The Sun.
London, England, 1862-02-26 00:00:00

THE ZOUAVB.

The Zouave may be considered an embodiment of the
poetry of the French army ; he is the impersonation of all
her finest military attributes, elevated in the social scale by
his traditionary moral qualities, esprit de corps, and his
serve of the responsibilities it imposes. There is, even in
these matter• of-fact days, a mystery and a romance still
lingering about the Zouave. We feel it in looking at his
origin, his character, his habits, and we may pursue it in
their development. His aspect is peculiar, his costume
evainently picturesque, his features and general type are,
such that it is difficult to divest oneself of the idea that he
must be of Oriental extraction, and yet at the present day
the Zouave regiments consist mainly, if not entirely, of
Enfans de Paris—full-grown gamins, retaining the activity,
the audacity, the originality, and even the espieglerie of
their early years. A living, breathing, spirited tradition
of the army of Africa ; when others boast of their ten vic-
tories, the Zouaves point with dignity to their twenties and
their thirties, The Zouave hesitates at nothing ; there is
no enterprise he will not venture, no exploit he will not
dare, no danger he will not brave, and no difficulty he will
not contrive to overcome. And yet it is equally true--
venturesome, aspiring, dauntless, and desperate though he
be—the Zouave is by ro means wanting in the most genial`
attributes of human nature, and the generosity and noble-
ness of character which distinguish him are often inspired
by strong religious feeling. It is further observable that
when a Zouave has faith fearlessly avows it. Perhaps
he entertains a truer appreciation than a man of the world
of what real cowardice is, and he is above being ashamed
of any sentiment which influences him, though it be one at?
which it is the custom of many to laugh in these days
such, however, as thus presume to judge the thoughts
of others, and to treat them supercili usly, are, for the most
part, bullies, and most probably would nut venture to make
game of a Zouave. Be this as it may, that there is a con"
siderable amount of religion openly practised among this
and versatile body, is a fact of which we could ad-
duce many proofs.
The first Colonel of Zouaves was General de La'
moriciere, and their uniform was in the first in-
stance an experiment, and was retained as being
of great practical utility. Various modifications
are being made in the dress of other regiments on
the same principle. It is somewhat doubtful,
however, whether the Zouaves, who pride themselves'
upon the singularity of their costume, will be grati-
fied by this imitation. They are fond of retaining. the
habits of the East, and still class themselves into
tribes each with its peculiar office. The Zouave is
generally as remarkable for his humanity as for his
courage, thus verifying the old saying that the
brave-are seldom cruel. " Their pet cats," says the,
author, " have acquired a European celebrity,',
and
he tells an interesting anecdote of a Zouave monkeys
who was a great amusement to the regiment by hi,
drollery. The owner was killed at the Alma, an
the poor monkey was inconsolable. He played hit/
merry tricks no more, but the men took the sam.!
care of him and would let him, when tired Witt:
marching, climb on their knapsacks and rest. The
Zouaves date from October, 1830, the Chasseut°
d'Afrique from the subsequent December, and the
two corps were thus formed almost simultaneouq;
" At first," says the the writer, " the Arab and tb9
French element might be distinguished contending
in the Chasseurs, but gradually they have so hap Pill,
blended as to form a completely original corps.,
Some interesting incidents in the early history °
these regiments is given. The great advantage
which the French soldiers possessed over our men id
the Crimea in being able to prepare their own In°,
in a wholesome and palatable manner, should direr::
the attention of our authorities to the way in which;
this superior proficiency is obtained ; for hone big
great the aptitude of the continental soldier,
Ill'
1-kill is not acquired without practice.
CAMP COOKING.
The French soldier, it will be seen may be wholesonilci.
and sufficiently—but he is by no Means luxuriously fe,r3,Y
1
f lot
hrueiNtVtiheasbe:ihec,eerrotrha
ieNnvihsi
and whether it be that his constitution does not require 1
e trnhhaatetu
itr
she
es
oirnatdtriiaoffinne indifferent nd
suppliedtas t
n otthtesoupleasurenffieceed s
o pse
i 0.....
et bt
i whether
to rellf
believe,
ne, ded of which it might otherwise seem diffi
der him strong, active, and hardy; and if any other Pot%
cultults
c leve, viz.—that this system is more perfect in its Os
eat
than our own, we need only refer to events of verY reenot
date, when chance afforded so valuable an opportunity', c
only of testing the endurance of the French soldier, but,ool
comparing it with the susceptibility of our own men, wed
sunk so wofully under the privation of their accustom
support. The cooking in camp is managed by the soldr
tr;
I themselves, who are all compelled—nolentes volentes--0,
take the office in turn; they are appointed six or eight a
time, week about, to cook for each company, and some are
such proficients in the art, that they might in time bec°l33,
entitled to the cordon bleu were it not that they end by c°lL,
cealing the real extent of their talents, lest they should e:
kept too long at the work. The bakery stands to the Nve„s!
of the camp, and consists of a certain number of ovens or 15,
peculiar construction, invented by M. Espinasse. TheY
are formed by excavations lined with long plates of iron,
and covered with Japan ware, over which is
ced a layer
ront
ot
of the excavation. Nine furnaces heat these ovens, and
they are made to bake about 200,000 rations a-day, being
in f
sand. A square receptacle made of brick is pla
fis
;atfowr,orokf.couTrhses,
bthreealroe;
six batches daiiy, and six nightly
do not go out, and are continu 'I
the camp is excellent.
of various corns have been
and wholesomeness.
tried, and the result arriZtc:itriF: found to combine econeal
The endeavour to promote amusement and cheer-
fulness among the men is a very valuable feature in
the administration of the French army, and divers-
sions are generally contrived under the most
couraging circumstances. Many important statisticg,
of the relative strength of the respective armies 01
Europe are given in many parts of the work. We
quo
E tneg
laa
.7 e
fmu
rOnr
ias memorandum
soldier
fld i thiser o ukti nodf : -1-28 men: Frauce'
England, for privatries'
lin9s ; Russia, lin 72; Austria, 1 in GS Prussia, 1 it'
80 ; Spain, lin 119 . Belgium, lin 115 ; Sardinia,. 1 in 11;
aXn3n7ulm2s.:s
Turkey, lin 71. heisaxc,tuoasls a; vneornag_ceopmattay
iossfiaolnleadrinofFeilri,
,Au.stria, inabFouritnxces',2,
;folr,rpernicv.hat,es£36£9;
Rpuss.:::l3wssr—.:
sioned officers, i_2l. The cost of, an English soldier pex.
, £lB lOs.; Prussian, £3l; Belgium, 1,38 ; Sant
"'marl, £32; Turkish, £lO • while the men in the Presepr
United States array are said to cost upwards of £6O P-
head."
`Tie rapid °e
~n
rapid rise of some of France's most pa
brated generals from the ranks has often be
dwelt upon with interest. The following list coy..
tains the most striking instances :

