REGIMENTAL HISTORIES.*

IN one of Mr. Kipling's stories, entitled "The Mutiny of the Mavericks," there occurs a scene in which an Irish private is represented as unfolding the regimental colours and ex- patiating to his comrades on the enormity of daring to suggest mutiny to a regiment with such a glorious record. The supposition of the author, that the privates of a regiment are all more or less conversant with its history, is one in which one would dearly like to believe ; but one fears it is a little lacking in probability. One would be disposed to doubt whether there are many officers who could really give a succinct and accurate account of the past history of the regiment to which they belong, or if one private out of ten has any but the most shadowy notion of the part which his predecessors have taken in bygone wars. That there is no lack of esprit de corps we have every reason to believe ; we only doubt its dependence upon tradi- tions of the past. Still that spirit should be immensely

strengthened by a common knowledge of those traditions, and an officer who collects them into some readable shape deserves well not only of his own regiment, but also of the country at large. Fortunately, a good many officers have, from time to time, taken upon themselves this somewhat arduous task, and the book now before us, Colonel Fyler's history of the old 50th, is not the only one of its kind. There was a certain fitness in Colonel Eyler becoming the historian of his regiment, as he was its last commanding officer before

it ceased to bear that number in 1881, and became merged into the Royal West Kent, and BO stands as a connecting-

link between the records of the last century and the service which it has yet to perform under its new name. Its past record is a very honourable one, and enters into the history of every important war since the formation of the regiment in 1741, when it was raised for Marine service, or rather from the date of 1756, when the original regiment was disbanded and the 52nd Foot took its place and number. The principal campaigns in which it shared were the Seven Years' War of 1760, the Corsican Campaign in 1794, Egypt in 1801, Copen- hagen in 1807, the Peninsular War, in Jamaica, in India, the Crimea, and the New Zealand War. The author has very wisely given a connected story of every campaign in which the regiment took part, not omitting the work of other regiments engaged, so that his readers are able to follow the fortunes

of the 50th through a coherent and intelligible narrative. At the same time, wherever the 50th was specially engaged, he indulges in a fuller and more particular account. We cannot do better than quote from the spirited description of the conduct of the regiment at Corunna, where it was led by Major Napier, afterwards Sir Charles, the hero of Scinde. The 50th found itself opposite the largest battery held by the enemy, on the further side of the village of Elvina, which lay between them, and was suffering heavily from their fire. On Sir John Moore giving orders to the 42nd to advance, Major Napier, without waiting for further instructions,

advanced the 50th in line with them :—

"Passing the 42nd, Napier leads his regiment through Elvina, which is carried at the point of the bayonet, he cheering as he leads the advance. At this moment Sir John Moore Comes back to where he had left the 50th regiment, and, taking in the situation, rides forward in the wake of the regiment, calling out,—` Well done, 50th! Well done, my Majors ! ' The battalion companies, passing rapidly through the streets of the village, upset the cooking materials of the enemy, and, forcing every barrier, pressed on to the higher ground. ' Forward ! Forward to the hill ! ' was the cry ; and clambering up the steep and craggy ascent— emboldened by the example of their officers—the men were mowed down by continuous volleys from the crest of the mountains • (1.) The History of the 50th, sr the Queen's Own, Regiment. By Colonel Eyler. London : Chapman and Hall.—(2.) The History of the Second Queen's, now Royal West Surrey Regiment. Vols. II. and III. By Colonel John Davis. London : Bent!ey and Son.

bristling with French bayonets, which almost threatened to annihilate their ranks, the regiment being the most advanced in the battle and surrounded on three sides by a sheet of fire. Major Napier's sword.belt was shot away, but looking to his front he saw the heavy battery now close above him, and gathering by great personal exertion about thirty men and three or four officers together he resolved to storm the enemy's stronghold. This forlorn hope, leading straight upon the battery, went down before a fire which smote them almost as much from their friends in the rear as from their enemies, and, by the time the foot of the ascent was reached, Major Napier found himself almost alone before the enemy."

