troops against the flank of its march. If the leading portion be selected for attack, practise Wellington's manœuvre at the battle of Salamanca.

3rd. If he marches compactly, and in such an order as will enable him to re-form his line in a moment, you must choose the head or the rear of his line of march for attack; but the attack must be made with method, and supported by cavalry, or the enemy's cavalry (which will be found at both those points) will take your infantry in flank.

4th. You may prolong your line to the threatened flank by either of the methods given at the commencement of this chapter, and turn the tables on the enemy by outflanking him.

The limits of this work do not admit of this subject being extended further. The effective force of an army in battle depends chiefly on the rapidity and precision with which it can manoeuvre; and the basis of its excellence in this particular is found in the proficiency of each battalion and squadron in field movements. The effective force of an army in a campaign depends mainly on the regularity and rapidity with which its marches are conducted; and as the success of an action may often be influenced by the order of march in which an army approaches an enemy in position, it is impossible that the troops can be too much practised in every possible order of march.

There cannot be a better exercise for a student than to read and consider attentively the orders issued by the Quartermaster-General's department during the Peninsular war. In them will be found the orders of march of the different divisions of the army, and the combinations for their concentration at the required spot. But good maps are indispensable to the study of this subject, as they are to that of the history of all military operations.

This chapter will be concluded by the following piece of advice, given by Marshal Canrobert to a friend of the author. It is as follows:

"An officer charged with the arrangement of any military movement or operation, should on no account trust to the intelligence of subordinates who are to execute them. He should anticipate and provide against every misconception or stupidity it is possible to foresee, and give all the minute directions he would think necessary if he knew the officer charged with the execution of the operation to be the most stupid of mankind.”

The Marshal illustrated the above maxim by the following anecdote of the Bourgeois de Falaise. That individual, it seems, was in the habit of going out o' nights; and, when dark, he met with many grievous disasters, in the shape of bruised shins and broken noses. A friend, wiser than himself, told him that when he went out on dark nights, he ought

to take a lantern with him. He accordingly provided himself with a lantern for his next nocturnal expedition; but finding matters not improved, he complained to his friend that he had followed his advice without thereby deriving any benefit. "Had you a candle in the lantern ?" said his friend. "No," said the Bourgeois; "you never told me to take a candle." "Oh! but," said his friend, "when you go out on dark nights, you must not only take a lantern, but you must put a candle in it." That evening the Bourgeois took a lantern and candle, but returned next morning to complain that he got on no better than before. "Did you light the candle?" said his friend. "No; you did not tell me to light the candle," was the reply. "Oh," said his friend, "but when you go out on dark nights, you must not only take a lantern, but you must put a candle in it, and you must moreover light that candle." Accordingly, the worthy man departed, but again made his appearance the next day, complaining that he had strictly obeyed all his friend's injunctions, but that the wind had blown out his light! "Oh," said his friend, "but when you go out on dark nights, you must not only take a lantern, and put a candle in it, and light that candle, but you must also shut the door of the Jantern!"

CHAP. VIII.

TO YOUNG OFFICERS.

"Le vray caractère d'un parfait homme de guerre doit estre la crainte du Dieu, l'amour du souverain, le respect des lois, la préférence de l'honneur aux plaisirs et à la vie même.” *

AN officer generally joins the army at a very early age. He is frequently transferred direct from the discipline of a school to the liberty of a barrack-room; and he is consequently exposed to many temptations to fall into a life of idleness and folly, which he will do well to prepare himself to resist. The whole of his future career may be influenced by the manner in which he spends the first few months of his military life. It has been too much the fashion for commanding officers not to trouble themselves about the proceedings of their officers provided they are regular in their military duties. This fashion is much to be deplored; for many a young man might have been saved from ruin by the timely and energetic interference of his superiors. The commanding officer of a regiment is in the position of the father of a family; and it is his bounden duty to watch

*From an old French Army List.

over the moral as well as the military conduct of those under his command.

If a youth join the army with a true military spirit, he will feel that the command of the men who have fought and suffered with unsurpassed bravery and fortitude, is an honourable trust, to make himself worthy of which should be his constant aim. He will stir up his ambition to be something more than a peg on which to hang a red coat. He will devote all his attention to learning his duties, and will conscientiously perform them when learnt.

1st. Drill. This must not be acquired mechanically, but intelligently. The "reason why" of everything should be puzzled out. Many young gentlemen go through it as an irksome task, the fulfilment of which will set them free from the "horrid nuisance" of those three daily parades. When dismissed drill, it must not be supposed that everything is, but that everything is to be, learnt. The young officer should study the manœuvres in the drill-book, and practise himself in his own room, with wooden divisions, in all the movements of the company and battalion, until he masters both thoroughly. He must not be satisfied, however, with being able to move bodies of men in the various formations laid down by regulation; but he must study the advantages of each formation, and know under what circumstances one is better than another, and why.