berts; shame is fled; he has been there before; now he counts it no disgrace; bares his hardened back, now like a piece of leather with the cats, sullenly and doggedly receives the allotted number of lashes; scorns to utter a groan, or even to look around, or ask for mercy. Carelessly and hurriedly he throws his shirt over his bleeding body, slips on his great-coat, and marches sullenly to the hospital, where, in secret, some feeling comrade, or his wife, has a quantity of spirits ready for him to gulp down as he ascends to his ward. Thus he goes on, from step to step, till he is either useless for duty, or sinks into a premature grave. Such were the comforts, and such were the rules and regulations of militia regiments during the late war. But on the other hand we must allow, if there were bad commanding officers, there were also very bad men in a regiment; men whom neither kindness nor torture could subdue; men who laughed at the cats, and all their tortures; men who would have drink if they should steal for it from their comrades, or wherever they could place their hands. Such men, we allow, were difficult to rule; but it so happened that, with their villany, these men were cunning, and in nineteen cases out of twenty, they contrived to saddle their crimes on some one else, and either the innocent suffered for the guilty, or they escaped scot free. As a proof, in the year 1806, while the A drill for a fortnight; a sulky looks sends him to the guard-house, and from that to the black-hole for eight-and-forty" it is what we must all come to;" he hours, fed on bread and water; a word in vindication of himself, when even wrongfully accused, brings him to a court-martial, and the trifling punishment of from three to five hundred lashes is the award. Independent of all these, the militia-man's heart was broken, by close and unnecessary fatigue. Extra duties, mounting guards, picquets, morning and evening parades, regimental drills, often no more than three nights a week in bed, harrassing field-days, and to finish all, very likely march to the three sisters, to witness one, two, or three comrades stripped naked, tied up, and lashed till the flesh flew from the bones, and the blood of the miserable victims bespattered all around. And what was this punishment for? Enormous crimes? No. In all likelihood a mere trifle. A few minutes late of answering the name at tattoo; returning an answer in his own defence to an ignorant corporal, or corporal's deputy, a lance corporal, when bullied by him. In fact, at that time, commanding officers flogged for pleasure. "It was meat and drink" to them to behold punishment; and, pity it is to say, the inferior officers were all inoculated with the same military ardour. Those officers crushed the spirits of thousands of good men, who, but for such conduct, would have proved an honour to the army. But flog a good man for a trifling offence, and he is lost for ever; he is no more the same man. He is lost to himself, and to all around; he is degraded in his own esteem; degraded in the eyes of his comrades; degraded in the eyes of the world. He fancies he beholds the finger of scorn pointed at him as he walks along, and the damnable voice of derision he hears ringing in his ears, saying, "there, there goes the degraded man; that is he who was flogged!-see! there he goes!" Irritated to the highest pitch, lacerated in soul as well as body, he stamps with rage, whilst he inwardly exclaims, "Damnation, can I suffer this?" To the dram-shop he flies to drown thought; he plunges in the vortex of dissipation; associates with the lowest of the low; duty is neglected; he becomes callous; another false step brings him to the hal -e militia lay in Edinburgh Castle, a party of the light company left the barracks, and went down to the town for a spree. Neither of them had money; nevertheless, they all sallied into a public-house; they called for liquor, drank freely, at length they began to consult how they were to get out. It was proposed they should strip the bed that was in the room where they were drinking— no sooner resolved than executed. Being a wet day, they were in their loose greatcoats and foraging caps; one popped a pair of pillows under his coat and walked out. They were soon disposed of; he returned: in a short time another walked with a pair of blankets under his coat; they were soon sold, and he returned to his comrades. They were now elated; songs, noise, and revelry ensued: a third folded up the sheets, and walked off with them also; the bed was neatly | made up as they had found it, and the comrade returned with the price of the stolen articles. Funds were strong, too strong to pay for what they had drank. The consequence was, they must kick up a quarrel among themselves; they did so. Meantime other