Literature.

education , and a paper of Colonel Tevis describing tactics in the field ( which arc no more French than English ) . With a dozen pages describing a visit to 31 . Mim ' c , these constitute the whole contents of the book . Of the cavalry , artillery , troops of the line , or engineers of the French army wo do not meet ivith a word , and as these constitute rather an important portion of that army , wo submit that the French

Under Arms is a misnomer , as applied to Mr . Jerrold ' s production . To complete a survey of the French as a military nation , it would bo necessary also to glance at the National Guard and gendarmerie , both of which contingents are , wc believe , under the control of the Minister of AVar . Mr . Jerrold visited M . Minio at his workshop iu the castle of Vmcennes , and in his first chapter describes this

celebrated inventor as an enthusiast in the art of destruction , but an affable and agreeable old gentleman , who was exceedingly communicative as to himself and the revolution which he had effected in tho modern science of war . All that he had done , he told his visitors , ivas for the good of his country , and he had refused most tempting offers from would be patentees , agents of foreign governments , and other

seducers . He ivas nearly crushed by Louis Philippe ' s government , who considered he ivas neglecting his military duties to study rifle making , but met a substantial patron in Louis Napoleon , who at once adopted his inventions and armed his Imperial Guard with the Minio rifie . Louis Napoleon , ivho ive know has always had a hankering for gunnery , found a congenial spirit in Minic , ivho boasts of

his breakfasts with the Emperor , and of such sound appreciation as is shown by a present of 20 , 000 francs in return for a new rifle which Minie had submitted to him . Tho chapter on French foreign legions which follows is as dry a specimen of compilation as the art of book-making could produce . It is succeeded by d'Aumale ' s sketch of the Zouaves , which contains many points of interest , and is the most readable part of tho book . Making allowance for ! French bombast and exaggeration , deducting a considerable

part of the gloire and the sentiment , and looking at the African demigods of the author merely as able officers , who have received rapid and merited promotion , wc are really able to form a correct idea of the circumstances attending the formation of this remarkable force , of its peculiar value , and of its morale , the latter by the bye not being of the very highest standard . Tho corps ivas founded bGeneral

y Clausel iu 1830 , in Algcira , and . was intended to bo formed of native Arab infantry and cavalry , deriving their name from the Arabia Zouaoua . a tribe famous for courage . Tho experiment of an entirely native force under French officers was not successful , and it was found impossible to preserve discipline . Volunteers from Paris and many foreign recruits were therefore added , and the mass became efficient .

Our author does not tell us that these African regiments were used as a kind of penal depot to which were banished the memvais sujets from every regiment in the French army ; that their discipline was necessarily of iron severity ; and that the men were as reckless of life as their officers were of exposing them to the utmost danger on the most trivial and unnecessary grounds . It is service ivith such troops and in

such campaigns which lias formed the officers in whom the ruler of France puts his firmest trust—men as daring as unscrupulous , upon whom he can rely to execute his behests . ( as long as their own interests arc studied ) , regardless of the appeals of so-called patriotism or humanity . St . Arnaud , Changarnier , Lamorieiere , Lefio . Cavaignac , Pelissier aud Caurobcrt , all graduated in ' this school ; Cavai

gnac and Changarnier aro thought to have flown at as high game as the eagle himself ; St . Arnaud did his master ' s work on the memorable December days ; the rest and many fellow-pupils remain a reserve for the exi gencies of France —or at least of its master . From the Suiirciiirs d ' v . n Zouave decant Sebastopol , a Ion" - extract is introduced from ivhieh ive cull a passage descri ptive of the spirit which animates these semi-civilized troopers . The Zouave speaker is a trumptcr of Zouaves , describing a retreat before a superior Russian force : —