SELF-MADE ISBN.
Augereart, Duke of `Castiglioni, was born the son a a
Paris grecm.;roccr. Bernadotte, afterwards King a 5;5c,.e,,..
den, was the son of an attorney at Pau. Berthier, Fratl
do Neufchatel et de \Vagrant, was the son of the paten- -
°
the War-office. Bessier( s (whose courage became Pri,;
verb, 'berme comme Bessiera)—Duke of Istria—was
son of a citizen of Pressac •! a private soldier in 1792, car;
tain in 179.5—he became Marcella' do l'Empire in 180
Brune, the son of a solicitor of Brives, and a printer bY
trade, became a soldier of his ov.n free will. Jou:don,
.a
printer of Limoges, pursued a similar career, and witi-
tn
imilar reEulis. Kellerman, Duc do Valmy, son of aci
z,n of Strasbourg, rose from the lowest grade. LanDee',
Duo de i'dontebello, began life as a dyer at Lectoure ; 1;le
entered the ranks in 1792, became general of division in
1800, marshal in 1804. Lebfevre, Due de l'antzig,
the son cl an old hussar of Bouffach. Mass6na, the fa'
voured child of victory, Prince of Essling, was the son of a
shopkeeper at 1\ ice. Moncey, Due de Conegliano, tke eon
of a notary of Besancon. Mortier, Due de Treviseipn,
a tradesman of Cateau Cambresis, 'Murat, King aAN tire"