CAPTAIN PATTERSON'S ADVENTURES.

THE Fiftieth Regiment has had a good many names, and sxn a good deal of service. At the beginning of the century, it was called the "West Kent ;" soon after the first quarter had elapsed, it was presented with a set of colours by the Dutchess of CLA- RENCE, and was named the "Duke of Clarence's ;" on the acces- sion of his Royal Highness, it became the " Queen's Own." These were cognomens ; its sobriquets also were not few. The nick- name of the "Blind Half Hundred," commemorated the suffer- ings of the corps from ophthalmia in Egypt; it was called the "Mediterranean Greys,' from having remained so long on the station that both officers and men became grizzled; whilst the "Old Black Cuffs," and the "Dirty Half' Hundred," might be held indicative of their dingy-coloured facings, of their tarnished accoutrements and war-worn clothing, or of habits more excusable in the eys of a veteran than praiseworthy in those of a martinet. Then as to service, a personator of the Fiftieth Regiment might apply the sea-song, "1 have sailed with noble Howe '• " for under whom have they not served? where have they not been ? ABERCROMBIE, MOORE, WELLINGTON, and by way of cmtrast, the late Lord CHATHAM, have commanded them. They have suffered, as we have seen, at Egypt, and at Walcheien; they fought at Copenhagen, and at Vimeiro•' they bore their part in the terrible retreat on Corunna, and in the dear-won victory that closed it ; and they were engaged in the Peninsular war from its beginning to its end. They have gone East, West, North, and South: in the language of the mut!o worn upon their brt a;t- plates, " quo fata vocant,"—which being interpreted is, where the Horse Guards order.

To this gallant regiment Mr. PATTERSON was admitted as Ensign in 1807; and after being trained at once with the rest of the novices, was shipped off for Portugal. He accompanied the se- cond battalion in all their European achievements, until sounded in the battle of the Pyrenees; was engaged during the first years of peace in the ignoble chace of stills in Ireland ; and then sailed for the West Indies. In Jamaica, he witnessed the death by fever of more men and officers than fell under the hardships and casualties of war; after which he retired, in 1821, with a Captaincy; and, stimulated by the example and success of others, has given his own adventures, and the history of his regiment during his connexion with it, to the public.

- And, truly, a readable enough volume it is; full of gossiping facts, which though small perhaps in themselves, have an interest from their novelty, individuality, or character. Other men have written much better than Captain PArrEasont, whether in regard to sentiment or humour; and it is obvious he has no perception of the moral loftiness of the warrior, notwithstanding his frequent recurrence to the usual commonplaces, which are necessary in all professions to assist the invention of the dull. Still, his matter- of-fact mind has its peculiar advantages. It makes him notice much that others might disregard, complain of many things that others might bear with a mock heroic silence, and tell what others would suppress ; but all which knowledge is nevertheless necessary to make up a complete picture of a mode of life that has ceased for this last twenty years—life on active service. For the

epic, the tragedy, or even the comedy of war, the reader must go elsewhere. But he will find in Captain PATTER so N'S pages a vivid idea of its farce and itsjieshinesc—or, to explain a word -that can- not well be understood without reading the volume, of the manner in which the weaknesses of the flesh mingle the petty necessities and commonplaces of our nature with the most awful events or the most heroic achievements.

In saying that the tragedy of war is not to be found in the vo- lume, it must be understood that we speak only of the depth and spirit of the narration : many of the events in the narrathe are tragic enough. Take as a specimen, this picture of

A SURRENDERED TOWN.

On the morning after its fall, Flushing presented a thoroughly ruinous and desolate appearance, from the terrible effects of shot, shell, and Congreve rockets.Almost every building laud experienced their destructive power. Those which stood on ground a little raised, or high above the ramparts, to- gether with the public edifices and towers of the churches, were completely demolished.A great portion of the town was reduced to ashes by the confla- grations arising from the flaming rockets, which, penetrating whatever they came in contact with, carried fire and ruin in their train. The wretched and despairing inhabitants, forced by the ceaseless cannonade to take refuge in their subterraneous chambers, were even there exposed to the falling shells; for these and other projectiles descending with amazing velocity and piercing every floor, finished their career by an explosion no less fatal to the building than to the unfortunate people it contained. It was a fearful and melancholy sight to contemplate the scene, and was well calculated to fill the mind with sentiments of a most depressing nature. The shattered and riddled dwellings, apparently reeling on their base and cast nearly off their perpendicular, seemed almost ready to come down with a tremendous crash.