We executed this numcouvre , hut without tailing ( li ght ; . step I nstep ; firing always upon this living wall , which continued to advance . We to . ik care not to sound tlie retreat : had not General Bosijiiet told me and my comrade , l- ' ritcher , 'Sound any tiling YOU

please except the retreat ? ' The battalion that had remained in the trenches supported us , then advanced beyond tho parallel , followed by a hattalion of infantry ; then by another : then by a french brigade ; then by an English brigade . A great light was about to take place . Two or three bounds brought us up to the Russians , who still advanced . The shock is imminent , and the Gth and 7 th companies , which have kept their position at the head of the column , will fall upon the enemy at the point of the bayonet ,

when I and my comrade , 1 ' ritcher , sound the charge . Our elbows touching one another , and the lips ready , wo wait the order , drawing- a long breath in advance . At last the order is given : I sound the charge , and my comrade , Fritcher , continues it . I want to go on , when , suddenly , I receive a violent blow upon my left shoulder that makes me spin round and fall . It must be a ball , by the sharpness and depth of the pain . The companies pass—the battalions pass—the brigades pass—and I remain there , upon the

ground , stunned for the moment , Presently I rise furiouslyforget my pain—and listen . I can hear , amid the rattle of musketry and the clamour of battle , the notes of my comrade Fritcher . My first idea is to reply to him , by sounding another charge for those who remain behind . Impossible 1 In my fall I have choked np my instrument . I look for my pin—it is gone 1 I have left it in the camp . AVell , my knife ! ' Comrades , comrades 1 ' I cried to the soldiers still pressing forward' a knife 1 ' hut they

, all ran past without noticing me , in their impatience to join the combatants . Still a longing to sound the charge once more possessed me , and I tried to suck the earth away . At last , however ,, when I saw myself quite alone , I began to think that I should be very stupid to trumpet when all our people were engaged , for it would draw upon me the fire of the Kussian scouts who were

prowling about the neighbourhood , and make me lose my life to no purpose . A minuto or two afterwards I felt something that was warm at first , and then cold , trickliug down my breast . I slipped my hand under my waistcoat , and withdrew it wet all over ; the darkness prevented me from seeing , but I knew by the smell that it was blood . This struck my legs from , under me , and I sank to the earth . 'Help , comrades ! ' 1 cried , in a faint voice : 'help , Zouaves ! ' but alreadthere was nothing within hearing . The

y brigades were moving further and further away , repulsing the sortie of the Russians , and 1 could hope for help only at the end of the combat , or , perhaps , of the night . I suppose my blood ceased soon to flow , for I felt my strength returning to me . You will perhaps think , gentleman , that I gave myself to lamentation , seeing myself wounded , and beyond the reach of help . Not a bit of it On the contraryI kept repeating the hono lesefour ' All right' o !

, , Africa , and taking the road which our companions had taken in issuing beyond the parallel , I tried to make the best of my way to the ambulance in the trenches . ' Jes bono besef—our African slang—these were the words that came from my lips when the horn fell from them . "Thanks , gentlemen of Russia ; yon may send me on my convalescent , trip ; thanks to your cylindrical bail , I shall return to my native place , my old mother , and my friends . Bono

lesef \ ' Nobody had seen me , or , at least , nobody had appeared to pay me any attention when I fell , except the sub-lieutenant of the company , who , feeling the point of my sword-bayonet scratch his thigh , feared that he might rip his trousers . But when he was assured that his trousers had not suffered , he began to laugh his loudest to hear me cry ' Bono hesef , ' and then he disappeared amid the whirlwind of the fight . The next day I saw him carried upon a hurdle into the operating tent of the third division . He ivas not laughing then , while I was smoking my pipe 1 "

11 ns quotation fairly describes the cat-like courage of the French soldier and his selfish disregard for all but himself Admire the officer whose concern is only for the safety of his breeches , and who feels relieved to find that it is his comrade and not his garment that is damaged . AVe should be sorry to think that such hcartlcssnoss existed among the members of an . English regiment—it would be dearly

bought if it brought with it three times as much clan and agility as is claimed by the most crack corps in the French army . The facetious manner iu ivhieh the Zouave or Chasseur pillages and desfci' 03-s wherever the fortune of war takes him , however amusing to Parisian readers , is not likely to find admirers among Englishmen , or , wc hope , English officers . Tho contrast between the two armies in

this respect is by no means a now one ( it was marked throughout the Peninsular war ) , when every Frenchman , from King Joseph and Afarshal Sonlfc down to the humblest drummer , laid their hands upon all that was not too hot or too heavy too carry oil '; while , on the other hand , AVclh ' ngton and his " officers did not spare the provost marshal for tlie sli ghtest pilfering . According to the latest accounts from China , the same marked contrast is seen in