which
appears to me to be about as fuU of errors as it is possible for
any work to be. Hooper, in his history of the campaign of 1815,
has foUowed Siborne, and gives the myth of the British Guards
having defeated a flrst column of the Imperial Guard, very much
in Siborne's own words. Mr. Hooper has evidently taken much
pains to give a correct account of the battle and of the defeat of
the French Guard ; but he not only speaks of a flrst column of
them, but even makes the British Guards, as Siborne does, both
on his model and in his history, to assist in the defeat of a second
column. Mr. Hooper candidly acknowledges in a note appended
to his account of the defeat of the Imperial Guard, that " much
" confusion exists in the accounts of these columns of attack, their
" number and formation" but adds, " the conclusions in the text
"are derived from a study of the best accounts on both sides." *
* I would here ask. If the British Guards sent a column of the Imperial
Guards flying down the slope, how was it that the 52nd, who were at that time
300 yards in a direct line in front of the British Guards, and at right angles with
them ; how was it that the 52nd never saw this column, but tbat they did see
the skirmishers of the Imperial Guard run in and form 100 yards in front of the

mistakes eefuted. us
The following account, from Hooper's work, of the advance of
the 52nd, may be taken as nearly correct, if it be recoUected
that the British Guards were not there, but SOO yards away ;
that the 71 st never reached the enemy, but were away to the
right, near the inclosures of Hougomont ; that the 95th were
not in line with the 52nd, and were not seen by them, and that
the column said to have been defeated by the 3rd battaUon of the
1st Guards still formed a portion of the " black, massive, solid
columns," attacked by the 52nd, and that even the Imperial
Guard skirmishers, driven back from the British position by the
advance of the Srd battalion of the 1st Guards, had retumed to
swell the numbers of the enemy, which we beUeve were fairly
estimated as amounting to about ten thousand men.* It must
also always be bome in mind that the arena, on which this con
flict between the 52nd andthe 10,000 picked and veteran soldiers
of the Imperial Guard took place, was not towards the crest of
the British position, as has been related by Siborne and others,
but 300 yards below it. Lord Seaton calls it " the plain," Sir
Thomas Eeynell, of the 71st, speaks of it "as the bottom of the
" declivity." Hooper writes as foUows ; —
" At this moment Sir John Colborne, who had steadUy ob-
" black, massive, solid columns of the French Guard," which they (the 52nd) took
in flank and overthrew, whilst the whole slope of the British position, above and
in front of them, was quite clear of troops of any kind for 300 yards ?
* Baron Muffling, who was present with the British army, says, respecting the
strength of the columns of the French Guard, defeated by the 52nd, " The
" enemy's Guard began to move, and with sixteen battalions, leaving La Haye
" Sainte a little to the right, at half-past six o'clock advanced towards the plat-
" form." [There is a great mistake here about the time of their advance ; it must
have been nearly eight o'clock when they reached the first ascent of the British
position.] Muffling states also, " Some of the enemy's batteries cover, with grape-shot,
" the retreat of the four battalions of the Guard." [These battalions were the bat
talions of the Old Guard which, on the flight of the rest of the Imperial Guard,
drew off hastily towards the French position.]
Sixteen battaUons of 800 men each give an amount of 12,800 men, besides the
officers and the artillery, and some cavalry of the Guard ; so that aUowing for any
casualties or mistakes as to the numbers, there must have been, as it was always
stated by the 52nd officers, about 10,000 of the Imperial Guard, when we attacked
and defeated them. Ney, in his letter to the Duke of Otranto, speaks of four
regiments, that is eight battaUons, of the Middle Guard, and four battaUons of
the Old Guard.

114 mistakes eefuted.
" served their progress, wheeled the 52nd upon its left company,*
" and brought it nearly parallel to the left flank of the attacking
" column. What was he going to do ? was the inquiry of his
" superior officer. ' To make that column feel our flre,' was the
"prompt answer. The Duke and Lord HiU had seen and ap-
" proved of the movement, and the next moment the 52nd was
" over the brow, and its full flre was brought to bear upon the
" heavy masses before it." [The Duke and Lord HiU only saw
the 52nd when it had moved some distance down the slope, and
then sent to desire Sir John Colborne to continue the movement]
" The Imperial Guardsmen faced this new and terrible foe, and
" began to flre from the flank. For a brief space the combat was
" one of musketry. ' A thick, white smoke enveloped the con-
"' tending parties.' Napier's guns double-shotted, the muskets
" of the British Guards, the rifles of the 95th, and the rapid flre
" of the 52nd, shook the column from front to rear.'' [The artiUeiy
had ceased to flre on the Imperial Guard, the left of the 52nd
being in their way ; and, I think, the French were then rather
sheltered by the ground from Napier's guns. The British Guards
were on the reverse slope of the British position, 300 yards away;
the 95th were not there ; the 52nd had it all to themselves, with
the exception, that their truly gallant general of brigade, Adam,
and his staff, arrived in time to get into the thick of the fight in
front of the 52nd four-deep Une.-f]
Hooper thus continues his account : — " Eeduced to an
"unsteady crowd, it yielded and fled, when, at Colborne's
" command, the 52nd brought down their bayonets to the
" charge, cheered and dashed on. This splendid regiment, sup-
" ported on the right by the 71st and on the left by the 95th,
* Sir John Colborne had at first, for a moment, the idea of changing in some
degree the direction of the 52nd line, by wheeUng hack the right companies,
(No. 1 and No. 6 in its rear,) on their right a few paces only, so as to throw back
the left of the regiment before he brought them over the crest of the position,
but it was immediately given up, and they advanced dkectly to the front, after
wards bringing their right shoulders forward as they moved down the slope, in
the manner before described.
+ General Adam's spurs were well won on that glorious occasion. He was made
a Knight Commander of the Bath ; and so was Sir Thomas ReyneU of the 71st ;
Sir John Colbome had obtained that distinction, and several other honours, at
thecloseofthePeninsular war in 1814.

mistakes eefuted. 115
" did not halt in its career in the track of the fugitives untU it had
" swept, from right to left, along the front of the British centre.
" When the regiment halted, its left flank was in the hollow on
" the chauss^e to Genappe, in advance of the orchard of La Haye
"Sainte, 800 yards from the ground at which the charge
" commenced. Colborne had led it from the little hoUow above
"the north east angle of Hougomont, working through the
" furrowed and muddy ground, trampling amidst the dead and
"the wounded, a bright beam of red light streaking the sombre
" and misty fleld untU the left flank of the brigade [of the 52nd]
" nearly touched the edge of the Charleroi road. Before its steady
" march the broken Imperialists withdrew without a halt ; but
" not without looking back flercely and grimly upon their pur-
" suers, whose bayonets gUttered in the yeUow glare of the set-
" ting sun."
Hooper continues : — " The battle was won ; it was now the
" time to reap in ample measure the fruits of victory.
" The British leader, watchful of the course of the fight, had
" been patient and persevering for nine hours. It was now his
"turn to attack. He had been stricken long. It was now for
" him to break out from his fastness and strike. The charge of
" the 52nd, so magical and so decisive, begun at the right mo-
"ment, and carried forward by the right kind of daring, was
" speedily sustained. At the order of the Duke, Vivian's un-
" touched light horsemen broke from the cloud of thick smoke,
" which hung over the ridge, and wheeUng round the right flank
" of the British Guards poured down the slope, through the space
" left vacant by the light infantry brigade, [52nd, 71st, and 95th,]
" and, ably led by its consummate chief, swept onward over the
"fleld" Since the foregoing portion of this volume was written, a work
has come out, entitled " Notes on the battle of Waterloo, by the
" late General Sfr James Shaw Kennedy, K.C.B." Captain Shaw,
at the time of the battle, was a captain in the 43rd Light Infan
try and deputy-assistant quartermaster-general attached to
General Baron Alten's division, the Srd division of the British
army. He was an old peninsular officer, and was much
distinguished for his gaUantry and inteUigence. He afterwards
I 2

116 MISTAKES EEFUTED.
took the name of Kennedy. He appears to have seen nothing of
the 52nd during the action, though he speaks most highly of
their advance ; nor does he appear to have seen the Srd battalion
of the 1st Guards drive in the skirmishers of the Imperial Guard
What he saw himself is very interesting. In almost everything
which he did not see he acknowledges that he has followed
Siborne's account.
I propose to select some of his observations and to comment
freely upon them, for as Captain Siborne was not at Waterloo,
and Shaw Kennedy did not leave the British position, they
cannot speak of what happened to the 52nd and to the Imperial
Guard 300 yards below that position, with the same authority
with which I and other 52nd officers can speak, who saw, and
participated in, the remarkable encounter which tookplacebetween
the 52nd, then about 950 strong, and their renowned adversaries.
I repeat here again, that the Imperial Guard was in two columns
of equal length, apparently consisting of, and always mentioned
by us as containing, 10,000 men. AU that has been said about
a flrst column of the French Guard having been separated frorn
the other column, and having been defeated by Maitland's
brigade of Guards, is a myth. And I repeat again, the 2nd
battalion of the 1st Guards, never advanced from the British
position, when the Srd battalion drove in the Imperial Guard
skirmishers and probably some skirmishers and their supports of
Donzelot's division, and then, after following them a short
distance down the slope, retired in some confusion, and did not
come in contact with the enemy again, though Siborne states
erroneously that both battalions did so.
Sir Shaw Kennedy says of Siborne and his history of Water
loo : — " Captain Siborne's history of the campaign has very great
"merit. I doubt if, as toany other battle, there ever were so great
" a number of facts brought together, or more care, industry, and
" fldelity displayed in their collection, so that all other accounts
" of the battle, to be correct, must, for a great portion of the details,
" borrow from Siborne, as he had access to sources of information
" that no historian following him can have."
As regards the 52nd and the French Imperial Guard, my
information, derived from Lord Seaton and other 52nd officers.

MISTAKES EEFUTED. 117
and from my own very accurate recoUection of every movement
of the 52nd, must be allowed to come from sources very superior
to those from which Siborne or Kennedy derived their information.
And even as regards the movements of the 2nd and Srd battalions
of the 1st Guards, I know my information is more accurate than
that of either of them. Will the surviving officers of the 2nd
battalion of the 1st Guards maintain that their battalion advanced
against the Imperial Guard skirmishers or against a first column
of the Imperial Guard when Lord Hill, who was on their right,
and Sir John Byng, (afterwards Lord Strafford,) who had suc
ceeded to the command of the whole divison of the Guards, both
declare that they did not ? And when it is declared, on the
part of the Srd battalion of the Guards, that the 2nd battalion
did not advance with them?
In the "Life'' of Sir William Napier, we are told that in a matter
of dispute as to whether a howitzer was taken from the French
by the 4Srd or the 52nd at Sabugal, speaking of his informants
of the 43rd, he wrote : — " They know what they have written
" and said to me, and I expect them to respond to my appeal.
" If they do not, the 43rd regiment must bear the stigma of
" having accepted from the Duke of Wellington the credit of an
" exploit belonging to another regiment.''
Awkward as it may be, should not the 1st Guards even at
this late period, when more than fifty years have passed away
since the famous battle was fought, listen to my appeal, and no
longer " accept," I do not say, "from the Duke of WeUington,"
for he never assigned that credit to them, but from Captain
Siborne, Alison who has copied Siborne, and other mistaken his
torians of Waterloo, a portion of "the credit of an exploit
" belonging [entirely] to another regiment ? " Should they not
even lend their assistance towards rectifying the representation
of a column of the Imperial Guard routed by them, and the
position of the 1st Guards on Siborne's beautiful model, so that
they should no longer be represented as firing into a column of the
Imperial Guard which the 52nd single-handed attacked in fiank
and completely defeated? Some of the officers of the Guards did
much towards rescuing the model from being lost to the public,
and no doubt have much in their power, respecting the alteration

118 MISTAKES EEFUTED.
of the position of troops on the model, in any case in which a
most glaring injustice has been perpetrated against one gallant
regiment, and undeserved honour has been thrust upon another
gaUant corps. Siborne himself caused a considerable alteration
to be made in the positions he had assigned to several of the
Prussian corps, on the representation of some of the superior
Prussian officers ; thus alteration appears to be possible, with
out injury being done to the model
A 52nd officer remarks in a letter, written to me in the year
1853, that " in addition to the honour yet due to the regiment,
" the crisis and close of the action of Waterloo is a matter of im-
" portance, historicaUy, nationaUy, and professionally."
The French historians of the battle, who have written of late
years, have not been at all unwUling to adopt Siborne's (to the
52nd vexatious) account of the successive defeat of the columns
of the Imperial Guard; because in a national point of view,
there is not so much discredit in the rout, first of aU of six
battalions of the Imperial Guard by Maitland's brigade of the
1st British Guards, supported by the SSrd and 69th regiments,
and then ten or twelve minutes afterwards in the defeat of the
remaining battalions of the Imperial Guard by the fiank attack
of the 52nd assisted by Maitland's Guards in front, as in the defeat
of the whole of the Imperial Guard of about 1 0,000 men, as I have
before described it, by the 52nd alone at the distance of SOO yards
from any other British or Allied regiments. The defeat, by the
advance of a single Britishbattalion, of 10,000 or even 8,000 of the
finest troops in Europe is anhonourto the regiment, and an honour
to Lord Seaton who commanded it, and an honour to the British
army and nation, which must not be tamely relinquished whilst
there is any British blood and old 52nd Waterloo spirit remain
ing, combined with the possession of sufficient amount of material
and detail to justify one in advancing almost single-handed to
meet the many shafts, which I must expect to be leveUed against
me and my attempt to rescue one of the most daring exploits I
beUeve ever performed in war, from the mass of confusion and
error with which succeeding historians have, unwittingly I pre
sume, almost ingulfed it. ¦¦
When I was going into action at Waterloo I was very anxious

MISTAKES EEFUTED. 119
to know how I should feel and conduct myself under fire ; I
perhaps am not less anxious now as to the point of how I may feel,
when I and my work are exposed to the very formidable artUlery
of the Press leveUed against all my inflated and presumptuous
pretensions, both miUtary and reUgious, as they may perhaps
consider them. Did my readers ever stop to see what would
be the fate of a little dog who goes yelping and barking
at a great big mastiff ? I have often witnessed such a scene,
and have invariably observed, that the little cur, directly the
large dog comes up to him throws himself upon his back in
token of submission, and the large one never hurts him, but
stands over him for a second or two and perhaps Ucks him
and wags his tail. Well, my readers, I am the Uttle dog;
the mastiff is the Press ; and though I don't mean to knock
under, unless I am convinced I am wrong in any point, yet I do
humbly deprecate any angry feeling or criticism on the part of
the Press.
Baron Muffling, who was attached to the British head-quarters
bythe Prussian Commander-in-Chief,!and was present at the battle
of Waterloo, says in his history of the campaign of 1815, when
speaking of the advance of the Imperial Guard towards the close
of the action, that the columns consisted of sixteen battalions.
The foUowing statement of the number of men of which the
Imperial Guard consisted in each year from its flrst formation,
is taken from a French history of that celebrated corps.
In 1804 9,798 men.
„ 1805 " 12,187 „
„ 1806 15,656 „
„ 1807 15,361 „
„ 1808 15,392 „
„ 1809 31,203 „
„ 1810 32,130 „
„ 1811 31,960 „
„ 1812 56,169 „
„ 1813 92,472 „
,. 1814 . 112,482 „
„ 1815 25,870 „
The foUowing table, taken from the same work, gives the
composition and amount of the Imperial Guard in 1815.

120 MISTAKES EEFXTTED.

Head Quahtbks

, ,

20

Staff

INFAJSTTRT.

200

Grenadiers .

3 Regiments

3,000

Chasseurs

3 Regiments

3,000

Tirailleurs .

6 Regiments

7,200

Voltigeurs

6 Regiments
CAVALRY.

7,200
20,400 20,400

Grenadiers .

1 Regiment

800

Chasseurs •

1 Regiment

800

Dragoons .

1 Regiment

800

Gendarmerie

1 Company

100

Light Dragoons,

Lancers . 1 Regiment

800

3,300 3,300
ARTILLERY.
Old Guard, 6 Foot Batteries . ¦)
Old Guard, 4 Horse Batteries . (
1 Company of labourers,! squadron of the Military f
Train . -'
Engineers and Sappers . . . 260
Waggon Train, 1 squadron . . 200
Total . 25,870
Mr. George Hooper, in his history of the campaign of 1815, a
pleasing and well written book in which the author follows
Siborne's mistakes as to the 1st Guards, makes out that altogether
there were twelve battalions of the Imperial Guard brought
forward by Napoleon to make his last attack on the' British
right centre, and that two of them were formed in reserve mid
way between La Belle AUiance and the southern end of Hougo
mont. This last statement of the two battalions being left in
reserve I doubt, because the two colurans of equal length having
not an interval of 30 paces between them, both gave way before
the 52nd, but whilst the leading column of the two fled in utter
confusion, and a portion of the rear column also, leaving some of
the guns ofthe Old Guard with the horses harnessed to them, yet it
is said that some of the rear battalions of the rear column fell
back hastily but in comparative order to the French position ;
their immediate rear, at the time they gave way before the 52nd,
being the spot indicated by Hooper as that at which Napoleon

MISTAKES EEFUTED. 121
left two battalions of his Guard in reserve — I am inclined to
think therefore that these two battalions of the fine Old Guard
advanced with, and retired from, the rear column of the two.
Hooper observes in a note : — " Much confusion exists in the
" accounts of these columns of attack, their number and formation.
" The conclusions in the text are derived from a study of the best
" accounts on both sides." I wish Hooper and Siborne and
Alison had been with the 52nd at Waterloo, and they would
have understood plainly that no column of the Imperial Guard
could possibly have advanced upon, or have been defeated by,
any portion of the British Guards without their seeing it ; and
that all three of them, Siborne at their head, have been robbing
the 52nd of a portion of the honour belonging to them, by advan
cing this " column in buckram," or this mythical column, up
the British position to the attack of the Guards.
Colonel Gawler, as I have before observed, from being on the
extreme right of the 52nd line, and from seeing the dead bodies
of Imperial Guardsmen on the summit of the British position
the next morning, not reflecting that they might be those of their
skirmishers only, fell into the mistake of supposing that the head of
the column of the Imperial Guard had reached that point, when
in reality it was SOO yards or thereabouts from the position.
But Colonel Gawler speaks of the 52nd when it cleared the
ascent being "under a furious flre [this however was further
" down the position than he supposed] from the long fiank of the
" columns',' and his book, " The Crisis of Waterloo," was written in
1833 on purpose to maintain " that the attack of the Imperial
" Guard was repulsed, and the French army thrown into conse-
" quent irretrievable confusion, by a charge of the 52nd covered
" by the 71st regiment without the direct co-operation of any
" other portion of the Allied army.'' Colonel Gawler reckoned the
columns attacked and defeated by the 52nd at 10,000 men, and
he had as good a view of them as any other 52nd man had.
Siborne says in his flrst preface, dated March, 1844 : — " One
" of my Waterloo correspondents has humorously remarked, that,
" ' if ever truth lies at the bottom of a weU, she does so immedi-
" ' ately after a great battle, and it takes an amazingly long time
" ' before she can be lugged out.' "

122 MISTAKES EEFUTED.
I have good reason to believe that the following is the truth
with regard both to the advance of the 3rd battaUon of the
Guards, and to the defeat of the two columns of the Imperial
Guard by the 52nd : — That the mass of skirmishers of the
Imperial Guard and their supports were joined by the skirmishers
and their supports from the French troops_massed to the left of
La Haye Sainte, and that the whole of the intermingled skir
mishers and their supports were stUl further supported by the
advance of the battalions themselves of Donzelot's division, which,
with many other divisions of the French army, is spoken of,
as moving forward at this time in support of the advancing
columns ofthe Imperial Guard. These skirmishers extended along
the front of both the battalions of the Guards who are stated by
Kennedy to have been lying down in square, though I do not
feel sure of this as regards the right or 2nd battalion ; the skir
mishers extended also along the front of Sir Colin Halkett's
brigade, which was on the British left of Maitland's brigade of
Guards, for both these brigades maintain that they were opposed
to troops wearing the bear skin caps of the Imperial Guard.
And the 2nd battaUon of the Guards declared that they were
attacked by a " column " of twelve or fourteen hundred men,
and that these troops opened fire" upon them at a distance of
fifty or sixty paces ; that the Duke coming along from their left,
observed how this Srd battalion of the 1st Guards was suffering
from the heavy flre of the mass of troops in their front, and
desired the commanding officer to form line on the front face of
the square, and " drive those fellows off," which they did in very
gallant style, and foUowed them for some eighty or a hundred
yards down the slope; then there was an alarm of cavalry
and the Srd battaUon of the Guards, some of them thinking they
were to form square, got into confusion and retired hastily over
the crest of the position and beyond it on the reverse slope, to
where the 10th Hussars and all Vivian's brigade were, on thefr
way from the extreme left of the position to the interval made
by the advance of the 52nd from the position. The 2nd battalion
of the 1st Guards took no part in this charge, but was stationary.
The only conclusion I can come to is that the mass of troops
seen and defeated by the Srd battalion of the Guards, were, as I

MISTAKES EEFUTED. 123
have before observed, the skirmishers of the Imperial Guard and
of Donzelot's division and their supports ; and that when the
Guards passed over the top of the position they saw also, away
to their left, some of Donzelot's battaUons. Any other troops
than skirmishers, whom they saw, must have been other than
troops of the Imperial Guard.
The skirmishers of the Imperial Guard came down the slope
ranning towards the leading battalion of the French Guard, and
formed about 100 yards or rather more in front of it, just as the
52nd was completing its right-shoulder-forward movement and
becoming paraUel to the left flank of the Imperial columns.
There was no smoke, there was a gleam of sunshine, on the
skirmishers, as they were forming, and I could see them
most completely, and 200 yards or more beyond them up
the British position. Of any other troops driven in by the
Srd battalion of the 1st Guards we could see nothing, nor of
the Guards themselves, therefore they could not have come far
down the position in pursuit. Donzelot's skirmishers and their
supports, when they gave way, must have run towards their
own division in the direction of La Haye Sainte. Thisformation of
the retiring Imperial Guard skirmishers was afterwards spoken of
in mistake, by some writers, as an attempt at deployment on the
part of their leading battalion.
The 52nd fired into and charged the Imperial Guard, as I
have before related, and it gave way and fled in utter confusion,
with the exception, it was said, of two or three of the rear
battalions of the rear colunin, who gained the French position
hastUy and in comparative order.
The 52nd never met with or saw any British troops from the
time they left thefr position tiU they halted for the night at
Eosomme, excepting the EngUsh and German cavalry — before-
mentioned, as having ridden at speed round the flanks and
through the centre of the 52hd, when retfring before the cufras
siers — and with the exception also of those whom I suppose to
have been engaged in poor Howard's charge.
If therewas a second column of the Imperial Guard defeated,
as the historians try to make out, partly by the 5Snd, and partly
by Maitland's brigade of Guards, how came it that Maitland

124- MISTAKES EEFUTED.
aUowed the 52nd to go on hy themselves to, and over, and a mile
beyond, the French position, in pursuit of the enemy, when there
were tens of thousands of French infantry, and thousands of
cavalry still in the field ?
Sir John Byng, who said "we saw the 52nd advancing glori-
" ously, as they always do,'' and who thought it necessary to say
to Sir John Colborne, " I could not advance when you did, for
" our ammunition was exhausted," would he, if he had been near
the 52nd, and been engaged with them in defeating the same
column, would he, ammunition or no ammunition, have aUowed
them to be exposed, single-handed, to aU the dangers to which,
by their isolation from the rest of the army, they were really
exposed ? Must he not, if he had been so near them as is repre
sented, have brought down Maitland's brigade of Guards to thefr
support, instead of keeping them in rear of the crest of the
British position untU the Duke, long after, made a sort of forward
movement from the position of some portion of his troops, which
was called an advance of his whole line ?
I wish not, nor do I mean, to say one word in disparagement
of any individual or of any regiment, but as I feel certain the
52nd came in contact just below the British position with all the
remainder of the Imperial Guard, after the half of it bad been
sent to Planchenoit to hold the Prussians at bay, tha.t is, that
they engaged and defeated two heavy columns of equal length,
apparently containing 10,000 meu, and as this was always the
opinion of the 52nd officers who were present, and as the
greater portion of these officers have passed away, and I am almost
the only person left who could take this matter in hand, I think
it right not to shrink from doing so, though I may conjecture
that much unpleasantness and annoyance to myself may possibly
be the result of my undertaking it.
Another idea occurs to me, and I think it will approve itself
to the minds of all mUitary men. "A column" of twelve or
fourteen hundred men or more of the Imperial Guard bent on
penetrating the British line, and especially if they were backed
up by other advancing troops, would never have contented them
selves with reaching the crest of the position, and then halting
that their front company might fire on a British square, lying

MISTAKES EEFUTED. 125
down at sixty or eighty yards distance from them on the revei-se
slope of the position. It is exactly what a swarm of daring
French skirmishers -would do, especially if the Imperial Guard
skirniishers and Donzelot's were intermixed and vying with
each other. It must be remembered that the square of the 3rd
battalion of the 1st Guards, was about 150 yards to the left of
the 2ud battalion, and probably at nearly double that distance
from the nearest stiuare, of Halkett's brigade on its left, so that
the skirmishers, intended to occupy ground SOO yards or more
ill length, would as a matter of course close more and more to
the points from which they might fire into the front and flank
faces of the square of the Srd battalion of the Guards. It is most
probable also that their supports had joined them. Hence, I
suggest, tiiere were enough of skirmishers congregated in a space
perhaps not exceeding fifty j-ards in length, to give them the
appearance througli the smoke of being a fornied body of men.
Although Kennedy, following in Siborne's wake, makes the
vexatious niistiilces about the defeat of a first column of four
battalions of the Imperial Guard by Maitland's brigade of Guards,
and about the head of a second column of the Imperial Guard
being lived into by IMaitland's brigade at the same time that
Colborne eliargeil it in flank, (all which is a regular mjtli,) yet
he gives the 5-ud as much honour aud credit for their share in
the rout of the 2iid column of four battalions, as would have
quite satisfied them, for what they really did do, for tlie defeat of
the whole ofthe tenor twelve battalions of the French Guard, with
out any other British regiment being within 300 yards of them.
Kennedy says, " The French colunin, feeling the severity of the
" tiie of the fi^nd, Avheeled up its left sections and commenced
" firing, but the fire from the 52nd threw it into great disorder,
" and the combined fire and formidable advance in line of the
" r):^nd caused the entire rout tmd dispersion of the four [twelve]
" battiilions of the French Guard which were opposed to it.''
Again, Sir Shaw Kennedy says, " The march of the 52nd
" has thus beon traced continuously, without referring to other
•• incidents of the battle during its advance ; for its progress was
'• the leading and distinctive feature of the action during that
" pei'iod ; audit will thus be more eas}-, by reference to the pro-

126 MISTAKES EEFUTED.
" gress of the 52nd, to understand what was done by the rest of
" the Anglo-AlUed army, and the Prussian army, during this most
" highly interesting part of the action."
Again, he says, "It is perhaps impossible to point out inhistory
" any other instance in which so smaU a force as that with which
" Colborne acted, had so powerful an influence on the result of a
" great battle, in which the numbers engaged on each side were so
" large." Now there is great truth in this last observation, if
applied to the real exploit of the 52nd at the crisis and close of
the Battle of Waterloo, but for which exploit. Sir John Colborne
thought, the columns of the Imperial Guard would be likely to
penetrate the British line of battle.
In consequence of the sad mistake of La Haye Sainte being
aUowed to faU into the hands of the enemy,* Donzelot was
enabled to establish himself in force, within 100 yards of the
centre of the British and AUied army, and exceedingly to harass
Alten's division, which occupied the British position for a quarter
of a mUe or more, between the centre of the position and the left
of Maitland's brigade of Guards. Had Napoleon sent his
Imperial Guard to attack the British centre by La Haye Sainte
it has been thought by some that he would have succeeded in
defeating the troops at that point, harassed and reduced in
numbers as they were.
When the Imperial Guard was ordered to advance towards
the right centre of the British line, opposite to the spot where
the Srd battalion of the 1st Guards was lying down in square,
orders were at the same time given that aU the French infantry
should advance in support of their attack. Sir Shaw Kennedy,
who be it remembered was with Alten's division during the
whole of the engagement, says, "the attack of Donzelot's division
" from La Haye Sainte preceded that by the Imperial Guard, as
" that attack had never cea,sed from the taking of that farm, and
" increased in intensity as the grand general attack progressed.
* This took place only at six o'clock in the evening, according to Kennedy,
at about the same time that the last of the great cavalry attacks was repulsed.
Major Baring, who commanded the 2nd light battalion of the King's German
Legion at La Haye Sainte, and the reinforcements subsequently sent there, slept
on the ground with Kennedy, on the night of the action, close to the Wellington
Tree.

MISTAKES EEFUTED. 127
The attack was preceded along the whole line by a
" furious cannonade ; and the whole front of attack was covered
" by a swarm of skirmishers."
Farther on in his work Kennedy adds :— " The effect of the
"defeat of the ten battaUons of the Imperial Guard, and of
" Colborne's diagonal march, was electrical on Donzelot's division,
"which was in faot compromised by the advance of Adam's
" brigade.* Its attack, which had up to that time been violently
" severe on Alten's division, was at once slackened and very soon
" suspended, and a retreat commenced."
The loss of the 2nd battaUon of the 1st Guards at Waterloo
was as follows : —
Killed. 'Wounded. Total.
Offlcers. Serjts. Rank & File. Officers. Serjts. Rank & Pile.
1—50 5 7 80' 143
Of the Srd battalion as follows : —
3 2 79 6 7 238 335
If we deduct 143, the total loss in kUled and wounded of the
2nd battaUon, from 335, the total loss of the 3rd battalion, we
find that the loss of the Srd battalion exceeded that of the 2nd
battaUon by 192. This excess of loss on the part of the Srd
battalion, perhaps helps to prove the truth of what I have
advanced, that the 2nd battalion was not engaged to the extent
that the Srd battalion was, and that it was stationary when the
latter, by the Duke's order, formed line on the front face of its
square, and drove off the mass of skirmishers assembled on the
crest of the position before it.
I have already, in a quotation from a work printed and cir
culated by a very intelUgent Peninsular and Waterloo 52nd
officer, mentioned that the 1st Guards were made grenadiers, and
that the ensigns of aU the three regiments of Guards were given
precedence over aU the ensigns of the line by Ueutenant's rank,
for their good conduct at Waterloo. AU the regiments of the
Guards did good service at Quatre Bras and Waterloo, as I have
observed before, but the singling those regiments out for these
* Kennedy is wrong, the 52nd were alone ; the 71st were far away, not far
from the inclosures of Hougomont and advancing towards the French position ;
the other part of the brigade, six companies of the 2nd battalion of the Rifles and
two of the Srd battalion, were not with the 52nd during their advance.

128 MISTAKES EEFUTED.
particular rewards was unfair towards the rest of the army. And
it was particularly awkward that the 1st Guards should be made
grenadiers for defeating the grenadiers of the French Imperial
Guard, when all they reaUy did, as regards the Imperial Guard, was
to drive in their skirmishers. There was no harm in their being
made a regiment of grenadiers, but it was an awkward mistake
that the thing should have been mismanaged as it was.
The giving to the ensigns of the three regiments of Guards
the brevet rank of Ueutenant, was afterwards followed up by
depriving several of the regiments of the Line of little distinctions,
some of which were an advantage to them, others merely prized
by them as distinctions, probably conferred upon them for services
rendered, or supposed to have been rendered to their country,
and the being deprived of which occasioned perhaps in some
cases only a little annoyance at the time, but in others very
considerable hardships. StUl if it was an advantage to the
service, that there should be no invidious distinctions, then of
course the change might be necessary ; but why should it not
be equally necessary that there should be no invidious distinction
in favour of the three regiments of Foot Guards ?
It was not till the year 1854, that the Fusileer regiments, the
5th, 7th, 21st, 23rd, and 87th, and the 60th Eifles and the Eifle
Brigade had the rank of ensign given to their junior officers
instead of that of 2nd lieutenant. In the case of the 7th
FusUeers aU their subalterns were, tdl that time, full lieutenants.
All this appears to have been fairly done, and without infliction
of hardship on indi\-idual officers; but stiU the only reason for it
appears to have arisen from a desfre to make all the infantry
regiments, except the guards, alUce, as to the appeUation of thefr
junior subalterns.
In the light infantry regiments, it appears, from the following
document addressed to the lamented Sir John Moore, that an
additional lieutenant was appointed for each company as far
back as 1803 : — "War Office, 18th October, 1803.
"SiE, — In pursuance of a communication from His Eoyal
" Highness the Commander-in-Chief, I have the honourto acquaint
" you, that as the 52nd Eegiment of Foot under your command.

MISTAKES EEFUTED. 129
" being a light infantry corps, requires a greater proportion of
" officers and non-commissioned officers than a battalion of the
" Line, His Majesty has been pleased to order that an augmenta-
"tion of one lieutenant, one serjeant, and one corporal per
" company, shall be made to the establishment thereof from the
" 25th instant inclusive. " I have the honour, &c.,
" (Signed) C. Beagg.
" Major-General Moore, 52nd Eegiment."
I cannot trace the whole detaU of circumstances which led
to the injustice and hardship perpetuated on some of the officers
of the 52nd, and of the other light infantry regiments, in con
nexion with some of the reductions which took place after
Waterloo and the return of the army of occupation from France.
There were ten captains with the 52nd at Waterloo (besides
Lord March and Yorke who were on the staff) thirty-flve lieute
nants including the adjutant, and eight ensigns. On the return
of the 52nd, then only consisting of one battalion, from France,
the establishment of subalterns was reduced to ten lieutenants and
ten ensigns, and on the 25th of August, 1822, it was reduced to
eight lieutenants and eighticnsigns. On the first of these reduc
tions taking place, the junior lieutenants beyond the ten remained
on the Ust of lieutenants, receiving only ensign's pay, until by
death -vacancies the two supernumerary lieutenants were absorbed,
and in the mean time the ensigns could only become lieutenants
by purchase. The grievance created by this paltry and shabby
arrangement was very great in the 52nd, and ought to be a lesson
to all admirers of Mr. Joseph Hume's views of economy, to consider
well the amountofannoyance and disgust which they may occasion
to many deserving officers, before thoy proceed, for the sake of saving
the veriest trifle of expense to the country, to recommend and
carry out reductions which interfere, in so great a degree as those
I speak of did, with the feelings and prospects of individuals.
The hardship inflicted upon one of the officers of the 52nd, the
late Lieutenant Yonge, was that he was put on ensign's pay,
after having received the extra pay of a seven years' lieutenant.
In mentioning this in a letter to the Secretaiy of War soma
K

130 MISTAKES REFUTED.
years ago, he also spoke of the injustice it was, " that whUe the
" ensigns of the Guards were made Ueutenants on the pretence of
" the 1st Guards having repulsed the Imperial Guard, the Ueu-
" tenants of the regiment that actuaUy did that work were made
" ensigns." In a subsequent letter to the same Secretary of War, he
wrote thus :¦ — " But I was led to speak more particularly of the
" 43rd, 52nd, and Eifle Brigade, because being the originaUy-formed
" Ught corps, and constituting as they did the Ught division, to
" them especiaUy fell the outpost duties of the Peninsular army,
" and the practice of the system, of which they had acquired the
" theory from Sir John Moore. How they acquitted themselves
" is sufficiently known. Their losses were proportionately severe.
" The merit of their services had been continually acknowledged,
" and to my own regiment, the 52nd, the Commander-in-Chief
" had repeatedly accorded a quite unusual amount of promotion,
" professedly on account of the high character it sustained. It
" was a strange turn of affairs that, as soon as the war was over,
" they should have thus been placed in a more disadvantageous
" position than any of the ordinary regiments of the Line, and
" this on the miserable pretext that they had no flank companies,
" whereas it should rather have been held, that thefrs were aU
" flank companies. The detached services required of them had
"been tenfold more numerous than could ever be required of
" the fiank companies of any Line regiment. No one who
" is made aware of it cau, I am sure, refuse to acknowledge that
" the light regiments have not been fafrly treated, and it appears
" stiU more glaring, when we look at the FusUeers, differing in
" no respect but in name only from the other Line regiments —
" yet in these, in the place of the ten lieutenants and ten ensigns
" of the light corps, the subalterns of the 7th are all 1st lieute-
' nants and the establishment of the 21st and 23rd is twelve
" 1st lieutenants and eight 2nd Ueutenants." Mr. Yonge, who
received ensign's pay as a supernumerary lieutenant, after having
received extra pay as a seven years' lieutenant, was a very
intelligent and good officer. His services are enumerated as
follows, in the 52nd record : — "Lieutenant WUliam Crawley
"Yonge entered the 52nd in 1810, served with the regiment at

MISTAKES EEFUTED. 131
" the Nivelle, the Nive, Orfhes, Toulouse, and the intervening
" affairs. He also served in the campaign and Battle of Waterloo.
" He has received the Peninsular war medal with four
" clasps.'' These supernumerary lieutenancies, which were to be absorbed
by death vacancies, interfered very much with the promotion
of the ensigns. The only hardship besides my own which I
recoUect was that of Ensign Bentham, who stood next to me on
the list and remained an ensign twelve years. My own case was
a very trying one. My money was lodged aU along for the pur
chase of my lieutenancy, and yet, very much owing to this
treatment of the Ught regiments, I was more than eight years
and a half an ensign. And when in November, 1823, I pur
chased my lieutenancy, the delay that had been occasioned by
the falling in of the supernumerary lieutenancy, which had not
been fiUed up when Brevet-Major Shedden died in 1821, was the
means of my tardy promotion coming just too late to enable me
to avoid the very great mortification of having an ensign four
years my junior, by the purchase of a half-pay lieutenancy, and by
a subsequent exchange, pass into the regiment again as my
senior in the list of lieutenants.
. I perhaps should just mention that all the ensigns of the
Guards who were at Waterloo, and who remained long enough
in their regiments, were lieutenants and brevet-captains before I
obtained my Ueutenancy.
Just as I had written so far, one of my famUy interrupted
me by coming to have an accustomed reading of the scripture
with me and prayer, and in the reading these words occurred,
appropriate to the subject I am writing on: — "Lift ndt up
" your horn on high, speak not with a stiff neck. For promotion
" cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the
" south. But God is the judge, he putteth down one and setteth
" up another :" Psalm Ixxv, 5 — 7. I am sure that aU these
events have been directed by unerring wisdom and in infinite
niercy and loving-kindness ; and yet I think these mistakes,
and injustice, and hardships should be recorded.
I have always felt that the favour and distinctions accorded
to the three regiments of Foot Guards in the way of a step in
K 2

132 MISTAKES EEFUTED.
advance of the officers of the oth6r infantry regiments, in the
several ranks of ensign, Ueutenant, and captain, so that aU the
ensigns are brevet-lieutenants, the lieutenants captains, and the
captains lieutenant-colonels, is not only very annoying and
galling to the other officers of the army, but also exceedingly
injurious to the service. And so much did I feel this, that, in
December, 1855, when the Guards were making some stfr
about a disadvantage which they considered their senior officers
were labouring under, and expressed a desire to be placed on
an " equality with thefr more fortunate brethren of the Line,'' I
went out of my way as a clergyman and took some trouble in
drawing up the foUowing letter and explanatory columns, which
were published by "The Times," and I think led our friends of the
Guards to see that, with regard to the further agitation of the
point they aimed at, " the better part of valour was discretion."
THE GUAEDS.
" To the Editor of ' The Times.'
" Sir, — The accompanying columns are taken from the- 'Army
" ' Lists' for April, 1824, and January, ] 841, which are the oldest
" 'Army Lists' I have at hand. If you think well to publish them
"in 'The Times' they wiU help to point out what the officers of
" the Guards will obtain if they really are, placed on an ' equality
" ' with their more fortunate brethren of the line.'
"I have taken the names and the dates of the commissions
" of the ensigns of the Guards mentioned in the ' Army List' of
" 1824, who subsequently obtained the rank of Ueutenant-colonel,
" and have shown from the 'Army List' of 1841 when they arrived
" at that rank. I have also taken from the same ' Army Lists' the
" names of the officers of the flrst thirty regirhents of the Line
" and of the light infantry and rifle regiments, which occur in
" both these lists, and have shown the rank which they respec-
" tively held in 1824 and in 1841. The average time, from their
" flrst entrance into the army, in which the 19 officers of the
" Guards have obtained their lieutenant-colonelcies, is as nearly as
" possible fifteen years. Of the 76 officers of the Line, men-
" tioned in the two ' Army Lists,' only 16 had arrived at the rank

MISTAKES REPUTED. 133
" of Ueutenant-colonel in 1841, and of these not less than 12 were
" on an average 20 years and six months after they got their
" companies in obtaining thefr Ueutenant-colonelcies. If we
" make the moderate calculation that, on an average, they were
" 10 years in getting their companies, then it appears that aU
" the officers of these Line regiments who reached the rank of
" lieutenant-colonel were, on an average, 30 years in doing so —
" just twice the average time that it took the officers of the
" Guards to attain the same rank. But if your readers wiU look
" at the columns, they wUl perceive greater hardships than
"these. For instance. Ensigns MuUer and Eichardson, of the
" 1st Eoyals, were stUl only subalterns in 1841, after 21 years'
" service. " These peculiar privileges of the officers of the Guards have
" always been obnoxious to the other officers of the army, and in
" the opinion of many are not only unjust, but also injurious to
" the best interests of the service. If the brevet rank in each grade
" is a desirable thing, let it be extended to the whole army ; if
" not, then let it be abolished as quickly as possible in the regi-
" ments of the Guards. But the present system pushes forward
" many men in the Guards to the rank of major-general who
" know but little of the handling of a battaUon, or of its internal
"economy and requirements. If it is to be retained and
" extended, then some plan must be devised by which no
"man shall pass on to the rank of major-general without
"having an adequate acquaintance with the whole regimental
" system. " The Guards did their duty as weU as other regiments at
" Quatre Bras and Waterloo, but they have never done anything
" to entitle them to peculiar privileges, and, unfortunately for
" one of these truly gallant regiments, it was by mistake rewarded
" for that which was actually performed at Waterloo by regiments
" of the Line. I write advisedly, and allude to the defeat of the
" heavy columns of the French Imperial Guard by the 52nd
"Light Infantry, supported by the 71st Light Infantry, and
"by the 2nd and part of the Srd battalions of the 95th
" Eifles. "QU.EQUE ipse MISEEEIMA VIDI."

134

MISTAKES EEFUTED.

Date

When made

How many years

Grenadier Guards.

of first

Captain

and

in attaining rank

Commission.

Lt.-Colonel.

of Lieut.-Colonel.

W. Greenwood ...

April

18,

1816

May 9,

1834

18 yrs.

J. W. Angerstein

April

9,

1818

Sep. 12,

1834

36i yrs.

Sir J. M. Burgoyne

Oct.

1,

1818

June 6,

1835

16i yrs.

G.W. Eyres 

Dec.

3,

1818

July 1,

1836

17i yrs.

W. Fludyer 

Oct.

25,

1821

Dec. 2,

1836

15 yra. 5 weeks

P. J. Perceval 

May

23,

1822

Jan. 10,

1837

14 yrs. 8 months

J. E. Craufurd 

Aug.

29,

1822

Feb. 18,

1837

14iyrs.

Frederick Clinton

Nov.

19,

1823

Jan. 12,

1833

14 yrs. 2 months

E. W. AsteU 

Nov.

2o;

1823

July 7,

1838

14 yrs. 4i ditto

Coldstream Guarda.

W. H. Cornwall*
B. Broadhead*
C. M. Hay 
Nov.
1,
1821
June 22,
1832
10 vrs. 8 months
J. D. Eawdon 
Jan.
30,
1823
Nov. 15,
1833
10 yrs. 10 ditto
Hon. T. Ashburnham ...
Jan.
30,
1823
Mar. 27,
1835
12 yrs. 2 ditto
W. J. Codrington
April
4,
1823
July 8,
1836
13 yrs. 3 ditto
Ely D. Wigram 
May
29!
1823
Jan. 13,
1837
13 yrs. 8 ditto
Fusileer Guards.
Hon. T. C. Westenra ...
May
4,
1814
Aug. 9,
1833
19 yrs. 3 months
P. J. Torke 
May
5,
1814
Aui. 7,
1835
21 yrs. 3 ditto
G.Dillon 
Jan.
20,
1820
May 20,
1836
16 yrs. 4 ditto
Hon. C. B. PMpps
Aug.
17,
1820
May 26,
1837
16 yrs. 9 ditto
J. G. Eobinson ...
Jan.
23,
1817
Aug. 12,
1837
20 yrs. 6 ditto
* Appear not to have got their first commissions in the Coldstream.
Eegiments of the
Line.
1st Foot-
Edward MuUer
J. Eichardson...
2nd Foot—
O. Eobinson ...
G. D. J. Eaitt
3rd Foot—
E. N. Everard
G. L. Christie...
4th Foot—
T. WiUiams ...
5th Foot—
C. Wood
6th Foot—
J. T. Griffiths
7th FusUeers* —
F. Farquharson
8th Foot-
Thomas G. BaU
9th Foot—
G. L. Davis ...
10th Foot—
SaviUe Broom
T. L. L. GaUoway
llth Foot—
B. v. Derinzy
W. Chambre ...
* No
Eank in Army List
of 1824.
Ensign, 1820...
Ensign, 1820...
Ensign, 1820...
Ensign, 1823...
Ensign, 1817...
Ensign, 1822...
Ensign, 1822...
Ensign, 1820...
Lieutenant, 1821
Captain, 1819
Captaiu, 1814
Lieutenant, 1811
Lieutenant, 1820
Lieutenant, 1822
Captain, 1814
Captain, 1822
subalterns in Army List of
Eank in Army List of 1841.
StiU Sen. Lieutenant only, 1841
2nd Lieutenant, 1841
6th Capt. and Brev.-Major, 1841
Senior Captaiu and Brevet-
Major, 1841
Senior Captain, 1841
2nd Captain, 1841
2nd Captain, 1841
3rd Captain, 1841
Srd Captain, 1841
Lieut.-Colonel, 1832
Lieut.-Colonel, 1835
Junior Major, 1841
2nd Major, 1841
Senior Captain, 1841
Lieut.-Colonel, 1833
Sen. Capt. and Brev.-Major, 1841
1824 remaining iu 1841.
MISTAKES EEFUTED.

135

Eeg^ents of the
Line.

Eank in Army List
of 1824.

Eank in Army List of 1841.

12th Foot-

Joseph Jones ...

Captaiu, 1823

Lieut.-Colonel, 1835

S.F. Glover 

Lieutenant, 1813 ...

2nd Captain, 1841

Julius Stirke ...

Lieutenant, 1823

Sth Captain, 1841

13th Light Infantry—

T.e. Squire 
Captain, 1821
2nd Major, 1841
James Kershawe
Ensign, 1817 
Senior Captain and Brevet'
Major, 1841
A. Wilkinson 
14th Foot—
Ensign, 1822 
Sth Captain, 1841
M. Everard 
Captain, 1807
Lieut.-Colonel, 1831
James Watson
Lieutenant, 1822
Major, 1841
15th Foot—
T. A. Drought
Captain, 1822
Only Senior Major, 1841
16th Foot—
H. Clements 
Captain, 1813
Junior Major, 1841
E. Browne 
Lieutenant, 1809
Senior Captain and Brevet-
Major, 1841
2nd Capt. and Brev.-Major, 1841
J. DalzeU 
Lieutenant, 1812 ...
H. M'Manus 
Lieutenant, 1820 ...
Srd Captain, 1841
J. Brand 
Lieutenant, 1820 ...
4th Captain, 1841
C. F. Thompson
Ensign, 1820 
Junior Captain, 1841
17th Foot—
W. Croker 
Captain, 1806
Lieut.-Colonel, 1836
J. T. Nagel 
Lieutenant, 1820
sth Captain, 1841
18th Foot—
E. N. Tomlinson
Ensign, 1821 
2nd Major, 1841
19th Foot-
Thomas HamUton ...
Lieutenant, 1814
Lieut.-Colonel, 1838
20th Foot-
Frederick Croad
Lieutenant, 1818 ...
2nd Major, 1841
21st Fusileers —
J. P. Beete 
Ensign, 1820 
1st Major, 1841
22nd Foot—
John Poole
Lieutenant, 1819 ...
1st Major, 1841
23rd Fusileers-
W. Eoss (Waterloo) ...
Captain, 1813
Lieut.-Colonel, 18S7
E. P.Holmes (ditto)...
Captain, 1823
Major, 1841
Thomas Matheson ...
1st Lieutenant, 1823
2nd Major, 1841
J. Enoch (Waterloo)...
1st Lieutenant, 1811
2nd Captain, 1841
24th Foot—
C. Hughes 
Captain, 1804
Lieut.-Colonel, 1835
H. D. Townshend ...
Captain, 1821
Brevet-Lieut.-Colonel, 1SS9
Eobert Marsh
Lieutenant, 1817
Srd Captain, 1841
25th Foot—
J. J. HoUis 
Captain, 1809
Senior Captain and Brevet-
26th Foot-
Major, 1841
W. Johnstone 
Captain, 1820
Senior Captain and Brevet-
Major, 1841
H.F. Strange
Ensign, 1815 
Srd Captain, 1841
James Piggott
Ensign, 1823 
6th Captain, 1841
27th Foot—
D. M'Pherson
Lieutenant, 1806 ...
Lieut.-Colonel, 1840
M. C. Johnstone
Ensign, 1823 
Senior Major, 1841
28th Foot-
Thomas Wheeler ...
Lieutenant, 1817 ...
Senior Captain, 1841
J. A. Messiter
Ensign, 1823 
Senior Major, 1841
29th Foot—
E. P. Douglas
Lieutenant, 1824 ...
Senior Captain, 1841
30th Foot-
John Tongue 
Captain, 1811
Junior Major, 1841
J. Poyntz 
Lieutenant, 1815 ...
3rd Captain, 1841
136 MISTAKES EEFUTED.
Eemaining Light Inpaktet and Eiple Eegiments.

Eegiments of the
Line.

43rd Light Infantry —
J. B. B. Estcourt ...
Samuel Tryon
51st Light Infantry —
W. H. ElUott (Water
loo) 
Edward St. Maur ...
O. Ainsworth (Water
loo) 
F. Mainwaring (Water
loo) 
52nd Light Infantry —
WiUiam Blois 
60th Eifles—
Ambrose Spong
68th Light Infantry-
Harry Smyth...
71st Light Infantry—
J. Impett (Waterloo)
A. E. L'Estrange
(Waterloo) 
85th Light Infantry—
F. MaunseU 
Henry J. French
WUliam T.Hunt ...
Manley Power
Herbert E. Taylor ...
90th Light Infantry—
T. W. Eyles 
John Wilson 
Eifle Brigade —
J. C. Hope (Waterloo)
Eichard Irton 
Hon. J. St. V. Sau-

Eank in Army List
of 1824.

Ensign, 1820...
Ensign, 1823 ...

Captain, 1820
Captain, 1823
Lieutenant, 1810
Lieutenant, 1813
Ensign, 1815...
Lieutenant, 1814
Ensign, 1823...
Lieutenant, 1820
Lieutenant, 1821
Captain, 1819
Captain, 1823
Lieutenant, 1814
Lieutenant, 1823
Ensign, 1824...
Ensign, 1820...
Lieutenant, 1824
Captain, 1820
2nd Lieutenant, 1815
2nd Lieutenant, 1824

Eank in Army List of 1841.

Brevet Lieut.-Colonel, 1839
3rd Captain, 1841

Lieut.-Colonel, 1838
StiU senior Major only, 1841
Senior Captain, 1841
2nd Major, 1841
Lieut.-Colonel, 1839
2nd Capt. and Brev.-Major, 1841
Senior Captain, 1841
Senior Captain, 1841
2nd Captain, 1841
Lieut.-Colonel, 1836
Senior Major, 1841
Junior Major, 1841
Senior Captain and Brevet-
Major, 1841
2nd Captain,. 1841
Senior Major, 1841
2nd Captain, 1841
Lieut.-Colonel, 1837
2nd Major, 1841
4th Major, 1841

It would probably be better for the officers of the Guards
themselves, and certainly more pleasant to the officers of the rest of
the army, and for the benefit of the service generally, if these dis
tinctions were abo] ished, perhaps not by taking away therank which
the officers of the Guards hold, but by giving exactly the same rank
to the officers of all the other corps in the army. Tiiere would
not be any very tremendous difficulty in finding out appropriate
titles if the present titles for the several grades were considered
unsuitable ; and the army rank of those who became brevet-
lieutenant-colonels, might be so adjusted by antedate (and why
should this not be done ?) as no longer to aUow the regimental
captains of the Guards to be of higher standing in the army than

MISTAKES EEFUTED. 137
captains of other regiments, whose regimental commissions might
be of an older date. I suspect, if it should be once conceded
that it was injurious to the service that the officers of the Guards
should as a rule arrive at the higher ranks of the army at a
much earlier age than that at which the officers of the rest of the
army should arrive at the same ranks — then some of the various
difficulties, which may now appear to loom in the distance, would
soon be got over.
One obvious disadvantage of the present system, of the officers
of the Guards having invariably a step of army rank in advance
of their regimental rank, is this that, both in garrison and camp,
and on active service, it may be often happening that consider
ably younger men will take the command of their seniors and of
men of many years' more experience tlian themselves. The
system may probably foster a spirit of pride and conceit in the
guardsmen, and a feeUng of disgust and annoyance in the minds
of the other officers of the army, who suffer from the invidious
distinctions heaped upon the Guards. I should suppose it must
frequently happen that officers of the latter service, really feel
pained, when called upon to command those older and more
experienced than themselves.
It may be desirable that there should be a body of men,
accustomed to the duties required from the troops usually
stationed in London or at Windsor, but their position should be
rendered as little invidious in the eyes of the rest of the army as
possible. They should be let off taking their turn of duty in the
East and West Indies, and in China, and in other distant places ;
no one would begrudge them those little distinctions : — gallant
feUows as they are, and as they have ever shewn themselves,
they would always wish to take their turn of active service.

138

CHAPTEE VII.
1815.
MAECH TO' PARIS.
NiveUes— Letters to England — News of battle— Lists of killed and wounded —
Mother ill — Alarm of sisters — March to Binche — Coal pit — Enter France—
Le Cateau — Loss of baggage — Claim for remuneration — Other claims rej ected
— Fate of the baggage — Officers on baggage-guard — Marshal Mongey's
Chateau — Distant view of Paris — Montmartre — 52nd alone at Argenteuil —
Pontoon bridge — Convention — Bridge and graveyard of NeuUly — Enter
Paris — Encamp in the Champs Elysees.
In 1859 I drew up, for the regimental record, a very short
account of the march of the 52nd from Waterloo to Paris. I
will, in introducing it into this work, endeavour to mention
several details, which may possibly add to its interest.
I believe it was between twelve and one o'clock on the 19th,
when we left our ground near Maison du Eoi, and marched to
MveUes, which, by the road we took, was about nine mUes offi
We had now fairly started on our triumphant march to the
French capital, and aU were in the highest state of delight at our
glorious victory, in the gaining which the 52nd had been fortu
nate enough to take such a leading part, and in our glorious
prospect of immediately entering France, and eventuaUy Paris
itself We bivouacked about a mUe beyond MveUes, on the left
of the chaussee, and about a hundred yards from a beautiful little
stream, at which we washed our hands and faces, not having
been able even to wash our hands since the morning of the 16th.
Hearing that there was an opportunity of sending letters to
England, I got some paper from the colour-seijeant of the com-

MARCH TO PARIS. 139
pany, and wrote two short notes, one to my mother and sisters,
the other to a kind friend much interested in the 52nd. My
letters, which I am sorry to say, have been long ago lost, though
short, were to the point, and very astounding no doubt. I weU
recoUect teUing them that we had gained a glorious victory, and
that the 52nd had " defeated the Imperial Guard of France, led
" on by the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte in person," using the
same words which I had heard Sir John Colborne use in the
morning. My letter did not reach my mother for several days. She
was very Ul, and confined to her bed with rheumatic fever. The
news, that a great battle had been fought, and that there had
been great numbers of killed and wounded on both sides,
reached every corner of the land some days before the long list
of kiUed and wounded made its appearance. These were days of
great suspense and anxiety to my young sisters, who had kept
all mention of the battle from their poor mother. They have
often given me the account of their proceedings. At last they
got the newspaper containing the fearful list. They tremblingly
spread it out on the sideboard, that aU three might read it to
gether. As every one knows, there was first of aU a long list of
those who had been killed. They looked down it to the 52nd,
and there they read Ensign William  , and they had time
for a moment of agony, before they found that the surname was
not mine, but that of my poor brother-ensign. The longer list of
the wounded was then examined with almost equal anxiety, and
when my name did not appear there, the eldest exclaimed,
" Thank God, he's safe ; " and they went to my mother, and after
teUing her quietly that I was safe, they told her of the " bloody
" battle and glorious victory of Waterloo," and then they all cried
together, and felt very thankful for God's great kindness to us.
My brother, who arrived from the Cape a few days after, as a
young commander, first heard the news of the "victory at Spit
head, or on landing at Portsmouth, and first heard that I was in
the armj^, by being told that I had been in the action and was
safe. I recollect he wrote me a letter on the occasion, in which
he said he always thought that I had " a great desire to smeU
" powder," which I suppose somewhat flattered my vanity.

140 MARCH TO PARIS,
On the 20th of June we reached the neighbourhood of Binche,
and I think it was not far from our halting-place that I went
down a coal-pit of considerable depth. I had to put off all my
own clothes and to dress mj'self in the very thick flannel shirt
and trowsers which the colliers use ; and thus clothed, and with
one of their old felt caps on my head, into which a short iron
spike was run, with a socket at the end for the lighted candle, I
followed my guide down the ladder fixed to the side of the pit,
to the depth of, I think they told me, 1100 feet. AU the way
down there were wooden platforms, at about everj^ forty yards,
completely filling up the whole area of the pit, with the excep
tion of the hole which we had to pass through, in our descent
from each platform, so that there was some comfort in thinking
that if I got giddy I could not fall to the bottom of the pit.
After descending some not very considerable distance, the water
began to trickle down the sides of the pit, and my candle was
frequently put out before we reached the bottom. My guide,
whenever this happened, was very attentive in relighting my
candle or starting me with a fresh one. When I got amongst
the colliers at the bottom of the pit, they were very curious to
know who I was, and made many inquiries about me of my guide,
some suggesting that I was a deserter, endeavouring to conceal
myself from those in pursuit of me. One advantage of my expe
dition was that I had to wash from head to foot before I could
get into my own clothes again. The officers of the company
were rather surprised at my little adventure, for they had not
missed me.
On the 21st of June, between Binche and Bavay, we passed
the frontier, and entered France from Belgium. We bivouacked
in a very pleasant orchard, within half-a-mile of Bavay, and an
order was given that no one was to enter the town. However,
I was soon despatched with a havre-sac, as caterer for the cora
pany's officers' mess ; they all insisting upon it, when I pleaded
the order, that it was not intended to apply to the officers. On
getting into Bavay, I tied up my horse and got into a cabaret, the
lower rooms of which were fiUed with English and German
soldiers, all intent on getting anything they could meet with in
the shape of eatables. I considered myseU very fortunate, when

MARCH TO PAEIS. 141
I managed to purchase some small loaves, and two or three very-
small cheeses, about six inches by four, and one-and-a-half thick ;
and also a dozen of eggs, which I boUed for a good quarter of an
hour. Having put all into my havre- sac, I started off for the
bivouac ; but whom should I fall in with, as I rode out of the
town, but Sir John Colborne, who, however, as he rode by my
side, to my great relief did not mention the order, either because
it was not intended for the officers, or from a very kind feeling
which all persons in authority find it desirable to exercise at
times, and which leads them to appear not to notice things,
which if noticed at all, would render it necessary that they should
speak or act in a way which would be more productive of harm
than good. I rode rather fast over part of the way from the
auberge to the bivouac, and the consequence was that all my
eggs, which I thought were hard-boiled, were smashed, and made
a regular mess of the cheese and the bread in the havre-sac, to
the no small annoyance of my mess friends and myself Know
ing nothing about egg-boiling, I had neglected to make the water
boU before I put the eggs into it.
On the 22nd we marched from Bavay to Le Cateau Cambresis.
I think it was on this march, at one of our halts, that I found
one of our men washing a nasty-looking wound on his breast
bone, at least half-a-foot square ; on my inquiring how he had
got it, he told me that it was occasioned by a musket ball strik
ing his breastplate, as we advanced on the Imperial Guard ; and
that he had determined not to mention it, as he did not wish to
be left behind in hospital. But for the breastplate, he would
have been a dead man.
We remained at Le Cateau till the morning of the 25th, and
the regiment had a very agreeable bivouac in a large, square
grass-field, which, as I recollect it, had on two or three sides the
ruins of old walls, partly covered with grass. It was close to the
town. Louis XVIII arrived at Le Cateau on the 24tli, and was
received by the Duke of Wellington.
The Duke halted his advanced troops at this place for several
purposes. Some of the French fortresses near the frontier were
to be taken possession of Cambrai was taken on the 24th, and

142 MARCH TO PARIS.
its citadel on the 25th, and Louis the XVIII entered the town on
the 26th. Peronne was taken on the 26th. On aU these occa
sions there was but trifling loss.
The Duke wrote as foUows, two days afterwards, to Lord
Bathurst: — "The armies under Marshal Blucher and myself
"have continued their operations since I last wrote to your
" Lordship. The necessity which I was under of halting at Le
" Cateau, to aUow the pontoons and certain stores to reach me,
" and to take Cambrai and Peronne, had placed the Marshal one
" march before me ; but I conceive there is no danger in this
" separation between the two armies.''
He wrote to Lord Liverpool on the same day: — "You will see
"in my letter to Lord Bathurst the account of the state of things
" here, which I hope we shaU bring to the conclusion we wish for,
"without firing another shot. I hope to be in Paris on the 1st
" of July."
On the same day the Duke, in writing to the Duke of York,
the Commander-in-Chief, made the foUowing recommendation
relative to the Companionship of the Bath, and to the gold medal,
and to a medal for Waterloo : —
" I confess that I do not concur in the limitation of the order
" to field-officers. Many captains in the army conducted them-
" selves in a very meritorious manner, and deserve it ; and I
" never could see the reason for excluding them, either from the
" order or from the medal. I would also like to suggest to your
" Eoyal Highness the expediency of giving to the non-commis-
" sioned officers and soldiers, engaged in the Battle of Waterloo,
" a medal. I am convinced it would have the best effect in the
" army ; and, if that battle should settle our concerns, they wUl
" weU deserve it.''
The medal for Waterloo was given to every officer and man
in the field, and was distributed to each some little time before
the first anniversary of the battle.
The non-commissioned officers and men were aUowed two
years' time towards any claim for increase of pension ; and the
Waterloo subalterns were allowed two years for Waterloo towards
getting the additional shiUing per day which they before received
after seven years' service.

MAECH TO PARIS. 143
The 1st Guards were made " Grenadier Guards,'' for defeat
ing the grenadiers of the Imperial Guard of France; and the
ensigns of aU the three regiments of the Guards, were for the
future to be ensigns and lieutenants; the ensigns thus having
precedence given them over aU the ensigns of the British army.
The following are extracts from a general order, dated MveUes,
20th June, 1815 :—
" The Field-Marshal takes this opportunity of retuming to
" the army his thanks for their conduct in the glorious action
"fought on the 18th instant. With a view to preserve order,
" and to provide for attendance at the hospitals at Bruxelles, the
¦¦ commander of the forces desires that one officer, one non-com-
" missioned officer, and three private men, for 100 men sent to
"the hospital, wounded in the late actions of the 16th and 18th
" instant, may be sent from the several regiments to Bruxelles to-
" morrow, and place themselves under the orders of the com-
" mandant there.
" No regiment need send officers and men for more than 100
" men, and in case any regiment has not sent more than fifty
" men to the hospital, such regiment wUl send only one non-
" commissioned officer and two men to take charge of them."
During the two clear days that we remained at Le Cateau,
our hope of seeing our baggage come up was greatly diminished.
I rode out several times on the Brussels road, and at times
thought I had caught sight of it in the distance ; but it always
tumed out to be the baggage of some other corps. The baggage
of half the officers of the 52ud was entirely lost, and it was
reported that it was plundered on the 18th, ou the road to
Brussels, by some foreign cavalry, who were running away from
the action. Some time after Waterloo, but I cannot recoUect the
exact time, I determined on sending in a claim for remunera
tion for the loss of my baggage ; and this I did, notwithstanding
that aU the officers told me it was perfectly useless for me to pre
fer such a claim, as remuneration was never allowed unless the
baggage had been taken by the enemy. I thought it was a gross
piece of injustice that officers should be fighting the battles of
their country and risking their lives in its service, and incur
such a serious loss without any fault of their own, and that the

144 MARCH TO PARIS.
country should not bear them harmless from it. My claim was
accordingly made out ; and Colonel Charles Eowan certified that
it was correctly and justly stated, and forwarded it to the proper
quarter. It included the value of my baggage-horse and saddle,
a bearskin bed, and a canteen, and aU the clothes, regimentals,
&c., &c., which I had not on my back and in a small valise
fastened behind the saddle of my riding-horse. The things were
aU new since the 1st of May, and my outfit had cost me about
£200. However, I could only recollect the articles and their
prices, which had to be specified, sufficiently to enable me to
make out a claim for £77 14s. Od. I believe the claim was
referred by the Duke of Wellington to the proper board in Eng
land. After some time the commanding officer received infor
mation that the claim was allowed to a certain extent, and that
the sum of, I think it was, £63 was to be paid to me. Then, of
course, all the other officers of the regiment who had lost their
baggage sent in claims for remuneration ; but, notwithstanding
my success, all their claims were rejected. I, of course, was
rather proud of having displayed more generalship than any of
them. However, the matter did not quite end there, for Colonel
Eowan wrote a letter of expostulation on the subject, in which
he stated that some of the officers claiming were in the same
company with me, and their horses in the same string of horses
with mine ; that I had received remuneration for my loss, and
that it would, of course, be considered a very great hardship if
they should not be remunerated also. I was rather joked and
twitted about the probability of my having to refund the money
which I had received ; but, as I thought it well to have some
answer to this threatened and very probable disaster, I used to
say, " Oh ! that's impossible, for I have spent it aU." In due tim3
a reply came to Colonel Eowan's letter, and then I had a regular
crow over all my friends. The reply was, that " if Ensign Leeke
"had received remuneration for the baggage which he lost at
" Waterloo, all the Duke of WeUington could say was, that he
"knew nothing at aU about it." And thus it aU ended. We
heard at the time that one other officer in the army had obtained
remuneration for loss of baggage.
We afterwards learnt the true fate of the baggage of some of

MARCH TO PARIS. 145
the officers. Two of the batmen, of which the man having charge
of the string of horses belonging to McNair's company was one,
reached Brussels, and had the rascality to pass themselves off as
wounded English officers, having managed to rig themselves out
with the officers' clothes which had been entrusted to them ;
they managed to obtain bUlets from the proper authorities. This
was not likely to last long, when there were upwards of 170
wounded officers and men of their own regiment in Brussels,
besides the officers and men who had been sent there to look after
the wounded ; so in the course of three or four weeks they were
denounced to the officers, and I recollect our man was sent up to
the regiment, and tried by a general regimental court-martial,
and was sentenced to be transported for seven years.
Amongst the clothes which this man had not got rid of — and
he had sold the greater part of the things — there were articles of
clothing discovered belonging to all the other officers of Mc
Nair's company except myself After the court-marshal I asked
him how this happened to be the case, and he told me that in
the great confusion which there was amongst the baggage, it was
almost impossible for one man to take care of a string of four or
five horses, and that much baggage was lost in consequence ; that
my horse was the last, and that he saw a Belgian peasant cut the
rope which fastened him to the horse before him ; that he could
not leave the leading horse, and that whUst he was loading his
firelock to have a shot at the Belgian, sonie increased confusion
took place, and the man succeeded in getting off with my horse
and baggage. Very possibly this account was correct. I forget
what became of the other deUnquent, but he was not tried at the
same time with our batman.
I believe it was not unfrequently the case in the Peninsula,
that officers on baggage-guard at the time of a general action, ran
the risk of getting into a scrape, and left their guard and went
up to the front, to their regiments, to see the fun, as it was termed.
I think I understood that our subaltern on the baggage-guard
did this at Waterloo ; and probably, had he not done so, much of
the confusion and loss I have described would have been avoided.
But I dare say there was not an officer, who sustained the loss of
his baggage on that occasion, who would not rather have done so
L

146 MARCH TO PARIS.
than that this poor fellow should have missed the pleasure of
being present with his regiment at Waterloo. And yet the prac
tice cannot be defended, and I do not mean to defend it, but
merely to describe the feeling on the subject.
It is related in the 52nd regimental record that the late Dnke
of Eichmond, The Prince of Orange, and Lord Fitzroy Somerset
(afterwards Lord Eaglan) entered the breach at Ciudad Eodrigo
with the 62nd storming party, and that on the following morn
ing, when taking their places at breakfast in Lord WeUington's
tent, " they received a gentle reproof for adventuring into a posi-
" tion which, being officers of the staff, they were not called upon
" to undertake by the customs of the service."
I believe it was at Le Cateau that we had notice that there
was a sale of the effects of some of the German officers who had
been killed at Waterloo. I went to it, as some of us were very
much in want of a change of linen ; somehow or other I only
succeeded in securing two shirts, the best of which fell to the lot
of one of my brother-officers. It was either when we were at Le
Cateau or a day or two afterwards, that Sir John Colborne, ou
finding that my boots were in a most dUapidated state, very
kindly made me a present of a new pair of his own.
On the 25th of June the 52nd marched from Le Cateau to
the neighbourhood of Joncour; on the 26th they were near
Beauvoir and Lanchy ; on the 27th close to Eoye ; on the 28th
at Petit Crevecoeur, on the road to St. Just ; on the 29th near
Clermont ; on the SOth near La Chapelle. On the 30th I think
it was that Captain McNair's company (No. 9) was sent, in con
sequence of an application from Marshal Monkey, Duke of Corne-,
gliano, to occupy for the night and protect his chateau, about a mUe
from the bivouac of the regiment. The grounds of this chateau,
and the chateau itself, were in exceUent taste, and we considered
ourselves very fortunate in being quartered there for the night.
The servants provided us with a very nice dinner, but the greatest
luxury was to be able for the first time since the 16th to undress
ourselves and sleep in a bed. They told me that the room
selected for me was Mademoiselle Mon9ey's.
I must not neglect to mention, that one of the officers of the
company having met with an accident and injured his shin, some

MARCH TO PARIS. 147
time before we arrived at Waterloo, the wound became so trouble
some that his trowsers stuck to it, and got into such a state on
tlie outsiile that, when the battle was over, he sent back his ser
vant to search for another pau- for him, and he succeeded in
bringing hini a pair drawn from the body of a dead Frenchman.
It hiippencd that tho Fi-enchman was what is termed ' Dutch-
" built," and tho officer was toller and thinner than his predecessor
in tho property ; aud so, after bearing for twelve days with the
inconvenionoo arising from the unfitness of the trowsers for him,
and finding that thoro, was no chance of the baggage turning up,
ho took advautage of our occupying the chateau to Ue in his
cloak for some hours, whilst a tailor belonging to the company
retluood the trowsei"s to dimensions suited to the wants and taste
of thoir now proprietor.
Sir Johu Colbome also took up his quarters nt this chateau,
but 1 did not como across him. The next moming, whon the
company had marched about a hundred j^ards from tho gates, we
mot a \ory gontlomanly-lookuig elderlj'^ man on a handsome
long-tailed groy horse, whom we supposed to be the duke, but
he piissod us without taking any uotioe of us, or wo of him. He
niight liiwo thimked us for taking onro of his proporty, but we
oould not woU take any notice of him, as wo woro not sure that
ho wus tho duke.
Somo days bofoi-c this it was currently reported in the army
that Mai-shal Bluohor had declared most positively, that if the
Ih-ussians got hold of Bonaparto, he would hang him. And he
wiis equally dotorminod to destroy any monuments in Paris
wliioh recorded auy of the victories gained ty the French over
tho Prussians in former yoai-s. Some days after our aiTival at
Paris, I saw tlio Prussian euginoors vory busy under one of the
arohes of the bridge of Jona, which roooivod its name to com-
momorato a victory gainod by the Frencli in 1806. There was
also a stivng report that Blucher would destroy the splendid
oolumn iu tho Plaoe A'ouddiue formod out of the brass cannon
takeai by the Fronoh from their onomios during theU long course
of victories in formei- years. He intended also to impose a hea^'y
contribution ou the city of Paris, The Duke of WeUington had
some difficulty in rostmuiug Blucher's angry impetuosity until
L '2 '

148 MARCH TO PARIS.
the course of action as to these and other matters should be
decided by all the AlUed powers.
The foUowing letter from Lord Castlereagh to Lord Liverpool,
written June 25th, wUl give some idea of the state of affairs at
this time : —
" The papers of the 23rd just arrived.
" Bonaparte has abdicated in favour of his son. The assem-
" blies have accepted the abdication unconditionaUy. They have
" nominated a provisional government of five, of which Fouch^
" Carnot, and Caulaincourt are three, and determined to send
" commissioners to the Allies to negotiate.
" The Minister of War states in the House of Peers, that they
" have still an army of 60,000 men to cover the north ; Ney con-
"tradicts this, and says it does not exceed 25,000; and that
" there is nothing that can prevent the advance of the enemy to
" Paris. He teUs them they have no choice but to negotiate
" with the AUies. The French army is admitted to have been en-
" tirely dissolved in the battle of the 18th. Vandamme seems to
"have got with 10,000 men in the rear of the AlUes, and to be
" thus cut off.
"Sir C. Stuart writes from Mons, the 23rd, to which place
" Louis XVIII had removed : — 'WeUington at Cateau Cambresis ;
" ' Blucher at Avesnes. We have parked 172 cannon ; the Prus-
" ' sians 62.' I have caUed a cabinet council. Ever yours,
" Castlereagh."
On the 1st of July, when we were not many mUes from Marshal
Mon9ey's chateau, the 52nd first saw Paris, and the splendid
dome of the hospital of the Invalides in the distance. It was a
beautiful day. The regiment moved off the road to the right to
a rising ground, caUed the Jardin de Paris, finding large quan
tities of fruit-trees covering an immense extent of ground. Here
they looked down on St. Denis, rather towards the left, and the
hiU of Montmartre, between them and the French capital.
Montmartre appeared very rugged and to be strongly fortffied,
and our feelings got on to the war estabUshment again, as we
fancied we might very probably have to storm this not very
pleasant-looking fortified hOl on the morrow. It was when we
arrived at the Jardin de Paris that we first saw the French

MARCH TO PARIS. 149
troops again after their defeat at Waterloo, they having sent out
from St. Denis along the high road a few skirmishers to fire at
one of the English -videttes. It was not a very pleasant post for
him to be on sentry in, as he had some thirty or forty feUows
blazing away at him for some considerable time at a distance of
about 250 yards. As he walked his horse up and down on his
post, he occasionaUy returned the fire of the skirmishers by giving
them a shot from his carbine. Sir John Colbome, who had com
manded the brigade since the action, Adam and Eeynell being
wounded, sent down a party of the 71st, who drove the French
skirmishers off.
I remember we very much enjoyed the ripe currants and
cherries on the slope to the right below our bivouac. At the
bottom of the slope, about half-a-mile off, I found a deserted
vUlage, in which there were a great number of gentlemen's houses
completely plundered, and every atom of fumiture destroyed in
the most wanton manner by the Prussians. Mirrors and chests
of drawers, &e., &c., were smashed to atoms. This was the first
time that we had come across the Prussian Une of march. They
were determined to retaUate upon the French civiUans all the
suffering and cruelty they had experienced at the hands of the
French soldiers in by-gone years.
On the 2nd of July the 52nd were alone at Argenteuil on
the Seine. Here we found the viUage had been plundered by
the Prussians. Three of them who had to turn out of the -yiUage,
when we arrived there, not being weU pleased at being interfered
with, did us the favour, when they had proceeded about two or
three hundred yards on the road, to send three musket-balls
whistUng through our bivouac; they rather astonished us, but did
no harm ; and I think the feUows were not followed and punished.
In the aftemoon of the 2nd McNair's company crossed the
Seine in boats, and took possession of and loopholed a gentle
man's house on the other side, to protect the formation of a pon
toon bridge across the Seine ; the French troops being about a
mUe off, but not shewing themselves. The next morning another
company of the 52nd joined us, and pushed on an officer and
some men to a viUage in front, from which a few French soldiers
hastUy retired as they entered it. On the 2nd and Srd of July

150 MARCH TO PAEIS.
the Prassians were twice attacked by the French under Davoust,
and the latter were defeated, the Prussians foUowing them nearly
to the walls of Paris.
On the same day a convention was signed, Napoleon having
abdicated and fled, by which, amongst other arrangements, it was
agreed that there should be a suspension of arms, that the French
army opposed to us should evacuate Paris in three days, and
retire behind the Loire, and that, within the same space of time,
aU the barriers of Paris and also Montmartre should be given up.
The English and Prussian commissioners. Colonel Hervey and
Baron Muffling, were fired at in the streets 'of Paris, shortly
after entering it by the barrier of VUlette ; which might have
led to very disastrous consequences, but an ample apology was
made by the Prince of Eckmiihl and the French commissioners
charged with the execution of the convention, and the affair was
passed over. '
On the afternoon of the 3rd of July the 52nd crossed the
Seine on the pontoon bridge, and proceeded to the bridge of
NeuiUy. We observed places along the side of the road where
the Prussians and French were buried who had been kUled there,
I think, the day before. Sir John Colborne had received orders
to cross the bridge of NeuUly ; but the French refused to retire
from the strong barricade, which had been buUt across the centre
of it. The two front companies of the 52nd (10 and 9) were
advanced a very short distance in front of the column of com
panies, on the road by the side of the river, with fixed bayonets.
Sir John Colborne coolly took out his watch and aUowed five
minutes to the French commander in which to give up the
bridge or to have it stormed ; in two or three minutes it was
given up, some few men coming over and shouting "Vive le Eoi!"
The viUage of NeuiUy, within a short distance of one of the
barriers of Paris, was occupied, and the 52nd passed the night in
the waUed graveyard of that place. The only things I recollect
as occurring on that night were the getting some bread and
cheese in a cabaret ; and, with the assistance of one of the officers,
getting late at night a truss of hay for our horses out of the hay
loft belonging to a gentleman's house, which was either deserted,
or the inhabitants declined to " shew up."