people of the house interfered; the row became general, and in the confusion the soldiers of the Ae militia contrived to make their escape, without paying for the liquor they had drank; and the poor woman who kept the house was not only the loser of the drink, and broken mugs and glasses that had fallen in the scuffle, but her pillows, blankets, and sheets into the bargain. What was to be done? She was advised to complain to the commanding officer for redress; she did so, and next morning waited on him, and told her lamentable tale. The commander sympathised with her, and asked her if she would know the men if she saw them? She declared she would, especially one man, she was perfectly sure of. The officer desired the woman to call back at three o'clock, when he would order the regiment on parade, where she would pick out her men, and she would have satisfaction. The poor woman went away fully assured she would meet redress. At three the regiment was ordered out; the commander gave the men a severe lecture on the enormity of the crime, and the disgrace they had brought on the regiment by their bad conduct, hoping the woman would pick out the men, that he might have the pleasure of making them an example. The woman arrived. The regiment was formed into line. "Rear rank, take open order! march! steady, men, steady," said the commander. "Now, my good woman," continued he, "follow me, and pick out your men." The officer took the lead, the poor publican following from right to left down the front, and from left to right up the rear, amid the laughs, coughs, hems, and jeers of the whole regiment. Such was the confusion of the poor woman, that she could not fix on any particular man, although she thought she could swear to them all. At last she pitched on three; they were ordered to the front. "Now, look at them well," said the commanding offi 66 cer; "look at them well; are you certain these are the men?" "Perfectly sure," said the woman. "Sergeant Mackay," said the officer. Sergeant Mackay advanced. "Were those men drunk last night?" "No, your honour,” was the reply. "Are you certain?" said the captain. "I am," replied the sergeant; "those men were all on duty. Gibson, pointing to one, was orderly for Earl Moira; Campbell was cook for the day, and never out of barracks; and Wilson here was waiting man, and on picquet: here is a copy of the evening report." The captain read it, and turning to the woman, asked her how she dared insult him by traducing his men; ordered her out of the garrison, accompanied by a couple of drummers, beating the wh-s march after her. Thus the poor woman was recompensed for her loss, and thus the rascals who committed the deed escaped, who were standing in the ranks laughing at her confusion all the while; and who, as soon as parade was over, went to her house in full dress, condoled with the poor woman for her loss, and treated with the money they had received for the stolen property without her recognising them. But such was the deter mination of the captain, that had not the sergeant fully proved the innocence of the three men the woman had picked out, they would to a certainty have been flogged upon the evidence of the woman, and five hundred each would have been the least award. Strange to say, however, the colonel of this regiment we speak of, and who had been a captain in the Coldstream Guards, was an enemy to flogging, while the lieutenant-colonel delighted in it. One circumstance to prove it; the colonel was seldom at head-quarters, whilst the lieutenantcolonel was almost always commanding. In the winter of 1804, whilst the rement was doing duty in Edinburgh Castle, there were three men sentenced to be flogged for some very paltry crime; but the weather was unpropitious for Col Lt's favourite amusement, “back tickling," as he termed it. The first morning the men were ordered out en the half-moon battery ;-it was better cold, and hard frost." A severe mortiing, colonel, for punishment," said one of the captains, as the parade was fora ing. "A damned good morning, sir," replied the tender-hearted lieut.