The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-09-16 00:00:00

DT ♦ SOLDIER.

This volume, which is said to be the production of a
private soldier, is written with considerable truth anti feel-
ing. The following sketch will justify our good opinion:—
•' We heel le en about three months in Jersey, when the
order came for our embarkation for Portueal ; but only six
women to every hundred men were allowed to accomrany
us. As there were, however, a great many more than that
number, it was ordered that they should draw iota, to see
who should remain. The women of the company to which
I belonged were assembled in the pay-sergeant's room for
that purpose. The men of the company had gathered
round them, to see the result, with various degrees of in-
terest depicted in their countenances. The prop rtionate
cumber of tickets were made with ' to go' or ' not to go,'
a Mien on them. They were placed Li a hat, and the
women were called by their seniority to draw their tickets.
I looked round me before they began. It was an interest.
Mg scene. The sergeant stood in the middle with the bat
in his hand, the women around him, with their hearts
palpitating. and anxiety and suspense in every countenance.
Here and there you would see the head of a married man
melted forward, from amongst the crowd, in the attitude
;of' intense anxiety and attention.
" The first woman called was the sergeant's wife—she
drew 'not to go.' I t scented to give little concern to any
one but herself and her husband. She was not vet y well
liked in the company. The next was a corporal's wife—
she drew 'to go. This was received by all with nearly
as much apathy as the first. She was little beloved either.
" The next was an old hand, a moat outrageous virago,
who thought nothing of giving her husband a knock-down
when he olii•nderl her, and who used to make great dieturb-
anee about the fire in the cookipg way. Every one uttered
their wishes audibly that she would lose ; and her hus-
band, if we could judge from his countenance, scented to
wish so too. She boldly plunged her hand into the hat,
and drew out a tick. t. On opening it she fell it up tri-
umphantly, and displayed—' To go. A general murmur
of dieappointment ran throegh the whole.
" The next in turn was the wife of a yeeing man, who
was much respect d in the company for his steadiness and
good behaviour. She was remarkable. for her erection for
her husband, slid beloved by the whole company for her
modest and obliging dii position. She advanced, with a
palpitating limn and tretnblieg band, to decide on (what
was to her, 1 believe,) her future happiness or misery.
Every one prayed for her success. Trembling between
fear and hope, she drew out one of she tickets, snit at-
tempted to open it ; lint her hand shook an that Site could
not do it. She handed it to one of the men to open. When
be opened it, his countenance fell, and he hesitated to say
what it was. She cried out to him, in a tone of agony,
' Tell me, for God's sale, what it is.' Not to go,'
said he, in a compassionate tone of voice. ' Oh, God,
help nee ! oh, Sanely !' she exclaimed, and sunk into the
arms of her husband, who had sprung forward to her as-
sistance, and in whose face was now depicted every variety
of wretch einem The drawing was interrupted, and she
was carried by her husband to his birth, where he hung
over her in frantic agony. Ily the assistance of those
around her she was soon recovered from her swoon; but
she awoke only to a sense of her misery. The first thing
she did was to look round for her hashand. When she
perceived him she seized his band, and held it, as if she
was afraid that he was going to leare'her. ' Oh, Sandy,
you'll no leave me and your eoor babie, will you ?"The
poor fellow looked in her face with a look of agony and
despair.
" The scene drew tears from every eve in the room, with
the exception of the termagant whom I have already
mentioned, who said, ' iVhet are ye a' makin' sic a wark
about? Let the babie get her greet out. I suppose she
thinks there's nachody ever parted with the it men hut he r.
We her faintin', and her airs, and her wark.' ' Oh,
you're an end hard-hearted devil,' said Dennis, anti he took
her by the shoulders and pushed her out of the room. She
would hare turned on Dennis; but she had got a squeeze
from him on a former occasion, and 1 daresay she did not
like to run the risk of another.
'• The drawing was again commenced, and various were
the expressions of feelings evinced by those concerned.
The Irishwomen, in particular, were loud in their grief.
It always appeared to me that the Irish either feel more
aeutsly than the Scotch er English, or that they have less
restraint on themselves in expressing it. The barrack,
through the rest of that day, was one continued scene of
lamentation.
" I was particularly interested in the fate of Sandy and
his wife. I wished to administer consolation; but what
could I say? There was no comfort that I could give,
unless leading her to hope that we would soon return.
" Oh, no,' said she, ' when we part here, I am sure that
we'll never meet again in this world !'
" We were to march the next morning early. The
most of the single men were away drinking. I slept in the
birth above Sandy end his wife. They never went to bed,
but sate the whole night in their birth, with their only
child between them, alternately embracing tin it child and
each other, and lamenting their cruel fortune. I never
witnessed in my life such a heart-rending scene. The poor
fellow tried to assume some firmer:es, but in vain ; some
feeline expression from her would throw him off his guard,
and at last his grief became uncontrollable.
" When the first bugle sounded, he got up, and pre-
pared his things. Here a new source of grief sprung up.
In laying aside the articles which he intended to leave, and
which they had used together, the ides seemed fixed in her
mind, that they would never use them in that way again;
and as she put them aside, she watered them with her tears.
Her tea-rot, her cups, and everything that they had used
in rommon,all bad the :r apostrophe of sorrow. lie tried to
persuade her to remain in the barrack, as we had sic miles
to travel to the place of embarkation ; but she said she
would take the last minute in hie; company that she could.
" The regiment fell in, and marched oil', amid the wail-
ing of those who, haying two or three children. could not
accompany us to the place of embarkation. Many of the
men had got so much intoxicated that :hey were seereely,
able to walk. Tue commanding officer was an displeased
at their conduct, that, in coming through St. Helier's, be'
would not allow the hand to play.
" When we arrived at the place where we were to embark,
a most distressing scene took place, in the men partite&
with their wives. Some of than indeed it did not appear
to affect much ; others had got themeelves nearly tipsy;
but the most of them scented to feel acutely. IWheei
Sandy's wife cattle to take her last farewell she lout all go-,
remittent of her grief. She clung to hint with a despairing
hold. 'Oh, dinna, dinna leave me!' she cried. The yes-
, set was hauling out. One of die sergeants clime to tell her
•
that she would have to go ashore, 'Oh, they'll never he so
• bard-hearted as to part us,' said she • and, running aft to
the quarter-deck, where the commanding officer was stand-
ing, she suuk down on her knees, with her child in her
arms. `Oh, will you no let me gang wi' my husband ?
Will ye tear him frac his wife and his wean ? Ile has
nee frien's but us—nor we ony but him—and, oh, with you
mak' us a' frienless? fiee my wee babie pleadin' for us.'
" The officer felt a painful struggle between his duty
and his feelings ; the tears came into his eyes. She eagerly
ese•e-see•teeseeeseeeese._ caught at this as favourable to her cue. ' Oh, aye. I see
Ca EH Fon-mum—An Emperor of China proposed; you hare a feeling heart—you'll let me gang wi' him .1
making a progresa through pert of his dominions. One of ; You have nee wife ; hut, if you had, I am sure you
his counsellors opposed it, as at that time improper. The! wad think it once herd to be torn free her this way—sod
Emperor, in beat, drew his sabre, and cried, " Pass the j this wee darlin'.' 'My good woman,' said the officer, • I
order fur my journey this hist:tie, or 1 will strike off' your, feel for you much ; but my orders are peremptory, that ao
head." The officer, without the least emotion, took off more than six women to each hundred men go with their,
his Mandarin's cap and robe, and, kneeling down with 1 huebends. You have had your chance as well as the other'
his neck extended, said, " Your M testy may strike, for women ; and, although it is hard enough ox you to be
I cannot comply with what I know to be contrary to the 1 separated from your husband, yet there aro many more
good of the empire.'"fhe Emperor checked himself, and in the same predicament; and it is totally out of my
gave up his jeurney. I power to help it. ' Well, well,' said the, thing from
A weak sulphureons m
mineral spring has recently been tier nod knees, d straining
discovered, on the Reich, at Ilawsker Ike, ins, near I 'it's a' owre wi' us, my pith. babie ; this day leaves
Whitby, which appears, from some experiments which Us friendless on the wide world.: ' God will bo your
bare been made for the purpose of *seen • ' g its compo-: friend,' said 1, as I took the child from her until she would
skean, to he very nearly similar to the spring issuing from , get into the boat. Sandy bad stood, like a person bewil-
die Alum Rock near Ouisbrough, and may no d -Ott be tiered all this time, without saying a went . • Farewellfound very useful, though not perhaps endued with those tken, a last ;'arewell then,' said she to him; ' Where's my
sineularly brilliant properties ascribed to some of the foue- habit. ?' she cried. 1 handed him to her. 'Oite him a last
tains of the celebrated wakeing-places, which are Mute s- kiss, Sanely.' Ile pressed the infant to his bosom in siknt ,
sible to tae more indigent ranks of asciety. On this account agony. ' Now, a's owre; farewell, Sandy; we'll ma be
alone, it ilea: rtes tole. hailed as a happy acquisition in the meet in Heaven ;' and she stepped into the boat with a
neighbourhood. and to have its qualities further investi- wild despairing look. The vessel was now turning the
Fated by the science of the chemist, and extended by the pier, and she was almost out of our sight in an instant ;
exper'ence of the rhys:clau.-I,cli Paper. but, ari we got the last glimpse of h.r, she uttered a shriek,

