Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1826-12-19

man had ever thought OUT as lieut.. before De-
came the centre Of a circle, he 5lue-stock king,
surrounded with obsequious lis.ners, by virtue
Of his pre-eminent knowledge Of every vine
house in the garrison. Such is the advantage
Of situation!-hine tenths Of mankind, till they
are placed on the spot of display, what are they
but red no.ed lieutenants?''
We omi, a light with Spanish gun-boats, and
the quarters at Gibraltar, where the garrison
were "like ,rhiebault in Frederick's paradise at
Potsdam-we corrugated from morning till
nightthe verb 'Je M ennuie fuFennuies sn sennuie,
through all its persons, lenses, and moods. -
Al length they were ordered for Egypt and the
story proceeds "Never was regiment so de-
lighted. We supped together upon the news,
and drank farewell to Glib altar and confusion
| to -. in bumpers without measure. In the
| very height Of our carousal, my eye dropped
| upon my old friends red nose. 1t served me
as kind of thermometer l observed it dl-
minished o. its usual crimson. The spirit has
fallen thought l. there is i'll luck in the wind.
took him aside; but he was then too far gone
for regular council; he only clasped my hand
with the fervor Of fellew-drinker, and NUT
tered out, lifting his glass with shaking wrist.
Nothing but conioundecly bad brandy in Egypt
for love or money We sailed"
A calm is succeeded by tempest, "but glo
all sides. Wet, weary, halfstaryed, and fright
ened 10 death, we dar,ed through every nook
and channel that had ever figured in the history
Of the Cyclades; left Olympus on the one hand,
and Ida on the other; caught glimpses of Cos
and Scio, Rhodes and Hydra, all peeripg thro'
fog and cloud, and dashed by sheets OF billow
and foam. wished them all ten thousand ia
thoms under water They are shipwrecked
on the coast of Caramania, and surrounded by
natives. "Soldiers great geographers;
the line leave that business 10 the staff, the staff
10 the artillery, the artillery to the engineers,
and the engineers TO Providence. AT our coun-
Gil which was held on row of knapsacks, and
with one pair Of trousers among its seven sag
es, il was asserted, with equal show Of reason,
that we were in Africa, in Arabia, in Turkey,
and in the Black Sea. However, our sheep
skin friends were urgent for our departure"
"We finally sailed for Egypt; found the French
building Notifications on the shore; and, like
generous enemy, landed jus, where they had
provided for our reception. But the world
knows all this already, and disdain to tell
what every body knows; but the world does not
know that we had three councils Of war to set
tie whether the troops should land in CATERS or
trowers; and whether they should or should not
carry three days pipeclay and backing in their
knapSacks. The most valuable facts are, we
see, often lost for want of our being little be-
hind the curtain 1 he famous landing was the
noisiest thing conceivable. The world at dis
tance called il the most gallant thing; and !
have no inclination TO stand up against univer-
sal opinion. But whether we were fighting a.
eainst the sandhills, or the French, or the sun
in his strength, whether we were going 10 the
right, or the left, or the rear; whether we were
beating or beaten, no living man could have
told in two minutes after the first shot twas
all Glamour, confusion, bursting Of shells, dash
ing OF water, splitting of boats, and screams Of
the wounded; the whole passing under cover
let Of smoke as furginous as ever rushed from
furnace: under this blanket Of The dark we
pulled on, landed, fought, and conquered; and
for our triumph, had every man his length Of
excellent sand for the night, the canopy of hea
ven for his tent, and the proioundest cures of
the commissariat for his supper On we went,
day after day, fighting the French, starving and
scorching till we found them in our camp be-
fore day break, on the memorable els; of
March We fought them there as men fight
In the pit OF theatre, every one for himself:
the French, who are great tacticians, and ne
yer fight bu, tor science sake, grew tired be-
fore John Bull, who fights Tor the love of the
thing. The Frenchman fights but to maneu-
vre, the Englishman maneuvres but to fight
SO, as man9uvreing was out Of the question,
we carried the affair all after our own hearts
But this victory had its price; for il cost the
army its brave old general, and i. cost me my
old red nosed lieutenant We were standing
within half a foot of each other, in front Of the
little ruin where the French invincibles made
last struggle; they fired voll,y before they
threw themselves on their knees, according to
the national custom OF earning their lives, when
saw my unlucky friend tumbIed head over
heels, and stretched between my legs. There
was no time for thinking of him then: the
French were hunted out, !a bayoneHe dams e cui
we followed-ihe battle of Alexandria was won
and our part of the success was, TO be marched
zen miles off, TO look after some Of their frag-
men,s Of baggage. We found nothing, of
course, for neither in defeat nor in victory does
The Frenchman ever forget himself In our BIZ
vouac the thought Of the lieutenant came over
me; in the heat of the march ] could not have
thought of anyl,hingImortal but my own parch
ed throat and crippled limbs. Absurd as the
old subatern was, could have better spared
better man. We had been thrown together in
some strange ways, and as the result Of my
meditations / determined 10 return and see