MARCH TO PARIS. 151
On the morning of the 4th of July we saw the last of the
French troops, two videttes close to, the gate of the graveyard,
having two EngUsh videttes -within twenty paces of them, and a
French infantry picket about haK-a-mUe off on the road to Paris.
They soon retired, and the French army began to evacuate Paris
that day, and, I thinI?, it was on the same day, that the National
Guard of Paris relieved the guard of the troops of the Line at the
Barri^re de I'EtoUe. The 52nd proceeded to the Bois de Boulogne,
to the right of the road from NeuUly to Paris, and remained
there tUl the 7th. On the 5th Montmartre was given up to the
English, and on the 6th,. I believe, some of our brigade took pos
session of the Barriere de I'EtoUe.
On the morning of the 7th of July General Adam's brigade
(52nd, 71st, and 95th) had the honour of entering Paris by the
Barriere de I'Etoile,. They marched down the centre of the road
leading through the Champs Elysees, to the Place Louis Quinze,
(now the Place de la Concorde) and the TuUeries. A brigade of
artillery, with Ughted matches, was posted close to the barrier on
either side of the chaussde. It was a proud aud happy moment,
when, with bands and bugles playing, we thus took possession of,
and entered, the capital of France. At least I am sure it was
the proudest moment of my life, when I found myself riding
down the centre of the avenue of the Champs Elysees, bearing in
triumph, into the enemy's capital, that same 52nd regimental
colour which I had the honour of carrying to -victory on the
eventful and glorious day of Waterloo.
The whole brigade halted and piled arms in the Champs
Elysees, to the right of the main ro^ and between it and the
Seine, and not far from the Place Louis Quinze. These were the
British troops which occupied the French capital; almost the
whole of the rest of the AUied army remained in the Bois de Bou
logne, although some were at Montmartre. Before the 52nd band
was dismissed, Sir John Colborne ordered it to play " Vive Henri
" Quatre," one of the principal royaUst tunes, but it did not
appear to attract any number of people. Indeed, there were not
many more persons stirring at that hour — it was between eight
and nine — than one woiUd see at the same hour in Hyde Park,
between Apsley House and the Marble Arch. Mr. HoUond, an

152 MARCH TO PARIS.
English gentleman, who had a house in Paris, had ridden out to
• see the arrival of his compatriots, and having entered into con
versation with me, invited me to go and breakfast with him in
the Eue de Mont Blanc. I willingly accepted his invitation, and
having deposited my colour, I rode with him into Paris and
along the beautiful boulevards to his residence. With the ex
ception of Colonel Hervey, the commissioner, I suspect I was the
first individual of the British army who entered the streets of
Paris.* Mr. HoUond was exceedingly kind, and I remember
that, amongst other things, when on inquiry he found I had only
a few ducats in my pocket, he insisted on becoming my banker
and on lending me ten napoleons till I should get a biU on Eng
land cashed. McNair begged of me, directly I got back to the
Champs Elysees, not to lose a day in getting a biU cashed by the
paymaster and in repaying the money. This I did the very next
day. I was not aware, tUl he told me, that I had done anything
wrong, or infra dig, in thus aUowing a stranger to become my
banker for a few days. Just as we had finished breakfast, a
Prussian general and his aide-de-camp arrived with a bUlet on
Mr. HoUond's house, which must have been a considerable
nuisance to him, but not so great a one as it would have been,
had he not been a bachelor. The Prussian officers were remark
ably quiet and gentlemanly in their demeanour.
On my way back, as I walked my horse along the boulevards,
some boys did me the favour of throwing stones at me, but as I
thought that, on that occasion at least, " the better part of valour
"was discretion," I contented myself with quietly cantering
away from them. *
The 52nd, in the course of the morning, crossed the main
road and encamped on the other side of the Champs Elysees,
lea-ving the 71st and 95th on the side nearest to the river, and
* I at one time used rather to boast of three things, that very probably I had
the honour of being the youngest officer at Waterloo, of being the nearest British
officer to the Emperor Napoleon in that battle, (I mean when the 52nd colour
was in front of the 52nd line with the covering serjeants, at the moment that
the Duke and Lord Uxbridge were in our rear, and Bonaparte was, as it was
afterwards reported, with the Old Guard in our front,) and thirdly, as I have
mentioned, that I was the first officer who entered Paris. I lately heard of a
Waterloo officer, who was my junior by about six weeks.

MARCH TO PARIS. 153
throwing its sentries forward about 140 yards to the low rail
separating the Champs Elysees from the Place Louis Quinze,.
where the unfortunate Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were
executed in 1783. For a day or two the whole regiment was
together, encamped in a large open square place bordered on the
four sides by rows of trees. The Champs Elysees consisted of a
series of these large square openings ; there was the main road
from the Arc de Triomphe and the Barriere de I'EtoUe in the
direction of the TuUeries, down which we had marched, and
about haU-way up it was crossed at right angles by another main
road, leading from the Eue du Faubourg St. Honor^ and the
palace caUed the Elysee Bourbon, to the Seine. On the other
side of the river were the Champs de Mars, the Ecole Militaire,
and the hospital of the InvaUdes facing the Champs Elysees.
The bridge of Jena, which was near the barrier, and which
Blucher wished to destroy, led from the Champ de Mars towards
the Champs Elysees.
Close to the large open space in which the 52nd encamped
there was a decent restaurateur's. There were several of these
places, and also dancing houses, in different parts of the Champs
Elysees.

154

CHAPTEE VIII.
1815.
PARIS. THE 52nd encamped IN THE, CHAMPS ELYSEES.
Two companies a guard to the duke's house — Colonel W. Rowan commandant
— Bonaparte finds refuge on board the Bellerophon — Entry of Louis XVIII
into Paris — The Imperial Guard — Position of 52nd in Paris— Cricket and
drill — Dine with Sir John Colborne — Restoration of pictures, &c., taken
by the French — Review of Russian Guards — Accident — Cossacks of the
Don — Ecole de Natation — Practical jokes — Row in the Palais Royal —
Row at St. Cloud — Gaming-houses — Observations on the evil of letting
children play at games for money — Soldier condemned to be shot — Carica
tures of EngUsh — "Les Anglaises pour rire" — " Monsieur Calico " — Play
houses to be avoided.
Either the day after we entered Paris, or on the following
day. No. 9 and No. 10 companies of the 52nd were ordered to
encamp nearer to the Place Louis Quinze, and near to where the
quarter-guard already was, close to the waU of the Duke of
WeUington's garden. The cords of the officers' tents were close
to the short palings, which fenced off about ten feet of garden-
ground between them and the wall. My tent was against the
little gate in the palings which led to the garden-door, and close
up to it, so close that one day, about a week or fortnight after
we arrived, I heard somebody floundering about and stumbling
over the cords, and, on looking out, found it was the duke him
self, who sometimes, but not often, came out that way. He
desired that the tent might be moved a few feet forward. The
whole brigade remained encamped in the manner I have men
tioned tiU the 2nd of November, a period of nearly four months.

THE 52nd ENCAMPED IN THE CHAMPS ELYSEES. 155
Lieut-Colonel W. Eowan of the 52nd was made commandant of
the first arrondissement of Paris. We, who belonged to No. 9
and No. 10, considered ourselves as an especial guard to the
Duke. There was a Serjeant's guard at the entrance tothe court
yard of his residence, in a short street leading out of the Place
Louis Quinze. I think it was on the afternoon of the 8th, that two
of. the King's Garde du Corps took refuge with this guard,
having been pursued by a street mob.
Bonaparte, after Ungering at the Elysee and then for several
days at Malmaison, in the vain hope that something might occur,
which would afford him a chance of retrieving his broken for
tunes, was persuaded, if not forced, by the provisional govern
ment, to take the road to Eochefort, where they had placed two
French frigates at his disposal, with the view of hi^ escaping to
America. He embarked in the Saale on the 8th of July, but in
vain did some of his devoted friends endeavour to obtain a pro
mise from Captain Maitland of the Bellerophon, the blockading
EngUsh ship, that he would allow the French frigates to pass
with Napoleon on board. In a few days he found it necessary
to take refuge in the Bellerophon, and before he reached the
quarter-deck of that ship, the French frigates had both hoisted
the- white fiag. The Bellerophon, on her way to Torbay, which
she reached on the 15th, astonished the captain and crew of an
English frigate on their way to Spithead from the Adriatic, who
were quite unacquainted with recent events in France, by sig
nalling " Napoleon on board" The BeUerophon was ordered to
Plymouth, where Bonaparte was transferred to the Northumber
land. He was not permitted to land either at Torbay or Ply
mouth. It was decided, after some little time, that he should be
sent as a prisoner of war to St Helena, for which island the
Northumberland sailed on the Sth of August
The King, Lords XVIII, reached Paris on the Sth of July,
the day after we entered the city. I was present in the TuUeries
on the afternoon of the day of his arrival, and I think no one
could have desired to have a greater display of enthusiasm and
loyalty than was manifested on the occasion of his presenting
himself to the people on one of the balconies of the TuUeries
looking towards the Champs Elysees. There must have been

156 THE 52nd encamped
from fifteen to twenty thousand persons assembled. When the
King came forward there was a cry for the people to take their
hats off, which almost all appeared to do, and, being taU, I had a
good view over the whole assembled people. I was in the midst
of the crowd, and whUst they knocked off the hats of one or two
obstinate fellows near me, they treated me with marked civility,
one patting me on the back, as the Prussian officer did on the
night of the Battle of Waterloo, and calling me " Brave Anglais."
As an officer in uniform I of course kept my cap on. I saw two
other English officers at a distance in the crowd.
I must now record something more about the proceedings of
the Imperial Guard. It must be remembered that it consisted
in 1815 of 25,870 men. There were 20,400 infantry, 3300 cavalry,
and 2170 artUlery, sappers, waggon train, &c. Ofthese 25,870 men,
after deducting for casualties on the 16th and 17th, probablynearly
the half were engaged with the Prussians at Planchenoit. After the
defeat of the whole of the Imperial Guard at Waterloo, " Generals
"Morand and Colbert succeeded in rallying some remnants of com-
" panies of them at Beaumont,'' about five-and-twenty miles from
Waterloo, and from thence they proceeded towards Paris, and
made a considerable stand against the Prussians at the vUlage of
Vertus, near St Denis, and afterwards made good their retreat
from that place when forced out of it by very superior numbers.
The French historian of the Imperial Guard states that this
affair of the 30th of June was the last in which they were en
gaged. During the 4th, 5th, and 6th of July, the whole French
army marched from the neighbourhood of Paris on the road to
Orleans, and retired behind the Loire. Great numbers retired to
their homes. On the breaking up of the army, many of the
officers of the Imperial Guard emigrated, some to Turkey, others
to Greece, others again to America. Several of the chief officers.
Marshal Grouchy, and the Generals Clausel, Vandamme, Lefevre-
Desnouettes, Eigaud, and a great many officers of rank, were at
New York and Philadelphia in 1817, and a large portion ofthem,
under the direction of General Lallemand, attempted to found a
colony in Texas, but it did not prosper, and after losing three-
fourths of their numbers, the remainder of these poor feUows
returned to New Orleans and settled there.

IN TIIE CHAMPS ELYS1?ES. 157
The encampment of Adam's brigade in the Champs Elysdes was
about the same thing, as regarded Paris and its inhabitants, as
would be the encampment of 2500 men in Hyde Park, between
the entrance gate near Apsley house and the statue of AchiUes,
to London and its inhabitants ; or the same number in the Green
Park, near PiccadUly; or in St. James's park, between the Horse
Gua,rds and Dartmouth street; it was also the same sort of thing to
us. We were not troubled with any orders about not appearing in
the streets except in uniform. We generally wore the blue
surtout coat, when in undress, and had but to exchange a
foraging-cap for a round hat, and spring over the low rails in
front of our quarter-guard near the Cafd Ledoyen, and we found
ourselves in Paris, en bourgeois, in less than two minutes after we
had made up our minds to go there. We were within four or
five minutes' walk of the principal entrance to the TuUeries,
which was just across the Place Louis Quinze. The men could
only pass the cordon of sentries under certain regulations. There
was no regular officers' mess whilst we were in Paris, but the
officers of each company messed together in one of their
tents, and I remember that I continued to be the caterer, and
a very inexpensive mess it was, for we none of us cared much
about eating and drinking.
A considerable number of the Parisians -visited our camp
from the first, and some of them I know were ladies belonging
to superior Bonapartist families ; such confidence had they in the
discipline and good behaviour of the British soldiers. Crowds
of persons came to see us play at cricket, which we sometimes
did in the 52nd. It was a game to which the French were
unaccustomed, and one speech which was overheard was that, "no
" wonder the English were not afraid of cannon-baUs, when
" they could so fearlessly meet and stop those dreadful cricket-
" baUs coming towards them with such terrffic force." It was
a current report at Paris, that the Emperor had said, that " at
"Waterloo the English squares had stood like walls, and the
" French cannon-baUs could make no impression on them."
Out on the same open place on which we played at cricket,
beyond the 52nd encampment, our regular drUl was carried on,
and as I had done very little in the way of drUl before the

158 THE 52nd encamped
campaign commenced, I had much to learn after we reached
Paris. I perhaps was the only British officer who had the
honour of finishing his drill in the French capital. We had
many spectators who, of course, were much interested in the
light infantry movements, and the bugle sounds. We had
some forty men who had to go through the same amount of
driU that I had. The 52nd driU instructors were always required
to be most particular in the marching driU, from the goose-step
upwards; and it was to this great attention paid to the
balancing of the body in marching, and the avoiding of all
flourishing of the foot as it came to the ground, that w^ used to
attribute the good marching of the 52nd, and especially their
beautiful advances in line, for which they were very remarkable
in my 52nd days, and for years afterwards ; I hope they are
so still. About ten days after our arrival in Paris, Sir John Colborne
(Lord Seaton) very kindly in-vited me to dine with him at his
lodgings, or billet, somewhere to the left, in a line with the
principal entrance of the TuUeries from the Place Louis Quinze,
and in the street leading down past the end of the Eue de la Paix.
I met there only three or four of the senior officers of the regiment
and I well recollect his telling me, before them, that I might
consider myself one of the most fortunate fellows in the whole
army ; for I had only been in it two months, and had, in that
short space of time, not only taken part in the glorious action
at Waterloo, but had also been present at the taking of the
capital of France.
I kept no journal at that time, and not till about four years
afterwards, and then only occasionally during the next fom- or
five years, so that in describing the circumstances that occurred
at Paris and elsewhere, I have to trust to my memory, whicii
I have good reason to think is particularly retentive and
accurate. The French commanders, as is well known, had during a
long course of years, wherever their arms were successful,
brought away from the museums of the several countries, and
from other places where they were tlo be found, great numbers
of the choicest paintings and statues. Vast numbers of these

IN THE CHAMPS ELYSl^ES. 159
paintings, etc., were found in the Louvre when the Allies took
possession of Paris. The French ministers, and also the King,
were very unwUling to restore these improperly acquired
treasures of art to their rightful owners, more especially perhaps
as they knew such restitution would be very unpalatable to
the French people. The foUowing extracts from a letter from
the Duke of WeUington to Lord Castlereagh will show how the
affair ended:- — " Paris, 23rd September, 1815.
"Shortly after the arrival of the sovereigns at Paris, the
" minister of the King of the Netherlands claimed the pictures,
"etc., belonging to his sovereign equally with those of other
" powers ; and, as far as I could learn, never could get any
" satisfactory reply from the French government. After several
"conversations with me he addressed your lordship in an
" official note, which was laid before the ministers of the Allied
" sovereigns assembled in conference, and the subject was
" taken into consideration repeatedly, with a view to discover a
"mode of doing justice to the claimants of the specimens of
" the arts in the museums, without hurting the feelings of the
" King of France. In the mean time the Prussians had obtained
"from his majesty not only aU the reaUy Prussian pictures,
" but those belonging to the Prussian territories on the left of
" the Ehine, and the pictures, etc, belonging to all the allies of his
" Prussian majesty; and the subject pressed for an early decision ;
"and your lordship -wrote your note of the llth instant, in
" which it was fuUy discussed.
" The minister of the King of the Netherlands, still having
" no satisfactory answer from the French government, applied to
" me, as the Commander-in-Chief of the army of the King of
"the Nethedands, to know if I had any objection to employ
"his majesty's troops to obtain possession of what was his
" undoubted property. I referred this application again to the
"ministers of the AUied courts, and no objection having been
" stated, I considered it my duty to take the necessary measures
" to obtain what was his right.
" I spoke to Prince de Talleyrand on the subject . . . and
" begged hUn to state the case to the King, (of France,) and to

160 THE 52nd ENCAMPED
" ask his majesty to do me the favour to point out the mode of
"effecting the object of the King of the Netherlands, which
" which should be least offensive to his majesty.
" The Prince de TaUeyrand promised me an answer on the
" foUowing evening ; which not having received, I called upon
" him at night, and had another discussion with him on the
" subject, in which he informed me that the King could give no
" orders upon it ; that I might act as I thought proper, and
" that I might communicate with M. Denon.
"I sent my aide-de-camp, Lieut-Colonel Fremantle, to
"M. Denon in the morning, who informed him that he had no
"orders to give any pictures out of the gaUery, and that he
" could give none without the use of force.
" I then sent Colonel Fremantle to the Prince de TaUeyrand
" to inform him of this answer, and to acquaint him that the
" troops would go the next morning at twelve o'clock to take
" possession of the Eang of the Netherland's pictures ; and to
" point out, that if any disturbance resulted from this measure,
"the King's ministers, and not I, were responsible. Colonel
"Fremantle also informed M. Denon that the same measure
" would be adopted.
"It was not necessary however to send the troops, as a
"Prussian guard had always remained in possession of the
" gaUery, and the pictures were taken without the necessity of
" caUing for those under my command, excepting as a working
" party to assist in taking them down and packing them.
" The Allies, having the contents of the museum justly in
" their possession, could not do otherwise than restore them to
'the countries from which, contrary to the practice of ci-vilized
" warfare, they had been torn during the disastrous period of the
" French revolution and the tyranny of Bonaparte.
" It has never appeared to me to be necessary that the AUied
" sovereigns should omit this opportunity to do justice and to
" gratify their own subjects, in order to gratify the people of
" France. " It is on many accounts desirable, as weU for their own
" happiness as that of the world, that the people of France, if

IN THE CHAMPS ELYSj^ES. 161
" they do not already feel that Europe is too strong for them,
" should be made sensible of it"
The Duke argues, in conclusion, that it would not only be
unjust in the sovereigns to give way in this matter, but also
"impolitic, as it would deprive them of the opportunity of
" giving the people of France a great moral lesson."
I was at the Louvre once or twice when this taking down
and packing the pictures was going on ; whether or not I was
there on duty I do not recoUect, but I remember seeing a fatigue-
party of the 52nd there. There was no particular excitement
observable amongst the French on that occasion.
But about that time the 52nd remained fully accoutred and
ready to faU in at a moment's notice, for eight-and-forty hours, and
on one of those two days, wewere marched up, and remained for two
or three hours on the Place Louis Quinze, in front of the gates of
the TuUeries ; I think it was when the Austrians were taking down
the horses dedicated to the sun from the top of the gateway leading
into the Place du Carrousel. They had been taken from Venice.
It was expected that much discontent would be manifested by
the French, and perhaps some violence on that occasion. Each
horse was taken away separately, and was escorted by a whole
regiment of Austrian dragoons. I was the orderly-officer on the
day that the last horse was removed and was sent that evening
by Sir John Colborne to report to General Adam, who had
recovered from his wound and taken command of the brigade
again, that aU had passed off quietly.
We had one or two reviews on rather a large scale on an
extensive plain near Paris, in which we passed over immense
quantities of beet-root, which is grown there in order to produce
sugar from it I fear a large amount of damage was done to the
crops, as we could scarcely take a step without each person
treading on, and breaking in two, one of the roots; but the
reviews were especiaUy memorable for the clouds of black dust
in which the troops were enveloped during nearly the whole
time they were marching and manoeuvring. We must have been
terrible warriors to look at, as on our retum to camp we marched
through the streets of Paris covered from head to foot with this
dust, and with our clothes and accoutrements, our faces, eyes,
M

162 THE 52nd ENCAMPED
and ears, and our hair and -whiskers, (at least of those who had
any of the latter,) completely blackened by it A considerable
amount of time was consumed in getting all right again, to say
nothing of the possible injury done to the clothing and appoint
ments of both officers and men.
Sir John Colborne took the 52nd several times to the Champ de
Mars,whichwasaveryextensive and good exercising-ground. There
we first practised the half-face movement in column, which I
think was taken up from the Prussians, and was afterwards found
to be a most useful movement. One day we came across the
Emperor of Eussia and his staff, in the Champ de Mars, and Sir
John very neatly threw the regiment into close column just as
the Emperor was arriving in front of the flank company, and saluted
him with carried arms. As the Emperor was merely riding
across the Champ de Mars, and as we were only there for driU,
the salute with carried arms in close column was the only avaU
able method, under the circumstances, of shewing him any
attention. It was the Emperor Alexander who received and
acknowledged this salute:
I think it was not many weeks after our arrival in Paris that
there was a review of several thousands of the Eussian Guards
in the Champs Elysfes, on the road leading from the Barriere
de I'EtoUe to the TuUeries. They were a very fine body of picked
men. The Eussian soldiers of the Line appeared to me to be
shorter and smaUer men than the ordinary soldiers of any of the
other armies who were in the neigbourhood of Paris at that time.
On returning from this review I met with a rather severe faU,
when galloping round one of the sunk plantations inclosed by
balustrades in the Place Louis Quinze. My horse's legs flew
from under him and he came down heavUy on his side on my
left leg, by which my knee and shoulder were cut It was
rather a iiuisance, too, to be thus sent sprawUng in uniform on
the paved square in the presence of a good number of spectators;
and I was very glad to sUnk off into our camp, which was close
at hand. Two or three hundred yards from the 52nd encampment
towards the barrier there was stationed a troop of Cossacks of
the Don, whom we occasionaUy used to visit They were fine

IN THE CHAMPS ELYSEES. 163
men and very orderly. Their horses were tied to the trees in the
Champs Elysees, four or five round the same tree. Whenever
there was any disturbance amongst them in the shape of biting
or kicking, the Cossacks reduced them to order by thrashing
them severely with the flat part of their naked swords. It was
no uncommon thing among the Cossacks, though we saw nothing
of the kind at Paris, for the officers to order their men to receive
the same description of punishment for not very grave offences.
One of the members of an EngUsh famUy which was thro-wn
very much among the Cossacks, when the Eussians marched on
Paris in 1814, told me that on complaints being made to the
officers of any infringement of the rules laid down, they would
tell them in French that the delinquent should forthwith receive
" vingt-cinq coups de plat de sabre."
When I was in Paris in 1817, I observed that great numbers
ofthe trees which the Cossack horses had barked in 1815 had
been thereby destroyed and that fresh trees had been planted in
their place.
There was a very good swimming-bath on the Seine, not far
from our camp, caUed in French the " Ecole de Natation." I
learnt to swim there, and used it very frequently during the
whole time of our occupation of Paris, I think it -was on the
first occasion of my visiting it, that I was in some danger of
being drowned, by foolishly jumping into deep water, about six
feet from the nettings, to try and solve the question, " Why, as
" every other animal wiU swim, if thrown into water, should not
" man do the same? " My attempts to swim were abortive, and I
had gone under water twice, when six or eight of the bathers
jumped in, and one of them saved me from going down again
by pushing tne against the netting at the side. Before we left
Paris, I could swim and float very fairly.
There was always plenty of excitement for us, encamped as
we were so far within the barrier of Paris, and so close to the
TuUeries and other pubUc places ; the Champs Elysees were a
favourite resort of the Parisians, and, although scarcely any of us
had any opportunity of entering into French society, yet the
meeting with numbers of the better classes in the public walks,
and in the various places of public amusement and the numbers
M 2

164 THE 52nd encamped
of things we had to see, always prevented the time from hanging
heavily on our hands. Besides which, some of us had friends
from England staying there, who helped to make our occupation
of Paris very pleasant to us.
I recoUect only a few of the tricks which we used to play
each other ; a very approved one, now and then practised, was
the quietly loosening the cords and loops of a tent from their
stakes on a very wet night, and then letting the wet tent down
on the helpless and infuriated occupier ; the perpetrator generally
managing not to be discovered. I did hear of one man, who un
dertook to take a portmanteau from under the waUs, or lower
canvass of a tent, but the occupant heard him and attacked him
with his sword, very reasonably taking him for a thief, when the
attacking party after seizing the sword, and getting his hands
cut, found it necessary to beat a retreat.
The only practical joke I remember to have played at Paris,
occurred as foUows ; and as far as the joke went it was a very
innocent one : — -Two of us came into camp from Paris one very
dark night, and, after replying to the sentry's chaUenge, we
passed the tent of the officer of the quarter-guard, whom we saw
fuUy accoutred lying on his back on his guard-bed, very fast
asleep with his mouth open : there were eight or ten rather
large books on the table, and going into the tent I pUed them up
on a chair, one above another, till the top one touched the tent
just over our friend's head. I then went round to the back of
the tent where, by the light of the candle inside, I could easUy
see the upper book, and giving it a push I sent the pUe on to our
victim's face, having done which I quietly and quickly got
round to the darkness, pervading the trees of the Champs
Elysees, at a very short distance, opposite to the tent door ; from
this we saw the officer coming out of his tent, hardly aware of
what had exactly happened, and we heard the foUowing short
dialogue between him and the sentry. Officer calls out ; —
" Sentry ! " The Sentry replies .•— " Yes, Sir ! " " Ofiicer :—" Has
"anyone just come into camp?" Sentry: — "No, Sir!" We
then made off, leaving the officer of the guard to renew his
slumbers. This was the officer who, when the 52nd were pur
suing the French at Vera, about two years before, went over a

IN THE CHAMPS ELYSEES. 165
short mountain path with Sir John Colborne and four soldiers,
and rushed down on to the road, into the middle of the 9th
French light infantry, and summoned them to surrender, which
those who were thus cut off did, to the number of two or three
hundred. This officer. Lieutenant Cargill, received on the spot,
and tucked under his arm, the swords of fourteen of the French
officers. I have frequently heard it mentioned as a fact, that
one of these officers having hesitated to deliver up his sword,
Cargill struck him a blow in his face with his fist which made
his mouth bleed, and had the effect of making him tractable. In
these days such acts of daring would be deservedly rewarded by
the grant of the Victoria Cross.
' The anecdote just related brings to my remembrance an
occurrence which took place at Paris a few weeks after we had
left it Some detachments sent out from England, just at the
time that the army was about to proceed to take up its canton
ments in the north of France, arrived in the neighbourhood of
Paris, and several of the officers, amongst whom were two of the
52nd, avaUed themselves of the opportunity of seeing something
of the French capital One of the places they visited was the
Palais Eoyal. As they were walking along the covered pave
ment, near the shops, they met several persons, who had all the
appearance of being half-pay French officers ; one of these, as
they passed them, kicked against the foot of one of the 52nd
officers with the evident design of insulting him ; the 52nd
officer immediately started round and inquired what he meant,
but he not knowdng much of French, the other 52nd man began
to interpose, when the Frenchman gave him a smart box on the
ear, asking him at the same time, what he had to do with it ?
This of course was responded to in the shape of a heavy blow
planted on the Frenchman's mouth, which made his teeth both
rattle and bleed : before the row had proceeded to any greater
length, the guard appeared, and marched off both parties to the
prefecture, where the whole case was gone into. The Frenchmen
were adjudged to be the aggressors, and the English officers were
freed from aU blame in the transaction. Insults offered to the
English were seldom heard of during the three years of our
occupation of France.

166 THE 52nd encamped
I went with three or four artUlery officers, whom I knew, to
the fair of St Cloud, and we rather enjoyed it, and got on very
well, tiU we were just coming away, when we got into a consider
able unpleasantness through the stupidity, and possibly also the
rascaUty, of the driver of the carriage which we had hired for
the occasion. When we were about to return, he insisted upon
it that he should be paid before we started : possibly somebody
had done him out of what he considered his fare on some former
occasion. However that may have been, he positively refused
to drive us back to Paris, unless we first settled with him ; this
we considered very impertinent on his part, and determined not
to give way to it. A crowd of eighty or a hundred persons were
gathered round us, and on our attempting to take possession of
the carriage, an altercation ensued with some of them, and then,
without its actuaUy coming to a fight, they began to interrupt
our proceeding. A friend of mine, a very nice feUow, by the
name of Heisse, belonging to one of the Hanoverian Jager Corps,
to whom I had been speaking during the day, happening to pass,
saw our difficulty, and ran down to the bridge of St. Cloud, where
a German picket was stationed, and brought up a few men to
our assistance just at the right moment They very unceremoni
ously made the mob stand back by striking at their legs with
the butt ends of their muskets. The Prussians were to leave
the neighbourhood of Paris the next morning, and our driver,
who appeared to have a very wholesome fear of them, was con
siderably alarmed by hearing some of our party say, that it
would serve him right, and do htm good, U we coffid manage to
"get him pressed into their service, on the occasion of their march
northwards. Paris, of course, had many temptations for the officers of the
British army. One was that arising from the gaming-houses, of
which there were many, especially in the Palais EoyaL I never
heard, whUst we were there, of any body having suffered very
severely from them ; but yet I have no doubt that many were
inconvemently fleeced, to say the least of it by occasionaUy
visiting them. I do not think it will be injurious to my readers,
if I briefly mention what I saw of them. I had been to one of
the theatres with a. captain of the 52nd, and when it was

IN THE CHAMPS ELYSl^ES. 167
over I found he was not going back to camp, but going to look
into one of these gaming-houses at the Palais Eoyal. I had
never seen a gaming-house, and begged that I might accompany
him ; but he said, Colborne would never forgive him, if he took
me to such a place ; however, on my pressing him, and shewing
him that I had not above two napoleons in my pocket, so that
I could not lose much, he gave way, and I went with him. The
way to the first and second floors of these houses was up a very
¦wide and substantial staircase, lighted with one gloomy lamp
on each landing, the whole appearance of which led one's mind
to associate with these places scenes of violence and assassina
tion. There were about forty or fifty persons standing, ^nd
several of them playing at a roulette table in one room, and
about as many more at a rouge-et-noir table in another. If
I recoUect rightly, I won a few napoleons that night by playing
with two-franc pieces, which I think was the lowest sum which
by the rules of the place was allowed to be hazarded. On a
subsequent evening I took with me about seven napoleons,
thinking that if I had been able to win a tolerable sum by play
ing with two-franc pieces, I might perhaps gain ten times as
much by playing with napoleons. On this second night I
seemed to have what is termed, a great run of luck, and at last
I found my two waistcoat pockets to be so fuU of napoleons
that it was not s^fe to put any more into them, and I began to
stow away my winnings in my trowsers pockets. I could make
no proper calculation of the amount of my " ill gotten wealth,"
but I observed at last that I had attracted the attention of most
of the persons present, and especially that of the croupiers who
received and handed out the money.
I now began to think of making good my retreat, but how to
do it decently I did not know. However, having made up my
mind to leave the place, I very quietly, though unexpectedly to
them, walked to the door, and went tolerably quickly down the
stairs, but, quick as I was in my movements, a man who followed
me was on the landing-place at the bottom of the first flight of
stairs before I had quitted it. He begged me to give him. some
money, as he was a person in distress ; this I decUned to do, not
only because I thought it was not quite safe to be parleying with

168 THE 52nd encamped
him under all the circumstances, but also because I felt annoyed
that a person should pursue the degraded course of watching the
gaming-tables for the purpose of demanding charity from the
successful players.
As I crossed the Palais Eoyal, I roughly calculated that I
had two or three hundred napoleons in my pocket and thought
that these would soon be gone and would do me no permanent
good, whereas, if I could make the sum up to a thousand, I
could, in some way, make it do me some more lasting benefit.
With this idea in my head I went into another house on the
opposite side of the Palais Eoyal, and played away as largely as
I had done before ; my pockets were very nearly emptied again.
I determined, however, not to return to camp without taking
back with me a small roll of napoleons which I felt were still
remaining in my pocket, and which I judged to amount to about
the sum I had started with. I was surprised, on reaching my
tent, and counting over my remaining napoleons, that I had
thirty-nine, instead of seven, remaining. This led me to thiuk
that I had been greatly mistaken as to the sum which I had at
first gained, and that it must have amounted to three or four
times as much as I had roughly calculated it to be.
This was a great ordeal for a boy under eighteen years of age
to go through ; but it was a very great mercy that I lost the
money which I had gained. As it w^as, my taste for play con
tinued, to a,n extent, for some years, (until I saw that it was
decidedly wrong and sinful, and evidently a breach of the tenth
commandment, to desire to win another person's money,) and if
I had carried away with me the large sum above mentioned, it
would probably have been more injurious to me than one can
well imagine. I went three or four times after that to these
maisons de jeu, but I was careful not to lose my money to any
great extent ; yet I did lose it, I am now thankful to say.
I have hesitated to write down the foregoing account, lest it
should possibly do harm, in the way of exciting in any one an
"itch for gambling.'' I may possibly not publish it ; if I do so,
I wish it to be accompanied by my protest against a practice
which I beUeve is not so prevalent now in the houses of our
gentry as it was fifty or sixty years ago ; I mean the aUowing

IN THE CHAMPS ELYSlsES. 169
children to play at cards or other games of chance, by which
they may win money. I trace much evU that arises in the
way of ruinous betting at races, or in playing at cards or
billiards, for large sums of money, to this practice. I recollect it
was the custom to set a dozen or more of chUdren to play at com
merce, when each put down a shilling, and the winner of the
game took the whole of the money. It was this sort of thing,
which led to an immense deal of gamblmg in a smaU way at
schools, where the boys played at marbles and with tops, and at
other things, for money; this easily paved the way for attendance
and betting at public biUiard- tables and races. I never but
once made a bet at a race, but I knew a youth most respectably
connected, who was utterly ruined both in character and fortune,
who told me that his e-vil courses commenced when a near
relative took him to a racecourse, and encouraged him to bet
there. Many years ago, when I little thought of publishing a
book, I used to say, half in joke, " If ever I publish a book, it
" shall be against allowing boys at school, or in the streets, to
" play at marbles for money," so convinced was I of the impor
tance of endeavouring to check any disposition to gamble at an
early age, or, what is still better, as far as possible not to let
children or young people be at places, or amongst persons, where
anything of the sort is practised. I have always enjoined on
my children never to play at any game for money, and never on
any account to make even the smallest bet, and I have never
had a card in my house. I consider myself to be fully justified
in stating, that all desire to win anything belonging to another,
at a game of chance or skiU, is contrary to that which God
enjoins upon His people in the tenth commandment. I must
apologize to my readers for this digression from the accoimt of
the various occurrences which took place whUst we were at
Paris ; but I do suicerely hope that all parents, and heads of
schools, and others who may read it, will use their best efforts to
nip in the bud that taste for gambUng, which is yet so prevalent
amongst both rich and poor, and which I beUeve, in nine cases
out of ten, commences in early youth. It is obvious that every
thing in the shape of a lottery or raffle is of evil tendency.
I must not attempt to speak of the execution of Marshal

170 THE 52nd ENCAMPED
Ney and Colonel Lab^doyke, which all of us were much grieved
at ; nor of the remarkable escape of Lavalette from prison, by
putting on some of his wife's clothes, she remaining behind
whilst he passed out of the prison, nor of his escape from Paris,
disguised as an EngUsh general, by the help of Sir Eobert
Wilson and two other Englishmen. These things took place
whUst we were at Paris, and the accounts of them may easily be
obtained. A very sad and excitmg business occurred, whilst we were
at Paris, in connexion with the mutinous behaviour of one of
our own men, when coining to join the army with detachments
under the command of a captain and other officers belonging to
other regiments ; I think I recoUect the circumstances very
clearly, they were these : — Several of the men of these detach
ments had got drunk, and this man, when ordered by Captain 
to be silent, or to perform some duty, refused to obey, as he was
not a 52nd officer, and swore at him, calUng him a d  d  ;
the officer drew his sword, and cut the drunken mutineer very
severely across the shoulder. For this the officer was afterwards
brought to a court-martial and honourably acquitted. The Duke
of WeUington, on reading the proceedings of the court-martial,
ordered the 52nd soldier to be brought to a general court-martial
for mutinous conduct towards his superior officer; he was
accordingly tried, found guilty, and condemned to be shot. The
Duke, who always felt the vast importance of upholding the
discipline of the army, determined that the sentence should be
executed. I saw at a little distance, not far from my tent, an
inter-view between the Duke and Sir John Colborne, wjiich I had
reason to believe was connected with this man's execution. The
Duke had come into our camp from his garden door, and as
Colborne almost immediately joined him, I fancy the interview
had been arranged before. The Duke, who generaUy appeared
to be a person of very quiet demeanour, seemed on this occasion
to speak with some considerable earnestness, and Colborne, who
was most anxious, as we aU were, that the man's life should be
spared, -was equaUy energetic. The conversation did not last
more than seven or eight minutes, and I did not learn the result,
untu the order for the execution appeared in orders. I think

IN THE CHAMPS ELYSeES. 171
the next "morning, the regiments of the brigade marched to some
ground near the waUs of Paris, to see the sentence carried into
effect. The regiments were drawn up so that each occupied one
side of a large square, the man to be executed being placed
in the middle of the fourth side of the square with his coffin
behind him, and the firing party, consisting I think, of a
serjeant and twelve rank and file, a few paces in his front
The brigade-major, or some other staff-officer, then rode forward
and read the charge against the soldier, the finding of the court-
martial, and the sentence. When this was done, an aide-de
camp, the bearer of a reprieve, rode into the square .; I think it
was an order from the Duke, granting the man a pardon, and
stating, amongst other reasons for doing so, that it was partly in
consideration of the high character of the regiment to which he
belonged, that the Duke was induced to take this course.
I have an idea that some of us were aware the night before
that the man would be pardoned, but the man himself, and the
men of the regiment and of the brigade generaUy, expected the
execution to take place. I met him close to the camp, in the
course of the afternoon, walking -wdth one of the men, and I
recoUect that the poor feUow sobbed as he passed and saluted
me. I cannot quite bear in mind whether I spoke to him or
not ; but I am sure I must have shewn him, in some way, how
much I felt for him.
Two or three other recoUections which I have of Paris at the
time ofour encampment there, are of a much lighter character than
the occurtences I have just mentioned. Great numbers of English
famUies came out to Paris during the summer and autumn of
1815, and the costumes of many of the women, who, according
to the most approved English fashion of that day, wore very
short waists and very long bonnets, appeared very odd and
ridiculous, even to us who were their countrymen, when con
trasted with the neat and elegant style of dress of the Parisian
ladies. We used to think that our fair countrywomen, as a general
rule, greatly exceUed the French females in beauty, whilst the
latter carried away the palm with regard to dress.
The caricatures of the English visitors, exhibited in the shop

172 THE 52nd ENCAMPED
windows, were very good, and did not go far beyond the reality.
A large stout John BuU, weighing from sixteen to eighteen
stone, was generally the principal figure, and there were
generally Mrs. and some Misses BuU with their short waists, &c.,
and sometimes a Master BuU or two, staring about, as one saw
them do every day, at everything they came across. Sometimes
the whole party were represented as standing out in the middle
of the street curiously examining the tops of the tall houses,
at other times walking along the streets, staring at everything
and everybody. But the French were not satisfied with
exhibiting caricatures of our females, dressed in the inelegant
national costume of that day, but they brought forward a
comedy at one of the theatres, called " Les Anglaises pour rire,'
in which the same sort of characters and costumes were repre
sented on the stage. I once saw the play acted, and could not
but join in the general laugh at the ludicrous exhibitions made
of the curiosity, and want of taste in dress, of our fair country
women. One evening some English officers determined to oppose
the acting of the play, and there was some skirmishing between
them and the police before the opposition ceased ; shortly
afterwards the piece was given up.
There was also another very laughable piece, which was
brought forward at one of the theatres, and which met with
great success. It was intended as a burlesque on the diapers'
and other shopkeepers' assistants, many of whom were in the
habit on Sundays and fete-days, of dressing, and passing
themselves off, as military men. The farce was called
" Monsieur Calico.''
Monsieur Calico himself was represented, in the caricatures
and on the stage, as a young man of three or four-and-twenty,
about five feet high, dressed, I think, in a taUed coat and round
hat, and manifesting considerable pretensions also, as regards
the hair, whiskers, front of shirt and stock. But the most
remarkable appendage was a pair of steel spurs, about four
inches in length, attached to the heels of his boots. The linen
drapers' assistants, and numerous other young men, who felt
themselves aggrieved, were furious at the representation, and at

IN THE CHAMPS ELYSiES. 173
the success which it met -with, and for several nights they
endeavoured to take possession of the theatre, and to put down
the obnoxious piece. I believe it was withdrawn after some
little time.
It would not be right that I should leave the subject of
attending theatres, without stating my very decided opinion,
that parents should keep their chUdren from such places, as
being calculated to do them the greatest injury. It is well
known that they are often frequented by the very worst
characters of both sexes ; indeed, I have heard it stated, fifty
years ago, that if such characters were excluded, some of the
largest theatres in London would become regular failures. Then it
was notorious in those days that many of the actors and actresses
were not persons of good moral character. I know not how far
there has been any improvement of late years. I know that
respectable persons do stiU take their chUdren to such scenes, but
I always wonder how they can do so. Supposing the attending
the theatre to be free from the above objections, which it is not,
many of the representations which take place are not calculated to
improve the moral and religious tone of society. When I was a
very little chUd I went to see a play at a country theatre, in
which a man rushed on the stage with a chUd in his arms, in
the midst of a storm of thunder and Ughtning, and, dropping on
one knee, offered up earnest words of prayer to God for
protection. Notwithstanding all that may be advanced about
its being a proper representation of what those who fear God
are encouraged to do in all times of danger, I consider that such
addresses, pretended to be oflered up in theatrical representations,
must be highly offensive to the Almighty. I am glad to
think that increasing numbers of respectable persons, of aU
classes of society, now avoid the theatre. My rule will
weU apply here : — " Never allow yourself, for purposes of
" amusement, to be in any company or place in which God is
" dishonoured."

174

CHAPTEE IX.
1815, 1816.
THE 52nd quartered at VEESAILLES, ST. GERMAIN, AND CLERMONT.
Quarter at VersaOles — Palace — St. Germain — Sir John Colbome goes on leave —
His good advice — Clermont — Anniversary of the death of Louis XVI-=-
A guard of honour in the church — Atchison and Dawson of the artillery.
On the 2nd of November, 1815, we broke up our agreeable
encampment in the Champs Elysees, and went into quarters at
Versailles, which is about fourteen mUes from Paris. VersaUles
is a beautifuUy built town, and I was quartered in a very good
house belonging to Madame Courtin, a very nice old lady, who
was very kind to me, and gave me three neatly-bound volumes,
containing Voltaire's Histories of Peter the Great, of Eussia, and
of Charles XII, of Sweden; they now Ue before me, as I
write this, fifty years after I received them. We had not much
fo do at Versailles, where we remained about six weeks, and I
spent much of my time in the palace, and in the adjoining
beautiful gardens and grounds. In this palace of VersaUles
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were attacked five-and-twenty
years before, by the Parisian mob, accompanied by soldiers under
La Fayette, and treated with great indignity ; they were forced
to accompany them the next day to Paris, and I believe never
returned again to Versailles.
About the middle of December the 52nd marched from Ver
saUles to St. Germain. The men were in the palace, and the
officers were quartered on the inhabitants. I was on guard the
first night and passed one of the most wretched nights I ever

THE 52nd QUARTERED AT VERSAILLES. 175
passed in my life. By some accident there was no proper officers'
guard- room, and when it was too late, I found myself with a
whole suite of magnfficent rooms, on the first floor of the palace,
for my guard-rooms, without one single article of furniture in
them ; there were some logs of wood, but no other means had I
of igniting them, or of keeping any heat in my body during that
very cold night, than by collecting from time to time, and burning,
quantities of straw, which had been swept out on to the balconies
extending along the whole of the suite of apartments.
Sir John Colborne went on leave, during the short time that
the 52nd was at St. Germain. On my calling upon him shortly
before I started, he gave me some good advice on the subject of
the importance of my improving myself by reading, &c., &c., and
kindly told me he might very probably have it in his power to
be of use to me in the service, but that of course my getting on
weU in the army must depend chiefly on my own attention to
the reading and studies necessary in order to my becoming a good
and useful officer. He was traveUing in Germany during most
of the time that he was absent from the regiment, and I think
he joined us again about June or July, 1818, at the camp near
St. Omer, when I was much pleased by his saying that Colonel
Charles Eowan had given him a good account of my endeavours
to improve myself during his absence.
In order to strengthen the government of Louis XVIII, and
to give him time to reconstruct his army, and to feel increasing
security against any attempts which might be made again to
overthrow the newly established order of things in France, it had
been determined by the AlUed sovereigns that an army of 150,000
should remain in the north of France for three years, and that
certain fortresses should be held and garrisoned by them durin<r
that period. The troops were to be paid,* clothed, and provisioned
at the expence of France. The leading powers of Europe sent
their several quotas of troops, and the whole AUied army of
* Will it be believed, that under these circumstances the officers of the
British portion of the army of occupation had to pay an income-tax of ten per
cent. ? I well recollect that it was deducted from my ensign's pay of about £95
a year. There must have besa some meanness or rascality somewhere. The
amount thus deducted from the British officers, certainly would not find its way
into the French Treasury.

176 THE 52nd QUARTERED AT VEESAILLES,
occupation was placed under the command- of the Duke of
WeUington. The 52nd marched from St. Germain, I think, on Christmas-
day, towards the cantonments which they were to occupy in the
Pas de Calais. AU the necessaiy arrangements appear not to
have been completed at that time, for we were quartered in the
town of Clermont, about thirty miles from Paris, and in some of
the neighbouring viUages, for about a month before we proceeded
to our destination. I have very little recoUection of Clermont
and of the vUlage about a mUe and a half from it, which I occu
pied with about forty or fifty men. I weU remember that I first
tried to smoke a cigar as I walked out from the town one night,
and that it made me dreadfuUy Ul ; I also remember that on the
21st of January, the anniversary of the death of Louis the XVI,
in 1793, a guard of honour, accompanied by the King's colour, was
aUowed to be present in the church at Clermont : at a particular
moment, I suppose on the elevation of the, host, the colour was
lowered, and the guard presented arms, at the same time each
man coming down on one knee. The whole scene appeared to
me to be exceedingly ludicrous, and this arose especiaUy from the
awkward business the men made of saluting in a posture which
they were of course unaccustomed to. We thought nothing at
the time of the sin of thus joining in an idolatrous ceremony. I
trust the practice, which prevaUed so many years, of requiring
our officers and soldiers to take part in the idolatrous ceremomes
of the Eoman Catholic and Greek churches, has now been entirely
given up.
In the year 1824 Captain Atchison and Lieutenant Dawson,
two officers of the Eoyal ArtiUery stationed at Malta, were cash
iered by sentence of a court-martial, the president of which was
the Eoman Catholic colonel of the Maltese Fencibles, for request
ing to be excused from superintending the toUing of a bell and
the firing of a petteraro salute in honour of the procession of St
; the petteraroes were smaU pieces of cannon,
used by the priests for such purposes. Mr. Dawson was first put
in orders for the performance of this unmUitary duty ; but he,
feeUng the irksomeness of having anything to do with what he
had religious and conscientious scruples against, requested the

ST. GERMAIN, AND CLERMONT, 177
officer commanding the artiUery at Malta, to excuse him from it ;
this request he very kindly acceded to, and Captain Atchison was
put in orders for it ; but Captain Atchison also had his strong
objections to the performance of the obnoxious duty, and requested
the commanding officer to let him off: this he readily did, and
very good-naturedly superintended the toUing of the beU and
the firing of the salute himself.
The affair was supposed to have been settled, but of course it
was talked of in the garrison, and after a considerable time the
thing was referred to the Horse Guards by Sir Thomas Maitland,
and orders eventuaUy came out for Atchison and Dawson to be
brought to a court-martial for disobedience of orders. In their
defence they not only pleaded that they had not disobeyed orders,
and that it was not a military duty from which they had requested
to be excused, but they -wished also to shew from Scripture that
the service required of them was idolatrous and profane, and
contrary to what was laid down in the articles and homiUes of
the Church of England. In this last mentioned Une of defence
they were not aUowed to proceed ; they consequently declined to
contiiiue their defence. The proceedings of the court-martial
were sent to England, and the judge-advocate returned them to
Malta, observing that the officers must be permitted to shew, as
they desired to do, that the duty they were ordered to perform,
was opposed to what was contained in the Word of God and in
the Prayer Book ; the court reassembled, and its proceedings
were resumed, and Captain Atchison and Mr. Dawson were found
guilty of disobedience of orders. In promulgating, in a general
order, the sentence of dismissal from the service, the Duke of
York, who was then Commander-in-Chief, laid down the monstrous
dogma, that a " lawful order -was any order given by a lawful
" superior ;" so that if a superior officer were to order an officer
junior to him to clean his boots, or should he desire any officer
or man to kill an innocent person or persons, he must be obeyed,
although it might be strongly suspected that he was intoxicated,
or labouring under some aberration of inteUect I myself knew
the case of an officer, belonging to the army of occupation in
France, who, under 9, delusion of mind, after firing away his ser
vant's ammunition at every Uving person or thiug he could see,
N

178 THE 52nd quartered AT VEESAILLES,
without doing any damage, ordered the corporal's guard to tum
out and fire at every person who might shew himself in any of
the village streets. According to the Duke of York's idea, this
order should have been obeyed, as it was " the order of a lawful
" superior." It was, however, not obeyed, and the officer was im
mediately sent in charge of another officer to England, and placed
under the care of his friends.
Many years ago I wrote to the Hon. John Forbes, who had
been in the 52nd, and who, at the time I wrote, was aide-de-camp
to General Sir A. Woodford, at Corfu ; and at my request he gave
me an account of the procession of the Greek Church, in which
the British officers were expected to take part, carrying long
lighted candles, in honour of St. Spiridione, I have, I am sorry to
say, lost his letter.
Some time after the court-martial on Captain Atchison and
Mr. Dawson, I took considerable pains to induce persons, who
felt strongly the injustice which had been done to these officers,
to get up petitions to parliament, and addresses to the Crown, on
the subject. Many petitions, &c., were consequently sent up from
Derbyshire. I drew out a petition, in which a few clergymen,
formerly in the army, joined, stating we knew the necessity that
existed for prompt obedience to military commands, but that had
we been required to perform the service required of Captain
Atchison and Lieutenant Dawson, we must have refused to obey
the order, even had we known that death would be the conse
quence of such refusal. This petition, with the others, made
some stir. Dr. Blomfield, Bishop of London, undertook to pre
sent it in the House of Lords, and called on Lord Hill, the then
Commander-in-Chief, and wrote to the Duke of Wellington on the
subject. The Duke had not repUed to his letter when I caUed
on the Bishop the second time, and he felt annoyed at his apparent
inattention. When the petition was presented in the House of
Commons, amongst others Daniel O'ConneU stood up and spoke
warmly on the subject saying, that if the state of the case, with
regard to Protestant officers and soldiers being required to join
in the ceremonies of the Eoman Catholic and Greek churches,
was as the petition represented it to be, the objectionable practice
should at once be done away with.

ST. GERMAIN, AND CLERMONT. 179
Mr. Dawson became a clergyman of the church of England,
and resided at Jersey for some considerable time. He has been
dead now for many years. Captain Atchison was, after several
years, restored to his rank and pay as a captain of artUlery, and
he has been for many years, and still is, colonel-commandant
of the Eoyal Lancashire ArtiUery Militia.*
On our way from Clermont to our cantonments, we halted for
two days at Amiens. On the first day I was on guard. When
relieved from guard the next day, I went to the house I was
quartered on ; it was occupied by a very quiet gentlemanly man
and his -wife ; but in finding me accommodation they shewed an
extreme ignorance of the relative positions of officer and soldier
in the British army, for I found at night that they had actually
made up a stretcher-bed for my servant in the small room which
I was to occupy ; I had the greatest difficulty in getting them to
understand that this arrangement would never do. After some
considerable parley, it ended in my servant and I carrying the
stretcher-bed into a sitting room on the other side of the passage ;
they all the time thinking me a most unreasonable person, and
maintaining that as the arrangement was only for one night, we
might as well submit to it
* Colonel Atchison has kindly promised to give me the particulars of his restora
tion to the service, and I hope they will reach me in sufficient time to enable me
to place them in Chapter XLV of this work.

N 2

180

CHAPTEE X.
1816.
CANTONMENTS IN THE NORTH OF FKANCE,
Villages around ThSrouenne- Hemy VIII— Siege of Thgrouenne and Battle of
Spurs three hundred years before — Honours gained by ancestors — Alarming
occurrence — Periodical encampment and march to Valenciennes — Kind
feeling between the villagers and our men — Meadow at Therouenne—
Bathing in the river Lys — Sir Denis Pack's inspection — Brigade orders —
Curious occurrence — Remarkable case of one of the men becoming religious.
About the beginning of February^ 1816, we reached our canton
ments in the north of France. The regiment occupied six-and-
twenty -villages. They were within a circle of which the ancient
town (now only a village) of Therouenne might be considered as
the centre ; the diameter of the circle would be about seven mUes.
Therouenne was besieged and taken by our Henry VIII, in
1514 ; it is situated about seven miles south of St Omer, and is
on the Lys, a very small river, fordable in many places below the
town, but not above it. The first vUlage we arrived at was
Estreeblanche, which was my quarter during the greater part of
our occupation of France ; but I was stationed first of all, for
several months, at Enguinegatte or Guinegatte, a vUlage about
two mUes from Estreeblanche, and the same distance from The
rouenne, a quarter of a mUe to the left of the road, the Chaussee
Brunehaut. Here the Battle of Spurs was fought, during the
siege of Therouenne, between the French and English. The gar
rison was in great want of provisions, and Louis XI, the French
king, sent aU his cavalry, to the number of 8000, to try and

cantonments in the NORTH OF FEANCE. 181
convey succours to them. King Henry, it is said, by the advice
of the emperor MaximUian, who was serving as a private soldier
under him, threw several bridges over the Lys, which I know
above the town, abreast of Enguinegatte, is deep and rapid, and
for a long distance from fifteen to twenty feet broad ; by foUow
ing this advice, the EngUsh king was enabled to pass his troops
over, so as to meet the enemy on the side by which they were
most likely to approach the town. The French were totaUy
defeated with great loss, " and fled so fast, that thar from it was
" called the Battel of Spurs, for that they used more their spurs in
" running away, than their launces in flghting." The Duke of
Longue-vUle, who commanded, and several superior officers, were
made prisoners. The town of Therouenne shortly after surren
dered, and the fortifications were leveUed.
Enguinegatte, close to which the Battle of Spurs was fought
is two miles from Therouenne ; but that which makes these
places and these events particularly interesting, in connexion with
their forming part of the cantonments of the 52nd, is this — ^that
there is good ground for thinking it probable that the ancestors
of two of the 52nd officers who occupied them, fought and
obtained honours at the Battle of Spurs, and at the siege of The
rouenne, three hundred years before.
Sir WUliam Henry Clerke, Bart., was a Ueutenant in the
52nd in the Peninsula, and at Waterloo. From 1816 to 1818 he
was quartered about two miles from the ground on which the
Battle of Spurs was fought The services of his ancestor on that
occasion are thus mentioned in the peerage : — " Sir John Clerke,
" Knt, of Weston, a mUitary man of great valour, had the fortune
" to make Louis d'Orleans, Duke of LonguevUle, prisoner, at Bomy,
" near Therouenne, 14th August in the fifth year of Henry VIII,
" aud was, for that signal service, rewarded by the king with an
" honorary addition to his arms." I presume the addition was that
of the two fleur-de-Us, which I see form part of the Clerke arms.
Sir John Leke, who died in 1522, "was knighted by Henry
" VIII at the siege of Lisle ; the king gave him for his crest two
" eagles as supporters to a peacock's taU." Now there appears to
have been no siege of Lisle ; but Tournay, near Lisle, was be
sieged immediately after thm fall of Therouenne ; so that the

182 CANTONMENTS IN
addition of the eagles to his crest must have been given for his
good conduct at and near Therouenne, or at Tournay, near Lisle.
Henry VIII visited Lisle during the siege of Tournay, and on
his march from Therouenne ; hence probably the mistake about
the siege of Lisle. My famUy have the crest of a peacock's taU,
with eagles as supporters, handed down to them on very old seals.
When quartered at Enguinegatte, on my inquiring of the people
if they had any tradition as to where the famous Battle of the
Spurs was fought, they told me that the house in which I was
then quartered was buUt on the very ground. It was on the
western extremity of the vUlage. I often to this day think with
what pleasure, and with what proud, martial feelings, I frequently
on a moonlight night used to walk up and down the few pasture
fields of that part of the viUage, whistUng bugle tunes, or
listening to the tattoo, sounded so well and so clearly by the two
buglers of my detachment Until our arrival, no sound of British
martial music had been heard there since the Battle of Spurs
three hundred years before. And we had something to be proud
of, as well as our forefathers of the tenth generation back, who
had fought and conquered on that very ground.
The house I was first quartered in at Enguinegatte, was not
the same as that above-mentioned, to which I had to remove on
one of our assistant surgeons, who had a choice of quarters before
me, being ordered to that viUage. My first quarter was at the
house of the principal man of the village, a most respectable
farmer, by the name of Ledoux, I think. He was one of the
finest men I ever saw; his son and daughter also were fine,
handsome young people, of about twenty-one and nineteen, I
had a large square room, the principal room in the house, which
served me both as a sitting and a bed room ; the windows were
towards the garden, and the lower part of them, where there was
a ledge of nearly the breadth of the waU, was about four feet
from the ground ; I should say they were four feet square. I
have been thus particular in describing the room on account of
a somewhat alarming occurrence which took place on the very
first night of my arrival at Enguinegatte. I must premise that I
am rather ashamed of relating the occurrence, but I do so more
particularly for the benefit of my younger readers.

THE NORTH OF FRANCE. 183
My narrow iron bedstead was placed in one corner of the
room, close under one of the windows, and there was just room
for a chair between the bedstead and an old fashioned fireplace,
which was on the same side of the room with the head of my
bed and the chair ; the fireplace projected about twenty inches
from the wall. As I was in a strange place and amongst stran
gers, I thought it desirable before I went to bed to examine the
fastenings of my doors before I retired .to rest As usual, there
was no fastening to the main door communicating with the farm
house kitchen, and the other door was locked or bolted on the
other side. On going to bed, I laid my sword, in the scabbard,
along the sUl of the window, which was above my bed to the
left I soon feU asleep, and slept soundly for some hours ; in the
middle of the night I awoke, and was conscious that I had been
awakened by some noise in the room. I listened for some seconds,
and quietly taking my sword from the window, I drew it, and
having a good hold of it so that I could use it, if necessary, I laid
it along the outside of the bed clothes, and listened very anx
iously for any sound which might discover to me who or what it
was that had disturbed me. I could hear no footstep or other
sound for a minute or two, but after a Uttle time, I distinctly
heard what appeared to be the breathing of a person standing by
the side of my bed, with his head a foot or two above my face.
Without any consideration, I immediately made a horizontal cut,
with all the force I could use in my horizontal position, in the
direction of the fire-place : to my great astonishment I only cut
through the air, and my sword made a tremendous clatter against
the projecting wall of the fire-place. I lay quietly for a minute
or two, and then heard the breathing again, but closer to me;
and then I thought it possibly proceeded from a rat either on my
bed or on the chair ; in order to dislodge this enemy, I took the
pillow, and making a dash at him with it upset the chair, and
altogether made so much noise, that it disturbed my host and
hostess, who, I then found, from a peculiar cough of one of them,
were my neighbours, in the room the door of which was fastened
on the other side. They probably began to wonder what the
young English officer, who had just taken up his residence with
them, was up to, in making aU these terrible noises in the middle

184 CANTONMENTS IN
of the night I did not hear any rat scamper away, but wishing
to find out if I could, what had led to all this disturbance, and
recoUecting that possibly there might yet be some smaU remains
of fire in the wood ashes on the hearth, I felt my way to the fire
place, and found the bellows, a long iron tube about two feet and
a half long, and more than half an inch in diameter in the inside,
and blowing through this tube, I produced enough Ught from the
dying embers to shew me, not a fairy, but a poor quiet tabby cat
sitting and warming herself in the chimney corner.
I had about seventy men of No. 9 company with me at
Enguinegatte ; the remainder of them were at Estreeblanche -with
the two other officers : when the weather permitted, the two
parties met about ten o'clock each day, two or three times a
week, on the company's parade ground, which was between the
two viUages, and about a mile from each ; the whole regiment
was occasionally assembled at Therouenne, but the frequent
assembUng of the regiment during the winter was not necessary,
as in the summer months the whole division was encamped at
Eacquingham, not far from St. Omer, and each autumn we
marched to Valenciennes, and its neighbourhood, and joined the
rest of the British and German troops for the purpose of engaging
in sham fights and other field movements. In 1816 and in 1817,
towards the end of October, the 52nd returned from Valenciennes
to their old cantonments, but after proceeding to Valenciennes in
1818, and being encamped on the glacis there for some time, they
occupied the citadel of that place for several weeks, tUl they
marched on the 19th of November to Calais, to embark for En
gland, being the last remaining regiment of the British army of
occupation. The kind feeling which existed between the inhabitants of
the vUlages in which we were quartered and ourselves, both
officers and men, is described in the foUowing extract from a
letter I received from Colonel HaU, on my mentioning to bim
my idea of publishing my reminiscences of the 52nd at Water
loo, &c., &c. : — " You might I think, make some mention of the
" exceUent people amongst whom we passed nearly three years.
" The public statistics show that the popffiation of this part is the
" most moral, the most inteUigent, and the best behaved of all

THE NORTH OF FRANCE. 185
" France. You must remember the peasants ; how sober, steady,
" and industrious they were — ^how obliging and respectfffi, without
" the least taint of servUity — and the women, how gentle, good,
" and kind. You must remember the quiet and comfortable Jiabits
" of life in the farm-houses, where, as in England of old, the un-
" married labourers dwelt under the same roof with their masters —
" the prayers morning and evening — the little patches of land,
" leased in part payment of labour, a strong incentive to industry,
"and which created in the fields a variety agreeable and novel to
" our eyes. I recall, with grateful feelings, the friendly feeling
" which we strangers experienced from the people who were com-
" pelled to endure us. Our men, as you know, became domesticated
" in their billets, and, as it were, members of the cottage famUies ;
" they partook of the household fare, and their rations went into
" the common stock ; even the tobacco which the French govern-
" ment issued to them, they shared with their hosts. It was the
" same in the towns of the neighbourhood, where aU were kindly
" disposed towards us. The banker at St Omer cashed our bills
" at once without any endorsement ; he asked for no reference
" nor recommendation, and the sole security he had was the uniform
" we wore. It is gratifying to reflect that his generous confidence
" was not misplaced : after the army of occupation had been -with-
" drawn, he declared he had not lost a franc by the British officers."
I think few of the famUies of the French gentry remained
at their residences in our cantonments; but there were many
such famUies in St. Omer, Aire, and Bethune, which were forti
fied towns, with French garrisons in them ; we were, however,
very little mixed up with them. When at Estreeblanche, two of
us were quartered in the house of a very respectable miUer by
the name of Campagne, who was also the mayor of the commune ;
Captain McNair was quartered at the chateau of Monsieur Eo-
bichez, a kind old man ; he was scarcely ever resident there, but
left his establishment in the care of a very faithful housekeeper,
named Angelique. As it was within two or three hundred yards
of our quarters, we usuaUy messed there, and M. Eobichez very
kindly supplied us with most excellent wine at the cost price :
I particularly weU recoUect some beautifffi red champagne
at fifteenpence a bottle. In the spring we got up a mess at

186 CANTONMENTS IN
Therouenne for several weeks, from sixteen to twenty officers
usually dining at it; no one could be there everyday, but it was a
pleasant change for us, when we could get there. I thmk I was
the only one of the Estreeblanche party who managed it, for it
was a ride of eight miles there and back : then sometimes we
went earlier in the day, and spent several hours together. Poor
Jock Anderson, who lost his leg at Waterloo, was at Therouenne,
and usually had some friends who visited him, and tried to
amuse him.
In the long meadow of Therouenne, as it was caUed, we had
our regimental drills and the general's inspections. The Lys
formed its southern boundary, and some of us used to bathe
there. I particularly weU refnember the pleasure I felt at
having learnt to swim so well at Paris, that I coffid make head
against the rapid stream of the Lys ; sometimes I used to fold
my arms and allow it to carry me down, in four or five seconds,
a distance of twenty yards, which it had taken me as many
minutes to make good when swimming against the stream, I
have often been reminded, in after years, of this Uttle feat con
nected with my bathing m the Lys, when thinking of the diffi
ciUties which a child of God, one who trusts in the death of
Christ as the satisfaction made for sin, and whose heart is turned
from the love and practice of sin to the love of God and His
commands, has to contend with m his course through this world.
So long as he strives to Uve near to God, diligently using aU the
appomted means of grace, and seeking especially to grow in
knowledge, faith, holiness, and peace, by means of God's word,
under the teaching of the Holy Spirit (1 Peter ii, 1 — 3), so long
as he thus seeks help from God, so long shaU he be enabled
successfuUy to make head against the temptations of his power
ful, but not aU-powerful, enemies — the world, the flesh, and the
devU ; but let him cease to meditate daily in the Word of God,
and to watch, and to pray for strength to do what is right, and
to give up what is wrong in thougM, word, and deed — let him
fold his arms and cease to strive, and almost before he has time
to think of what has happened to him, he may find that he has
been most fearfuUy carried down the stream of worldUness and
sin by the force of those temptations which he has not taken the

THE NORTH OF FRANCE. 187
appointed means to overcome. That a chUd of God, one born of
the Spirit, may fearfuUy faU into sin, is evident from the case of
David. His new nature, although it cannot perish, will be
greatly enfeebled, and he will lose the comfort of knowing that
he is one of God's chUdren, as David did ; and he .can offiy re
cover it m the same way of humiUation and prayer and watch
fulness and diligence that David had recourse to, as we read in
Psalm U, 7—11.
I wiU not pursue this subject except to observe the foUowing
is the most satisfactory definition of the word "world," as used
in 1 John v, 4, 5, which I have met with, I forget whose it is : —
" By the world is meant everything around us, which tends to
" draw or keep our hearts from God, including all persons,
"whether neighbours, relatives, or acquaintances; superiors,
" equals, or inferiors ; friends or enemies ; or aU objects or cir-
" cumstances (whatever they may be) which, by the power they
"exert over our bodies or our minds, prevent our lo-ving or
" serving God as we ought to do." The fiesh is our old corrupt
nature, which, as the 9th article of the Church of England states,
" doth remam, yea in them that are regenerate." It is made up
of aU the sinful desires and propensities of the mind and body
(Gal. V, 19 — 21), whichthe devil (Eph. -vi, 12) stirs up to make
a sinful use of the world. These are subdued, but not eradicated,
in the hearts of those whose hearts are changed and turned to
God, who have put on the new man, (the image, or character, or
likeness of Christ,) " which after God is created in righteousness
" and true holiness." This new nature is formed ffi every be
liever (2 Cor. V, 1 7), though it is in an infant state at first. It is
made up of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. v, 22, 23) ; and to put
on Christ, or to put on the new man, i.e. to increase in all the
frffits of the Spirit and to put off the old man, or the old cor
rupt nature, that is, to have the fruits of the flesh subdued m
him, is the daily prayer and aim and desire of every child of
God : 1 Peter ii, 1 — 3. When a man is endeavouring, looking
for that " strength which is made perfect m weakness," to do
what is right with regard to persons, things, and circumstances,
he is trying to make a right use of the world ; he is " using the
" world as not abusmg it : " 1 Cor. vii, 31. In connexion with

188 CANTONMENTS IN
this subject, let us weU consider those two important verses in
1 John V, 4, 5 : " Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the
" world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world
" but he that beUeveth that Jesus is the Son of God 1" I should
add, that I believe these three enemies never act separately ;
that the devil always makes use of some person, object, or cir
cumstance, in acting upon the corrupt nature of man. I trast
many of my readers may derive benefit from the consideration of
this subject.
When the alterations were made in the various brigades and
divisions after the battle of Waterloo, and before the army of
occupation marched to the north of France, the 52nd was placed
in Major-General Sir Denis Pack's brigade with the 4th regiment
and 79th highlanders ; and in the division commanded by Lieut.-
General Sir Charles Col-viUe. Pack inspected us in the long
meadow near Therouenne early in June, 1816, and afterwards
issued the following : —
" Extract from Brigade Orders, June llth, 1816.
" Major-General Sir Denis Pack feels much pleasure in re-
" cording his opinion that the appearance of the 52nd regiment,
"on his late inspection, justified aU he heard in praise of the
" system established in that corps. He thinks particular praise
" is due to the officers for the good example they set by their
" strict uniformity of dress and officer-Uke appearance in every
" respect" I believe it was on this occasion that he halted the regiment,
and inquired of one of the officers " where was the place for the
" covering-serjeant of a company, when the battaUon was in
" open column of sections, left in front?" The 52nd practice was
not exactly in accordance with his view of what was correct, and
after asking the same question from a second officer and not get
ting the right answer, he told us " that the place for the covering-
" serjeant, under the circumstances, was on the right of the rear
" section, that, when the company wheeled into Une, he might be
"in his proper place." After the movements, &c., were ended,
the general and the officers proceeded to the paymaster's quarter
at, I think, the north-eastei;ji extremity of the meadow. WhUe
we were there, bearing in mind what had occurred about the

THE NOETH OF FEANCE. 189
covering-Serjeant's post, he desired an officer, who I think was
on ffis staff or acting on the staff for the day, to look the thing
out in Dundas ; and when he had turnjed over the pages for
some time, the general said " how can you be so stupid. Major
"  ? " and took the book himseK. He was quite as unable to
find the place as the other officer had been, and had to relinquish
his task with rather a bad grace.
As my plan is to record my recollections of most of the
things which can be properly recorded without giving annoyance
to any one, I must mention a circumstance which occurred either
then or at some other time in the garden of the paymaster's
quarter. Two of us were amusing ourselves, and whUing the
time away by playing at pitch-and-toss with five-franc pieces,
when one of the pieces, which had been pitched not more than
five yards, on to the centre of the gravel walk, disappeared in a
most remarkable manner. We had both seen it pitched to the
mark, and had then lost sight of it to our very great astonish
ment. We hunted for it and searched everywhere and every
thing for it, within several feet of the mark, for a good quarter of
an hour or more, but it was all in vain ; and we seriously, and
not at aU laughingly or in a joke, felt constrained to come to the
conclusion that it had disappeared through the agency of Satan
himself It made 9. great impression on me at the moment and
the thoughts passed my mind, that it had possibly been per
mitted on account of our sins, or that it foreboded some impend
mg evil. After we had given up every idea of finding the five-
franc piece, on turning up a leaf, which appeared to be flat on
the ground and to be no larger than the piece itself, there it was,
to our very great surprise.
I believe there was scarcely anything that could be considered
religion, or even the appearance of religion, amongst us at that
time. Some years afterwards I heard that, whilst we were in
those cantonments, an agent from some Bible Society, I believe
it was the Naval and Military Bible Society, had sold or given
bibles to a few of our men. Long afterwards one of the soldiers,
who had become quite a reUgious man, said that this great
change had taken place in him, solely through his having read
one of these bibles, whUst he was quartered on a Eoman CathoUc

190 CANTONMENTS IN THE NOETH OF FRANCE.
family near Therouenne, without his having had any communi
cation with them on the subject of religion. It was the offiy
means of grace he had at the time ; chaplains' visits to the regi
ments were almost unknown in those scattered quarters. I have
no doubt but that God in His mercy does sometimes, perhaps
frequently, bring the truths of His word home to the hearts and
consciences of persons whUst they are studying it alone and
without the intervention of others, although His usual mode of
proceeding, in effecting a change of heart in a poor sinner, is by
his becoming acquainted with the truths of His word through
their being taught to him by His ministers or by others, or
through their being brought before him in some of those useful
religious publications which are now so abundant but were
rarely met with fifty years ago. It must always be borne in
mind that, whoever may be the instrument of leadmg a fellow-
sinner to feel his sins and his need of a Saviour, it is His
own Word by which God converts the soul, and also builds up
the believer's soul in faith and holiness and peace. We are said
by the inspired apostle St. Peter, " to be born again, not of cor-
" ruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God which
"liveth and abideth for ever:" 1 Peter i, 23, 25 ; James i, IS ;
Psalm xix, 7. It is the Holy Spirit which makes the Word
effectual ; so we are said to be " born again of the Spirit" May
we pray that He may effect this change in every heart.
When we were in these separate villages, I do not recollect
that any attention was paid to the observance of the Lord's Day,
either as regarded ourselves or the men. There was no instruc
tion for them in anything of a religious nature ; nor indeed did
it occur to us to endeavour to employ and amuse them by giving
them any other kind of instruction. When encamped at Valen
ciennes, service was performed by the chaplain, but whether he
was attached to the brigade or to the division I forget.

