That Colonel LEACH has a most legitimate claim to the
title of being an Old Soldier, a mere enumeration of the scenes of his ser- vice would prove. He began his military career in the 'West Indies; he was at the Siege of Copenhagen in 1S07 ; and all through the Peninsular War, from I 80S to its close in 1814, in the South of France. Again, he formed a part of the Duke of WELLINGTON'S army, in the Netherlands ; fought at Quatre Bras, and on the great day of Waterloo commanded a battalion over above La Haye Sainte, on the left of the British force, and at a point where great service was performed and great sufferings endured. Is not this enough to satiate the God of War himself? He tells us very candidly, that he has no pretensions to writing a history of the Pe- ninsular War, which his Light Division comrade, Colonel NAPIER, has already done—and few may hope to approach him ; but there are other things besides regular history, and they who choose to run through the Rough Sketches will find at least a little about" voyages, storms, shipwrecks, yellow fevers, musquitoes, sangaree and sanga- rorum, sharks, dolphins, and flying-fish ; night marches and day marches, camps and bivouacs,ad vances and retreats, skirmishes, bat- tles, and sieges ; signoras,waltzes, boleros, and fandangos ; bull fights, wild boar shooting, wolves, and red-deer ; British soldiers, and French, Spanish, and Portuguese ;" all of which he has endea- voured to depict in their true colours. Well done, old officer of the Light Division! Most assuredly he must be a man of nimble wit to run over so much interesting matter in one various volume. We have been very much pleased with this officer's stories ; next to hearing them at the fireside is reading them there. The work is well timed—excellent Christmas reading.
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