The half-burnt and dilapidated remains of the more important fabrics, scorched by the fire and blackened with smoke, lay heaped in dusky and spectral masses, truly monumental of their direful fate. The deserted and gloomy streets, lanes, and allies, were overspread with the fragments of the battered walls, accumulated rubbish, and dead bodies. The stagnant, foul, and muddy canals (by which the pace is intersected), were covered with dark weeds , and on them floated the pun id remains of various animals, tainting with their pernicious odour the overheated and oppressive atmosphere. At every step we encountered the haggard, wo-begone, and tarnished aspect of starving creatures, emerging from their dreary cells, or thinly scattered here and there, whose funereal countenances might have led one to fancy that they had lately escaped from the cold aml cheerless tomb. These horrible sights, with many more such, enough to harrow up the soul, glared around us on all sides throughout the limits of this unhappy place, upon which misfortune may well be said to have set her seal.

Here are some incidents of war; strange meetings and strange fates.

Soon after nightfall, and when the clash of arms was no longer heard, an interment of the (lead took place, and many a poor fellow who had a few hours before been full of life and strength was now deposited in his narrow bed. The remains of Major Stanhope were lowered to the grave by his brother officers and comrades, with their sashes. Ile had worn this day a suit of new uniform and a pair of bright silver epaulets ; in which, with his military cloak around him, upon the same hour as his lamented chief, he was consigned to an honourable tomb.

1Vhile we were engaged in the performance of this melancholy duty, the Ho- nourable Captain Stauhope oldie Guards, aide- de-camp to Sir John Moore, rode up, directed by the torch-light, to the mournful group. It was the first inti- mation which he received d his brave relation's fate. Dismounting, and over- come with grief, he took a last farewell ; and having obtained his zing, together with a lock of hair, he tore himself hastily away from the heart-rending scene. • •

On our march across this ground, an iucitlent occurred which made a deep impression on the minds of those who happeued to be present at the time. Across the pathway, and on either side, men and officers were lying ; and one of the latter was extended on his face among the heath and brushwood, so close to where we passed, that Major Malcolm 31ackenzie of the Seventieth, prompted as it were by intuition, suddenly dismounted to ascertain who was the indivi- dual. Stooping to observe the features, that were par tly concealed by the :oag broom, he started back with grief and consternation, on perceiving that the young soldier, who had thus fallen an early victim, was his brother, Lieutenant

• • Colin Mackenzie, of the same regiment.

A party of the officers of the Fiftieth, who were collected i• n a knot discus- sing the affairs of the eventful day, were quickly seen by those marksmen, who, from behind the rocks, despatched with deadly aim a few rifle missiles, each with its billet ; and the balls were so faithful to their errand, that the congress was soon dissolved, some of the members being sent to "that bourne from which no traveller returns," and the remainder wounded. Among those who fell on this occasion, was Lieutenant Hugh Birchall, of the fourth battalion corn. panv, which he had commanded for some time. Having fallen ill, be was in his bed at Elisonda when the battle commenced ; and bearing the noise of mus- ketry, he thought that something was going forward in the lines in which be ought to bear a part. With a mind endued with strength superior to that of his weakly frame, be arose from the couch of sickness, and calling all the vigour that he could muster to his aid, tottered with feeble pace to the field of action, arriving at a late hour upon the hill. Exhausted, pale, and like one risen from the dead, he resumed his former place; and scarcely had he joined the group assembled in the front, when, by a fatal bullet, this spirited young man was numbered with the slain.

As one part of the Captain's object was to commemorate his comrades as well as himself, he gives many notices of officers and men—biographies in little. This is not always done judiciously; for he will stop the progress of a battle to give the life of some gentleman who fell at the moment of time he has reached, and eft whom, after all, nothing very remarkable has to be told. The first remark applies to the following character of a true soldier; for it is hitched into a disquisition on the relative merits of the soldiers of different nations. It is, however, worth preserving.

There was a company of the Sixtieth Rifles attached to our brigade who were all Germans. They were commanded by Captain Philip Blassiere, a sin- gularly active and zealous officer. Throughout the whole period of our war- fare he never was absent from his station. With unwearied perseverance he braved the hardest weather and the roughest service; his athletic frame and iron constitution enabling him to withstand it all, holding out with stubborn tenacity while hundreds gave way around him. Undergoing all hardships in common with his men, he walked by their side, partork of the same fare, and shared not only with them the dangerous trade of fighting, but all the miseries of cold and famine, with their attendant train of horrors. He was foremost on all occasions where shot and shell abounded, and was at the rendezvous before

