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BOOKS ON OUR TABLE . Travels and Adventures in the Province of Assam , during a Itcsidence of Fourteen i earf By Major John Butler . Smith , lttder , undCo-Select Works of Thomas Chalmers , D . D ., LL . p . Edited by him Son-iii-J-uw , the xiov . William Hanna , LL . D . Vol . 4 . Thomas Constable and Co . Passing Thoughts . By James Douglas , of Cavers . Thomas Constable and t-o-A new Geography for Children . By Harriot Beeuhor Stowo . Koviaod by an Ki > gl ' Lady , by direction of the Author . Sampson Low , Son , and m > . Education : a Lcaturo . By N . I . Lulto , M . R . C . P . Arthur Hall , Virtue and Co . Ufa of Napoleon the Third , Emperor of the French , from ? tis Birth to the Present Time ; IUtwtratedfrotn hit Letters and / Speeches . By 1 ' rcderick Greenwood . l ' artrldgu , Oakoy , aud Co .
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WAR IilTERATUEE . Pictures fom the BatHe-Melds By the Roving Englishman . Routledge . A Trip to the Trenches in February and March . By an Amateur . Saunders and Otley . Narrative of a Campaign in the Crimea . By Lieutenant George Shuldham Peard , 20 & Regiment . Bentley . These three volumes are , in different ways , the best specimens of War Literature that we have yet met with . They are all genuine books , written by men who are evidently above descending to the common-place ¦ " catch -penny" style of ordinary writers from the seat of war . The literary abilities of" The JRoving Englishman" entitle him to the first place on our list—he has the advantage over his two brother-authors , of practice in
• writing , and of all the ease , fire , and variety of narrative which practice alone can give . His book really is what it assumes to be on the title-page , a , series of Pictures—pictures , it must be understood , of the social side of military life—travelling adventures in the region of the War , rather than battle-pieces . All subjects of the picturesque kind come alike to his hand , » nd all alike are treated in a manner thoroughly and most attractively his own . Constantinople and Pera—the Black Sea and the Sailors—Varna in its dirtiest aspects—French Privates in their prosiest politeness of manner—Transports , and the company on board—Balaklava , and dialogues between the English sailors and the Turks—Camp life and the Bashi-Bouzoukspen-and-ink portraits of Russian spies , officers , and soldiers—admirable sketches of the Zouaves—Travelling miseries and adventures in
Wallacbiathe Demi-Monde , French and Russian , in the East—these are only a few of ihe " pictures" which out lively author has brought home from the battlefields , and which he always contrives to paint brilliantly and agreeably '¦** from the life . " Besides the pages devoted to the immediate subject of iris book , there are some chapters on the abuses and corruptions of our -diplomatic system , and some character- ^ portraits of the highly-distinguished gentlemen who condescend to thrive upon them , which are strikingly sue « essful as unflinching exposures of systematic wrong-doing , by a man evidently well acquainted with his subject , and thoroughly able to do full justice to his convictions with his pen . Leaving these passages to be ¦ enjoyed by our readers , we will give them one specimen from another part of the volume which is better adapted for our present purpose—of making Sk short extract—and will then bid the Roving Englishman heartily and
gratefully farewell . THE ZOUAVE . Respecting the rights of property , a Zouave ' s ideas are not . quite correct : he -would steal anything to eat or drink , in an impudent , dashing sort of way , without ^ the smallest compunction ; but then he would walk twenty miles through a bog in a snow-storm to return it , if he found out afterwards that he had stolen it from anyiody entitled to his peculiar sympathy , or if his feelings became subsequently interested , about them—or , perhaps , even for a whim . He likes brigandage more from the danger and bravado of it , than from any substantial advantages which he may lope to reap ; for if you meet him with his hands full of ao matter what , that he may . just have become possessed of at the most dreadful risk , his first object and
-anxiety appears to be how he shall get rid of his burden , to set out again immediately in chase of something else . If any one has ever shown him the smallest kindness , he ¦ will pay it with the most surprising magnificence . For a pipe of tobacco supplied to him at some forgotten time of need , or for a drop out of a brandy-flask , he -would return a casket of jewels snatched from a general conflagration in a town given over to plunder . When he has conferred a benefit on anybody , he is apt to disappear -with . great . agility , or even perhaps to do or say something offensive , in his anxiety to avoid thanks ; and he would never thieve with such determined perseverance as when foraging for a sick Englishman : " Car ces Jean Boule , voyez vous , 9 a ne sait rien ¦ ca ne sait pas s ' arranger comme nous autres ; 9 a ne sont que des zenfans , puis 9 a nous . zaime ! ere nom de chien comme 9 a nous zaime !"