191

CHAPTEE XI.
1S16.
AMUSEMENTS IN CANTONMENTS.
The regiment start a pack of fox-liounda— Anecdotes connected with our hunt-
ii\g -.Vccideut— Qo over to the cavalry quarters — Commandant of St.
Omer and his staff— Lord Combermere joins the party — His regret at not
having been at Waterloo —Dissertation on cruelty to the animals hunted — A
singulw ai-gument on the subject — Extinction of poaching — A trumpeter-
boy of the Life Guards.
Om; amusements were not much varied, yet Ave managed to pass
our days vory pleasantly. I thiuk it wns after our return from
A'iUenciennes, iu the autumn of 1816, that we stai'ted a pack of
fox-hounds in the regiment ; they were a very nice pack, and
wore well managed uuder the superintendence of one or two of
the officei-s. When Ave returned to England at the end of
November, 1818, ten couples wero sold at Tattersall's at a high
price. I -ft'as very fond of hunting, and wUl mention a few
anecdotes connected with our proceedings in that direction.
Almost the whole of the country was uninclosed ; the woods and
villages being tho exceptions. Wlicn we were clear of them, the
chief impediments to a straightforward guUop were deep hollow
roads, and steep banks. There -was a long bank, some miles from
my quarters, which, on more than one occasion, was a sore trouble to
a sailor friend of mine, by the name of Charles English, who was
staying with me and others of the 52ud for some time. I mounted
him ; and as he was not a first-rate horseman, the difficiUties he
fi-equently got into, afforded his friends much amusement ; and
aftor he had got safely back to our quarters, the recounting them

l92 AMUSEMENTS IN- CANTONMENTS.
afforded him also much gratification. This high bank was per
haps about seventeen feet deep, and certaiffiy very steep, but
stUl it was what those who were used to such things woffid take
their horses down on their haunches, yet it was a real trouble
to our friend, and I recoUect lookmg back for him several times,
in the space of about two mUes that we had ridden away from
him, and stUl seeing ffim ridmg backwards and forwards on the
top of the bank, doing what we termed " life-guardsman's duty,"
searching for some more promisffig-looking place of descent than
he had hitherto discovered.
One day, when I was the officer of the day, I had to go to
make a report to Colonel Charles Eowan, who was quartered at
the Chateau d'Uppen, about a mile from Therouenne. On comffig
away, after making my report, I found that our hounds had just
run a fox mto the adjoining wood, and, as my duty was per
formed, I at once jomed them, although, as I was in fuU regi
mentals and had my sword hangffig by my side, I was not veiy
suitably equipped for huntffig. As soon as the fox had broken
cover again, a greyhound joined in the chase, and threatened to
spoU our sport, so as I was well mounted, and coffid, when I
chose, ride from the rear to the front of the hounds, I rode ahead
to drive him off. Having done this, I kept my place at the
head of the party, as we entered the inclosures of a -viUage, with
the hounds weU up to the fox. After passing two or three fields,
m taking a fence, my cap was knocked off my head by the
bough of a tree. Of course, as I was before everybody, I coiUd
not stop to pick it up, but, noting the place, I rode on tiU in a
short time we killed our fox. This being accompUshed, I began
to think of recovering my cap, and returned to the fence, at
which I felt quite sure I had lost it The cap, however, was no
where to be seen. Our caps or shakoes were at that time orna
mented, or rather disfigured, by a very broad band of sUver round
the top, a very unsuitable appendage to the cap of a light in
fantry officer. I thought I coffid not have made a mistake about
the fence, and became convinced that somebody, tempted by the
sUver lace on the cap, had walked off with it. On raismg my
self ffi my stirrups and taking a survey, as well as I coffid, of the
fences of the adjoiffing fields, I saw the head of a woman through

AMUSEMENTS IN CANTONMENTS. 193
the higher branches of one of them, about two fields distant
from me. On riding up to her and ffiqffiring if she had seen my
cap, she strenuously denied knowing anything about it ; how
ever, notwithstanding that she endeavoured to keep in a position
to prevent my discoverffig that she had something bulky under
her clothing, I at once perceived that such was the case ; and on
my accusing her of having my unfortunate cap there, she was
forced to hand it out, and I was offiy too glad to recover and
ride off with it, after giving her a good scolding for her dis
honesty. I have forgotten to mention an occurrence which took place
at the first meet of our hounds. My recollection of the ground
leads me to think that we met abreast of Enguinegatte, near to
the south-eastern corner of that long village, nearly on the re
verse side of it from that on which the Battle of Spurs was
fought I am not quite sure that this was the place, but I men
tion it as perhaps some of the surviving officers of the 52nd may
recoUect it. I believe almost all the officers of the regiment,
and no others, were present on the occasion. The thought crosses
my mind as I write, and I feel disposed to give my readers the
benefit of it — If these recent warriors and heroes of Waterloo could
have met at this place the warriors and heroes who had fought
and conquered at the Battle of the Spurs, what an astonishing in
terview it would have been. But let me for a moment foUow on
with the idea — They wUl assuredly one day meet together —
the day is coming, when aU who have ever lived, or ever shaU
live, upon this earth, shall stand together " before the judgment
" seat of Christ," " when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from
"heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking ven-
" geance on them that know not God, and that obey not the
" gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ : who shaU be puffished with
" everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and
" from the glory of his power ; when he shaU come to be glori-
" fied in his saints, and to be admired in all them that beUeve."
May we aU prepare daUy and dUigently for that solemn, and
awful, and most glorious day ! Then at least wUl all our foolish
" pride of human glory be stained."
How, after this digression, I am to get back to the triffing
0

194 AMUSEMENTS IN CANTONMENTS.
anecdote I was about to mention, I know not : — The officers of
the 52nd were aU assembled to see their new hounds throw off.
The hounds had never hunted together, and were of course very
wUd. As we were aU sittmg very carelessly on our horses, one
of the horses got loose and gaUoped away. This was a great deal
too much for the sobriety of the new hounds, and they set off ffi
fuU cry after the horse ; and this sudden start made many of the
horses set off also. I was sitting ffi my saddle, with my bridle
lymg on my horse's neck, and my horse, " Norman," (not the one
before mentioned,) a horse well kno-wn in the regiment as some
thing very superior to a baggage-horse, and whom I saw last in
the stables of the posting-house at Calais, this horse made a
sudden start away, which threw me quite backwards before I
could touch the bridle, and from his back I feU off on the left
side without bemg able to disengage my foot from the left stir
rup ; I was consequently dragged a short distance, and, either
accidently in his gaUop, or purposely by a kick, he gave me a
hea-vy blow on my jaw, close to my chin, which covered me with
blood, and the mark of which I carry to this day. I was des
perately afraid that my jaw was broken, and sought out our
assistant-surgeon, who was on the ground. It seems but yester
day, so vi-vidly do I recoUect the scene, although it took place
as nearly as possible fifty years ago from the day on wffich I am
writing this. The foUowing short dialogue took place: —
" Macartney ! I fear my jaw is broken." He then took hold of
my chin and giving it a slight shake, said, " Oh, your jaw is not
" broken." I thffik no other person was thrown. I forget what
sort of a run we had that day, but I remember my horse got
planted ffi some ploughed land, and that I thought he was at
last paid off for aU ffis iU behaviour at the start.
I don't know if any other regiment in the army of occupation
kept a pack of hounds, though I thffik the brigade in which the
29th was kept a pack. We once by arrangement took our
hounds to the cavalry quarters to the north of St. Omer, to give
the cavalry officers a day's sport Lord Combermere,* who had
" The great disappointment of the gallant Sir Stapleton Cotton, (Lord Com
bermere,) at not being allowed to proceed to Flanders in 1815, as Commander-in-
Chief of the cavalry, is mentioned in very strong terms in his " Life," which has just

AMUSEMENTS IN CANTONMENTS. 195
taken the command of the cavalry, after Lord Uxbridge (the
Marqffis of Anglesea) had lost his ileg at Waterloo, went out
with us, and many other cavalry officers. The French general
and his staff came out from St. Omer, in full uniform, to see the
fun. In order to avoid disappointment a bag-fox had been pro
vided, which was turned out about a mUe or more to the north
ward of St. Omer, on the chaussee, along which it went for per
haps half a mUe. When it had had sufficient " law," the hounds
were laid on. It was a briUiant day, and there was a good and
well-mounted field. As we galloped after the hounds, none
appeared to enjoy the sport or to ride faster than the French
general and his staff; but as they were not at aU used to hunting
after our English fashion, their pleasure soon came to an end.
The fox after a time was headed, and crossing a tolerably wide
ditch to the left of the road, took to the open country. The
ditch was altogether too much for our French friends, as it would
have been for my sailor friend of whom I wrote before, but all
the rest of the party thought nothing of it Before I had gone
half a mUe from it, I had the misfortune, when I was weU placed,
to break one of my stirrup-leathers, and I thought the best plan
was to pull up and see what I coffid do to remedy the disaster.
Fortunately it had broken exactly at the buckle, so that by
shortening my stirrups one hole, which I could weU afford to do,
I avoided the, to me, great annoyance of riding the rest of the
day without stirrups. I was not very long in getting aU to-
rights, and at once began to fetch up my lee-way in pretty good
style ; and it certainly was a considerable pleasure when I found
myself steadUy advancing upon, and then passing. Lord Comber
mere, who of course was well mounted. After some time I found
myself ahead of everybody, and I rode for several minutes nearly
abreast of the two leading hounds, being about thirty yards on
been pubUshed by Lady Combermere :— " AU was of no avaO. Both his personal
" claims and the representations of the Duke of Wellington failed to induce the
" Prince Regent to forego his revenge or partiality for the sake of the public
" service, and at Waterloo Stapleton Cotton's sword flashed not in the van as it
" was wont to be. The disappointment was grievous, and to the end of his days
" he never could bear to speak on the subject of the Battle of Waterloo. On
"the 15th of July, 1815, in a letter from Paris, he wrote :— 'I regret more than
" ' ever not having been at the famous battle which decided the fate of Europe.' "
0 2

196 AMUSEMENTS IN CANTONMENTS.
their right, and they graduaUy gaining on the fox, which I had
in fffil view aU the time, tUl we came to the inclosures of a
village. There we had to gallop at speed up the most muddy
lane I ever galloped through in my Ufe. One of the 52nd came
next to me and rode within about eight yards, and got his face
and the whole front of his body regularly plastered with thick mud,
after a fashion which I never saw equaUed either before or since.
The fox took to a large piece of water in the village, and was
caught by our huntsman in a boat, and given to the hounds, after
having afforded us a very exceUent run. I think it was recol
lecting, several years afterwards, the miserable plight in which I
had seen this poor wretched fox, that first determined me to give
up hunting, of which amusement I was exceedmgly fond. There
may be other reasons why a man who fears God might avoid
hunting — for instance, he might think it calcffiated to lead him
on other occasions into the society of persons not of congenial
habits and feelings with himself; but it appeared to me (I have
never forced these opinions on others) that I had no right to in
flict pain on any of God's creatures — my feUow-creatures, for
such they are — merely for my amusement The same argument
may be made use of I thffik with regard to shooting and fishffig,
and some other amusements of a simUar kind. It is true we
may freely destroy noxious animals, and we may kiU game or
any other animals which we may require for food, but then, in
both cases, we are certainly bound to kUl the animals in the
most humane manner possible. The snaring birds and hares,
and then kiUing them as quickly as possible, must surely be a
more humane practice than that of shooting them, with the great
chance, particularly in the case of bad shots, of leaving a con
siderable portion of them in a wounded state to linger in great
pain, perhaps for a week or two — or more, before they die. I
have found wounded hares, with broken legs, several days or a
week after there had been any shooting in the neighbourhood ;
and whenever there is a shooting party and plenty of game, how
many birds have the feathers knocked out of them, which shews
they are severely wounded, and yet get away. What shoffid we
say of a man, who, instead of letting his sheep be killed as
quickly and humanely as it coffid be done by the butcher, should.

AMUSEMENTS IN CANTONMENTS. 197
for his amusement and that of his friends, fire at them with ball
from behind the fence walls, or mountain crags, killing and
taking away some, but leaving others to get away wounded, and
to die after languishing, for days perhaps, in misery and pain ?
Should we not say of such a man that he was brutal and cruel ?
And yet the -very thing must constantly occur in deer-stalking.
How careful owners of hounds and others are to preserve foxes,
in order (may I say ?) to torment them for their own amusement,
when, if the plea of their being noxious animals is urged as an
excuse, it would be so easy, particularly when they are young, to
put several of them together to a ten times more humane death,
by suffocating them in their holes. I recollect a case in which
an owner of hounds imported fifty foxes from France; so the
excuse for destroying them by hunting, because they are de
stroyers of poultry, &c., faUs to the ground.
But now I come, if my readers have not already tossed the
book aside, and will bear with me a little longer, to a very
specious plea for hunting and shootmg for mere amusement,
although the engaging in these sports is attended, as has been
shewn, with very great cruelty to the animals hunted or shot ; I
do not speak of cruelty to the dogs and horses, for I believe they
enjoy the sport; but no one wUl persuade me that the fox Ukes
to be hunted, or the hares and birds to be shot and wounded.
The specious plea I, have just alluded to, in favour of hunt
ing and shooting for mere amusement, notwithstanding the
cruelty inflicted, is tffis : — These sports help to raise up amongst
us a bold and hardy race of gentlemen, many of whom, having
been thus inured to danger and fatigue from their early youth,
become most effective, valuable, aud darffig officers ffi our army
and navy. Not that I think many of our sailor friends have
acquired their dash in the hunting field. I quite agree that the
same meu who will ride straight across a country at a gallop,
talving their fences generally as they come, without piUUng up,
wUl be likely to do anything or everytffing which may be re
quired of them in action, be it the leading a charge of cavalry,
the mounting a rampart or breach, or (ffi order that I may fficlude
our gallant sailors) storming a battery or boarding an enemy's
frigate. No doubt, these manly exercises, engaged in by our

198 AMUSEMENTS IN CANTONMENTS.
gentry, are of much benefit to them, and through them, of bene
fit to the country. And these sports also help to give us, what
is also a great advantage, a number of resident gentlemen in the
various localities, who, but for these amusements, woffid spend a
much greater portion of their lives than they now do, either in
London or in travelling abroad, to the neglect of those various
duties of a country Ufe, the engaging in which may render their
residence amongst them so beneficial, in various ways, to those
who come within their sphere of influence.
But there is much to be said in answer to aU this. First of
all, we have had many as gallant an officer as ever stepped, who
never rode hunting in his IUe. Then, our common soldiers and
saUors — equaUy brave with their officers, ready to go anywhere,
and into any danger — did they acqffire their hardihood and courage
in the hunting fleld, and ffi amusing themselves by exercising
cruelty on foxes and hares? Surely the British soldier or the
British saUor has plenty of pluck, innate or acqffired, without its
having been so engendered.
But again, let it be granted that the manly amusement of
hunting is of national benefit, or that great numbers are not
wUling to give it up, merely because there is great cruelty
attending the present mode of carrying on the sport : is there no
plan of proceeding by which the various benefits and desires
above-mentioned may be as fully met and realized without the
attendant cruelty, as with it ? From what I know of hunting,
I am fficUned to maintain that as good sport may be had by
hunting a drag, as by hunting a fox, or a hare, or a wild boar.
Let a good rider and the best horse be started with a drag, and
let them have a start of a quarter of an hour, less or more
according to circumstances, and there is no reason why they
should not give a weU mounted field a good twenty miles' run on
any day when the scent wUl Ue ; and if twenty mUes should not
be sufficient for our modern Nimrods, the run might easUy be
extended, with, or even without a fresh drag, horse, and rider, to
double that distance. A second drag might always be carried,
in case of any accident happenmg to the first
But I am fficUned, from some experience in such matters, to
maintain that as good sport may be obtamed not only without

AMUSEMENTS IN CANTONMENTS. 199
an ammal or a drag to hunt, but also even without hounds, as can
be met with m the best hunts of the present day. In the be
gffinffig of 1819, when I was quartered at Chester, on one occasion
when hunting with the Cheshire hounds, we had had very little
sport, and being about seven miles from Chester, several of us
determffied to ride there across the country. The horses were
quite as eager as they woffid have been had they been foUo-wing
the hounds. I found by measurement a few days afterwards that
my mare, ffi taking a hedge about three feet high at a fair gallop
on level turf, had cleared two-and-twenty feet.
One advantage which I hereby propose to my hunting friends
is, the saving aU the expence of keepffig a pack of hounds, of
earth-stopping, of huntsmen and whippers-in, &c., &c. Then
this mode of riding across a country would help to supersede the
present mode of steeple-chasing, which certainly is frequently
attended with cruelty, witness the broken backs of the horses,
and the broken limbs and necks of the riders which we sometimes
read of. Then, again, it certaiffiy woffid be a great boon to the
community if it might be allowed by our sportffig friends to
supersede the present system of horse-racing, with all its attendant
e-vUs — cruelty to the horses, gambling, the rascality practised ffi
racing stables, drffiking, and the assembling together of the very
worst characters. In many places they are maffily got up by the
public-house keepers for their own benefit and it would be of
very great benefit to the youth of both sexes, if races and the
race course coffid be altogether abolished. It is a fact which
shoffid have its weight with all frequenters of races, plays, and
pleasure fairs, that whenever persons become reaUy religious,
and, consequently, sincerely desirous that God should be honoured
in aU things, generaUy one of their first resolves is that they wUl
avoid, and try to lead others to avoid, all places, and companies,
and practices which in any way tend to promote that which is
sinfffi and hateful ffi His sight
If the seeking our amusement in that which is attended with
cruelty to animals is wrong, then any proposal to do away with
such a system shoffid, to say the least receive attention and con
sideration on the part of those to whom it is made. Now what
substitute can be proposed for, I presume I may call it the cruel

200 AMUSEMENTS IN CANTONMENTS.
amusement of shooting ? Before, however, I proceed to answer
my own question, I would observe that a very small proportion
of the community have the opportuffity of foUo-wffig this amuse
ment ; I must also mention that were half the inhumanity which
is practised towards himted foxes, and wounded hares, pheasants,
and partridges, to be displayed by the owners or drivers of our
London cabs towards their horses, or by our drovers -with regard
to the animals entrusted to their care, I suspect they woffid very
likely be at once committed to durance vile for a month or six
weeks, without the option of paying a fine.
I have proposed a substitute for hunting animals, and now I
wiU say sometffing about a substitute for the cruel amusement
of shootffig at, and maiming, hares and partridges ; though, if the
thffig is wrong, the upright man shoffid give up the amusement
without requiring that a substitute for it should be discovered
for him. AU wUl be of opiffion that the enrolment of our noble
corps of volunteers, and the rifle competition wffich has every
where been engaged in by them, affords to great numbers of our
young men, of aU classes of society, an exciting, healthy, and, at
the same time, a most useful employment ; great numbers of
individuals have devoted, no doubt much of the time which they
used to employ in shooting, in endeavouring to perfect themselves
in rifle-shooting. Much might be done in the way of increasing
the amusement of rifle-shootffig ; perhaps by constructmg move
able inaffimate objects to be fired at ; but this, on account of the
danger, could offiy be done on or near the sea, or on the mountain
side, or on a very extensive level. Common shootffig, in lieu of
kUling and maiming partridges and hares, might take place
somewhat after the popinjay fashion ; or that might be improved
upon by clever inventors who, by means of simple machinery,
might make to move rapidly, along high wires, figures of birds
or anythmg else, which might be so constructed as to be
knocked down when fairly struck, and they might contam that
which should constitute as great a prize as a head of game woffid
be. But what would then become of all the game in the country ?
In reply to that I would say, abolish the game laws, give, under
certain restrictions, the general right of pursuing and snaring
game for a certaffi time, and probably in two years there would

AMUSEMENTS IN CANTONMENTS. 201
scarcely be a head of game in our island. Attend more closely
to the rearing of domestic fowls ; but I woffid do away with
pigeons, which not only tempt poachmg-people to try and kill
them in the fields, but which also, it is computed, consume yearly
grain, not generaUy belonging to their owners, to the value of a
miUion and a half sterling. I confess that I find it difficffit to
propose anything which would be a substitute for the healthy
and exciting walk of miles either on enclosed or open land, on
the moor or mountain, which the amusement of shooting induces ;
and yet I think I could myself enjoy, .and benefit by, the long
and varied walk equally well if I had neither dogs nor gun with
me, particularly if I was accompanied by a pleasant companion.
And then what a great blessing it woffid be to the country to do
away with all temptation to poaching, by destroying the game.
If, as I believe it might be fairly calculated, there are two occa
sional or regular poachers, on an average, in every parish in our
land, and, in addition, fifty regular poachers in every town con
taining 50,000 inhabitants and upwards, then, at a rough estimate,
we may say there are some 30,000 poachers in the country.
What an improvement it woffid be if there were no temptation
to these men to continue their demoraUzing pursuit of game, and
consequently no temptation to those, who come after them, to
tread in their steps.
The most difficult objection to answer to the giving up hunt
ing and shooting on the ground that we have no right to inflict
cruelty and pain on any portion of God's animal creation is, I
think, the foUowing : — God Himself has allowed numbers of
auimals to prey on others, and to inflict a certain amount of pain
on them, and aUnost aU kinds of animals, &c., die a death of
suffering and pain ; and people might argue, if a kmd and mer
ciful God permits this, why need we be so particular about
mflicting pain in kiUing animals, &c., for our food, or in the
pursuit of amusement ? I shoffid have no difficulty as to the
propriety of inflicting any amount of paffi by bad shooting, or in
any other way, if I could not procure food in any other way, but
it appears to me to be contrary to the Scripture injunctions to be
¦' gentle" and " tender-hearted," that we should be careless about

202 AMUSEMENTS IN CANTONMENTS.
inflicting pain on animals. God has, no doubt for wise purposes,
permitted affimals, birds, fishes, and insects to prey on each other ;
He has left numbers of them to die the most painful deaths ; but
surely that must not be made an excuse by man for revelling ffi
cruelty, and inflicting pain on animals, &c., for mere amusement.
How contrary, also, such an idea .is to aU those lessons of kind
ness to animals, and birds, and ffisects, and even worms, which
have been instUled ffito most of us by our tender mothers amongst
the first ideas which our infant minds received.
I must, having gone so far, venture to pursue the subject
stUl further. When God first gave permission to man to eat
animal food, (perhaps man did so before,) and said. Genesis ix, 3,
" every moving thing that Uveth shaU be meat for you ; even as
" the green herb have I given you aU things," the permission was
accompanied by this restriction, as we read in the next verse,
" but flesh with the Ufe thereof, which is the blood thereof, shaU
"ye not eat.'' Thomas Scott, in his Commentary, says on this
passage, "The grant here given fuUy warrants our use of the
" animals for food, but not the abuse of them by intemperance or
"cruelty. The restriction might be intended as a check to
" cruelty, lest men, inured to shed and feed upon the blood of
"animals, shoffid grow unfeelffig, and be the less shocked at
" shedding human blood."
I have begun to think that it may not be reaUy unfair, if
men pursue the sports of huntffig, shooting, &c,, for pleasure,
regarffiess of the pain and misery infficted upon the animals,
that they have no right to complain, if they should find themselves
classed with such men as Nero, or any other cruel monster of
former or more recent ages.
In Hooper's Waterloo is the foUowffig anecdote, which I
venture to borrow from him; I omitted to do so ffi the more
sffitable part of my work : — " A tmmpeter-boy of the 2nd Life
" Guards, Thomas Beamond, was riding through the field when a
" cffirassier rushed at him, with his sword's point levelled at the
"boy's breast Discoverffig he w'as a mere lad, the gaUant
" Frenchman dropped his point, spared ffim, and passed on. Sad
" to relate, ffi sight of the poor boy, a comrade, who had not

AMUSEMENTS IN CANTONMENTS. 203
" witnessed the noble act of the cffirassier, feU upon him and
" slew him. When the boy, grown a man, told the story to my
" ffiformant, he was, even after years had passed by, affected even
" to tears.''
May such gentle and generous feeUngs be cffitivated, as far
as possible, by aU contending armies, untU God shaU "make
" wars to cease unto the end of the earth."

204

CHAPTEE XII.
1816.
AMUSEMENTS AND INCIDENTS IN THE NORTH OF FRANCE.
Hunting at CaUone — Captain English — Duke of WeUington's boar-hounds — Lord
Hill and his brother— Gymnastic club near St. Pol — 52nd play the rest of
ColviUe's division at cricket— Fatal accident— Mess at Therouenne in the
summer — Accident to a friend in the 71st— Medals for Waterloo served
out — Two of us wear them on going to Aire — Death of a poor woman in
the Grande Place — Curious anecdote about the 18th of June, 1816, by a
corporal of the 23rd Fusileers — Ball given by the English officers at St.
Omer — My servant drowned — Remarkable dreams— Holman's servant
shot — A corporal stabbed by a French officer — Capture of thieves — Winter-
bottom and his former comrade — Anecdote of the master tailor.
We had not a very great variety of amusements during the time
of our occupation of the North of France. I received from time
to time during several weeks, as a present, from our regimental
pack, those hounds which, from their being rather small or for
any other reason, our managing committee wished to part with ;
and thus I collected, I think, seven hounds, for my kind friend
Captam Frederick English, of the Engineers, who was quartered
with ffis famUy at the chateau of CaUone, near St Pol, about
seventeen mUes from us. Whilst I was coUecting them, two or
three of us got a little private hunting of our own occasionally.
At CaUone they were considered a great acquisition, and I several
times went there for two or three days, and enjoyed hunting
with them very much. On one occasion I remember ridmg
ahead with a drag, which afforded us very good sport. There was
in existence at one time, several years after our retum from

AMUSEMENTS, ETC., IN THE NORTH OF FRANCE. 205
France, a very spirited sketch, by Captaffi English, of the officers,
horses, and hounds of that hunt ; I think he never mustered
more than five horsemen, even when I made one of the party.
Captain English and his horse, and I and my mare, were
amongst the figures ; and I should have liked to have brought
away with me the sketch, if they could have parted
with it, when I last saw my kind friends in England some thirty
years ago.
The Duke of Wellington, whose head-quarters were at
Cambrai, between fifty and sixty mUes distant from our canton
ments, on one occasion sent his boar-hounds for a day's hunting
in our direction, and four of the 52iid officers went between
twenty and thirty miles the day before in order to hunt with
them. They threw off not very far from the inn at which we
slept, in a forest, the name of which I have forgotten, but we had
scarcely any sport The hounds found a boar, and hunted him
for a considerable time, and we rode up and down the rides of
the forest ; at last he broke cover, but merely to run about half a
nffie across an open space to another part of the forest There
was a tremendous and awkward leap out of the forest, which my
mare managed very cleverly. The boar is said to be a fast run
ner when hunted, but I had not the pleasure of seeing him during
the whole day. Lord HiU and his brother. Colonel HiU, of the
Blues, were out, and I think not more than half a dozen other
people, besides ourselves, one of whom was Colonel Fremantle.
Lord Hill and his brother carried boar-spears, as did one or two
of the others. Soon after we got into the forest as I was walking
my horse along, about 150 yards behind the other 52nd men.
Lord HiU overtook me, and coming up alongside, asked me
" How are Sir John Colborne and the 52nd, Sir ? " He might
have heard that some 52nd officers were to be out that day, but
I remember my impression then was, that he had not had the
opportunity of hearing that we were to be there, and that it was
a case of rememberffig, after having offiy once or at the most
twice, seen me before ; the one occasion being when he rode
very close upon me in the standing com, half an hour or an
hour before the commencement of the Battle of Waterloo ; the
other, in passing along the front at a re-view, when the troops

206 AMUSEMENTS AND INCIDENTS
were standing in contiguous close columns, and when I think I
carried one of the colours.
Some of our officers got some good coursing ; I only occasion
ally joined them. The shooting was very bad, the birds being
very wQd on the extensive cultivated lands between the viUages.
Sometimes, for want of something else to do, I recollect firing
ball from my double-barrelled gun at partridges, which I could
often see running on the rise of the ground 200, yards off, when I
coffid not get within half that distance of them. I need scarcely
add, that this baU-practice of mine did not inflict any serious
injury on the enemy in my front
Some spirited officers, quartered in the neighbourhood of St.
Pol, belonging to our division, proposed, in the spring of 1816, I
thffik, the establishment of a gymnastic club, at which those
of the officers of the division who were so disposed, might meet
at stated times to play at cricket and other games. The meet
ings were to take place some few miles to the northward of St.
Pol. This was at a great distance from our brigade, but two of
us from the 52nd attended the first meetffig. The 71st belong
mg to another brigade, were close to us at Estreeblanche to the
eastward ; and fficlining towards the south, and in the direction
of St. Pol, were the 6th regiment, I think, at or near Lillers, and
beyond them the 29th regiment; and nearer to St Pol, and
beyond it, there was another brigade and some artUlery. These
being nearer to the place of meeting than Pack's brigade, were
enabled to contribute a goodly number of members to the insti
tution. I forget what games were played at the first meetffig,
but after dffiner, Captain McDonald, the hon. secretary, came to
where I was sitting, and said it was proposed that our brigade
shoffid play the rest of the division at cricket, at the next meet
ing of the club, and asked if I would undertake, on the part of
the brigade, to accept the challenge ; I was foolish enough to
reply, that I could not answer for the rest of the brigade, as I
knew nothing of them, but that I would undertake that the
62nd shoffid 'play the rest of the division. I dare say I should
just as readily have said that they would play " AU England."
I have no doubt it created some smUes when this was announced,
as it immediately was.

IN THE NOETH OF FRANCE. 207
On my giving an account, on my return to the regiment, of
aU that had taken place, they told me that I had acted very
fooUshly in what I had done, but that as the thing was con
sidered as fixed, they would endeavour to turn out in sufficient
force to try and do some credit to the expectations which I
might have raised of their prowess as cricketers. We did not
take any men with us, but eight of the officers including myself
went, and some of them must have ridden upwards of forty
miles there and back ; for I was the nearest to the place of meet
ffig, and I reckoned that my quarters were about sixteen miles
from it.
We found a numerous assemblage of the officers of the divi
sion there. It was arranged that there shoffid be only eight on
a side. We were not overmatched, and had a most excellent
game. They paid us the compliment of saying, that they never
saw better fielding in their lives. They had a major in the
artillery on the other side, who got fifty-two runs. We consoled
ourselves with saying, that had he been an ordinary batter, and
had not made more than half that score, we shoffid have carried
away the laurels. But I have a sad addition to make to this
account We heard a few days afterwards, that this poor major
of artillery, I am sorry I cannot recoUect his name, who had
been full of health and spirits, and who was the hero of the day,
was kUled on his return to his quarters that evening, by the
upsetting of the gig, ffi which he and another officer were riding,
at the turn of a road. How often do the solemn warnings come
to us — " memento mori ! " and, " there is but a step between me
" and death ! "
One moonlight evening, as four of us, including a young
acquaintance of mine, a fine young fellow by the name of
Barnett, of the 7 1st Highland Light Infantry, were returffing
along the Chaussee Brunehaut, from our mess at Therouenne,
to Estreeblanche, four mUes distant, the 71st officer and another
of the party determined to ride a race, from the top of the
ascent from Therouenne, in the direction of Estreeblanche. I
always thought those races on roads extremely dangerous and
disagreeable, and being mounted on a small Galloway, contented
myself with trottffig smartly along the road. When I had pro-

208 AMUSEMENTS AND INCIDENTS
ceeded about a mUe, I heard a voice crying out, " Hold hard,
" hold hard ! " The &rsi object which I saw was one of the
horses fixed ffi a ditch to the right of the road, two feet wide
and two feet deep, with his back at the bottom of it, and the
four feet up in the air. The two racing horses, in some curious
way, had got their fore feet entangled and had both faUen. The
52nd officer and his horse had not taken much harm; but my
poor 71st friend was insensible, having fallen most heavUy on his
head ; his horse was in the ditch, as I have described. The 52nd
officer was sitting down with the head of the other on ffis lap.
The fourth man of the party was up immediately after me ; they
left me with poor Barnett, and one of the other two rode off to
a vUlage two miles off, for an assistant-surgeon, and the second,
after giving notice to some of our men at Enguinegatte, a third
of a mile off, to come to my assistance, went in another direc
tion. As I sat supporting our ffijured friend, I desired the last
officer, as he was moving off, if he had a knUe in his pocket, to
leave it with me, intending to get some blood from his temples
or some other part if Barnett should appear to cease to breathe.
I was often joked afterwards about this. It was not a very
pleasant position to be in, for I thought it most probable that
my companion would die before assistance came. When we had
been there about twenty minutes, I was for a moment startled
by four of our men rushing down some broken ground behind
us, with drawn bayonets, one exclaiming, as he saw our figures,
"Where's Mr. Leeke?" They were the men quartered at the
first farm house, and had misunderstood the hasty notice given
by the officer, that they shoffid lose no time in going to my
assistance. They gathered that there was a dying man on the
Therouenne road, and that I was there, and probably thought
that we had been attacked by some party. Two or three others
came to our assistance, and we placed Barnett still insensible,
upright on one of the horses ; and, two men holding him on
and I leading the horse by the bridle, we proceeded to my
quarters at Estreeblanche. A smaU river, caUed the Laquele,
fiowed along the road of the vUlage for eighty or a hundred yards,
completely filUng it and being nearly knee deep, the footpath
going along the bank on the right On our arriving at this water.

IN THE NORTH OF FRANCE. 209
Bamett astomshed me by takmg hold of the bridle and puUing the
horse up, and saying that I must not go through the water. Here
was a momentary consciousness. Of course, however, I did this.
He was put into si, bed at my quarters, and our assistant^surgeon
attended him. The day after, the surgeon and the assistant-
surgeon of the 71st arrived, and said he had received a severe
concussion of the brain ; they were anxious to get him into their
neighbourhood, and he was removed to ffis own quarters on the
third day, where he gradually recovered. I wonder whether he
is still Uving. Perhaps one fourth of the officers who fought at
Waterloo, still survive at this date, December 8, 1865; at
least that is about tbe proportion of survivors of the 52nd
Waterloo officers. There were sixty-three officers present on
that occasion, including the surgeons and two aides-de-camp, of
whom it is ascertained that a.bout forty-five are dead. I offiy
know of fourteeii that sur-vlve, now at the end of fifty years.
Three of these were captains at Waterloo; WiUiam Eowan, James
Frederick Love, and Charles Yorke, now lieutenant-generals and
G.C.B.'s. Ten of them were then lieutenants: George HaU,
(now Ueutenant-colonel,) George Gawler, (now colonel,) George
Whichcote, (major-general,) Hon. WiUiam OgUvy, (captain,)
E. E. Northey, (Ueutenant-colonel,) Hon. W. Browne, Edward
Scoones, (major,) W. Austin, (major,) Charles Holman, (captain,)
G. E. Scott One only was then an ensign,' William Leeke.
Just before the 18th of June, 1816, the medals for Waterloo
were served out to all those who had been present, and on the
anffiversary of the victory two of us thought weU to ride into
Aire, which was about six mUes from Estreeblanche ; it was the
nearest fortified place to our village, and was garrisoned by the
French. None of our non-commissioned officers or soldiers
were admitted ffito St. Omer or Aire without a pass from, the
officers commanding the company to which each belonged, but
officers ffi uniform might enter without any pass. It must
be recoUected that there were very few soldiers remaining in the
French army who had been at Waterloo, and that they were
now the soldiers of our aUy Loffis XVIII, for whom we had
fought and some thousands of our comrades had shed their
blood, but nevertheless, our ridffig ffito one of the French
p

210 AMUSEMENTS AND INCIDENTS
garrisons on the first anniversary of a victory gained over
French troops, would perhaps have been better avoided. My
companion, on the occasion, thus speaks of it in a letter which I
received from him not very long ago. " Do you remember how
" you and I rode into Aire, on the first anniversary of Waterloo,
" wearing the medals just issued, and laurel ffi our shakos. The
"guards at the gate scowled, but we met with no adventure.
" Kenny, a very correct and rather censorious person, thought we
"had been extremely unwise — it was all your doing too — I, so
" many years older, ought to have tried to dissuade you, instead
" of being led away by you as I was.'' In reply, I told him that
I perfectly well recoUected the whole affair, and that it certaiffiy
was much more Uke me than Uke him to engage in such an ad
venture. I felt rather confident that it was on this occasion
that the following, in some little measure redeeming, occurrence
took place, but my friend says he has not the least recoUection
of it, so it is probable that it happened when I rode into Aire
on some other occasion with some other officer. As we rode
across the large square of the town, an old woman, carrying one
of those small tin boxes with lighted charcoal, which the older
French women are so constantly seen with, suddeffiy fell down
in what appeared to be a fainting fit ; we immediately jumped
off our horses, and letting them loose, carried the poor woman
into the nearest house : on our seating her in a chair, her lower
clothes were found to be slightly on fire from the charcoal-box,
and she was quite dead.
A fine old soldier, a corporal in the 23rd FusUeers, recently
told me that their grenadier company, in which he was, adopted
a singular method of parading their medals on the first anni
versary of Waterloo. Two of their comrades were, for some not
very serious offence, confined in the guard-house at head
quarters, not very far distant from their colonel's quarters ; so
they made one of their number put on his red jacket and all his
regimentals, and having fastened the whole of their medals all
over the front of his jacket they borrowed an ass, on which he
rode to their head-quarters, accompanied by the whole of the
grenadier company. When they arrived, they asked permission
to see the colonel, and he immediately came out to them, and on

IN THE NORTH OF FRANCE. 2] 1
ffis asking what they wanted, they told him that they had come
to ask him to do them a great favor on the anniversary of the
great victory, and it was that he would have the kindness to
forgive their two comrades, who were in disgrace. He smiled at
their gallant cavalier bedizened with medals, and good naturedly
told them that their comrades should be at the vUlage they were
quartered at before the company could get there themselves. The
two men joined them in a very few mmutes after they left the
colonel's quarters.
Monsieur Eobichez, the owner of the chateau, at Estree
blanche, at which Captain McNair was quartered, on one
occasion pressed me very much to go with him to a baU, at
Betune, a French fortress, about ten miles from Aire. I was the
offiy Englishman there ; indeed, aU the rest were French, and
many of them French officers in uniform, and although there
was nothing uncivil in their conduct, yet there was a certain
constraint, which was almost sure to arise under the circum
stances, and which made me feel I had been very foolish in
allowing myself to be placed in such a position.
Although I was too far from St. Omer to have any acquaintances
amongst either the inhabitants or the few English residents there ;
yet, on one occasion I, with many 52nd officers, joined the other
regiments of Pack's brigade, and the cavalry quartered to the
north of St Omer, in givffig a grand ball to the people of the
town and neighbourhood, both English and French ; which was
attended, including the entertainers, by about four hundred
people. The supper-tables, it was arranged, were first to accom
modate the one half of the assemblage, and when they had been
duly feasted, then the other half were to be admitted, and the
only thing I now remember of that ball is, that when the second
detachment of supper-eaters arived, every bonbon, and every
other pocketable eatable, had been carried off by those who had
been invited to make the first attack upon the abundant pro
vision, which had been intended to be more than sufficient for
the whole party.
As I was returning from the ball-room to the hotel at which
I was to sleep, at a very badly lighted spot I made some -wrong
turn, and lost my way for a minute or two ; I heard some one
P 2

212 AMUSEMENTS AND INCIDENTS
coming, but coffid not, as it was yery dark, see more than the
figure of a man approaching. I took him to be a Frenchman, and
asked him which was the way to the hotel He answered ffi
French, and gave me some directions, which, although I had in
some degree lost my way, I felt very confident were incorrect,
and, as I thought he was leading me wrong on purpose, I gave him
somewhat of a scolding for his conduct in my best French, which
he took very qffietly, and theu said good naturedly ffi English,
" Oh come with me and I'U shew you the way k I'ancienne poste."
I walked with him twenty or thirty yards, when he put me ffito
the right ffirection, for which I thanked him. I could not see
his face, but I discovered from his voice that it was the com^
manding officer of the 4th English regiment I cannot at all
understand how it was that, in a fortified place of some extent,
the streets, or at least some of them, were left ffi such a state of
darkness. I thffik the army was very healthy during the time of tbe
occupation of France. We had two sad accidents at Estree
blanche, and whUst we were there one of our men was mortally
wounded by a retired French officer, who ffidged in the vUlage.
I have mentioned that at one time we regularly dined at the
chateau at which Captain McNair was quartered. It was sur
rounded by a moat about thirty feet broad, over which there was
a bridge about five or six feet wide, formed of planks, resting on
four or five waUs buUt up from the bottom of the moat ; there
was no railing on either side of the wooden bridge. It commu
fficated with a vaulted passage, which passed under some of the
rooms to a smaU open court withm, surrounded by the buUdings
on three sides, whUst on that side which was opposite to the
passage to the bridge, we looked over the moat to the field
beyond it. There was a massive door between the end of the
passage and the bridge. We often crossed this bridge on the
darkest nights without the least apprehension of danger,
although the water was deep all round the chateau except at the
edge. One dark night my servant whose name was George Soones,
with another soldier, was passffig through the doorway close to
the bridge, and, as it was bffiwffig hard through the passage from

IN THE NORTH Of FRANCH. 213
the opposite direction, he found some difficffity in keeping the
door open, and at the same time in keeping alight a piece of
candle which he was carryiilg between his filigers. The other
man was nearly across the bridge, and heard Soones say, " If
" this light goes out I'm done.'' At that moment the door was
blown heavily to upon him, and the light went out, and before
he had reached the middle of the bridge he feU over, striking his
neck, it was supposed, against one of the buttresses oU which
the bridge was buUt ; he was a good' swimmer, and, notwith
standing the hurt he received, which was shown by an extensive
bruise on the side of the neck, he swam about five-and-thirty
yards, but not towards the shore of the moat. His body was
not found untU about t-svo hours afterwards, under the waUs of
the chateau.
I was away ffom Estteeblanche on that evening, and was
Vefy much grieved to heat of poor Soones's fate. He and his
two brothers hdd Voluffieered ffito the 52nd from the South
Hants Militia, and his friends, I found, lived within two mUeS
of my home, though I had never known them ; and possibly tffis
made me feel his death all the more. It was truly melancholy
for me to enteJ my bedroom at night He had been the last
person there, and had turned do-wn my bed, and laid, out my
things. It was impossible to get to sleep, and I felt very
wretched. Divided from my room by a thin lath and plaster
partition was the servants' room, in which they kept their fire
locks and accoutrements, and slept Holman's servant, a nice
feUow by the name of Blackman, slept, or rather do2ed there on
the night in question. I heard him all night tumbling about on
his bed, and more than once I heard him say, " I'm coming,
" George, I'm coming !"
The next morning, in good time, I sent a man to the next
vUlage, about a mile and a half off, occupied by Shedden's com
pany, in which SooneS's brothers -were, to break the melancholy
mtelligence to them. On his return, he told me that he had
met one of them befoi'e he reached the vUlage, and on his saying
that he was come to look for him, he at onCe exclaimed, " You
" have no occasion to tell me what you are come for, I dreamt
" last night that my brother Was drowned." Now I am sure, so

214 AMUSEMENTS AND INCIDENTS
much did every one feel the melancholy death which had
occurred, that the man would teU me exactly what passed be
tween him and the brother, and I perfectly remember it aU.
However, I shoffid probably not have thought so much about
this dream, had it not been for the additional circumstance
which I am going to mention. I wrote home to my mother to
request her to inform George Soones's family of his death. She
coffid not go to their house, and therefore sent to request that
one of them woffid come and speak to her ; the poor mother
came, and on being informed that her son was dead, immediately
said, "Was he drowned. Ma'am?" and on being told that he
was, she replied, " I thought so, for I dreamt several nights ago,
" that he was drowned." These things made considerable im
pression on our minds at the time, but I do not think they pro
duced any religious feeling. As I -write, the words of the 73rd
Psalm occur to me, though they are there used ffi a different way
by the Psalmist, to that ffi which they would have been appli
cable to us — " So foolish was I, and ignorant ; I was as a beast
"before thee.'' I do not place any confidence in dreams,
although there are many well authenticated instances of remark
able dreams turning out to be true, but -we must allow that
dreams, as all other circumstances, are under the control of God,
therefore they may lead us to reflexion. I weU remember how
melancholy I felt, as we marched along a long pathway, by the
side of a high hedge, following poor Soones's remains from the
chateau to the Eoman Catholic church at Estreeblanche, on the
north side of which he was buried. The " Dead March ffi Saffi,"
which I had never heard before, was sounded very nicely, by our
two buglers, who preceded the corpse, and had a very solemn
efff ct. I have no recollection of the service being read over his
remains, though I suppose it was read by McNair or Holman ;
nor do I recoUect the firing the three voUeys over his grave,
though that must have been done. So curious is memory !
Some very triffing words or circumstances we remember with
the greatest accuracy, when somewhat more important tffings,
which happened at the same time, we entirely forget.
But I have another very sad event to relate, wffich happened
a week only after poor Soones's death. The whole company, or

IN THE NORTH OF FEANCE. 215
the Estreeblanche portion of it, I forget which, were at ball-
practice, about half a mUe above the vUlage, under the command
of Holman. I was not present, and I have some idea I was at
Enguinegatte. One of the men's firelocks woffid not go off, (it
was the same man who was just in front of Soones when he fell
off the bridge,) he went to the rear of the firing-party to hammer
the flint with his tumscrew, but instead of pointing his musket
to the rear, he thoughtlessly poffited it towards the men standing
in Iffie in front of him. It went off, and the baU went through
the arm (breaking it) and through the lungs of a corporal ffi the
rear rank, and lodged in the body of poor Blackman, Holman's
servant who was in the front rank. The corporal recovered, but
Blackman was mortaUy wounded. He was taken to the nearest
cottage, and placed on a chair, and lived about three-quarters of
an hour. I thffik no surgeon coffid get to him before his death.
They told me, he was quite aware that he had not long to live,
and said he should " soon be with poor George ;" and again,
immediately before his death, " I'm going to poor George." He
was buried by the side of poor Soones, and I often think of their
last resting-place. Blackman also was a Hampshire man, and I
think the man who accidentaUy shot him, also came out of the
South Hants Militia. This man afterwards became my servant,
somewhat I beUeve to the astonishment of people, as they
thought "he was so unlucky." I do not think I took him as a
servant out of bravado, but out of compassion ffi some measure,
for he felt how unfortunate he had been in the matter of these
deaths, and how blameable for his great carelessness as regarded
that of poor Blackman. He was a clean, smart soldier, and one
likely to make a good servant.
We were sitting at our mess one evening after dffiner, and
Brisbane, one of our assistant-surgeons, was with us, when a mes
senger came from the viUage, to say that Corporal Gilpin had
been stabbed by a Frenchman. We found, on goffig to the public
house, that the intestffies beffig wounded there was scarcely any
hope of his recovery. His wound was dressed and sewn up, and
he was the next day sent to the hospital, where he died within
the ¦ week. GUpin and this retired French officer were great
friends, and they studied a Uttle together ; the Frenchman assist-

216 . AMUSEMENTS AND INCIDENTS
ing GUpin, I think, in French and arithmetic ; but they also
drank together, and on this occasion they were both in liquor,
and a quarrel arose between them, when Gilpin struck the other
severely with his fists. The French officer took up a chair to
protect himself with it, at the same time opening his knife, and
when Gilpin again advanced upon him, he stabbed him under
the chair. Corporal Gilpin was one of our finest men, and was
the right hand man of the company.
The Frenchman made his escape into Belgium, and was
afterwards, if I recollect right condemned to death, " par con-
" tumace,'' I think they call it. He was very nearly taken, for
he jumped out of a window with his double-barrelled gun in his
hand, just as oUr vUlage guard, of a corporal and three, came to
the other side of the house in which he lodged, and they pursued
him down the garden, but lost sight of him. I remember his
once being examined as a witness at a court-martial, at Estree
blanche, and I met him once afterwards as I was returning from
shooting, where, as he passed me at about sixty yards distance,
he saluted me by taking off his hat, which of course I returned.
Captain McNair had to attend with some others at the trial,
when he was found guilty.
McNair also had to give evidence on another occasion. The
circumstances were these, and although there was nothffig very
particular in what occurred, they were weU remembered because
they afforded uS some Uttle excitement for the moment in the
midst of our i?ather monotonous life : — We were sitting quietly
one moonlight evening after dinner, when Angelique, M. Eobi-
chez's housekeeper, came into the room, and told us she had just
watched some men who had gone into her master's barn, about
eighty yards from the chateau, no doubt for the purpose of steal
ing the wheat and requested us to come and try and secure them.
We did not at first pay much attention to what she said, but
presently she returned in a very excited state, saying she had
seen people going into the bam, and reproached us with being
unwilling to take any trouble to prevent her master from being
robbed. On this we sallied out and one or two of the servants
came also. McNair stopped to take a pistol with him, so that I
got downstairs and over the bridge the first and picked up a

IN THE North of France. 217
switch, for want of something more suitable, as I ran along.
Just as I came to the barn door it was partly opened, and then
shut to again hastily ; so, gi-ving it a smart cut with the switch,
I ran round to a door, which I knew was on the other side ; on
my arriving at it, the persons within had got it half open for the
purpose of getting away, but on seeing me they closed it again,
and I could not move it when I pushed heavUy against it, nor
coffid all our party together make any impression on the doors ;
so one of the men was sent to the village, a qutoter of a mile off,
for the corporal's guard. Just then we heard voices about fifty
yards off, and recognised amongst them the voice of one of our
own men, who was a drinking, troublesome fellow, and we
immediately feared that he and his companions were in some -way
mixed up with the proceedings in the bam. Lea-ving two of our
party, one of them with ffis musket in his hand, to look after the
barn doors, and to prevent the escape Of the men within, McNair
and I proceeded to reconnoitre the party whom we heard talking
at a little distance. They turned out to be the man, whose voice
we had recognised, and six soldiers of the 71st They were on
the footpath leading from Estreeblanche to the nearest 71st
viUage, which was rather more than a mile off, and they were aU
out after hours. On our coming up to them they made no
attempt to run off, and at once obeyed McNair's order to foUoW
each other in single file. He told me to keep by the rear man
and bring them all along. I was greatly afraid that finding
themselves brought along by only two persons, they might be
tempted to break away from us, for I knew, if they did so, that
McNair would certainly shoot one of them, he being a most
determined man. However they walked qffietly along till -we
came abreast of the gable end of the barn, and a little beyond,
when they were ordered to halt and remain there. They then
saw that something was up at the barn.
The guard had by this time arrived, and we proceeded to
force open the principal door, which had been barricaded with
beams by those within. Angelique bravely volunteered so to
hold the lantern that we might see those within, when the door
gave way. It opened inwards, and was about four feet wide ;
and it shut to against a siU at the bettom, about fourteen ffiches

218 AMUSEMENTS AND INCIDENTS
high. The four men of the guard with their bayonets fixed, with
my help added, soon made the props yield a little, and two or
three of us got each a foot over the siU, and the butt ends of two
or three muskets were in, and the door had opened nearly two
feet at my end, when the brave Angelique ran right off with the
lantern, leaving the small open space ffi darkness ; so, for a few
seconds, we allowed the door to close to upon us again. I took
the lantern from Angelique, and we again made good our foot
ing within the siU, and the door went right back on its hinges,
aU of us going forward almost on our faces ; and then, I confess,
I felt somewhat ashamed, for we found ffi the barn only two
poor frightened Frenchmen, who feU on their knees, crying
"Misericors, Misericors.'' I think they were afraid that our
soldiers would bayonet them. Angelique's courage returned,
and, mounting a wheelbarrow which was in the barn, she
harangued them vehemently for their ingratitude ffi robbing so
kffid a master as M. Eobichez. They were afterwards condemned
to five years' imprisonment. The seven soldiers, when it was
found that they were not mixed up with the attempt to rob the
barn, were, I think, aUowed to go to their quarters. I believe aU
our characters rose wonderfully in the estimation of AngeUque.
We had a court-marshal on one of our men at Estreeblanche,
for being drunk on guard, when he was found guilty, and received
one hundred lashes. Winterbottom, our adjutant, who had risen
from the ranks, and of whom I have written much in another
place,* told me, when the sentence was executed, that the poor
fellow had been his comrade when first he entered the regiment,
and added, " I feel very sorry for him. He took to drinking-
" ways, which has brought him to this degradation and punish-
" ment I avoided drinking, and tried to do my duty, and am
" now adjutant, and nearly the senior lieutenant of the regiment."
I had a curious complaint made to me by one of the men,
when the new clothing of the company was being fitted on at
Therouenne. He came to me and said, " If you please. Sir, ser-
" jeant  (the master tailor) has cut my chin with his scissors.''
I told him it must have been done accidently. He repUed, " No,
" Sir, I believe it was done out of spite. He has always had a
* See Chapter XX.

IN THE NORTH OF FRANCE. 219
" spite against me, since I brought up his wife, when I was
" sentry on the quarter-guard at St Omer camp, and she tried to
" pass into camp without answering, when I chaUenged her.'' I
immediately weut with the man, who I think was the same man
who had his pouch knocked off at Waterloo by a cannon-shot,
to the master taUor, and told him of the complaint, when he said,
" I was trying on his jacket Sir, with my scissors in my hand,
" when he fidgetted about so much, that he made me impatient,
"and I said, 'do stand still,' at the same time putting up my
" hand, when the point of the scissors caught him accidentally
" on the chin.'' There was nothing to be done but to accept this
excuse, and to tell him quietly to be more careful in future.
The master taUor of the regiment was attached to No, 9 company,
and was in the rear of it as a serjeant on inspection and review
days. He tried to have himself looked upon as a privileged
character, on those occasions, with regard to his military bearing,
&c,, but this I never permitted. There was no great harm in
him, but he was rather conceited in his undress and in his walk,
and attempted to be a bit of a dandy. I recollect on the occa
sion of one of the older officers joining at the citadel of Valen
ciennes, after having been away from the regiment for some very
considerable time, he was shaking hands very cordiaUy with all
the officers who met him, when the master taUor passed along,
dressed in a blue surtout coat which he was allowed to wear,
and an undress cap, somewhat resembling those of the officers,
and before he could salute the major, the latter, knowing his face
and taking him for one of the officers, put out his hand and
gave it a hearty shake, saying, " I'm very glad to see you, my
" good, fellow ; " which my unmUitary readers must understand
was, under the circumstances, rather contrary to military etiquette.
On finding out his mistake, and getting a Uttle laughed at for it,
the major uttered something in which the words " scoundrel,"
and " put him in the guard-house," were ffistffiguishable.
It is a general feeling, I believe, in the army, that officers
cannot be too particular in their behaviour to sentries, when
chaUenged by them. The sentry may be placed in very awk
ward circumstances, particffiarly with regard to officers, when
enforcffig the orders of ffis post. At the camp near St. Omer,

220 AMUSEMENTS, ETC., IN THE NORTH OF FRANCE.
one night when I was the officer of the guard, as I lay on my
guard-bed, I heard one of my sentries chaUenge some one who
was passing near his post without receiving any reply, and the
" Halt, who comes there?" was repeated several times without the
question being answered. At last he crossed the path of the
person, who proved to be an officer of another regiment encamped
beyond us, and stopped him, when he gave the answer, " officer,"
and I heard the sentry say, " Then, Sir, you should haA'^e said
" that you were an officer." I was just going to the sentry's assist
ance, when I found that the officer made no further reply, and
was allowed to pass on. But I had no idea of allowing sentries
to be improperly treated by anyone.

221

CHAPTEE XIII.
1816, 1817, 1818.
LEAVE TO ENGLAND AND PARIS. BETUEIT OF THE ARMY TO ENGLAND.
Cheltenham — Duke of WeUington — Paris in 1817 — French family —
Chef d'escadron — LabMoy^re's tomb — Ball at the English Ambassador's
— Denain— General Beokwith — Encampment again at St. Omer in 1818 —
Sir John Colborne joins — Purchases a horse from me — The borse's
proceedings on parade — Last visit tq Valenciennes— .52nd occupy citadel —
Review by the Emperor of Russia — 52nd the last regiment in France —
March to Calais — Embarkation — Arrival in England, November 29,
1818.
In the autumn of 1816, 1 obtained three months' leave of absence
to go to England. We were told afterwards, that on the very
ffight of our departure, there was a very heavy gale with rain ;
and that great numbers of the tents were blown down. There
were two other officers went on leave at the same time, but I
forget who they were. We started on a Sunday morning from
Dover, ffi a postcbaise, for London. I was voted the paymaster
for the journey, and at one of the turnpikes I recoUect I had a
bad shUling given to me ffi the change for a pound note, and that
it gave us some trouble, as we went along, so to shy it out of
the window that no one might be likely to find it I well
remember the delight and pleasure I felt that morffing, on
finding myself again in our own dear country. I have always
felt that one great advantage to be derived from travelUng in
other parts of the world, was the learning from it to love and
value one's own country all the more. As it was Sunday, aU
the people were very fficely dressed, and in our eyes our fair

222 LEAVE TO ENGLAND AND PARIS,
countrywomen carried off the palm of beauty, when compared
with the nice and kind-hearted females on the other side of the
channel. I had not then learnt to value the Sunday as a day
set apart by Almighty God as a day of 'rest, and of holy
observance, and, consequently, if rightly observed, of spiritual
benefit to man.
I recollect nothing more of the journey, than that I found
myself on the the afternoon of the next day at Cheltenham,
where my famUy were staying. I was not expected, and was not
at first recognized by my mother and sisters, when I was ushered
into the drawing room, without being announced. Each looked
at the other, as much as to enquire who the stranger was. I was
now more than eighteen years and a half old, and fifteen months
had made some considerable alteration in my appearance. At
last one of them ventured to mention my christian name, and
then we enjoyed one of those happy meetmgs which occur so
seldom ffi the course of our Uves.
I have not much to relate about Cheltenham ; but one of
the first things I discovered was, that the Duke of WeUington
and I were stiU nearer neighbours there, than we were when my
tent was close to the garden door of his house at Paris. He was
in the next house to us ; but all I remember of him was, the
seeing him attending to the present Duke, and, I think, his
brother, when they were put on a couple of ponies, apparently
for the first time, on the other side of the fence which separated
the drives up to the two houses. There was a great deal of
gaiety going forward at that time at Cheltenham, which we
entered into very freely. One of our chief friends, with
whom we first became acquainted there, was Captain Sir Edward
Tucker,* of the Navy, who early in 1817 married my eldest
sister. After spending about a month at Cheltenham, and a
very agi-eeable week at Malvern with a very large party, we
¦went into Hampshire, and I returned to the north of France in
the early part of November. One day at Cheltenham an old
* Admiral Sir Edward Tucker was one of our most gallant officers, and was
made a K.CB. in 1814, for distinguished services rendered in the capture of
several of the Molucca Islands, when in command of H.M. Ship Dover. He
died in 1864, at the age of 86, humbly trusting in the righteousness and
atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ.

RETURN OF THE ARMY TO ENGLAND. 223
gentleman accosted me, and told me he had been ffi my
regiment at the Battle of Bunker's HUl ; but I never feU in
with him afterwards. He did not mention his name, but I
think it very likely that he was General Hunter, who I know
served at Bunker's Hill in 1777, and whose journal of what took
place with regard to the services of the 52nd ffi America and India,
is largely quoted in the early part of the regimental record.
Towards the end of the summer of 1817, Colonel Charles
Eowan very kindly applied for three months' leave for me to go
to Paris, to improve myseU in French. I lived in the family of
a superior French officer, who had suffered a great reverse of
fortune and prospects by the overthrow of Bonaparte, and the
restoration of the Bourbons. They were very nice people, and
were very kind to me ; but they were very strong Bonapartists.
I picked up a good deal of French whUst I was there, aud tried
to make a start in German. I also did something, but very
little, in the way of mUitary surveying. Several other persons
usually dined with the famUy with whom I had taken up my
quarters ; amongst them was a French chef d'escadron, who
had served at Waterloo in the cuirassiers. He was uow on
half-pay. He generally sat at a distant part of the table from
me, so that I knew Uttle of him; we were however on very
good terms. I only remember two circumstances connected
with him, one of which shewed rather strongly his dislike to
the English, a dislike very n.atural, and, I suspect almost
universal amongst Bonaparte's officers and soldiers, many of
whom had met with such signal defeats at the hands of the
English in the Peninsffia and at Waterloo. The circumstance
was this : — We were sitting at dinner one day, when I heard
some considerable laughing at the other end of the table, and
found, from several of the party looking towards me, that they
rather wondered if I had heard what had just been said by the
French officer. On my requesting that he would repeat it, he
did so, and said, good humouredly, " I was saying, ' we disUke
" ' very much the Eussians, the Prussians, and the other dogs,
" ' [meaning the Austrians] but with regard to these English we
"'detest them.'" The words "autres chiens," (in EngUsh, other
dogs,) sound veiy much Uke the word " Autrichiens," which is

224 LEAVE TO ENGLAND AND PARIS.
the French word for Austrians. I think this play upon the
words was common amongst the French at that time. I took
the speech very qffietly, and merely said, that "there was no
" love lost between us."
The other circumstance connected with the proceedings of
this French officer was as foUows :^We went with a party to
the cemetery of Pere la Chaise, and as I followed them I found
our friend the cffirassier writing something on one of the tombs
ffi pencU. On my asking, if I might read what he had written,
he made no difficffity ffi allowing me to do so. The words
were very treasonable, and had he been denounced to the
government no doubt they woffid have cost him his Uberty,
if not his Ufe. They were to the foUowffig effect : — ¦" Eise,
"Frenchmen, and avenge yourselves on this executioner of a
" king, [ce bourreau du roi] who has deprived of life the noble
" Labedoy^re." * I think some few years afterwards I saw an
account in the papers of some trouble which this officer had got
into, in connexion with a disturbance ffi front of the Chamber
of Deputies, I had several English friends at Paris, which enabled me to
spend my time there very pleasantly, although I did not allow
my ffitercourse with them to interfere with my study of French,
for which I had principaUy gone to Paris. I recollect a very
pleasant picnic to Malmaison, with a large party of English
and French ; and the going to a baU at the English ambassador's.
As some of the French royal faniily were to be there, it was
necessary to go in a court dress ; I had no regimental court dress
with me, and, therefore, as was customary, hired a civilian's
dress. It consisted of a chocolate-coloured coat and waistcoat,
with cut steel buttons, black satin knee-breeches, with buckles,
white sUk stockings, shoes and buckles, sword, and cocked hat.
¦* On the return of Napoleon frojn Elba, Colonel LabfidoySre was one of the first
sent, at the head of his regiment, to oppose his progress towards Paris ; but instead
of doing so, he, and the troops he commanded, went over to the late Emperor.
After serving at Fleurus and at Waterloo, he retired, at the capitulation of
Paris, with the French army behind the Loire. He was soon afterwards arrested,
brought to Paris, tried by a court-martial, and condemned to death. He was
shot on the plains of Grenoble, on the 19th of August, 1815, when he was not
yet thirty yeara of age.

RETURN OF THE ARMY TO ENGLAND. 225
On my return from Paris, I found the 52nd at Valenciennes.
On my way thither with the maU courier, I encountered, near
Denaffi, the most tremendous thunder-storm I was ever exposed
to. We were afterwards encamped for two or three weeks, and
the army was reviewed, on the plains' of Denain. Two of us
put one of our tents over the other, wffich helped to keep out
the cold. We had a brother-officer ffi the next tent to us,
whose horse's name was " Chance," and havffig, on two or three
mornings, heard him ask his servant when he caUed ffim, " How
" is old Chance ? " (he pronounced the name ffi a pecuUar
manner) we, during the remainder of our encampment there,
made a point, the first tffing every morffing, of inquiring
after the health of his horse, ffi the same words, and with the
same pecuUarity in pronouncffig the animal's name. Every
momffig, for a fortnight, might be heard the following coUoquy ;
for although after a few days it was very difficffit to get him
to answer when we caUed to him by name, yet we always
persisted, sometimes in a coaxing way, till we made him do so,
which latterly he did, by saying, somewhat impatiently, " Well,
" what do you want ? " when Ave immediately repUed by asking,
" How is old Chance ? " I fear I have not been able to make
the anecdote so amusing to my readers, as the Uttle daily
inquiry after the horse's weKare was to us. The words are ofteu
quoted by my sons ; when, at cricket or any other game, I have
made some lucky stroke, or have had some lucky escape, they
to this day often exclaim, "How is old Chance ? "
Lieut-Colonel Beckwith, whom I have mentioned in my
account of the battle of Waterloo,* dined with us one day ffi
our large-mess marquee, ffi the neighbourhood of Denaffi, and
kept the whole mess in roars of laughter, when talkffig over,
-with his old Peninsula friends, many of their adventures of
former days. He was a great favourite ffi the light division.
We returned to Estreeblanche and Therouenne, late ffi October,
1817, and I think I have notffing to recount of the ensuing
winter and spring, which has not been already mentioned.
* See page 37. He afterwards became a very religious man, and took a great
interest in the Vaudois, amongst whom he lived for many years, and to whom
he rendered many services, by his influence with the Sardinian government. Q

22.6 LEA-VE TO ENGLAND AND PARIS.
Early ffi June, 1818, we occupied our old encampment-
ground to the south of St Omer. Sir John Colborne joined us
there, and I remember his teUing me, he was glad to hear from
Colonel Eowan, that I had not been idling away my time,
during his absence from the regiment but had been trying to
improve myself. His estabUshment of horses was not complete,
and some one mentioned that I had a horse to part with, which
it was thought might suit him. On the first day on which he
appeared on parade, mounted on his new purchase, the horse
behaved very weU for a time. But on our forming square, aud
Sir John Colbome, who was on the outside, giving the word of
command, " Prepare to receive cavalry," the horse bolted, and
carried him off the common, and down the hUl to his quarters
a mUe and a half away ; and we saw no more of him till the
next momffig. His right arm had been disabled at Ciudad
Eodrigo, and he had consequently no proper command of the horse.
About the middle of August we marched to Valenciennes,
and encamped on the glacis and ffi the ditch ; one officer per
company having to remain in camp, and the others being
quartered in the town. In October the 52nd marched into the
citadel. On the 23rd of October the army was reviewed by
the Emperor of Eussia, the King of Prussia, and their chief
commanders, and I was left on guard in the hornwork of the
citadel, with some thirty or forty men, for eight-and-forty hours.
I think there were no other troops in the town ; I had some
particffiar orders, but I forget now what they were, but no one
was likely to endeavour to gain possession of a fortress, which,
in less than a month, was to be handed over to the French.
After the review the 52nd returned to the citadel, and held
possession of it till the rest of the British army had embarked.
The following came out ffi general orders, just as the army
was breaking up : — "Cambrai, 10th November, 1818.
" Upon the return to England of the troops which have so
" long served under the command of the Field-Marshal, he again
" returns his thanks for their uniform good conduct, during the
"period ffi which they have formed part of the army of
" occupation.

RETURN (?F THE ARMY TO ENGLAND. 227
" The Field-Marshal has in another order, addressed to the
" army of occupation at large, expressed his sentiments regarding
" the conduct of, and his obligation to, the general -officers and
" officers of that army. These are especially due to the general-
" officers and officers of the British contingent, and he begs them
" to accept of his best acknowledgments, for the example they
" have given to others, by their own good conduct and for the
" support and assistance they have ffivariably afforded ffim, to
" maffitain the discipUne of the army.
"After a service of ten years' duration, almost without
"interruption, with the same officers and troops, the Field-
" Marshal separates from them with regret ; but he trusts that
" they will believe that he wUl never cease to feel a concern for
" their honour and interest"
I think it desirable to insert here what the Duke said of the
British army when leaving Spain and France m 1 814. It is
extracted from his evidence given before the royal commission
for inquiring into mUitary punishments : — " I always thought
" I could have gone anywhere, or done anything with that
" army. It was impossible to have a machine more higUy
" mounted and in better order, and in a better state of discipline
"than that army was. When I qffitted that army upon the
" Garonne, I do not thffik it was possible to see anything in a
" higher state of discipline ; and I beUeve there was a total
" discontinuance of all punishment"
I do not know the exact order in which the British troops
were withdrawn from France, or the exact time of the em
barkation of each corps at Calais. Sir Eobert Arbuthnot of the
Guards, who was commandant of Valencieimes, left the place
some little time before we did. I went to make some report to
him one mornffig, and found him in his shirt sleeves, very hard
at work packing some wine, which he was startffig for England.
Two or three hundred Sappers and Miners, with the Engineer
officers, were the last troops to leave us. When they had fairly
started, I recollect a passing thought of loneUness passed over
my mffid, at the idea of the 52nd being the offiy EngUsh
regiment left in France.
The night before the Sappers left Valenciennes, the Engineer
Q 2

228 LEAVE TO ENGLAND AND PARIS.
officers dined at our mess. I was president or vice-president and
I weU remember having a very long and interesting conversation
with the officer on my left about the truth of the Christian
reUgion. I was not very capable of arguing correctly on the
subject, and I now wonder how I managed at all, in attempting
to combat his sceptical ideas. He was quartered in the town,
and I went with him to see him safely out of the citadel and
over the esplanade into the first street I never r^ad the last
sentence but one in Acts xii, 10, without thinking of him.
When we were about to separate, I said, " I wonder when we
" two shall meet again ? " He repUed " Perhaps ffi heaven." I
understood, several years afterwards, that he had accompanied
Mr. Owen, of Lanark, to America.
Colonel HaU has given me the foUo-wing account of our
gi-ving over the town and citadel of Valenciennes to the French
civU authorities, which I think we did on the 22nd of
November, 1818 : —
"The authorities wished to embody some of the National
" Guard to receive over the place, but Colborne would aUow no
" Frenchmen in arms untU we had quitted it. The regiment
" marched out, and halted on the glacis, leaving the main-guard
" under Gierke, in the Grande Place. When the citadel had been
" given over to the civil authorities, the town was also formaUy
"surrendered. Clerke and his guard joined us on the glacis,
" and we marched to Auberchicourt a coaling village, for that
" night. Some hours after we left Valenciennes, a French garrison
" of the Iffie entered the town. I forget for what reason, Clerke
" returned to pass the night there. We heard from him that the
" town had been illuminated On the occasion of our departure.
" He remarked, either in lamps, or on a transparency, the words,
" ' The more we see of strangers, the more we like our own
"'countrymen:' base, if only to curry favour with the new
"garrison ; and ungrateful, if a true sentiment The EngUsh had
"been great benefactors to Valenciennes, and we never ex-
" perienced the smaUest symptom of disUke from the inhabitants.
" The tradesmen, I am sure, regretted us. A good woman who
" kept a shop of pastry and comestibles, seemed inconsolable at
" our departure. She made it known that she wished we would

EETURN OF THE ARMY TO ENGLAND. 229
" aU come and take leave of her the day before we left, and
"help ourselves gratis to the best she had. So we did aU go
"in the course of the day, and ate some little thing to please
" her, of course without offering payment. The poor woman
" was sitting with her handkerchief to her eyes all day, in the
" greatest distress. This was something more than ffiterested
" sorrow for the loss of custom."
The mention of the main-guard in the foregoing account
reminds me that shortly before our departure from Valenciennes
the Emperor of Eussia slept there one night. We had notice
that it was his intention to do so, and that he wished that no
attention should be shewn to him beyond that of placing a couple
of sentries at the gate of the house in which he took up his
quarters, and, to supply these sentries, a few more men were sent
to join the guard some little time before the Emperor (Alexander)
was expected. I commanded the main-guard that day, and de
termined to give him a salute, if he did not pass through
the Grande Place too quickly. Although the Place was
rather crowded and noisy, (I think it was about eight o'clock
at night on the market day,) and he passed along the other side
of it, at a distance of about fifty yards from us, we managed to
turn out and salute him in time. He was travelling in an open
caleche, drawn by four post horses, and had three other persons
in the carriage with him, and two attendants on the seat behind.
He did not at first, on account of the noise of the carriage and
people, observe the salute, or hear the accompanying bugle sound ;
but I observed that one of the officers with him pointed out the
guard to him, when he immediately acknowledged the salute in
the usual foreign style, by placing the two first fingers of his
right hand against the forward point of his cocked hat. Soon
after the Emperor's arrival. Sir John Colborne saw General
Winzingerode for a minute or two to see if the arrangement made
was what was desired, and I visited the sentries as a part of my
guard. The Emperor went away early, havffig left a small but
handsome sum of money to be given to those who had been
actually sentries at his house.
We made seven days' march from Valenciennes to Calais.
I thffik it was after we had halted on the third day, that I heard

230 LEAVE TO ENGLAND AND PAEIS.
Sir John Colbome telling some one that he was just going to
write to the commandant of St Omer to request that the regiment
or a portion of it might when it arrived ffi his district, be quar
tered within the territoires de la place, so as to avoid the fatigue
and annoyance to the men of beffig taken two or three miles
from the line of march to the several viUages from which they
woffid have to return the same distance the next morning. On
the 26th I was ordered to go forward to see that proper arrange
ments had been made with respect to the quarters, and found
that no orders had been given that we shoffid be quartered within
the territories, but that the old plan was adhered to, which in
volved much adffitional fatigue to the men ; I therefore took
upon myseU to ride into St Omer, and to see the commandant.
(I coffid not recognize him as our fox-hunting friend.) I told
him that I came on the part of the ChevaUer Colborne, who, I
understood, had written to him to request that he woffid allow
the regiment, or a portion of it to be quartered for the night
within the territoires de la place. He said he had not received
any letter from Colborne, but immediately granted the permission
requested, and issued the necessary orders. When I reached the
column of march, I found that one or two companies had already
branched off from the main road to occupy the distant quarters
intended for them ; they were greatly pleased when I quickly
overtook them, and thus saved them some considerable extra
fatigue, and Sir John Colborne was pleased with my havffig taken
upon myself to caU on the commandant of St. Omer.
We embarked at Calais on the afternoon of the 28th of No
vember ffi about thirty smaU saUing craft, and reached England
the next morning. There are some strange mistakes about some
of these points ffi the 52nd record : it makes us to have been
only five days on the march from Valenciennes to Calais, and
three nights and two days between Calais and Dover. The wind
was contrary, but there was not much of it tUl the next morning,
and the night was tolerably clear. We had about half the
company in the vessel in wffich I was with another officer. As
each vessel of the flotiUa saUed independently of the others,
they soon got well separated ; but as we tacked about we occa
sionaUy came near enough to some of them to give them a hail

RETURN OF THE ARMY TO ENGLAND. 231
With the help of the master's speaking-trumpet we contrived to
give ourselves some considerable amusement by keepffig up a
little talk with them in the following fasffion. Self: — "What
" ship is that ?" Reply : — " The Harriet, of Eamsgate.'' Self : —
"What have you on board?" Reply :—" Troops!' Self :—
" What troops ?" Reply : — " Part of Captain  's company, of
"the 52nd Light Infantry." Self: — "Ar'nt you ashamed of
" yourselves, you lubberly set of feUows ?" In the mornffig the
breeze freshened a good deal; almost aU the vessels got into
Eamsgate ; two were on the Goodwin sands for some hours, and
the one I was ffi, and another, put into Dover. Thus the last
portion of the army of occupation reached England on the 29th
of November, 1818.