a man of the brigade was aseembled ; and long before the march commenced, there was Blusiere ready with his Germans for any thing that might be wanted. The external appearance of this man was well calculated to excite surprise, and corresponded with his character for self-denial. His wardrobe was of the melt scanty nature; the jacket and other parts of his attire, the original colour of which could not be distinguished by the most microscopic eye, were worn out, patched, and threadbare, and were pieced in various places; and the whole of his costume seemed at least for the last seven years to have retained its ori- ginal situation on the person of its owner. Thus accoutred, he trudged along, indifferent about the elements; as fast as he got wet he got dry again, for he never changed his clothes. His muscular neck was enclosed by a hard leather stock and brass clasp to match, and all his trappings were of same coarse materials as those worn by his men. The haversack, manufactured of rough canvas, sometimes proved a treacherous friend ; for, though ninny rents and breaches made by the baud of time, the mouldy and cr alibiing biscuit found its way, leaving but the fragments of his bare allowance. The blue canteen, well clasped with iron hoops, afforded him a source ot ccmfort ; its contents being to him a certain panacea for all evils. With habits somewhat eccentric, he was never known ta indulge in any thing beyond the rations ; and having no desire for the society of others, he discussed his frugal meal in solitude, avoiding even the luxury of a tent. Ills good-huinoured though weather-beaten countenance was the index of his mind, which was cheerful arid contented.

After buffeting all the storms, roughing it throeeli thick and thin, and standing out the pelting of many a shower of bullets, this gallant veteran fell at last in battle when the army entered France.

Let us turn from the serious to the jocose, and view the soldiers in a new country ; " quo fata vocaverunt" before they had time to learn the language.

Even when, by great good luck, there was something to be had, there was still an obstacle in the way. In those days we were often puzzled by the lan- guage; and, in trying to make ourselves understood, were forced to resort to a great variety of expedients. When our broken and disjointed phrases failed, we were driven to the use of signs and hiernglythies: suiting the action to the word, we explained our wants by distorting the limbs and body into strange figures, symbolical of the article required. Officers and men were alike in this dilemma ; and fortunate was the lucky genius who could jabber, though in a most indifferent way, for he was sure to get to windward. of his less-favoured cornradee. 1 he market-place was a stage upon which many a brainless youth, with much more gold upon his jacket than ever his pocket carried, showed off his slender stock of Portuguese, and palmed himself upon the natives as a per- son of the utmost consequence. Others expressed their wishes in a sort of gibberish, formed out of scraps of English, German, French, and Latin, but without a syllable of the language wanted. The soldiers used a most extreor- diniry dialect, compounded of Irish, Gaalic, and the mother tongue, interlarded with a good supply of oaths, by which to impress the subject on the Lead-piece of the patient countrymen, who underwent their curses, rage, and sometimes worse, when the cry of " No intendes" was uttered by them. As to signs and gestures, they were as varied as the movements of a postu re- master or even punchinello. When pork or any thing pertaining to the hog was wanted, grunting in imitation of that animal was the means employed. The desire for eggs was signified by cackling like a lien; was a mule or jackass required, the hands were stuck up on each side above the head, to denote the length of ears, or an awful braying was put forth, enough to call the brother- hood about the performer' tobacco or snuff was demanded by a sneeze, followed, in many cases, by a tweak upon the organ in which the filthy powder was to he deposited ; and milk was procured by imitating the extraction of that useful fluid from the cow. In short, for every thing there was a corresponding signal, a code of which would have formed an excellent appendage to a oldicr's kit.

We will conclude with an account of the power of music, and a tribute to the considerate qualities of CHARLES NAPIER,--a member of a family of which all the sons are brave.

Our route traversing the boundaries of Portugal, was, in many places, over- grown with brushwood, and crossed at intervals by rivulets. Huge stones and roots of trees lay scattered here and there. The wearied soldiers toiled with difficulty along, under the most tempestuous weather, the inclemency of which was severely felt in those Alpine regions, where the cold was so excessive as to require the hardest bodily exercise to withstand its influence. In order to keep the men alive, the band and drums were frequently put in requisition, which had a marvellous effect ; and our Commander, Major Napier, occasion- al!y ordered some well-known national quick step, when in a moment, as if by magic those who were tired and jaded sprung up, endued as it were with addi- tional life and vigour, and, giving the knapsack a cast upon the shoulder, stepped out once more with fresh spirit. The music, as we approached the towns, had the twofold purpose of pleasing the inhabitants and cheering on the troops. Even the lame and weakly, although weighed down by the heavy burden which they carried, exerted their remaining- strength to make a bold appearance. On the line of march, for many a tedious league, did the officers use every means to animate their men, by giving them an example of patient endurance under every suffering. The field-officers and the staff alone were allowed to ride at that time; the other ranks, although from previous habits less able than even the privates to bear fatigue, had no alternative but to trudge it with their com- panies from day to day. The young recruits and drummers felt the hardship most ; and often upon the Journey has Major Napier given his charger to one of them, or to any poor fellow who could not well get on, while with a musket, or sometimes a brace of them on his shoulder, he walked before the regiment. Thus, by his consider- ate kindness for the men, he was securing to himself that respect and estima- tion in which they always held him, as well as actuating them to perform their duty in a manner worthy of one who, whether in quarters or in the field, never spared himself whenever an opportunity offered to promote their comfort.