I think I see one of the rowdy , kind-hearted little fellows now . He is the guide , philosopher , and friend of a towering guardsman—for youT Zouave is aristocratic in his ideas and predilections , so that he will seldom be seen to consort with the common troops of the line . Both Guardsman and Zouave are proud of their intimacy , and lake every possible means to display it , though their conversation is utterly incomprehensible to themselves oranybody else : it consists in eccentric but fruitless aallies into the English language , on the one side , and into the French on the other , each friend obligingly translating into his native tongue what he supposes the meaning of the other friend may be , the first speaker confirming the translation with the promptest
. and most social approval . Our little friend looks up at his gigantic companion -with . an air of admiring solicitude and protection that completely beggars description . His baggy red breeches come down so low , from want of braces , as almost to hide his legs ; his blue ] jacket flies open in well studied disarray ; and his immense turban is cocked so much on one side , that it is a wonder how he keeps it on . Ho wags his hips martially , as he struts along with his little nose in the air , and his little white . gaiters on his little feet , a yard apart from each other . He has no consciousness of being ridiculous , and he believes , with all his stout little heart , that the eyeu of the -world are fixed on him and hia acquaintance—as , indeed , they are .
A Trip toihe Trenches differs from the volume just noticed , in that it gives us the martial side of military life , and takes us dangerously near to the ¦ enemy . The author had two objects in visiting the Trenches as an " Amateur . " The first , to observe as a civilian what effect the practical exercise of his vocation had upon the nature of the soldier ; and the second , to discover for himself whether the terrible narratives of official incapacity and misconduct in the East , by which the Times startled and shocked all Eng-Jand , were exaggerated or not . The result of these investigations appeals in honestl it and
the volume before us . We- can y praise as an intelligently modestly written book , containing much to interest and instruct , and oilering many proofs of careful observation and just judgment on the author ' s part . His opinions on reforms that are still grievously wanted ; his narrative of what he himself saw of the condition of the army in the Trenches , in Camp , and in Hospital ; and his testimony to the deteriorating effect of war on the soldier ' s nature , are presented to the reader with a moderation and fairness which have given us a most favourable impression of the author , and of the value of what ho has to communicate . W . o will quote from his volume a page or two descriptive of BAT ^ AKX , AVA IN FKBBUART . February 3 rd . —The morning was bitterly cold , wind and enow , and twelve dogrcoa of froet . The sight that met our oyea when wo went on deck in the morning wan
really quite sickening . The stern of our vessel was about twenty yards from the shore , and there we saw scores of miserable , half-clothed , half-starved objects shivering on the wharfs , or trying in vain to keep their blood in circulation by shambling up and down ; no workhouse could have shown a more abject set of paupers than did Balaklava that morning . Good Heavens , was one ' s first thought can these miserable objects , with scanty ragged coats , clothes in tatters , and boots in holes , or with none at all , be British soldiers , who the country is informed by their rulers are at this moment actually borne down with warm clothing , and furnished with every luxury that the mind of the soldier can conceive ? How fearfully have the government been deceived , or how cruelly have they deceived the people of England ? The warm clothing was just now , on the 3 rd of February , being served out , slowly enough , Heaven knows ! and long boots were being issued at the rate of six and seven pairs to each regiment . The distribution of warm clothing was not completed before the middle of February , and many officers' servants and bat men had not even received them by the 20 th of the month !