The liarbadues Globe, of the 26th of July, contains an
ac"ount of the procenlings in the House of Assembly,
relative to admitting a second Moravian establishment in
that colony, on the petition of the !U.:v. Mr. It •rg. The
Assembly was favourable to the petition, and a Bill was
it.troductsl to nrry the object prayer( for.
It aprars by the last accounts front St. Vincent's, which
are to the Voth July, that numerous complaints had been
made of the unfr'endly conduct of Admiral Jacob, Gover-
nor of I inadaloupe, in causing British vessels to be detained,
tne-elv for pas,:ing within a certain limited distance of that
Captain Duaiseinnb, who commanded a small yes-
eel from Bermuda, bound to Antigua, was taken by a
French cutter, on the pretence Ot: lie was too near the
land, though six miles off shore, and claimed as a lawful
prize: other vessels were in the saute SiillAtiOn. There is
no doubt, however, but that when the circumstances arc
made known to our Admiral on that station, (inventor
Jacob will be taught to respect the maritime rights of
nations.

the knell of a broken heart, which rings in my ears at this
moment. S udy rushed down below, and threw himself
into one o, die births, in a state of feclim, n a hich defies de-
scription. Poor fellow, his wife's forebodings were t
tray ! Ile was amongst the first that was killed in Portu-
gal ! What became of her I have never bean able to
learn."