232

CHAPTEE XIV.
1818, 1819.
THE 52nd MARCH TO CHESTEE AND ARE STATIONED THERE.
Dover — Deal — Eamsgate— Custom-house — Scene at Canterbury — Start for
Sheerness — Short visit to friends — Sir John Moore's mother — Various
incidents — Balls — Races — Hunting — The Bishop and Archdeacon — Special
assize — Lord Lyndhurst commandant of the garrison — Pire, and amusing
incident — 52nd ball given to the town and county — Several incidents —
Visit to Bold Hall — Obtain leave to go to Germany — Proceed to Plymouth-
Ball at General Brown's — Sail in Myrmidon to Spithead — Bishop Crowther
rescued from slavery by Myrmidon — Incidents connected with his deUverance.
According to my arrangement, I found letters in the post office
at Dover from my brother, and found that his ship, the Alert,
was to be in the downs that day from Sheerness, so lea-ving my
men to proceed to Canterbury the next morning under the com
mand of the other officer, I posted off to Deal, where I could
hear no tidings of the Alert, but, I afterwards learnt that my
brother had sent a boat on shore that evening, on his arrival, to
enquire for me ; I therefore proceeded to Eamsgate, where my
baggage and my horse were landed, and where I found the rest
of the regiment. Either that night or the next morning, I dis
covered, that, in the absence of my keys, the custom-house
officers had broken open my trunks and chests to see if they
contamed any contraband articles. It was somewhat curious,
that I had brought, from Valenciennes, a tolerable quantity of
handkerchiefs and other things intended for my friends, which I
meant to pay for, and which the custom-house officers had over
looked. Under the circumstances, the matter certaiffiy does not

THE 52nd MARCH TO CHESTEE. 233
weigh so heavUy on my conscience as to lead me to offer to
repay to the revenue what it lost by the transaction. As my locks
were injured, it is possible that / may have been the loser by it
It would have been but a proper compliment to their victorious
troops on their return from France, if an order had been sent
down by the government to let all their baggage be landed,
without being subjected to the, at all times, unpleasant ordeal
of undergoing an examination. But what we looked upon as a
real grievance, and as a very shabby transaction, was the requir
ing the officers of the army of occupation, who were paid and
provisioned by the French government, to pay ten per cent
income-tax on the amount of their pay. I suspect it did not
find its way back to the coffers of the French treasury.
We marched the next morning to Canterbury. Some of
the officers had relatives there, and the regiment had been
frequently stationed there. It was known also that it was the
last regiment to arrive from the army of occupation in France,
and there was consequently an unusual scene when it halted in
the main street. It appeared as if aU the principal families of
that ancient city had assembled to greet its arrival It certainly
was a very pleasing scene and "a proud moment" I had
obtained leave from Sir John 'Colborne to proceed to Sheerness
to look after my brother ; as I proceeded, I found the road in
one place so exceedingly muddy that I turned my horse on to
the footpath for a short distance, and came in for a greeting
. and a specimen of English manners and civility which stood in
rather unfavourable contrast with the scene which I had just
before witnessed at Canterbury, A young fellow, of about my
own age, who might have been the son of a farmer, or of rather
a lower grade, was a few yards before me, with a gun in his
hand, and I suppose thffiking that my riffing on the footpath
was an undue ffiterference with his liberty and rights as an
Englishman, had the hardihood to teU me, that if I did not get
off the footpath he should take my horse off for me. Mine was
affiiost a case of necessity ; bffi, however that might be, and as
I was not in his way at aU, I was not going to let him take the
law ffito his own hands. After teUffig him that he had better
not attempt to put his threat ffito execution, I attacked him

234 THE 52nd march to Chester
about his carrying a gun without a quaUfication, and it was
curious to observe how the consciousness that he was doffig an
Ulegal tffing completely sUenced him.
A few mUes from Canterbury, I -met two sailors, who had
come from Sheerness that mornffig, and who told me the Alert
had saUed for Portsmouth, I immediately determined to go to
my home, near Portsmouth, and got on as fast as I could to
Sittingboume in the hope of falling in with some coach to
London, which would be in time for the Portsmouth mail I
left my horse at Sittffigbourne, at which place a detachment of
the 52nd was to halt the next day, and left a note for one of the
officers to take the horse on, and proceeded in a post-chaise to
overtake a coach which had started only a very short time
before I arrived. I overtook it, I think, at Eochester, and
reached London, and the Angel at the back of St Clements, in
very good time for the Portsmouth maU. I reached Horndean
very early in the morning, and slept there for a few hours, and
got home about ten o'clock, to the great deUght of the whole
party, who had not the least expectation of seeing me. It does
not now appear to be more than four or five years ago, but five-
and-forty years have passed since then. I recollect very well
that as I went up to the drawing-room, I purposely let my
sword dangle against the stairs, rather to astonish whoever
might be there. I heard them rush to the door, one of them
saying, "If it should be William." That was one of the trffiy
happy days of my life. There was no Alert at Portsmouth. It
was a mistake of the saUors. After spending a clear day or
two at home, and seeing several of my old friends in the neigh
bourhood, I returned, to London, and from thence in a day or
two went to Uxbridge, where the regiment had orders to remain
for about a week. At this time I went with some valued
relations, who were as fond of the 52nd as I was, (they beiilg
also near relatives of Sir John Colborne,) to caU on Mrs. and
Miss Moore, the aged mother and sister of that great and gallant
commander. Sir John Moore, who was killed at Corunna, in
1809, and who had been colonel of the 52nd, and had intro
duced ffito it and into the 43rd and the old 95th Eifles (now the
Effie Brigade) that system of drill, &c., which helped to make

AND ARE STATIONED THERE. 235
them such splendid and efficient regiments, when with two
battalions of Portuguese ca5adores they formed the famous
light ffivision in the Peninsula. Mrs. Moore, whom I had before
seen when I was starting for Flanders in 1815, asked me,
" Where the 52nd were now ? " when I told her that the last
detachment of them had marched through London that morffing
on their way to Uxbridge, she said, she shoffid have Uked to have
seen them, adding " I would go some distance to see the 52nd."
During the time the 52nd were at Uxbridge, I had permis
sion to be at HilUngdon with some kind friends and connexions.
Dr. Hodgson, the Dean of CarUsle, and ffis family. I' recollect
on my arrival, the Dean and Mrs. Hodgson were at a dinner
party and had desired their two pretty little daughters to
entertaffi me, if I should arrive that evenffig. When eight
o'clock arrived, the elder one, who was nearly fourteen, said to
her sister who was a year younger; "I think, Mary, as it is
" eight o'clock you had better go to bed," which she accordffigly
did. Their mother told me that the next morning, in relatmg what
had passed, oue of them observed, " He talked so sensibly, just
" like you, mamma."
It had been intended that the 52nd, on its return from
France, should be stationed at Plymouth, but their destination
was altered^ and they were sent, the head-quarters and five
compaffies to Chester, three companies to Liverpool, one to
Warrington, and one to the Isle of Man. We enjoyed the
march from Uxbridge to Chester very much. One way in which
some of us at times beguUed the weariness of the march was by
gettffig into the fields and takmg in succession every fence which
ran at right angles from the Une of march ; these were generaUy
taken, as in hunting, at a gaUop, and of course without knowing
what kffid of a landffig there was on the other side; consequently
udV and then we came down, horse and aU, but usuaUy recovered
ourselves without partffig company from our horses. It was a
great amusement to the men, and helped them to look upon our
marches as anytffing but tedious. Then the enUvening and
martial airs played alternately by the band, and our corps of
more than thirty buglers, as we passed through the various
towns on our route, of course brought the whole population.

236 THE 52nd march to Chester
male and female, either into the streets or to their doors and
windows, and we were not a Uttle proud of ourselves and of our
fine 52nd feUows, the vast majority of whom were decorated
with the medal, which was the first which had ever been given
to a British soldier. We passed through Aylesbury, Coventry,
where we saw peeping Tom, and Birmingham, where thousands
thronged us as we marched away, so that we could hardly get
along, and every soldier seemed to have some dear friend who
pressed into the ranks to try and get the last shake of the hand.
I think it was at WelUngton beyond ShiffnaU, or at a viUage
full of colUers, called Oakenwood Gates, that I was billetted by
myself for the Saturday and Sunday with the whole or a portion
of Captain McNair's company, and the daughter of the landlord,
on being requested to supply me with some books, brought me
a volume of Mrs. Opie's tales, in which I found the story of
" White Lies," which I was much pleased with. It called my
attention to an important point which I had never thought of
before. We arrived at Chester about the 20th of December, and were
very much pleased with our quarters, the offiy quarter I ever was
in in England. We met with great attention and kindness from
the various famUies of the town and neighbourhood. The men
and two officers were in the barracks in the castle, the other
officers in lodgings in the town. Our mess-room was in the
castle on a rock lookffig over the city walls underneath, on to
the river Dee. The 20th Eoman legion was stationed at Chester
after the defeat of Caractacus. The old rows or galleries in
front of the houses in two or three of the streets, and which serve
as covered footpaths, are supposed by some to be of Eoman origin.
Here the 52nd remained for more than six months. I should
think it could not have been surpassed, as an agreeable quarter,
by any other place in England or elsewhere. Our walks on the
Ehoodee and along the bank of the Dee, on the walls, wluch
are nearly two mUes in circumference, and in the rows,
with our kind and fair Chester friends, have often been looked
back to in after years -with pleasure and regret It woffid be
bad taste to mention the famUies by name, though they are all
weU and 'gratefully remembered. During the races, which took

and are stationed there. 237
place on the Ehoodee, and lasted nearly a week, the dinner
engagements were two for each day at different houses. The
races commenced at two ; and the first dinner was at one, and
the second at seven. It was the gayest time of the year at
Chester. There were also baUs and other amusements. Some of
us hunted occasionaUy. I well recollect the first time we went
out with the Cheshire hounds ; I enquired who were the most
forward riders, and some of my acquaintance pointed out two
persons, one of them on a white horse, as those who woffid
shew the way to the whole field. Being weU mounted, I deter
mined to keep my eye on them. The country was what was
caUed a stiff one. Directly the fox and hounds had got away
I was much pleased at seeing at least a dozen fellows, of whom
I was one, take the first fence together at a gallop. They took no
more fences together. My friend on the white horse soared
rather ahead, and took his fences at a first-rate pace and ffi
first-rate style. After We had gone about a quarter of a mUe, I
gave him the go-by, and maintained my position afterwards. I
recoUect a curious scene, in the course of our nine miles' mn,
which occurred amongst some ffiundations, occasioned by the
overfiowing of a brook. The two or three first horses got
through the brook very well, it was impossible to leap it ; but
the opposite bank, which was somewhat steep and only passable
in two or three places, became very slippery after the first few
had passed, and as I trotted on to take a low fence with the
water on both sides of it, I looked back and counted seventeen
of our friends some on and some off their horses in the brook.
The horses had slipped and fallen back from the slippery bank.
The next time I went out with the hounds, I found nearly the
whole field reconnoitred and admired my horse : she had been
bought in France from an officer of the 12th Light Dragoons,
and was up to any pace or any practicable fence. The last time
I ever hunted, in taking a severe fence and ditch out of a wood
on to lower ground, she met with an over-reach, which laid her
up for many weeks.
When the 52nd were ordered to Chester, one of my relatives
wrote to the good Bishop to request him to shew me some atten
tion ; but immeffiately after our arrival he experienced a severe

238 THE 52nd march to CHESTEE
domestic affliction, and shortly he went away, and did not return
whilst I remaffied there. He deputed one of the digffitaries of
the church to caU upon me, and to express his sorrow that he ^
coffid not see me himself Somethffig led me on one occasion
to ask this gentleman if he ever played at whist and if he
woffid come to my lodgings on a certain evening and play a
rubber with some of my brother officers. This he assented to,
and came accordingly. We always dffied very late, and we
never thought of tea afterwards ; so that, strange as it may
appear, it did not cross my mind that our friend had come to
drink tea with us, until quite late he very modestly inquired if
he " might ask for a glass of water." Frequently in after years
was I told by my brother-officers of my inhospitable beha-viour
to the kind Archdeacon.
WhUst we were at Chester, Lord Lyndhurst, then Sir John
Copley, came there to hold a special assize for the trial of some
prisoners accused of high treason. The custom then with regard
to the military was that they should not be removed durffig the
assizes, but that the Judge should be considered as the com
mandant of the garrison, and the officer on duty should receive
the watchword and countersign from him. Accordingly on the
first day, when the court had adjourned, I proceeded to his
lodgings and explained to him the custom, at which he seemed
amused, and gave me two of the Peninsffia battles, I thffik
Vimiero and Busaco, as the watchword and countersign.
One night there was an alarm given that the Dee mUls were
on fire. They were very extensive and lofty miUs, which were
the property of a gentleman in the town. The progress of the
fire could not be arrested, and they were bumt down. I worked
hard in Various ways, as I usuaUy did on such occasions, and had
a most narrow escape of being run over by one of the engines,
which the people were mo-ving without being aware that I was
just in front of it, and unable to extricate myself from my
position. It was one of my most narrow escapes, as the engine
touched me when it was stopped. It was considered necessary
to convey the hose of the engffie across the stream, which was
then running out with great rapidity. I undertook to do this, but
had not proceeded two yards, when to my astonishment I was

AND ARE STATIONED THERE. 239
swept off my legs, and four or five of our men, who made a dash
to lay hold of me, were also swept do-wn. We were, however, ^
aU brought to the bank, without receiving any ffijury. During
the progress of the fire, the foUowffig somewhat ludicrous
occurrence took place. A servant ffi Uvery came up to me and
addressing me somewhat in the heroic style, said, "I have
" mentioned your conduct, Mr. Leeke, to the Miss  s, (ladies
" to whose famUy the buUdffigs belonged,) and they desired me
" to present their compUments, and to thank you, and to beg you,
" to contffiue your exertions." It was my turn for duty of that
sort, therefore I had to take charge of the guard wffich was
necessary to keep the crowds of people from goffig near the
dangerous ruins. At my request, however, the adjutant re
mained ffi charge ffimself, wffilst I went to change my wet
clothes. I recoUect the master of the house, ffi which my
lodgings were, begged me not to delay for a moment changffig
my things ; he told me that on a simUar occasion, some months
before, he had got very wet, and had neglected himself, and was
then ffi a hopeless state of consumption.
In return for aU the ci-viUties and kffidness we had received
from the gentry of the city and county of Chester, we determffied
to in-vite them to a grand baU and supper. I had the chief ar
rangement and management of it, and it was said that it gave
universal satisfaction. I came across the bUl of costs very lately,
amongst some old papers. I recoUect two or three incidents
connected with this baU. We read a long and flaming account
of it m a Chester paper before we left the room, ffi which I was
described as the Hon. Mr. L. On proceedffig to leave the hotel,
we found a gentleman lying very drunk on the floor of the
entranoe haU ; the hotel people knew notffing of ffim, and said
that he had not secured any bed there. My impression is that
he had not been at our baU, but that he was in huntffig costuma
Although he was qffite a stranger to aU of us, we did not Uke to
leave ffim. On arousffig him, we coffid just make out that he
had a lodgffig ffi some other street ffi the town : so we got him
out and found that with some help he coffid manage to walk.
He poffited out the direction m wMch the street was, and we
asked him, when we came to the first turn, if that was it, and on

240 THE 52nd march to CHESTEE
his saying it was not, we went on to the next street, which he
thought was the right one, so we took him along it, although it
seemed qffite hopeless that we shoffid discover the lodging. At
last, in a window at the top of one house, we saw a light,, and
rapping loudly, inquired of a woman, who put her head out of the
window, U a gentleman was expected who had taken a lodging
there : she replied ffi the affirmative, and told us to open the
door, which was not fastened, and how to find a light and the
room. On gettffig him ffito the room he objected strongly, and
for some time, to get into bed ; when asked his reason, he refused
to tell us. At last I proposed that he shoffid whisper it to me,
which he consented to do, and the poor feUow said he " could not
" go to bed without saying his prayers." We persuaded him at
last to go to bed, and then we left him, though we were not at
all assured that he was the person for whom the bed was
intended, the woman of the house not havffig taken the trouble
to ascertain the fact
One Sunday afternoon, towards the close ofmy stay at Chester,
I rode out a short distance ffito the country, and seeing a gate
rather sloping, so as to make it not a high leap, I put my horse,
a new one, at it ; he managed the leap very clumsUy, and came
down on the other side, faUing on my leg, without however,
hurting me ffi the least I had no reUgious feeling at that time,
but as I rode back to Chester, I remember that I thought it was
a judgment, and a warnimg to me that I should not so profane
the Sabbath day.
On one occasion four of us accepted an ffi-vitation to go to
Bold HaU, in Lancashire, where we spent one or two clear days
very pleasantly, and made the acquaffitance of the pleasing
daughters of the house, the eldest of whom, who was heiress to
the immense property of her father, afterwards married Prffice
Saphie, and did not long survive her marriage. The second
married Sir Henry Houghton. I sat next to the eldest daughter
at dinner, and in the course of conversation on the subject of
engagements, she made the foUowffig very true remark: — That she
thought young persons with very large fortunes were very much
to be pitied, on two grounds — the first, that men paid them
attention, and made offers of marriage to them, who were not

AND AEE STATIONED THERE. 241
really attached to them, aud offiy sought them for the sake of
their money — the second, that they themselves were very Uable
to iffiss the opportunities of becoming better acquainted with
men who might be very suitable husbands for them, and who
might have shewn them some attention, from the fear or suspicion
that these men also were attracted by their money, and not by a
personal regard for themselves. I find it very difficult in writing
my various recoUections of bygone days, to adhere to my deter
mination to avoid aU such subjects as the above, and the mention
of anythmg which, by any possibUity, may occasion annoyance to
any one. I have reason, however, to believe that the relation of the
above conversation cannot now give the least paffi to any person.
I had here committed to paper the relation of a circumstance
which I thought might be both useful and amusing, but, just on
the point of printing it, I thffik it better to -withdraw the anecdote,
and merely to give the usefffi portion of it, by stating that I have
often observed that many people do not seem to be aware that,
by the light of a fire, or a candle by night, or from the moming
sun shining strongly into their rooms, they can sometimes be
seen ffito very clearly, even from a distance of fifty or sixty
yards or more.
Some little time before the regiment left Chester, I thought
one eveffing, as I was hastily preparing for mess, that I was
leadffig a very idle Ufe ; and I began to consider what I coffid
do, in the shape of settffig to work, to improve myself ; and I de
cided, certaiffiy in less than ten minutes, that I would try and
get leave of absence to proceed to Germany, for the purpose of
learning German. At mess I happened to sit next to the com
manding officer. Sir John Tylden, and told him what I had been
thinkffig of: — he replied, "and a very good thing too, I wiU
" apply for leave for you at once, if you like." This I assented
to, and in less than a week I received six months' leave. Another
officer, a nobleman, for whom application was made at the same
tune for leave to go and see his friends, was refused his leave.
The authorities, it appeared from this, were desirous of encourag
mg officers to acquire a knowledge of foreign languages. I Was
very sorry to leave Chester.
My brother was fitting out the Myrmidon at Plymouth, so I
R

242 THE 52nd MARCH TO CHESTER
went there to take leave of him. I went with him to caU on
General Brown, who commanded that district; on our way we
came across the 85th Light Infantry, one of the finest body of
men I ever saw ; they were advancing in line, which movement
they made exceedmgly weU, even in my eyes, who had seen such
wonderful advances in line, even over broken ground, by the
52nd. General Brown enquired about my regiment, saying that
he had never seen a regiment move so well as the 85th, but that
he was told they were not equal to the 52nd. He then asked
me what I thought about it and I replied that I could not say
anything about the relative merits of the iegiments with regard
to their movements, but that I believed the 52nd were ffi as high
a state of efficiency at that moment as they had ever been ffi.
Some of General Brown's family asked me why the 52nd had
not come to Plymouth, as was at first intended, and said that
they understood Colonel C. Eowan had got our destination changed.
There was an amusing story which had been told to us first by
Lord Seaton. It was this : that there was some grass not very
far from the Government-house, and the orders of one of the
sentries were, that nothing was to be allowed to go on it, except
the general's cow. One day Lady Thornborough, the port admi
ral's wife, who was walking there, got on to the turf, and was
immediately ordered off by the sentry, who, on her remonstrating
with him, was very peremptory in carrying out his orders. At
last Lady Thomborough said, " Do you know who I am ?" When
he answered, " No, but I know you are not General Brown's cow."
She went into General Brown's directly, and was delighted to
teU them the story.
During my short stay at Plymouth, we went to PusUnch, and
met Lord and Lady Seaton there ; and we weut also with a large
party to Soltrum to a picnic. I dined at the mess of the 85th,
and was particularly pleased with two men there, one of whom
was Vandeleur ; the names of aU the other officers I forget. We
had a baU on board the Myrmidon, and, immediately after,
another, which the Browns gave more particffiarly on our account ;
at four in the morning we went from the ball on. board the Myr
midon, saUed immediately for Portsmouth, and, aft'er a pleasant
run, anchored at Spithead, at twelve at night.

AND AEE STATIONED THEEE. 243
The Myrmidon shortly after saUed for the coast of Africa,
-where she was stationed for three years, and did some good
service there, for which my brother obtained the honour of
knighthood. The Myrmidon took and destroyed numbers of
slave vessels, and, on one occasion, when in company with the
Iphigenia, took the vessel in which Samuel Crowther was. He
was then a boy of twelve years of age. He was transferred to
the Myrmidon, and remained in that ship for some weeks. He
is now Bishop of the Niger.
I have twice met this trffiy good and sensible man — once
several years ago — and more recently, just as he was about to be
consecrated as Bishop of the Niger. He gave me the whole
account of the viUage in which he Uved being attacked, cf his
father beffig kUled in resisting the attack, and of his mother and
her children being sold into slavery. He was on his way in a
slave-ship to the West Indies, when the Myrmidon and the
Iphigenia feU in with the ship. He told me how frightened he
was at the serjeant of marines, who was pacffig the deck of the
slaver, as the slaves were being transferred to the British ships ;
for the Spanish slave-dealers had told them how cruel the English
were, and that they were in the h&,bit of killing the slaves, and
dyeing their soldiers' jackets with their blood. He and five other
boys agreed to keep back as much as they Could, so that they
might be the last to be taken on board the EngUsh man-of-war.
In -speaking of the serjeant he said, "I assure you I Was very
" much afraid of that gentleman." These six boys were taken dn
board the Myrmidon, and their alarm was greatly increased as
they stepped on the quarter-deftk of the corvette, by seeing, as they
thought, the body of one of their companions hanging in the rigging,
and the heads of many of them ranged in a row all round the deck
of the ship, between the guns. They were greatly relieved when
they found out that what they took to be the body of a man was
that of a pig, which was about to be cut up, and served out to
the crew, and the supposed heads were cannon-baUs painted
black, and ranged round the ship on a rack. He assured me
that his feelings at first were exactly as I have here described
them. My lamented sister-ffi-law, the late Lady Leeke, made
him his first clothes ; whether or not she attempted to teach him
E 2

244 THE 52nd march to Chester
anything I am not quite sure. Not very long after his release
from slavery, he was taken to Sierra Leone, and placed under the
care and instruction of the missionaries of that excellent society,
the Church Missionary Society, and soon became one of their
most promising scholars. How wonderful are the ways of God !
How wonderfully has He overruled the cruel and iniquitous slave-
trade for taking persons from several of the tribes of Westem
Africa, bringing them to Sierra Leone for instmction in the great
truths of Christianity, and then returning many of them, as
preachers of salvation through Christ, to the persons amongst
whom they have Uved, and whose language and habits they are
acquamted with ! After the lapse of many years Bishop Crow-
ther's mother was restored to ffim agaffi, and became a convert to
Christiaffity. I think it was about the begffiffing of 1852 that
my brother sent out a ffice Bible, and that I sent to him a copy of
Simeon's " Life.'' He told us afterwards that he lost both these
presents when his house was burnt to the ground. My brother
presented him in 1864 with another Bible, with the following
inscription written in it : — " To the Eight Eeverend Samuel Edjai
" Crowther, Bishop of the region of the Niger river, in Westem
" Africa, this copy of God's holy Word is presented, on the occa-
" sion of his consecration as Bishop, at Canterbury, on the 29th
" of June, 1864, by his friend Admiral Sir Henry John Leeke,
"who, when commanding His Majesty's ship Mjrrnudon oh the
" coast of Africa ffi the year 1821, captured the slave vessel in
" which S. E. Crowther, then a boy of about twelve years of age,
" was being conveyed to the West Indies to a Ufe of slavery.
"Isaiah lv ; Acts xx, 28 ; John xxi, 15 — 17."

245

CHAPTEE XV.
1819, 1820.
GEEMANY, ENGLAND, PAEIS, NICE.
Calais to Brussels — Murder of EngUsh gentlemen— How discovered— Tradition
ahout the fight at Cheriton in the time of Charles I. — Visit the field of
Waterloo — Corn rank where we defeated the Imperial Guard — The Rhine
— Ehrenbreitstein, beautiful scenery — University of Gottingen — Curious
funeral ceremonies— Hanover — The Jager Guards — Colonel Reynett — Leave
Hanover for Sottrum— Arrangements for learning German — Alarming Ul
ness — Religious feeling — Return to Hanover — Difficulty in speaking Eng
lish properly — Advised to return to England — Paper written on my 22nd
birthday — Ludicrous diflficulty at Yarmouth — Thames frozen over — Anec
dote connected with the loss of the Royal Georges-Unpleasant occurrence
at races — Think of going on half pay — Kind remonstrance from the regi
ment — Proceed to Nice — Bonaparte at Frejus in 1814 — ReUgious friends,
&c. — Adventure with a mosquito — The cUmate of the south of France and
Italy.
I EMBAEKED at Dover and arrived at Calais, on my way into
Germany, on the 19th of Jffiy, 1819. A journal which I com
menced at that time states that I " met in the packet Mr. Eogers,
Beauclerc, and a Frenchman, a very entertainffig feUow, who
Was quite in raptures about England," and that I " dffied with
them at Quillac's, and went to the play, and very stupid it was.
My friend, the Frenchman, insisted on my breakfasting with
him ffi the morning." I have not now the least idea of who
these agreeable fellows were. The next mornffig I started in the
diligence, by way of Dimkirk, LUle, and Tournay, for Brussels,
which place I reached only on the tffird day. It is by that route
sixty leagues from Calais.

246 GEEMANY, ENGLAND, PARIS, NICE.
Between Calais and Dunkirk the foUowing tragedy occurred,
not many mUes from the former place. It is thus stated ffi
Burke's "Peerage and Baronetage," in the pedigree of the
Sebrights: — "Edward, second son of the third baronet was
"murdered ffi 1723, near Calais, as he was traveUing with some
" EngUsh gentlemen. A monument to his memory was erected
" on the spot where the foffi deed was committed." My mother,
several times in former years, mentioned this murder to me, and
stated that Mr. Locke, a relative of her grandfather, who was a
Locke, (they both were from the same stem as John Locke, who
¦wrote on the human understanding,) was the only friend who
was with Mr. Sebright at the time. They were murdered by the
innkeeper and his son, belonging to the inn at which they had
been stayffig at Calais. Mr. Locke was aUve when he was found
with his throat cut, but Ufe was mstantly destroyed by a woman
pourffig brandy into the wound. The murderers were discovered
about six months afterwards, when the innkeeper sent some of
the Unen to the same washerwoman, who observed that " she
" had seen none so fine, since she washed that of the English
" gentlemen, who were murdered." My mother had this account
from her mother, who was a Locke, and was born two or three
years after the murder.
The above tradition is not very strikffig as regards the time
which has elapsed since the event took place. The foUowing,
however, which has come down to us, through the same famUy,
is remarkable. My mother told me that her aunt. Miss Locke,
whom I also recollect very weU, stated to ber that her grand
mother told her, that when she was a girl, she stood at a certain
gate, on or near a farm now belonging to my brother,. Admiral
Sir Henry Leeke, and saw the fight at Cheriton, between three
and four miles off, in the time of Charles I.
At LUle I went to see the citadel, ffito which I was aUowed
to pass without ffiterruption. The esplanade is pretty, as is also
its bridge. Left LiUe at four o'clock in the morffing, breajifasted
at Tournay, and a Uttle way from it saw the ground on which
the Battle of Fontenoj was fought. Passed through Ath,
Enghien, and Hal, and arrived at the Hotel d' Angleterre, at
Brussels, at eight in the eveffing.

GEEMANY, ENGLAND, PARIS, NICE. 247
On the 24th of July I went from Brussels to visit the field
of Waterloo, and went over a great deal of the same ground
wffich the 52nd had gone over four years before. Numbers had
been buried where we remained so long in squares, and where we
were charged by the French cavalry. But many hundreds had
been buried more towards La Haye Saffite, about three hundred
yards below the British position, where the 52nd had defeated
the French Imperial Guard. The corn was rank and nearly
rotten ffi these places. The people said the soil was stiU too
rich. I dined at La BeUe AUiance on bread and cheese, and re
turned to Brussels in time to start that eveffing for Aix La
Chapelle, 'syhich I reached the next day. In the evening I went
to the maison de jeu, or salon, where all the gentry of the place
seemed to have assembled. There, for the last time, I risked
and lost a few napoleons at roulette, or rouge-et-noir.
On the 26th I started for Cologne, and the next day went up
the left bank of the Ehine to Coblentz. On the 28th I started
for Hesse Cassel, in a chaise de poste with a merchant of Bruns
wick, passing over the Effine on a bridge of boats to Ehrenbreit
stein, a fortress on the opposite height. Between this place and
Limburg the scenery was most beautiful ; scores of wooded hUls
shewffig their summits in front, and to the right and left as far
as the eye could reach. We forded the river Lahn twice, and
passed through Weisbourg, Wetzlar, and Giessen, all in the
duchy of Nassau. The traveUing was exceeffingly slow; the
postillion, I thffik, did not once touch the horses with his whip ;
and consequently they might well look fat and sleek. He ap
peared very fond of them. He played nicely on ffis horn several
times, especially as the horses trotted quickly up the paved
streets of Cassel, after midnight, when he thought it desirable
that the inhabitants shoffid be aroused fr'om their slumbers to
learn the important fact, that traveUers of distinction had come
amongst them. On the eveffing of the 30th I arrived at the
University of Gottingen, where I proposed to take up my resi
dence for some time. I find the foUowing entry made in my
journal: — "Arrived at Gottffigen at seven o'clock. All anxiety
to know how I am to get on.' Speak scarcely a word of Ger
man and don't know a soul. Dffied (or rather supped) at the

248 GERMANY, ENGLAND, PAEIS, NICE.
table d'hote, and never opened my Ups except to ask for bread."
The next day I dined at the table d'hote at one o'clock, and met
several Hanoverian officers and four young Englishmen, three of
whom were in the army. I find I forthwith applied myself with
much diUgence to the study of German, taking two lessons a
day, of an hour each, and working hard at it also by myself, but
the being acquainted with so many Englishmen, and with
Hanoverians who spoke English very fluently, was a great
hindrance to me; I therefore soon began to make enqffiries
about some respectable German family into which I could be
received, and who would be able to assist me in leaming their
language, I soon heard of a clergyman's family, living in a
vUlage between Bremen and Hamburg, who woffid be wiUing to
receive me ; and, after remaining altogether a month at Gottingen,
I started for Hanover, which had been my original destination.
I had been informed that purer German was spoken in the
kingdoms of Hanover and Saxony than in any other part of
Germany. WhUst I was at Gottingen I saw two funerals. At one of
them, from a house opposite to my lodging, the coffin was
brought out by twelve men, in plain blue dresses, Hessian boots,
and cocked hats with crape streamers, and was placed on a low
car, about nine or ten feet long and six broad, dra-wn by four
horses and covered with black cloth. The coffin was not made
to the shape of the body, but was three feet high, and appeared
to shut down like a trunk. The postUlions walked by the
side of their horses, and a woman, who seemed to be- the mistress
of the ceremonies, went in front, and the twelve men, headed by
a sort of commanding officer with a sword, foUowed the car, the
procession moving as slowly as possible. On another occasion
I attended the funeral of a rich merchant who was followed to
the grave by about forty or fifty of the principal people of the
town, some on foot some in miserable carriages. The grave was
about eight feet deep. There was no funeral service, but when
the coffin was in the grave, aU the people said a short prayer in
their hats ; and then, looking ffito the grave, each said " guten
" morgen," after which they went away.
Professor Blumenbach had a large collection of the scuUs of

GEEMANY, ENGLAND, PARIS, NICE. 249
aU nations, wffich I went to see. He told me he wanted very
much to get the scuU of a Scotchman. There were between
thirty and forty professors at Gottingen, who gave lectures which
the students might attend on paying a moderate fee. Herr
Blumenbach gave lectures on natural history, comparative
anatomy, and physiology.
Some of our English friends got into a scrape for painting
some of the doors white, and kicking up a row, and were im
prisoned by the authorities for two nights and a day; rooms,
however, were fitted up for them on the occasion. The day be
fore I left Hanover, I met at dinner the grand maitre desforets,
who offered me as much shooting as I pleased. I left Gottingen
in the evening of the 29th of August, after taking coffee with
many of my friends, who again met me at the post-house. When
I had proceeded some mUes, I was exceedingly annoyed to find
that I had omitted to pay my smaU account at the hotel, where
they had the table d'hote, amounting, perhaps, to half a louis.
However, when we changed horses, I went to the post-office, and,
by the postmaster's advice, sent a louis in a letter to one of my
English friends, requesting him to pay my debt. As the Ger
mans are generally honest fellows, I trust the money reached
him, though I never heard from him about it. The journey
from Gottingen to Hanover ffi one of the public conveyances was
not performed in those days under one-and-twenty hours, so that
we offiy made good three English mUes an hour.
At Hanover I found Colonel Eeynett, of the 52nd, who was
on the Duke of Cambridge's staff. Colonel Eowan had -written
to him about me. He was exceedingly kind, and had arranged,
if I remained at Hanover, that I shoffid mess with the officers of
the Jager Guards, but as they had many of them served with the
English army, and could speak English, he agreed with me, that
I was not so likely to improve so much in German amongst
them, as I should be if I followed out the before-mentioned plan.
He shewed me over the Duke of Cambridge's house, and offered
to take charge of my letters, which were to be directed to him at
Cambridge house, London, and must be there on " Tuesdays and
"Fridays." I saw the kffig's stables, with about two hundred
horses ; there were thirty away with the Duke of Cambridge,

250 GERMANY, ENGLAND, PARIS, NICE.
and about two hundred mares and colts in the country. There
were eight cream-coloured horses, and six white ones. I made
an arrangement with the bugle-major of the Jager Guards to
write out for me about two hundred bugle tunes, such as he felt
tolerably sure the 52nd could not have. These he was to send
to England, and I paid him, I think, ten louis for them. Colonel
Charles Eowan wrote afterwards to thank me for my handsome
present to the regiment I also received a letter to the same
effect ffi French, from Kirwan HiU of the 52nd.*
I left Hanover for Sottrum, between Bremen and Hamburg,
on the first of September, at half-past four in the mornffig, and,
passing tffiough Nieustadt, reached Hoya about eight at night.
As there was a baU at the principal inn, and I could not secure
a bed, I determined to go on to Verden, wffich place I reached
about twelve . o'clock. Tffis proceeding from Hoya to sleep at
Verden that night had, as -vriU presently appear, a most remark
able influence on the whole of my future course of life The
night was bitterly cold, and I had foolishly not brought a great
coat with me, and on arriving at Verden the people of the inn
had all retired to rest. There was no flre, and, regffiarly chilled
through as I was, I had nothing left for it' but to turn into a cold
bed, in which I slept soundly for several hours. When, how
ever, I awoke in the morning I was sm'prised to find that my
legs and feet were as wretchedly cold as they were when I went
to bed. I did not think much about it, and having got my
breakfast I felt as well as usual I had a letter for General
Victor Alten, who lived at Verden, from his son, but, as
he was from home, I proceeded at once to Sottrum, which was
about fifteen English mUes off. Here I met with a kind welcome
from the clergyman, Herr Biittner, and his mother and sisters,
and also from a Hanoverian Waterloo officer who was staying
with them, by the name of SchleppegreU. They were a very
happy party, though they often spoke of a severe affliction which
had befallen them some years before, when Bonaparte had taken
possession of the kingdom of Hanover, and their two brothers had
been taken from their home as conscripts. One perished in the re
treat from Moscow ; whatbecame of the other they had never known.
-* See Appendix !No. 6.

GERMANY, ENGLAND, PAEIS, NICE. 251
The terms for board and lodging and instruction were soon
arranged ; they were most moderate. The whole party helped to
teach me their language, so that I had the benefit of reading or
conversing with one or another of them, durffig the greater
part of the day. Even when we walked out our chief busffiess
was attended to, and my German and English dictionary accom
panied us. French was now and then spoken by us, ffi order to
explain a German word or sentence, but very seldom for any
other purpose. English was almost entirely banished from our
conversation, although they knew a Uttle of it In this way I
of course made rapid progress, both in understandffig and speak
mg German.
When I had been at Sottrum a fortffight, I went with some
of the famUy to Bremen, distant about twenty-five mUes. It is a
neat, pleasant place, with beautifffi walks. We visited the Bley
Keller or Lead CeUar, the atmosphere of which has the peculiar
property of preserving from decay the human and other bodies
which are placed in it, We saw there the body of a Countess
Stanhope, who died at Bremen about the year 1565, and also the
bodies of Count Brake and his aide-de-camp, who were kiUed
in the thirty years' war. Bremen is on the Weser, and contained
at that time 40,000 inhabitants. We saw Madame Eeichard
ascend in a baUoon. We were from eight in the evening tUl
half-past two in the morning in getting back to Sottrum. It was
a cold night, and I was on the box. When we stopped at the
inn to give the horses some hay and water, I took a wine glass
fffil of brandy " to keep the cold out" As we pursued our
journey, I found that I had constantly to clear my throat and
mouth, but when I reached Sottrum I found, to my dismay, that I
was coughing up a quantity of blood. No doubt my exposure
on the journey, and my cold sleep at Verden, a fortnight before,
had laid the foundation for this ; and the exposure on the road
from Bremen, together with the strong stimulant which I was
not at all accustomed to take, brought matters to a climax. I
was alarmed at first, but as I did not feel Ul, and as the blood
very much decreased ffi quantity, I remaffied qffietly at Sottrum,
and pursued my studies. About a year afterwards it was clearly
ascertaffied that the blood proceeded from the throat, and not
froni the lungs .as I at first feared.

252 GEEMANY, ENGLAND, PAEIS, NICE.
I had been confirmed and had received the sacrament when
I was about fifteen or sixteen, and, at the time, felt very serious ;
but the impression soon passed away, and when I went to
Sottrum I had for years been very careless, negligent, and ignor
ant about religion. It was at this time that I recollect forming
some very strong resolutions, that I woffid make a determined
effort to serve God in everything, and give up whatever I might
discover to be wrong in His sight. I remained very ignorant
about real religion for nearly a year after this. StUl I believe I
was sincerely desiring to do what was right. I have a clear
recollection that in one of the few walks, which I took by myseU
during my stay at Sottrum, I went to the " Fir Wood," as they
called it, and that aU at once the question presented itself to me :
— Is it right that a person, who wishes to honour God and to
benefit his fellow-creatures, should follow the profession of a
soldier, whose chief employment, when he is actively engaged, is
to take away, or help to take away, the lives of his fellow-men ?
This idea had never crossed my mind before, and it startled me
exceedingly, for 1 was devotedly attached to my regiment, and
to a soldier's Ufe, and I thought I would more wilUngly part with
my right arm than leave the army ; yet I determined that I woffid
endeavour to examine the matter thoroughly, and if I found that I
could not conscientiously remain in the army I would at once
leave it. I, however, soon convinced myself, by a very short pro
cess of reasoning, that it was right for a nation to have an army
for its own defence, and for the defence of a wSak ally ; otherwise
it might soon be overrun, and be oppressed by even a very small
number of its neighbours ; and that sometimes the best mode of
defence would be to carry the war into the enemy's country. I
have merely gone into this matter in order to shew that here was
a decided ffitention to give up what was wrong and to do what
was right.
I remained with my kind friends at Sottrum nearly two
months and a half, when, finding that my health was not in a
satisfactory state, I thought it better to go to Hanover to consiUt
the principal physician there. I left Sottrum with great regret
on the 12th of November. A curious fact was, that on reaching
Hanover and going to see Colonel Eeynett, I found that for some
Uttle time I could not speak English properly. I had been talk-

GERMANY, ENGLAND, PARIS, NICE. 253
ffig nothing but German for so long a time, that when first I
began to speak in EngUsh, I found myself disposed to construct
many of the sentences as I shoffid have done in German. On
going to consult the court physician, (I forget his name, but he
was a most kind old man,) I found him sitting with his pipe in
a regular cloud of smoke. After hearing what I had to say, and
after my pressing ffim to let me know if he thought I was likely
to recover, aU I could get out of him was, that I had better
return at once to my friends in England. I left Hanover for
Cuxhaven at the mouth of the Elbe about the 22nd of December,
I think the packet was detaffied two or three days by contrary
winds ; and these days I passed, very wretchedly, as wUl appear
from the foUowing note which was written at that time, and
which, as I am writing, I have just taken from an old writing-
desk. On the outside are written the following words : —
"To be opened on the 27th of November, 1820."
It is dated, " Eitzebiittel near Cuxhaven, 27th of November,
1819. " My birth-day, 22 years old, here in this blessed [meaning
" miserable] place, waiting to go to England, with terrible pams
" in the breast, and difficulty of breathing. Convinced that my
" lungs are dangerously affected, I have little hope of reacffing
" my 23rd birthday. This, however, is to be opened on the 27th
" of November, 1820. If I do not open it myseU, some of my
" dear friends wiU do so. God bless them. Time wUl shew how
" thffigs are to turn out W. L."
The foUowing memorandum is written on the same paper : —
"Eead tffis forty years afterwards, November 27th, 1859,
"havffig by God's mercy been so long spared, and ha-ving a
" humble expectation that through the blood of Jesus, I shall,
"whenever I am taken hence, go to be with Him in glory.
"When, forty years ago, the first part of this was written, I
" knew nothing aright of the things belonging to my everlasting
" peace, but I had determined to try and do right at all cost ;
" having been much struck at Sottrum with a paper, I think in
"'The Iffier' or 'The Eambler,'* beginnmg about some one
• It is in the 2nd volume of " The Rambler," No. 65, and is well suited, by
God's blessing, to arrest the attention of any careless young man.

254 GERMANY, ENGLAND, PAEIS, NICE.
" having left the caravansary earlyinthe morning, and forsakingthe
" maffi road for a flowery path, &c. God bless my dear wife and
" nine chUdren. Wm, Leeke."
My journal closes as foUows : — "Left Hanover about the
22nd, embarked at Cuxhaven on the 29th, and landed at Yar
mouth on the 1st of December, 1819, very UL"
I made up my mind, before landing at Yarmouth, that I was
too ill to proceed to London in the coach, and that I would post
it ; but on looking at the money which I had left, I found that I
had not sufficient for my purpose. This led to a series of
lufficrous adventures, which were very annoying to me at the
time. As we were in the boat between the packet and the shore,
I mentioned my difficulty to the captain, and said I was afraid I
shoffid have to remain at Yarmouth tiU I got a remittance from
London. He immediately replied that he would put his name
to a draft on my agents, and that I shoffid find no difficffity in
getting it cashed when we landed. I told him I was very much
obliged to him, though I rather wondered, iu my own mind, that
he should venture thus to accommodate one whom he had only
known for six-and-thirty hours. After landing, and getting my
things through the Custom-house, I met my friend, the captain
of the packet in the passage of the hotel, when he said to me : —
" I have been thinking. Sir, that I shaU not be doing right to put
" my name to your biU, for I don't know more about you than
" anybody else does.'' This was not very pleasant, but I felt it
was very natural that he shoffid, on second thoughts, take this
view of the matter. On my asking him what I could do, as I
was very unwilling to be detained at Yarmouth, he said he
thought the landlord of the hotel coffid manage the thing for me.
On my speakmg to the landlord he very readUy undertook to
give me the ten pounds I required, and said he had often accom
modated gentlemen with nioney under simUar circumstances, but
that it was customary for them to leave some of their luggage as
a security for the repayment of the sum advanced. This, I told
him, I could do without any inconvenience, as I had one case
containing articles of value, which I should not want for some
little time. When I went to Germany I had been suppUed with
letters of introduction for some of the ambassadors, and thought it

GEExMANY, ENGLAND, PAEIS, NICE. 255
desirable to take my 52nd court dress with me, which consisted of
a coat with epaulettes ffistead of wings, a waistcoat, breeches
with silver buckles, white silk stockings, and shoes with silver
buckles ; there were also a cocked hat a dress-sword, and various
other articles. On my opening the case and shewing him the
various things which it contained, he observed, in a very off-hand
way, that he thought the whole lot of them was not worth five
pounds. So I closed the case, and had no more to say to the
landlord. As a last resource I went to one of the banks and
stated my difficulty, and who I was, and what I wanted. Here
I met with very great ci-vUity; they had no doubt about my
being the gentleman I represented myself to be, but it was not
at aU consistent with their usual way of doing business, that
they shoffid advance money on the draft of one who was quite a
stranger to them. I found that I had just money enough to pay
for a postcbaise, &c,, for two stages on the road to London, and
that by goffig so far I should only be detained one clear day on
the road, and could easily reach town the day after. So I ordered
a postcbaise, having first written to Cox and Greenwood, to
request them to send me a letter of credit for twenty pounds, on
the banker of the town which I intended to reach that night.
On my arrival, I do not think I had a single shiUing left, after
paying for the postcbaise and driver. On the morning of the
uext day but one, the letter of credit arrived, and on my ffiqffir
ing for the banker, I was directed to the house of, I think, a
large Iffien draper or mercer. He read my letter of credit from
Cox and Greenwood, and said it was quite correct, but that he
was not a banker, but only agent for a bank at the county town,
and he doubted whether he ought to cash my draft However,
on my telling him how I had been annoyed, and asking him
what his bankers would say, if he refused to give me the money,
he consented to let me have it.
Shortly after my arrival in London my famUy joined me, and
we remained there for some time, that I might have the advan
tage of getting the best medical advice. All along I was treated
for an affection of the chest and was a good deal lowered. After
a few weeks we went home ; on our journey ffito Hampshire we
saw, just as we passed out of to-wn, that the Thames was com-

256 GERMANY, ENGLAND, PAEIS, NICE.
pletely frozen over. We were very well acquainted with some .
of the near relatives of Admiral Sir Digby Dent and I have
often heard that when he first went into the navy, I think it was
in 1840, there was such a great frost that his things were
wheeled on board the guard-ship, in Portsmouth harbour, in a
wheelbarrow. And this leads me to mention a singular fact
connected with my family, which I think I ought to record
somewhere in this work : — My grandfather, my mother's father,
who was an old naval officer, lived at Fareham, in Hampshire.
It is about seven miles in a direct line from Spithead, and he
was in the habit of going on to the leads of his house every day,
when the weather was clear, to take a look with his glass at the
shippffig in Portsmouth harbour and at Spithead. On lookffig
one day at the various ships, he saw no particular change
amongst them, and that the admiral's flag was flying at Spit
head as usual Before he left the top of the house he thought he
woffid take another look at Spithead, when to his surprise and
dismay, the flag ship was not to be seen. On going do-wnstairs
he observed to some of his famUy that he thought that some
thing strange had happened to the ship; and in two or three
hours the melancholy inteUigence arrived that the Eoyal
George had gone down at her moorings ; and that Admiral
Kempenfelt and eight hundred officers and men had perished.
After I returned home in Jauuary, 1820, I had a great deal
of time for reading, and amongst other books, which came in my
way, I was led to read Paley's "Theology," which interested me
much, and paved the way for my reading his "Evidences of
" Christianity," which I have no doubt was a great blessing to me,
inasmuch as it overturned all my sceptical ideas, and convfficed
me that the Bible was the inspired Word of the Most High God.
Yet strange to say, it was not tiU many months afterwards, that
I was led to see that it was my duty to read some portion of it
daily, with prayer that I might become acquainted with the will
of God, and endeavour to have my conduct conformed to it. At
this time I certainly began to try and pray from the heart to
God, but I had very confused ideas of religion. I remember that
about this time I was so ignorant, that on finding, in a prayer I
was using, a petition that the Holy Spirit might be given me, I

GEEMANY, ENGLAND, PARIS, NICE. 257
asked my mother if she thought it was a proper petition for me
to offer up to God. On her telUng me that it was, I contmued
to use it, and certainly after some Uttle time I had much in
creased seriousness of feeling. About this time a kind friend
lent me Bowdler's " Eemains," which was also of much ser-vice to
me ; stUl I had no clear views of the leading truths of reUgion.
During the sprffig and summer of 1820, I was not at all well,
and probably the li-ving upon a diet of mUk and fruit, and vege
tables without any meat, did not tend to fficrease my strength.
I had spitting of blood from time to time, but not in large
quantities. I took riding exercise to some extent, and I recol
lect that one day my spirits were considerably raised by my
being caught ffi a smart shower, as it put me in mind of old
times. On one occasion, some country races, I think, for farmers'
horses, were got up about five or six mUes from our residence, to
which I subscribed, and to which we went in some force. I
rode to the ground, and then, for fear of overtaxing my strength,
jomed the party in the carriage, lending my horse to my brother-
in-law^ After some of the heats had been run, the steward of
the course, or some other persons, (they were strangers to me,)
wishing to prevent people from riding up and down the course,
passed a rope across it, about sixty or seventy yards from where
we were ; the consequence was, that a considerable number of
horsemen were brought up on each side of it, and as none of
them coffid exactly understand the necessity for their being thus
prevented from passing, they were inclined to do so, if they
could, in some way or other. Seeing my relative trying to make
my horse leap over the rope, which was held by a number of
men at each end near the ropes of the course, and seeing that
the horse would not rise at the rope, I walked towards him for
the purpose of telling him that if he Uked to risk his neck, I
was quite wUling to risk the horse, if he chose to force him at it
This nearly led several other gentlemen into a very disagreeable
row. On coming to the rope and seeffig how matters Stood, I
felt a very strong disposition to solve the difficulty, by cutting
the rope, which I did ffi saUor fa.shion, by giving three cuts on
the upper surface at intervals of about an inch from each other.
s

258 GERMANY, ENGLAND, PARIS, NICE.
I had no right to do this, and certainly richly deserved some
abuse, if not rough treatment, for my performance ; but the effect
of it was very magical — the rope gave way, and eight or ten
strong feUows at either end, who were pffiling with aU their
iffight, went down rather heavUy over each other. The horse
men, seeing that the rope had given way, pursued their respec
tive courses, and scarcely anybody, besides two or three of my
friends who were near me, knew how the thffig had been accom
plished. But I was not to get off so quietly. In tffiee or four
seconds a very tall elderly man rushed out from one side of the
course, exclaiming, " Where's the blackguard who cut the rope."
I did not feel fficUned to sneak off, and therefore caUed out,
" I cut the rope ;'' and then commenced a sort of row and alter
cation, and I thought we should have had a regffiar meMe, when
another man, a yeoman, strode forth to our help, and called
upon our assaUant for fair play, and that gentlemen should not
be so treated, wheu perhaps they had done nothing wrong.
Then there was some bandying of words between the other party
and my brother-in-law, our opponent inquiring what busi
ness I had to cut the rope, which the subscribers to the races
had desired to be placed there ? He was told that I also was a
subscriber, and had as much right to cut the rope, as others had
to place it there to the annoj^ance of everybody. He knew my
brother-ffi-law, at least by name, and said, " I am surprised at
" you, Sir Edward," and received the foUowing reply,' " We aU
" see it's after dinner with you, my friend," which raised a laugh
against him from everybody around, and he was glad to slink
away ; and thus we came off with flyffig colours, from an affair
which at one moment promised to be anything but pleasant.
It was arranged that I shoffid spend the ensuing winter in
the south of France or Italy, and as I had already t-wice sent in
a sick certificate for three months' leave, and had been altogether
a twelvemonth absent from the regiment, I began to think it
was hardly fair to send in any more sick certfficates, without
first proposing to go on half pay. I -wrote to Colonel Charles
Eowan to this effect, and received a most kind reply, beggffig
that I would not think of leavffig the 52nd, and saymg how
glad they shoffid be to see me back again -with restored health.

GERMANY, ENGLAND, PARIS, NICE. 259
On the 16th of August 1820, 1 went to France with my
brother-ffi-law and sister. We were to remain together tiU we
reached Paris, when I was to go forward without them to Nice.
We went from Calais to Cassel, from which in clear weather no
less than seventeen fortresses may be counted, and then to LUle,
Enghien, and Brussels. We visited the Field of Waterloo, and
then proceeded by Mons, Valenciennes, Ham, and Compiegne to
Paris. At Compiegne we saw the palace, with its superb furni
ture. During my stay at Paris, two of the old Marshals of
France died, Lefebre, Duke of Dantzic ; and Kellerman, Duke
of Valmy. They both served at Waterloo, in command of
cavalry divisions. Kellerman, just before his death, told his
brother-in-law to make known, in the proper quarter, his request
that his heart might be buried on the field of battle of Valmy,
and that a monument might be erected to the memory of the
"braves" who fell there on the 19th of September, 1792, when
he defeated the Duke of Brunswick. He was originally a
private hussar in the legion of Conflans.
At this time I became acquainted with a remarkably inteUi
gent Frenchman by the name of Cherval, -with whom I had at
times a great deal of useful conversation. He was a devoted
admirer of the Bourbons, and a most enthusiastic defender of
the old system of government which obtained in France before
the revolution. He told us that ffi the commencement of the
revolution, he had traveUed from Normandy to Franche Comt^
in different disguises, and that some little time after his escape,
he read, tp his great horror, in the Moniteur, that the mayor and
twelve or thirteen indi-viduals of a certain vUlage, through which
he had passed, having suffered themselves to be corrupted by
the Queen's emissary. Monsieur Cherval, had been brought to
Paris, and had been guillotffied.
The weather at Paris during the month of September ffi this
year was most beautiful, and the cUmate most suitable for per
sons suffering from complaints of the chest Towards the end
of the month I left Paris for the South of France, ta-vffig first
provided myseff with a chaise de poste, and having engaged as a
servant a very nice fellow, who had served in Bonaparte's Horse
Grenadiers. I passed through Fontainbleau, Nevers, MouUns,
s 2

260 GERMANY, ENGLAND, PARIS, NICE.
and Eoanne to Lyons ; and from Lyons down the left bank of
the Ehone, by Vienne, Valence, Montelimart, and Orange to
Avignon, where I left the Ehone and proceeded by Aix and
Orgou to Marseilles, and from thence by Toulon, Frejus, and
Antibes to Nice, at wffich place I arrived on the 6th or 7th of
October. The following extracts from my journal, of this eleven days'
joumey from Paris to Nice, may not be without interest to
some of my readers : —
" My sleep was mterrupted rather early this morning by the
drums of a French regiment which is on its march to Paris.
The getting up by candle-light and the noise of drums and
bugles at the same time, made me think of old times, when I
was with my regiment, stout and strong.
" October 2nd. This evening was ushered in by the dreaded
north-east wind, the mistral; a person who had not seen it
j3offid not imagine the violence with which it blows. This wind
only commences below Valence, so I should think the Alps
must occasion it. It lasts generally three or four days, and
troubles the natives, on an average, three times a month. Num
bers of the people we met on the road had fortified their eyes
against it with glasses fixed in crape. Travelled this day in
twelve hours more than eighty-five English miles ; pretty weU
for French postboys and an ffivalid.
"Just before we entered Orange we saw a triumphal arch
erected in memory of the -victory of Marius over the Cimbri, at
a place called Aquae Sextise, near where the town of Aix now
stands. It is in high preservation, the middle arch is for car
riages, the two outer ones are smaUer. The mistral as we passed
was putting its strength to a severe test, and enveloping it ffi
clouds of dust How many mistrals has this monument wit
nessed ? How many generations from Marius to the present
day have fluttered for a time about the surface of the earth, and
then have passed away and shortly after fallen into oblivion,
making room for others to play the same butterfly game ?
"The coup d'ceil from the top of a hill three mUes from
Marseilles is most deUghtful On the right is the sea in a hand
some bay, in the opeffing are two or three rocky islands ; on the

GERILANY, ENGLAND, PARIS, NICE. 261
left of the road are some hundreds of little country-houses
scattered amongst olive trees. The plain is bounded by a chain
of mountains to the south which form a curve, and under it to
the north is seen the town. The rain had prevented me
hitherto from seeing anything of the town, which seems aU
alive ; what Portsmouth was in time of war.
"The country almost the whole way from MarseiUes to
Toffion is covered with vines. The vintage has commenced.
In every house are to be seen presses, barrels, sieves, &c. ; and
in every direction we met donkeys with panniers of grapes. A
great many tread the grapes instead of using the press ; the see
ing the dirty shoes and naked legs, shows one how useless it is
to be over ffice with regard to what we eat and drink. The
people of this country do not pretend to give the pure juice of
the grape ; they showed me a dust which they mixed with the
wine, and which was of the same material as the plaster of the
waUs of their houses ; they think it gives a flavour to the wine,
and some of them put it into the cask unmixed.
" October 5th. I did not like to quit Toulon without seeing the
harbour. There are two harbours, the old and the new ; I only
saw the latter, which was constructed by Louis XIV, for ships
of war, of which I only saw two or three. It is a flne spacious
concern, bounded on three sides by broad wharfs. It has an
arsenal, and everything complete for building and fitting out
ships. The heights, from which the French bombarded the
town, almost hang over it, and completely command every part
of it At Toulon, Bonaparte distingffished himself as an officer
of artillery, in the early part of the war of the revolution, when
it was retaken from the Eaglish ; here also at Frejus, in the
room in which I am writing, he slept in 1814, on his way to
Elba ; he was very iU, suffering from severe indigestion after
eating crab ; this, together with the. loss of his crown, must
have made him pass a deplorably uncomfortable night. I must
now to roost, in Napoleon's bed.
" Saw the place where Bonaparte landed on the 1st of
March, 1815, a league to the eastward of Cannes. He sent an
officer to that place to order rations to be provided for 6000
men; but his party at the utmost did not exceed 1100."

262 GERMANY, ENGLAND, PARIS, NICE.
I passed the Var into Piedmont from France, I think, on the
7th of October. I entered Nice, wffich is only a mUe or two
from the frontier, during'very heavy raffi, which did not give me
a very favourable impression of the place. Here I remained
more than three months, and, although I thought several times
that I shoffid probably die at Nice, it pleased God not only that
my Uffiess shoffid take a favourable turn before I left it but that
the serious feeUngs, which I had already in some measure expe
rienced, should be greatly deepened and strengthened durffig my
residence there. On looking back five-and-forty years, to the
time of my first becoming iU near Bremen, I wonder at the mercy
and goodness of God, who led me, step by step, to be prepared to
receive religious information and benefit from several friends
into whose society He brought me at Nice. The propriety of
this observation wUl appear, when it is recollected, that, had I
been brought ffito contact -with these same persons a twelve
month earUer, I shoffid most probably have avoided them at
once, as being too strict and too precise. Surely God leads us
ffi a way that we know not.
A physician whom I consulted at Paris, on hearing that I
thought of passing the winter at Nice, had given me a letter to a
friend of his, who was residffig there. It is not pleasant to go
to a place for any time, and not to know a single person there ; I
was therefore glad to have this letter ; but, although this gentle
man was exceedffigly civU and kmd to me, it wUl be seen that
he was not exactly the sort of person to be of service to me ffi a reli
giou s point of view; yet was he the instrument, without intending
it, ffideed whilst he ffitended quite the reverse, of leading me to
become acquainted with those very persons who in God's provi
dence were to be made religiously useful to m& He kindly
accompanied me in my search for lodgings, and on my pointing
out the Maison Ferdinand, ffi the Croix de Marbre, which he
was passing by, as a large pleasant-looking house, he said, it
would not at all suit me, as he knew an " infernal Methodist"
who had been there the winter before, and had gone up to
Switzerland for the summer months, had taken rooms there for
the ensuing season. This would have been quite sufficient
twelve months before to decide me not to tffink of the house for

GEEMANY, ENGLAND, PAEIS, NICE. 263
one moment; but now the thought immediately occurred to me : —
Probably tffis man is only caUed a Methodist, because he
wishes to do -what is right in the sight of God, and is more
strictly reUgious than most of those around him !
I think I secured rooms ffi this house the very next day, and,
in the course of two or three days more, my feUow-lodger made
his appearance. We soon became acquainted, and, after a little
time, arranged to take our meals together. I found that he was
well acquainted with the Scriptures, and that in our conversations
on reUgious subjects, he always referred to them to prove the
truth of any opinion he advanced ; this I was unable to do. We
had other friends who frequently dined and spent the evening
with us, especially a Norwich clergyman by the name of Day, a
truly good man, and a nice young man, a Mr. Ward, who had
been in the army ; he was seriously disposed, but, like myself,
had only confused views of religion. I look back -with feeUngs
of great thankfulness to God for having brought me ffito the
society of these good men, and also that He disposed me to con
verse with them on reUgious subjects. I recoUect on one occasion,
soon after we began to discuss religious questions, that I made
the following ignorant speech — " you will never make me beUeve
" that I shaU not be saved if I do as weU as I can !" I was
immediately shewn, from .the Word of God, that this was an
unscriptural assertion. Such passages as the foUowing were
pointed out to me : — Ephesians U, 8 — 10 : " By grace are ye
" saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of
" God ; not of works, lest any man shoffid boast. For we are
"his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
" which God hath before ordained that we shoffid walk in them :"
and John iii, 16, 36 ; John i, 12, 13 ; Eomans Ui, 20 — 31 ; Gal.
iU, 10 — 13; 2 Cor. V, 17. One important consequence of our
conversation on that evening was, that I made up my mffid that
I would, with God's help, and with prayer for His teaching, read
some portion of His Word every day untU I should have read it
through. This good practice has never been discontinued. A
feelffig strongly impressed upon my mind about that time was,
that if the Bible was the Word of God, I coffid not possibly
expect to be happy, either here or hereafter, unless I took

264 GERMANY, ENGLAND, PARIS, NICE.
it as the rule and guide of aU my conduct : John v, 39 ;
1 Peter ii, 1—3.
I had several very agreeable acquaintances at Nice ; amongst
them were Captain aud Mr. FeUx, the latter of the 95th Eifles,
Colonel and Mrs. Vincent Mr, and Mrs. Townsend, of Castle
Townsend, near Kinsale, and Colonel and Mrs. Campbell: he
was an old Peninsular officer, and, I think, in the light division.
I may here insert the following anecdote without fear of giving
the least annoyance to any one. Amongst my principal friends
were two who stuttered most terribly. They frequently came to
see us, and the effect of their conversing with each other was
generally too much for my gravity : it was an understood thing,
however, that I might laugh as much as I liked, but my friend
and fellow-lodger always greatly feared that the convulsive
laughter, which I sometimes could not avoid, might be very
dangerous to me as regarded my supposed ailment. On one
occasion we had the addition to our party of another friend, who
also hung flre very much when speaking ; and these three several
times conversed with each other. Probably such a singular case
has never occurred before, that in a party of five persons three
should be regular stammerers. At this time Queen Caroline's
trial was going on, and everybody was eager for the arrival of the
accounts of the proceedings, which we got in Galignani.
My expectation of recovery from my Ulness varied almost
from day to day. Some of the following entries were made in
my journal under the impression that I very probably shoffid not
live to return to England, and that they would be read by my
relatives after my death ; they shew that, by degrees, my views
had become clearer, and my religious feeUngs stronger than they
had been.
-"December 2nd, 1820. This morning I have expectorated a
little blood. I am thankful I am not at home, as I know my
dear mother woffid be much alarmed on my account ; if it were
not for that how delighted I should be to be with her. The
Almighty visits us with these little afflictions for wise and good
purposes. Last night I prayed to Him for a return of health ;
it has pleased Him, however, not to grant my request — His wUl
be done ! Manifold are the ways of His providence ! Had I

GERMANY, ENGLAND, PARIS, NICE. 2(35
novor boen afllicted with this spitting of blood, I should, most
lilcely, havo Innni still pursuing a thoughtless course of life, ro-
giivdlosa of religiou, and estranged from my God and Saviour.
llo, of His infinite goodness, has brought nio more than once into
tho society of religious iHHiplo, avIioso discourse has, as it wove,
awakened mo from my apathy, and laid open to my oyos the
prooipico on the odg(> of which I have boon stra)'iiig. AYliat
holploss, uothingloss beings' wo avo of ourselves ! Happy is
tho man who fools his own weakness, and who, at the
same time, clings for support to the cross of his Podoomor;
nnd blossod is tho Affiiighty, who awakens in hiin this
fooling. " Poooniber 3rd. This day is so fine, that I havo boon able to
sit with my windows opon for two hours ; thovc is a poav-tvoo
in blossom in the garden. How boantiful aro tho ooUoot and
opisllo for .Vdvoiit Sunday ! How intorosting, also, is the llth
chapter of St. John!
" 1 loconibov 10th. The thoughts of leaving this world avo only
painfnl axIiou 1 think of tho dear friends I must leavo behind.
If over this should moot tho oyos of any of thom, may it induce
them to think of the short, short time they may havo to li\o.
The ovo that roads this, as well as the hand whicii tracos it. must,
oro many yoavs, perhaps wooks, be closed and chilled by death.
^^\> should always boar in mind how inovitable death is — a fow
yoars. and tho pvosout gonovation wUl Iuino passed away. The
thoni'-hts of death, instoad of boing terriblo. arc gratefiU to tho
]Hn-son \\-ho looks forwiud to a hotter world, through the merits
of a gracious Kodoomov. I pvav God that, in health and in siok-
noss, Ho will uot \\itlulvaw liis Holy Comfortor trom me. j\ly
doav friends aro what tho wcn-ld caUs roligious, but aro they suffi
ciently so, and luno thoy proper ideas on tho subjeot ? Avo they
awaro of tho total iiisuffioionoy of the best of their own works
to sa\o thom ? I havo ivooi\od groat pleasure and instruction
from !Mr. Wilbovfovoo's "Troatiso on Cliristiimity,' aud from
Sovlo's • Oliristiim Eomombi-anoor.' I humbly trust that I am a
}iavtakov of tho giiico of tho Almighty. I consider myself to-day
iu a wovso state of health than I havo ever yot boon in, but I do
not fool particularly annoyed at it; tho will of God be dono, and

266 GERMANY, ENGLAND, PARIS, NICE.
may He ever give to me and mine, and to aU poor sinners, the
same feeling.
" December 12th. Dr. B. found a vessel open ffi my throat
"December 13th. Dr. B. and Dr. T. held a consultation, and
decided on the propriety of my getting farther away from the sea.
They discovered the vessel from which I had had the discharge
of blood, and the mucus formed on the wound. Dr. T. told me
my case was a straightforward one, if I was only cajefffi.
Dec. 1 4th. Dr. B. was able to apply something to the wound in
my throat by means of a quUl with a sponge at the end of it.
Dec. 24th. Gained strength at a great rate. Dec. 25th. Fine day,
but cold ; received the sacrament Ate my Christmas dinner at
Colonel Vincent's, and met a Mr. and Mrs. WiUs, of the County
Eoscommon." Soon after I got to Nice, I met with the following adventure.
I had desired my servant to be always most particular in taking
care that there were no mosquitoes under the mosqffito curtain,
when it was let down for the night. One ffight, however, after I
had been in bed for some time, I found, to my horror, that one
of these affimals was under the curtaffi. I thought I would almost
as soon have heard the roar of a tiger, for there was very Uttle
prospect of getting any sleep that night. After catching at it
for a long time, whenever I heard it buzzffig near my face, I at
last thought I had kUled it, as I heard nothing more of it ; ffi the
morning, however, whUst I was dressing, I was seized with a
most violent fit of coughing, wffich lasted for a good haU-hour,
and I began to fear that it would eud in death, or ffi my becoming
most seriously ill, when, to my astonishment, I coughed up the
leg of a mosquito, and, by degrees, the other parts of the animal
made their appearance. The doctor thought I had had a very
narrow escape.
It is foreign to my purpose to lengthen out this work by
describing the beautiful scenery on all sides of Nice ; nor do I
wish to say much about the climate. From what I read and
observed on that subject, I came to the conclusion, that no place
close to the sea is a fit place of residence for an invalid at aU
subject to spitting of blood ; and that, after the very beginning
of January, Nice is not a suitable place for any persons sufferffig

GERMANY, ENGLAND, PARIS, NICE. 2G7
from affection of the chest. After Christmas, Pisa and Eome
are recommended, ' as being more ffiland. Sir James Clarke,
many years ago, wrote a very clever work on the " CUmate and
" Diseases of the South of France and Italy,'' and, if I do not
mistake, he takes the above-mentioned view of the subject

268

CHAPTEE XVI
1821.
ITALY.
Proceed by water to Genoa — From Genoa to Pisa — Cross a portion of the
Apennines — Misunderstanding with a vetturino — Bridge over the Serchio
carried away— The leaning tower at Pisa, etc. — The death of a student — The
Carnival, etc. — Florence to Rome — Austrians bivouacked around Terni —
St. Peter's at Rome — Curious scene — From Rome to Naples — Appii Forum
— Cicero's villa and tomb— Naples — Portici, Pompeii — Go up Vesu-vius —
English squadron — Sir Graham Moore — Return by Rome, Florence, Milan,
Turin, and Geneva to England— Dr. Malan at Geneva— Narrow escape
at the mortar-practice there.
I LEFT Nice for Genoa about the second or third of January,
1821, in company with Mr. Ward, in the ItaUan maU felucca.
We had a not very disagreeable voyage of 120 miles. The
accommodations of the felucca were not "first class," as we
more particffiarly discovered when we had to turn in at night
The -views of the coast ^^^ of the maritime Alps, were most
splendid. We did not remain long at Genoa, and my principal
recoUection of it is, that the streets were remarkably narrow,
and the houses, or, rather palaces, very lofty and weU built.
I find myself very much puzzled as to the inflicting, or not
on my readers, an account of my travels to Pisa, Florence,
Eome, and Naples ; and my return to England by Eome,
Florence, Bologna, MUan, Turin, Geneva, and Paris. I am
unwUling to sweU this work to too large a size ; and, on the
other hand, there are many things of considerable interest
which I think I ought not to omit. I wUl therefore, with the

ITALY. 269
assistance of my journal, which was tolerably weU kept at that
time, endeavour to give as concise an account as I can of
this period of about five months ; and I can cut it down, or leave
it out afterwards, if I find it necessary. I took with me into
Italy, Eustace's " Classical Tour," in four octavo volumes, and
four small volumes of Eeichard's "Guide des Voyageurs en
Europe.'' Both these works were very useful ; I should thffik
no traveller in Italy should be without Eustace, even ffi the
present day. And now I wiU begin with my journal : —
" 1821. Made a bargain with a man to take us (Mr. Ward,
myself, and servant) from Genoa to Pisa, for thirteen napoleons,
and started on Saturday, the 6th of January, ffi a coach drawn by
three horses. The road runs along the coast as far as Eecco,
and the Apennmes rise nearly perpendicularly from it on the
left Sometimes we were separated from the sea by small
groves of olives and orange-trees, and as we looked down
upon it through them it had a most beautfful appearance.
The wildness of the Apenffines was heightened by the rain, as
numerous cascades, roUing from the very top of them to the
bottom, added to the effect. We had bargaffied to go as far as
Sestri, but the badness of the weather prevented our getting
farther than Eapalo. A Uttle beyond Eecco the postillion
pulled up, and told us we could not proceed, owffig to the
sweUing of a river ; however, by threatening that we would not
pay him, if he ffid not push on, we induced him to do so. We
passed the river on men's shoffiders, and slept at a miserable
inn at Eapalo. The dashing of the sea against the house
under my window, prevented my sleeping very weU. From my
room, in the moming, I had a very pretty view of the coast
of the guff of Eapalo as far as Porto Fffio, formerly Portus
Delphini. " January 7th, From Eapalo to Chiavari the road is along the
seashore, and winds along the side of the mountains ; in some
places there are perpendicular precipices more than 500 feet deep.
In one place a part of the hUl had given way, and the road was
almost blocked up. We were lucky in finding some men who
helped to clear the way for us. I thought the scenery for six or
seven miles on this side (the south) of Eapalo, most beautUul.