Unfortunately, while this gallant effort was being made, the support upon which the 50th had relied, failed them. Sir

John Moore received his fatal wound, and an order had to be sent to the 50th to retire. The shattered remnant fell back to their old position, but Major Napier, with but four sur- vivors of his forlorn hope, was left surrounded by the enemy, and in spite of a desperate attempt to cut their way through, Napier and one private, both dangerously wounded, were taken prisoners. The service rendered by the 50th at the combat of Maya, when they charged and drove out of the pass of Lessessa an advancing column, was still more striking. The regiment has taken position at the opening of the pass :—

" Here they formed in line in front of about 5,000 of the enemy, who advanced in contiguous columns. The regiment, undaunted by numbers, charged, and crossing bayonets with the confident foe, threw them into confusion. The loss of the regiment was so severe, that it was obliged to retire a short distance, when it again charged, crossing bayonets a second time with the imposing column, who, confident in their great numerical superiority, rallied alter each charge, and kept up such a destructive fire as reduced the regiment in a short time to about half the number it brought into action. The regiment again retired in the steadiest manner about two hundred paces, and it was again preparing to charge when an order was received to retire to a rocky ridge a little in the rear."

But the action of which the 50th had most reason to be proud, perhaps, was the battle of Sobraon, from the author's description of which we extract the following passage :—

"After passing a nullah, they were exposed to the fire of the whole Sikh batteries at musket-range ; but the regiment pressed on gallantly, led by its commanding officers, Lieutenant-Colonels Ryan and Petit, who both fell desperately wounded within a few yards of one another. The first brigade, after three most gallant attempts to force the enemy's entrenchments, were unable to do so, and retreated in confusion on the 50th Regiment, who formed fours deep with the steadiness of a parade movement, and allowed the retreating troops to pass through their ranks. After this they reformed line and, with a splendid cheer, rushed forward with the bayonet against the entrenchment, where they were gallantly met by the enemy, and a hand-to-band struggle took place ; but the 50th Regiment, proud of their former laurels, were not to be denied, and, after a fierce and bloody struggle, they succeeded in forcing their way into the enemy's camp."

Their work was by no means finished even then, and we read, "when the regiment was formed up after the action, during the latter part of which it was commanded by Lieutenant Wiley, the senior subaltern, it presented but a skeleton, nearly half the regiment that went into action in the morning having been put hors de combat." The fact that the command devolved upon the senior subaltern speaks by itself for this loss among the officers ; equally eloquent is the plain statement that the regiment, under a tremendous fire, manceuvred with all the steadiness of parade, and let the dis- ordered retreat pass though their ranks without being affected by the panic. We have quoted enough to prove that Colonel Fyler has had a subject which merited the labour which he has bestowed on it. One can hardly say that his literary style is of the best, but his narrative is, at least, clear and intelligible, and affords abundant proof of the pains which he has taken to make it both complete and accurate. His work is fully illustrated with plans, for the better explanation of the actions described, and contains pictures of old uniforms which are decidedly interesting. We must confess that the old dress of the 50th, about the year 1740, looks to us a good deal more comfortable, as well as more picturesque, than the close-fitting uniform of to-day.

The same might be said of the coloured plates which accompany the history of the Royal West Surrey, once the Second Queen's Regiment, by Colonel Davis. This work, of which one volume has already appeared, is of a more ambitions character than the one we have just dealt with. Colonel Davis traces the history of his regiment from its first forma- tion in 1661, for service in Tangiers, and in his third volume only reaches the year 1799. He has had an enormous mass of material to draw upon, and has succeeded in compiling

a work of no little historical value to students. The regiment is one that has played a very prominent, and not always a very pleasant, part in English history. The name of " Kirk's Lambs" will not be soon for- gotten,—though, by the way, the author has been at some pains to whitewash Kirk's character, and prove that he was a reasonably humane as well as a brilliant soldier. The account which he gives of the crushing of the Monmouth Rebellion hardly bears out this character of Kirk, whose methods, probably learnt in Tangiers, were anything but mild. However, the old proverb of giving a dog a bad name is perhaps also applicable in his case; he may have been maligned to the extent of having far more ill-deeds attri- buted to him than he actually perpetrated. The author gives a very good account of the sieges of Limerick and London- derry, in both of which the regiment was concerned, and a graphic description of the Battle of the Boyne. It is curious to note how the fortunes of that day were more than once imperilled by the difficulty of distinguishing friend from foe, although in the King's army orders had been given for every soldier to be provided with a green spray or bough to wear in his hat. Space does not allow us to enter upon a fuller consideration of Colonel Davis's work, which is really a monument of patient and careful research. It is extremely well arranged, well illustrated with maps and plans, and provided with an excellent index. And, in spite of its length and thoroughness of detail, is quite sufficiently readable to be commended to the notice of the general reader.