for thirty cartridges, and you were expected in the heat of battle, so soon as the upper tier was exhausted, to turn the block round, and so reach the tier below. I need scarcely add, that the very first time we got under fire, the inconvenience of this arrangement made itself felt; and that the woods, as they were called, being taken out, the men carried their cartridges thenceforth loose in their pouches. If such was the style in which the King's government equipped and clothed the King's foot-guards, what shall I say of the sort of exercise to which we were trained. In handling the musket there were not fewer than fifty-two movements, the whole of which went on so soon as a single word of command was spoken. "Poise arms!" was that word; on the utterance of which a fugleman began to caper, and the entire line, watching his movements, tossed and brandished their arms into all manner of grotesque figures. When we stood with arms shouldered we were made to keep the butt of the firelock on the hip, and to stick out the elbow of the left arm, so that there should be between it and the side an interval of three inches. When we fixed bayonets it was by a motion similar to that which the swordsman makes when he draws, — and then our shoulder — it took, if I recollect right, three hitches to get the implement into its place. And, finally, our manoeuvres: they were complicated, unwieldy, performed always at slow time, and seemed to throw us into every imaginable shape, which could avail nothing in the hour of peril. One really cannot look back upon the military arrangements that prevailed at that time without a smile.

There were no light companies attached to the regiments of footguards then; though the first had in each of its battalions two companies of grenadiers. The companies, likewise, were much weaker than they afterwards became. They mustered respectively not more than six-and-forty, rank and file; and as nine companies made up a battalion, it will be seen that the battalions themselves were by no means too efficient; for the London duty, though not quite so hard as it is now, was in 1788 severe enough; and Kew, and even Windsor, came under the general head of outposts for the metropolis. Moreover, the force of cavalry kept in London was at once feeble in point of numbers, and, from its composition very little effective. The horse-grenadiers and old life-guards were then in existence; and a strange anomaly, or rather a curious relic of barbarous times, they presented. These household troops, like the ancient garde-du-corps of France, were composed exclusively of gentlemen, who purchasing the nominations as men now purchase commissions, suffered little from the restraints of military discipline while they served, and retired after a given number of years on handsome annuities. They were not liable to be called beyond the precincts of the court, except in cases of great emergency. They did the duty of the palace, and mounted guard, it is true; but negligence on such occasions was punishable only by fine among themselves; and as to their horses and equipments of these, they took no further charge than might be implied in the act of rating their grooms and body servants, should either horse or furniture seem to be out of order when the tour of duty came round. For they were allowed one groom for every ten horses, and one servant for every ten troopers, who, being paid and rationed at the public expense, were expected to perform all menial offices for the gentlemen of the body-guard both in the stable and the harness-room.

Of these soldiers of fortune, in a sense different from what is generally applied to the term, there were six troops, of which two were rated as horse-grenadiers, two as gentlemen of the life-guards. Of the rank which the individuals thus designated were presumed to hold, some idea may be formed when I state that the cymbalbeater belonging to the band of the first mentioned corps, was treated as his equal by a captain of infantry, with whom he fought a duel soon after my arrival in London, and by whom he was severely wounded. But, though it may sound mighty fine to talk of the King of England's body-guard as consisting of gentlemen, every person conversant, even slightly, with the nature of a soldier's duties, knows that, of all the regiments that ever took the field, a regiment of gentlemen must be the most inefficient. To such a height, indeed, had the inconveniences attending the system risen, that about the period to which this stage in my narrative refers, these privileged troops were disbanded, and the country obtained in their room those magnificent corps which did so much excellent service at Waterloo, and are ready to do as much excellent service again whenever their country may require it.

So much for the condition of our military establishments as these existed in London towards the close of the last century. A few words now in reference to the distribution and quarterings of the troops, and then I pass on to other and more interesting matters. When I reached the metropolis the old barracks in the Savoy had recently been burned down. We were, therefore, indifferently provided with lodgings, that is to say, except in the Tower there were no barracks anywhere in or around London sufficiently capacious to contain in its integrity even one of our weak battalions. A few companies were, indeed, lodged beside the Bird-cage Walk; while the Knightsbridge Barracks, at the head of what is now called Wilton Place, contained a few more; but the remainder got billets on the public-houses that lay most conveniently for them, or hired lodgings, if, as not unfrequently happened, the publican preferred commuting his liability for money; and a tolerably good room, such as a soldier, at least, is content to inhabit, might be had in those days for eighteen-pence or two shillings a week. And, though the whole of our weekly pay amounted only to four shillings, few among us could not afford this outlay,-for guardsmen found no difficulty in town in procuring, as often as military duties would allow, employment at different trades, the profits of which were to them of much more importance than all the allowances which they received from the Crown. Thus collecting our supplies from various quarters, we managed to carry on the war much to our own satisfaction; the more easily effected, as, go where we might, our countrymen were always disposed to treat us kindly. But it is time to get rid of these details; so here I turn a leaf in my narrative.