270 ITALY.
The road runs through the rock in two places. Chiavari is situated
in a smaU plain almost surrounded on every side, except towards
the sea, by mountains. The cultivated land around it looks
Uke a large garden di'vided into beds ; all along the coast is a
row of large aloes. The orange-trees at this place were looking
most beautiful ; in one little garden of about half an acre there
were at least 200 trees, and on an average there must have been
400 oranges on each. Last winter the orange-trees at Nice
were terribly cut up by the frost, but all along this coast they
appear in a most thrivffig condition. Half a mUe before we
came to Sestri, we passed along a road formed nearly at the
bottom of the rock. The sea was high, and at times beat over
it, and we narrowly escaped a wave, which completely ducked,
and almost carried away, a man who was only three or four
yards behind the carriage. We stopped an hour or two at
Sestri, and then set forward to cross a ridge of the Apennmes ; I
in a sedan chair, borne by six stout feUows, and the others
and the baggage on mules and horses. There was an ItaUan
merchant of Brescia in company. My bearers kept up pretty
well with the cavalcade, and at about four o'clock we arrived at
the post of Braco. Everybody wished to go on to the next
village, about eight mUes forward, so I did not object although
it was gettffig dark. It rained very hard at times, and I
thought the scene was reaUy sublime when I saw the lightning
flashing horizontally below me. We got a Ught about five
o'clock at a solitary house, and proceeded on our mountain ex
cursion. The road was very narrow, and in some places there
were frightfffi precipices, down which I was terribly afraid some
of the mules would slip. Ward's mule slipped only twice,
although the road was very steep at times, and in many places
lay over the naked rock ; he observed that the poor animal
trembled very much both times after it WTieii he was in front
it annoyed him every now and then, by tuming round to
look at the Ught ; this was not very pleasant, considering the
narrowness of the path, and the precipice below. My men lost
the path once, and before they could find it agaffi the candle
went out and we were in a pretty predicament. They
haUooed to the party in front who came to our aid. Three or

ITALY. 271
four sffiphur boxes were produced, and, as the wind was high,
they were forced to Ught the matches in my chair ; it was a
long time before we coffid succeed in lighting the candle, and in
the meantime I was almost suffocated with brimstone. We
slept at a horrible place called Carrotta. There was no fire
place in the -viUage, and we were ushered ffito a smaU room
with a fire Ughted on the floor, in the centre, the smoke escaping
out of the door. There were benches fixed agaffist the waUs
round the fire, and aU hands, to the amount of thirteen, set to
work to warm and dry themselves. I almost fancied myself in a
robber's cave, such was the appearance of the people and place.
We could get nothing to eat but bread and eggs. Ward and I
were accommodated with the bed of the host and hostess, on
which we lay down ffi our clothes ; there were only shutters,
and no windows, but I was so used to rough it, by that time,
that I had no apprehension of taking cold."
On the Sth we started from Carrotta about half-past seven.
The road was better, and my men tripped along at a famous
rate. We arrived at Spezia about two o'clock. I fancy I cut
rather an odd figure in my cloak and large brown nightcap, as
many people asked if I were a Spagnuolo (Spaniard.) We got
away from Spezia about three o'clock, ffi a carriage. The Gulf
of Spezia looked very beautifffi ; the English erected some forts
here in 1814. There is a fountain of fresh water rising in the
midst of the salt water, a long way out at sea. We passed part
of the Magra ffi a boat. I mounted a post-horse, which came
over with us, and, after fordffig the other pait, rode to Sarzana,
where we lodged, at a very good inn, called the AquUa Nigra,
kept by a Frenchman.
"January 9th. At Sarzana we pemutted our Genoese
conductor to hand us over to a vetturino ; ffis carriage, however,
was so bad that we -wished to stop at Massa, to get another.
The road runs past the town, which he refused to enter, and, not
withstanding all we could say, he persisted ffi drivmg on. My.
servant Frederick, stopped him, and Ward and I went ffito the
town to see if we could not get redress by applying to the poUce.
I managed to express myseff very tolerably in ItaUan, and the
head man sent a police-officer to bring the man to him ; but the

272 ITALY.
bird had flown ; he had foUowed us into the town, and, hearffig
me say I should go to the poUce, he returned to the carriage and
told Frederick that we wished him to proceed with t'he baggage,
and that we intended to follow in a post-carriage. The commissaire
gave us a letter, stating the case, to the commissaire at Pietra
Santa, and after eating a good dinner at the hotel, we followed in
a caleche, with post-horses. We obtained fuU redress at Pietra
Santa. This part of the business was managed very weU by
Frederick, who took the letter to the police office. The man
narrowly escaped being put in prison, and was forced to pay aU
the extra expenses we had incurred."
On the 10th we left Pietra Santa, in a retum Pisa carriage ;
the vetturini always hand people over to each other in this way
when they can, and we were not sorry to change. Both this day
and yesterday the country we passed through was much mun-
dated. The vines hang most beautifully in festoons from tree
to tree. The country looks Uke a large garden, and we passed
several large groves of oUves. About four mUes after passffig
Viareggio, we were stopped for more than three hours, ffi conse
quence of the bridge over the Serchio ha-ving given way. We
walked down to the place, and found that not only the bridge,
but also part of the river bank had been washed away. 'The bridge
had been totterffig aU the morning, and about half an hour
before our arrival, not five seconds after the courier had passed,
a large tree carried it away. The country was ffiundated on aU
sides, as far as the eye could reach. The people were striving to
pick up the planks and posts which were floating along, and
three or four feUows were swimming for the same purpose. After
quarrelUng a great deal with the postUlion about the payment,
we agreed to give him the whole fare to Pisa, provided he would
cross the water with us, proceed to Lucca, and bring us out a
carriage to the other bank of the river. We crossed in a boat,
making a round of about a mUe among the trees, which were
beautifffily festooned with long branches of the vine, hanging
from one to the other. When we were ffi the carriage on the
other side, the driver refused to go to Pisa, as he said the road
was dangerous from the inundations, but we mduced ffim to pro
ceed by threatening not to pay the other postilUon if he did not

ITALY. 273
We passed through some lanes fffil of water, with a man before
to try the depth of it ; the horses were in some places up to
their belUes, but we soon gained the high road from Lucca. At
Eipafratta, a name suggestive of the breakffig of the left bank
of the Serchio ffi former days, our passports were exammed, on
our entrance into the Tuscan territory. The night was very fine,
and the moon shone in great splendour, and before enterffig Pisa
we had a distant view of the leaffing tower ; its de-viation from
the perpendicular was very visible at the distance of a mUe by
mooffiight We were kept some time at the gate of Pisa, in con
sequence of the people not being able to make out my name.
There is an order that no carriage is to be in the town at night
without a Ught, so they gave us a candle which we held up at
the wffidow. We brought up at the hotel of "The Three Damsels."
As was to be expected, after the rather trjdng journey which
I had encountered, I did not feel quite so well on my arrival at
Pisa as I was when I left Nice. Mr. Fitzgibbon had kffidly
given me a letter to Mr. Blizard, an eminent London surgeon
who was staying at Pisa, and he was most kind and attentive to
me. I gave him the whole history of my case, which he thought
very favourably of, but recommended me to be careful not to
expose myself again. He prescribed a ride to the baths of Pisa,
which are about four mUes from the town, every forenoon when
the day was fine, to drffik the waters ; but I presume the giving
me daily riding exercise was his principal object I found at
Pisa some old friends, Mr. and Mrs. Poore, and when the weather
¦ was not fine enough for horse exercise I frequently went with
them ffi their carriage to the caschina, or cow park, of the Grand
Duke of Tuscany, where we could generally get a walk, well
sheltered from the wind. There we saw the descendants of
camels brought from the Holy Land in the time of the Crusades.
I remamed at Pisa between six and seven weeks, and, during
that time, not only gained much strength from beffig enabled,
owing to the mUdness of the climate, to ride and walk out almost
every day, but I managed also to pick up some considerable
knowledge of ItaUan and of ItaUan history. I will here agaffi in
troduce a few extracts from my journal.
" January 13th. Went to see the hanging tower, (which is the
T

274 ITALY.
clock tower, hanging twenty-two feet over the perpendicffiar,) the
cathedral, the baptistery, and the campo santo, or buiial-ground.
These four buUdings stand rather separated from the town, but I
am inclffied to differ with our friend Eustace, as I think it is the
green turf ffi front of them which is so peculiarly pleasing to the
English eye, and not their isolated situation. I felt quite grati
fied at the sight of the turf, for I thffik I have not seen any before
since I left Paris. In the south of France, in Piedmont, and ffi
Italy,, every crook and corner is cultivated. 19th. Eode out
towards the hiUs ; the peasants of the Val d'Amo seem not to be
so poor and wretched as those of Piedmont ; they are remarkably
civU ; some of them who were workffig in the fields, at least a
hunffi'cd yards from the road, I observed looking tiU they en
gaged my attention ffi order to shew the civUity of taking off
their hats. A student died about a fortnight ago, and to-day he
was buried, aU the students attending ; they subscribed so much
each in order that they might have a splendid funeral Out of
the six hundred students I did not see one who might be caUed
a fine young man. 25th. My Italian master, who is a student,
requested me to take some other book rather than Pignotti's
" Storia deUa Toscana,'' as he coffid not accompany me in readffig
that, it havffig been forbidden to aU CathoUcs by the Pope. 27th.
Eode on the Leghorn road. The poor people here seem to make
it a rule to attack every Englishman they see for ffioney ; I gave
a lad two paoli (about a shdling) for the sake of making him
happy. He knelt down to thank me, and then went away jump
ing and shouting, and fully as much gratified as I should have
been with a present of £500. It was at their return from the
Holy Land, ffi the time of the Crusades, that the Pisan gallies
brought cargoes of the famous earth, with which the campo is
fiUed ; it is said to have the property of destroying bodies buried
in it ffi a very short space of time ; now, however, it is not per
mitted to bury there ; for the last thirty-five years there has been
a law ffi force wffich forbids the burial of people withm the
walls of Pisa.
" January 30th. Visited the campo santo, the duomo (cathe
dral) and baptistery for a few minutes. The duomo is most
splendid in the interior. I offiy took a peep at it the air was so

ITALY. 275
cold. There are many paintings by the first masters ; the graffito
pUlars are very fine. The campo santo requires more time than
I could venture to give it, considering its dampness. There are
numbers of tombs, monuments and sarcophagi. The monument
erected by Frederick the Great of Prussia, to Algorotti, attracted
my attention ; the inscription is " Algorotto Ovidii cemulo, New-
" toffii discipulo Friedericus magnus," underneath there is "Algo-
" rottus non omnis." The baptistery has some very fine scffipture
in it particularly the pffipit ; on the outside on the top is the
figure of John the Baptist Here is the only font in Pisa.
" February 1st Eead the Life of Colonel Gardffier, which
pleased me very much ; the latter part of ffis life seems to
have been passed in that fulness of happiness which only the
advanced Christian must expect May such be the lot of many.
Those who place not their affections on the corruptible tffings of
this world, are certainly the people who pass through it with the
greatest comfort ; all the little ups and downs of life they look
upon as trifles, their great aim is heaven, and the confldent hope
of enjoying a blessed eternity makes them, in a degree, caUous to
what the world calls adversity." I have copied the above from
my journal to shew that there was an increasing reUgious
feeling at the time it was written. I should write it somewhat
differently now.
The next entry ffi my journal refers to the history of Italy,
and I should not mtroduce it here, but for the curious cfrcum
stance it relates : — " The new Pope Gregory was neither a Guelf
nor a GhibeUine ; he -wished to reconcUe these two parties.
Florence having opposed his desfre, was excommunicated. Eather
an odd circumstance occurred on his retum from the councU of
Lyons in 1276 ; he wished to avoid Florence, but the Arno had
overflo-wn its banks and prevented his passing by Pisa, therefore
he was forced to go by way of Florence. It woffid not have been
proper for him to have entered an accursed city, so he blessed it
on going ffi, and after he had passed through, tumed round and
excommufficated it He died on Ms joumey at Arezzo. He had
made a law, that if the Pope shoffid die away from Eome, his
successor should be chosen immediately on the spot Innocent V
was elected in his stead."
T 2

276 ITALY.
" Febraary 4th. There is a young EngUshman here who is
going to be married to a Miss  , she is a taU girl and he
rather short; they are constantly walking about together and
lookffig very loving. This beffig the first day of the Carffival,
on which masks have appeared on the Lung' Arno, two young
men, I fancy students, were dressed as an EngUsh gentleman
and lady ; the lady was tall, her companion a little man. I am
told they took off the lovers admirably. A Miss  , going to
dine at the house of a friend on Saturday last, the day before
that appoffited for the first appearance of the masks, had the
misfortune to walk up the Lung' Amo alone, in her EngUsh eve
nffig low dress ; she had a veU on, and, although the sun was
do-wn, a parasol, for the purpose I suppose of hiding her face.
The people took her, or pretended to take her, for a masked cha
racter, and numbers of them foUowed her ; indeed, some proposed
stopping her, as being out of order in appearing in such trim a
day too soon. The poor lady was in a sad fright, and took refuge
ffi a friend's house ; some say she was forced to appear on the
balcony before the people would go away.
" In almost all the towns of Italy there is a Societa della
misericordia, the members of which make it their business to
find out the poor and those in need of assistance, and to minister
to their necessities. The members of the society here belong,
some of them, to the first families in Pisa. If a poor man is
sick, they either attend him at his own house or carry him to
the hospital, as the case may be. They wear masks and black
cloaks, partly that they may not be known, and partly that there
may be no difference in the dress of the rich and poor members.
I met twelve or fourteen of them the other day, goffig out on
their work of mercy. I am told that any person who is unfor
tunate is sure to meet with assistance from this society."
On the 27th of February I went from Pisa to Florence, on my
way to Eome, much improved ffi health, but stiU being advised
to pass the wffiter and spring in Italy. I only remained in
Florence five or six days, during which I saw aU that was par
ticularly worth seeing, including the Palazzo Pitti, and the
famous Medicean gallery, with aU its beautiful statues and paffit-
ings, some of both of which had traveUed many hundreds of

ITALY. 277
miles smce I had seen them at Paris ffi 1815. The museum at
Florence was chiefly remarkable for its wax anatomical speci
mens, which were contaffied in nearly or qffite thirty rooms.
I left Florence on the 5th of March and got to Eome on the
Sth, having travelled by Arezzo, Perugia, Foligno, Spoleto, Temi,
Narni, and Civita CasteUana. After lea-ving Spoleto, we drove
along the side of a torrent for some four or five mUes between
high hUls, and then ascended Monte Somma, the most elevated
mountain of that range of the Apennines; the mountain and
woody scenery were very beautifffi. The ascent of the Somma,
on its eastem side, is rather more than a mile in length. The
road is excellent the whole way from Foligno to Eome, and par
ticffiarly so over the Somma. We began to descend as it was
getting dark. We changed horses at the hanUet of Strettura,
about four nules down. The descent continues for six or seven
mUes beyond Strettura, indeed almost as far as Temi. In one of
the darkest parts of the winding descent, where we were almost
entirely shut in by mountains, to add to the effect we saw a
squadron of Austrian dragoons, on their march towards Loretto.
We found about 18,000 men ffi bivouac around Terni. The
blaze of the fires among the olive groves, and the almost savage
appearance of the Hungarian and Austrian soldiers, made me
fancy the scene a very romantic one. I found Terni so fffil of
officers that I could get no accommodation there, and so, reUn
quishing my plan of visiting the waterfaU, I proceeded to Narffi
for the night As we approached Eome the next day we met
hundreds of carriages ; the people had come out to see the Ger
mans, ten thousand of whom they heard were coming in. We
entered Eome by the Porta del Popolo, and drove to the Piazza
di Spagna, in which two or three of the hotels were qffite fffil ;
but I at last found room at the Locanda di Parigi.
I must be understood as not professing to give any regffiar
accoimt of the places I visited in Italy, or of the circumstances
ffi which I was placed ; I purpose only to select, from what I
recoUect and from my journal, a very few points which perhaps
may interest the reader.
Part of the entry made ffi my journal the day after my arrival
at Eome is as foUows : —

278 ITALY.
"March 9th. I was rather disappomted with the outside of
St Peter's, but highly deUghted with the ffiterior. On entering,
I was much amused at seeffig two ladies kneeUng before an altar
at the respectfffi distance of flfty yards from it with two livery
servants kneeUng behind them, at a considerable distance ; one
of the servants was just reaching over to give the other a pinch
of snuff. In one part of the church is a statue of St Peter, the
toe of which it is the fashion to kiss ; I saw numbers of people
doffig this, and also rubbing their eyes agaffist it. As one young
man was kissing it, his companion pushed his head against it by
way of joke. When people of ffistinction kiss the saint's toe, it
is customary for a servant first of aU to wipe it with a cambric
handkerchief " March 14th. Went last night to a party at Lady Ellen-
borough's, and was much gratified by hearing an improvisatore,
who, as far as I could judge, acquitted himself extremely weU.
He was not at aU aware of what the subjects woffid be untU
they were given to him, when he immediately commenced. The
subjects were Dante, Eurydice and Orpheus, another which he
treated in verse, and the last was Alexander at the tomb of
AchUles, in prose. I could not foUow him in his poetry, but I
understood the whole of the prose."
The tomb of Cecilia Metella, about two miles out of Eome on
the Appian way, has its walls exceedffigly thick, and is in a state
of good preservation ; there is, or was, a large space in the ffiside,
into which I rode. I found there, also on horseback, a Mr.  ,
who had known some of my family, and we soon became ac
quainted. We returned to Eome together, and about a mile
from the city saw a large cavalcade approaching. It was the
Pope, who was attended by a guard and a suite of several persons.
He had left his carriage, and was walking on the footpath. An
officer of the guard rode forward to us and said he should be
very much obliged if, just before we met the Pope, we would dis
mount and take off our hats. Although there was at first some
disinclination on my part to go through this ceremony, yet a
moment's reflection shewed me that the customary mark of
respect should be rendered to the Pope as sovereign of the coun
try. We dismounted and stood with our hats off as he passed.

ITALY. 279
which much pleased the body-guard, who thanked us for our
courtesy. The Pope also and aU his sffite saluted us. It was
amusing to see the common people throw down their burdens
and run across the road to kiss his foot He seemed to treat
them with very great kindness, and dispensed his blessffigs very
bountUuUy, On the 30th of March, after being at Eome three weeks, I
decided on paying a short visit to Naples, with two friends. We
traveUed in a carriage which I had purchased at Florence. We
passed along the Appian way and over the Pomptine Marshes,
so caUed from Pometium, an ancient town of the Volsci, and saw
the "Three Taverns" and Appii Forum, at which places the
Eoman Christians met St Paffi when he was journeying to Eome.
Terracina, the ancient Auxur, is about haU-way between Eome
and Naples. It is prettUy situated on the sea.
We arrived at Mola di Gaeta before nine o'clock. The
Locanda di Cicerone, situated on the rffins of Cicero's lower vUla,
is a very excellent inn. In the morning I walked back a mile
on the road we came, ffi order to "visit Cicero's tomb, which is
almost close to the road. He had a viUa on the hiU above, the
ruins of which I saw. It is supposed that he was murdered just
on the spot where Ms tomb is erected, which answers to the
description of the historian, who says he was murdered in a grove
between his viUa and the sea. We had a fine view of the pro
montory, town, and bay of Gaeta, rendered celebrated by Homer
and VirgU. The ancient town was founded by the Loestrygons,
and it took its name from the nurse of u3Eneas, who died on the
coast : — "Tu quoque littoribus nostris, .^neia nutrix,
.^ternaln, moriens, famam Cajeta dedistL"
We left Mola about ten o'clock, and soon arrived at
" The rich fields that Liris laves,
"Wliere silent roll his deep'ning waves." —
" Rura quae Liris quietft
Mordet aqui, taciturnus amnis."
TMs river was the southern boundary of Latium. Just before
we arrived at tMs river, now caUed the GarigUano, we saw the
ruins of the ancient Minturnoe. It was ffi the marshes to the
left of tffis, that Caius Marius Md himself. He was discovered.

280 ITALY.
dragged offi, and imprisoned at Minturnoe. A GauUsh soldier
was sent to kUl him, but the countenance of Marius disarmed
him ; the dagger fell from his hand. The people of Mffitumoe
rose and rescued Marius. Close to this is the hiU of Falemum,
so famous for its wine. We passed the Volturno and entered
Capua, which is one of the few fortified places of the kingdom of
Naples : it is a wretched poor place. Here we paid a barrier
duty on the carriage of two scudi. We arrived at Naples about
seven o'clock, and drove to the Grande Bretagna, where we
found General Frimont and a guard of eighty grenadiers. There
are three EngUsh ships here, the Eochfort, Iphigenia, and
Cambrian, the latter in quarantine. There are also seven or
eight saU of ships belonging to other powers. The guard turns
out at least every quarter of an hour ; we have had nothing but
drumming all day long ; it seems to be turned out to everybody
with an outrider. Went to the grotto of PausUippo, which is
nearly half a mUe long, about eighteen feet broad, and generaUy
about twenty- four feet high, though ffi some places more. It was
probably at first nothing more than a quarry, as close to it there
are many other excavations of that sort, made for the sake of the
sandstone. After passing through the grotto and returffing, we
made a tour up and round the hUl of about a mile, and came to
VirgU's tomb, wffich hangs directly over the entrance of the
grotto of PausUippo. There was formerly a little um in the
centre, supported by white pillars, but it has long been removed,
and is now lost. The foUowing inscription was on it : — •
" Mantua me genuit, Calabri rapuere, tenet nunc
Parthenope, cecini pascua, rura, duces."
" At Mantua I first saw the day,
Calabrians snatched me away.
My bones Ue now 'midst Naples' rocks,
I've sung of leaders, fields, and flocks."
The above spirited translation by Mr. Gage and Mr. Leeke ! ! !
There is no laurel now growing spontaneously on VirgU's tomb.
Near it the Duchess of Devonshire has raised a monument m
memory of a favourite dog, and I think Her Grace has thereby
shewn a deplorable want of taste.
The Grande Bretagna has the royal garden and the sea before
it In the garden is the famous Toro Farnese, supposed to be

ITALY. 281
the best sculptured quadruped in existence, though I myself
coffid not discover anything very super-exceUent ffi it, and in
deed at first took it for a horse.
"April 3rd. Went to the museum and saw numbers of copper
utensUs which had been dug out of Pompeii and Hercffianeum,
and various Greek vases discovered ffi tombs. It was often the
custom to put into the tombs -«'hatever the dead person had
liked most when livmg, and I have heard that pots of rouge were
put into the tombs of some of the ladies. We saw the rolls of
papyrus extracted from Hercffianeum, and were present whilst
part of one was unrolled : they use what we caU goldbeater's
skin in this process. The papyrus very much resembles bumt
paper, and appears to have scarcely any more consistency ; the
characters are not plam, but it is possible to make them out
The collection of pictures is not good ; there are plenty of medals
and some good models of temples. The Farnese Hercules is, to
my mind, too clumsy to be pleasing, but it is finely scffiptured.
I was to have dined with Sir Graham Moore, but one of the mid
shipmen was taken dangerously iU at his house, and they were
forced to postpone their party.
" The Gages and Mr. and Mrs. WUls went to the Grotto del
Cane, and saw a poor dog put to a temporary death ; in a few
seconds he became ffisensible, but this mepffitic air had no effect
on some frogs they put in, wffich jumped about ffi it at a great
rate. " AprU 4th. Went with the Gages and Mr. WiUs to Pompeii,
which is about thirteen miles from Naples. The day was fine,
though at times hazy, and we had a good sight of Vesuvius.
Beyond Portici we saw a great deal of lava ; ffi some places it
was five or six feet deep. In the year 63 there was an earth
quake which nearly overturned Pompeii, and in 79 it was com
pletely covered by showers of ashes from Vesuvius. We saw
the walls of many buUdings in a tolerable state of preservation.
The colours of the fresco were ffi very bright and good preserva
tion. The Uttle theatre is weU preserved ; it woffid contam
about 1800 people. It is a great pity that all the cookffig uten
sUs and articles of furniture have been removed from the places
where they were found, to the museums, to be stuck up ffi stupid

282 ITALY.
rows. How pleasing it would have been to have seen the cook
ffig utensUs, surgical instruments, &c., ffi the cooks' and surgeons'
shops. Some of the best paintings were found ffi the temple of
Isis, and were sawn off the walls with great trouble.
" The tomb of the gladiators, so called I fancy because there
was a representation of a show of gladiators on it, is in a good
state of preservation. This, and aU the tombs, are outside the
town, and on either side of the road There are two or tffiee
little monuments raised to the Diomedes, and nearly opposite to
them was a large house, belonging to the same family. In the
cellar of tffis house, close to the doorway, were found seventeen
skeletons. We saw the mask of one of them against the wall ;
it is supposed that they took shelter there from the ashes. In
another part of the town were found, ffi what was supposed to be
a prison, two skeletons, with irons about the bones of the legs.
"The streets are very narrow, so much so that two of our modern
carriages could hardly pass each other in them; the marks of the
wheels on the pavement are very visible. On either side are
footways, not quite a foot and a half in breadth, and about ten
inches above the level of the street Almost aU the rooms we
saw were very small — seven or eight feet square, but they were,
I conceive, mostly shops. On the outside they had their signs
painted on the waU. There was a goat with a fffil udder paffited
on the outside of the shop of a milkman, where we saw a number
of earthen jars, in which it is supposed the milk was kept. On
the cooks' shops were paffited game, hams, &c. There are stUl
more than three-fourths of the town unexcavated.
" AprU 5th. Mr. Wills, the Gages, and I, started about three
o'clock for Vesuvius. Portici is six or seven mUes from Naples,
and about seven or eight from the summit of the mountam. On
our arrival here we were surrounded by some fifteen or twenty
men leading as many asses, each vehemently soUciting us to
favour him with the care of our carcasses to the top of Vesuvius.
They wanted a piastre for each ; however, we at last bargaffied
with them to take one guide and four donkies, paying two
piastres for the whole. We had not proceeded far out of the
town, when the other three fellows came and said they must
have more than tMee carUffi for each of the steeds, so we dis-

ITALY. 283
moimted and sent them back, rather angry with themselves, I
fancy, for ' quarrelling with thefr own bread and butter.' I rode
on the remaffiing donkey more than half way to the hermitage,
where we arrived in about an hour after leaving Portici: the
ascent is not very steep. There are a great many rooms at the
hermitage. The hermit was glad to see us, and produced four
bottles of Lachrymae Christi, which we got through pretty soon ;
thus fortified, we resumed our journey with fresh courage. After
goffig forward about half a mUe we tumed to the left and crossed
the lava wffich flowed ffi 1810 ; it was about eight or ffine
hundred yards ffi breadth. After passing it, we came to some
which had only ceased to flow three days before ; it was quite
warm, and I observed it had furrowed up the sand in its course.
Hundreds of different forms and flgures appear on all sides,
produced as the lava cooled in the act of running and bubblmg.
Through the different clefts we had views of the flery furnace
underneath. A few weeks ago a Frenchman threw himself ffito
the running lava, and was consumed immediately. We saw the
place where this happened ; it was close to the mouth of a smaU
crater at the bottom of the cone, from which lava has been flow
ing since Christmas. From the mouth of the crater I broke off
some fine specimens of lava, covered with incrustations of salt
petre, alum, &c. The cone did not appear very high, but we
were more than an hour in ascending it ; by the time we got
half way up, it was nine o'clock and very dark. Our guide took
us to the leeward side of the crater, and the consequence was
that we were almost smothered. He was very unwilUng to pro
ceed to the mouth of it, but of course we could not go so far
without looking into it. Mr. Wills and I crawled on our hands
and knees, the guide havffig discovered, by throwing up cffiders
tiU they did not retum, that we were within a few feet of the
edge. We coffid not see, but succeeded in putting our heads
over, it, and were nearly suffocated. We neither heard any
rumbling noises nor saw any flames,
" We came down the cone of Vesuvius much faster than we
had climbed up. The descent on the cinders took us about ten
minutes. We revisited the lava, and by descendffig into a hole
formed by the cooled lava, I had a famous view of the vast burn-

284 ITALY.
ing furnace beneath. It was rather dangerous work walking on
the lava at ffight, but we escaped without hurting ourselves.
There was sometffing very gratifying in walking on the hardened
part of it and in being able to Ught a stick by thrusting it
through the fissures under our feet. We observed that our guide
walked with a pistol in his hand, and we found out that, since
the Neapolitan army had been disbanded, and sffice the Austrians
had entered the country, this mountain had been infested with
robbers. The hermit's wine and three other bottles the party
had got through when cUmbing, had made them very vaUant, al
though it was scarcely stronger than small beer. We regained
the hermitage in safety, that is to say, with some broken shffis,
cut boots, and burnt trowsers. Another Englishman, with two
boys as guides, had gone up the cone with us. The whole party
got through four more bottles of the good father's -wine, and hav
ing -written our names in Ms album, which contains the effusions
of the genius of most of the -visitants to Vesuvius, and ha-ving
paid him three piastres for his wme, eggs, and civiUty, we set out
to descend to Portici, where we arrived about eleven o'clock, and
retumed in our carriage to Naples.
"AprU 6th. Went on board the Eochfort with Mr. Eden,
flag-lieutenant Mr. and Mrs. Wills, and Mr. Gage. Walked in
the afternoon with Mr. WiUs nearly as far as Portici Dined
with Admiral Sir Graham Moore, who very kindly promised to
take me to Malta, if I Uked to go, and, ff possible, to get me a
passage home from thence ffi a man-of-war. He was Sfr John
Moore's brother. Captain Schomberg dined there, Captaffi
Hamilton of the Cambrian, and Bacon of the 10th Hussars,
also a Swedish count doing duty on board the Iphigenia.
" AprU 7th. Went to the museum at Portici ; it contaffis
waUs, painted al fresco, taken from Hercffianeum, Pompeii, and
Strabia ; the colouring was very fresh, though the paintings are
clumsy, but we cannot suppose that the fresco paintings of the
ancients were their best performances. I mentioned before, that
on our visit to PompeU, in a house outside the walls, we had seen
the mark of a person's figure against the waU. In the Portici
museum we saw a large crust of hardened ashes, in wMch was
the print of one of her breasts. Her scuU is preserved here, and

ITALY. 285
there is also one arm-bone, round which was found a gold brace
let Mr. Massey, son of Mr. Massey of Chester, dined with us.
"AprU Sth. Went with Mr. WUls on board the Eochfort,
to hear divine service. Lunched with the admiral Went from
the Eochfort to the Cambrian, and caUed on Lord G.
Paffiet Mr. Hart of the Eochfort, brother to Hart of the
S6th, formerly in the 52nd, dined with us.
" April 9. This being our last day at Naples, we very much
wished to go to Baiae, but the weather being very wet in the
morning, we gave it up. Stephen Poyntz breakfasted and spent
the day with us. A Neapolitan frigate got on shore in the ffight,
and we drove about three miles on the Portici road to the place.
Our boats were all there getting her stores out, as it was found
,. impossible to save her. In the course of the afternoon one of the
Iphigenia's boats, which was riding at anchor about a hundred
yards from the shore, was swamped, and two men who were ffi
her were unfortunately drowned. Poyntz and I walked up to
the Fort of St Elmo, but the Austrian commandant refused to
let us in. The view of Naples from this elevated spot is ex
tremely magnfficent Poyntz and I paid a second visit to the
stranded frigate with Captain Schomberg, and after walking
through the arsenal, where we saw the remains of the seventy-
four burnt some time before, went and dffied at a trattoria in
the Toledo.
"April 10. Left Naples a little after five in the mornffig,
and arrived at Terracina about eight in the evening. Six of the
robbers had returned to their old pursuits in the mountaffis, but
their companions, to shew their earnest repentance, had pursued,
taken, and lodged them in the prison of Fondi. We started for
Eome at five o'clock on the llth. Over the Pomptffie marshes
we were driven at the rate of a post in thirty-five minutes :
almost all the postiUions are mere boys. We breakfasted at
VeUetri about twelve o'clock, and got to Eome at four. Went
to a party at Mr. Vesey's. 12th. Went in the evening to Tor
lonia's. 13th. Saw the coUection of pictures in the Palazzo
Borghese ; some of them are very good, particularly those of
Titian. I afterwards visited Thorwaldsen's studio, and was much
pleased with observing the artists at work. In the eveffing I

286 ITALY.
went to a concert at the Palazzo CaferelU on the Campidoglio.
There were about thirty singere ; the music was sacred, and I was
delighted with it, notwithstandmg our being bored by the noise
of one of our countrymen, who seemed to take no more delight
in it than a cow would have done.
"April 14th. Eode with Hope, Hesketh, Levinge, and a
Polish count, to Frascati- From the MU there is an extensive
view of the Campagna, but the day was rather too hazy for it
We proceeded, some walking and some on donkies, to Tusculum,
to see the remains of Cicero's vUla. We feU in with the Prince
of Saxony and his daughter, and visited, en passant, a villa, where
we saw some fine water-works, and heard a horn sounded by the
statue of a centaur, by means of the running water. We saw a
few ruins lymg here and there on the hiU of Tuscffium, On re
turning to Frascati, Hope and I started off to see the Alban Lake.
At some distance before reaching the lake I thought the scenery
more beautiful than any scenery I had seen in Italy or France.
We almost fancied ourselves in an English wood on a summer's
day ! The lake is supposed to be in the crater of an ancient
volcano. In very early times a subterraneous passage, a mile ffi
length, was dug from it through the hUl, to let off its waters and
to prevent sudden and dangerous swells, to which it was formerly
subject This day I rode upwards of thirty miles, without being
the worse for it. The day was very hot and sffitry.
" April 15th. This being Palm Sunday, the Pope performed
divine service, at his own chapel, at the Quirinal We were too
late to see him officiate, but we saw him carried in procession
round the large haU, preceded by choristers, cardinals, &c. We
afterwards went into the chapel, where there were many English
ladies, and some English officers in uniform. Went to Sfr
Walter Synot's, where I met the Veseys, and heard two good
sermons. " Have been so engaged lately, that my journal has been
totaUy neglected. I regret not having kept it regularly during
the holy week, but that woffid have been almost impossible.
The Pope blessed, amongst others who were assembled in front
of St Peter's on Easter Sunday, 10,000 Austrian soldiers ; I was
ffi uniform, and there were about sixty English officers in uniform

ITALY. 287
there. When the mffititude knelt to receive the Pope's blessing, I
looked over the whole assembly, and saw that only two English
officers, besides myself, were standing. I coffid not have knelt,
but I think we should have kept away altogether.
"April 30th. Eode to TivoU, where I joined Mr. and the
Misses Wolfe, and Mr. and Mrs. WUls. The gentlemen paid
three visits to the grotto of Neptune, and one to that of the sibyl.
In the morning of the 1st of May we visited Adrian's viUa, which
I thought very pleasing ; the number and variety of the ruins,
the luxuriant evergreens growing on and about them ffi all
directions, the deUghtful season of the year, the soUtary appear
ance of the place — aU united to make the effect delightfffi. We
afterwards went to the Solfatura, and then returned to Eome.
" May 3rd. Left Eome in the morning at half-past one, and
reached Eadicofani at nine at night. Left Eadicofani a little
before five, and arrived at Florence at midnight. Just as I was
about to start from Eome, about eight o'clock at night on the
2nd, I found I had forgotten to procure permission to take post-
horses. A friend, however, wrote to Baron Eeden, the Hano
verian ambassador, who wrote to Cardinal Consalvi and, after
midnight, I got the permission. May Sth. Just startmg for
Milan. I suspect Florence is not a good spring climate, for aU
my acquaintances here are looking much paler than when I last
saw them.''
I left my carriage at Florence, with directions that it should
be sold, and started, in the afternoon of the Sth of May, 1821,
with the Milanese courier. The evening was fine, and the country
looking very beautiful. Near Pietramala, which is about half
way between Florence and Bologna, at some distance to the right
of the road, there is a smaU volcano, which constantly throws
out fire ; its crater is about fifteen feet in circumference ; we were
aU asleep, and did not see it I walked up the road over the
Ciogo, which is five mUes long ; it is the highest mountain of
the Apennines. From sitting do-wn to rest myself, I caught a
-violent cold. We arrived at Bologna about ffine in the mornins.
The museum of the ffistitute contaffis many interesting tffings ;
in a room contaiffing anatomical specimens there is a complete
young Cyclops. We arrived at Modena about four m the after-

288 ITALY.
noon, havffig left Bologna in the middle of the day. Some miles
before we came to Mantua, we passed the Po on a superb bridge
of boats, at least it looked very superb by moonlight and after
wards the Mincio. From the top of the CampanUe of Cremona
I had a fine view of the adjacent country, and of the windings
of the Po ; opposite to Cremona there are some large islands,
apparently well cffitivated. To the westward I saw Piacenza, and
beyond it the Apennines, and to the eastward I had a iffie -view
of the snowy Alps ; I could not see the Lago di Garda. They
have commenced hay-makffig here, although they have not done
so in Tuscany.
" May 10th. Pizzighitone is a smaU, but strong fortress, and
is washed by the Adda, which is a fine large river. Francis I
was conducted here when he was made a prisoner at Pavia. We
arrived at Lodi about ten o'clock at night, and I walked about a
mile to the bridge over the Adda, which Bonaparte forced in such
gaUant style in 1795. The bridge is more than a quarter of a
mile long, and was defended by 10,000 Austrians, and lots of
artiUery. The French must have lost a great many men, and it
must have been a gallant exploit, but I do not think it was a very
difficult one, for when once the French were on the bridge, their
best plan was to advance as rapidly as possible ; had they turned,
they must have experienced a much greater loss than they did ffi
advancing. We arrived at MUan at three o'clock on the morning
of the llth, and I felt completely knocked up, and resolved never
again to travel two days and three nights without stopping, if I
can avoid it.
" Milan, May llth. Went to the Scala ; thought the opera
stupid, and the singing very bad. The baUet was got up m a
most splendid manner, and two or three of the performers danced
exceedffigly weU. In the evenffig of the 12th I went to Signor
Girolomo's puppet exhibition, and was much entertained. The
title of the piece was ' Samson and the Philistines,' and Sam
son certaiffiy knocked out the brains of four or five of his enemies
in very great style. The figure of Samson himself was very
good. AU the speaking is by one person ; the action is uncom
monly good ; the hands, feet and head have strings fixed to them
from above. I went again to see tMs performance ; the imitation

ITALY. 289
of part of the ballet at the Scala is super-exceUent ; it only
astonishes me that it is possible to make the figures dance so
weU." Bleneowe arrived from Florence, and we agreed to travel
together to Turm, where Sir E. and my sister, and Fitzgibbon,
had arranged to meet me from Nice. Having purchased an old
chaise de poste between us, we left MUan in the afternoon of the
17th of May. The foUowing is written across my journal: —
" N. B. Tossed up for the chaise de poste at Turffi, when I lost
it. Bleneowe desires I wiU add this by way of postscript, so that
in case anythffig should happen to me, my friends may not accuse
Mm of steaUng my share of the produce of the caniage."
About a mile beyond Bufalora, we passed the Ticffio, which,
taking its rise in the Simplon, flows through the Lago Maggiore,
and runs into the Po a mUe or two below Pavia. We drank
coffee at Novara, and reached VerceUi about the middle of the
night ; the place is on the Sesia. During the night we saw im
mense quantities of fireflies; some of the meadows seemed to
be quite on flre with them. The moming was foggy; as it
dawned, we descended from the upper plain into the lower one,
ffi which Turffi is situated. We passed many rivers — the Dora
Baltea, the Oreo, Stura, and Dora ; over many of these are pon
toon bridges, which must be highly necessary in the great floods,
but at present most of the boats are dry. W"e reached Turin
about half-past seven on the morning of the 19th.
I traveUed from Turin, with my friend Fitzgibbon, through
Geneva and Paris to Havre de Grace, and arrived at Southampton
on the 17th of Juna The having passed the wffiter and spring
ffi Italy had been of great service to my health ; and my reUgious
feelmgs had been strengthened, and my views of religion had
become clearer durffig this period. At Geneva I was Mtroduced,
by my friend Fitzgibbon, to that good man. Dr. Csesar Malan, a
name since so well known ffi England, and we passed the greater
part of two clear days in Ms society. I do not now agree with
aU Ms views of religion, but I have always sffice felt great respect
and veneration for him as a holy and devoted miffister of the
gospel. My friend Fitzgibbon had been much concerned to find
that, -with all my religious feeling, I could not see that it was
u

290 ITALY.
wrong, for one who feared God, to go to the opera and theatre,
and to other places of amusement which he very much disap
proved of He was not satisfied with my assurance that, whenever
I should see these things to be sinfffi and wrong ffi the sight of
God, I would have nothing more to do "with them. I have often
been surprised, ffi after years, that I did not at once see the
vanity and sin of some of these things, especiaUy of theatres,
which are generally attended by numbers of the worst characters
of both sexes, and where, in the representations, amongst many
other things which militate against religion and morality, it often
happens that the name of God is grievously profaned.
My friend was most anxious that I should converse with Dr.
Malan upon these matters, and I being not at all unwiUing to do
so, we were left together, in one of our walks, for that purpose.
I knew that Dr. Malan was aware of our friend's object in leaving
us together, and I was rather expectffig that he would introduce
the subject ; this, however, he ffid not do, so I told him that Mr.
Fitzgibbon was very desirous that I should have some conversa
tion with him upon the poffit of whether or not it was wrong, for
one who desired to do what was pleasing in the sight of God in
aU things, to go to plays, and races, and baUs ; that I could not
at present see the evU of them, but was prepared to renounce
them whenever I should be convinced that it was my duty to do
so. I was particularly struck with Dr. Malan's judicious conduct
on the occasion. Instead of entering into any argument with me,
or on any statement of his "views on the subject he merely replied
as follows : — " My dear Sir, if you really love our dear Saviour,
" you wUl very soon have no fficlffiation for these amusements
" which you have been speaking of"
I beUeve it was on our return from this walk, that we had a
very narrow escape of being kiUed, or seriously wounded, wMlst
we were looking on at some mortar-practice which was taking
place from the walls of Geneva. The mark they were firing at
was placed in the middle of a large open square, some hundreds
of yards from the town, and inclosed on each side by rows of
high trees, on the outside of which the spectators were standing.
The artUlerymen were firing very badly, and I had just observed
that the barrel, I think it was, which they were firing at, was

ITALY. 291
e"vidently the safest spot, when a sheU came over the trees into
the midst of our party of five or six, who were aU standing close
together. In comffig to the ground it knocked off the hat of one
of the party, and just grazed the arm of another, without doing
either of them the least injury : of course the sheUs were not
loaded. At his famUy prayers, that night. Dr. Malan offered up
praise and thanksgiving for our merciful deliverance.

V 2

292

CHAPTEE XVIL
1821.
AT HOME, AND THEN REJOIN THE 52ND AT DUBLIN.
FeeUngs of my relatives with regard to my religious views — FamUy prayers —
Testimony of some now gone — Sir John Colborne — Coronation of George
IV — Queen Caroline — Feelings of the people — Rejoin the 52nd at
Dublin — My altered feelings "with regard to religion — Found Gawler a
religious man — Several incidents connected -with his change — First intima
tion to the other oflicers of my altered views — Attendance at mess — The
King's visit to Dublin — Incidents on his landing — Levee at the castle — A
judge awkwardly circumstanced — 43rd and 52nd reviewed by the King — In
command of McNair's company that day— A ramrod accidentaUy dis
charged — Charge of cavalry, shewing that the horses would be wUling to go
on to the bayonets— The King's visit to St. Patrick's Cathedral— Mr.
Guinness.
On my return home for a short time before I rejoined my regi
ment, my poor dear mother, who had been somewhat alarmed by
the earnestness and frequency of my observations on reUgion,
displayed in my letters from Italy, was quite delighted to find
me so changed for the better. My ideas about religion had
undergone an entire revolution since I had last been at home, and
I beUeve this was very apparent from my outward conduct The
subject of religion was much discussed in the famUy, and I have
reason to know that, from that time, there was more anxious
inquiry about it than there had ever been before amongst us.
Family prayers, and reading of the Scriptures, which had only
been attended to ffi former times on the Sunday evening, were
now introduced, and afterwards were always regularly observed
on every morffing and evenffig ; and tffis same observance was

AT HOME, AND THEN EEJOIN THE 52nD AT DUBLIN. 293
carried out m succeeding years, ffi the families and households
of the chUdren. Some, who are now gone, have often referred
to this period, and have told me how they thanked God that He
had led me to think about these tffings as He had done, and had
thus conferred such a benefit and blessffig on the whole family.
Shortly after my return home, an important baU came off in
the neighbourhood, and although I pleaded great disincUnation
to attend it it was very fairly argued by some of the family that,
as I did not see any harm ffi balls, I was bound out of kindness
to my mother and sisters to accompany them on this occasion,
as they particffiarly wished it ; I accordffigly went, and met at
the baU great numbers of my old friends ; I did not feel disposed
to dance, but had much conversation with two or three of them
on that subject which was uppermost in my mind. This, of
course, very much astonished those who had known me before
as quite a different sort of person. I got very tired of the ball,
and went away, at the end of two hours, to the friend's house m
which we were to sleep : tMs was the last baU I ever attended.
In the course of this work I shall endeavour to state, as fuUy
and clearly as I can, the -views which I graduaUy arrived at, with
regard to what is usually called " intercourse with the world."
My leave expired on the 24th of Jffiy, 1821 ; and on my way
to join the 52nd ffi DubUn, I spent some days in London, where
I caUed on Sir John and Lady Colbome ; he was there for the
coronation of George IV. He asked me if I woffid walk with Mm
to the Horse Guards, and said, as we were going along, " I have
" always made it a rffie not to ask for anythffig for myseff, but I
" have just heard that Sir Eobert Arbuthnot, on applying for the
" command at Guernsey, has been told by the Duke of York that ,
" he ffitended to offer it to Sir John Colborne, so I am just going
" to the Horse Guards to teU the Duke that I shaU be very happy
" to accept it :" he added, " I do not consider this the same thing
" as making an appUcation for it, which I shoffid not do." I
have always, from that time, acted upon the same plan, and have
never asked for anything ffi the way of advancement for myself;
I probably have not lost anytMng by adherffig to it, but I have,
at aU events, thereby avoided much unpleasantness which the
meetffig with refusals might have occasioned.

294 AT HOME, AND THEN REJOIN
Sir John Colborne was entitled, as Kmg's aide-de-camp, to
tickets of admission for two friends, to see the ceremony of the
coronation, and, on hearffig that I intended to see what I coffid
of it, said he was sorry his tickets had been given away before
he was aware of my being ffi town. I worked my way through
the immense crowd in Parliament Street, and, by paying a guinea,
obtained a seat which afforded me an excellent view of the pro
cession. In Parliament street, whUst standing on a door-step, 1
saw poor Queen Caroline, attended by three gentlemen, proceeding
in an open barouche and four to Westmmster Abbey. She soon
retumed, looking extremely mortffied. Both on going and re
tuming, she was tremendously cheered by the people. A few
soldiers, under the command of a corporal, who were making their
way along the pavement m single ffie, were greeted with hisses,
and cries of " God save the Queen" were dinned into their ears.
By way of taking their part, and keepffig them ffi cotmtenance, I
cried out, " God save the King," when a woman near me said to
me, very savagely, " You had better hold your tongue, young man,
" or you wUl get your nose slit"
There was something very formidable in going back to my
regiment, and to my brother-officers, after a long absence, with
my views on the subject of reUgion so changed, and with a de
termination, with God's help, to give up my old careless and
sinful ways. No one in the regiment had any idea of what had
taken place in my mmd. I had some considerable hope that I
might find one of my old companions to be of a congenial dispo
sition with myself, for one of the officers, in writing to me about
a horse which I had left with Mm, had -written the following
sentence : — " Gawler is making a great cake of himself, converting
" the men." And a few months after, in another letter, he wrote ; —
" Gawler is about to be married to a lady as religious as himself"
When I saw Sir John Colborne ffi London, I thought I would
try and learn something more on this point, and asked, " Gawler
" has become very religious, has he not, Sfr ?" But he was not
inclffied to be very communicative on the subject, and aU the
reply I received was, " Yes, I believe he has."
The following is extracted from my journal : — " I proceeded to
DubUn, via Liverpool, and joined my regiment at the Eichmond

THE 52nd at DUBLIN. 295
barracks on the 25th of July, 1821. This was, of course, a season
of trial to me, when meetffig my old companions, with whom I
had in former days entered into aU kinds of folly and dissipation,
but an aU-mercifffi God had shewn me the error and folly of my
former course of life, and now enabled me boldly to declare my
sentiments." I think it was on the afternoon of the day of my arrival, that
Gawler, who was a married man, and Uvffig at some distance from
the barracks, rode into the barrack square, and thus I had at
once the opportunity of making known to him my religious sen
timents. I feel it desirable, in relating this and several other
circumstances whicii occurred in my intercourse with my brother-
officers and others, to relate them in detaU, and sometimes to
mention, as far as I can, the very words which were used ; I tffink
the doing so may, by God's mercy, be made usefffi to many
young persons who may read this work. There was somethffig
very remarkable in the meeting of Gawler and myself on this
occasion. More than four years before this time he had gone on
leave from the regiment, when it was in cantonments in the
north of France, and, from Ul health, had been unable to rejoin
us untu the very evening before the day of my starting from
Chester, in 1819, to go into Germany. He was in time for mess
on that ev enffig, and I recollect just speakffig to him in the ante
room before we went into dinner. I did not sit near him, and I
had no idea whatever that he had retumed to the regiment quite
an altered man with regard to religion. He had been, as too
many were in those days, sceptical about the Christian religion,
and the truth of the Scriptures. His heavenly Father " led him
" in a way that he knew not.'' He was iU and confined to his
bed, for some considerable time, ffi a lodging ffi London. WhUst
he lay there, in his lonely chamber, he began to think over aU
the arguments which he had read in Paley's " Evidences of Chris
tianity,'' when he had been forced many years before to get up
that work for an examination at the junior department of the
MiUtary CoUege. His powerfffi and clear understandffig,* and
* When I went, as a 52nd officer, ten years after Gawler's time, to study at the
senior department at Sandhurst, Colonel Butler, the Ueutenant-governor, enquired
very eamestiy after him, and spoke of him as the best man they had ever had there.

296 AT HOME, AND THEN EEJOIN
retentive memory, enabled him to succeed ffi this, and he became
most deeply convinced that the Bible was the inspired Word of
God. His eyesight very much failed Mm at that time, and he
paid a young man to come for a certaffi time to read to him every
day. He read principally to him out of the New Testament
and when Gawler heard of the spotless character and holy pre
cepts of the Lord Jesus Christ one immediate effect upon his
mind was, that he came to the conclusion that there was not a
Christian man in the world ; another effect was, which shewed
his sincerity, that he determined he would try, from that time
forward, to be a trae Christian, and to act up to aU the commands
of his God. It was not untU some considerable time had elapsed
that from attending the house of God, and from becomffig
acquainted with some serious Christian people, he learnt the
" way of God more perfectly," and discovered that it was not by
his own holiness, but through trusting in the meritorious death
of the Son of God that he was to be saved, his faith evidencing
itseff to be a sa-ving faith by the fruits of hoUness which it pro
duced. When, after the recovery of his health, he rejoined his
regiment, he was most anxious to be of service, in a reUgious
point of view, both to his brother-officers and to the men. He
had served ffi the Peninsffia and at Waterloo, and was then high
up in the list of lieutenants, and was considered a very inteUigent
and good officer ;* yet, of course, his altered views and ways very
much astonished all his old friends, who were altogether unac
customed to such anxious and earnest feelings in matters of
religion. Almost aU of us, I beUeve, thought very little about it,
" The following is extracted from the 52nd record, pubUshed in 1860 : —
" Colonel Gawler was essentially a 52nd officer. He served in this regiment only,
" and was a type of that steady, cool, and gaUant set of company officers, whose
" attention to regimental duty, and experience in the field, so materially helped
" to place the 52nd amid the most distinguished in the service of Britain. En-
" tering the 52nd Light Infantry in November, 1811, Colonel Gawler served to
" the end of the Peninsular War, in 1814, and was present at the storming of
" Badajoz, (when he led the ladder party of the 52nd stormers,) at the battles of
" Vittoria, Vera, the NiveUe, the Nive, Orthes, and Toulouse, besides various
" minor aflairs. At Waterloo, he commanded the right company of the 52nd
'• after his captain (Diggle) was put hort de combat. He was wounded below the
" right knee at Badajoz, and in the neck at St. Munos, and has received the war-
" medal with seven clasps."

THE 52ND at DUBLIN. 297
and had very confused and sceptical notions on the subject one
ignorant and prevaUing idea being that through the death of
Christ there was a mitigation of the strictness of the requirements
of God's law, and there was a perversion of the truth that " God
" is not extreme to mark what is done amiss ;" the idea, in fact
resolving itseff into this, that people might follow their fficlina-
tions, and do pretty much as they liked, and yet that a merciful
God woffid receive and bless them in the end. There was no
fear of God's anger against sm, no proper notion of the way of
pardon through trusting in the satisfaction made by the death of
Christ, or of the necessity of a change of heart, and of hoUness
of life, as indicative of a true and saving faith. He met with
the greatest kindness from Sir John Colborne and Colonel Charles
Eowan, the commanding officers of that period. In the summer
of 1819, when the regiment was stationed at Weedon, North
ampton, and Daventry, he obtained leave from Sir John Colborne
to march a very considerable number of the men, who appeared
to be seriously disposed, to receive the sacrament of the Lord's
Supper at Daventry, I tffink At the risk of getting rather too
far away from the account of what happened to me on my arrival
m Dublin in 1821, 1 must not omit an anecdote which was after
wards related to me by Gawler, and which helps to show that
God does not despise, but that on the contrary. He often greatly
honours the humble and prayerful efforts of His servants, what
ever their caUffig or profession may be, to do good to the souls
of their fellow-creatures. In the early part of 1820, he was
with some companies of the 52nd at Derby, and after he had
been there for some weeks, it occurred to him, one Sunday morn
ing, that he had been some time in the town without ha-ving
made any attempt to dfrect the attention of some of Ms poor
ignorant feUow-sinners around him to those truths of Scripture
wMch, by the Holy Spirit's teaching, make men wise unto
salvation. With prayer to God for direction and a blessing, he
went out, in plain clothes, and turned out of one of the maffi
streets mto a narrow street evidently inhabited by very poor
people, and entered the first house he came to, ffi which he found
a woman sweeping the floor. On his speaking to her, she,
thinking he was the doctor, immediately said, " Oh, Sir, it's m the

298 AT HOME, AND THEN REJOIN
next house that the woman Uves, who is so Ul I" He imme
diately took the hffit, and went into the next house, in which he
found a poor, wretched woman, extremely Ul, lying on a dirty
bed, with everything around her denoting extreme destitution.
He discovered afterwards that she had been a woman of very
drunken habits. On his speaking to her seriou,sly, and trying
to point out to her her danger on account of sin, and the love of
God in sendffig His Son into the world to save sinners, she became
very angry and outrageous, and told him that he was a sinner
himself, and called him a hypocrite. He bore all this quietly,
and told her he had indeed been a great sinner against God, but
that he had sought and had found pardon through the blood
shedding of Christ He did not lose sight of her, and she after
wards became an altered character, and a truly religious woman :
she told Gawler that the thing which first touched her feelings
was, his saying that he himself had been a great sffiner, and had
found mercy through the satisfaction made by the death of the
Son of God. Many years after this, I went to caU upon this poor
woman, and found her weU versed in the Scriptures, and having
clearviews ofreligion. Although she could not read, she had become
weU acquainted -with the Word of God, and with portions of psalms
and hymns, by getting friends frequently to read to her ; she
was also quite a pattern of neatness, and was much respected by
all who knew her. She has now been dead for many years.
Before Gawler and I parted, on the first day of my arrival in
Dublin, we arranged to meet again the next day. He was much
astonished and pleased to hear of my change, but was almost
incUned at first to doubt the reality of it I recollect on his
leaving me, one of the officers who had been standing not very
far from us, said to me, " Leeke, are you become a ' New Light V "
I repUed, " What do you mean by a ' New Light,' and what makes
" you think I am one ?" He said, "I heard you say to Gawler,
" that you thought your religious views and sentiments were very
" much the same as his ; he is a regffiar ' New Light' and has
" been tryffig to convert the men." Nothing further happened
untU after mess that day, when I went with my old captain,
McNair, and two other officers, to one of their barrack-rooms, to
talk over several matters, and, amongst other thffigs, to arrange

THE 52nd AT DUBLIN. 299
that McNair shoffid go to Colonel Eowan, and request that I
might rejoin my old company. No. 9. And now came my first
trial with regard to my desire to do what I considered to be right
in the sight of God. After speaking for some Uttle time on
various subjects, something was said by one of the party which
was decidedly sinfffi, and paffifffi to me, and which I could not
listen to conscientiously. I felt it necessary at once to say to
them, " since I have been away from the regiment I have learnt
" that many of these things which we used to think nothing of,
" are wrong in the sight of God, and, as I have determined to try
" and rule my conduct according to His Word, I must not stay here
" to listen to them." One of them repUed, at the same time pffiling
me quietly into my chair, " Oh don't go away, man, we won't
" speak in any way which is unpleasant to you ;" so I remained
for some little time longer, tUl one of the party inadvertently
recurred to the same kind of conversation, when I got up, saying
again, " I cannot remain here to listen to this kffid of thing,
" I must go away," which I at once did, although they were again
very kind about it, and wished to detain me. I have always,
whenever I have thought of that evening in after years, felt most
thankful to God that He enabled me thus decidedly to act upon
my religious convictions. I was never afterwards urged by any
of my brother-officers to do anythffig which I told them I thought
to be -wrong.
An arrangement was made by Colonel Eowan, by which I was
appointed to McNair's company, in which I had been since I first
joined the regiment in 1815. I expected that my greatest trials
might possibly arise at the mess ; either from anything in the
shape of swearing, or of indelicate conversation taking place near
me; and I thought if anything really objectionable should occur,
at any time, that the right thing to do, woffid be quietly to say
something to stop it, and ff the thing was persisted in, then to
get up and leave the room. I only recollect this sort of thing
happening once, when I think I said to the offender, " If I were
"you,  . I would not speak in that way; " and he replied,
" Surely it's no business of yours," but the offensive conversation
ceased. I have often wondered at, and have been most thankful
for, aU the kffidness I met with from aU those Mnd, noble- hearted

300 AT HOME, AND THEN REJOIN
fellows, who must have been, many of them, more or less annoyed
by the unexpected change in my feelmgs, and in my way of going
on. Before I returned, I had prayed much that I might be the
means, under God, of leading them to forsake thefr careless and
sinful ways, and to lead a Ufe of faith and holiness, and, m my
simplicity, I expected that possibly, a large proportion of them
iffight be induced, by my history of my own change, to read their
Bibles, and to seek the true knowledge of God, and His salvation.
Perhaps I may think it weU, before I close this work, to advert
to some cases in which I think real benefit arose to some from
their attention ha-ving been drawn so promffiently to the subject
of religion. One thing I ought to mention, as it may be an en
couragement to some who may read this, "in everything by
"prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, to make their
" requests known unto God : " PhUippians iv, 6, 7. I never, I think,
put my hand on the handle of the mess-room door without
offering up a shoVt prayer, that God woffid bless me, and keep
me from that which was wrong and sinfffi, or calculated in any
way to discredit the cause of religion in the sight of others.
It had been arranged between Gawler and myself, that on the
day after that on which I arrived, I shoffid drink tea with him
and his wife, and accompany them to a weekly evenffig service
and sermon which they were in the habit of attending at one of
the churches in Dublin. He told me, some time afterwards, that
he coffid scarcely feel assured at first that I had not been deceivffig
myself, as to the reality of my religious convictions and feelings ;
and that he thought, if, instead of going to mess on that evening,
I preferred driuMng tea quietly -with them and accompanying
them to a religious service, it would be some proof that I was in
earnest. I am not sure whether it was on this occasion that I
was first led to see the propriety of saying grace, not offiy before
and after dinner, as is customary with most persons, but also at
the commencement of every meal. However, I determffied from
that time forward to follow the example of our Lord and Master,
and to thank God and to pray to Him, at every meal, to give His
blessing with what He had graciously provided for me.
About three weeks after his coronation, and shortly after I had
returned to the regiment, Kffig George IV visited Ireland, and

THE 52nd at DUBLIN. 301
there was much to enliven us in the shape of re-views, a procession
of the King's to St. Patrick's, and a lev^e which he held at the
castle ; I wUl endeavour to give some details of these, wffich may
be found interesting to the reader. The King, on landing, was
received by the Irish m a most enthusiastic manner, and many
droU thffigs were mentioned at the time, as having occurred ; of
these I only recoUect the two foUowing : the people pressed on
the King as he landed, and one of them said " How do ye do,
" your majesty ? " The Kffig answered, " How do you do, Pat ? "
at wffich the man was highly delighted, and exclaimed, " See !
" he knows me ! " The King shook hands with many of the people
as he landed, and one of them much gratified by this act of kind
ness and condescension, held up his hand and addressed it as
foUows: "WeU! you shaU never be washed agaffi as long as I Uve.''
The streets of Dublin were lined by the troops as the Kffig
passed through them to the castle, and he must have been much
pleased at his reception by the citizens. The levee was of course
very much crowded, and I should presume that the pressure must
have been much worse than even anything ofthe sort which has
taken place in later years at St. James's. I well remember the
crush that there was the whole of the way up the staircase, and
mdeed untU each person to be presented was ushered into the
King's presence. There were dignitaries of the church, judges,
naval and miUtary officers and ci-vilians, aU in one confused and
heated mass. On the stairs I found myself ffi very close contact
"with one of the judges, who certaiffiy was ffi a most ludicrous
and somewhat pitiable condition : I fear I shaU scarcely succeed
in describing the sad plight in wMch he was : his wig was twisted
round, so that the part which shoffid have been on his ear was
brought round so that the edge of the wig came to the middle of
his forehead and passed down the bridge of his nose and over the
middle of his mouth, covering about one half of his face, wffilst
down the other haff large powdered drops of perspiration were
chasffig each other in rather qffick succession; what made his case
the more distressing was, that hewas utterly powerless to help him
self and to place his wig ffi its proper position, Ms arms and hands
beffig do"vvn, and fixed to his body by the pressure as closely as ff
they had been firmly tied by ropes ; he must have remaffied ffi

302 AT HOME, AND THEN REJOIN
this predicament for ten minutes at the least, for we proceeded
from one stair to another somewhat at the same rate at which
the devout Eomanists mount on their knees Pontius Pilate's
stairs at Eome. The judge was rather short than otherwise,
which made matters worse for him, for taU men have always a
great advantage in a dense mass of people, as I have frequently
experienced, especially in the swaying to and fro of the crowd.
On this occasion, as every person tried to make good his footing
on each stair, when he got carried forward to it, somebody, whether
the judge or not I forget, lost his temper and exclaimed, " Can
" these be gentlemen ? " This of course produced a general titter,
and some one said, " The best thing we can all do is to keep our
" tempers.'' In crossing the ante-room from one door to the other
there was a little " opening out " of the closely packed column,
and to our right we saw sundry proofs of the disasters which had
occurred to those who had preceded us, in the shape of stray
shoe-buckles and other articles forming part of a fuU-dress cos
tume. As every man seemed bent on not losing his place, the
crushing and confusion were at thefr worst at the entrance of the
presentation room : as each person came to the doorway he had
to make a violent effort to disengage himself from those with
whom he was wedged in, and he was extremely fortunate if, after
getting himself into the room, he succeeded in taking after him
the skirts of his coat. I calculate that on that occasion about
eight persons kissed hands and passed on in each minute, which
woffid be at the rate of nearly five hundred in an hour. Directly the
person entered the room, the lord-in-waiting took his card and
read out his name, which name, as he knelt on one knee and
Mssed hands, the King repeated, as he addressed him, adding, " I
" hope you are very well" On passing on through the room two
of us, who had kept pretty well together, got down by some other
stairs, and of course ffi vain tried to find the carriage in which
we had come to the levee ; indeed there was no getting out and
makffig our way through the castle yard and through the crowd
beyond it so we made our way down ffito the basement story,
and passing through various passages by the side of the extensive
kitchens and offices, we got out into a narrow street at some
distance from the main entrance, and after passffig through two

THE 52nd at DUBLIN. 303
or three streets succeeded m securing an inside Irish car, which
took us to the barracks, but we had not proceeded far before we
met with a trffiing incident, which rather amused us : — ^A girl of
eleven or twelve years of age rushed after the car and succeeded
in getting a seat on the step behind, from which we told her to
get down ; in doing so she feU and roUed on the ground. We
desired the driver to puU up, thinking she might be hurt, which
was not the case ; this brought several women to their doors, and
one of them exclaimed, " You rascals ! I saw the wheel go over
"her." We drove on,lea-vingthem to settle the matter amongstthem.
During his visit to Dublin the King reviewed the whole of
the garrison in the Phcenix Park, on August the 18th, and on a
subsequent day he reviewed, ou the same ground, the 43rd and
and 52nd Eegiments of Light Infantry, which had formed, with
the old 95th Eifies and two battalions of Portuguese cagadores,
the famous light division of the Peninsffiar War. The King
wished to see the 43rd and 52nd by themselves, without any of
the rest of the garrison, except a squadron of hussars to help to
show off the movements of the two regiments. On this occasion
I commanded Captain McNair's company, and was the only
officer with it. The reader must kindly bear with my mentioning
this and other circumstances in the course of my narrative, which
may tend to show that I was considered a good and efficient
officer. It helps to prove that when a man becomes truly anxious
to serve his God, he is not thereby the less fitted for the Ufe and
duties of a soldier. There was something pecuUar in the circum
stance of an ensign being left in command of a company on this
rather important occasion, for it was the regular custom, on field
days, for the adjutant to send one of the senior Ueutenants from
some other company to supersede a rather junior officer in such
command, and there were plenty of subaltern officers with the
other companies. H& would hardly have ventured to leave me
in command of No. 9 on that day, without there being some
special reason for it.
In the course of the day my company skirmished a good
deal, and on seeffig the cavalry preparing to charge us, we formed
raUying square and opened fire upon them. On reloading, I
heard a ramrod go from a musket close to me, doing the man no

304 AT HOME, AND THEN REJOIN
injury, except that of stffiging Ms fffigers ; as the musket was
sloped outwards it carried the ramrod away ffi the direction of
the group around the King and the Commander-m-Chief Very
shortly afterwards an aide-de-camp brought it back to the square,
and I was glad to find that it had not done any miscMef WhUst
No. 9 company was skirmishing, the 43rd and 52nd formed
squares ffi echelon, the right rear angle of the front square beffig
about twelve paces from the left and front angle of the other.
The cavalry were ordered to charge through the interval, and the
squares to open fire upon them ; I saw the charge very plainly,
there was no hesitation on the part of the horses, they gaUoped
fairly up to the bayonets in the face of the ffie from the rear
face of the front square and of the left face of the rear one, and
the front of the cavalry being too long for the ffiterval, the men on
each flank ffled ffiwards, only dimffiishing their charging pace
sufficiently to enable them to do this. From what I saw on this
occasion, and from what I saw of the charges of the French
cffirassiers at Waterloo, and from the example of poor Howard
of the 10th hussars at Waterloo, I am perfectly convinced that
if cavalry do not charge home upon infantry in square, it is not
the faffit of the horses. StiU, from all that I have heard on the
subject, I believe that it is useless for cavalry alone, (i.e. unattended
by ffifantry or artillery,) however numerous they may be, to
attempt to mak^ an impression on steady squares of infantry.
The only other event I recoUect in connexion with the Kffig's
sojourn at Dublffi was his -visit to St. Patrick's cathedral, when
the streets were lined with troops, and we had a soakffig day of
it. The inhabitants were very hospitable, and pressed us to take
refreshment in thefr houses. Colonel Eowan, in consideration of
my recent recovery from Ulness, woffid not allow me to remain
exposed to the pouring rain, and very kinffiy sent me off to the
barracks. The mention of St. Patrick's naturally leads me to
speak of the munificent gift, by Mr. Benjamin Guinness, of
£150,000 for the restoration, &c., of that magnificent buUding.
I recollect him very weU, at the period I am writffig about, and
his excellent father, Mr. Arthur Guffiness, the governor of the bank
of Ireland, from whom and from other branches of the family,
I received much kmd attention during our stay in Dublin.

