place?" "Eh? What! It would be the very thing, if I had such a one." "Very well, Doctor, it's yours." And ever after that, the good Doctor enjoyed peace, sat in his wooden locomotive in the market-place, preached to the people, and distributed his books and tracts, and thus pursued those labours which, as Christians know, were afterwards rewarded with such signal success in the formation of numerous churches of Burmese converts.

(To be continued.)

LORD LUCAN AND THE BATTLE OF BALAKLAVA. CENTURIES back it was said by the eminent Dr South in one of his sermons, that our Generals had a lottery in their work, and a lottery in their reward. One eminent military chief, the Earl of Lucan to wit, has had cause to feel the truth of this observation of a shrewd observer of events in his day. We are most of us now conversant with the case of the nobleman before named-it will form a feature in the history of the age, and while it presents points worthy of being discussed by the ethical philosopher, it appeals strongly to the plain homely common sense of the public.

All conversant with the details of the present campaign-so rife in bloodshed and suffering-will recollect something of the battle of Balaklava. It went in favour of the Allies-but was dearly won in one of the struggles of our brave men against the Muscovite foe. Cavalry were directed to a particular point in inadequate numbers, and made to act without proper support against hosts of the Russians, and batteries in full operation, and hundreds of brave devoted men fell a sacrifice to the gloomy Nemesis of the hour. There was a terrible-what is more saddening, an unnecessary waste of useful valuable lives on the occasion.

Some held that this grand charge, if it did no more, demonstrated at least the bravery and heroism of the British army, and conveyed to the enemy salutary impressions of their resolute daring and fitness to cope with great undertakings. But this is a partial and wrong view of the

case.

We have no right certainly to illustrate and enforce the prowess of our soldiers in such a way-and although a sergeant's command sent against a thousand Russians would behave with prodigious pluck, and no doubt cut down a good many of the enemy before surrendering or being put to the sword, it would be a monstrous act of madness to order an attack so utterly disproportionate in respect to numbers. Substantially Lord Lucan felt in this way-and deplored the terrible results of that event in which from a sense of duty he was forced to become an agent. Bitterly would the gallant general have looked upon the scene of carnage. Naturally under the circumstances he was impelled to self-defence-the law of God allowed of such conduct-the law of man would be inequitable did it hinder it. However, matters were brought to an issue by certain words in a despatch written by Lord Raglan, the Commander-inchief, in which that nobleman alleged "that from some misconception

of the instructions to advance, the Lieutenant General considered that he was bound to attack at all hazards, and he accordingly ordered Lord Cardigan to advance with the light brigade." These words are to be kept specially in view, as they become a key to the ulterior proceedings of Lord Lucan-and supply an explanation of his conduct in what may be held as a great case of justice and honour, as well as intense personal feeling. It is necessary therefore to go back to proceedings before the charge in order to appreciate aright the situation of the noble general. The battle of Balaklava was fought on the 25th October, and was a most terrible event, bringing out in its progress and results the deathless bravery of the British soldier, and the ability as well as courage of the officers. It was in this field, or rather as a grievous incident of the battle, that the fatal charge was made. Great deeds were done in one encounter, as Lord Lucan had occasion to state in a speech delivered before his peers. The Russians, amounting to five times the number of the British, were repulsed and routed. But amidst the thick of events the noble general received an order in the following words :

"The cavalry to advance, and take advantage of any opportunity to recover the heights. They will be supported by infantry, which have been ordered to advance on two points."

Now it has been said in this connection that this order does not appear to have been attended to. But in his last speech in the House of Lords, the noble general explains :

"I immediately took up with the cavalry the position which you will see marked on the plan. You will perceive, looking to the eastward in the central valley, 10 squadrons, and you will observe the heavy cavalry in the rear of No. 5 fort, as it is called, although it was only a sort of breastwork. We were standing there for about 35 minutes. I was anxiously waiting for the arrival of the infantry which I was told was to support me in the endeavour to recover the heights."

This was the prelude to the terrible event-and we need not do better than explain what ensued in the words of the general contained in the same speech :

"Captain Nolan galloped up to me with what I considered, and what I think your lordships will consider before I have done, a new order and one entirely independent of those that preceded. The order was as follows:"Lord Raglan wishes the cavalry to advance rapidly to the front, follow the enemy, and try to prevent the enemy carrying away the guns. Troop of horse artillery may accompany. French cavalry is on your left. Immediate. (Signed) 'R. AIREY.' "Your lordships will observe that Lord Raglan, when he issued this order, stood on very high ground to my rear, and about a quarter of a mile on my left. From that position he could see every Russian soldier, he could see the batteries of the Russians to the northwards and the eastwards, and the infantry on the other side of No. 3 fort. He fancied that he saw, although he really did not see, the enemy taking away our guns out of forts 1, 2, and 3. That was an error on his part, in which many other persons shared. I could only say to Capt. Nolan that I disapproved of the proposed movement, and that it would be attended with great danger. I certainly understood the order of Lord Raglan to be as imperative an order, as