CHAPTER II.

Which speaks of processions, rumours of war, and wars.

I was just one month at drill, a pretty good proof that whatever my faults as a man or a soldier might be, inattention could not be numbered among them. I then went, as it is called, to my duty,— that is, I attended parades and field-days when they occurred, and took my turn of guards, pickets, fatigues, and so forth. Among other

things that befel me at this time may be enumerated a detachment to Kew, where, in the summer of 1788, the King, as may be remembered, suffered his first attack of illness. We saw nothing of his Majesty, of course; nor were any of the secrets of the palace communicated to us; but we used to watch the countenances of those that went and came about him, trying, from the expressions which they bore, to draw some conclusions as to the state of the royal patient. This continued for about two months; during which our custom was, to quarter at Richmond, and send the guard from day to day, to Kew; but at the end of that period we were relieved and marched back, nothing loth, to London.

There occurred in the progress of the following year only two events which made a deep impression on my mind at the moment, and, concerning which I may therefore be permitted to speak. One was, the great procession to St. Paul's, when the King, attended by his family and officers of state, went to return thanks for the removal of the malady under which he had laboured; the other the sort of rupture with Spain on the subject of Nootka Sound, which set us all on the alert for a brief space, and made us dream of war as impending. On the former of these occasions London appeared to go mad with joy. There was a ringing of bells and waving of flags from early dawn; and, when the hour of Divine service drew nigh, the entire population of this mighty city seemed to be afoot. For ourselves, we mustered on the grand parade about eight in the morning, and, marching to Temple Bar, there spread ourselves so as to line the course of the procession from that point down to the gates of Carlton House. There another battalion took up the chain, while along the broad walk, and about the approaches to Buckingham House, the life-guards took their stations, in readiness to fall in so soon as the carriages should pass, and escort them to and from their place of distinction.

I don't know why there should be any ebbing and flowing in the tide of loyalty among the English people. I am sure that under the kingly government, as for many generations it has shown itself, they have enjoyed as much liberty and true happiness as can ever fall to the lot of masses of men; and I quite mistake the national character if they be not, at heart, sincerely attached to the throne,— yet I am very sure that the feeling of reverence and affection which they used to display towards George the Third was a different thing altogether from the loyalty which is now in fashion. You would have thought that day, had you looked round upon the thousands of happy faces, and heard the people congratulating one another on the King's recovery, that some unlooked-for piece of good fortune had befallen the individuals or their families, not that their sovereign had been restored to his place, as the head of the commonwealth. And when the good King appeared, her Majesty and his children attending him,―men not only shouted with all the strength of their lungs, but many even with tears upon their cheeks. It was easy to see that there was no affectation of joy there; for not only was there no tumult, nor the slightest disposition manifested to create one, but the anxiety on all sides appeared to be, that all should be made equally happy by looking on the sovereign. A more gratifying spectacle never met the gaze of a patriot; a more pleasant duty never was performed by a soldier.

Such was the manner in which the morning of the 23d of April was spent. We continued at our posts till Divine service ended, when the King returned as he went, amid the same demonstrations of attachment; and then the files closed, the battalion marched back to the palace, and was dismissed. But after dark we all assembled again; and while bonfires and an illumination put the city in an uproar, we formed a long line about St. James's palace, and fired a feu-de-joie. Finally, some hogsheads of porter being handed out to us, we drank the King's health amid vociferous cheering, and departed in the best possible humour, each man to his barrack-room or his billet.