305

CHAPTEE XVIII.
1821.
DUELLING.
Major Oliver of the artillery— Is sent to " Coventry" by the artiUery officers of the
Dublin district — I become acquainted with him — Discussions on duelling, at
the 52nd mess — Colonel Rowan's opinion — Remarkable instance of apology —
Recent additions to the articles of war — Roman Catholic officers of the
Prussian Guards removed for declaring they would not fight a duel — Severe
sentence on officers of the Russian Guards for fighting a duel — Belgian
Minister of War sentenced to imprisonment for engaging in a duel.
Just before I rejoined the 52nd at DubUn, the following circum
stance had occurred in the garrison. The field-officer of the day.
Major Oliver (afterwards General OUver) of the artUlery, on
going ffis rounds at night found that a civUian had just been
handed over, most improperly, to a Serjeant's guard, by a mate
or officer of the navy, for some aUeged offence. In his report to
the general. Major Oliver stated that there was some reason for
supposing that the naval officer was not sober. Some Uttle time
after, the captain of the man-of-war met Major OUver m one of
the streets, and told him he had heard that m ffis report to the
general, he had accused his officer of being drunk, and that it
was " a  Ue !" This was also reported to the general, who
desired that Major OUver woffid not caU the naval captain to
account for the language which he had used; but he was, of
course, prevented from doing that by his reUgious principles.
The officers of the artiUery of the Dublin district then addressed
the Duke of WeUington, as master-general of the ordnance, on
the subject, and agreed to send Major Oliver to " Coventry" for .not
X

306 DUELLING.
calling the man out who had msulted him. The Duke, in his
reply, refused to take notice of the matter. This was the state
of things when I arrived ffi Dublin, and when I first became
acquainted with Major Oliver, whom I met one moming at the
house of a mutual friend on whom we happened to caU at the
same time. I was aware of most of the circumstances above
related before I saw him, though he gave me the whole account
of the affafr some time afterwards. We left the house, at which
we were caUing, together, and we had not proceeded far, when I
fancied that he thought it would be somewhat injurious to me to
be seen walking with so notorious a character as he was, and that
he was trying to leave me, for he said he wanted to caU at one
of the houses which we were passing ; his friends, however, were
not at home, so we continued to walk together along Sack-vUle
street, and met two of our 52nd captains, with whom I exchanged
nods. At mess that evening, one of them asked me, across the
table, if that was Major Oliver with whom he had seen me
walking in the morning. On my replying that it was Major
Oliver, he said, " you are a young man, so let me give you a piece
" of ad-vice — don't you be seen walking with Major Oliver any
" more ; he is not weU thought of in the garrison, and it wUl be a
" disadvantage to you to be seen with him." My reply was, and I
felt thankful that I was enabled to make it, " I know aU about
" Major Oliver, and the affair to which you allude ; I consider that
" he has acted ffi it ffi accordance -with the commands of his God,
" with the articles of war, and with the laws of his country ; I
" consider it an honour to be acquainted with Major OUver, and
" I shall certainly not be ashamed to be seen walking with him,
" whenever I have the opportuffity of doing so." Major OUver's
conduct, and the whole subject of duelling, was frequently dis
cussed at the mess of the 52nd, and I often declared that,
whatever might happen to me, I would never fight a duel ; and
this statement was received without its being ridicffied and
scouted. I recollect, on one occasion. Colonel Charles Eowan
left the mess-room at the same time that I did, and said, as we
were going out, " I believe, Leeke, you are quite right in the views
" you have been upholding, but," he added, " I thffik a man
" holding such views shoffid not remam ffi the army.'' He woffid

DUELLING. 307
not have added this last sentence at a later period of Ms Iffe,
when it pleased God to lead Mm, as a poor sinner, to trast in the
atonffig death of Christ for the pardon of his sins, and to walk,
under the influence and guidance of the Spirit and Word of God,
in hoUness and peace. I became very ffitimate with Major
OUver, and often walked with him. He told me that some of
the artiUery officers would take notice of him ffi passing, when
they were alone, but would not do so when walking with any
other person ; and that he just let them take thefr course, only
speaking to them when they wished it By degrees the artiUery
officers began to think themselves wrong, and to be ashamed of
the position which they had taken up. When Major OUver,
some time afterwards, went over to Plymouth to give evidence
at the court-martial held on the naval officer, he was received and
treated with the most marked attention and kindness by the
artUlery officers in that garrison, and subsequently was received
in the same way at Woolwich. The whole affafr was a great
trial to Major Oliver at the time ; I have no doubt, however,
but it was one of the chief means, in the providence of God, of
leadffig people to see the foUy and wickedness of the whole
system of duelling.
It may be well for me to mention the foUowing case, which
occurred rather more than a year after Major Oliver's affafr, and
with the particulars of which I was well acquaffited : — ^A subal
tern officer, of some years' standing, had some very offensive
expressions addressed to him after dinner ffi the mess-room by
the officer then in command of his regiment, before several other
officers. There had been scarcely a glass of wine drunk, and
nothing had been said calculated to give offence ; indeed, the
officer in question had remaffied after mess at the express request
of the commanding officer. I may mention, however, tbat the
latter had received a severe wound in the Peninsffia, which was
supposed by some to have led to his unaccountable behaviour.
The officer insulted immediately left the mess-room, and of course
felt himself to be in a most unpleasant predicament Expressions
had been used which he coffid not pass over, without rendering
himseff Uable to be brought to a court-martial for not havffig
taken proper notice of them. (Samuel, m Ms book on mUitary
x2

308 DUELLING.
law, had mentioned the case of an officer who, under such cfrcum
stances, had been cashiered.) He knew that his courage could
not be impugned, but he had long before made up Ms mind that
dueUing was wrong, and that, whatever might occur, he woffid
never have recourse to it The next moming one of the other
officers undertook to go to the commanffing officer to mention
the expressions he had used, and to request that he woffid say
he was sorry he had used them. On his refusing to apologize, he
told him that, if he persisted ffi this, charges would be preferred
against him, in accordance with one of the articles of war, for
acting in an unofficerlike and ungentlemanly manner. The reply
was, that there would be no apology, and that the officer aggrieved
might do what he Uked. On this beffig reported to him, the
officer requested his friend to have the kindness to go once more
to the commandmg officer, and to say to him that he must know
that if  positively stated he must prefer charges against
him uffiess he received an apology, he woffid most certainly do
what he said. This second application was successfffi, and on
the officer's going, at his request, to his barrack-room, the com
manding officer made a most handsome and kind apology to Mm,
saying, that he had behaved very Ul to him on the pre-vious
evening, and that he was very sorry for it, and also that he would
take an opportunity of stating as much to the officers who had
¦ been present
I have detaUed the circumstances of both Major Oliver's
case and the other, ffi order that it may be seen ffi what diffi-
cffities officers have at times been placed with regard to the course
they shoffid take, when they have been subject to ffisult In
almost every case in which differences have arisen between
officers, kind friends have managed to heal them, but it has not
been always so ; though I never recoUect, in my time, to have
heard of a duel between two officers.
I copy the following from "The Cabffiet Lawyer," which
shews that, ffi more recent days than those of which I have
written, very strenuous, and I think effectual, means have been
taken to put down dueUing in the army, and also, consequently,
to discourage it amongst other classes : —
" Duelling in the army. — The practice of dueUing havffig

duelling. 309
" ceased to be m accordance with the reason and humanity of the
" age, endeavours have been made by the Commander of the
" Forces to check the resort to arms for the settlement of quarrels.
"In 1844 the following three new articles of war were issued,
" with a view to the abatement of dueUing in the army.
" ' 1 . Every officer who shall give or send a chaUenge, or who
" shall accept a chaUenge to fight a duel with another officer, or
" who, being privy to an intention to fight a duel, shall not take
"active measures to prevent such duel, or who shall upbraid
" another for refusing or for not giving a chaUenge, or who shall
" reject or advise the rejection of a reasonable proposition made
" for the honourable adjustment of a difference, shall be liable, ff
" convicted before a general court-martial, to be casMered, or suffer
" such other punishment as the court may award.
" ' 2. In the event of an officer being brought to a court-mar-
" tial for havffig acted as second in a duel, if it appear that such
" officer exerted himself strenuously to effect an honourable ad-
" justment of the difference, but faUed through the unwUUngness
" of the adverse parties, then such officer is to suffer such punish-
" ment as the court shaU award.
" ' 3. Approbation is expressed of the conduct of those who,
" having had the misfortune to give offence to, or injure or insffit
" others, shaU frankly explain, apologise, or offer redress for the
" same, or who, having received offence, shaU cordiaUy accept frank
" explanation or apologies for the same ; or, ff such apologies are
" refused to be made or accepted, shall submit the matter to the
"commanding officer: and, lastly, aU officers and soldiers are
" acquitted of disgrace or disadvantage who, being wUUng to make
" or accept such redress, refuse to accept chaUenges, as they wUl
" only have acted as is suitable to the character of honourable
" men, and have done their duty as good soldiers who subject
" themselves to disciplffie.'"
The foUowffig extracts from the pubUc journals, bearmg upon
the subject of duelUng, are very interesting.
" The Times' Correspondent" "writes from BerUn, on the 2nd of
June, 1864, as foUows : —
" Considerable sensation has been excited ffi the Catholic dis-
" tricts of Prussia, and especiaUy on the Ehffie, by the dismissal

310 duelling.
" from the army, on very pecuUar grounds, of three brothers — the
"Counts of Schnusffig Kerffenbrock. In the year 1859 they
"jomed the 1st Eegiment of Foot Guards as officers, and they
" have always passed among their comrades for spirited, joyous
" young men, very frank and honourable. Two or three months
" ago, it appears, the eldest of the three brothers had an uffim-
" portant dispute, ffi which he was ffi no way to blame, with one
" of his comrades. The affafr did not come to a challenge, nor
" was there any occasion that it shoffid do so, consequently young
" Kerffenbrock coffid in no degree be charged with ha"ving declined
" a duel. Nevertheless he found it necessary to inform the officer
" who acted as go-between in the business, and who arranged it
"in a manner perfectly satisfactory for both parties, that the
" Catholic Church forbade duels and all participation in them,
" and denounced excommunication against those of its members
" who should violate this law, a law which he himself, he added,
" was fully determined, under aU circumstances, to keep. The me-
" diator thereupon urged him to make the same declaration to the
" commander of the regiment, and declared that if he did not do so,
" he himseff shoffid feel bound to report what he had said. He pre-
" ferred the former course, informed his colonel of what had occurred,
" and at the same time urgently entreated that he might be
"allowed to jom the army in Schleswig, in order to prove to his
" comrades that it was from no want of personal courage, but from
"Christian feeUng and duty towards his Church, that he had
" made up his mind not to fight duels. His prayer was refused.
" After a time the commandmg officer of the regiment sent for
" the two younger brothers, and informed them that he felt it his
" duty to ascertain positively whether they shared the "views of
" their elder brother with respect to dueUing, views which, how-
"ever respectable the motive might be, might sooner or later
" compromise the body of officers intrusted to Ms charge. The
" two brothers refused to answer the question, declarffig that when
" cfrcumstances arose which should place them, accorffing to the
" "views of the world, in the necessity of seekffig or accepting a
" duel, it then would be time enough for them to show by thefr
" conduct whether they were more obedient to their religion, or
" to the laws established by men. They added that it was an

duelling. 31 1
"especial duty for a Catholic to avoid whatever could lead to
"quarrels, and that they strove constantly to perform that duty.
" This did not satisfy the colonel, who laid his commands upon
"them to state their "views with respect to duels. The tMee
" brothers then declared that their Church forbade dueUffig, and
" that they were firmly resolved to respect the prohibition. Some
" time afterwards they were again caUed before thefr colonel, and
" a Cabinet order was read to them, whereby, "without any motive
"being assigned, they were dismissed the service. The above is
"the substance of the accounts of the affair published by the
" Cologne Gazette and other papers, and no contradiction of which
" has yet reached me."
The foUowing paragraph has been subsequently extracted
from one of the papers, and appears to refer to the above-men
tioned circumstances : —
" The Prussian army and duelling. — A short time ago two
" brothers were dismissed the Prussian army, in which they were
" officers, for refusing, on account of their scruples as Eoman
" Catholics, to fight in a duel. AU the Prussian bishops have
"just addressed a petition to the King on the matter. They ask
" if this is really the reason of dismissal, for they cannot believe
" that such a conflict exists between the undoubted law of the
" Church and the obligations of mUitary service."
The foUowing is from " The Times" of November 26th, 1864 :—
" Duelling in the Eussian army. — Sffice the return of the
" Emperor to St Petersburg he has decided on the sentences to
" be passed on several officers of the Equestrian Guard who were
" concerned ffi a duel which cost the life of a brother-officer. The
" Emperor's anger was justly aroused, for, in opposition to his
"known wish to prevent duels, the officers of the regiment
" fomented the quarrel between the opponents, ffistead of endea-
" vouring to appease their mutual anger. The origmal sentence
" passed on the offenders by the court-martial was very severe.
" The principal and the two seconds were condemned to the loss
" of their rank, thefr orders and medals, and thefr civU rights.
" The principal, a colonel, was also sentenced to twelve years'
" forced labour in the mines ; and the seconds, a captam and a
"Ueutenant to be confined m a fortress for ten years. The

31 2 duelling.
"councU of supervision approved these sentences, but, in con-
" sideration that the officers ' had acted under the inspiration of
" ' deep-rooted prejudices respecting iffilitary honour,' the grace
" of His Majesty was soUcited, and it was recommended that the
" colonel should lose his rank and orders, and should serve as a
" private soldier, wffile the seconds should be confined in a fortress
" for three months. The Emperor was pleased to approve these
" milder sentences."
The next paper is from "The DaUy News" of Jffiy — ,
1865:— "The late duel in Belgium. — It wUl be recoUected that
" some few months ago a duel took place ffi Belgium between
" Baron Chazal, the Minister of War, and M. Delaet a Member
" of the Chamber. Proceedings were taken against the combat-
" ants, and the case came before the Court of Cassation in Brussels
" on Wednesday. It was opened by the reading of a resolution
" of the Chamber authorizing the prosecution, this beffig necessary,
" as both of the accused were Members of Parliament M. No-
"thomb, also a Member of ParUament, and who had acted as
" the second of M. Delaet, then gave evidence stating the circum-
" stances under which the hostUe meeting had taken place. There
" had been two kinds of provocation, he said — one parUamentary,
" for which Baron Chazal was answerable ; the other, extra-
" parliamentary, the responsibility of which rested with M. Delaet
"Another witness, M. Soudain de Niederwerth, deposed as
" foUows : —
" ' In consequence of a difference between M. Delaet and the
" Mffiister of War a meeting between them was decided upon,
" M. Chazal left the choice of arms to his adversary. M. Delaet
"chose pistols. A ridffig school at St. Josseten-Noode was
" selected. The adversaries were placed at twenty paces. Both
"fired, and the Minister of War, who was slightly wounded,
" wished to continue the combat, and was supported in this desfre
" by his seconds. Those of M. Delaet would not consent on the
•' ground that the duel had taken place under rigid conditions,
"and at a very short distance, and with Uberty to take aim.
" They were, therefore, of opinion that honour was satisfied. The
" Mffiister of War assented, and declared that there was notffing

duelling. 313
" more to be said. M. Delaet thereupon approached the General,
" and said to him, " General, I am happy to repeat to you what
" " my seconds said to you yesterday. I have no personal ani-
" " mosity against you. I have never doubted either yom' candour
" " or your honour. General, I esteem and honour you." '
-" When caUed upon for their defence, both the accused said
" they had none to offer. They had heard the depositions of the
" witnesses, threw themselves on the court and had nothing to
" say. The court then retired ffi order to deliberate, and returned
" ffi half an hour with the foUowffig sentence : — M. Delaet, three
" months' imprisonment and three hundred francs fine ; Baron
" Chazal, two months' imprisonment and two hundred francs fine,
" the fine, however, in the latter case, to be commuted, in accord-
" ance with the provisions of the MUitary Code, into eight days'
" arrest. The Nord of yesterday comments upon tffis sentence
" ffi the foUowing terms : — ' We do not think we exaggerate ffi
" sayffig that this sentence will produce a profound sensation far
"beyond the limits of Belgium, both on account of the excep-
" tional character of the accused, and the very remarkable spirit
" of independence which the honourable magistrates of the Court
" of Cassation have manffested in this matter. Long usage, and
"perhaps other and more important reasons, have caused the
"celebrated saying, "We have judges at Berlffi!" to faU ffito
" desuetude. Henceforth it wUl be more original and quite as
" true to say, " We have judges at Brussels ! " ' "

314

CHAPTEE XIX.
1821, 1822.
THE 52nd at DUBLIN.
Meeting of ^aval and military officers for reading the Scriptures — Lady Grey,
Mr. Mathias, Mr. Nixon — Scripture argument against baUs — Village
dances — Refuse an in-vitation to a ball at DubUn — Difficulties and plan with
regard to intercourse with the families of any neighbourhood.
I HAD introductions to several persons ffi DubUn; amongst others,
to the Commander-in-Chief, General Sfr David Baird. Almost
all my acquaintances were reUgious persons. Some of the serious
officers of the garrison were in the habit of meeting together to
read the Scriptures, and to unite in prayer for God's blessffig. I
thus became acquainted with Pringle of the artUlery ; Frazer of
the engineers ; McGregor of the 78th, and some others. I also
knew at the same time Captain White of the 20th, who was
staying for some time at Dublffi, and Captain Monck Mason of
the na-vy. The two last I became acquaffited with through the
excellent Lady Grey, who, for so many years, was permitted to
exercise such a beneficial influence on the minds of numbers of
the officers, both of the army and na"vy, when she resided at
the dockyard at Portsmouth, of wMch the late Sir George Grey
was the commissioner. I had also the great advantage of hear
ing those exceUent clergymen, Mr. Nixon and Mr. Mathias. In
a preceding chapter I have spoken of my short conversation with
Dr. Malan, of Geneva, on the subject of a reUgious person's
attendffig balls and plays, and of my going to my last ball imme
diately after my arrival m England. As I observed before, I

the 52nd at DUBLIN. 315'
found Dr. Malan's prediction to be correct I soon had no taste
for such thffigs. There was no difficffity in arri-ving at the con
clusion that it was right to avoid plays, races, and fairs, at which
gambUng, profaneness, drunkenness, and other glaring evUs
abound ; for anyone who wishes to do what is right in the sight
of God, must never be found, for purposes of amusement and
pleasure, as I have before stated, in any company or place where
God is dishonoured. There appeared, however, to be a great
distffiction between a baU, which appeared to be an innocent
amusement, and these more gross amusements. It is often asked
— " What can be the harm of a ball 1 " " How are young per-
" sons to become known to each other and to be married, if they
" never go to a ball ? " At first I merely had a disinclination for
baUs, without seeffig the harm of them ; then I recoUected that
fanuly prayers must almost necessarUy be omitted or slurred
over ffi consequence of the lateness of the hours at which persons
returned from a baU, and I was satisfied with this one objection,
though I suspected there must be other grounds on which re
ligious parents kept their chUdren away from such amusements.
Although I had so much remaining sin to contend with, and
now almost daUy offer up the first prayer in the Common Prayer
Book, that of the confession of sffi, and that in Psalm li, 9 — 11,
yet I coffid not shut my eyes to the fact, that the great propor
tion of those, whom one met in society in this Christian country,
were not reaUy in earnest about the salvation of thefr soffis ; were
not " seeking first the kffigdom of God and his righteousness,'' and
were not truly desirous to walk ffi strict hoUness of Ufe. We are
warned in the 2nd Timothy iU, 1 — 5, that there woffid be such
persons in the latter days of the Christian dispensation, who
would faU mto some of the grievous sins enumerated in that
passage. It is as follows : — " This know also, that ffi the last
"days perUous times shaU come. For men shaU be lovers of
"their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, dis-
" obedient to parents, rmthankful, unholy, without natural affec-
" tion, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontment, fierce, despisers
" of those that are good, traitors, heady, Mghmmded, lovers of plea-
" sures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but
" denying the power thereof : from such turn away." It seemed

316 THE 52nd at DUBLIN.
to be very clear to me, that those, who were spending thefr days
ffi vanity and pleasure, going one ffight to a baU, on another to a
rout, on a thfrd to a play or to some other amusement, many of
the men spending their days in hunting, shooting, fishffig, &c.,
whUst they appeared to be, and often by thefr language and con
duct shewed that they were, regardless of God's commands, were
the sort of persons of whom St. Paffi spoke ffi the above-quoted
passage from his second epistle to Timothy. They were " lovers
" of pleasures more than lovers of God, ha-vffig a form of godlffiess,
" but denying the power thereof" The apostle adds the decided
and strong ffijunction, " From such turn away." This passage I
consider not offiy justffies a reUgious person ffi abstainffig from
worldly society, but requires that he shoffid do so. There is also
another argument against baUs, which I think calcffiated to have
some weight with aU reUgiously-disposed persons! The dances
at the viUage public-houses, which are very much frequented by
young persons belonging to the workffig classes, are anythffig
but innocent amusements ; swearmg, and drunkenness, and de
bauchery, abound at them. Of such evil tendency are these
dances, that the clergyman of the parish, and aU weU-disposed
persons, do what they can to prevent persons from attending
them. It is, however, all the more difficult to persuade them of
the evU tendency of these dances, when they know that young
persons in the higher ranks of society are constantly ffi the habit
of frequentffig balls. The telling them that these balls are scenes
of a very different character from the public-house dances may
have some weight with them, but what their friends say comes
with more power to their minds, when they can add that on
religious grounds, neither they, nor those young persons who are
under their influence and controul, aUow themselves to be mixed
up -with these amusements. I was in-vited to one baU at Dublin,
but, of course, with my views and feelffigs, I did not go to it.
The whole subject of " mixing with the world" has been found,
by most religious persons, to be one of difficulty. The plan which
for many years I have adopted, is to consider God's pro-vidential
leadffigs in the matter. On going into a new parish and neigh-
hood, I have always been on friendly and visiting terms with
those who have been kffid enough to caU upon me, although they

THE 52nd at. DUBLIN. 317
might not aU of them have held exactly the same reUgious views
which I do, and I have afterwards regffiated my intercourse,
and that of my famUy, with them accordffig to circumstances,
always desiring and praying that God's blessing may rest upon
it I never go to any party except with that view. Sometimes
at a dffiner party I have been satisfied that I was not out of the
path of duty, when, instead of forcing on general religious con
versation, I have endeavoured, if only for some little time, to
speak to those sitting next to me on some useful subject I
always endeavour to pray for the whole neighbourhood, and I
think that in the course of time, I have, through God's mercy,
seen some Uttle benefit arise from the adoption of this plan.
With regard to new comers into one's neighbourhood, I seek their
acquaintance if I hear that they are persons who fear God, or ff
I am requested to do so by some friend, or, possibly, after meet
ing them at a friend's house. I shoffid make a poffit of becoming
acquamted with those in my own parish, uffiess there were cir
cumstances of a character to prevent my wishffig to introduce
them to my famUy, when I should probably restrict my inter
course with them to that which my duty as a miffister requfred.

318

CHAPTEE XX.
1821, 1822.
THE 52nd at DUBLIN.
The castle guard — The Montagus of the 71st and 52nd— Irritation of the King
about a sentry — Amusing order handed down by the sentries on the bridge
to the garden — Tracts and books for the men taken away by the captain of
the guard — Some reason to hope they were made useful to him — Several
anecdotes connected with that proceeding— Winterbottom and religious
tracts at the bank guard ; curious and important dialogue — Anecdote con
nected with Winterbottom's wound at Waterloo — Mention of his services in
52nd record — Peculiarities of reUgious people— Definition of a Methodist —
A clergyman and his wife each considering the other to be free from sin —
Wbat a blessing that we have the first prayer of the Uturgy — Expected
Whiteboy attack on the barracks — On detachment at the Pigeon-house
Fort— Boldness and discomfiture of rats — Detached to Wicklow — Rudi
ments of a savings' bank.
One of my strong recoUections of Dublin is connected with what
was caUed " the castle guard." It consisted of a captain, two
subalterns, and one hundred men, with the King's colour, which
was always attached to this guard, as the Lord Lieutenant was
the King's representative. There was also a subaltern's guard of
cavalry. It was my turn for this guard on one of the days of
the King's stay at the castle. The officers of the guard then
dined at the Board of Green Cloth, with three or four of the
officers attached to the King's suite, and a very kind set of
fellows I recoUect they were. The 52nd were generaUy reUeved
at aU the guards by the 71st HigUand Light Infantry, which
regiment had been ffi Adam's brigade with them at Waterloo. I
never tffink of the castle guard at DubUn, without the most

THE 52nd at DUBLIN. 319
¦vivid recoUection of that nice feUow, George Montagu, then an
ensign in the 71st I believe he more than once was the ensign
of the guard when they were relieving us, and I think he was
there on the occasion of our mounting guard over the King. In
marching mto the castle yard to take up their groimd facing us,
directly he caught my eye, he felt it impossible to avoid laugh-
mg. Whilst the sentries were being relieved, the King came
do-wn to his carriage, and was received by both the guards with
presented arms and the dropping of the colours. I recoUect his
Majesty was very much annoyed and irritated in consequence of
a sentry ha"ving been placed on the stairs, contrary, I think, to
his orders. George Montagu, if he be stUl alive, wUl, I feel sure,
kindly excuse this mention of him. His brother, John Montagu,
was in the 52nd. He afterwards was Colonial Secretary at the
Cape, and died there. He was a good and spirited officer, but
did not remain long in the regiment. There are two anecdotes
related of him in the 52nd record, which everyone who was
with the 52nd in 1815 kno"ws to be perfectly untrue; and how
the talented editor could have admitted them, is only lamely
accounted for by the explanation that they were pressed upon
him by a person who professed to have a knowledge of the cfr
cumstances, but must have had a sadly confused recollection of
them, and of the facts and circumstances connected with the
regiment at the period referred to. George Montagu exchanged,
after my days, as a captain mto the 52nd, and, as I was assured
lately by an old soldier, was greatly beloved by the men of the
regiment, for his very great kindness towards them on aU occasions.
I was always ffiterested ffi the Montagus, from my family having,
from my childhood, been ffitimate with their uncle. Admiral Sfr
George Montagu, and aU his family.
There was an amusffig order handed on to each sentry
stationed ffi turn on the bridge leading from the garden to the
castle, which was always mentioned to me in the same words by
the sentry at that particular spot, whenever, for months after
wards, as subaltern of the guard, I enqffired what his orders were.
It was in vaffi that I gave them the correct order again and
again ; the sentry on that spot always related it to me -with the
same mistake wMch I had, from the first, corrected. The dialogue

320 THE 52nd at DUBLIN.
was as foUows: — Officer: — "What are your orders, my man?"
Sentry : — " If anyone, not passffig from the castle, wants to cross
" this bridge. Sir, I am to stop him ; and there is a tame hare ffi
" the garden, Sfr : ff it comes on to the bridge I am to fire at it,
" and drive it back. Sir." There were two sentries in the garden,
who had orders to fire at any persons attemptffig to get over the
high garden waUs.
When I went on guard, I made a practice of taking a large
number of religious books and tracts of the " Eeligious Tract
" Society " for the use of the men, and they were allowed to take
them away with them when the guard was reUeved. The com
manding officer had before made the arrangement that any reU
gious pubUcations might be given to the men, which did not
contaffi anythffig contrary to the doctrffies of the Church of
England. One day at the castle, soon after we had relieved the
other guard, the captain of the 52nd guard, on passing the men's
guard-room, saw the long table covered with Uttle books and
tracts, and caUing the serjeant, enquired what they were and
who had placed them there. On being told that my servant had
done so, he sent for him, and asked by whose authority he had
so acted ; and on his teUing him that his master had ordered
Mm to do it, he had the tracts and books coUected and brought
to him, and then came and requested me not again to distribute
tracts amongst the men of any guard which he commanded I
reminded him that I was actffig ffi strict accordance with the
permission of the commanding officer, and that he had no ground
for complaint or interference. However, there the matter ended,
and I heard nothing more of my tracts for some weeks. I then
found out that they were still in existence, and ffi his possession,
by hearing Mm, at some distance from me at mess, say, that he
had fallen in with a turnpike-gate keeper, who was a greater
swearer than any person he had ever met with, and that he had
a great mind to give him one of Leeke's tracts. I often, in after
days, wondered whether God, whose ways are not as our ways,
had permitted him to display his natural dislike to, what he
woffid term, these methodistical proceedings, in order by means
of these very tracts, which he despised, and thought calcffiated
to make soldiers imsoldierlUie — ffi order by them, to lead bim

THE 52nd at DUBLIN. 321
from darkness unto light, from sin to holiness, and from the
power of Satan unto God. I never heard any more of the tracts;
but as one of my chief objects ffi sending forth tffis publication
is to give some account of God's mercies to myseff, and of my
poor attempts to lead others to receive His offered mercy in
Christ, I may as well speak of the few things which give me a
hope that this officer became, some years after, a very altered
man. He was the person to whom I had lent my horse when I
went ffito Germany, and who had been annoyed -with Gawler for
trying to lead the men to fear and serve God. We were on very
good terms, notwithstanding my strange reUgious opffiions, as he
woffid consider them. On some particffiar day we were ffi the
Phoenix Park, when I was sent as a subaltern to his company. In
an advance in line, I perceived, from the rear, that the centre of
the company was coming on a dirty place, about eight yards in
diameter, into which several sewers emptied themselves, and
caUed out to the men to " file round it," for they woffid have
covered their white trowsers with black dfrt up to their knees.
Colonel C. Eowan, who saw some confusion in the company, but
coffid not see what had occasioned it came thunderffig down,
exclaiming " What is No. 8 about ? " I called out, from the rear,
" I desired them to file round the obstacle. Sir." Tffis barely
satisfied him, for he was vexed at the apparent confusion, and
the regiment was always very remarkable for the steadiness of
its advance line. The officer commanding the company after
wards thanked me for takffig upon myself the blame wffich was
intended for it After we got to Clonmel, m the autumn of 1822,
one evening after mess I invited an officer, who had come in from
an out-quarter for the night, to come to my room and get some
tea, and I asked four or five others to join us. Amongst them
was the officer who had taken my tracts at the castle guard.
Just as we were about to begin tea, it occurred to me what an
awkward business it would be to say grace before a set of feUows,
who, perhaps, had never before heard of grace at tea. Although
I felt the awkwardness of the thing, I felt that it was not right
to omit it, and therefore merely said, "I always think it proper to
" say grace before all my meals;" upon wffich they aU gave their
attention, and I repeated the grace which I had framed for
y

322 THE 52nd at Dublin.
myself, and which I have continued to use to this day: — "0 Lord,
" bless to us what we are about to partake of, and make us thank-
" ful, for Christ's sake." They all behaved very weU, and the
purloffier of my tracts, by way of getting over the awkward feel
ing, said, " I must say, Leeke, you are a much better fellow thau
" I am.'' I had made an arrangement with the prfficipal book
seUer at Clonmel, to let me send to DubUn for a number of
sound religious books, on any of wMch he was to have a good
profit if they were sold, whilst I woffid take off his hands those
which might remaffi unsold. One of the officers, G. H. Love,
who had become very religiously disposed, and who knew of my
books, told me some time afterwards, that one day when he was
in the shop, the officer who had taken away my tracts came in,
and told the bookseUer that he wanted some book which would
" enable him to understand the Bible," (I think that was his- ex
pression,) Love looked about, and found one of my books, called
" Bickersteth's Scripture Help," which he recommended to Mm,
and on his recommendation, he immediately purchased this very
valuable book, after which Love brought from the shelf " Bicker-
" steth on Prayer," another exceUent book, and told him it was
generaUy looked upon as a companion to the " Scripture Help.''
He bought this work also. I never, from that time, knew any
thing of Ms state of feeling with regard to reUgion, untU very
lately, when on mentioning some of the cfrcumstances whieh I
have just related to a pious lady who had had a large miUtary
acquaintance, being the widow of a field-officer in the artUlery,
I observed that she and her daughter exchanged looks which led
me "to ask, " Did you ever know Colonel  ? " She repUed,
" Yes, we knew him, and he gave my daughter that Uttle Bible,"
pointing to a Bible on the table. She told me that they were
one day calUng on him, when they were stationed abroad, (he
had been promoted ffito another regiment from the 52nd,) and on
her daughter admiring the Bible he begged that she would ac
cept it, sayffig, " I have a larger Bible which I use for my own
" reading, but I have placed that smaUer one on the table tMnk-
" ing, perhaps, that when some of the young officers are sittffig
" here waiting for me, they may take it up, and it, perhaps, may
" do them good." All that they coffid teU me about his reUgious

THE 52nd at DUBLm. 323
state beyond this was, that another colonel, who was a pious
man, made use of these words to them respecting him : — " Yes,
"  is no doubt a good man.'' Colonel  has now
been dead for many years. Whether the tracts so improperly
taken, or the books which he purchased at ClonmeU, had any
thing to do with this change or not is of Uttle consequence, but
it is a great pleasure and mercy to be able to hope and think
that he reaUy did become a humble beUever in the Lord Jesus
Christ, for pardon and hoUness, for comfort here and eternal Ufe
hereafter. When any of us were on the bank guard, we usuaUy had
several of the officers of the regiment to caU upon us. I tffink
it consisted of a subaltern, and six-and-thirty men. I well recol
lect when I was one day on the bank guard, Winterbottom, who,
after being adjutant of the 52nd from 1808 to 1821, had lately
exchanged his position of senior or second lieutenant I forget
which, for that of paymaster, came mto the officers' guard-room.
In order to reach it, he had to pass up rather a long flight
of steps fixed against the wall of the men's guard-room ; over
the rail of which he looked down upon it and saw some of my
tracts and books lying about, and many of the men sitting and
reading them. On reaching my guard-room, he tMew himself
into a chair in a state of some excitement, exclaiming, " Why,
" Leeke, you are rffining the regiment" Now, Wffiterbottom
and I were great aUies. I had always regarded him as one of
the best and most gaUant soldiers that ever stept and he had
always treated me with very great kindness from the time of my
joffiffig the regiment as a mere boy. I recollect his telUng me,
some time after the return of the army of occupation from France,
that, when on leave, he was one day teUing his friends about the
Battle of Waterloo, and that he made his mother cry, when he
described the pitiable condition ffi which I appeared to be, on the
moming of that day, and told her that I had just before left m}^
mother, and how I had been lying out all night, and had been
drenched with raffi, &c,, &c. This helps to show that he had no
unkffid feeUng towards me, when he told me I was " ruining the
" regiment," and I really felt very sorry for him at the moment
I could quite understand aU that was passing ffi the mind of tffis
Y 2

324 THE 52nd at Dublin.
fine, gallant solffier, for not so very long before, I should have had,
under similar circumstances, the feeUng that the reaffing the
Bible, and tracts, and prayers, and " psalm-singing I' as the being
reUgious was often termed, were calculated to interfere with, and
even destroy, that gallant spirit and bearing, so conspicuous ffi
the British soldier. The dialogue which took place between us,
under these feeUngs and cfrcumstances, was nearly word for word
as follows: —
Winterbottom : — "Why, Leeke, you are miffing the regiment"
Leeke : — " You mean that the leading them to read these books
"and to become reUgious, is likely to destroy thefr spfrit as
" soldiers." Winterbottom ; — " Yes, I do thffik so.''
Leeke : — " Now, Winterbottom, just reflect for a moment. If
" I should be the means of leadffig them to fear God, do you think
" they would be less orderly than they are at present 1 "
Winterbottom : — " No, of course they woffid not.''
Leeke : — " If they should give up drunkenness, woffid that do
" them any harm as soldiers ? "
Winterbottom : — " Of course not."
Leeke : — " Since I have begun to try and do what is pleasing
" in the sight of God, do you think I am less attentive to my
" duties as an officer than I used to be ? "
Winterbottom : — " No, if anything, I think you are more at-
" tentive to them than you formerly were."
Leeke : — " If we should have any more campaigning, do
"you think I shoffid be less fearless ffi danger than I have
"been?" Winterbottom : — " No.''
Leeke : — " If our men are led to seek the pardon of their sins
" through the atonement of their Saviour, and to become holy '
" through the teaching of His Spirit and His Word ; and if, in
" addition, they believed their sins were pardoned, and that they
" should go to heaven when they died, do you think these feeUngs
" woffid be calculated to make them more afraid of danger
" and of death in battle, than they woffid have been without
" them ? "
Winterbottom : — " No. I thffik they would not"

THE .52nd at DUBLIN. 325
Leeke : — " WeU you see, then, that my books and tracts, and
" any endeavours we may make to lead the men to fear God and
" walk ffi His ways, wUl not " rum the regiment."
I was surprised and thankful to find, that this little qffiet
talk appeared entirely to allay the perturbed feeling with which
Winterbottom entered the guard- room. During the time that we
remained in Dublin, he and our kind old Scotch quartermaster,
John CampbeU, went with me very frequently on the Sundayto hear
those good men, Mr. Mathias and Mr. Nixon. Some of the other
officers went occasionaUy. Winterbottom and Campbell, although
so much my seffiors, used to let me advise them and exhort them
on religious matters, as opportunity offered. One Sunday morn
ing, when I was on duty as officer of the day, I was crossing the
barrack square with John CampbeU, and whUst tffinking of
something else, half whistled a tune in an under tone, when I
was very much amused by his taking the opportunity of good-
humouredly paying me off for aU my past exhortations to him, by
saying to me, in rather broad Scotch, " If ye were in my country,
" my lad, they would put ye in the stocks for whistUng on Sunday."
Winterbottom, with aU his gaUant bearing, was a very bashfffi
man, and would sometimes blush, ff anything drew attention
to him, up to the very roots of his hair. I recoUect calling forth
one of his deepest blushes, by mentioning at the mess, some
years after it happened, the circumstance of my havmg, when as
a volimteer I went from Ostend to Lessines, fallen into conver
sation for a short time with one of the men, who, after speakffig
of the daring conduct of Sir John Colborne in action, added "and
" Mr. Wffiterbottom is just Uke him. Sir."
With the names of Sir John Moore and Lord Seaton, that of
Winterbottom ought to be always remembered by his regiment
and country, as one of the most distffigffished soldiers of Ms day.
As the 52nd record is Ukely offiy to be read by few persons, com
paratively, I shaU extract presently from it that portion wMch
mention's Wffiterbottom's services ; but before I do so I wUl
transcribe the foUowing, from a letter which I have lately re
ceived from an old New Brunswick friend, who is now one of the
highest judicial functionaries ffi that province : — " I heard the
" foUowffig anecdote from Mr.s. Monius, the wffe of Lieutenant-

326 , THE 52nd at dublin.
" Colonel Monius,* of the 69th, when that regiment was here
" some years ago. She said that when Wmterbottom was wounded
" in the head, (at Waterloo,) Monius bound up the wound with
"his own handkerchief A considerable time after, when in
" England, Mrs. Monius was surprised by a visit from Winter-
" bottom, who announced his object by saymg, that he called to
" return the handkerchief which Monius had so kindly lent him
" at Waterloo, at the same time presentffig the lady with a very
" handsome shawl. Winterbottom married a Fredericton lady, a
" Miss Wffislow, some of whose famUy reside at Woodstock, sixty
" mUes above this, on the river St. John."
The foUowing is an extract from the 52nd record : —
" On the 6th of November, 1838, the regiment disembarked
" at Barbadoes, and occupied the brick barracks, St Anne's.
" About the midffie of this month, the portion of the barracks
" allotted to the officers was -visited by that fatal epidemic, the
" yeUow fever, which continued its ravages for nearly six weeks,
" the sickness being confined alone to the officers' pavUion. Of
" fourteen officers present with the service companies, twelve
"were attacked, and three died, viz. — Paymaster John Wffiter-
" bottom. Lieutenant V. A, Surtees, and Ensign Edward Gough.
"The bffilding was eventually condemned as unhealthy, and
" evacuated entirely, and no case of fever afterwards occurred.
" Paymaster John Wffiterbottom, who thus feU under the stroke
" of a pestUential disease, on the 26th of November in this year,
" was a veteran solffier, who had nobly borne his part in earffing
" distinction for his regiment and for himseff durffig nearly forty
"years of service.
"Born in the parish of Saddleworth, Yorkshire, ffi 1781,
-" John Wffiterbottom was early obliged to help in the support of
" a very poor family, by cloth weaving. It was during a period
"of much distress among the operative weavers, that yoimg
" Winterbottom enUsted into the 52nd, on the 1 7th of October, 1799.
" His first return to the home of his family was in 1814, dur-
• Eaton Monius was the youngest officer of the 52nd at Waterloo except my
self. He was a good officer, and adjutant of the regiment for some time. He
rose eventuaUy to the rank of major-general, and obtained the colonelcy of the
Sth regiment.

THE 52nd at DUBLIN. 327
" ing the short peace which his exertions had helped to achieve,
and which put an end to the Peninsular War. On this occasion
" his feUow-parishioners presented to him, at a pubUc dffiner, a
"handsome gold snuff-box, together -with expressions of thefr
" admiration of his worth and gallantry, such as drew from him
" a reply offiy in sentences broken by his feeUngs, under the ex-
" citement of an honour so gratifying. His ability as an execu-
" tive officer, his sterUng integrity, Mgh sense of honour, always
" coupled with that of his regiment, and readiness to oblige and
" instruct in their duty the younger officers, couveyffig instruction
" in a manner to encourage and inspire rather than to annoy or
" disgust, were so fuUy appreciated, that on his death one hundred
" and forty-three officers, most of whom had served with him,
" either in the same regiment or in the same brigade, subscribed
" to erect to his memory a handsome monumental tablet, which
" is now in Ms parish church at Saddleworth, and bears the fol-
" lowffig inscription : —
" ' John Winterbottom, Paymaster of the 52nd Light Infantry.
" Died at the Head-Quarters of the Eegiment, in the Island of
" Barbadoes, on the 26th of November, 1838.
"Born at Saddleworth, 17th of November, 1781.
" Private Soldier, 52nd, 17th of October, 1799.
" Corporal, AprU, 1801,
" Serjeant December, 1803.
" Serjeant-Major, llth of June, 1805.
"Ensign and Adjutant 24th of November, 1808.
"Lieutenant and Adjutant, 28th of February, 1810.
" Paymaster, 31st of May, 1821.'
"He served with distinction at the foUowing battles and
" sieges : —
"As a Private at Ferrol; as Serjeant-Major at Copenhagen
" and Vimiero ; as Adjutant at Corunna, the Coa, Busaco, Pombal,
"Eedinha, Ciudad Eodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca, San Munoz;
" Vittoria, the heights of Vera, NiveUes, the Nive, Orthes, Tarbes,
" Toffiouse, and Waterloo, as well as ffi other actions of less note, in
" which the 52nd was engaged durffig the war ; and he was never
" absent from his regiment except ffi consequence of wounds re-
" ceived at Eedinha, Badajoz, and Waterloo."

328 THE 52nd at DUBLIN.
There are, of course, many Mteresting events wMch I well
remember, but which I could not for various reasons record in
this work. I have endeavoured not to insert anything which
would be calcffiated in any way to give pain or annoyance to any
one. In my ffitercourse with my brother-officers and others,
especiaUy when speaking on religious subjects, I always endea
voured to avoid any pecuUarity of look or expression which I knew,
from my own feelffigs, was calculated to raise a prejudice against
religious persons, in the minds of those who witnessed it. I
mention it here, because I consider it to be of very great import
ance, that persons who are seriously disposed shoffid be as natu
ral as possible in their way of speaking and acting. I remember
one of my brother-officers, when launching out rather vehemently
agaffist the ways of some religious men, whom he had met with,
said, " I never knew one of them yet, except yourself, who had
" not a ghastly smile on his countenance." I thffik it must have
been at the same time and from the same person that I recoUect
the foUowing somewhat clever reply. We were standing one day
-with two or three other men in the mess-room, when, in inveigh
ing against some persons of whom he was speaking, he appUed
the term " Methodists " to them. By way of tryffig to stop him,
I interposed the question, " What is a Methodist ? " which he
most quickly answered as follows : — " A Methodist ! it means a
" fellow who is always quotffig St. Paul, as you and Gawler do."
I have always remembered the following circumstance, which
occurred when I was making a call one morning at the house of
a religious family. There happened to be several sets of caUers,
and, amongst others, was a very ffice, intelUgent young person,
who lived about six or seven mUes from DubUn. I had never
met her before, and did not hear her name, nor have I ever seen
or heard of her since. The conversation took a religious turn,
and the unscriptural doctrine of perfection, held by the Wesleyan
Methodists, was mentioned. This led the lady above-mentioned
to observe, " Our clergyman and his wife both hold the doctrffie
" of perfection.'' I said, " Did any of you ever ask him ff he
" considered himself perfect ? " " Yes," she replied, " and he says
" of himseff ' that he is a poor sinful man, leaving undone, every
" ' day, what he should do, and doing what he shoffid not do.' "

THE 52nd at DUBLIN. 329
When asked if he had ever met with a perfect person, he answers,
" Yes, there is my wife, I consider her to be perfect in hoUness."
We enquired whether his wife considered herself perfect, and the
lady said that she also spoke of herseff in the same terms in
which her husband described his feelings with regard to remaiffing
sffi, and sin being mixed up with aU his best thoughts, words,
and deeds. She added, that when the wife was asked if she had
ever seen a person perfectly free from sin, she replied, " Yes,
" there's my husband, I consider him to be perfectly free from
" sm." I have often mentioned this anecdote since I heard it
and more especiaUy for the benefit of married couples. Although
it does not establish the doctiine of perfection, it shews that this
clergyman and his wife must have led a most holy and happy
life together. I daUy think what a great mercy it is that m the
first prayer of the liturgy, we have the doctrine of remaining sffi
in all the chUdren of God so clearly set forth, and that the most
advanced Christians, as well as those who are just beginnffig to
seek pardon and hoUness, are therein invited, and taught daUy,
to humble themselves before God for the daily sins of their whole
Uves, from their very early years, down to the moment at which
they are arrived.
An officer in barracks, and in such a place as Dublin, however
much he may wish to acquire professional and other knowledge,
meets with aU Muds of hindrances in his attempts to improve
Mmseff. I managed, however, to do something in this way whifst
I was there ; and I recoUect with pleasure, the expressions of
great approval with which a friend, much older than myseff, greeted
me when he caUed upon me at the Eichmond barracks, on his
retum from Italy, and found my table covered with maps and
books of reference, indications that, on that mornffig at least, I
had uot been idle.
The present Sfr George Grey, our accompUshed Home Secre
tary, was for a short time in Dublin, as the guest of Admiral
OUver ; I had known him before, both at his father's and at our
own house, but aU I recoUect of him in DubUn was that on one
occasion, I rode with Mm for some time in the Phoenix Park.
He was my junior by a year or two.
One evenffig, ffi consequence of some information that an

330 THE 52nd at DUBLIN.
attack was meditated, that night, on the Eichmond barracks, by
some thousands of Whiteboys, who, I suppose, thought to take
us by surprise, suitable preparations were made for their recep
tion ; men were told off to occupy the officers' barracks, in case
they should be wanted, and the sentries were doubled in some
places, and their muskets loaded, and the troops were ready to
tum out. These preparations could not have been made unless
there had ,been some ground for expecting an attack ; the night,
however, passed over without anythffig happening.
In January, 1S22, 1 went on detachment to the Pigeon-house,
underthe command of Captain Macpherson, ofthe 13th Eegiment.
He was a man of some refiexion, and we often spoke on religious
subjects, and went to Mr. Mathias's church together. I trust
our being together was profitable to both of us. A great portion
of the Pigeon-house was built on pUes, consequently, it UteraUy
swarmed with rats, with which gentlemen I had a very amusffig
encounter, which ended in their complete discomfiture. The
barrack-rooms of the two ffifantry officers were on the ground
floor, on either side of a passage, the six windows and door aU
facmg the street and the quay beyond it ; the floor of my bed
room was, ffi more places than one, accessible to rats, and, I
presume, to all the rats in the for|; — no very pleasant idea ! On
the first night of our arrival, on going to bed, I put an extin
guisher on a moffid candle, which, together with the long candle
stick, was about fourteen ffiches ffi height from the table on
which it was placed. I was just droppffig off to sleep, when I
heard a noise which I supposed to proceed from mice or rats, and
I frightened them away, and had just got to sleep agaffi, when I
was aroused by hearing my extingmsher fall to the ground ;
presently I heard it travelUng along the fioor on the opposite
side of my room. EecoUecting that my boots were close to the
bed, I got hold of one of them, and immediately opened what I
considered a somewhat effective fire on the enemy, at least they
retired very quickly, and in some confusion, but leavffig no killed
or wounded behffid them. When, however, they considered the
danger over, they renewed the attack, which I agaffi repulsed by
dischargffig the other boot at them. I heard scarcely anythffig
more of my enemy during the night, but ffi the mornffig I found

THE 52nd at DUBLIN. 331
that not only the extffiguisher had disappeared, but also the thick
moffid candle, on the top of which it had been fixed. I never
saw it again, but ff some antiquarian snbaltem, stationed at the
Pigeon-house, will take the trouble to search under the farthest
end from the window of that room of the four which is nearest
to Dublffi, (supposing always those wretched rooms, and the stUl
more wretched floor, to be yet in existence,) no doubt he -wiU be
amply rewarded for his trouble by findffig, within a few feet of
the middle of that eud of the floor, a plated extinguisher, which,
no doubt, the enemy left not far from their saUy-port after they
had cleared out from it the large amount of provision which they
had captured at the same time. Their successful foraging expe
dition rather astoffished me ; for the sitting-room candlestick, in
which the candle was firmly fixed, was at least seven inches
high, and ffi getting the candle out they had not in the least
disturbed it, nor had they left any small pieces of taUow near it
or along the floor. Here I must brffig to a close the Mstory of
my first campaign against the rats, in wffich I must acknowledge
that they came off victorious.
The second campaign I knew very weU they would com
mence the very next night, and as I did not ffitend to be demol
ished by them, if I could help it, I reconnoitred the enemy's
intrenchments, and looked about to see what means of defence
or offence I could procure ; I haplessly came across some brick
bats on the outside of the bffilding, and determined to make use
of them, not with the view of firffig away at the rats -with them
when they had gained access to my quarters, for I knew, in that
case, I shoffid get the worst of it, but for the purpose of ham
mering them ffito the holes, so as to prevent the possibUity of
the rats getting mto the room at aU I retfred to rest, as I
thought, quite satisfied that I shoffid not be intruded upon, as
had been the case the night before ; but I had offiy been ffi bed
a few minutes, when there commenced a regffiar gnawffig, by I
know not what number of rats, at the edges of the floorffig round
the brickbats. Notwithstandffig aU I coffid do to frighten them
away, this horiid noise continued tUl daylight came to my relief,
so that I had almost a sleepless ffight ; thus I got worsted m the
second campaign.

332 THE 52nd at DUBLIN.
The next day I ordered my servant to mix a quantity of
mustard in a basin, and, by means of a long feather, I managed
to saturate the wood around the brickbats with it so that ffi no
direction coffid the rats gnaw it without getting a good taste of
the mustard. Soon after I had gone to bed, I heard, once or
twice, a Uttle gnawing for a few seconds, and then it ceased.
This time I came off with flying colours, for I never saw or heard
a rat after that night during the four or flve weeks that I was
quartered at the Pigeon-house. I wonder whether they forsook
the place altogether ! If they did, I might look upon myself as a
second tutelar saint of Ireland.
One day, as I was sitting in my room with one of the artiUery
officers stationed at the fort an officer passed the window, whom
I at once recognised as Major Oliver. My friend, somewhat
alarmed, said, " I think that's Major OUver, I wonder what he is
" doing here !" I answered, that he very probably was come to
call upon me, as I was acquainted with him. He was anxious
to get away before Major Oliver found out my quarter, which he
was inquiring for, but said, as he was going, " I very much respect
"Major Oliver, but I was one of the unfortunate men who signed
"that paper."
I enjoyed very much the quiet and retirement of the Pigeon-
house, for very qffiet it was, except occasionaUy when the Irish
were embarking for Liverpool. There were always a great many
women and chUdren amongst the passengers, and there were
many friends who came to see them off. I had, consequently,
many opportunities of conversffig with the people, and of shewing
them kindness in the way of relief, and of distributmg usefffi
reUgious books and tracts amongst them. Some of my happiest
hours were spent there in reading and meditatffig on the Scrip
tures, and on " Young's Night Thoughts," and in prayer, as I
walked on the extensive and beautffffily paved sea-waUs to the
eastward of the fort.
I returned to the Eichmond barracks about the 24th of
February, 1822, and, towards the end of March, McNafr's com
pany was detached to Wicklow; Blois and I went with ffim.
My kind friend Fitzgibbon came to see me there, and remaffied
five or six days, and I went with Mm to the annual reUgious

THE 52nd at DUBLIN. '66'6
meetings at Dublin, where I met with Mr. Simeon, of Cambridge,
and Dr. Marsh, of Colchester. In the neighbourhood of Wicklow
we became acquainted with several ffice famUies, and saw a great
deal of the beautifffi scenery of that county. At Wicklow I
began to receive smaU sums of money from the men of the com
pany to keep for them ; this led to the formation of a regimental
savings' bank a few months afterwards, and also, in 1824, to the
first establishment of a savings' bank in the pro-vince of New
Brunswick, in North America.
Being relieved by a company of the S6th, we retumed from
Wicklow to Dublin about the 6th of May, and I took up my
quarters with the Gawlers, as there was no room for me in bar
racks. I remained with them for three weeks, when the regiment
left Dublin for the south.

S34

CHAPTEE XXI.
1821, 1822.
DUBLIN. INTERESTING PARTICULARS RELATING TO THEEE
52nd SOLDIERS.
Pat Kelly's proceedings in Spain and France — Remarkable visitation — Becomes
a religious man — One of the guard of honour to the King — Selected as a
trustworthy man — His suspicious death at the Pigeon-house — Dogherty —
Houghton's remarkable case — Benefit arising from the distribution of the
Scriptures — My -visits to him in the hospital — He leaves the army — His
letter to me— Enters Trinity College, Dublin — Becomes a devoted minister
of the Church of England— His death.
Amongst the religious men of the regiment there was one Pat
Kelly, whose case was most remarkable and ffiteresting ; he had
served in the Peninsula and at Waterloo, but was considered one
of the most troublesome and disorderly soldiers we had. At one
time, in the Peninsula, he got away from his regiment, and went
and attached himseff to the Spanish army, which was besieging
the French in Saragossa, (this was usually caUed the second siege
of Saragossa.) Here he astonished his friends the Spaniards by
dancing on the parapets of one of the batteries, whUst the enemy
" blazed away" at him, and by other feats of daring. After the
siege was at an end he, with three or four other EngUsh soldiers,
set off to join the English army. As they went through the
country, they obtained suppUes, for a short time, by giving out
that they were the advanced guard of several hundred men who
might be expected shortly to arrive, and for whom they ordered ra
tions to be provided. This, of course, was not likely to last long,
and they were arrested by the mayor of one of the towns, and sent
up to the English army as deserters.

PARTICULARS RELATING TO THREE 5 2ND SOLDIERS. 335
Kelly was to be tried for desertion, but luckUy for him, before
he could be tried, a general action came on ; he was a prisoner ffi
the ranks, and, when an opportuffity offered, he obtaffied permis
sion to take the firelock and accoutrements of one of the men
who had faUen: .he behaved with considerable gaUantry, and
when the action was over he was forgiven. I recoUect his beffig
tried by a court-martial, and severely flogged, for breaking mto a
house at the time that we formed part of the army of occupation
in France. I never knew anythffig more of him until some little
time after I arrived ffi Dublffi, when I heard the foUowmg re
markable story. Some months before, when he had been drinking,
one of the serjeants did somethmg which, if reported, was calcu
lated to get Mm ffito trouble ; KeUy was quite aware of tMs, and
threatened that he would report him to one of the officers ; the
Serjeant, knowffig that he was quite capable of doing so, tried to
pacify him, tUl KeUy ended by making use of the following
imprecation, " He wished God might strike his tongue dumb in
" his mouth, ff he did not report him," though, as it afterwards
turned out, he had, aU the time, no intention of doing so. At
night when all the men in his room had retired to rest and
when he was sobered, he lay awake for some time, and he recol
lected the threat he had uttered, and the words he had used, and
thought withffi himself, " suppose God was to strike me dumb ?"
He became alarmed, and tried to speak, when, to his great horror,
he found that he was unable to utter a word. He made a moaffing
noise, which awoke Ms comrade in the same bed with him, and
at last the whole room was aroused, and he was taken to the
hospital, and the surgeon, Mr. Gibson, was sent for. On his
arrival, he had some suspicion that KeUy, whom he knew to be
a man of bad character, was only pretendffig that he was speech
less ; however, on examiffing his mouth, he found that ffis tongue
was paralysed, and that the tip of it was turned do-wn in a most
extraordinary manner. He himself, and others who were present,
were unable to turn their tongues at aU ffi the same manner, and
the most severe punishment which he coffid ffiffict, by applyffig
caustic to the tongue, had no effect ffi producffig any alteration
in its state. They all looked upon it as having been ffifficted by
God upon the man on account of his sins. Some time after I

336 DUBLIN. INTERESTING PARTICULARS
heard this, I spoke to Gibson about it, and he, who was not a
person at aU Ukely to faU into any delusion in such a matter,
gave me the detaUs of what he had observed of the case, just as
I have related them ; he told me he could only look upon what
had happened to KeUy as " a visitation from God."
KeUy remained in hospital, in a most wretched state of mind,
for several days, feeling sure that God had sent him this affliction
as a punishment for Ms wicked oath, and for aU Ms numerous
sins. At length it occurred to him that only He who had inflicted
the puffishment could restore him to the use of his speech, and
he set himself to pray most earnestly that God woffid have pity
on him, and take away this sore judgment from htm. His own
account was, that about a week after the awful stroke came upon
him, whUst he was praying for relief, he found aU at once, to Ms
great deligM, that he coffid speak agaffi. He became quite an
altered and religious man from that time.
From that time forth KeUy became an altered man in every
respect ; he had been a great drunkard, and so sloveffiy as a
solffier, that he was continuaUy getting into disgrace. It was
some months after this change had occurred ffi him, that the
King visited Dublin; and the change in his habits had then
become so weU known, that, on the occasion of a f^te taking
place in the Phoenix Park, KeUy was picked out as a clean, smart
soldier, to be one of the guard of honour ; and when, at the vice
regal lodge, the butler appUed to the serjeant of the guard for a
steady, sober man, to take charge of the ale which was provided
for the numerous servants of the assembled company, he was
selected as the most proper man for the purpose. When I first
began to know him ffi his altered character, he was a very
modest, unassuming man, apparently very anxious to do all that
was right, and to lead his comrades to fear and honour God. I
was told that, soon after the arrival of the regiment in Ireland,
and some time after his change, he got a furlough, and went to
see his friends in the north of Ireland. He was somewhat per
secuted by them ; and when he returned to the regiment, he
mentioned to some of his friends, who took an interest in his
religious state, that on one occasion, during Ms absence, he had
been in Uquor. It was considered by them that this sad faU

RELATING TO THREE o2nD SOLDIERS. 337
back into the sm of drunkenness, when taken m connexion with
Ms sorrow for it, and his confession of it, when it was not likely
to be otherwise discovered, must not be considered as proving
that a real change of heart had not taken place in him.
The last time I saw Kelly, he had come up to DubUn on
leave, from the Pigeon-house fort; and, on that occasion, he
requested me to give him a few usefffi and interesting books for
the chUdren of one of the artUlery officers. This was, I thi^k,
about February, 1822. Either on that night, or on some subse
quent night, poor KeUy lost his life as he was returffing to the
Pigeon-house. His wife had given him some considerable
uneasiness with regard to another man, and, on the aftemoon of
his death, they had all been sitting in a public-house near, for
the purpose of talking over their differences. It must be recol
lected that soldiers had scarcely any other place to which they
could retire for such a purpose, so that his goffig there, onthe
occasion referred to, need not lead to the supposition that ^7 so
doing, KeUy was giving way to temptation. His wffe's account,
the next day, was, that they aU drank together, and that KeUy
got regularly drank, and, on their way to the Pigeon-house, be
came very much excited, and drew his bayonet, and rushed down
from the causeway towards some stepping-stones over a channel
on the sands, through which the tide flowed for some time before
it overflowed the sands, and that they had lost sight of him.
When questioned as to where he had got his money to get drunk
with, she repUed that it was with two shilUngs which it was
known he had borrowed on that day. She went off to England
about the second or third day after his death, declaring that she
knew he was drowned, and that there was no use in her remaining
ffi Ireland. On the ffight of KeUy's death, the other man retumed
to the Eichmond barracks sober, just after the nffie o'clock roll-
call. There was a rather strange circumstance occurred, wMch I
think it as well not to relate ; at the time it attracted my atten
tion, but it was not untU afterwards that I connected it at all
with his death. In about a month poor KeUy^s body was found
under the waUs of the Pigeon-house fort, so eaten by flshes,
that it was only known to be the body of a 52nd soldier by the
number being on his breastplate and buttons. The two shiUings,

338 DUBLIN. INTERESTING PARTICULARS
with which it was said he had got drunk, were found in his
trowsers' pocket It was not untU after an inquest had been
held, and a verdict returned, of " found drowned," or " accidental
" death," that those, who knew something of the above circum
stances, heard that the body had been found. It was then
thought that although there was some considerable grounds for
suspecting that KeUy had come by his death unfairly, yet there
was no proof of it.
WhUst the 52nd were at Dublin, the regiment was placed on
a reduced establishment and it was necessary to discharge several
of the men. On tffis occasion I weU remember a circumstance
occurrffig, which I always looked upon as a rather remarkable
answer to prayer. Amongst those selected to be discharged in
Captain McNair's company was a man by the name of Dogherty,
who had, I think, a wife and two children, and who was within
two years of making up a service of fourteen years, so that the
getting his discharge at that time was considered by him, and by
many others, as a great hardship about to be inflicted on him ;
there were, however, some other reasons for selecting him which
appeared to Colonel Charles Eowan to render it necessary, not
withstanding the hardship, that he should not be retaffied. We
aU felt very strongly about it, and we urged McNair to ask
Colonel Eowan to let Dogherty remain ; this he did, but Colonel
Eowan said he could not for several reasons, alter the arrange
ment. Afterwards Hall, the senior subaltern of the company,
who felt great pity for the man, went to Eowan to see what
he could do in the matter, but he met with the same answer. I
think it was on the following day that I spoke to McNair again
about it, and said, the poor fellow must not, after all, be aUowed
to go if it coffid in any way be avoided. He replied that both
he and HaU had been to Eowan, who was not at all convinced
by what they had said, that the man ought not to be discharged,
but he added, " yo?t can go, if you Uke, and see what you can do
" with Eowan,'' I determined to do so, but first of aU I com
mitted the whole matter to God in prayer, and requested Him, if
it was according to His will, that the commanding officer might
see it in the same light in which we saw it. On goffig to him on
the subject I told Mm that I had ventured to come to him about

RELATING TO THREE 52ND SOLDIERS. 339
this poor feUow Dogherty ; that I knew McNair and HaU had
spoken to him about his being discharged, and that I hardly felt
it right, after what he had told them, to bother him any more on
the subject, but that stiU I did not Uke to let the man be dis
charged without making one more effort ffi his favour. Colonel
Eowan was not at all annoyed by my appeal to him, which one
might almost have expected he would be, but was most kind
about it and, immediately that I had done speaking, said, " Leeke,
" the man shall remain !" People who read this may be inclined
to think that all this would happen very naturally, and that the
commanding officer merely allowed himseff to be persuaded by
us to act in accordance with our wishes, but the more they
become acquainted with the Scriptures, the more wUl they see
that in everything we may make our requests known imto God,
and that in answer to our prayers. He often incUnes the hearts
of others to do what we desire, and, in various ways in His
providence, brings about the most unlikely events and
results. A very interesting case of the great benefit arising from the
practice of circulating the Scriptures amongst soldiers, occuiTcd
very shortly after my return to the 52nd at Dublin. It was the
case of a man by the name of Houghton, who had been an attor
ney's clerk, and who had enlisted when the regiment was at
Chester. In a little memoir of him, published several years
afterwards, by the Eev. Eoger Cams WUson, this step is related
as foUows : — " At this period the 52nd Eegiment of Light Infantry,
" which had recently retumed from France, was stationed at
" Chester. The youthful wanderer heard of the laurels which
" this regiment had won in the Peninsffia campaigns, and at the
"Battle of Waterloo. He viewed with inconsiderate deUght
"their smart appearance on parade. His imagination was at
" once captivated with the honour, the enterprise, and — the idle-
" ness of a military life ; and, accordingly, without reflecting on
" the pain he should thereby mflict on Ms famUy, he enUsted as
" a private solffier."
When he had been upwards of two years ffi the 52nd, he
began to be much troubled about his soul. The foUowffig pas
sages from the memofr relate to this, and to some considerable
z 2

340 DUBLIN. INTERESTING PARTICULARS
benefit and comfort which, by God's mercy, he derived from some
books lent or given to him by me : —
" During the month of September, and great part of October,
" 1821, he was laid up in the hospital, and he entertained but
"faint hopes of recovery. But it pleased God to bless to
" Mm, in a remarkable manner, this season of reflection, and to
" make even a visitation so heavUy afflictive the greatest benefit
" It proved the tuming point of his life — ^the instrumental cause
" of his passing ' from darkness to light, from the power of Satan
" ' unto God.' One day he was most unexpectedly induced to
"read the Bible. He had asked for some book. with which he
" might beguile a restless hour, and when the Bible had been
" given him, he had begged for some other book, adding, ' I can
" ' repeat all that :' but as no other was at hand, he was content
" to pore over the sacred pages ; and the study, thus casuaUy
" begun, soon became deeply interesting, affecting, and salutary
" to his rffind. He ' searched the Scriptures' at this time with
" great earnestness, and in after life he frequently referred, with
" gratefffi emotions, to the good which he now derived from them.
" He was also much indebted to ' Doddridge's Eise and Progress
"'of Eeligion in the Soul,' which an officer, who visited the
" hospital, kindly placed in his hands. A spiritual appetite was
" now created in him, through the divine mercy, and the proper
"nutriment was thus providentiaUy supplied. GraduaUy the
"light of truth dawned upon his heart; the gospel of Jesus
" Christ became the support of his soul, and the heavenly origin
" of his new principles became apparent, ffi the holy and happy
" tenor of Ms new Iffe."
In his journal, under the date of October 20th, 1821, is the
following entry, in which he refers to my books, and -visits to the
hospital, &c. : — " I have much, very much to be thankful for this
" day ; much to be sorry for ffi myself, much to be thankful for to
" the Lord. In the morning I went to Mr. L  , for the purpose
" of purchasing, at his reduced prices, two copies of the ' Scripture
" ' Help,' which I most sincerely hope to render useful to my
"dear relations. Having expressed my desire, he, with the
" utmost kindness, presented me with the large edition of the
" ' Scripture Help,' and an abridgment of the ' Treatise on Prayer '

EELATING TO THREE 52nD SOLDIERS. 341
" ^fraiis, pointed out to me the second chapter of St Paffi to the Gala-
" tians* as a standard of Christianity, and strongly recommended
" the dUigent perasal of the whole epistle. If aU gentlemen of
"fortune were Uke him, how essential woffid soon, by God's
" blessing, be the alteration in the manners of their dependants
" and inferiors.
" By God's blessing upon a severe fit of sickness, which he
" lately underwent, Mr. L  is now an example of sobriety and
" seriousness, of piety and its fraits, to every officer in the regi-
" ment He visits the hospital, supplies it with good books, and
" administers most excellent advice to every one whose sickness
"appears dangerous, and generally to all the patients. He
" supplies men in solitary confinement with sermons and religious
" tracts, in hopes of awakening them to a sense of thefr awfffi
" spiritual condition, and he freely distributes books to aU who
" may be unable to purchase them at his reduced prices. What
" an example this to me ! 0 that the Lord would be pleased to
" sanctify my iUness with such a regeneration ; that He would
" incline and enable me to employ my smaU means to such pur-
" poses, and bless them from my hands ! Let me for a moment
" consider how good the Lord has shown Himseff, and indulge the
" delightful hope bf being able some time to make a complete
" dedication of my heart and soul to Him.''
I could not very weU omit to insert the above in such a work
as this, although I feel much humbled in doing so. It helps to
shew what some, at least of the soldiers think of the poor, though
sincere and prayerful, efforts of their officers to lead them to fear
and honour God in seeking the salvation, and hoUness, and comfort
of true religion. It will also, I trust lead many, both officers
and civiUaus, who may read this work, to neglect no opportunity
which may offer itself, of striving to lead the careless, and igno
rant and wicked, to " seek the Lord whUe he may be found, &c. :''
Isaiah lv, 6, 7. God certaiffiy does, in a most wonderfffi manner,
acknowledge and bless the poor, unworthy efforts which He puts
it into the hearts of His poor, sinful servants to make for His
honour, and for the good of people's souls. How much unexpected
* It must have been the latter part of that chapter, or possibly the third
chapter.

342 DUBLIN. INTERESTING PARTICULARS
encouragement also does He give to us to attend, at all times, with
prayer for His blessing, to the commands contaffied in the first
and sixth verses of the eleventh chapter of Ecclesiastes ; and
what a promise for our encouragement ffi this work He gives us
in Isaiah lv, 10 — 13.
I did not know very much of Houghton, for almost immedi
ately after he came out of hospital, towards the end of October,
he procured his discharge; either his friends purchased it for
him, or he was unfit for further service. I recoUect he came to
take leave of me, and to thank me for my kindness to him ; and
that I then gave him some religious books and tracts for distri
bution amongst his fiiends and neighbours. His subsequent
Mstory was very ffiteresting. He had been weU educated in his
youth ; and after some time he resumed his studies, and went
through Trinity College, DubUn, and was eventuaUy ordained a
clergyman of the Church of England. He was a most efficient
and devoted .minister, but his health broke down, and he died
fffil of faith, and peace, and joy, in the year 1830, at the age of
twenty-eight I have lately found the following letter, which I received from
Houghton about six weeks after he left the 52nd : —
"Preston, LancasMre, Dec. 7th, 1821.
" Sir, — Having received your kind permission to address you
" on my arrival at home, I can no longer neglect the performance
" of a duty which, I assure you. Sir, affords me the greatest plea-
" sure, of expressing my gratitude to you as the means, through
" Christ of awakening me to a knowledge of Himself when I was
" dead ffi infidelity and sin. Your example convinced me that
" religion is not as I had fooUshly imagined, confined to the bigot
"and enthusiast and founded upon weakness and ignorance;
" and I pray God that your Ught may continue to shffie before
"men, for it is impossible to conceive the good effects which the
" Almighty may produce by it. For men who have not had the
" advantages of a liberal education, of whom the mass of society
" is composed, do conceive of it greater things than it really de-
" serves, and pay to persons endued with it a sort of involuntary
" respect and homage, by a close imitation of their manners, even
" when they are not conscious of doffig so.

RELATING TO THEEE 52nD SOLDIERS. 343
" As you had the goodness to express a desire to hear of my
" prospects, I beg to inform you that with the ad"vice of my
" friends, and my own decided fficlination, I have re-commenced
" my classical studies, with the view of preparing myseff for the
" church, and if it should please the Lord to admit such an
" unworthy member, I wUl spend my last breath in His service,
" aind declare that it was good for me that I was affficted. The
" tracts which you "were so kind as to give me I hope to make
" usefffi, as I have obtained leave from the superffitendent of the
" Sunday school to lend them to the boys. Our church is blessed
" with two pious gospel ministers, and we were near obtaiffing
" the Eev. Eichard Marks, (now vicar of Great Missenden, Bucks.,)
" author of ' The Eetrospect,' who offered himseff to the curacy
" some years ago. You wUl, I hope. Sir, pardon my troubUng
"you thus far, and believe me, with the sincerest prayers for
'' your success ffi the Christian warfare,
" Your gratefffi, obedient servant,
"P. Houghton."

344

CHAPTEE XXII.
1822.
THE 52nd in the south oe IRELAND.
March from DubUn— Pair at BallynahiU— The county of Tipperary under the In
surrection Act— Detached to New Birmingham— The Rev. John Galway—
Set up a school for the men — Two drunken men shot by sentry near Carrick
—Refuse invitation to dine out on Sunday — Extracts from journal — The
priest prohibits my tracts— Tracts given to beggars to seU — Benefit arising
from this — Interesting detaUs — Introduced to a very clever nailer — Comes
to compare Roman Catholio catechism with Bible— Praying to angels —
Hopeful state of several persons — Joined at night by a stranger on the road
— The priest bums the tracts — Give Bibles and Douay Testaments — Instance
lately discovered of good done by the tracts given to the soldiers— ReUeved
by Gawler — Clonmel, Ballynamult — Escort prisoners to Fermoy— On duty
to Dublin — Retum to New Birmingham for a short time — Account in after
years of one of the New Birmingham converts — Converts become protestant
Scripture readers — Establishment of a regimental savings' bank — CompU
ment to my efficiency — First epistle of St. Peter — Lord Seaton.
The 52nd marched from Dublin, in two di"visions, on the 27th
and 28th of May, 1822, for the county of Tipperary. I was with
that commanded by Colonel William Eowan,* which proceeded to
Cashel. The head-quarter di"vision was stationed at Clonmel
The night before we arrived at Cashel, we were at a place caUed
BaUynahUl; there was a fair there, and a regffiar row in the
evening amongst some of the people, in which a man's stall was
demoUshed, and he fired a shot at the mob, but did no mischief.
I was witness to a curious dialogue on the occasion between Mr.
Home, a magistrate, and a very fine young man, who I suppoSe
was a somewhat troublesome youth, but who on this occasion
* Now General Sir Wm. Rowan, K.C.B,, Colonel of the 52nd ; late Com
mander-in-Chief in Canada.

the 52nd IN the south of IRELAND. 345
had taken the staU-owner's part and had assisted in coUecting
and ffi taking care of his scattered wares. Mr. Home was not
aware of this, and spoke very sharply to him about his trouble
some ways, and wished Mm to enlist. He said to him before us,
" If these gentlemen wiU take you, and you wUl go with them, I
" wUl give you a guffiea out of my own pocket" The young
feUow was very indignant about the proposal, and answered, "So
" nothing wiU suit ye, Mr. Horan, but that I shoffid 'Ust No, no,
"when I do go, I'U go daysent" The inhabitants of this part of
Ireland struck me as being a very fine race of people ; and this
young man was one of the finest of them, so I had an eye to
effiisting him, and on meeting him afterwards asked him if he
was reaUy wishing to enlist; he said yes, but that he did not Uke
to go in that way. I told him to consider the matter, and that
ff he liked it I thought he could get into our regiment He pro
mised to come and see us off in the morning, and to come away
with us provided another young man, who wished to enUst,
would come also. He walked with me some distance the next
moming, and said he would join us that night at Johnstown, or
on the morrow at Cashel ; we, however, saw no more of him.
The county of Tipperary was under the Insurrection Act and
we sent out numerous detachments under an officer to various
posts, both from Cashel and Clonmel. My detachment pro
ceeded to the viUage of New Birmingham, about three mUes
from KUlenaffie. The barracks for the officers and men were
under the same roof, and were formed out of two large adjoining
cottages. It was some time before we were supplied by the
barrack-master with all the various articles requfred by a detach
ment My principal wffidow faced the bog of AUan, and on
very wet days I sometimes took a sort of pleasure, in my loneli
ness, in seeing the showers chase each other without intermission
across the bog ; but the time, three months and a half, that I
spent at New Birmingham, although I sometimes felt lonely, was
a very profitable and interesting period of my Ufe. I met with
very great kindness from the Eev. John Galway, the curate of
the parish, who resided ffi New Birmingham, though the church
was four miles away. Two of the neighbouring gentry were also
very kind. There was not much to do in the shape of military

346 THE 52nd in the
duty. The following extracts from a rough journal I then kept
wUl give some idea of my manner of spending a portion of my
time, and of my poor attempts to do spme good to those around
me, and will, perhaps, also shew that God ffid, in some good
measure, deal with me according to that gracious promise con
tained in Proverbs xi, 25, " he that watereth shall be watered
"also ffimself."
" June 9. Mr. Galway was kind enough to read prayers to
the men. In the evening I read to them one of Burder's sermons
on the knowledge of Christ 10th. I dined early, and Mr.
Galway and I took a long walk after dinner, and another after
tea ; during the last we had a very pleasing conversation on re
Ugious subjects. I do trust my stay here may be blessed to both
of us ; I humbly pray it may. May the Lord Almighty enable me
to walk more and more closely with Him. I have indeed been
greatly privileged for the last three or four days, my feelings
having been very spiritual Yesterday I had a very interesting
conversation with a poor Eoman Catholic farmer. I have pro
mised to take him some books. 12th. Which I did to-day ; he
was very thankful for them ; they were 'The King's Visit' 'The
' Good Catholic,' and ' Short Prayers for every day in the week.'
13th. EstabUshed a school in the detacffinent ; ten out of the
twenty-one attended twice to-day ; six of them read verse about
in the Testament, I now and then explaining a Uttle, and four
others, two boys, and one of the women, were at their spelUng
and alphabet; the reading party looked out several of Chalmers's
references. " June 14th. My school goes on as weU as I can wish. I
trust that God's blessing is on it ; ff so, it wiU prosper ; without
His blessing it cannot Besides reading twice a day with me,
four of the men write ffi Serjeant Whamond's room. I had a
visit from Sir John Tylden and Cosby on Wednesday. They
teU me I have the best detachment of any. Love is at Feathard,
Forbes at MulUnahone, Vivian at Scaw, near Carrick, and Camp
beU at New Inn. An unfortunate business happened the other
night at Vivian's place. A man of his detachment was posted
in front of the guard-room door with orders to let no one pass ;
two drunken fellows, returning from Carrick fair, would not pffil

SOUTH OF IRELAND.

