The Sun.
London, England, 1828-07-16 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

THE SUBALTERN'S LOG BOOK.—LeNnort, 1826.
This is a smart clever book, a thousand times
superior to the trash which under the name of
" military," deluges the shelves of nine. out.or ten
booksellers in London. It is manifestly the produc.
tion of a young officer—of one who details, with
force and brevity, the recollections of an adventur•
eus life. There is no attempt at fine writing—no
gaudy metaphors, nor strained jokes about it-4
spirit .of freshness and reality breathes in every pages
and renders it exceedingly attractive. Our favourite;
article is " Joining the Depot," in which there
are some sketches of military character, drawn evi'
dently from practical acquaintance with the subjects'
We give the following as a favourable specimen of
the work; there is some severity, but we doubt not,
infinite truth about it :

" Skinflint was a young man of plain manners, who
knew how tike care of No. 1, and did . not allow sen-
timent or any folly prevent his making the most of si%
shillings and sixpence a day ; a negatively good person, he
might be termed, for if he was a little selfish, he was not
illtatured, and as it is remarked as the best excuse for
man of his sort, there was no harm in him.'

" Ile had seen much service, and appeared able to put $
proper value on the profit to be derived from the se'
quaintance of each of his military associates. He cautioned
me against being too intimate with certain of the officers
then at the depot; observing that some were wild and
extravagant whose niannera were nevertheless extremely
attractive and insinuating ; and he particularly advised me
against forming any intimacy with a gourmand named
Alorgan, who be said invariably invited any young office
who joined, to supper; for which lie generally contrived
to get about fifty entertainments in return. He said there
were many such dangerous characters. I promised to
look up to him for advice in such cases, as his knowledge
of these matters might be serviceable to my inexperience.
" He then chose me an excellent room, opposite to his
own, and an old soldier, who thoroughly understood his
duty as a servant, far among his other qualifications be
made buttered toast to a nicety, and boiled eggs to a second,
these were strong recommendations to a young Ensigsb
and I accordingly engaged him.
" I found Skinflint very systematic--his quarters, with'
out any superfluity in the shape of sofa, Ottoman, Turkey
carpet, &e. had a clean airy appearance '••for instance, there
was sand sprinkled on the floor as a substitute for a carpet:
a deal barrack table, with .a green cloth cover, two chairs,
a set of fire irons, fender, and coal box. Some of his' old
Peninsula coats and trousers, which I fancy owed hirrl
little, were made into a hearth rug; his marching sabre,
drawn sloping over the fire-place, supported by its scab'
bard ; a long sash festooned across one side of the roots
his gorget hanging on a peg; two pair of well pipeclayea
gloves, and a belt their companion ; his trunks in a corner,
in which were his linen and regimentals. His mufty wee
easily disposed of, as it only consisted of one coat and $
waistcoat ; his boots were turned up in a rack. There
were several of Tegg's Illustrations of Romance Parnid,'
lets gracing the spare portions of the walls.
" My mother having read me many lectures on econo-
my, I conceived I could not do better than join his break'
fast mess. He seemed delighted at my proposal, and Said
I had Just anticipated him in it ; for,' observed he,
when two agree, it is very comfortable breakfasting
together, and besides it is such a saving ! You see
my breakfast account for ten days is so much, as three
shillings and ten-pence ! Now, if we join, it will
not, I think, come to more than two shillings a-week,
and which will give us an egg each every alternate morning.
There is one agreement I wish to make, that we may Uo'
derstand each other.--don't ask me too many questions at
our meal, or stare at me,more than you can avoid : he"
sides, take care how you, invite people to breakfast Wl°
may happen to drop in.' "

His Majesty's ship Herald, with Lord Aid"
HERST and suite on board, from the Cape the 18th of
May, reached St. Helena on the 31st of May. His Ma-
jesty's ship Undaunted, with Lord W. BENTINCK, put
into Simon's Bay on the 12th of May, and sailed from
thence for Bengal on the 16th ; consequently Lord
WILLIAM had an opportunity of communicating with his
predecessor in the Government of India. His Majesty
ship Owen Glendower, which sailed from St. Helena on
the 2d of June, spoke the Herald on the 21st, so that her
arrival may be hourly expected.

Lord COCHRANE is never seen to such shining
advantage as in the beat of battle. He is remarkable for
.the quickness with which he can discern a shot coming,
and the accuracy with which he can tell its direction. In
one affair he was sitting astride upon the hammocks, sc.-
cording to his usual custom. Major MILLER was standing
on a carronade upon the quarter-deck, close to the Ad-
miral, who said, " There comes a shot straight for us, but
don't move, for it will strike below us ;" and it entered
just underneath at the lower part of the port, above which
both had placed themselves. The shot struck off the head
of a marine who had dodged to avoid it, and wounded four
seamen. One, named JOSE ne Sax MARTIN, had been.the
chieftain of banditti in Chile, and had been sent on hoard
from the condemned cell. His leg was carried away, and
the bone shattered so much that he afterwards suffered any
putation above the knee, which he bore with astonishing
fortitude, exclaiming " Viva la Patria .1" repeatedly dor.-
ing the operation. Ton COCHRANE, a son of the Admiral,
only ten years of age,, was walking
,shout on the quarter-,
deck, when the shot scattered the brains of the marine is
the child's face. Ile ran up to his father, and with an air
of hereditary self-possession and unconcern, called •ut,
" Indeed, papa, the shot did not touch me; indeed, I aul
sot hurt."—Memoirs of General Miller.