-colonel, "the frost and the cats will soon tickle them into a heat, that they'll be dancing;" but the good creature was disappointed, for before the articles of war were read, there came on such a storm of sleet and snow, that he was fain to dismiss the men without the usual form, and make the best of his way into the barracks. The poor men were marched to the guard-room; next morning they were again brought; again the colonel was disappointed; a third morning the same; -his anger knew no bounds;-for looking up to the black heavens, as he the third time dismissed without the gratification, he exclaimed in a paroxism of rage, "God's curse! but this is poor spite!" In the meantime, intelligence arrived that Colonel C- -I would join the regiment in a few days. The weather continued severe, and the men were not brought out. The barracks was ordered to be cleaned; all was on the qui-vive for the colonel's arrival, for he was adored by the men. A great number were in the guard-room, black-hole, and confined to barracks. It was the colonel's custom, on his arrival, to pardon all crimes (theft and desertion excepted), and the prisoners' hearts leaped for joy. was wet-no parade; but about noon the weather became fine, and the afternoon fair. An evening parade in marching order was ordered at four o'clock p. m.: the afternoon was delightful. The parade was formed in the old square; the regiment was marched in silence down to the esplanade on the hill, out of the barrier gate. The "Three Sisters" (i. e., the triangle the men were flogged on) in front; sure sign of upwards of twenty prisoners following, mostly in fatigue-jackets and foraging-caps; but the six for punishment were in the usual dress, loose great-coats, overalls, and foraging-caps; they were guarded, while the others were marched under the command of a non-commissioned officer. The regiment waited for some time, at length an orderly announced the colonel's approach. Lieut.-colonel L gave the word: "Attention." "Shoulder arms." "Present arms;" and in an instant the jolly good-natured colonel gallopped to the centre hat in hand. The usual ceremony having been gone through, the colonel alighted, and giving his horse to the orderly, entered into conversation with the officers and received the reports. A short interval had elapsed; Colonel C took the command; the regiment was formed into About this time an exchange hap- a hollow-square; "the infernal mapened to take place between one of the chine," the mute supporter of torture and R- -w militia and one of the the tortured, was placed in the centre; A -e militia, the latter having a the drums were piled, the drummers brother in the R- -w militia, whom stripped, the cats laid out, the bottle of he wished to join. The R- -w man water ready, the articles of war, and the had joined the regiment, and had ob- proceedings of the different court-martained two days'-leave from duty, to put tials in the adjutant's hands; and the his things in order, previous to his com-floggo-meter, alias surgeon, with his stoping out to parade;-taking advantage of watch, ready to commence operations. the liberty, the man decamped, and with- A dead pause. The colonel called each out furlough, went as far as Paisley, his of the prisoners who had been confined native place, a distance of fifty miles. for minor offences before him; he repreOn the second day after his departure, manded, admonished, pardoned, and every search having been made for him, dismissed them. In like manner, those but to no effect, he was proclaimed a for punishment were dismissed with a deserter, and his name inserted in the severe lecture on the crime of drunken"Hue and Cry." In a short time he ness and neglect of duty; at length the was apprehended, and brought back to poor deserter was called forward, aphis regiment, tried for the crime, and parently more dead than alive. sentenced to five hundred lashes. This colonel perceived his agitation, and spoke man was also in the guard-room, waiting soothingly to him; he desired him to the issue of the weather. Saturday ar- pull off his coat and cap; he did so. rived, and on the evening so did Colonel The poor wretch stood shivering in his C- -1 at his residence, in Queen-shirt and overalls while the colonel adstreet. All was agog; Sunday morning dressed him: "James P The -n," said he, " you stand convicted of a crime, which, above all others in the army, demands and is followed with the most severe punishment. To swear allegiance and desert your colours, is the most dastardly and cowardly act a soldier can commit; I have been much deceived in you; your late commanding-officer, in whose regiment you served honourably for five years, sent with you the most unexceptionable character, as a clean, steady, well-behaved soldier. Upon those terms I consented to receive you into my regiment, in lieu of a man, whom behind him he has not left a better. I am sorry to say, James, you have forfeited that honourable character your colonel so liberally gave you; and sorry am I to say that it is my painful duty to confirm the sentence of the court-martial, whereby you are awarded five hundred lashes on the bare back; and, believe me, soldiers," continued he, and turning round to the men in the ranks," believe me, it is the most painful part of my duty, either to award or witness corporal punishment. I believe, soldiers, you are all aware, that I avoid it as much as I can, still finding greater pleasure in pardoning than punishing; for, how can I look for