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The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, Oct. 27, 1860: Page 8

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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

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1860-10-27, Page 8” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 7 July 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_27101860/page/8/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
STRAY THOUGHTS ON THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF THE FINE ARTS. Article 1
BROTHER WARREN AND THE CRAFT IN TASMANIA. Article 2
CHRISTIAN MORALS. Article 3
ARCHITECTURE AND ARCHÆLOOGY. Article 3
MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. Article 6
Literature. Article 7
NOTES ON LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART. Article 9
THE MASONIC MIRROR. Article 10
METROPOLITAN. Article 10
PROVINCIAL. Article 11
SUSSEX. Article 18
MARK MASONRY. Article 18
ROYAL ARCH. Article 19
Obituary. Article 19
THE WEEK. Article 19
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 20
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

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

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