347

up, though he repeatedly caUed to them ; he fired, kiUed one and
severely wounded the other. They were both on the same horse.
The jury returned a verdict of 'WUfffi murder,' and the man
was committed to Kilkenny gaol His trial wUl not come on tiU
August 15th. Eeceived an invitation to dine with Mr. Langley
to-morrow; refused on the ground of its being Sunday." He after
wards apologised for having invited me for that day. "23rd.
Mr. Galway read prayers for us in the barrack-room, aud gave us
a faithful, but I cannot say a very awakening, sermon. In the
evening we walked together, and I read ' Newton on the Pro-
' phecies.' How wonderfully are the prophecies conceming the
Jews fulfilled. ' Oh the depths of the wisdom, &c : ' Eomans xi, 33.
24th. This day I have had great spiritual joy, and I am humbly
thankful for it. What are the pleasures of the world, when com
pared with that joy which comes from above ? That heart alone
can feel it which looks on God as a reconciled father. May I
from this day forth increase in the love and knowledge of that
Saviour who died for me. May I love my God more and serve
Him better every day. I humbly trust He wiU guide me with
His Holy Spirit through life, and finally receive me to eternal
happiness. This day has been a day of real happiness on earth.
I have received great pleasure from an interesting conversation
with Mr. Galway. I gave him about a hundred tracts to form
a lending library for his Sunday school, A poor Eoman Catholic,
with whom I have had several interesting conversations, and to
whom I have given some tracts, I hope much from. Watch and
pray. " June 26th. One of the men whom I confined for being
drunk on parade, pretended to blow his braffis out ; he dis
charged his firelock with the top of the barrel close to his chin,
and burnt himself very much, but as the baU was not in, did
himself no further injury. Drank tea with Mr. Galway, and met
Mrs. and the Misses Langley. Mr. Langley was out aU night ffi
search of Whiteboys. He took out Forbes's party, besides which
several other parties were out. He succeeded ffi discovering a
man supposed to be the original Captain Eock. He was admitted
to baU for a nUnor offence, but it is probable he wiU be hanged
yet for some of the crimes he has committed. A man, whom I

348 THE 52nd in the
saw, had given information to Mr. Langley, and in consequence
of this the peasantry about Sliebneman became frightened, and
gave up nearly two hundred stand of arms to different people.
"June 28th. Dined at Mr. Langley's at Coalbrook, three
miles off. The whole famUy have some serious ideas ; I pro
mised to lend them ' The Eetrospect ' and ' Chalmers's Quarterly
' Papers,' Mr. Galway and I had a very pleasing conversation
as we returned. I was mentioning that it sometimes occurred to
me that I might be making myself too conspicuous as a strict
man with regard to religion. ' Oh no,' he said, ' do not think so
' at all, but think of the good you may do in your situation. It
'must excite attention to these subjects when a young feUow,
' with a sword by his side, comes into a viUage, and, instead of
' lounging about and making a fool of himself, is observed to be
' anxious to encourage religion and morality among his men.
' You must observe that it has a beneficial mfluence even on the
' clergyman.' FraU and sinful as I am, perhaps I may be the
means, if it be God's wiU, of stirring up a few of the people here
abouts to think more seriously of an eternal world.
" June 30th. Sunday. Mr. Galway gave us a very faithful
sermon about praying for the Holy Spirit. In consequence of
having been out aU last night patroUng, I felt heavy and sleepy
in the nuddle of the day, and lay down for two or three hours. I
feared much my Sabbath would pass away in an almost unprofit
able manner. After dinner I read the first four chapters of St.
John's Gospel with great pleasure, and I trust some benefit. I
walked for about an hour : on my return I told my servant I
would read a short sermon to him, and desfred him to invite two
or three of the men to come up, indeed as many as liked it I
went on my knees and prayed to God that He would put His
Spirit into their hearts and incline many to come. How truly
delightfffi it is to have one's prayers answered. I thought it
probable that two or three might come, but all the men in the
barracks and three women attended, about eighteen in all. My
detachment consists of twenty-one men and six women ; seven of
them are Eoman Catholics who did not come. I read Burder's
second sermon, ' The broad and the narrow way.' May the
Alnughty Being, who graciously heard one part of my prayer, as

south OF IRELAND. 349
graciously answer the other, that the Holy Spirit may be poured
out on them, and that the sermon they have heard may be blest
to them. May everyone of them be brought by that Holy Spirit
into the narrow path that leads to eternal bliss. This evening,
too, I have had sweet commuffion -with my heavenly Father. I
have also to-day received a pleasing letter from  and  ;
its style shews evidently that they are beginnmg to think seri
ously of eternal thffigs. Oh! what cause have I for praise.
'0 heaveffiy Father, may I from this day forth strive to Uve
• entirely to Thee, and may I seek Thy glory and the welfare of
' my poor feUow-creatures in aU I do. Amen.' The more we
seek our God ffi prayer the more blessed and happy we shall be.
*' Sunday, Jffiy 7th. In the evening I talked to the men
about a penny-a-week subscription to the Church Missionary
Society, and told them that any who wished it might come to
my morning and evening prayers." About ten men and women
came the next morffing.
" Jffiy 13th. Mr. Galway took the prayers for me, and read
the thfrteenth chapter of St Luke ; seven or eight of the men
attended. Sunday, 14th. I have been trying to persuade the
men to pray by themselves ffidividuaUy. May the Almighty
pour His Holy Spirit on them and induce them to follow my
advice. Jffiy 16th. I find the priest formaUy proffibited my
little tracts last Sunday. Several have been brought back to me
in consequence. It is quite pitiable to see how completely the
priest has these poor fellows under Ms thumb, when one is con-
"vinced that he is leading them astray."
I see from my journal that I had at tMs time frequent ffi
teresting conversations with Eoman CathoUcs, and that I cfrcu
lated amongst them great numbers of tracts. One of my plans
was to give several tracts to the beggars that they might seU
them about the country; this practice was accompanied by
prayer for God's blessffig on them. One day, when I returned to
my quarter my servant told me that a man had been wishffig to
see me very much, who had been there once before. In a day
or two he called again, and told me that he had bought five
tracts from a beggar woman to " whom I had given them to seU,
and that he was much struck with them : he told me also he was

350 the 52nd in the
sure he had been long astray. I was pointing out, some passages
to him in my Bible relating to the new birth, and his anxiety to
turn to the references was quite delightfffi. I have promised to
try and get him a Bible with references, and lent him ' Andrew
'Dunn,' 'Short Prayers for every day,' and another tract or
two. I do hope and trust that this poor man will be brought to
a knowledge of vital religion."
Some little time after I had had this first conversation with
him I sent for him, that I might give him a Bible with references
exactly like my own. He was deUghted with it and read and
conversed with me for a long time on various points of religion.
When he was going away he begged to be allowed to take my
Bible with him, that he might copy out all the remarks which I
had made in many parts of it. I permitted him to do this, and
he returned my Bible in a few days. His name was Eawley,
and he was a weaver. »
About this time I became acquainted with one or two other
ffiteresting characters. As I was walking down the street of the
viUage one day with Mr, Galway, he said, " If you wUl come with
" me into this shop just below, I will shew you one of the most
" clever fellows, for his station in life, that you ever met with."
We accordingly entered the nailer's shop, and I was properly
introduced to James Whelan. A nailer's shop in Ireland was a
place in which several of the people assembled for the sake of a
talk with each other. Not very long after I was first there, I
turned into the shop one day for the purpose of trying to have
some religious conversation with Whelan. There were four or
five persons there. I forget now the exact turn which the conver
sation took, but I weU recoUect that he attempted to prove some
thing which he advanced by the Eoman Catholic catechism,
when I observed that that was not in the Word of God. He
replied that it was in their catechism, and that the catechism
was taken from God's Word. I then addressed him very seri
ously and said, " You know enough of me to be aware that I
" mean exactly what I say. Now, if you wiU come to my quarter
"to-morrow, and bring your catechism with you, and can con-
" vince me that what it contains is in accordance with the Word
"of God, I promise you that I wiU become a Eoman CathoUc."

south of IRELAND. 351
This was too tempting an offer for him to refuse it besides which
it was made in the presence of several of his neighbours, and it
would have appeared very strange to them, if the man, to whom
they had been accustomed to look up, had shewn himself afraid
or unwilling to accept my challenge. He accordingly carae to my
quarter at the hour appointed, bringing his catechism with him.
Eawley was also present by my invitation. I took down my
Bible for the purpose of comparing the Eoman CathoUc catechism
with it, when an unexpected difficulty arose. I told Whelan
that I always made it my practice to pray for God's teaching and
blessing whenever I read His Holy Word. He immediately
objected, that he coffid not pray with a heretic. I told him that
I could not examine God's Word without seeking His blessing
on what I was about to do. There appeared to be some danger
for a few seconds that our projected conference would come to
nothing. It was in vain that Eawley said to him, "I assure you,
" Jim, the gentleman's prayer is a very good one, and you wUl
" Uke it" He could not pray with a heretic. At last I suggested
that I and Eawley could offer up the prayer, and that he coffid
join in it or not as he Uked. To this he assented.
The prayer was a very simple one which I had composed for
myself, and whicii I afterwards printed, that it might be placed
in some copies of the Scriptures which I had procured for the
people. I have one of the copies then prmted lying before
me. It was as foUows : —
"Now that we are about to read Thy Word, Almighty God,
" pour out Thy Holy Spirit into our hearts. Teach us the way
" of salvation, and Thy will concerning our conduct ffi this Ufe.
" Graut this for our Saviour Christ's sake. Amen.''
The very first point we turned to in his catechism was the
doctrine of the worshipping of angels. We looked out the refer
ence given in the catechism to prove this doctrine, which was
the eighth verse of the last chapter of Eevelation, and read it as
follows : — " And I John saw these things, and heard them. And
" wheu I had heard and seen, I feU down to worship before the
" feet of the angel, which shewed me these things." And here
ended the proof Whelan immediately exclaimed, that the verse
exactly agreed with what the catechism stated I begged Mm

352 THE 52nd in the
to look at the next verse, and we read, " Then saith he unto nie,
" See thou do it not : for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy
" brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayffigs of
" this book: worship God." On reading this the expression of his
countenance changed most remarkably, and I felt convinced that
I coffid read in it the very thoughts of his heart which appeared
to be, " Is it possible that my church, that which I have always
" been taught to look upon as the true Church of God, is so
" deceitfffi and so dishonest as to have recourse, in order to prove
" a point, to such a remarkable suppression of the trath as tffis
" which I have thus seen proved against her ? " I do not recol
lect anything more which passed between us on that occasion.
A short time afterwards I gave to Whelan a Bible with references,
similar to that which I had given to Eawley. I shall have to
mention these two men again a few pages farther on.
I have always considered the foUowffig case as a rather re
markable one: — I had been employed aU the forenoon, and during
part of it had had a long and interesting conversation on religion
with a Eoman Catholic near our barracks ; after which I went
for a walk up the side of the mountaffi immediately behffid the
viUage ; after a time, I observed a man some two hundred yards
above me on the side of the mountain, but walking in the same
direction. I was tired with the walk and long discussion which
I had just had, and resolved to keep clear of this man, and to
enjoy a quiet walk by myself; but the thought occurred to me
that perhaps I should never agaffi have an opportunity of speak
ing to this poor ignorant Eoman CathoUc, and I determined to
alter my course so as to come across his path. I always tried to
remember to ask for God's help and blessffig on such occasions,
and I probably did so then. I found him to be a quiet, ffitelU-
gent man. His name was Noonan, and he Uved in a -viUage
about two miles away on the other side of the mountaffi. Alter
speaking to him for a short time, I gave him a few tracts, one of
wffich I remember was " Andrew Dunn," which he afterwards
told me had been eagerly read by a great many persons in his
viUage. I shaU have to speak agam of him hereafter, but I may
here say, that this meetmg with him, and giving him the tracts,
was the first step towards Ms tMowffig aside the errors and

SOUTH OP ieeland. 358
trammels of popery, and becoming an enlightened and pious
Protestant The foUowing is from my journal : —
" August llth. About three weeks ago, twelve of my detach
ment consisting of twenty-one, became subscribers of a penny a
week to the Church Missionary Society : to-morrow we are to
have a little missionary meeting. 12th. About fifteen of the
men attended the missionary meeting. I tried to explain to
them the object of the society, and read to them accounts of
what had been done. I ended by praying for the extension of
CMistianity. The eveffing was very pleasing, and I trust profit
able. September 5th. On the 2nd I received a fresh set of
men. About eight of them have attended school very regularly
as yet, and six or eight come up ffi the evening from eight to
nine, when I read them a tract, and we read the Bible together
and end with prayer. I do eamestiy pray that the Almighty
wUl pour out His Spirit on us, and bless what we are doing to
the salvation of many of their soffis. One young man, Ledgett,
appears to be very serious ; last night he arrived ffi the room
just as I had finished reading a tract to the others, when, quite
regardless of their being there, he knelt down in a corner of the
room and prayed, I suppose for a blessing on what we were
doing. I hope, from their not being surprised at it, that he is ffi
the habit of kneeling down to say his prayers in the barrack-
room. I have received great pleasure from knowffig that the
tracts, which I have given away here, have been the means of
makffig fom' or five people very serious.''
I think also that one famUy among the neighbouring gentry
began to feel the importance of religion, much more than they
had done before, in consequence of thefr ffitercourse with me,
and through reading the books which I lent to them. On my
return home from dining with them one night, as I was walMng
along a lonely part of the road, a man suddenly joffied me, as if
he had been waitffig for me, and began to enter ffito conversation
with me. I only recoUect two things wffich he said, and my re
plies. He said he wondered I was not afraid to be on the road
alone at that hour. I repUed, at the same time toucffing my
sword, " I have a trusty friend here ffi which I can place confi-
A A

354 THE 52nd m the
" dence.'' This was a soldier's speech, but I ought to have added,
'.' God has promised to protect those who put their trust in Him,"
and I probably shoffid have done so, had he not immediately
said, "I wonder. Sir, you take so much trouble to distribute
" such numbers of tracts amongst the people. You are not aware,
" perhaps, that the priest regularly coUects and burns them." To
this I answered, " I don't care about Ms burning the tracts ; he
" does not get hold of them all, and I know you Irish people too
" weU to beUeve that the greater part of those which the priest
" burns, are not read before they get into his hands.'' I never
saw the priest as he lived in a distant part of the parish, but
after I had given the Bibles to Eawley and Whelan, he sent me
a message to say that, if I would get him some Douay Testa
ments he woffid place them ffi the schools. I thought it better
that they should have these Testaments than not have the Scrip
tures at aU, although there were a few such translations as the
foUowing : — " Except ye do penance," instead of our authorized
translation, " except ye repent." I therefore sent for two dozen
of these Testaments, some few of which the priest had, and the
rest were given to the people. After I had left New Bfrmingham,
Gawler informed me that they would be glad of some more, but
these I desired might be sold at sixpence each, as I thought the
people woffid probably value them all the more ff they paid for
them. It wiU be seen, farther on, that this idea proved to be
correct imder rather remarkable circumstances.
TMs appears to be the proper place in which to record the
foUowing, to me very interesting, account, as it is most probably
connected with my ffistribution of tracts amongst the men of the
regiment when it was stationed at DubUn : — A few months ago
a man not U-vffig far from this parish, who knew I had been in
the army but did not know ffi what regiment I had been,
accosted me as I was walMng home in the evening, and said he
had long wished to consffit me as to some money which he
thought was due to him on account of his father, Samuel Bald
win, who belonged to the 52nd, and had died in 1826 in New
Brunswick. In the course of conversation he told me the only
thing he had which had belonged to his father was Ms mUitary
Testament I sent him for this, as his house was not far off;

SOUTH OF IRELAND. 355
and I found the son's name written in it, and that he was born
at Cashel, m 1822 ; but what interested me very much was to
find an entry almost in the following words, taken from a tract
Avhich I weU remember, and which I feel almost certam he must
have received from me, either at Cashel or New Birmffigham : —
" How do I know that the Bible is the Word of God ? Bad men
" could not have written a book containffig such holy precepts
" aud commands. Good men would never have deceived man-
" kind by pretending that that was a revelation from God, which
" they knew had been fabricated by themselves.'' The tract was
written by a clergyman named Marks, who had been a Ueutenant
in the navy. It is one of the Eeligious Tract Society's tracts,
and is called " Conversation in a Boat between two Seamen."
It contains some other short arguments proving the di-vffie
origin of the Bible ; especially the fulffiment of the prophecies
respecting the Jews, and of the prophecies and types wffich refer
to Christ On the 25th of September I was relieved by Gawler in the
command of the detachment at New Bfrmmgham, and proceeded
to Clonmel. I had much to be truly thankful for durffig my
stay at New Birmingham. I was enabled not offiy to do some
thing in the "way of ffistructing our men and the Eoman Catholics
around me, but I had it in my power to befriend, to some extent,
many of the poor of the village at a time of great destitution ffi
that part of Ireland. My friend Gawler and Mrs. Gawler were
also most kffid to them, so that the priest from the altar told the
people that they were bound to pray for INlr. Gawler and for
Mv. Leeke.
Shortly after my arrival at Clonmel I went to Fermoy, ffi
command of a large guard over a number of con"victs, who were
conveyed in carts. It was a most fatigffing march of twenty-four
Irish mUes, at the rate of not quite two mUes an hour. Towards
the middle of October, Kirwan HiU was taken Ul at Ballynamult
and I volunteered to relieve him, and to remain in his place
until the arrival of the other HUl from England. I remaffied
there ten days and then returned to Clonmel The BaUynamffit
barracks are capable of holdffig about 150 men, with a proportion of
officers ; they are situated ffi a very wUd part of the county of
aa2

356 THE 52nd in the
Waterford, near the Knockmeledown Mountains. There was not
a gentleman's house within seven Irish mUes ; and it was a very
soUtary station, especiaUy^ for the officer of the detachment,
which, I think, consisted of forty men. I recoUect many of
them availed themselves of my permission to attend my daily
Scripture reading and prayer.
At the end of November, 1822, I went to DubUn with a
party of twenty-five invaUds, and feU ffi with many of my old
friends — Major Oliver, the Guinnesses, and Mr. and Mrs.
Mathias ; about three weeks or a month before, they had lost
their eldest daughter, a truly religious young person, at the age
of sixteen. Her mother, amongst other things which she
mentioned as to the great comfort they had with regard to her
state, told me that, a day or two before her death, she heard her
say, when the room was quite quiet and she thought no one was
in it, " 0 my precious, precious Saviour." I spent the Sunday
with Mr. and Mrs. Mathias. I think it was the first time he
had preached since his daughter's death. The foUowing is from
my journal : — "His sermon was very much calcffiated to touch
the hearts of his congregation ; he aUuded in some degree to his
recent loss, and said there were two sets of parents in the world,
— those who were bringing up their chUdren merely for this
world, and those who were educatffig them for eternity. He
said that death, when it made its appearance ffi a famUy, was an
awfffi visitor, but those who feared God had consolations of the
highest kind, which people of the world could not have. I felt
much affected, for the last time I had been in that church, I had
sat ffi that same pew with my poor young friend Annie."
I find the foUowing entries in my journal : — " It was on the
4th and 5th of November that the row was about King WUUam's
statue. By order of the Lord-Lieutenant the Orangemen were
prevented from dressing it for the first time. This gave rise to
the ffisturbance at the theatre the other day, when the Lord-
Lieutenant went there. Some one threw a quart bottle from the
upper gaUery, which, it was said, tore away some of the fringe
from one of the cushions in his box. On the 23rd of December
a party of us from Clonmel and Cashel went to Cahir, to dine
with the 10th Hussars. I proceeded to New Birmingham on

SOUTH OF IRELAND. 357
the 26th, to relieve Gawler, who went with his wife to England ;
he came back on the 9th, when I returned to Clonmel At New
Birmingham I found that two of the Eoman Catholics to whom I
had spoken and given tracts, Eawley aud Noonan, had been regular
attendants at Gawler's evening prayers for some time past and
had thereby ' entirely ' offended the priest I fancy they are both
quite convinced that the Eoman Catholic religion is full of error;
they seom also to be anxiously searching the Scriptures. I had
several arguments with Whelan, the naUer ; a very clever man
ibr his situation in life. I wanted Mm to read a little book of
mino, and by my desire he took it to the priest and requested
permission to read it He was told by Father Meighan not to
be too curious. A poor woman, who had once been at Gawler's
family prayers, knelt two different Sundays at the chapel door,
whilst the congregation were passing, by way of doing penance
for that sin. The poor people at New Birmingham are still very
wretched, although a great deal has been done for them. I gave
Eawley £5 to purchase wool with. With this he is to keep
thirteen women constantly employed in spinning, I supplied
eight of them with wheels, and I hope this will be the means of
adding a little to their support. I dined two or three times with
John Galway, and he once with me. Our conversations on the
subject of religion were very interesting, but I fear he does not yet
see the necessity of endeavouring to do everything to the glory
of God. i dined at Cashel on the 9th of January, 1823, and
drank tea with Mr. and Mrs. Holmes. The next day I break
fasted with Cosby, at New Inn, and afterwards proceeded to
Clonmel." Here my journal for that period ends, and it was offiy vexy
occasionaUy resumed in after times ; but I must say a Uttle
more about my poor Eoman Catholic friends, Eawley, Noonan,
aud Whelan, whom I never saw agtiin, but whom I fully hope to
meet at the right hand of our great Judge and Savioiu-, on that
day when the trumpet shall sound, and those "who sleep in the
"dust of the earth shaU awake, some to everlasting Ufe, and
" some to shame and everlasting contempt"
After I left New Birmingh£i;m I sent the second two dozen of
Douay Testaments, wMch "were sold to the peopla Gawler after

358 THE 52nd in the
some time offended the priest by a handbiU, which he found it
desirable to cfrculate in the viUage, and had the honour of being
denounced from the altar. The priest ordered the people to return
even the Douay Testaments, and singularly enough they brought to
Gawler aU those which I had given them, but refused to obey the
priest's order with regard to those which they had purchased.
Amongst those who brought back books, was Whelan the naUer, to
whom I had given, as I have before mentioned, a Bible with references.
When he brought it to my friend Gawler, he told him he had
read from the beginning of the Bible to, I thmk, about the end
of the second book of Kings. He added " I am a poor man. Sir,
" but I do assure you I would rather give you ten pounds than
" give you that book." " Why then do you not keep it ? " re
plied Gawler. " Because my priest has ordered me not to do so,"
said Whelan. Gawler replied, " Your priest, who teUs you not to
" read God's Word, is offiy a man, whereas God Himself com-
" mands you to search the Scriptures. Should you not obey God
" rather than man ? " Whelan, shrugging his shoulders ffi token
of his feeUng of helplessness, quietly said, " I must obey my priest,
Sfr.'' Some three or four years afterwards Eawley had an oppor
tuffity of sending a message to me, and a part of it was, I might
depend upon it that Whelan was a Protestant at heart, though
he was afraid to confess it openly.
Poor Eawley, the man who had bought my tracts from the
beggar-woman, and to whom I had given a Bible, was a simple-
mffided, straightforward man. He suffered some considerable
persecution from the Eoman Catholics, and was waylaid one
night and had his head injured by a blow with a spade. We
sent him for a time to KUkenny, commending him to the care of
that excellent man, the Eev. Peter Eoe, and afterwards I under
stood he became a scripture reader on Lord Mountcashel's estate.
Some years after that, one of my sisters, who was married and
Uvffig in the county of Kilkenny, mentioned ffi one of her letters
that the clergyman of their parish, on accidentally hearing her
maiden name, asked if she knew anything of a Mr. Leeke who
had been quartered in the county of Tipperary several years
before, and on learning that I was her brother, he told her that
some Uttle time before he had been sent for to visit a dyffig man,

SOUTH OF IRELAND. 359
and that on arriving at the house he found about two hundred
people assembled, and ffi a great state of excitement They said
the dying man was a Eoman CathoUc, and declared that he, Mr.
Darby, should not see him, and threatened Mm if he attempted
to go into the liousa He said that they might do what they liked,
but that he shoffid certamly see the man. In the middle of the
dispute, the priest arrived, and Mr. Darby and he arranged that
they should both go into the dying man's room, and that which
ever the man preferred shoffid remain. He declared he was a
Protestant and wished the Protestant clergyman to remain with
him. In the course of conversation, he several times mentioned
the names of Mr. Gawler and Mr. Leeke, and how they had
exerted thejnselves at New Bfrmffigham, to lead the people to
give up their sins and errors and to seek mercy through the
atoning death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Mr. Darby said that he
"was not offiy a convert from popeiy, but a humble, penitent
beUever ffi the Saviour of sumers. I imderstood from my sister's
letter that this was my poor friend Eawley. Some time after I
received this letter I feU in with Mr. Darby, and he gave me the
history of the case, as I have related it aibove, saymg, however,
that my sister had made one mistake, and that the man who died
was not Eawley, but a convert of Eawley's.
Noonan was the man, from another vUlage, whose path I
crossed on the side of the moimtaffi, and to whom I gave the
tract caUed "Andrew Dunn." He attended Gawler's famUy
prayers, and became a convert from popery, and a good man. He
became a scripture reader on, I beUeve, Lord Cavan's estate, and
"was the means of doing much good there. It was reported of
him, that he was held ffi aU the greater estimation, " because he
" made the people cry."' He went in after years to AustraUa.
In November, 1822, I obtaffied leave fi-om Major McNafr,
who was then in command of the regiment, to draw out rffies for
the establishment of a regimental savings' bank, and he requested
me also to write the order on the subject for the orderly book, to
be signed by him. I have my rough copy of the rffies, but not
of the order, now before me. The rules were dffiy lodged,
accordffig to the 57th of George III, c. 105, with the proper
officer at Clonmel I remember that the captains of the regiment

360 THE 52nd LN THE
were appoffited trustees, and Wffiterbottom, who had becorae
the paymaster, and I were the treasurers. On the first day
on wffich money was paid ffi, upwards of four hundred pounds
were received by us. I had heard of only one other savings'
bank ffi the army at that time, and that was either ffi the 78th
or 79th HigManders. I was told, after my return from the
miUtary college, on our way to North America, that Sfr John
Tylden, some time after he came from leave and had assumed
the command of the regiment, -wrote to the Horse Guards, men-
tioffing the estabUshment of a savings' bank in the regiment and
how acceptable it was to the men, and that he got a regffiar "rap
" over the knuckles " for ha-ving ventured to take a step of such
importance, without the permission of the Commander-in-CMef,
(not that he had taken it,) and desfrffig him immediately to put
a stop to the thing. When I rejoined the regiment from Sand
hurst, and wffilst I remained ffi it, I never heard anything more
of a savffigs' bank.
I copy the following from the 52nd record : — " 1843. Eegi-
" mental savffigs' banks had been estabUshed by Her Majesty's
"gracious warrant of. the llth of October, and the 52nd
"regimental savings' bank was begun by a regimental order,
"dated 30th of November." It is very singffiar that in my
rough draft of the "Effies for a 52nd Light Infantry Eegimental
Savings' Bank," it is stated to have been " estabUshed at Clonmel
on the 30th of November, 1822," exactly, to a day, twenty-one
years before the estabUshment of the other.
I am not sure that I ought to mention the foUo-wing cfrcum
stance which took place at ClonmeL I wUl, however, -write it
down, and omit it in the pubUcation of the work if on further
consideration I thffik it desirable do so. 1 shaU probably, how
ever, retain it, for I feel it to be important to the cause of reUgion,
as I have before stated, to shew that my religious views did not
at aU interfere with my efficiency as an officer. The circumstance
was this : — One day the commandffig officer ordered the company
wffich I commanded to skfrmish, and to coffiorm to the move
ments of the battalion. He was so pleased with the manner in
wffich I had handled the sMrmishers, that when the men were
dismissed, and most of the officers were standmg around him ffi

SOUTH OF IRELAND. 361
a group, he spoke of me as " the best Ught infantry of&cer m
" the regiment." This was certaiffiy an unusual thing for a com
manding officer to do, but nevertheless the circumstance happened
as I have related it I fear the mention of it must be set down
to the score of vanity, but that I cannot help. I suppose we are
all vain at times ; and I confess I was very proud of my regi
ment, and consequently very proud of being caUed "the best
"Ught mfantry officer" in the best light infantry regiment in the
world, in " a regiment never surpassed in arms sffice arms were
"first borne by men."* Of course I was aware that almost
every officer in the regiment coffid handle a body of skfrmishers
as weU as I could, and that most of them had much more ex
perience than I had, stiU I have always remembered with grati
fication the above measure of praise dealt out to me on the
parade-ground of the 52nd.
One other anecdote relating to my efficiency'as an officer I
am bound also, for the before-mentioned reason, not to omit ; it
occurred at nearly the same time as that mentioned in the last
paragraph. The regiment was practising " street firing," both in
advancffig and retiring, and one of the older officers ffi command
of a company made somewhat of a bungle of it, whilst I, with
the company I commanded, executed the several movements
with that precision and promptitude which they required. I
was told that several of the officers, in talking the thing over
afterwards, had expressed their wonder at the slowness, &c., of
the older officer, and had particularly contrasted it with my
smartness on the occasion. My readers wUl very naturaUy say
of me, "His trumpeter has been long dead."
One of my pleasing recoUections connected with Clonmel is
the having learnt by heart the beautifol first epistle of St Peter,
during some of my quiet walks on the banks of the Suir. I think
. I have consequently always known more of that book than of
any other portion of the Scriptures. I may here state also that
¦* If this work should ever faU into the hands of those who have served in the
43rd Light Infantry or in the old 95th Rifles, (now the Rifle Brigade,) those
other fine and gaUant regiments of the light division in Spain, they wiU kindly
excuse this high-flown language, and set it down to that esprit de corps, which
is so frequently imbibed by young officers, and which is often cherished by them
to the latest day of their Uves.

362 THE 52nd IN THE SOUTH OF IRELAND.
I do not recoUect any commentary, or other religious book, that
I ever read with greater pleasure and benefit than Archbishop
Leighton's Commentary on this same first epistle of Peter. I should
be thankfffi ff I could ffiduce my readers to study it, with much
prayer to God that He would make it a blessffig to them. Some
years after the time I -write of it was a favourite book with the
great and good Lord Seaton.

363

CHAPTEE XXIIL
1823.
SANDHURST.
Senior department at Sandhurst — Determined to work hard — Religious duties —
Strict observance of the Lord's Day— Boerhave—Diggle's wound— Serjeant
Houseley met him wounded at Waterloo— Diggle's anecdote about a toast in
Sicily — My order to join 52nd, and to embark for America— Sir George
Murray, the governor, opposes it, but without success — Asks me to dine
with him on Sunday — Correspondence with the Horse Guards — Proceed to
Cork — Find 52nd embarking.
In May, 1822, whilst we were at DubUn, I applied to Colonel
Charles Eowan, who commanded the 52nd as senior major, to
get me leave to join the senior department of the military coUege
at Sandhurst, that I might pursue my studies in fortification and
mUitary plan-drawffig, which I had gained some knowledge of,
before I entered the army, as one of the private pupUs of Captain
Malortie de Martemont, a French royalist, who was professor of
fortffication at the Woolwich Academy. Eowan told me he
woffid readily do what I desired, but that I had much better
make my appUcation through Colborne, who was a fiiend of
mine. This I did, and my name was forwarded by him to the
Horse Guards, and it was notified to me, in a few weeks, that I
shoffid be admitted to study at the institution, taking my proper
turn after those canffidates whose names stood before mine, when
a vacancy for me shoffid occur.
I think I went to Sandhurst about the middle of February,
1823. Captain lioyd of the 73rd Eegiment and I, joined in
hfring a smaU house exactly opposite to the large gates of the

354 SANDHURST.
college, on the Bagshot road, and my servant, who had come "with
me from the regiment, and his wife, attended on us, Lloyd was
a religiously-disposed man, and we got on most comfortably to
gether. We had our famUy prayers, with great regularity, at
seven in the morffing, and at nine at night ; and we took some
considerable time also, every morning and evening, for prayer and
meditation on God's Word 'in private. I believe that aU this,
and our strict observance of Sunday as a day on which we should
not only abstain from secffiar pursuits and studies, but also
endeavour to increase in the knowledge of God, and in holiness,
brought down the blessing of God, in a remarkable manner, upon
us, both as regarded our progress in religion, and in the mUitary
studies of the college, to which we determined to devote all our
time and energies. At that time fifteen officers, from various
regiments, were studyffig at the senior department. Lloyd and
I worked hard each day, from eight o'clock in the moming tUl
ffine at night, scarcely taking any time for our dinner ; and the
progress we consequently made was remarked by the professors
and others.
I rose at five each morning, and got to bed at eleven. This
plan left a considerable portion of time each day for private
prayer and readffig of the Scripture, without at all interferffig
with our secular studies. I think I never, at any other time of
my life, devoted so much of the morning and evening to religious
duties, nor did I ever, at any other time, get through such an
amount of hard work and study as I did during the few months
that I remained at Sandhurst. I do not know that the foUowing
paragraphs, which I extract from " Buck's Anecdotes," were the
means of my giving up so much time to religious duties, but the
blessing which accrued from the practice recalls them to my
mind : —
" The great Dr. Boerhave acknowledged that an hour spent
" every morning in private prayer and meditation gave Mm spirit
" and vigour for the business of the day, and kept his temper
"active, patient, and calm.
" The famous Dr. Boerhave was once asked by a friend who
" admired his patience under provocations, whether he knew what
" it was to be angiy, and by what means he had so entirely sup-

SANDHURST. 365
"pressed that impetuous and ungovernable passion? He
" answered, with the utmost frankness and sincerity, that he
" was naturaUy qffick of resentment but that he had, by daily
" prayer and meditation, at length attained to this mastery over
" himseff. "
Lloyd and I were very anxious to observe the Lord's Day in
a proper manner, by " not doing our own ways, nor finding our
" own pleasure, nor speaking our own words," the meaning of
which command we understood to be, that we were not to be
engaged ffi our usual occupations, nor were we to spend any part
of the day in amusements, nor were we to engage unnecessarUy
ffi worldly conversation : Isaiah IviU, 13. We agreed to remind
each other that we were deviating from our rale, if one or the
other inadvertently introduced any worldly subject of conversa
tion, beffig convinced that the day would be as much frittered
away, as regarded any religious advantage to be derived from it,
by such conversation, as it woffid be by engaging in our usual
employments, or in traveUing or amusements. I recoUect, on
one occasion, when walking in the wood beffind our house, that
we found we had, through inadvertence, been unnecessarily talking
about worldly matters for a whole quarter of an hour. We always
felt and acted upon it that works of necessity, mercy, and piety,
not only might but ought to be done on that holy day.
A rather curious circumstance occurred at Sandhurst in con
nexion with my early risiug. My servant, who went to bed an
hour and a half earUer than I did, called me one morning, as I
supposed, at the usual hour, five o'clock ; I had gone to bed at
eleven, and, as I always did, got up directly I was caUed. I
happened, before I began to dress, to look at my watch, and found
to my surprise that he had mistaken the hour, and had caUed me
at twelve o'clock. I felt quite as much refreshed by my one
hour's sound sleep, as I shoffid have done had I slept for six
hours. I was, however, not at aU sorry to find that I might tum
in again for five hours more.
It was a great pleasure to me to find Major and Mrs. Diggle
at Sandhurst. He was a captaffi ffi the 52nd at Waterloo, and
commanded No. 1, the right company of the regiment in that
action, and was desperately wounded in the head ffi the charge

366 SANDHURST.
on the French Imperial Guard. He recovered, but his wound
was of such a nature, that he left the 52nd, and became captaffi
of one of the companies of gentlemen cadets at Sandhurst. I
was their guest for some time, tUl I had arranged about hiring
the house which I occupied with Captain Lloyd of the 73rd.
Diggle of late years was a major-general, and sUver-stick ffi
waitmg to the Queen. He was ffi the 52nd for several years, and
saw some good service. He wore a sUver plate, with black silk
coverffig it, over his wound just above the left temple. I was
perfectly astonished at the depth and width of the hole in his
skuU, when he took off the plate one day, at Sandhurst, to shew
it to me. On that occasion I doubled up my forefinger, not a
very smaU one, and laid it against the w^ound, and satisfied myseff
that ff it could have been cut off at the knuckle joint, and placed
on the skin over the braffi at the bottom of the wound, I coffid
have covered it over so as to let the plate fit do-wn close over it,
and lie eveffiy on the surrounding portion of the skuU. He kept
the musket-baU, and about a dozen or fourteen smaU portions of
the skuU in a box, the ball having been divided ffi two by the
force of the blow. One ofour old serjeants, (Houseley,) whom I
shaU speak of afterwards, told me a few weeks ago that at
Waterloo, when he was retuming from couveyffig Corporal Hood,
whose heel was shot off, to the rear, which he was ordered to do
on our 52nd squares retiring up the position from the neighbour
hood of Hougomont, he met Captain Diggle, who had just been
wounded, and, as he passed, heard him say to the men who were
with him, " What -wiU my poor -wife do ?"
Diggle was a very nice feUow, and was much Uked by every
body in the regiment. I recollect that one day, at Sandhurst, he
was obser-ving that he often wondered how young officers got on
in the army without getting into more scrapes than they did, and
gave me the foUowing account of a somewhat serious scrape
in wMch he found himself soon after he first joffied the 52nd in
SicUy. There was a grand dinner given by the regiment to the
general and several other persons, and after dffiner many toasts
were given, when Diggle, beffig somewhat excited, stood up and
said, " Mr. President wUl you aUow me to propose a toast ?"
Everybody was sUent ; and the toast was proposed as foUows :

SANDHURST. 367
" Mr. President here is confusion to aU commanding officers !"
The whole of the party were horrified. He hardly knew how he
got out of the scrape ; he heard some of them say something
about his being put in arrest, but the thffig was passed over
without any serious notice being taken of it.
The studies engaged in by the officers of the senior department
at Sandhurst were especially suited to my taste. Professor
Narien was an exceedingly pleasing man, and I tffink I had much
moro to do with hini than with any of the other masters or
professors. I believe there was one officer there, and only one,
who pursued his work on the Sunday ; it was said that he always
did his fortification plans on that day. It particularly strack me
that whilst Lloyd aud I appeared to be especially prospered in
our work, it was just the reverse with this officer. It perhaps
may be thought that I say too much about myself, but Lloyd
and I certainly were very generally known and spoken of, as
setting an example in the way of diligence and progress, which
was thought to be beneficial to that part of the Sandhurst estab
lishment to which wo were attached.
The military sketching was perhaps the most pleasing part
of our work at Sandhurst. I well remember the very great pleasure
I derived from finding, when I was just completing my first
sketch, that, after having paced a round of several mUes, and
sketched the country borderffig on my course, I found, on arriving
at a particular point that my pacing, &c., had been so correct
that it was impossible for it to have been more so.
One evening, I have some idea it was on a Sunday, the fine
young plantations behind our house were maliciously set on fire ;
the fire had not made very great progress when we discovered it
and Lloyd and I, and my servant with the help of another man,
who came to the rescue, were enabled to beat it out before it had
burnt more than half an acre of the wood. The proprietor sent
his son the next morning to thank us for the service we had ren
dered him.
I knew scarcely any one in the neighbourhood of Sandhurst ;
but I once went to dine and sleep at General Orde's, who lived
about four miles off. I had met him in town, in 1821, at Admiral
Hawker's : he was a religious man, and a good officer. I remember

368 SANDHURST.
his teUing me the following circumstance, wMch helps to
shew what a misunderstanding and fear there was at that time,
at the Horse Guards, of men who were known to be strict in
matters of reUgion. He told me that a Uttle time before the
Battle of Waterloo he had been offered the command of a brigade
in our army in Flanders, to be composed of three of the finest
regiments in the service, just retumffig from America — ^the 7th
Fusiliers, the 29th Eegiment, and the 43rd light Infantry, a Ught
di-vision regiment — but he was required to promise something
tantamount to his keeping his religious views to himself as far as
Ms brigade was concerned. On these terms he felt that he coffid
not accept the offer, and was constraffied to refuse it, much to
his mortification.
The officers of the seffior department were not in any way
affixed up with the cadets at Sandhurst We now and then met
some of them in thefr walks, and saw them ffi the coUege chapel
on the Sunday ; but I do not think I ever had an opportunity of
speakmg to any of them, except on one occasion, when I saw
two or three serjeants of the estabUshment rather concealing
themselves, and watchffig four or five of the cadets who were on
what I knew to be the confines of their bounds. I then walked
across the road, and caUed out to them over the hedge, " I thffik
"you are not aware that some of your serjeants are watching you
" at a very short distance from this.'' They immediately thanked
me, and, jumpffig over a fence into thefr bounds, took the road to
the college.
The officers of the seffior department were not necessarily
much thrown together, but I think we generaUy did our fortifi
cation plans in the same haU of study. I only recoUect a few
of them by name now, and perhaps they have sffice passed away ;
they were very nice, agreeable fellows, but I have only come
across one of them since I left Sandhurst One day, whUst we
were at our drawing or fortification, two or three of them oame
to me and said they had observed that my way of going on -tvas
in some measure different from theirs, and they thought I was
actuated by my views of religion ; and they asked me to explaffi
to them what those -views were. I had never before had any
opportuffity of speaking to any of them, except Lloyd, on reUgious

SANDHUEST. 369
subjects, and was not sorry that the opportunity had now arrived
for doing so. It is rather remarkable that whUst I have a most
accurate memory with regard to most things, I have not the least
recoUection of what I said to these men on that occasion, except
that I acceded to thefr wish, and that they were very kffid and
civU about it. I think something must have occurred to prevent
our contmuffig the conversation for more than two or three
mmutes. In AprU, 1823, the 52nd received orders to hold themselves
in readiness to proceed to North America early in June, and I
received an order from the commanding officer. Sir John Tylden,
through the adjutant, to join the regiment,, and accompany them
to America, and stating, that if I wished to remaffi at Sandhurst,
I could do so offiy by going on half-pay, and that he should apply
to the Horse Guards for a half-pay lieutenancy for me. This
letter I took at once to General Sir George Murray, who was
govemor of Sandhurst He was very kind, and told me that
commandffig officers would be commanding officers, but that the
commanding officer of the 52nd had nothffig to do with ordering
me to leave Sandhurst, and join my regiment. He desired me
to -write as civil a letter as I could in reply to the adjutant's
communication, and that he would write to the Horse Guards on
the subject.
Sir George Murray occasionally invited an officer or two of
the senior department to dine with him, and the day he usually
fixed on was Sunday. I had not yet received an invitation, but
when I had finished the above-mentioned conversation with him,
and was coming away, he said, " Mr. Leeke, you wUl dine with
" me on Sunday ?" This came very unexpectedly upon me, but
I immediately thanked him, and said that I made it a rule
never to dine out on Sundays, He was e-vidently somewhat
" taken aback," as we say, by my reply, and merely said, " Oh !
" it's of no consequence." This made no difference in his kind
ness to me during the few weeks that I remained at Sandhurst
after this, though he did not again ask me to dine with him. My
kind and good friend Admiral Hawker had been flag captain to
William IV, when, as Lord High Admiral, he hoisted his flag for
a time ffi the Britannia, at Plymouth. After he came to the
B B

370 SANDHURST.
throne. Admiral Hawker was invited, or commanded, on one
occasion, to dine with the King on a Sunday. He stated that he
had conscientious scruples to doing this on the Lord's Day, and
the King took it very good-naturedly, and begged him to dine
with him on the foUowing Thursday instead, which he did.
Sfr George Murray wrote at once to the Horse Guards, and
by return of post received the following reply : —
"Horse Guards, 26th AprU, 1823.
" My dear General,
" By the Commander-in-Chiefs desire, I have the honour to
" enclose, (in reference to your letter of yesterday,) for your inform-
" ation and guidance, the copy of an official communication which
" is to be made this day by me to the officer commanding the
" 52nd regiment, notifying that Ensign Leeke is to remain at the
" college to complete his studies. " John Macdonald, D. A.G."
I naturally thought that this settled the matter, but two or
three weeks afterwards it occurred to me that, as a half-pay
lieutenancy had been applied for, I had better see Sir Herbert
Taylor, the Commander-in-Chief's military secretary, and tell him
I did not wish for such promotion. I accordingly went to town,
and attended his lev^e. After remaining there about an hour
amongst a large number of officers, one of the attendants came
to say that Sir Herbert Taylor would be obliged if I and two
other officers, whose names were caUed out, would go and see
Major Maling, the assistant-secretary. On entermg his office,
he put the foUowing letter into my hand, sayffig, "There, Sir,
" is a letter which, I think, wUl set your mind at rest : — "
"Horse Guards, 17th May, 1823.
" Sir, — I am directed by the Commander-in-Chief to acquaffit
"you that, upon your lodging the sum of £250 in the hands of
"Messrs. Greenwood, Cox, and Co., His Eoyal Highness wiU
" submit your name to His Majesty for the purchase of a half-pay
"Ueutenancy m the 49th Eegiment. " I have the honour to be, &c,,
" Ensign Leeke, 52nd Eegiment H. Taylor."
I told Major Maling that I had come for the very purpose of

SANDHURST. 371
decUning the purchase of a half-pay lieutenancy. He brought
me Tylden's original letter, with one corner of it tumed down, on
which the Duke of York had written to the foUowing effect ; I
am not sure of the exact words : — " This officer to have the pro-
" motion requested for ffim, orto join his regiment. — Frederick."
On my askffig if I could have some little time to consult Sir
John Colborne on the subject, he said he thought I might take
about a week, the time I mentioned, for that purpose, and opening
a door into another office, he caUed out, " Ensign Leeke's promo-
" tion is not to appear in the Gazette to-night"
In about a week I received the foUowffig letter from Sfr John
Colborne : — " Guernsey, May 23rd, 1823.
" My dear Leeke,
" I have this moment received your letter, and scarcely know
" what advice to give, so much depends on whether you reaUy
" are not a little disgusted or tired with your profession. I should
" rather be inclined, were the case my own, to jom the regiment
" and proceed to America. You must get a Ueutenancy soon ffi
"the 52nd. The purchasffig in another regiment would be
" throwing away money, with a chance of being sent to a colony
"more disagreeable than Nova Scotia. To retire to half-pay
" would be a very unsatisfactory measure, uffiess you make up
" your mind to bid adieu to a profession to which you owe nothing,
" and in which you have spent many years, without havffig gained
" any advantage, and without a prospect of obtaining that rank or
" remuneration which might induce you to sacrifice the best part
" of your life. However, ffi our very precarious profession, we
"are placed frequently in a situation from which it would be
" absurd to escape, unpromising as the prospect may appear. I
" am almost tempted to say, keep your money, and go to America ;
"you can always purchase half-pay, and you may not dislike
" Halifax for some years. Of aU this you are the best judge ;
" but either remaffi in the 52nd, or accept the haff-pay Ueutenancy
" with the view of qffittffig the army. I believe CampbeU has
" arranged an exchange. " Very sfficerely yours,
"J. Colborne." bb2

372 SANDHURST.
On the receipt of this letter from Sir John Colbome, (after
wards Lord Seaton,) I -wrote as follows to Sir Herbert Taylor : —
"E. M. CoUege, Sandhurst May 27th, 1823.
" Sir, — In answer to your letter of the 17th, relating to the
"purchase of a half-pay lieutenancy in the 49th Eegiment I
"have the honour to inform you that this promotion is not at all
"what I wish, and that the appUcation for it was made entirely
" without my desirffig it Understandffig from the adjutant of
"the 52nd that such an application had been made by the com-
" manding officer, I went to the Horse Guards on the 19th instant,
" with the intention of informing you that I should rather remain
" in my present regiment, when your letter was put into my hand
'• by Major Maling. I should have answered it immediately, had
" I not wished to consult Sir John Colborne previously to doing
" so. I have now been eight years in the 52nd, and am much
" attached to it, and should prefer remaining tiU a lieutenancy
" becomes vacant in it, to the purchasing even a full-pay lieu-
" tenancy in another regiment, except with the prospect of further
" promotion, or immediate restoration to my old corps. I am
" aware that Sir> John Tylden, in applying that I should either
"join my regiment, or be permitted to purchase half-pay promo-
" tion, mentioned the long period during which I was absent from
" my regimental duties some time ago. I think it right to state
" to you, for the information of His Eoyal Highness the Com-
" mander-in-Chief, that with the exception of three months' leave,
" which I had in 1816, 1 have not been absent from my regiment,
" except in consequence of a severe iUness, and ffi order to acquire
" a knowledge of French and German.
" I much wish to remain at this coUege, and I trast I shall be
" aUowed to do so ; at the same time, if it be necessary, I shaU
" cheerfully return to my regimental duties.
"I have the honour to be, &c,,
" Wm. Leeke, Ensign, 52nd Light Infantry."
To this letter I received the foUowing reply from Sir Herbert
Taylor:— " Horse Guards, May 29th, 1823.
" Sir, — I am dfrected to acquaint you, in reply to your letter
" of the 27th instant that the Commander-m-Chief has no ob-

SANDHURST. 373
"jection to cancel your promotion, the candidates for wMch are
"very numerous, but His Eoyal Highness cannot, under tlie
"representation made by your commanding officer, aUow you to
" be any longer absent from your regimental duty. If, therefore,
" you choose to continue as an ensign ffi the 52nd Foot, you must
"join immediately, and proceed with them to Nova Scotia. An
" early answer is requested. " I have the honour to be, &c.,
" Herbert Taylor.''
Sir George Murray felt very strongly, I have reason to think,
on the subject of my having the somewhat cruel alternative set
before me, of giving up the 52nd, or relinquishing my studies at
Sandhurst He, as the Duke of WeUington's quartermaster-
general in Spain, knew the 52nd far better than the Duke of
York or Sir Herbert Taylor could know them; and he knew
something of my conduct and progress at Sandhurst, and was
anxious that I should be differently treated. He consequently
wrote strongly to the Horse Guards, urging that I should be per
mitted to remain at Sandhurst, and enclosing the correspondence
which had taken place between the adjutant and myseff. To this
commuffication he received the foUowffig reply :^
"Horse Guards, 3rd June, 1823.
" My dear General,
" I have submitted your letter of the 31st ffitimo, and its en-
" closures, herein returned, to the Commander-in-Cffief, who orders
"me to say, that if the opportunity of recommendmg Ensign
" Leeke for the purchase of promotion had not offered. His Eoyal
" Highness would not have required him to join his corps, or to
" retire on half-pay as ensign. As it is, an alternative hais been
" offered to him, of which there is scarcely an officer m the service
" who would not avail himseff, and His Eoyal Highness, advertffig
"to the manner ffi which he has endeavoured to consult that
" officer's wish to remaffi at the coUege, without losing sight of
" what is due to the efficiency of regiments, to which he attaches
" also great importance, cannot but consider this holding out
" agaffist such arrangement most unreasonable, and must therefore
" abide by what has been communicated ffi my letter of the .29tli
" lUtimo to Ensign Leeke.

374 SANDHURST.
" His Eoyal Highness dfrects me further to observe that En-
"sign Leeke's application in May, 1822, for admission to the
" coUege, should have been made through the officer then com-
" manding the 52nd Eegiment, and not through Sfr John Colborne,
" who, being on the staff at Guernsey, could have no concern -with
" it, and His Eoyal Highnesss is not surprised at Sir J. Tylden's
" noticffig with displeasure the style of Ensign Leeke's letter of
"the 25th of AprU." I remain, my dear general, sincerely yours,
" Ht. Taylor.
"M. General Sir George Murray, G.C.B."
The Duke of York, in coming to this conclusion, must, I
think, have lost sight of the fact that I was the senior. ensign of
my regiment, and that although I had always been for purchase,
I had been upwards of eight years an ensign.
I was sketching at some little ffistance from the coUege, when
Sir George Murray sent me the above letter, in the middle of the
day, on the 5th of June, that I might act upon it. I immediately
packed up my things and took leave of my friends, and started
by the night maU for Bristol ; for I was afraid the 52nd would
start from Cork before I shoffid reach them. Poor Mr. Narrien,
the principal professor at Sandhurst, when he took leave of me,
with tears in his eyes said, "we are losing our best hand."*
• Mr. Narrien was at Sandhurst for forty years as astronomer and professor.
After his death his bust was placed, I beUeve, in one of the halls of study, as a
memento of one who was very much respected and beloved by all who knew him.
I received the foUowing letter from him many years after I left Sandhurst, in
reply to a letter of introduction to him which I had given to my friend the late
Sir Andrew Agnew, when his son was thinking of becoming a student at the
senior department of the mUitary college : —
" Royal Military College, October 9th, 1841.
" Mt dear Sib, — It gave me great pleasure to receive from you the kind letter
" which Sir Andrew Agnew did me the favour to deliver, and though eighteen
" years have elapsed since I remembered you among my pupUs, I have not for-
" gotten the regret which I felt at your departure, and the expression — ' you feared
" ' that we should meet no more in this world.' This anticipation may indeed
" be verified, inasmuch as I am confined to this spot, and you may not have any
" occasion to revisit the dark heaths and fir groves of Bagshot. Yet I know that
" you feel, and I may be allowed to say that I also feel, that we are and were,
" even when separated by the Atlantic, under the protection of the same good
" Providence, like cMldren under one father. Therefore to us a separation by a

SANDHURST. 375
Thus ended my studies at the senior department of the miUtary
coUege, after a short stay there of rather less than four months.
How wonderfuUy does God, ffi His providential deaUngs with us,
make the most trifling cfrcumstances subservient to affecting the
whole course of our future Uves. The day after I left Sandhurst,
I addressed the following letter to Sir Herbert Taylor : —
"Bristol, June 6th, 1823.
" Sir, — I have the honour to ffiform you that, in consequence
" of your communication of the 4th ultimo to Sir George Murray,
" I thought it my duty to endeavour to join my regiment as soon
" as possible ; I am thus far on my road, and hope to join on the
" Sth or 9th. I am very sorry that His Eoyal Highness the Com-
" mander-in-Chief deems my conduct in this affair unreasonable.
" I had not the most distant idea that, in acting as I did, I was
" holding out against any arrangement made by His Eoyal High-
" ness. Had I been aware that His Eoyal Highness thought it
" expedient that I should purchase the half-pay lieutenancy, I
" should not have declined it. I really thought the offer of this
" step was made to me under the supposition that I had applied
" for it I imagined I was doing what was right, and most con-
" suiting my interest, in desirffig to remain in the 52nd. I hope
" this explanation wUl prevent me from suffering ffi the opinion
"of the Commander-in-Chief I have only to add that I am
" ready at all times to be disposed of in any manner which His
" little land or water is of smaU moment, seeing that we hope for the advent of
" that day when aU men shaU be united in one family. Here is our consolation.
" But it is impertinent in me to dweU on this subject. I hope to have the gratifi-
" cation of seeing Captain Agnew in our hall of study next January ; and I have
" no doubt that I shall be able to inspire him with a taste for science, at least I
" wUl do my best to produce that effect, which will, I am confident, open for him
" a source of pleasure, both in the enjoyment which the world attaches to the
" possession of knowledge, and in the consciousness of having fulfiUed one end of
" our being, which is, that we cultivate the faculties given us by our Creator.
" A thousand thanks for your very flattering invitation, and I wish I could
" say that I thought it would be in my power to accept what would afford me the
" highest pleasure. This impossibihty does not however, diminish the grateful
" sense I entertain of your kindness, and wishing that you may long enjoy every
" earthly blessing, " I remain, my dear Sir, ever faithfuUy yours,
' "John Nakeien."

376 SANDHURST.
" Eoyal Highness may deem beneficial to me, or conducive to the
" good of the service. " I have the honour to remaffi, &c.,
" Wm. Leeke, Ensign, 52nd Light Infantry."
Before I saUed from the Cove of Cork, I received the foUo-wing
reply to the foregoing letter : — "Horse Guards, 9th June, 1823.
" Sir, — I have submitted your letter of the 6th instant to the
" Commander-in-Chief, who orders me to say that he is perfectly
" satisfied with your statement His Eoyal Highness had sanc-
" tioned your purchasing a half-pay lieutenancy in order to meet
" your wishes to remain at the college, and had you availed your-
" self of it you woffid, at the expiration of your stay there, have
" been brought up on fuU-pay. The arrangement woffid there-
" fore have forwarded your general interests, without interrupting
" your studies^ and without affecting the efficiency of your corps.
" I am, &c.,
" Ensign Leeke, 52nd Eegiment Ht. Ta-yloe.''
'Thus ended for a time my correspondence with the Horse
Guards. Immediately after this. Ensign Hill of the 52nd, nephew of
Lieutenant-General Lord HUl, afterwards Commander-in-Chief,
who was four years my junior ffi the regiment without including
the two years given by His Majesty for Waterloo, was allowed
to purchase the haff-pay Ueutenancy ffi the 49th, and to exchange
back into the 52nd, so that when I got my lieutenancy by pur
chase in the 52nd ffi the foUowmg November I had, as my im
mediate senior in the Ust of lieutenants, a man who had served
only four years, whilst I had served eight years as ensign ffi the
regiment HUl was a very good feUow, and then and afterwards
was a good officer ; and there was nothing wrong in their letting
Mm purchase the lieutenancy in the 49th, but to allow Mm to do
so with the understandffig that he should exchange back again
immediately into the 52nd, a boon which they had refused to
me, although I had stated that I should be glad to accept it, this,
and the placing Mm above one so much his senior, and refusing
afterwards to rectify it by placing me above him in the list of

SANDHURST. 377
lieutenants of the regiment, on. my obtaining my lieutenancy a
few months afterwards, I must always regard as a most cruel,
unjust, and tyrannical proceeding as ever they were guilty of at
the Horse Guards ; a proceeding quite sufficient to disgust any
one with the service. It wiU be seen afterwards, that soon after
we were settled in New Brunswick, when I became aware of all
that had been done in this matter, I memoriaUzed the Duke of
York on the subject

378

CHAPTEE XXIV.
1823.
THE 52nd go to NEWFOUNDLAND AND NEW BRUNS"\VICK.
Explanation with Sir John Tylden— Proceed with three companies to Nevrfbund-
land— Off Kinsale and Castle Townsend— Sea sickness— Calm— Visit
timber vessel— Sudden squall— Shark — A bonnet overboard— Cards— Bible
—Banks of Fewfoundland—Fogs— Vessels— 74th at St. John's— Found an
order to proceed to New Brunswick — Naval officer — Rencontre — Frigate —
Go onboard— Leave Newfoundland— Bay of Fundy— St. John's— Annapolis
— Proceed with one company to St. Andre-w's— Barracks— Expel vermin-
Level a road— Prayer for the people— Snow-shoes— Frost-bites— Kindness
ofthe people— -Many joined us in meeting to read the Scriptures— Party
kept up for many years.
On landing at the Cove of Cork from the Bristol packet I found
that the first detachment of the 52nd had embarked, and that Sir
John Tylden was just going off to visit the transport ; so, as I
knew nothing about my exact destffiation, I went off with Mm
that he might enlighten me on the subject In the first place
he told me that they were not at aU expectffig me from Sand
hurst, and that the last they had heard of me was that I was to
remain there. In the course of conversation, something I said
led him to ask me, " Did you not then go to Sandhurst through
" Colborne's interest contrary to Eowan's wish, who was the com
manding officer when your application was made?" On my
teUing him that I had appUed first of all to Eowan, who told me
I had much better get Colborne to make the application for me,
Tylden said he had been altogether under a misapprehension
about it, and appeared to be sorry that his application had mter-

THE 52nd go to NE-WEOUNDLAND and new BEUNSWICK. 379
fered with my plans. I have an idea that his mistake arose from
this, that McNair, the second major, who was the commanding
officer when I might expect on any day to receive my summons
to go to Sandhurst tried hard to persuade me to give up the
going there altogether; but this, of course, I could not do. I
was on detachment at Ballynamult in the Knockmeledown
, mountains, when the order arrived, and I received a letter from
the adjutant commencing, " Your order to go to Sandhurst has
" arrived. We are all in confusion, McNair is furious." I be
lieve at that moment there was something calculated to make a
commanding officer very angry, for so many were the detach
ments, and consequently so few were the officers at head quarters,
that it was very difficffit to spare a subaltern from the regiment,
with anythffig in the shape of undisturbed feelings.
I found that six companies of the 52nd were going to New
Brunswick, three to Newfoundland, and one to Annapolis in
Nova Scotia. McNair commanded the Newfoundland party, and
Kirwan HUl, myself, W. Forbes, and Assistant-Surgeon Macartney
were the officers. Gawler was to join us afterwards. I think
we were the last portion of the regiment to sail. I recollect feel
ing very melancholy just as we were casting off from the quay to
drop down to the mouth of the harbour ; but when I looked at
the men, and thought of their feelings at the prospect of being
away from their country for several years, whUst I might pro
bably return at a less distant period, it helped to cheer me up.
As we ran along the southern coast of Ireland, some fisher
men came on board to sell us some fish. When I foimd they
came from Kinsale I asked them if they knew Mr. Townsend of
Castle Townsend ; and on their saying that they did, I hastily
wrote thefr names and the date, and a line or two in the cover of
a small book, whilst the fishermen held on to the transport and
committed it to their care. I heard, upwards of thirty years
afterwards, that it safely reached Mr. and Mrs. Townsend. They
were kind and valued friends whom I had known at Nice, ffi the
winter of 1820.
Our voyage to Newfoundland in the sailing transport. Loyal
Briton, appeared very tedious, and I do not recoUect very many
incidents connected with it One of our officers suffered for a

380 THE ,5"2nd go to Newfoundland
long time from sea-sickness ; and I believe we aU felt so queer
in a gale of wind which we had, that we did not eat much for a
day or two. Our friend who had been so very sea-sick for a
week or ten days, suddenly became quite free from it one morn
ing, and we often accused him afterwards of having devoured
two cold ducks at his breakfast on that day.
McNair had a smaU enclosed sleeping-place, wMch was
dignified by the appeUation of " a state room ; " the other four
officers occupied open berths on each side of the cabin. I tffink
we were more than four weeks in reaching Ne-wfoundland. We
were becalmed once or twice. On one of these occasions four of
us started in the ship's boat to cut off a timber vessel, on her
way to England, that we might put letters on board, her. She
was six miles away when we started, and there was just enough
wind to make the sails flap, and to enable both ships to keep
their heads in the direction of the country each was bound to.
There was something grand and interesting to us landsmen in
pulling in a little boat over the long smooth sweU of the Atlantic.
When down in the trough of the swell, both ships were hidden
from us. The kind old captain of the timber vessel was very
glad to see us, and gave us some gin and water to drink, the
most detestable beverage I ever tasted. We ought to have
thought of taking him some little present When we had spent
half an hour with him, the ships had neared each other so much,
that it was time for us to take leave of him and return to our
transport. One night when we had been becalmed during the day, we
were aroused by a tremendous row and confusion on deck. By
the time I had slipped some things on and had run up, I found
the ship was going before the wffid with all sails set, through a
smooth sea, at a most tremendous rate ; J should say at the rate
of upwards of twenty miles an hour. She had been caught in a
sudden and heavy squall, accompanied by thunder and lightning.
They said we had had a very narrow escape of being dismasted.
We were ten days or a fortnight at sea before we saw a
shark ; a hook and line were soon put over the stem for it, and
in a few seconds it was caught but before it could be hauled out
of the water, it bit through the cord above the hook and escaped.

AND NEW BRUNSWICK. 381
In a few mmutes another hook was lowered, with a couple of
yards of. chain between it and the rope, and in less than half a
mmute the same shark was taken and brought on board, with
the first hook sticking in his jaws. It was a very young one.
We were told afterwards that some of the men and officers in .
one of the other transports bound for Halifax, were bathffig one
day, and that, a .slight breeze springing up,, they aU got on board
as quickly as possible, one of the officers beffig the last and the
ship making some way through the water. He had scarcely got
on deck when a friendly shark made its appearance. It has
occurred to me,, as I write this,, that had he, poor fellow, been
caught by the shark, I should probably be now in the army ;
whereas I have been out of it forty years. I am very glad that
he escaped and is still alive. But what a. difference does a trifle
of time, or any other trifle, continually make in the whole future
course of a nian's life. Surely the Scriptures aud our own expe
rience teach us that God over-rules and directs every little cir
cumstance, as well as every more important circumstance, of our
lives. If God only directed the great events of our lives. He
would- have very little to do with the life of each person ; for
what we consider great events occur very seldom; whereas our
lives are chiefly made up of all the various little occurrences
which follow each other every minute and every second. And
does not God shew us that He directs and over-rules every event
of a man's life, when He tells us that " one sparrow shall not
"faU to the ground without our heavenly Father," and "the
"very hairs of your head are aU numbered ?" Matthew x, 29, 30.
I remember on one occasion, when we were going about six
knots an hour, a Serjeant's wffe had the misfortune to lose a very
nice bonnet overboard ; and, as it drifted away in the wake of the
ship, we some of us proposed that the boat should be lowered to
pick it up,. but McNair, very properly perhaps, would not permit
it; thinking that we had no right to run the slightest risk of
delay or accident for a woman's bonnet I won't say it was
heart-rending to see it for a good quarter of an hour stUl floating
in our wake tUl we lost sight of it ; but the loss of her best
bonnet which it appeared to be, was no doubt considered a very
serious one by the poor woman.

382 THE 52nd go to Newfoundland
On the banks of Newfoundland we met with the usual fogs,
which made a part of our voyage anythmg but agreeable. The
rigging, as it cuts the fog, brings down the moisture in the shape
of a contiuued drizzling rain ; added to this, the fog is so tffick
that a vessel sailing at the rate of eight or nine knots an hour, is
in constant danger of running into some of the vessels at anchor
for the purpose of fishing. We kept a bugler at work, soundffig
a few notes at short ffitervals ; sometimes the ship's beU was
sounded. In return we occasionally heard the sound of a drum
or bell. And these sounds were always sufficiently distinct to
enable us to judge how far the vessels at anchor were clear of
the direction in which we were sailing. We only saw two or
three of them ; they were chiefly French.
The first time we cast the lead on the banks, it was accom
panied by several weU-baited hooks, and we brought up three
very fine fish.
I think it was when we were about half way between Ireland
and Newfoundland, that I one day saw what no other person on
board saw, and what, after making several enquiries, I found none
of those I spoke to had ever seen : — I saw, at a distance of two or
three mUes from the ship, when there was haff a gale of wind,
and the sea was rough, a large whale jump clean out of the
water, so that I could clearly see the horizon under it. Perhaps
this sort of thing may often have been seen at the whale fisheries.
We only saw one iceberg on our voyage to Newfoundland ;
the morning was very cold, although it was the middle of sum
mer, and the coldness of the atmosphere was accounted for when
the iceberg hove in sight. We passed it at the distance of haff
a mile ; the sun was shining on it and it appeared very magnffi
cent and beautiful as we observed it from our cabin windows
whilst we were dressing.
The having five officers constantly occupying the smaU cabin
of a transport, about twelve feet square, renders it very desirable
that all should be good-tempered fellows ; and I think we were
very fortunate ffi that respect. The having but one smaU table
to write at or to read by, created a difficulty which wUl be readUy
understood by my readers. When it became dark, or in wet
weather, we were generally all together below. For a long time

AND NEW BEUNSWICK. 383
at first one of the five suffered so much from sea-sickness, that
he could not join the others at the table. All the remainder of
the party except myself wished to amuse themselves almost
every night, except Sunday, by playing at cards. This I could
not join them in, for reasons which I think I have before given,
and it was rather a curious sight to see my three friends occupy
ing three sides of the table, and playing at whist with the cards
of the dummy spread out on the fourth side, a portion of which
I also occupied, that I might have the use of one of the candles
to read by. As they often played at cards for several hours, I
usually had to spend a portion of that time in my eveffing read
ing of the Scriptures. It was not looked upon by the others as
a parading of my religion, but rather, if I must read the Bible,
as a case of necessity. Our occupations were in singular contrast,
but we got on very well together ; and I thffik the time thus
spent was not without its blessing and benefit to me. Two or
three times at first one or another would grumble out that it
was very Ul-natured of me not to help them in their difficulty.
And then in return I would ask them, how they could so regu
larly waste their time, and how they could expect a blessing
from God, if they so entfrely neglected His holy Word and the
care of their souls. Then again they woffid teU me that I had
no right to interfere with them and their religion, and I replied
that neither had they any right to interfere with my religion and
my reading of the Scriptures. AU this was said without any
acrimony or unkindness ; but just in the off-hand way ffi which
we had always been in the habit of talking to each other. I am
sorry to say that divine service was not performed on the Sunday,
during the whole time we were in the Loyal Briton, although I
requested it and the weather generally was favourable for it
Three or four years before I should have been equaUy careless
about it
There was a thick fog as we were nearffig the harbour of St.
John's, Newfoundland, and the captain of the transport deter
mined to lie to when, according to his reckoffing, we were within
six mUes of it Strange to say, he never thought of sending a
man aloft, until we begged him to do so. They told us after
wards that the look-out men on shore had seen our top-masts

884 THE 52nd go to ne-vhtoundland
above the fog aU the moming. It seems strange agam that no
arrangement, existed for givffig wammg to a ship thus situated
that land and breakers were near. We got the master also to
get up a small cannon from the hold ; and immediately after it
was fired, the fog broke and dispersed, and we found ourselves
just in the position which the captain had reckoned on.
We soon entered the capacious harbour of St. John's, and
found there an English frigate, the Egeria, and three companies
of the 74th Eegiment, under the command of Major Mein,
bro'iher of Mein of the 52nd. We were very much pleased to
find that an order had arrived before us from HaUfax, that we
were to proceed to St John's, New Brunswick, whither the rest
of the regiment had been sent from Halifax. The companies of
the 74th were to remaffi at Newfoundland untU they should be
relieved by three companies to be immediately raised, and to be
called the Eoyal Newfoundland Veteran Companies. We re
mained at St. John's about three clear days, as some old stores
were to be sent to England in our transport. The harbour was
tolerably redolent of the smell of decayed fish, which we were
able to bear very manfully, knowing how soon we should escape
from it I recollect we were disappointed not to meet with a
single specimen of a handsome dog. The more we saw of St
John's the more pleased we were at the idea of escaping from it
I offiy recollect landing once, and the leaving a large parcel of
tracts and books -with a,, person who promised to see that they
were distributed.
I think it was on the second day that a party of saUors,
under the command of an officer of the Egeria, were employed in
transferring old stores from a lighter to the hold of the transport
After the duty was over, the officer joffied our dinner party. He
had known a near relative of one of our officers, and this led
to their sitting and talkffig hour after hour to a very late hour of
the night and it became exceedingly tiresome to the rest of our
party, who were forced to be almost entirely on deck. In vam
did we send a message from time to time to say that the Egeria's
boat was alongside ; the reply always was, " Tell them to wait"
And our friends did not take the hint, when a cock was selected
from our poultry and let down through the skylight to indicate

AND new BRUNSWICK. 385
to them that the morning was approaching. They had both
taken too much wine, a thing the 52nd officer was never known
to do at any other time.
Having had plenty of time for my prayers, &c., on deck, I
determmed at last that I would go to bed, and, expecting, from
somethmg which had already been said on the subject that they
woffid mamfest some opposition to my doffig so, I prepared my
self for it, so that I could, in a few seconds, divest myself of the
remaffider of my things, and get ffito bed, before they were weU
aware of what I was doing. When they found that I was in bed
they were very much affronted, said that it was a regular ffisffit
and that they woffid puU me out again. My berth was the
upper berth on the starboard side of the cabin, and the nearest
one to the stern windows : no one occupied the lower berth of
the two. I thought these two fellows would have some difficulty
m pffilffig me out of the berth, and lay on my back, with the
corner of a piUow twisted round my fingers, so that I could use
it with some considerable force. The saUor led the attack, and
came on in the direction of the middle of the berth, which en
abled me, by raising myseff a little on my left arm, to deal him
a blow with the piUow on Ms neck which sent him reeling away.
They then, very considerately for themselves, gave up the attack,
sayffig I was a very good feUow, and that they woffid let me
alone. The Ueutenant of the Egeria soon after took his de
parture. I think it was the day after the above occurrence, and the
afternoon or evening before we left St John's, Newfoundland,
that, as four of us were pulUng in the ship's boat up the harbour,
they hailed us from the Egeria and begg-ed us to come on board.
This we did in our shfrt sleeves, for we had left our coats in the
transport. The officers invited us to go below and take a glass
of -wine, which we consented to do ; but we were not expecting
to find a somewhat large party assembled. After some little
time some of them proposed that, as we were without our coats,
they should doff theirs also, out of respect to us. This the first
lieutenant resisted at first, as it was contrary to the etiquette of
the service that they shoffid do so at their mess table, but at
last he consented, and was the first to throw off Ms own coat.
c c

386 THE 52nd go to Newfoundland
They gave several toasts, and the noise wMch was made must
have been heard over the whole harbour and town. When we
went on deck, the seamen sang several songs for our amusement
0-wffig to contrary wffids and calms, our voyage from New
foundland to St. John's, New Brans wick, was nearly as long, in
point of time, as that frbm England to Newfoundland. We
passed within seven mUes of Halffax, but did not see it or any
part of Nova Scotia, owing to the continued fogs. The currents
are very strong in the neighbourhood of Cape Sable, the southem
poffit of Nova Scotia, and also ffi the Bay of Fundy. When we
supposed ourselves to be six mUes to the northward of Cape
Sable, we suddenly came across a ship ffi the fog, and they had
just time, before we lost sight of them, to chalk on a board for
our ffiformation, " Cape Sable north and by west, seven mUes.''
We soon stood up the Bay of Fundy and the fog cleared away,
gi-ving. us a pleasing view of the coast of the state of Maffie, and
of the Island of Grand Manan.
We reached St. John's, New Brunswick, about the 20th of
August, 1823. All the regiment had now assembled in New
Brunswick, and had there been offiy the 52nd ffi the provffice.
Sir John Tylden, who commanded the regiment, would have been
the Commander-ffi-Chief and actffig governor of New Brunswick,
but there happened to be a few artUlerymen in the provffice,
and thus Brevet-Lieutenant-Colonel WiUiam Eowan, who was a
captain in the regiment but a senior lieutenant-colonel ffi the
army to Tylden, took the command of aU the troops ffi New
Brunswick, and proceeded also to Fredericton, the capital, as
acting governor, ordering Tylden to remain at St. John's with
three compaffies. This is one ffistance of the awkwardness of
the system of aUowing brevet rank to exist in the army.
I was ordered to St. Andrew's, with the company I was com
manding, and we embarked for that purpose in one of the other
transports, the VibiUa ; but first of aU we went over to Annapolis,
ffi Nova Scotia, with Major Love's company,* which was to be
• On the very day on which this was -written, the foUowing notice appeared
in the obituary of the "Times :"— On the 13th instant, (January, 1866,) at 17,
Ovington Square, General Sir James Frederick Love, G.C.B., K.H., Colonel 43rd
Light Infantry.