The second occurrence of which I proposed to speak was the little spurt, or by whatever name it may be called, which threw Great Britain for a week or two into an attitude of hostility towards Spain. It is no business of mine to speculate on the wisdom or folly of the minister in threatening an appeal to the sword about a matter in itself so unimportant. I believe, indeed, that the country required a display of vigour at his hands; and I am quite sure that the idea of active service on the Continent was very popular with the army; but these are points with which a man in my humble position can have no concern. I only know that, when the order came to augment the first battalion of our regiment by a draft from the second, there was the utmost eagerness to be admitted into the favoured band which was to compose it. For myself, though I had just been promoted to the rank of corporal, I applied for and obtained permission to resign; because only as a private could I be permitted to share in the fun which all around me anticipated. There is always a good spirit in the British army when the prospect of fighting is opened out; but I really do not recollect an occasion on which it showed itself more clearly than during these two or three weeks of active prepar

ation.

Proud men were we, the individuals selected for detachment, when we commenced our march from the parade in St. James's Park to the Tower, amid the cheers of our comrades. That nothing might be wanting to complete our triumph, we were conducted by the Duke of York's apartments, who, as colonel of the regiment, came out to look at us, and who, after commending our appearance, caused a pint of ale per man to be issued. This we drank, of course, and if many more did not follow, no blame is attachable to the citizens of London. Throughout the whole line of march the people cheered us, and not a public house came in our way but the landlord stood at the door, mug in hand, pressing us to drink. Ours was a perfect ovation all the way to the Tower.

It is well known that the quarrel with Spain came at this time to nothing. The satisfaction demanded by England was given; and the preparations for war, which have seemed always to delight the most peaceable, were laid aside as suddenly as they had been entered upon. We accordingly retired to our old battalions, and falling back into the routine of peaceable duty, mounted guards, went through evolutions, and showed ourselves on state occasions, as heretofore. Our movements, likewise, were all confined to the accomplishment of such changes of quarters as took us the circle of London in five years. From Knightsbridge we passed to Westminster, from Westminster to the Borough, from the Borough to the

Tower, from the Tower to Portman-street, and last of all, from Portman-street back to Knightsbridge. Hence our acquaintance with the haunts of the metropolis became very perfect; and as to the rest of the world, it was as if it existed not. But things were not to continue thus for ever.

With the rise and progress of the French Revolution, — with the causes which produced, and the atrocities that marked it in all its stages, I have in this place no concern. My purpose is sufficiently served when I state, that war having been declared, a resolution was in 1793 entered into to support the continental sovereigns with a British army; and that, among other corps, the regiment of which I was a member received orders to prepare for immediate embarkation. This was somewhere about the middle of February; and on the 25th of the same month our battalion, increased to four hundred men, joined in brigade with two others from the first and third regiments, on the parade in St. James's Park. I cannot say that just at this time either the army or the sovereign was quite so popular as a few years previously I remember both to have been. A dense crowd assembled, of course, to see us muster and march out of London; but there was little or no cheering among them, and the shouts of the few that did from time to time lift up their voices were almost immediately drowned by the half-uttered execrations of others who stood near them. This was particularly the case when the King came on the ground. Yet was his Majesty fearless and self-possessed, as in the hour of danger he always was; and if the silence of the mob annoyed him in any degree, the cordial reception which he received from the troops must have effaced that impression in a moment. We cheered that day, not as a matter of duty or discipline, but with hearty good will, and at the extreme stretch of our lungs. Then, having listened to his address, brief, and pithy, and full of confidence as to our bearing, we cheered again; after which the word was given to form the column of march, and away we went.

We embarked at Greenwich, in the presence of the King and the royal family, and dropped down the same night as far as Long Reach. Next day the whole fleet weighed anchor, and on the 30th of March, after a rough and uncomfortable passage, we reached Helvoetsluys, and immediately landed. I am not quite sure, by the by, that in using this expression I escape the sort of figure of speech for which our countrymen of the sister isle are renowned. Our landing proved to be neither more nor less than a transference from one class of vessels into another; for we passed out of the King's ships into track-schuyts, and in them ascended the river as far as Dort. But here we certainly did establish ourselves on solid ground; and very kind and generous was the reception which greeted us. while we were disposed of in billets through the town, at each of which we found ample reason to be satisfied with the hospitality of the natives; but by and by the inconvenience of thus scattering us began to be felt, and our battalion drew together in the Prince of Orange's riding-school. For though not, in one sense of the term, in the immediate presence of the enemy, we were yet near enough to call for an unceasing exercise of vigilance. Williamstadt lay, be it remembered, on the opposite bank of the river, and Dumourier's corps, which kept it in a state of siege, it was our business to observe. Accordingly we had our pickets planted by day and night,

For a