The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1873-03-06
My Charge on the Life-Guards.
From Lippincott's Magazine.

are happily settled, and there is no danger
that my revelations will augment them in
any degree, I think | may venture to give
the particulars of an affair of honor which
l once had with a gigantic member of Hell
Britannia Majesty's household troops.
Ny guardian had a special veneration
for England IN general and for Oxford in
particular, and | was brought up and sent
to Yale with the full understanding thai
st. Bridgets, Oxon., was the place where
| was to be Finished" | left Yale at the
end my Junioryear and crossed the ocean
in the crack steamer of the then famous
Collins line. do not believe any young
American ever had more favorable in
PRODUCTION to England than had, and the
! wonder is that, considering the philo-
Anglican atmosphere in which | was edu
| Gated. did not become Thoroughbred
renegade. l was. however. blessed with
a tolerably Independent spirit, and kept
! my nationality intact throughout my uni
| versity course.
Like Tom Brown, felt myself drawn
TO the sporting set, and, as | was always
| an adept at athletics, soon won repute as
an oarsman, and was well satisfied to be
| looked upon as the Yankee champion in
| sundry amateur rowing and boxing
| matches, as well as in the lecture-room
OF course. l was the mark for no end OF
good-natured chaff about my nationality
but was nearly always able, | believe, to
sustain the honor of the American name.
| and so at length graduated in the "firsts''
as to scholar ship, and enjoyed the distin-
guished honor of pulling number four in
the VARSITY eight in our annual match
with Cambridge on the Thames. More
over stood six feet in my stockings, had
the muscle of Il gladiator, and was physi-
| cally the equal of an man at Oxford.
After the race was over my special
cronies hung about London for few days,
! us-ally making that classical "cave" OF
Evans rendezvous in the evening. Two
or three young officers of the Guards were
talk had turned, as it often did, on per-
sonal prowess, the superb average ply
sique of their regiment was duly Landed
by our soldier companions. At length
one of them remarked, in that aggravat-
ingly superior tone which some English
men assume, that any man in his troop
could handle any two of the then present
company. This provoked a general laugh
of incredulity, and two or three of our
college set turned to me with-"What do
you say to that, Jonathan ?"
"Nonsense said l. "I'll put on the
gloves with the biggest fellow among
them, any day"
This somewhat democratic readiness
to spar with private soldier led to re-
marks which | chose to consider insular,
if not insoent, and I replied. supporting
the principle of Yankee equality, until,
losing my temper at something which one
of the ensigns said, delivered myself in
some such fashion as this: "Well, gen.
tlemen, I'm only one Yankee among many
Englishmen, but | will bet hundred
guineas, and put up the money, that l will
tumble one of those mighty warriors out
of his saddle in front of the Horse Guards,
and ride off on his horse before the guard
can turn out and stop me-"
Of course my bet was instantly. taken
by the officers, but my friends w'.re SO
astonished at my rashness that [ found no
hackers. However, nv blood was up,
and, possibly because Evans bitter beer
was buzzing slightly in my head. booked
several more bets at large odds in my own
favor. As the hour was late, we sepa-
range details on the following day. keep
ing the whole affair strictly secret mean
while.
| confess that my feelings were not of
the pleasantest as sat at my late London
breakfast somewhat about noon the next
day, and | was fain to admit to my special
friend that | had put myself in an awk-
ward, if not an unenviable, position
However, ! was in for it, and being nat
urally of an elastic temperament, began
to cast about for a cheerful view of nv
| undertaking. In the course of the day
preliminaries were arranged and reduced
| TO writing with all the care which English
men practice in such affairs Of 'honor >
| only stipulated that should be allowed
to use stout walking stick in my en-
counter; that | should be kept informed
as to the detail for guard that | should
be freely allowed to see the regiment al
drill and in quarters and that l should
select my time of attack within fort
| night, giving few hours notice 10 al
parties concerned, so as to ensure then
presence as witnesses.
Every one who has ever visited Londor
has seen and admired the gigantic horse
men who sit on mighty black steeds, one
on either side of the archway facing
| Whitehall, and who are presumed at once
| to guard the commander-in- chiefs head
quarters and to serve as specimen bricks
of the finest cavalry corps in the world
Splendid fellows they arel None of then
are under six feet high, and many of them
are considerable above that mark. They
wear polished steel corselets and helmets
1 b,1n vS1ri iorh
at the time of which | write their arm:
consisted of a brace of heavy, single
| barreled pistols in holsters, a carbine and
a sabre. The firearms were, under ordi
nary circumstances, not loaded, and tn,
| sabre was held ''carry" in the RICH
hand. This last was the weapon agains
which | must guard, and | accordingly
| placed a travelling cap and coat in tn
hands of discreet tailor, who sewet
steel bands into the crown of one ant
into the shoulders of ether, in such
way as afforded very efficient protection
against a possible downward cut.
Besides ate nding to these detensiv
preparations, | at once looked about 70
a competent horsemen with military ex
perience who could give me some practi
cal hints as to encounters between intantr
and cavalry, and, singularly enough, wa
thrown in with that gallant young office
who rode into Immortality in front of tn
Light Brigade at Balaklava. few year
afterward. | learned that he was super
horseman, was down upon the Englis
system of cavalry training, and was usin
pen and tongue to bring about change
A sudden inspiration led me to take hr
into my confidence, as the terms of on
agreement permitted me to do. He caugl
the idea with enthusi asm. What an argr
ment it would be in favor of his ne,
system if a mere civilian endorsed
Guardsman trained after the old fashion
For a week he drilled me more or les
every day in getting him off his horse i
various ways, and I speedily became
proficient in the art, he meanwhile gair
ing some new ideas on the subject, whc
were duly printed in his well-know
book.
Well, to make my story short, CAV
) notice to interested parties on the tent
day, put on my steel-ribbed cap and m
; armor-plated coat, and with stick in han
walked over to hair-dresser with who
had previously communicated, had m