AND NEW BRUNS-WICK. 387
stationed there. Sunday was the day on which we saUed, or the
day before, and finding myself the commandmg officer on board,
I had a church parade, and read part of the service and one of
Burder's viUage sermons to the men. As we entered the Bay of
Passamaquoddy, (an Indian name,) from the Bay of Fundy, we
found the strongest tide runffing out which I have ever seen ;
we could scarcely make head agamst it with the help of a strong
breeze. St. Andre-v/s is a smaU to-wn on the northern coast of Passa
maquoddy Bay, which separates it from the State of Maffie, the
most northern state of the United States. Opposite to St An
drew's, the bay is about three mUes across. Many of the princi
pal mhabitants were the descendants of the royalists, who had
retired there at the close of the War of Independence, as the
Americans caU it, m 1782. It contained, when we were there,
between two and three thousand ffihabitants, and appeared to be
a thriving and increasffig town, carrymg on a good trade by
means of timber vessels and other smaUer craft
On disembarkffig from the transport, I found a company of
the 74th, under the command of Captain Jones. He had been
there some time, and had married a lady from the neighbourhood
of St Andrew's. The 74th made our men as comfortable as they
could in the barracks for a couple of days, and then left us in
possession and embarked ffi the vessel in wMch we had arrived.
One thing which struck me, during the first few days of my
being at St. Andrew's, as very sffigffiar, was the habit ffi many of
the houses of leaving the outer doors unfastened at ffight. It
spoke weU for the honesty and qffiet behaviour of the ffihabitants.
There being no rooms for officers m the barracks, I went mto
lodgings, but I thffik I very soon, m the expectation that Gawler
and his wife, on thefr arrival, would like to joffi me ffi occupying
the same abode, engaged a furffished house m one of the mam
streets of the place, in wMch they contffiued to reside long after
I left St. Andrew's. They had been detaffied a long time at
Liverpool, and did not arrive m New Brunswick imtil I had been
there several weeks.
I thffik I have mentioned before, that my plan with regard
to this work is to write down almost aU the events I can recol-
cc2

388 THE 52nd go to Newfoundland
lect, wMch happened forty and fifty years ago, and which I can
properly mention without occasionffig annoyance to myself or
others ; and then, before I publish it, to cross out freely what
ever, from any cause, I may feel had better be oimtted.
My first trouble at St Andrew's was that the barracks were
reported to be fuU of bugs. The men coffid not sleep even on
the floors of the rooms without msffiatmg their beds, by drawing
around each a cordon, ff I may use the expression, of water.
When the floor got at aU dry, the affimals coffid pass over and
attack their prey. It was so bad, and appeared to be so incur
able, that I at once reported it to Sir John Tylden, who was at
St John's, seventy or eighty mUes to the northward of St
Andrew's. He repUed that he shortly intended to visit aU the
stations of the regiment, accompaffied by an engmeer officer, and
that if our barracks were found to be as bad as I represented
them to be, they shoffid be condemned.
I then set myself to work to devise some plan by which we
might possibly get rid of the bugs without putting the country
to the expense of erecting new barracks. I thought it possible
that they were not to any extent in the wood-work of the buUd
ing, but had chiefly located themselves in the bedsteads. I
therefore determined to commence by havffig every joist of every
bedstead taken to pieces, and to superffitend the operations my
self. I had a bucket fiUed with a strong solution of vitriol, so
that when the different parts of the bedsteads were separated, the
ends might be weU saturated -with it Every bedstead was
brought out and taken to pieces on the green ffi front of the
barracks, and everybody was perfectly astoffished at the immense
quantities of bugs wMch we discovered. Even withffi those
joists, ffito which it woffid be hardly possible to insert the fine
poffit of a knife, large clusters of them were found ; some of the
clusters were as large as a good-sized walnut They were well
dosed with the solution of vitriol, and, I believe, aU were de
stroyed. Some of the larger bugs which feU on the grass
attempted to walk off, but a drop of the solution,'appUed by
means of a pointed stick, in almost every case made them in
stantly turn on their backs and die. Two or three sturdy feUows,
I observed, had to be touched two or tMee times before they were

and new BRUNSWICK. 389
settled. This account may possibly be useful to some persons,
whose furffiture may be infested by these annoying insects. But
the upshot of the experiment was that no bug was seen agaffi in
the barracks untU about nffie months after, and that was on the
very day before that on which I left St Andrew's altogether.
The mention of the first bug ha-ving been seen in the barracks
the day before I left St. Andrew's, reminds me that I learnt after
wards that the first desertion took place the day after I left that
place. Desertions have always been common from the regiments
stationed near the frontier of the United States, many of them
arisffig from the fact that some of the men have had relations
living in the Northern States. I forget if the desertion I have
just mentioned was that of a man who was very cleverly re
captured by G-awler at Eastport. He heard that the man was
there, and that he was fraternizing with some of the Uffited States
soldiers. He went to Eastport by the packet in the mornffig, and
laid his plans so weU that, just before it saUed for St Andrew's
in the evening, the man was allured on board by one or two per
sons to see the vessel, not kno-wing that it was the St Andre-w's
packet When he had got on deck, they qffietly pushed off and
left him. There was scarcely anybody on board besides Gawler,
who was in the cabin below ; the deserter went do-wn ffito the
cabin, and on seeing Gawler, who had taken up a candle from the
table, rushed at him, and knocked the candle out of Ms hand.
A young New-Brunswicker, a passenger, immediately jumped
down, grappled with, and secured the man, who was brought back
a prisoner to St Andrew's.
The barracks w;ere, I should suppose, a quarter or a thfrd of
a mile from that part of the town ffi which the Gawlers and I
resided. Before they came, as there was only one road to the
town, and that not a very good one, I employed the men at
times in levelUng another piece of ground wMch had been fenced
off for a road, but had never been made. It afforded a much
nearer communication with one part of the town than the other
road did. I was informed that for some years it was caUed
.Mr. Leeke's road, but I suppose it has long smce had some other
more conveffient appeUation.
The barracks were on the top of a not very steep MU, along

390 THE 52nd go to NEWFOUNDLAND
the base of wMch, and between it and the sea, ran the to-wn. Of
course I -visited the barracks very regffiarly, and the men were
paraded by Gawler or myseff each day. Before he arrived I re
member two tffings which rather amused me. In driUmg the
company one mornffig, I sent them in skinffisMng order along
the top of the hUl, to the westward of the barracks, ffito a wood.
I was, perhaps, 150 or 200 yards from them, and was surprised
to see them, directly they got into the wood, striking ffi different
directions, at something or other, with the butt ends of thefr
muskets ; but what it was I coffid not imagine, for the whole
company was at work, and could not have displayed greater energy
if they had found a company of their old antagoffists, the Impe
rial Guard, lying ffi ambush for them just withffi the boundary
of the wood. On my bugler sounding the retreat, I thffik they
were not at all disincUned to retire. I was mformed afterwards
that their invasion of the wood had disturbed quite an army of
large snakes, which started off ffi all directions before them.
There were a large number of what we caUed snow-shoes in
the barrack store, almost a sufficient number to furffish the whole
company with a pair. The snow-shoe is very much like a racket
bat, but larger ; the foot is placed on the catgut in the centre, and
then the shoe is strapped tightly on. It is very difficffit, tUl people
are accustomed to it, to walk on snow-shoes without their striking
against each other, or in the snow ; in walking they must be
kept clear of each other, and be placed flat on the top of the snow.
I think they were nearly a foot and a half in length, and rather
more than a foot ffi width : any carelessness in waUring ffisures
a regular fall into the snow.
One morning, soon after there had been a hea-vy faU of snow,
so that the ground was weU covered, the company paraded in
fatigue dress, without arms, and a pafr of snow-shoes were served
out to each man. When the men were drawn up in a sffigle
rank facing to the eastward, along the top of the MU, and it was
ascertained that aU the shoes were properly tied on, I told them
we would see which of us could first reach the third fence from
us. The fences were of posts and raUs, and I thffik the third
fence may have been 200 yards away. AU started m great glee,
and before we reached the first fence, I think fuUy two-thfrds of

AND NEW BRUNS-WICK. 391
our fine feUows were with their faces in the snow, the usual way
of bringing up, or on their beam ends. Only three of us reached
the seeond fence. When we had cleared it and were fairly off
for the goal, I began to think it would be a great feather m my
cap if, on this our first trial of walking on snow-shoes, I shoffid
beat the whole of the company. The thought had no sooner
crossed my mind, than immediately the old adage, " pride shall
" have a fall," was fffiffiled m my case, by my going head foremost
mto the snow. Several weeks afterwards the same thing hap
pened to Gawler. I had been gi-ving him an account of the above
race in snow-shoes, and he wished to try them, and we started
together to walk in them from the barracks to our house. The
road was rather uneven, notwithstanding the snow, and sloped
down to the to-wn. We got about half way along it very nicely,
when Gawler said, " I think I am getting on pretty weU," and
the next moment pitched over with his face ffi the snow, the faU
beffig aU the heavier by reason of its being forward on the slope.
The sleighing was a very pleasant mode of traveUing, and the
complete upset and emptying of the sleigh of all its contents,
men, women, and chUdren, cloaks, &c., was often very amusing,
and seldom attended with danger. By far the most interesting
sleighing to me was that on the river, where we coffid get along
as fast as the horses could lay legs to the ice, the shoes being
turned up so that they had secure footing on the ice. We found
that our feet were kept perfectly warm in the sleighs, and on
parade, when we wore the common Wellington boots, rather thin
than thick, with warm cloth boots over them, and when -we had
started with warm feet. This was the case when the thermometer
was at ten below zero. We wore boots of light coloured thick
cloth, fastened with three or four silver regimental buttons.
When sitting in the house, or walking, I coffid keep myself per
fectly warm with a flannel shirt next the skin, then a caUco shirt,
and over that another good flannel shirt, and then the surtout
coat and waisteoat wMch people usuaUy wear in England.
In walking in the woods, wMch I occasionaUy did, and m
which I never found the undrifted snow more than knee-deep, I
thmk I did not wear cloth boots over the others ; but when I
came to take them off afterwards, I almost always found that the

392 THE 52nd go to Newfoundland
effort (they beffig wet, and difficffit to get off) produced severe
cramp in the calf of the leg. We wore fur over our ears. I
never, during the whole winter, got frost-bitten, nor do I recoUect
more than one man belonging to our St. Andrew's party who
complained of it, and he got the fingers of his right hand frost
bitten from traUing his musket too long, but they were soon set
to rights. I once met a man in whose cheek I saw the evident
mark of a frost-bite, a round, whitish spot, and rather astonished
him by sayffig, directly I came up to him, " You are a stranger
" in America, I think, and you are not aware that your face is
" frost-bitten ?" I then gave Mm directions how to proceed — on
no account to go near a fire, but to get the part well rubbed -with
snow tUl the frost-bite shoffid disappear. I thffik there was a
house at hand, and that it was not necessary that I shoffid com
mence operations on his face myseff. He was very much obliged
to me for my kindness.
The cold was very severe at times during the winter of 1823,
although it was spoken of as a milder winter than usual. Our
house, as most of the houses were, was built of wood, and cer-
taffily the cold found its way ffito it. I well remember, one
morning, sittffig at breakfast with my chair close to a good fire,
and that my cup, which was fffil of tea, was frozen to the saucer
on the table within a yard of the fire.
I read a good deal whUst I was at St Andrew's, and generaUy
rose at five in the morning. As I had my bed-room fire laid
over night so that it woffid bum up and become a good fire im
mediately on my Ughting it, I was enabled to pursue this plan of
early rising notwithstandffig that the cold was so intense that the
top of the sheet was stiffened by the breath from my mouth being
frozen on it We had no coal at St Andrew's, but a very plen-
tffffi supply of fire-wood.
The principal famUies of the town were remarkably kind and
attentive to us. Before the arrival of the Gawlers I received
several invitations. It sepmed rather curious, considering my
rank, that some of the notes addressed to me, were addressed to
" The Commandant of St Andrew's." I forget on what occasion
it was, but I recoUect beffig invited, as commandant, to a large
pubUc dinner, and being treated with some considerable respect

AND NEW BEUNSWICK. 393
there. Captains were rather plentiful at St. Andrew's, for every
master of the dozens of vessels at anchor in the port was a
" captain," but an ensign was a " rara avis in terrS,," (I caunot add
" nigroque simUlima cygno,") and therefore he was made much
of. One of the first notes I received was from the race com
mittee, requesting me to aUow the only bugler we had (the others
were aU at head quarters) to attejid the races for the purpose of
starting the horses. This I could not permit, for several reasons,
and I was glad to find that the bugler himseff had a very great
dislike to be so employed.
We found religion to be at a very low ebb in St. Andrew's ;
the only clergyman there was a good-natured man, but he had
some very confused ideas about reUgion. There was a respect
for it amongst the persons we were acquainted with, and amongst
the people generaUy, but there was scarcely any correct idea of
the way of salvation through Christ and of the change of heart,
that true repentance, which always accompanies it ; nor did they
understand that the Word of God was to be read and meditated
on each day with prayer, that, by the teaching of the Holy Spirit,
it might be for the contffiual nourishment and growth of the soul
in faith, and holffiess, and comfort : 1 Peter U, 2. Though it
may appear to many of the readers of this book to have been
a great piece of presumption on our part yet we did reaUy desire
to consider ourselves as a sort of missionaries sent, ffi the provi
dence of God, to the kind people of this place ; and I have no
doubt that God did, in His great mercy, in answer to our prayers,
greatly bless our poor and feeble efforts for their reUgious benefit
In relating God's goodness ffi this matter, I perhaps hardly
need disclaim any desire to make myself of any importance -with
regard to it If I know myseff at aU, my chief desire is that the
relation of what foUows may be the means of doing good to others,
and especiaUy that it may, -vdth God's blessing, lead the officers
and others of our army and na-vy, who go forth to the various
portions of our extended empire, to consider thefr responsibiUties
with regard to the people they may come in contact with ; that
they shoffid endeavour to set them a holy, and not a -vicious, ex
ample, and to help forward the cause of God, and not of Satan,
amongst them. I trast, also^ it may prove to be some encourage-

394 THE 52nd go to ne-weoundland. '
ment to those who desfre to do good to the souls of thefr fellow-
creatures, to endeavour to do so in season, and even out of season,
looking up to God to bless every effort they make. I feel very
confident that no effort thus made shaU be altogether useless. I
have many times seen that promise fulfiUed, which we fffid ffi
Ecclesiastes xi, 1 : " Cast thy bread upon the waters, and thou
" shalt find it after many days :" see also Ecclesiastes xi, 6. At
aU events, our prayers and endeavours wUl bring a blessing on
our own soffis. It, perhaps, would not be good for us to hear
much of benefit accruffig to the souls of others tMough our efforts,
but our heavenly Father does not altogether -withhold this sort of
encouragement from us, but gives it in the measure which He
sees to be best for us. I thffik the effect of hearing of God ha-vffig
sent any spiritual benefit to anyone, through me, has been great
pleasure and thankfuffiess, accompaffied by a deep feeling of
humility, that He should have conferred such honour on such a
poor, unworthy sinner as I am.
I think the fact, that both the officers who were stationed at
St Andrew's were religiously-disposed men, not offiy attracted
the attention of the people, but also made a great impression
upon them. It was generaUy necessary that I shoffid spend an
hour or more at the barracks on the Sunday mornings before we
marched to church, and I weU remember that I made it my
practice, as I walked up and down on the top of the MU, and
looked on the town below, to pray for the people in the words of
Isaiah xxxv, 1, that' God woffid be pleased to make that "wUder-
"ness and solitary place to be glad," and that " desert to rejoice,
" and to blossom as the rose.''
It wiU be necessary for me here to mention that we received
mvitations from aU the gentry of the town to dine or drink tea
-with them, and that we accepted them aU. On one or two occa
sions cards were introduced, and we were solicited to play ; but
tffis, with our opinion of the evU frequently resffitffig from card-
playing, we of course could not do. At one of the parties I was
invited to mention what my objection to playing at cards arose
from, which I then freely did. Soon after we had visited most
of the famiUes, it occurred to me that it would be a very desirable
and usefffi thing ff we could get them to meet us for the purpose

AND NEW BEUNSWICK. 395
of readffig the Scriptures together. The Gawlers and I talked
the matter over, and the resffit was, that I undertook to go to
each family and mention our wish to them. I told them I was
come to make a proposal to them ; that they and the other famUies
had been exceedmgly kffid to us ffi asking us to come and see
them ; that they would have observed that we had freely avaUed
ourselves of thefr invitations, although at some of the houses we
had excused ourselves from joining in some of the things which
were going forward ; and that, by way of making some retum for
their kindness, we had to propose to them that they should do
us the favour of drinking tea with us on the foUowing Wednes
day evening, and that after tea we should read the Word of God
together ; and further, that we should afterwards meet at each
other's houses for the same purpose on the Wednesday in each
week. To our great surprise and pleasure the invitation was
everywhere received with aU due respect and civUity, and about
haff the famUies accepted it We had reason to beUeve that it
was of much real benefit to many, ff not to aU, who attended it
I think it was in the autumn of 1824 that the Bishop of Nova
Scotia held a confirmation at St. Andrew's, and then, especiaUy,
I understood that the meeting was evidently a great help and
comfort to many who were about to be confirmed. There had
not been a confirmation there for more than thirty years, and, on
the occasion just referred to, numbers of aU ages were confirmed.
Some six or seven years ago one of the party, a trffiy reUgious
lady, in writing to Mrs. Gawler, said, "You wUl be pleased to
" hear that the Wednesday evening meeting for reading the Scrip-
" tures is stUl kept up." It was, of course, a great pleasure to us
to hear tffis, after the lapse of five-and-tffirty years from its com
mencement. One of the gentlemen I spoke to, who excused
himseff from joffiing the party, told me a few years afterwards,
ffi England, that he felt very angry when I made the proposal to
him, and thought we were taMng a very great liberty by thus
interfering -with him and his reUgion, although he did not venture
to express that to me. He added that, some time afterwards,
when he came to reflect on all that the Gawlers and I had been
doffig ffi the place, it was the means of leading him to very
serious thought and consideration about Ms own reUgious state.

396 the 52nd go to Newfoundland and new Brunswick.
and that it ended in his becomffig a very altered man : he is now
one of the principal persons in the colony of New Brunswick.
I must not exactly give the names of those m whose reUgious
state we were very much mterested ; it might not be agreeable
to them. The Gawlers, in -writing to me during the two years
that they remaffied at St Andrew's after I left it, described what
they conceived to be their progress by a number of Unes, varying
from one to six, drawn under each name.
After I left St Andrew's, Captain and Mrs. Gawler estabUshed
a very flourishffig Sunday school there, there having been none
before, which met with the approval and support of the governor.
Sir Howard Douglas. The only public establishment which I
think I was the principal author and promoter of, was a savffigs*
bank for Charlotte county, wffich was the county ffi which St.
Andrew's stood. This led to the establishment of sa-vings' banks
throughout the colony.

397

CHAPTEE XXV-
1823, 1824.
ST. andeew's, new BRUNSWICK.
Benefit of religious tracts— One lent in twenty-two houses— Man -with cart— Tract
given to one man, the means of the conversion of another — Sermons — Mr.
Simeon — Description of a good minister — H.M.S. Sparrowhawk— Smuggled
provisions — Smuggled fowl for diimer — Meat preserved by becoming frozen —
Expedition into the uncleared woods — ^American General — Charlotte county
mUitia — Voyage to St. John's— Find half the town on fire — Of some use in
stopping the conflagration — Armine Mountain.
Mt first attempt to do any good to the people by means of givmg
them tracts was as foUows : — I set off one momffig on the St John's
road and leavffig it at a certain point I foUowed a road inclffiffig
to the left. On coming to two or three smaU farm houses, I went
mto one of them, offerffig up the prayer wMch our Saviour desired
His disciples to use when He sent them forth among the people,
" Peace be to this house." I found a woman sweepffig the floor,
who told me she was housekeeper to the owner of the house, who
was then away. After trying to give her some good advice, I
left with her three small tracts, one of wffich was entitled " Con-
" versation ffi a Boat between two Seamen," one of the EeUgious
Tract Society's works. The man afterwards tried to find me at
home, at St. Andrew's, several times before he succeeded. He
informed me that he had been brought up religiously in Scotland,
when he was young; but that the kmd of life he Uved as a hawker,
sffice his arrival in New Brunswick, had led to his becoming
utterly careless about religion. And that this tract had been the
means, by God's blessing, of arousing Mm to a consideration of

398 ST. ANDREW'S,
his danger, and to a determination to try and lead a holy Ufe for
the time to come. He had lent the little tract, above mentioned,
ffi a hamlet beyond Mm, and it had such an effect upon the inmates
of the twenty-two cottages, of which it consisted, that he came
to request me to purchase for them twenty-two Bibles and Testa
ments, ^that each house might be supplied with a copy of the
Bible or Testament He continued to go on very satisfactorily
afterwards. I forget whether it was on my return from this man's house,
or on another occasion, that I met on the road a man drivmg a
cart and two horses. Thinking I might never have an opportu
ffity of seeing him or speaking to him agaffi, and that my accostffig
him would be taken kindly by him, I stopped Mm for two or
three minutes, and spoke to him, as seriously as I coffid, about
the state of his soffi, and about his God and Saviour, and about
eterffity. I never saw him again; but some few weeks afterwards
I recoUect a very tall man caUed upon me, who told me that he
lived up in the woods about nffie mUes off, and that he had been
anxious to come and find me out, as the man whom I had met '
with the cart had told him what I had said to him, and that it
had made Mm -wish to speak to me about his own religious state.
He said the man whom I had met also told Mm that directly I
was out of sight he stopped his cart and horses again, and went
into the wood at the side of the road, and feU on his knees and
prayed earnestly to God to save his soul
I never saw either of them afterwards, but it may not be
without its use that I should mention that the man who came
down from the woods spoke in what we shoffid caU a regffiar
canting tone, and also through his nose, so that Ms way of speaking
was most disagreeable. I was then struck with the great impor
tance of maffing great aUowance for any peculiarity of manner
which might discover itseff in persons, especiaUy when they might
be speaking on religious subjects. We ourselves should of course
avoid, as much as possible, any pecffiiarity of manner, or of
speaking, which is calcffiated to annoy other people ; but the
consideration, that really good people do often fall into these
pecuUarities, should lead us to bear with them, however tryffig
and annoying they may be to us. This man had aU the appearance

NEW BEUNSWICK. 399
of beffig sincere. Perhaps that which is spoken of the Saviour
in Isaiah xi, 2, 3, may be intended to teach us the above lesson,
as weU as that of always endeavouring to put the best construc
tion on every person's conduct, however much appearances may
be against Mm.
On the same road another interesting circumstance occurred.
One Sunday aftemoon Gawler and I were takffig a quiet walk,
when not far from the town we observed a man on cratches, who
had come through the belt of wood from his house and clearing
within it, and was standing on the road. I accosted the man
whilst Gawler walked quietly on ; I spoke to him on religious
subjects, and then gave him a hand-bUl, about the size of a pound
no^ on which was printed a short but very striking address on
eter,nity, issued by the Eeligious Tract Society. After sayffig a
few words to him and promising to caU upon him, I proceeded to
overtake Gawler. I very weU remember that as I walked up
the MU, before I overtook him, I prayed that the reading the
tract and what had been said to the man might be blessed to his
etemal welfare. On tuming round after we had reached the top
of the rising ground, we saw that two men were reading the tract
together, another man having joined Mm from the house or wood.
I saw the man, who had broken his leg three or four times ; at
first he appeared to be seriously impressed, but as he got better
tMs seemed to pass off. Some time after I had returned to
England, ffi one of Gawler's letters was the foUowing sentence :
" John  , to whom you were made effectuaUy useful by givffig
" a tract to another man one Sunday afternoon, when you were
" walking with me on the St. John's road, desfres to be kffidly
"remembered to you." Thus in God's providence, this Uttle
messenger, containing divine truth, came into this man's hands,
when it was not at aU intended for Mm. I heard about him
several times from the Gawlers ; they had no doubt about Ms
beffig a truly good and reUgious man ; and he always attributed
Ms great change to this tract ha-vffig faUen ffito his hands. I do
not distffictly recoUect any other cases m which the cfrcffiating
of books and tracts at St Andrew's was productive of benefit
We set up a lending library there, principaUy consisting of usefffi
and simple religious books, and when I left St Andrew's, our

400 ST. Andrew's,
friends there mtrusted to me a very sufficient sum which I was
to lay out in purchasing books for the purpose of mcreasffig the
Ubrary. Our friends were very kffid to us and very gratefffi for
our poor attempts to do them good, and to sow that seed amongst
them which a gracious God, by His Almighty power, has made
effectual, as we beUeve, to the salvation of many soffis. I know
not why I shoffid not state it though I hesitate to do so, that
one of these friends, -writffig about a year and a half ago to Mrs.
Gawler, expresses herseff thus: — "The people seem to be
" awakening ; there are some really prayffig soffis amongst us ; I
" think it is ffi answer to the prayers of your dear husband and
" Mr. Leeke, and other Christian friends, that mercies are vouch-
" safed to St. Andrew's. There is certaiffiy more spiritual life
" among us. Continue your prayers for us, dear friends. God
" blessed your coming amongst us at first. How affectionately
" you are stUl remembered by many in this place."
More recently, thefoUo-wmg passages occurred ffi other letters:
"The names of Colonel and Mrs. Gawler and Mr. Leeke are
" household words with us." " The photographs Mr. Leeke sent
" of his house and family are very much admired It is a great
" pleasure to shew them to our friends. The house covered with
" ivy and the famUy in front of it is a beautffffi picture."
I had not been long at St Andrew's when one momffig the
clergyman caUed upon me, and let out that he was intending to
preach a sermon, on the foUowffig Sunday, on the subject of the
Good Centurion, and that he shoffid mtroduce something about
me in it. I of course laughed at the idea, and told him that ifc
would be most improper. It was with great reluctance, however,
that he gave up his project His views were not at all clear upon
the doctrines of salvation by faith only, and of holy works as the
fruits of faith, and we had frequent discussions about his sermons,
which, although he must have been many years my seffior, he
very kindly engaged ffi with me. He sometimes preached some
very exceUent sermons. One Sunday morning he preached one
of these, and that very eveffing we read the same sermon, in the
work of an old author, at our famUy prayers. This sermon was
very clear upon the above-mentioned points ; and ffi our subse
quent discussions I always referred to what he had stated in that

NEW BEUNSWICK. 401
sermon ; and when he felt himseff pressed, he said that was an
old sermon wMch had been written several years ago. He used
to give me his sermons to read, and that I might mark the passa
ges which I thought erroneous, so that we iffight go over them
together afterwards.
I suppose that all ministers do occasionaUy, and perhaps some
frequently, preach sermons which they have not composed them
selves ; aU must be mdebted for almost aU the ideas they have to
those who have gone before them. There is an old saymg too,
that it is better for a man to preach a good sermon of another
man's than a bad one of Ms o-wn. An experienced man, when I
first took orders and had to prepare two sermons for each Sunday,
besides several lectures for evenffigs ffi the week, strongly ad-vised
me offiy to compose one of the sermons, and to take the most
sffitable sermon for my people which I coffid find amongst the
published sermons of others. One friend recommended Simeon's
sermons as a study and pattem ; and certaiffiy Ms twenty-one
volumes, comprising upwards of 2500 sermons on texts taken, I
believe, from every book of the Old and New Testaments, contain
a body of sound divinity for which the church at large, and all
ministers of the gospel, wUl have reason to be thankfffi to
Almighty God to the end of time and to all eternity. One special
beauty and exceUence, and I may almost say pecuUarity, ffi Mr.
Simeon's sermons is, that he keeps close to Ms text in each ser
mon, and foUows out the meanffig of each portion so as to produce
that singular, beautffffi, and pleasing variety for which his
sermons are so remarkable. The Eev. Charles Simeon was for
several years the Seffior FeUow of Kffig's CoUege, Cambridge, and
many of Ms sermons were preached before the uffiversity.
There are several dangers, if they may be so caUed, m preach
mg the sermons of other miffisters. The chief danger is that a
man may grow idle, and not give that time and attention to the
composition of sermons wMch is so calcffiated to increase his o-wn
knowledge of the word of God, and to bring blessffigs to his own
soffi, and also to make Mm a blessffig to others. Another dan
ger is, that if his hearers discover that he occasionaUy borrows
another person's sermon, they wUl be apt to think aU his sermons
are borrowed, and not to give him credit for those sound and
D d

402 ST. Andrew's,
useful sermons which may have been composed with much labour
and prayer. Everybody has heard of some curious troubles that
miffisters have got into, when they have ventured to preach the
published sermons of others. Besides the mstance mentioned
above, I offiy personally know of one other, much more awkward,
circumstance of the kind : — A very clever, and very hardworkffig
and over-worked professor, when the select preacher for the time,
preached a most clever and usefffi sermon ffi the university pffipit
at Cambridge, on two weU-known passages which, apparently,
contradicted each other. The vice-chanceUor was so weU pleased
¦with the sermon, and thought it so calculated to do good to the
members of the uffiversity, that he requested the professor to
preach it over agaffi on the foUowing Sunday. Tffis request he
coffid scarcely help complyffig with, and the sermon was preached
for the second time ; but the next morning it was buzzed about
that it was one of Eomaine's sermons. It was rather a hazard
ous thmg for a man to venture upon before such a congregation,
but I do not know that he suffered for ffis temerity, for I had
some reason to thffik it possible that he never found out that his
" pious fraud " (I think we may so caU it) had been discovered.
It has always appeared to me that miffisters shoffid get out
of the habit of nsmg written sermons as soon as possible. Let
them study the Word of God with prayer, and become weU
acquainted with the passage they are mtending to preach upon,
and they wUl, after a Uttle time, find that there is not so much
difficffity ffi what is caUed extempore preachmg, as they had
anticipated. With regard to eloquence, I think they shoffid give
themselves little trouble and less concern. Let them, in depend
ence upon the help and strength of the Holy Spirit, and seeMng
to have their hearts fiUed with love to God and to the souls of
men, endeavour humbly to unfold the truths of God's Word to
thefr people, and they shaU not be without a blessing on their
work. We should not too much imdervalue eloquence ; but I
think directly either the congregation or the miffister himself
begins ffi any degree to trust to his eloquence, or to any other gift
he may possess, there is the greatest danger that it may interfere
with and prevent that blessing on the word preached, which min
isters and people shoffid invariably pray for and expect. I have

NEW BRLTSrSWICK. 403
always been much pleased with the description given of a good
minister ffi the Pilgrim's Progress, " Christian saw the picture of
" a very grave person' hang up against the waU, [in the Interpreter's
"house,] and this was the fashion of it: — It had eyes Ufted up to
"heaven, the best of books in its hand, the law of truth was
"written upon its Ups, the world was behffid its back; it stood as
"if it pleaded with men, and a crown of gold did hang over its
" head" Let us pray that aU bishops, priests, and deacons, and
all ministers of the gospel, may be of the character and spirit thus
so beautffuUy deUneated. With regard to eloquence, if ministers
have it not, let them not be thereby cast down. St Paffi was not
an eloquent man, but who was more useful or more honoured of
God ? He says of Mmself, in 1st Corinthians, ii, 3, "I was -with
"you in weakness, in fear, and ffi much trembUng; and my
" speech and my preaching was not with enticmg words of man's
" wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power ; that
"your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the
" power of God" St. Paffi also says of himself and other miffis
ters, in 2 Corinthians iv, 7, "We have this treasure in earthen
" vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and
" not of us."
I fear I have greatly wandered from my recoUections of St.
Andrew's, but I have felt constrained to foUow out these other
subjects to a certain extent; and what I have written must remain
where it is, for I have not the time which wiU enable me to
arrange what I write m what might appear to be more correct
order. One Sunday mornffig we were rather surprised by seeing
several naval officers at church, for we were not aware that the
Sparrowhawk, Captain Dundas, had looked ffi upon us, and was
in' St Andrew's harbour. The Uttle cMld of the Gawlers was
just dead, so that the caUing upon the commander devolved on me.
He was very kind, and gave me some luncheon; but as they
saUed in a day or two, we saw nothing more of them. >
There were several articles of consumption which might have
been passed from the Uffited States ffito the provffice of New
Brunswick, and vice versd, to the benefit of both countries, but
they were, as appeared to us very fooUshly, proMbited. Amongst
dd2

404 ST. Andrew's,
these were meat and dead poffitry. In North America, in the
winter, these tffings are frozen for the purpose of keepmg them,
and they may ffi this way be kept for weeks and months. They
are unfrozen by beffig placed for a sufficient time ffi cold water,
and then they are as good and as fit for use as they woffid have
been ff they had offiy been kOled a few days.
Eather a singular cfrcumstance occurred to me in connexion
with this prohibition to the entrance of dead poultry by the New
Brunswick custom-regulations. I was invited to take a famUy
dinner with some of our kind friends, the famUy consistffig only
of the gentleman and his wife. Just before we sat down to
dinner, a very fine roast capon made its appearance, and very
tempting it looked to hungry people. I was just anticipatmg a
very pleasant attack upon it, when the master of the house
ffinocently observed, " We are indebted to our neighbours on the
" other side of the bay for this fine capon," wffich meant that it
had been smuggled. Had nothing been said about it, I should,
of course, have partaken of it As it may be supposed, I was
very sorry for the disappointment of my host and hostess when
they found I did not thffik it right to eat of the principal article
of food wMch they had provided for my entertainment But
there was no help for it, as I did not thffik it right to partake of
that which I knew to be smuggled. I think, as the party con
sisted of offiy three persons, it is possible there was not any other
sort of meat at the table, which would make it aU the more
annoying to my friends.
Gawler and I determined 'one mornffig to make an exploring
expedition into the woods, and after going along the St John's
road for some distance, we took a track to the left, and foUowed
it for some considerable distance, when, tuming to the left again,
we soon found ourselves, to our heart's content, in the midst of a
wild, uncleared American forest Trees of ,]every size had faUen
over each other ffi aU kinds of directions. I thffik the part we
got into was called, "The Cedar Swamp." There was not so much
difficffity in getting on when we were careless about the direc
tion we went in, but when we decided on returffing home, and
arranged to separate and to make our several ways as weU as we
could to a certain'pomt which we were acquaffited with, at wffich

NEW BRUNS-WICK. 405
two roads met, it was necessary that we should proceed in a par
ticffiar direction, and then began the difficulty of makffig pro
gress. The tacking of a ship, with the wind right ahead, was
nothing to it We had offiy the sun, seen through the tops of
the trees, to guide us, but that was quite sufficient Whilst we
kept the direction which formed an angle with the direction the
sun was in, to our right and rear of about 135 degrees, we knew
that we were not far wrong. Trees that had been lying there
for scores of years, ffi all imagmable stages of decay, and lying
over and under each other in aU directions, seemed to oppose
almost insurmountable difficffities to our progress. But al
though it was a tedious business, there was no real difficulty in
making our way. We coffid advance, perhaps, ten or fifteen feet
along a fallen tree, six feet from the ground, in the right direc
tion, and then find our way barred by the trunk and branches of
another tree lying at right angles with it, and five or six feet
above it ; then, after climbing on to it and choosffig whether we
would go to its root or top, we had to make our way along its
trunk, twenty or thirty, or more feet, tiU we could descend to
some other tree that promised either itself to give us a better
advance in the right direction, or to conduct us to one that
would. I know not whether this wiU give my readers anythffig
like an idea of what a walk in an uncleared American forest is,
but I have done my best to describe it Another pecuUarity
met with ffi these forests, sometimes at every few yards, is the
vast number of high dead trees wffich are stanffing, and which a
slight push wUl send to the ground. The first I met with was
on a rather steep descent in the wood ; it might be ten ffiches
in diameter and forty feet high. I was very much astoffished
to find, on putting my hand agaffist it to stop myself, that the
whole trunk went right away before me to the ground. I pushed
numbers of them down, but there was this danger attending the
doing so, which, however, coffid be easUy avoided, that when
the tree was pushed to the ground, in most cases, a portion of the
top came off, and came straight down, and was generaUy of suffi
cient size and weight to seriously ffijure the person underneath,
ff it happened to faU on his head. We were, I think, nearly a
mUe from the point we arranged to make for when we separated.

406 ST. Andrew's,
and we thought ourselves rather clever, when, without ha-ving
seen each other, we found we had struck the two roads, one of
us the one road and the other the other, both withm eighty yards
of thefr poffit of jimction.
They told us that bears seldom visited that part of New
Brunswick; but the foot-marks of two bears were discovered
that winter on the sand or snow, in a creek about two mUes to
the northward of the town. I sometimes used to thffik they
woffid be " ugly customers" to meet -with, unarmed as we always
were. However, I never heard of anyone who had seen them.
I used to read to those of our soldiers who Uked to attend, on
the Sunday eveffing, and also on some eveffing ffi the week. At
one time I read " Eobinson's Scripture Characters " to them. We
always had a prayer also, but whether I used some of the church
i prayers or not I do not recollect I knew of one man only who
thought he was first led to think seriously about the salvation of
Ms soffi, by attending those reading parties.
We had very Uttle ffitercourse with the state of Maffie, on
the other side of the bay of Passamaquoddy. There was a com
munication between Eastport, a smaU town about ten mUes from
St Andrew's, by means of a smaU decked vessel ; I am not sure
that it went there every day. There was also a large vUlage
called Eobinstown, on the opposite side of the bay, through
which we got our letters from England. I once went over there
with Gawler, and we were somewhat amused to find, that the
landlord of the smaU inn, or large public-house, there, had been
a general officer in the United States service, and had com
manded aU that district for two hundred mUes back as far as
the river Penobscot, and had also ceded it to the EngUsh general
Sir John Sherbrooke, ffi the late war ending in 1815. He was a
very pleasant and quiet person, and ordered a separate dinner for
us and himself and another person, which was intended as a
mark of attention to us. Whilst we were standing and talkffig
to him, a man came up and said to him, " General, I shall be
" glad if you will order my horse a feed of com," which sounded
rather oddly in the ears of EngUsh officers.
WhUst I was at St Andrew's, the Charlotte County Militia
assembled there for their annual traiffing, and we looked forward

NEW BRUNSWICK. 407
to it with some degree of interest. Several of the officers resided
at St Andrew's. Some of them requested us not to come and
see them when they were assembled on parade, but we told
them it was too grand an affair for us to miss. They had, I
think, a grenadier and also a rifle company, and were a fine
body of men, but, as might be expected from the short time they
were assembled, and from the want of proper driUing, they
knew scarcely anything about marching, or the use of their fire
locks. One day when Gawler and I and several of our men
were looking on, they accepted our offer to shew the rifle com
pany, I think it was, how to move a Uttle in skfrmishing order,
and we made our men faU in and be intermingled with them.
The little driU they got in this way they appeared to be much
pleased with. But on our inviting them to assemble frequently
and place themselves under our instruction, with the promise
that if they did so, we woffid make them one of the best Ught
infantry companies in the world, (which we coffid have done in
the course of time,) they found there were difficulties in the way
of their assembUng which precluded them from accepting the
invitation. I suppose most of the rifle company belonged to St
Andrew's, for otherwise our proposal would have been useless. I
was quite grieved to see the state in which our miUtia were left,
until I went into the United States some time afterwards, and
found that their mUitia were, if possible, in a stUl more inefficient
state. I suppose in these days all these matters are properly
attended to. During the war I understood that the ffihabitants,
on each side of the border, did not at aU interfere with each
other ; and higher up the bay, and on the river above it towards
St Stephen's, they were ffi much closer proximity than in the
immediate neighbourhood of St Andrew's. This, perhaps, woffid
account ffi some measure for the carelessness which was maffi
fested when I was there, relative to the traiffing of the militia.
St Stephen's was a settlement up the river at some distance
perhaps fifteen mUes, from, St Andrew's. Dr. Thompson was a
good and pains-takffig clergyman there ; his younger brother was
the good clergyman of Machidavie, (I forget how it is spelt,) a
settlement in another direction, north-east, I thffik, of St An
drew's. Dr. Thompson made, what I considered at the time, a

408 ST. Andrew's,
very singffiar request of me, when I was about to leave New
Brunswick ; it was, that I woffid try and get a large tract, a
thousand acres, of the government reserved land for him ; he
considered he had a claim upon government in consequence of
services which he had rendered when residing ffi the north of
Ireland. I thought he might almost as weU have asked me to
get ffim a peerage ; however, I received his papers containing the
particulars of the services rendered to the govemment, and had
not been long in England, when, on mentioning the subject to a
near relative, he offered to give me a letter to one of the chief
men ffi the Colonial Office, who was an intimate friend of his.
Armed with this important missive, I went to the Colonial Office,
and saw the under- secretary, or chief clerk, I forget which. He
promised to look mto the papers, and let me hear from him in a
few days. The finale was, that my friend obtained the grant of
the thousand acres, which were aU the more valuable to him, as
they were close to his own house and to a good road, wffich latter
advantage greatly enhances the value of grants of land ffi the
colonies. I had occasion, before I returned to England, to go up to
St. John's for a few days. It was about seventy miles off, and I
went in the packet up the bay of Fundy. I recollect a curious
story which the captain or some other person on board the packet
told us. He knew the case of a smaU vessel, in consequence of
the wind being dead against them, having put ffito a small inlet,
which we were then passing, in which it anchored for the night ;
and that in the middle of the night the crew all at once found
the vessel dashing out of the inlet and going to sea at the rate,
I think he said, of a hundred mUes an hour. It was supposed
that a whale had got entangled in the cable, and had started off
with the vessel It sounds like what is usually caUed an
" American story ;" at aU events, according to an old 52nd sayffig,
" It's very Uke a whale."
We neared Partridge Island and the harbour of St John's in
the middle of the night, and, from some considerable distance,
saw that there was a large fire, which we coffid not account for,
either in or near St John's. As we stood up the harbour, with
a good breeze from the southward, we soon perceived that nearly

NEW BRUNS-WICK. 409
half the town was on fire. We stood on past the town, and
landed beyond the fire. I immeffiately jumped on shore, and
runnffig up to the fire, found that several of the lower streets
towards the harbour had been burnt for a very considerable dis
tance. Tylden, I recollect, expressed his astonishment, in no
very measured terms, at seeing me make my appearance in the
midst of this terrible fire. I think I did some considerable ser-
¦vice there, for pereeiving that the fire was increasing, and that
nothffig effectual was done to stop it, and that it spread from
street to street by means of the dry palings which separated the
gardens between the streets, along which palings it was rapidly
carried up the hiU by the southerly wind, I collected some twenty
of the soldiers, and extending them a few paces from each other,
we advanced in line agaffist the palffigs, kicMng one after another
of these sUght fences flat down, and thus prevented the -wmd
from taMng the fire along them, as it had done along the other
fences. I beUeve this had very much to do -with stoppffig the
fire : indeed, but for this proceeding, the houses in the street
above (the houses were chiefly of wood) would certainly have
been burnt, for in several places the fire was already begffiffing
to rush along the partitions when we came to them. I fear my
services on the occasion were not kno-wn, and that it is now too
late for me to expect that the ffihabitants of St. John's shall
acknowledge them by giving me a vote of thanks, or reward
them by getting the government to give me a grant of some
thousands of acres of thefr best reserved land.
Some new officers had joffied the 52nd sffice thefr arrival ffi
New Brunswick, and I particularly recoUect meetffig Mountaffi
there, and being very much pleased with him durffig the few
days I remaffied at St John's. I remember that each day at
mess he made a poffit of asMng me to take some wine with him,
and I have thought that perhaps it was for the purpose of shew
ffig that he valued that character wffich I had as a reUgious man,
and wffich others might possibly have spoken of ffi terms of
ridicffie. Many years afterwards I met -with him, when he had
himself come out opeffiy as a man who feared God. His father
and brother were bishops of Quebec. I copy the foUowffig about
Armffie ilountaffi fr'om the 52nd record : —

410 ST. Andrew's,
"Amongst the regimental changes this year (1825) was that
" of Lieut A. H. S. Mountain, from the 52nd, to be captain un-
" attached, on the 26th of May. This officer afterwards rose to
" to be colonel and adjutant-general of H. M. forces ffi India, and
" his biographer thus writes : —
" ' The regret of the 52nd at losing young Mountam was ex-
" ' treme, and exertions were made by the officers to arrange some
" ' means by which he could procure a company in their corps, but
"'it could not be accomplished, and he never rejoined that regi-
" ' ment. He always, however, looked upon the time spent with
" ' the 52nd as the foundation of his iffilitary experience, and when,
" ' in the course of service, he obtained the command of a regiment,
" ' his aim ever was to introduce the high feeUng of honour, the
" ' esprit de corps, and gentlemanlike conduct, wMch had been fos-
" ' tered in that distinguished regiment.' "
It is a well-known fact that whenever regiments proceed to
any of the colonies where rum is cheap, some of the men will
drffik of it tUl they bring themselves very rapidly to the grave.
The new rum which they purchase, and often that which is
supplied by the contractors, is particffiarly injurious ; some three
or four of our men lost their lives from driuMng the new ram,
soon after our arrival in New Brunswick. Either on this occa
sion, or when I first came to St John's, I recoUect seeffig a crowd
of persons in the street, and a few soldiers amongst them. On
my comffig up to them, I found a man, haff mad with drink,
standmg with his bayonet drawn, and setting at defiance a cor
poral and a file of men, who had been sent to take Mm to the
guard-room. This is always a most painful and awkward position
for a non-commissioned officer to be placed in ; I once knew a
simUar case which ended in the death of the man m custody.
On my coming to the crowd, I went up to the man, and merely
said "Hollo ! what is aU this about?" and he immediately retumed
his bayonet to the scabbard, saying, " Now there is an officer, I
" wUl give in," and went off quietly with the men of the guard
Trying circumstances, connected with my promotion and the
half-pay Ueutenancy I had refused, which I wiU explain in a
subsequent chapter, rendered it desirable that I shoffid proceed
to England ; and this step, which had been long determined on.

NEW BRUNSWICK. 411
ffi the event of my receiving an unfavourable reply to a memorial
I had forwarded to the Duke of York, was taken immediately
after my retum from St. John's. I was very sorry to leave aU
my kind friends at St. Andrew's, especially the Gawlers, but I
had great reason to be most thankful for aU the mercy and good
ness which God had been pleased to manifest to me during my
residence at that place, both as regarded my own religious state,
and the work which He had enabled me to participate in -with
my dear friends the Gawlers, with a -view to the reUgious benefit
of others. It' was a very considerable trial to me to leave Sandhurst ;
but I have been enabled to see clearly that the great Disposer
and Over-rffier of aU events did, in His wisdom and lo-ving-Mnd-
ness, send me to America ; and in many a mortffication, and ffi
much more severe trials which have occuned to me since then,
I have constantly seen the same lovffig-kindness and -wisdom in
aU His ffispensations towards me. " It is not ffi man that walketh
" to dfrect Ms steps."

END of THE FIRST VOLUME.

KOBWICH ! PBISIED BT PIETOHEB AKD SOS.

(Frorn "The Army and Niwy Gazette," of August 17, 1867.)

THE 52nd light INFANTEY,
THE FIEST GUAEDS,
ASD
THE IMPERIAL GFAED OF EEANCE,
AT WATEELOO.

TO THE EDITOB OP, "THE AEMY AND NAVY GAZETTE."
Sir, — With your permission I wish to make the foUowing remarks on
Major-General Lindsay's letter, inserted in the Army and Nary Gazette of
July 27, on the subject of the defeat of the French Guard at Waterloo.
General Lindsay says, " I do not propose here to reply to Mr. Leeke's letter,
(Army and Navy Gazette, June 29,) nor to argue upon the movements of tho
two battalions which composed the brigade, (Maitland's,) nor upon the numbers
of the Imperial Guard, but shall content myself with quotations from docu
ments -written by offlcers who were present, which assert as a faot the defeat of
a column of the Imperial Guard by the 1st regiment of Guards. Major-Gen
erals Sir John Byng and Sir Peregrine Maitland commanded the two brigades'
of Guards under Lieutenant-General Sir George Cooke. When the latter was
wounded, the command of the di-vision devolved upon Sir John Byng. On the
day after the battle both brigadiers wrote a despatch to the Duke of Tork as
senior colonel of the brigade of Guards." The following is the portion of
Byng's despatch which relates to Maitland's brigade, consisting of the 2nd and
Srd battalions of the 1st Guards, and the attack of the Imperial Guard. " I
had also to witness the gallantry with which they met the last attack made by
the Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard, ordered on by Bonaparte himself, the
destructive fire they poured in, and the subsequent charge, which together com
pletely routed the enemy. A second attempt met with a similar reception, and
the loss they caused the French, of the finest troops I ever saw, was immense."
General Lindsay's extract from Maitland's despatch is as follows :— " It
was at tills period that Napoleon made Ms last effort against our centre, and
advanced with masses of infantry, supported by- cavalry and a blaze of artillery.
At the command of the Duke of Wellington, our twp squares formed into a line
four deep. Napoleon himself led on his Imperial Guard against us to the
biittom of the hill (or, rather, the small acclivity). The moment they appeared,
and began to form about twenty yards in our front, we poured in the raost
deadly* fire that perhaps was ever witnessed, as the field of battle abundantly
testified the following day. The Imperial Guard retreated," &c. , [This is the

whole of the extract which General Lindsay gives from Maitland's despatch.]
It must be borne in mind that these extracts both from Byng's and Maitland's
despatches refer only to Maitland's brigade, Byng's own brigade of Guards
being at the time more than half a mUe away, in or about the chateau and
grounds of Hougomont.
I have already proved, as I believe, in my letter to you, (in the Anny and
Navy Gazette of June 29,) that there was no column in front of those led by
Marshal Ney for the 1st British Guards to encounter, and that the troops they
defeated on the British position must have been massed skirmishers from Ney's
column of the Imperial Guard, and from Donzel6t's division, which was in
force to the French left of La Haye Sainte. It may, however, be well for me
to repeat, as your readers may not bear them in mind, the proofs of this, which
I advanced in that letter. Lord Seaton says : — " The whole of the Imperial
Guard advanced at the same time, and their flank was first attacked by the
52nd before any forward movement was made to attack them ia front. No
regiment except the 52nd fired on the flank of the Imperial Guard." Again
he says : — " I saw the column of the Imperial Guard steadily advancing to a
certain point, which was precisely as the skirmishers of the 52nd opened flre on
their flank."— (See " History of Lord Seaton's," &c., vol. i, pp. 101-2.) These
columns, apparently containing about 10,000 men, were in the very closest
proximity, the rear of the one being about twenty paces from the front of the
other. Colonel Bentham, in his letter to me in May, 1854, states that Lieu
tenant Sharpin, of the Artillery, stationed in the angle made by the Guards
and 52nd, says that "till he saw Siborne's statement, he never saw or heard of
two attempts on our centre by the Imperial Guard." He says, " Siborne was
wrong in making his battery fire on any column but the one taken in flank by
the infantry on the right." Colonel Bentham adds, " He is an excellent wit
ness on our side." General Sir Thomas Brotherton's letter to Colonel Gawler,
in 1833, mentions that in his conversation, not long after Waterloo, with a
French staff officer who accompanied the Imperial Guard column led by Ney,
the officer stated that " they were chiefly repulsed by a very sharp flank attack,
which destroyed them.'' This was the single-handed attack of the 52nd. The
officers of the 52nd, who were towards the left of the 52nd four deep line, saw
that the British Guards who were more than 300 yards away from the head of
Ney's column, and out of sight behind the crest of the position, never fired into
it ; but they did see skirmishers of the Imperial Guard retire down the British
position, and form in front of the head of the column. As I observed before,
these various circumstances, which I have stated more particularly in my letter
to you of the 29th of June, make it a matter of certainty to my mind that
skirmishers of the Imperial Guard, joined by their supports, and by quantities
of skirmishers of Donzelot's division and their supports, were massed together
and fired into the Srd battalion of the 1st Guards, stationed on the reverse slope
of the British position, and that these massed and intermingled skirmishers,
and probably some of Donzel6t's battalions, seen at no very great distance
away to their left front, as the Srd battalion of the 1st Guards passed over the
summit of the position, were mistaken by them for a column of the Imperial
Guard. When the Srd battalion of the 1st Guards formed line, by the Duke
of Wellington's order, on the front face of its square, and drove off from the

British position the mass of skirmishers in their front, those belonging to Don-
zel6t's division would run into the ne3,rest battalion of that division away to
their left front ; the Imperial Guard skirmishers, running in from both bat
talions of the 1st Guards, and from the 2nd battalion of the 95th rifles, would
be those I saw form in front of the leading battalion of Ney's columns, when
the 52nd were becoming parallel with their left flank ; the left of the 52nd line
and the head of the Imperial Guard being both of them SOO yards from the
British position. When the Srd battalion of the 1st Guards advanced over the
position in pursuit of the mass of skirmishers, they would probably see the
nearest of Donzel6t's battalions about 250 yards away to their left front, and
the head of Ney's column about S50 yards from them to their right front.
I must now make some observations on the extracts contained in General
Lindsay's letter from Byng's and Maitland's despatches to the Duke of York.
Having proved that there was no column in advance of the oolumn of the Im
perial Guard led by Ney, Michel, and Friant, which was routed by the flank
attack of the 52nd, and which the British Guards never attacked, I can still
only understand the statements of Byng and Maitland as referring to the
repulse of the swarms of massed skirmishers of the Imperial Guard and Donze-
16t's division by the two battalions of Maitland's brigade, but not by the two
battalions in one almost contiguous line, hut by each battalion separately.
There is the very best authority for stating that the Srd battalion of the 1st
Guards, when lying down in square on the reverse slope of the position, were
attacked by a " column" (as the officer, who was sergeant-major of that bat
talion at Waterloo called it) of twelve or fourteen hundred men, and that these
troops opened fire upon them at a distance of fifty or sixty paces ; that the
Duke, coming along from their left, observed how this Srd battalion of the 1st
Guards was suffering from the heavy mass of troops in their front, and desired
the commanding officer to form line on the front face of the square, and " drive
those fellows off," whicii they did in very gallant style, and followed them for
some eighty or a hundred yards down the slope ; then there was an alarm of
cavalry, and the Srd battalion of the Guard.s, some of them thinking they were
to form square, got into confusion, and retired hastily over the crest of the po
sition, and beyond it on the reverse slope. [Colonel Gurwood, then with the
10th Hussars, stated that they saw the Guards thus retiring in confusion.]
" The officer told me most positively that this was the only movement the Srd
battalion of the 1st Guards made against the enemy's infantiy at Waterloo, and
that their second battalion was not with them." Siborne erroneously speaks
of this as a separate and previous attack, after the taking of La Haye Sainte,
by tirailleurs from that quarter, who not only fired into the Srd battalion of the
1st Guards, but " also, upon their left, another portion of their numbers poured
a destructive, fire upon the left square of Adam's brigade, formed by the 2nd
battalion of the 95th Rifles." Then he mentions the Duke coining up to the
Srd battalion of the Guards, and ordering the commanding officer to form line
on the front face of the square and drive the skirmishers down the slope, which
they did. He says on the approach of cavalry " the battalion re-formed square
with great rapidity and regularity. The cavalry refused the square, but re
ceiving its fire and then dashing along the front of the 52nd Regiment it exposed
itself to another vigorous fire, by which it was nearly destroyed ; whilst the Srd

battalion ofthe Guards retired, in perfect order, to its original position." Here
is an instance of the confusion which a writer of the history of a battle, who
himself was not an eye-witness, raay be led into both as to time and circum
stances, by tlie varied acooiuits given to him by several officers of the same
regiments : The 52nd did not at that time flre on any body of cavalry ; the
officer of the Srd battalion of the 1st Guards, as I have just stated, gave me
very much the same account with regard to the repulse of a " column" as he
called it, of the Imperial Guard; but he did not say the battalion formed
square and' fired into the cavalry, but there was a cry of " cavalry," and that,
some thinking they were to form square, they got into confusion, and retired
over the summit of the position again. The two generals, Maitland and Byng,
do not mention this affair. Maitland appears to allude to Siborne's statement,
when he says, in his letter to him in 1847, " the formation in line four deep,
which you must have had in mind, belongs to a later hour of the day, when the
Imperial Guard were advancing," &c.
The extract from Byng's despatch speaks of " a second attempt which met
with a similar reception ;" this I suppose must have reference to the repulse of
the massed skirmisher,?, who, we are told, fired into the 2nd. battalion of the
Guards and the 2nd battalion of the 95th Rifles. Sir Peregrine Maitland
speaks only of one attack made by the French on his brigade. He says in his
despatch, " at the command of the Duke of Wellington, our two squares fornied
into a line four deep." There would be an interval between the two squares ;
and when both of them were in a four-deep line, there would still be a very con
siderable interval, as the lines would only occupy half the space which they
would require in a two-deep line ; and I suppose that the 3rd battalion of the
1st Guards, after having recovered its order on the reverse slope of the position,
took ground towards the 2nd battalion on their right, and that this is what
Lord Saltoun meant when he wrote as follows : — " The left shoulder was then
brought forward, and we advanced against the second column of the Imperial
Guard, but which body was defeated by General Adam's brigade [it was defeated
by the 52nd alone] before we reached it, although we got near enough to fire if
we had been ordered to do so, and, as far as I can recolleot, we did fire into
that column." As I have stated before, the 52nd knew well that the Guai'ds
were never in a position to fire into the oolumn, which they (the 52nd) took in
flank ; yet from such loose and conflicting statements as these, Siborne, and
many other historians of Waterloo, who have followed his account, have been
forced to draw the materials for their liistories. When the third battalion of
the 1st Guards di'ove in the swarm of massed skirmishers in theii- front, and
followed them for a short distance down the slope, no doubt they would, raany
of them, see the heavy columns of the Imperial Guard, which the S2nd took in
flank — their officers on the look-out must have seen them before — ^but hoiv,
after the retiring of the Srd battalion in confusion over the crest again, and
some distance down the reverse slope, the two generals and other officers could
fancy that they defeated the colum-ns of the Imperial Guard, led on by Ney,
and so decided the fate of Waterloo, it is very difficult to understand. It may
partly have had its origin in the fact of the separation of the two battalions of
the Guards at the time of the advance of the Imperial Guard and its skirm
ishers, so that, when the accounts of what each battalion saw were collected, in

order to the preparation of By rig's and Maitland's despatches for the Duke of
York and the Duke of Wellington, there might be a greater liability to strong
expressions, and to mistakes as to what was really done by the 1st Guards at
the close of the action, and with regard to the fate of the French columns
seen by them below the position. I think it is to be regi-etted that the two
generals and other officers have confused their accounts by speaking of the
whole brigade having resisted or made attacks, whicii it is clear were only
made or resisted by each of the two battalions separately.
In the memorandum of Sir Peregrine Maitland in 1834, in the possession
of the late Captain Siboi-ne, he says : — "As the attacking force moved forward
it separated, the Chasseurs inclined to their left, the Grenadiers ascended the
acclivity towards our position.'' With regard to most persons, I have not
much confidence in the accuracy of their recollections about Waterloo after the
lapse of many years, as it is difficult for thera to distinguish between what they
themselves saw and what they have read in histories, or have heard frora
others ; but I have uo doubt that these were the skirmishers seen just before
they extended, one body inclining^ to their left towards the 2nd battalion of the
1st Guards, and the 2nd, 95th, and the other advancing towards the Srd bat
talion ofthe 1st Guards.
Major-General Lindsay mentions that he has " brought forward information
wliich could not be in my possession," ahd that he has many letters and docu
ments from many other officers, who were personally engaged, corroborative of
what he has advanced. I have also in my possession, but I cannot at the
moment lay my hand upon them, extracts from letters from several officers of
the 1st Guards, who were at Waterloo, written soon after the action, in which
they fully claim all the honour of the defeat of the Imperitil Guard, and the con
sequent victory. But what does all this amount to ? The two generals and
the senior officers came to the conclusion tliat when they drove off the massed
skirmishers the victory was gained ; whilst Ney's colurans were still untouched,'
aifd probably would have penetrated the British line of battle but for the flank
attack of the 52nd. If the senior officers made such a raistaken claim, no
wonder that the others, in the excitement consequent upon the victoiy, should
write home to their friends and claim the honour of having defeated the far-
famed and choicest troops of France. No wonder that Lord Bathurst, on the
23rd of June, 1815, only eight days after the action, raade use of the following
words in the House of Lords : — " Towards the close of the day Bonaparte hira
.self, at the head of his Guards, made a desperate charge on the British Guards,
and the British Guards immediately overthrew the French." No wonder that
the following order appeared in the Gazette of the 29th of July, 1815 : — " His
Royal Highness has been pleased to approve of the 1st Regiraent of Foot
Guards being made a regiraent of gi-enadiers, and styled ' the 1st or Grenadier
Regiment of Foot Guards,' in comraeraoration of their having defeated the
Grenadiers of the French Iraperial Guard upon this raeraorable occasion."
But all who know the circurastances have greatly wondered that the Duke
of Wellington should, in the manner he did, so completely ignore the remark
able defeat of Ney's columns by the 52nd, under Lord Seaton. Colonel Pon
sonby states that, " it was he who recommended the 1st Guards for the' distinc
tion it enjoys, and he could scarcely have done so, had Mr. Leeke's version been

6
correct." When the Duke had directed the advance of the 3rd battalion " to
drive those fellows off," (an expression, by the way, hardly applicable to a strong
column, but quite so to skirmishers en masse,) he raust almost iraraediately
have seen Colborne's (Lord Seaton's) right-shoulder-forward movement, and
have sent Colonel Percy to desire him to continue it. The Duke, therefore,
must have been fully aware of Colborne's exploit, as appears also from the
words which I heard him address to hira, when he rode up to the 52nd, close to
the Charleroi-road, twenty rainutes after we had put to flight the " black raas-
sive solid columns'' of the Iraperial Guard. The words were " Well done,
Colborne ! Well done ! Go on ; don't give them time to rally." During the
half hour before, Colborne had taken his regiment by itself down on the flank
of the Imperial Guard, had thoroughly defeated it, had then led it over the
thickly-strewed killed and wounded of the Iraperial Guard ; then it was ridden
at by cuirassiers, and our own cavalry, one flying from the other ; then it had
grape fired into it, from the three guns of the Old Guard ; it had traversed by
itself eight liundred yards from its place on the position, and when the Duke
came down to it it was preparing, after a minute's halt for the purpose of dres
sing the line, to advance against the reserve of the Old Guard, which had
retired to the first rise of the French position. The Duke might well exclaim
" Well done, Colbome !" &c. But the Duke owed also a great deal of his suc
cess in the Peninsula war to Colborne and his gallant regiment, where they and
the 43rd and 95th Rifles (the three regiments of the Light Division) so often
led the way to victory in many a general action, and ,so greatly distinguished
theraselves also in equally hard-fought divisional engagements. Colborne was
much valued by the Duke as an officer in the Peninsula, as may be seen in the
" Record" of 'the 52nd, from its formation to the storming of Delhi, a gi'eat
portion ofwhich will be found in sorae of the later chapters of ray " History of
the 52nd at AVaterloo." How was it then, that the Duke allowed the great
services of Colborne and the 52nd at Waterloo to be ignored, and how came he
to allow the 1st Guards to be honoured and rewarded for "having defeated the
Grenadiers of the French Iraperial Guard," when the feat was really performed
by the 52nd ? If the Duke did not inform himself on the subject of course his
conduct would be most censurable. The reviewer of my " History of the 52nd
at Waterloo," in the Pall Mall Gazette, makes the following observations : —
" Perhaps the question of most general interest raooted in our author's pages is
the charge of injustice on the part of the Duke of Wellington towards the 52nd
in reference to Waterloo, in evading the distinct recognition of the deciding in
fluence which that regiment exerted on the issue of the battle, and, indeed, in
countenancing the error whicii attributed to the 2nd and Srd battalions of the
1st Guards a share in the exploit whioh was really achieved by the 52nd alone.
. . . . . It is possible, too, (for the Duke was decidedly huraan,) that he felt
he owed the 52nd too much. It may have heen uncomfortable to enter into the
examination of the circumstances which gave that regiment a chance of coming
(like a Deus ex machina) to the rescue of the British army. It has always been
our opinion that the Duke was not particularly proud of his conduct of the great
battle. . . . Perhaps a part of his known dislike to conversing on the .subject
of Waterloo raay be attributed to his own dissatisfaction with a performance
which nearly all the world was agreed in considering faultless."

The following is an extract from a letter written to me by Colonel Bentham
in November, 1853 :— " I can fully bear you out as to Gurwood's declaration
about the Guards. He was always very strong on this point. I met Gurwood
in London, about 1828 ; he was then staying at Apsley House, and I asked
him why he never drew the Duke out about the catastrophe at Waterloo. He
said that he had repeatedly made the attempt, but that it was a subject which
always created great impatience. On the last attempt the Duke said, ' Oh ! I
know nothing of the services of particular regiments ; there was glory enough
for us all!'"
Although I have greatly exceeded the proper limits of a letter, I raust beg
of you to permit me, before I close this, to make some few observations on the
following extract which General Lindsay brings forward in support of his claim
that Maitland's Brigade defeated the attack of the French Imperial Guard at
Waterloo. It is an extract frora Captain Powell's journal : — "A close column
of grenadiers, of La Moyenne Garde, about 6000 strong, were seen ascending
the rise aupas de charge. They continued to advance tilHithin fifty or sixty
paces of our front, when the brigade was ordered to stand up." He then men
tions that this, or the tremendously heavy fire thrown into them, stopped the
French Guard, and forced the head of the column back. He then says, " We
charged down the hill till we passed the end of the Orchard of Hougomont,
when our right flank became exposed to another heavy column, which was ad
vancing in support of the former. This circurastance obliged us to retire to
our original position." Captain Powell published this part of his journal up
wards of thirty years ago, and there are several other stateraents in it besides
those which General Lindsay has sent to you, and there are also two or three
things in the extract which differ from the printed stateraent which I have men
tioned. Captain Powell's printed statement raentions that the coluran was a
close coluran ofthe Moyenne Guard (it does not mention " Grenadiers" as the
extract does), "about 8000 strong, led by Marshal Ney." General Lindsay's
extract, iiublished in his letter to you, does not contain this line which I have
italicised. The line seeras to indicate that Ney's column of " eight or ten
thousand raen," which was taken in flank by the 52nd, was seen hy the 3rd bat
talion of the Guards, when it drove in the skirmishers frora the position.
Had General Lindsay been at Waterloo he would have understood how impos
sible it was that the Guards could get down near the inclosures of Hougomont,
that is unless they were going out of the fray, for the tide of battle, at the time
spoken of, ran quite the other way. — Very faithfully yours,
Wm. Leeke.
Holbrooke, near Derby, August 8, 1S67.

As I am circulating many thousand copies of my " replies to certam
criticisms on my History of Lord Seaton's Eegiment (the 52nd
Light Infantry) at the hattle of ¦\Vateiioo," I thmk it desirahk-
to fiU up this remaining space, in the second pamphlet, ¦\Yith tbt
foUowing extracts, &c, : — ¦
General Sir William Rowan, now colonel of the o2nd, in a letter written in
December last, says :— " My dear Leeke,— You seem so anxious to attach the
extracts from my letter of the 31st of January last to other papers which you
are about to publish, that I csjinot resist giving my consent, though I have a
great horror of appearing in print ; but you have taken so much trouble and
have incurred so serious an expense to clear up any doubts, which may have existed
with regard to the 52nd Regiment at Waterloo, that I feel every person con
nected with the regiraent, is bound to render you all the assistance in his power.
You fought bravely to raaintain the position you had taken up at Waterloo ; I
suppose now the war is over. Had I known ofyour intention to visit that cele
brated spot, I think I should have proposed joining your party : I have not
been there since the 18th of June, 1815 ; it was ray birthday." [He waa then
twenty-flve, and a Brevet Major for Orthes.] The following is the extract
above referred to, from Sir W. Rowan's letter to me of the 31st of January,
1867 : — " The fact that the 52nd had the glory of attacking and defeating the
principal columns of the Imperial Guard, and that the decisive [movement was
the spontaneous aot of Sir John Colborne, had become matter of history, was
abundantly proved by the reraarks of the press on the death of Lord Seaton.
Of that fact no individual of the regiment ever entertained a doubt, which was
the cause of their taking no notice of the remarkable omission of their exploit
in the Duke of Wellington's de.spatch. Gawler's Crisis of Waterloo published it
to the world many years since. So far as my memory serves me, your account
of the several movements of the 52nd Regiment is correct ! "
At the end of September last I went with my two eldest sons to Brussels,
and spent two days on the Field of Waterloo : I was very much pleased to find,
that in the various positions occupied by the 52nd — when in reserve in front of
Merbe Braine ; when in square a quarter of a mile in front of the whole army,
and to the left of Hougomont, -where, as Sir Henry Clinton, in his despatch
says, the manner in which they, with the 71st and 2nd and Srd 95th, "dis
charged their duty "was witnessed and admired by the whole army " ; and when
also, after retiring from square they stood, from seven till eight o'clock, just out
of fire, forty paces below the position, on its reserve slope, preparatory to their
advance on the French Iraperial Guard — I was rauch pleased to find that the
ground in these positions tallied with ray recollections of it fifty-two years
before. On ray arrival at Paris from Brussels, I wrote at ten o'clock at night a
very hasty note to a relative in England from which I copy the following
remarks : — " I -was very glad to go a second time to Waterloo, two days ago, and

to follow the exact course of the 52nd four-deep line in its advance against, and
defeat of, the Imperial Guard, and over the ground on which their killed and
wounded lay : and that on which we were charged by the raixed cavalry ; and
that from which the three guns, driven off by Gawler, made such holes in our line
with grape. We saw, also, how short the distance was of the first rise to
which these French guns had retired. We then found about the exact spot on
which I stood to the right of the lower inclosures of La Haye Sainte, when the
Duke came up. The guide pointed out the spot on which Shaw, the Life
Guardsman was buried, which was not far from that on which the Marquis of
Anglesea was wounded, about half-past eight, just in rear of the 52nd line."
After crossing the Charleroi road and driving off a square of the Old Guard
and some cavalry on the height above, the 52nd advanced well to the left of
La Belle Alliance and Primotion, and carae upon a French Division, which sur.
rendered to them in a hollow road, 100 yards beyond the latter place. I was
able to pick out the exact spot at which the left centre of the 52nd four-deep
line passed the deep part of that road, 300 yards to the left of the pomt at
which it crosses at right angles the Charleroi road, and about fifty yards from
where it turns up to the right to Planchenoit. From the top of this bank the
two centre companies had fired the last infantry shots fired at Waterloo, at, I
believe, Marshal Ney and his staff. Prom thence they had advanced in pursuit
nearly three quarters of a mile farther to the farm of Rossomme, where they
bivouacked for the night on the straw used the night before by the Imperial
Guard. The two guides, who were with us at Rossomme, were much pleased
when I picked out the very ground on which I had slept on the night of the
battle. The guides I found to be intelligent, pleased to have what they knew
confirmed, and to receive further information on which they thought they could
depend. I think visitors should not fail to visit the Hotel de Lion, at the
foot of the Belgian mount ; they will find Sergeant-major Cotton's niece very
obliging, the fare good, and the Museum worth seeing.
I have now accomplished to my own satisfaction, and I beheve to that of
the great mass of the readers of my " History of Lord Seaton's Regiment at
Waterloo " and of these supplementary pamphlets, the object with which I com
menced writing that work — that object being, as I have stated in the title-page,
to prove that" Lord Seaton and the 52nd had the honour of defeating, single-
handed, without the assistance of the 1st British Guards, or of any other troops,
that portion of the Imperial Guard of France, about 10,000 in number, which
advanced to make the last attack on the British position."
Even the 1st Guards, I think, raust recognise the fact that the exploits of
the 52nd at Waterloo were ignored, and that through a mistaken claim the
Guards had the honours and rewards thrust upon them, which in a tenfold
degree belonged to the 52nd Never before had the 52nd " surpassed in arms"
what they achieved at Waterloo.
I may venture to observe that every 52nd officer and man, who was with
the regiraent from the beginning to the end of the action, had a far gi-eater
opportunity of seeing the details of that great battle than any other officer or
man in the whole army.
My readers will see what further object I have in view, if they will turn
back to the eighth page and fourteenth and following lines of the first of these

10
pamphlets, or to ray Volume I, pp. 136, 137. 1 believe it would be of much
benefit to the service, if the officers of every regiment in it held the same rank
in each grade, which the officers of the Guards hold, so that the latter should
not, as a rule, arrive at the higher ranks and commands o' the army at an earlier
age than is the case with regard to the officers of all the other regiments. The
officers of all the other regiments of the army would no doubt be satisfie I with
such an arrangement, without any consequent present increase of pay, suppos
ing that to be a difficulty in the way of carrying out such an arrangement. It
would, perhaps, be difficult for the officers of the rest of the army to take the
initiative in raaking such a proposal, however muoh they may see the injury in
flicted on the service by the present state of things, but it would be a noble and
graceful thing for the officers of the Guards to do.
There is another point which I think no other person is likely to moot, and
which I therefore consider it my duty to raention, seeing I have the present
favourable opportunity of doing so. I dare say tbe thought may have occured
to others, particularly of late years, when so many soldiers, both officers and
men, have had their attention seriously drawn to the subject of religion :— How
is it that in the British army there is never any public and united acknowledg-
memt of God and of His power and graoe and mercy, when it is known, some
time before an action commences, that the troops are about to be engaged with
the enemy ? It is known that many are about to lo.se their lives, that many
others will lie desperately wounded on the field of battle, Snd 1 believe that it
would then be a most proper and suitable time for seeking the blessing of the
Lord of Hosts, the Gpd of battles ; and I think it would be acceptable to the
vast proportion of those about to be engaged. My own feeling is, that instead
of there being anything dispiriting to a soldier in such a proceeding, it would
rather have a contrary tendency. With regard to the difficulty of fixing a time
for havihg three or four minutes' prayer just before the commencement of an
action, I would say that in the case of a sudden attack it raight be necessary to
orait it, hut that on raost occasions there would be no such difficulty. Before
the commencement of the battle of Waterloo there was abundant time, after
all were ready for action, between eleven and twelve o'clock, for the formation
of battalion squares throughout the whole army, in order to the offering up of
prayer to Almighty God. A signal gun raight be fired, and all or raost of the
troops might engage in prayer for a few rainutes at the sarae time. What a
noble sight it would be to see a whole army thus acknowledging their dependence
on God ; and if the enemy should suddenly prepare to attack, the battalions
would soon be in their proper formations again, and ready to receive them.
Again, after the battle, and especiaUy when a victory has been gained, praise
might be offered up to Almighty God, if it were only by repeating and perhaps
singing, " Praise God, from whom all blessings flow ;
Praise Him, all creatures here below ;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host.
Praise Pather, Son, and Holy Ghost."
Wm. Leeke.
Holbrooke, -near Derby, February 15th, 1868.

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