mercy from that just God, whose attributes are to pardon and to punish, if I do not myself delight in mercy? But you are equally aware, soldiers, that there are crimes attached to the army that we must not, dare not, look over, and amongst these, the most heinous are theft and desertion. In my opinion, one soldier to steal from another, is a crime the most atrocious. You are all placed on a level, you have the same duty to perform, you are clothed and fed alike, you receive the same pay, and is it not most cruel ye should rob one another? This is a crime, while I command a regiment, I will never forgive, but punish with the utmost rigour. Desertion is a crime of a different nature; many circumstances may be adduced to palliate this crime, and make it less heinous in the eyes of the court; but still, with all the palliations that can be adduced, it is a crime that must be punished. Thus far I have spoken, soldiers, on purpose that you might know my sentiments as far as regards crime. And now, James P. -n, I again turn to you; you have heard what I said; I hope you are perfectly satisfied that your sentence is just, inasmuch, as you left your regiment without leave, and, in the garb of a civilian, travelled as far as Paisley, where you remained until brought back by an escort. Have you now anything to advance, why I should not put the sentence into immediate execution? Your silence proves the justice of the sentence. Well, then, prepare to receive-your colonel's pardon." In an instant the prisoner was on his knees at his colonel's feet; he could not speak his thanks, but the big tears rolled down his youthful cheeks and spoke volumes. The colonel proceeded: "Rise up, and prepare for your duty; and I am convinced (if I can read your countenance aright) that this severe lesson will be quite sufficient to bind you to your duty for the future; return to your ranks, behave under my command as you did under your late colonel, and my clemency will be amply rewarded." Then turning to the regi ment, he said, "Now, soldiers, you see my mode of punishing. Where there is a penitent heart, I am convinced the sting is more severe, more poignant than a thousand lashes, and that man will return to his duty honourably; but while I thus pardon the penitent, let not the incorrigible think he will escape. No, I will make his punishment doubly se vere, that he may be a woeful example to all around. But I sincerely hope I may be prevented from proceeding to those rigorous steps; and that the lesson read to you this afternoon will have the desired effect of uniting my regiment heart and hand, one and all, ever to do your duty nobly as soldiers and as men." So saying, he mounted his horse, and rode into the castle, amid the shouts of the soldiers and hundreds of the townspeople, who had assembled to witness the scene, and who declared that Colonel C1 had gained more real glory, and won more hearts, by this single act of clemency, than could have been bestowed on him by executing justice on as many unfortunate wretches as stood round him, had they even been all guilty. London: Printed by JOSEPH LAST, No. 3, Edward-street, Hampstead-road.-Published by WILLIAM MARK CLARK, No. 19, Warwick-lane Paternoster-row; and may be had, by order, o all Booksellers in town and country. But it was not long that these savages [CAPTURE OF THE FOUR TRAFALGAR SHIPS BY SIR R. STRACHAN.] THE four ships of the van of the combined fleet which bore away to the south-were permitted to felicitate themselves on ward at the conclusion of the battle of Trafalgar, were all French : Guns. Commanders. Ships. Villegries. their good fortune. They went off, as has been observed, to the southward, but soon putting about to the north, it was their intention to make their way, by a sweeping cruize, into some of their own ports in the Channel or the Bay of Biscay. This division was led on by Admiral Sir Richard Strachan was at this time Dumanoir to the perpetration of a deed cruizing with a squadron for the purpose worthy of the sanguinary days of a Mu- of intercepting a French force which had rat or a Robespierre. However incre- escaped from Rochefort. On the evendible it may appear, the fact was after-ing of the 2d of November, being off wards confirmed by the testimony of many Spanish officers of rank, that these wretches, in their flight, fired for some time on the Spanish ships which had struck to the British fleet; by which wanton act of unparalleled ferocity, many of the Spaniards were killed and wounded. VOL. II. Ferrol, Sir Richard observed a frigate in the N. W. making signals; he accordingly crowded all sail to join her, which he effected at eleven at night. At this moment he perceived six large ships near him; the frigate proved to be the Phoenix, Captain Baker, who informed 3 Y |