Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1861-06-10
dAOrtester 4ailg SPY.
THE EUROPEAN PRIVATE,

The Crlmean campaign gave wonderful
stimulus to military literature in England
During the progress of the war, and for along
time afterwards, the London booksellers sold
scarcely anything but books of battles, works
on the war, volumes of tactics, and maps of
tile campaign and the seat of war. Some of
the best OF these volumes were reprints of
letters and journals of officers, giving the
everyday life and the incidents and different
phases OF character in the camps-stories that
are always fresh and interesting when grace
fully and naturally told. From an English
volume, before quoted in our columns, we ex-
tract the following sketch of English, Russian
and Turkish private soldiers:
THE TROOPS AT vARNA.
Officers in astounding uniforms supposed to
be those OF the body guard OF his Majesty the
King of Candy, in whose service they had
been, and obtained all sorts OF rank h0nors
and decorations, were twirling their mustaches
and conversing together in groups. | never
saw SO many Colonies and Generals at once
in all my born days. You could not request
the dingiest individual to make way fot you
on the narrow iootpatls, without having your
breath taken away by nudge from your
friends elbow, and hurried whisper of
General O'Flannigan take care !" 1t is
one OF the few pleasant features of the war
that 1t has used up great number Of these
worthless, and given them some chance OF do.
ing reputably in life a chance which other.
wise, and in our unsatisfactory state OF society,
they cou hardly have had Most of them,
indeed, look like men who do not tub of Il
morning, and there is an odd sort of greasi-
ness about them, in spite of their surprising
caps and jackets but one feels pretty sure
that they would do uncommonly good service
III the field. | soon learnt, too, something of
friendship, if not admiration, 10 those brave
dashing, hair Drained free lanccs, who had
filled distant lands with marvellous tales of
their reckless galIantry, and who were pre-
pared to endure cold famine and privation OF
many kinds, with the flag end of comic song
always on their lips, or mere bit of rhodo-
montade, which hurts nobody.
THE IRISH SOLDIERS.
1t was refreshing to see SO many a rolicking
Hishman, or canny lad from beyond the
Tweed, who had probably obtained an intro.
ductiOn in public lie by means of the Guilty.
stool, and who had long been the reproach and
scandal of his elders. 1t was refreshing |
say to see them shining away here as pashas,
and knights, and generals They were quite
in their element. They could do the bullying
which, am afraid, is necessary in Turkey
quite naturally and their very faults most
ly allied with kindness of heart and natures
really genial, and gentle as those OF Children,
looked like positive virtues, when c5htrasted
with the black, uuredeemed corruption around
them.
HOW THEY KEPT OFF THE CHOLERA.
There they were eating and carOusing to
gether, like gipseys or moss troopers, drinking
brandy and water to keep off cholera, out Of
their embroidered caps, and cutting up tough
fowls with their doughty swords. There they
were-lending money to each other, out OF
purses slender enough probably, squabbling
with cOnsuls about unpaid tailors bill for the |
wonderful uniforms laughing together, quar-
reling together, making it up with tears and |
eJaculations that Jack was the best fellow |
who ever put ON a boot but, hang him. he is
always coming the general over one so %
There they were-beieving in each other,
and believing in themselves; talking about |
their uncles or cousins, who lived in parks,
WHICH "Srs ~i--s--.i-- 6...st 10 tlaas ~
the United Kingdom in which they were sit
attd-those "doosid' highy-connected fell |
lows.
1.-THE GIRL LEFT BEHIND ME-.
There they were, talking tenderly of their |
sisters, who were all "trumps" OF girls, and |
who had often helped, perhaps, out OF a gov
erness's salary, to pay for the wonderful uni
forms, when they were paid for, which was
not often. There they were, talking OF their
wives, who had mostly behaved badly, and
puncturing their breasts or arms with the tat Z
tooed letters Of names OF splendid women they
had left behind at Capuan Bucharest nor
were there wanting some who marked them
selves with holder devices, like ERIN. 60
braqh :" or forward" Many fine fellow, as
he lies stiff and stark beneath the Indictment
skies of the Crimea, shall be found, by some
daunIless friend, among the thickest OF the
fallen, wherever glory was to be won, or the
widest yalor dared 10 spurr and lie shall be
known by those brave words upon his breast,
and buried with his comrades tears, which
will not he the last shed over him.
THE REST OF THE FAMILY.
Yes there will be mournerS enough for
them among bright-eyed women and true men,
among fathers, of whom they are still the
pride and among mothers, who will not be
comIoIted when they hear that their bold sons
have tallen-the sons with open brOws and ila-
eel eyes, with the hot tempers and the hearts
of gold Sons, who, in spite OF their natural
recklessness aud improyidence, made little
hoalds-stoen often from the necessities of
liie--tO send some token of their unatered
and enduring love to far away homes, and rel
atives who had,luoked coldly enough on them,
who had written letters telling of their bright
ening torunes-letters which had made the
old folks stare and hold up their heads again
which had given rise TO paragraphs in coun-
try papers ,who had, as we have said, written
s'elters full of hig hopes and honest, simple
esearted projects for the future, and who never
'Erote again.
GROUPS.
tVhen there were sparkling little French of
ficers, making jokes about their chances of
promotion, trying to laugh themselves out OF
their kindly natures, las Frenchmen often
Will aud failing notably. There were pleas
ant prosy soldiers, too, (no one on earth is so
pIosy as a French private,) telling extraordi-
nary stories perfectly uninlelligibe, OF
course. to British grenadiers or stalwart
Highanders, who listened to them, aeverthe-
less, with polite and tipsy gravity, But wher-
ever you saw an Irish soldier, there was sure
to be IA woman near, and Pat was BENJAMIN.
hsself like ginteman in a furrin country to
her There were doctors, hurrying about to
and from the crowded hospital, aud orderlies
galloping hither and thither over the backen.
ed RUNS of the Greek fire-tor Greek il does
really seem to have been. There were army
claplains, with curious receipts for making
curry, who stopped obliging linguists in the
streets, and wanted TO know the Greek for
Cayenne pepper. There were French and
Italian hucksters, driving roaring trades, and
impromptu hotels, idong many travellers for
the military messes have all been broken up,
and cx-officers OF the King OF Candy usually
such sticklers tor military etiquette and CAPT
tal authorities ON culinary matters, as, indeed,
OH all others,) are Obliged to dine by twos and
threes. The truth is there is nothing to eat
in the eastp'
THE RUSSIAN soLDIER-How HE LOOKS.
He is sulky suen, stupid-looking fellow,
with pale blue complexion, like that produc-
ed by what tile doctors call the "admihistra-
ton" OF nitrate of silver in case o. disease
Poor wretch he looks like Il felon for he has
been treated all his lite as a hound. He ha:
a short straight nose, the nostrils Of which are
turned outward, and seem like two small hole;
in his face. He has little round eyes, but he