Miserable as the men were when I arrived , I was assured that their condition had wonderfully improved during the last three weeks . If that was true , in -what a pitiable case must they have been during January ? About nine or ten o ' clock fatigue parties began to drop in from the front ; gaunt , haggard ,, bearded men , with a reckless , desperate look that was indescribable . Many of these had sheep-skin coats ; some of the Artillery and Cavalry good long blue great coats , and even long boots ; but the majority of the men , especially those of the line , were clothed in every imaginable patched-up , worn-out garment it is possible ^ to conceive ; there was not an atom of unifo rm visible amongst the lot of them . The appearance of the cavalry horses was most pitiable ; if no workhouse could have supplied a more dilapidated quota of bipeds , no knacker ' s yard could have supplied more miserable quadrupeds . Gaunt cavalry horses , eaten up with mange , with tails half eaten off , more than half starved , and with scarcely strength to move one leg before the other , were being dragged or kicked along , with slight loads of planks , or bags of biscuits , under which any jackass in England would have trotted away with ease .
Lieutenant Peard ' s Narrative of the Campaign in the Crimea asserts one strong claim to our welcome—it is , we believe , the first . English account of the War in the East by an officer who has actually taken part in it . The author was ordered for service with his regiment in July , 1854 , and was not invalided and sent home until after the battle of Inkerman . He was , consequently , present at all the most conspicuous events of the first campaign ; and he has described tlieru in a simple , manly , straightforward manner in the pages before us . As a clear and modest narrative of the war , from the personal point of view of a brave soldier , this little book has a special merit , and secures a friendly greeting . We have allowed our other two authors to speak for themselves ; and we must , before closing the present article , in common justice extend the same privilege to Lieutenant Peard . A fair example of his truthful , unaffected style of writing , may be chosen from the record of hi 3 own experience of the fearful hurricane in which the " Prince" was lost :
THE STORM AMONG THE TENTS . Our tent was so old and thin , that the rain « ame through in great quantities ; but I fortunately had a waterproof sheet , which I laid over my bed , and it rendered me great service . But the men , however , had not these luxuries , and had to fight against the elements as best they could . The tents were crowded to excess , and for some time they had as many as twenty men in each , and consequently swarmed with vermin . The men ' s clothes were torn and in a filthy state , and their boots were in tatters on their feet ; they had purchased some French-made boots at Balaklava for seven or eight shillings a pair , and these liad come to pieces as soon as the iir . st rain fell . No one can form an idea of the wretched picture the British soldier presented at this period , or of his emaciated appearance . It blew fresh on the 13 th from the south-west , but there were no indications of ijvorse weather , and the night was comparatively fine , and at intervals almost calm . Towards daylight on the 14 th , however , a gale came on , which , at 6 , 30 a . m ., grow into the most fearful hurricane ever remembered in that country . This was accompanied by thunder and lightning and torrents of rain .
Being ill , and not likely to be called out , I had unfortunately undressed myself , and I had not time to put on my clothes before our tent was blown quite over our heads , inside out , the pole at the same time falling on my head , with swords juhI things which hung around it . The wind was blowing so furiously that the , se ; i of niiul which was before us was blown up in our faces , aud covered everything- about us . I looked in despair at S , who was in a roar of laughter ; while our servants were standing around , unable to move for amazement . All the neighbouring tents had shared , or wore sharing , the same unhappy fate . My eye caught R ' s tent etill standing , and I told my servant to carry me in face much
my bedding to it . The poor wretch stopped half-way , and looked in my , as as to say , he could carry mo no further , and I was in the greatest fear of being precipitated headlong into the mud : however , he staggered on , and deposited me in the tent on R ' s bed , which ho most kindly prepared for me . 1 found him holding on , in the most determined manner , to his tent-pole , which was reeling about very suspiciously . Tentlees friends came in all the morning , and they were sworn into the service , and by their united exertions it weathered the gale ; others were walking about in thoir cloaks , drenched to their skin , seeking shelter from the pitiless storm . Eyes were cast to the other Divisions , and -we found they were in the same plight as ourselves ; all except the Turks , who" sccin better to understand the art ol toutmaking . And so we take leavo of three writors of War-Literature , who nru alao—it is pleusant to be able to add—three writors of good and useful books .
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522 T H M LEAD IE B . [ Saturday ,
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Leader (1850-1860), June 2, 1855, page 522, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2093/page/18/
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