The Sun.
London, England, 1848-01-17 00:00:00

THE “DEVIL'S OWN."

In those days (A. D. 1803) Bonaparte's projected
invasion of England was the topic most mooted ; and
well it might, for the danger with which it menaced
the country. In arming to repel invasion Erskine
was not slow ; but the account of the armament is
altogether so ludicrous that it must be extracted :
"Of the 300,000 volunteers enrolled and disci-
plined, the lawyers in the metropolis raised two
regiments—the 8.1.C.A , or Bloomsbury and Inns
of Court Association, and the Temple Corps,'
generally called the Devil's Own.' The command
of the latter was conferred upon Erskine. Having
myself served in the ranks of the former. lam not
able from personal observation to criticise his military
prowess, but I well remember we heard many stories
of the blunders which he committed, and we thought
ourselves lucky to be under the orders of Lieutenant-
Colonel Cox, a warlike Master in Chancery. While
our rivals could boast of Most of the dignitaries of
the law, and were renowned for their " belly
gerent" appearance ; we consisted chiefly of lean
students and briefless barristers, so that we were
in great hopes that if we did not go into the field
before the end of the campaign, fatigue alone
would make great openings for us in Westminster
Hall, and on all the circuits. We had drills every
morning, and many field days, but we never had any
harder service than being reviewed by George 111. in
Hyde Park, along with all the volunteers of the
loth me-
tropolis, on a very rainy day. the law corps
were particularly. noticed by his Majesty, who
caused much jealousy among us of the
8.1.C.A., by his particularly gracious return
to the salute of Lieutenant-Colonel Erskine.
Many severe colds were caught, but there was no
casualty to cause any promotion in the profession,
the servants of the seniors waiting for them with
cloaks and umbrellas as soon as they were dismissed
from the parade. Lord Eldon, in his old age, gave
the following account of this spectacle I think the
finest sight I ever beheld was the review in Hyde
Park before George 111. The King, in passing,
addressed Tom Erskine, who was colonel, asking
him the name of his corps. He answered, 'The
Devil's Own. The Lincoln's Inn volunteers al-
ways went by the name of ' The Devil's Invin-
cibles. Law, then Attorney-General, afterwards
Lord Chief Justice Ellenborough, was reported
to be a fair specimen of them; for, even with
the help of chalk, he :lever could be taught
the difference between marching with his right or
his left foot foremost, and all the time he was in the
service he continued in the awkward squad." Lord
Campbell slyly adds, with an animus which barristers
only can appreciate,—" There were likewise a good
many attorneys belonging to us, who brought down
many jests upon us, among others, that upon the word
being given' prepare to charge, they all pulled out pen,
ink, and paper; and being ordered to charge,'
they wrote down 6s. Bd. or 13s. 4d. The soul of our
corps was our adjutant, my poor friend Will Horn-
son' who with us could talk of nothing but battles,
and seemed to think himself as great a military
genius as Napoleon, although he talked much law at
regimental messes, which he was fond of dining at,
so that it was said he was a general among lawyers,
and a lawyer among generals."—Campbell's Lives of
the Chancellors.

We understand that the arrangements for filling
up the office of inspector-general of the warehousing
department of the customs in London, vacant by the
promotion of Mr. How e to the rank of surveyor-general,
have now been completed ; and Mr. R. Chapman, land-
ing surveyor of the second class, has been selected to
succeed Mr. Howe. An additional inspector-general is
also appointed at Liverpool, and Mr. St. John, one of
p_4rt of London, has the landing surveyors of the been
selected for dud otllo,—.pewsver.