positive an order, taken per se, and without any declaration on the part of Captain Nolan, as could well be conceived. And when I began to hesitate and demur, he told me more distinctly that the cavalry should attack immediately. Perhaps it will be right that I should take this opportunity of reading from the general orders' what is the position of an aide-de-camp, the office which Captain Nolan then filled. It is stated in the 'general orders' that 'all orders sent by an aide-de-camp are to be delivered in plain terms, and are to be obeyed with the same readiness as if they were delivered personally by the general officer from whom the aide-de-camp comes.' The order stated distinctly that the cavalry was to attack immediately. I asked where? And for what purpose?" When Capt. Nolan replied in the most disrespectful manner, 'There, my lord, is your enemy, and there are your guns.'

The order was obeyed, and let Lord Cardigan be repeated here in his account of the affair given at the Lord Mayor's entertainment a few weeks back :

"It was late in the afternoon when I received an order to attack the Russian forces posted in the valley, which consisted of a long line of guns drawn up in the form of batteries. I received that order, my Lord Mayor, and I obeyed it. I delivered that order to the brigade under my command. I ordered them to march. I ordered them to advance. I ordered them to attack the Russians in the valley; but, my Lord, I must say this, that on that occasion, it being my duty to give the order to my men, I did give it, though I deeply regretted it at the time, and I am sure I should have much more deeply regretted it afterwards if anything had prevented my performing the rest of my duty, which was to share the dangers that those brave men so boldly faced. My Lord, whatever danger those men incurred.I shared it with them. We advanced down a gradual descent of more than three-quarters of a mile with the batteries vomiting forth upon us shells and shot, round and grape; with one battery on our right flank and another on the left; and all the intermediate ground covered with the Russian riflemen; so that when we came to within a distance of fifty yards from the mouths of the artillery which had been hurling destruction upon us, we were, in fact, surrounded and encircled by a blaze of fire, in addition to the fire of the riflemen upon our flanks. As we ascended the hill the oblique fire of the artillery poured upon our rear; so that we had thus a strong fire upon our front, our flank, and our rear. We entered the battery-we went through the battery-the two leading regiments cutting down a great number of the Russian gunners in their onset. In the two regiments which I had the honour to lead, every officer, with one exception, was either killed or wounded, or had his horse shot under him, or injured. Those regiments proceeded, followed by the second line, consisting of two more regiments of cavalry, which continued to perform the duty of cutting down the Russian gunners. Then came the third line, formed of another regiment, which endeavoured to complete the duty assigned to our brigade. I believe that this was achieved with great success, and the result was that this body, composed of only about 670 men, succeeded in passing through that mass of Russian cavalry of (as we have since learned) 5200 strong; and having broken through that mass, they went, according to our technical military expression, threes about,' and retired in the same manner, doing as much execution in their course as they possibly could. Upon our returning up the hill, which we had descended in the attack, we had to run the same gauntlet, and to incur the same risk from the flank fire of the Tirailleurs as we had encountered before. Numbers of our men were shot down-men and horses were killed-and many of the soldiers who had lost their horses

were also shot down while endeavouring to escape. But what, my Lord, was the feeling and what the bearing of those brave men who returned to the position? (Here the noble and gallant officer's voice faltered, and he spoke with very evident emotion.) Of each of these regiments (he continued) there returned but a small detachment, two-thirds of the men engaged having been destroyed; and those who survived having arrived at the summit of the hill, whence they had commenced the attack but a short time before, could not refrain from giving three ringing cheers of triumph and rejoicing at the exploit which they themselves had performed-for they had ridden over a formidable Russian battery and attacked a countless body of Russian cavalry in the rear."

As is well known, many privates of the army, and non-commissioned officers, have written excellent letters from the seat of war-and these are often printed. You will see a decent woman call at a newspaper office with a letter in her hand. It is from her son-and she expects that the "plain unvarnished tale" will be printed-and it is worth giving to the public, as fresh and frank, and manly in its narrative. We have just before us a letter which appeared in the Kelso Mail journal, from a young soldier who was wounded in the action and is since dead. The writing is really graphic. After a good deal in the same strain the poor young fellow says:

"I believed Captain Nolan was sent to reconnoitre the hills on each side. Whatever report he took to Lord Raglan we know not, but I expect he reported they were all clear, as he came back with an order to Lord Lucan for the Light Brigade to charge and take the field guns, and the Ammunition and guns taken from the Turks. Lord Lucan asked if Lord Raglan was aware of the enemy's position? There is the order, and there is the enemy,' Nolan is reported to have said. Lord Cardigan then got the order as given, and gave the order for the brigade to advance in two lines-first the 17th, 18th, and 13th, second the 11th and 4th. Off we went tearing towards destruction. The round shot came first, killing many a poor fellow. One most wonderfully came past my shoulder, striking my rearrank man right in the chest. Onward we went. I could see the shell bursting over our heads, and hear the grape and canister hissing through us. The cross fire was murderous-a square of infantry and guns, with grape and canister pelting through us, and shelling from the opposite heights. But I felt or feared nothing-a sort of wildness came over me, and I seemed to care not where I went or what I did. Onward still! The first line had retired, the guns were silenced, and, retiring behind a large horde of Cossacks, they formed a front, but would not stand our charge, but galloped through guns and everything. We cut down the gunners and literally took the whole lot. The Cossacks came out by twos and threes, and kept firing away at us from their long pieces, annoying us dreadfully. We looked anxiously round for a support, when we perceived what we considered the 17th Lancers a good distance in the rear of us. Hurra, my boys,' sang out our brave Colonel Douglas, 'let's give them another charge; the 17th will be up then, and we'll take guns home with us.' 'Come on lads,' said Lord George Paget, his gallant brother-in-law, Colonel of the 4th Lights. I found myself as excited as possible, sing out, "Come on, boys;' anything is preferable to sitting quietly and being shot at. At last some one gave the alarm that it was a large body of Russian Lancers, formed up to cut off our retreat. There's no help for it,' said Lord George Paget, 'we must retire, and cut our way through them as well as we can.' We went threes about, and went calmly to the rear. They did not attempt to cross our front, but

attacked our right flank and rear. I was pretty near the right flank, and, of course, retiring in the rear rank; I had allowed my horse to flag a little, when one of the gentlemen came on to attack me with his lance at a slanting position, and was making a poke for my back; I wheeled round in the saddle, parried his lance, and gave him a second rear point to the left of his right shoulder, which I expect will spoil his lancing for some time. I was quite chuckling to myself over this affair, when we came to the horrid cross fire again. I had not gone far through till I got a rap in the leg as if from a sledge hammer. I looked down and saw the blood gushing from a goodsized hole. Now then, old horse' he had carried me well through the campaign-save my life now!' (I had seen all over the field four or five Cossacks spiking any poor fellow who was down.) I kept the right spur at work, and galloped a mile or more, when I began to get quite blind and faint; I saw dimly a tent chum, I hailed to lend a hand, he heard me and came galloping; he stopped me the first thing, and gave me a good drink out of his water-bottle; that revived me, and I just got to where the regiment was forming, and old Cardigan was sitting, with the tears almost in his eyes when he saw his smart brigade so cut up; our fellows cheered him, when he said, 'You must not think, men, this is one of my mad-brained actions; I would have given almost anything rather than it had happened' I moved forward and asked to be taken to the rear; I was hurried off to the doctor (the assistant), who had a lot of our officers and men in the nice green ditch of a vineyard, where we could lie up the slope; I had lost a tremendous deal of blood, and one of the officers gave me a good swig at brandy out of his flask. The doctor stopped the bleeding, and we had to wait some time for the ambulance, which came at last and took us off to the hospital, and you know the rest."

All this reads thrilling, and imagination is set to work to conjure up the details of a scene of fire, carnage, and slaughter, which it is fearful to contemplate. Lord Cardigan's narrative has already anticipated any formal account of the issues of this terrible struggle. Lord Lucan felt keenly, and how he felt will be inferred from an incident which occurred afterwards, and is thus described in his lordship's speech :

"Upon the second day after the battle of Balaklava, General Airey called upon me in my tent. The moment he came in, I said, 'This is a most serious affair which has just happened; you may depend upon it it will create a great deal of dissatisfaction." Gen. Airey replied, "Oh, that sort of thing will happen in war. It is nothing to Chillianwallah.' I said, ' I know nothing about Chillianwallah; but I tell you it is a most serious matter, and what is more, I do not intend to bear, in connection with it, the smallest particle of responsibility. I have acted as I have done under the pressure of an imperious necessity.' He then tried to convince me that the order was not imperative, and in the course of conversation added, 'You may rest quite satisfied that you will be pleased with Lord Raglan's report.""

There is a proverb in Scotland which is made to administer a sort of equivocal consolation under circumstances of disaster-" there was more loss at Sherramuir." This wise saw was not in the mouth of General Airey, but he had his own way of giving comfort, and he averred that what had occurred was "nothing to Chillianwallah!" The old rough Earl in the "Fortunes of Nigel," "could neither take relief to his wounded spirit from the classic moralists nor the Hebrew Scriptures, although both expedients were pointed out to him by the pedantic monarch James VI.