1831.] Affairs in General. 85 



God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteous- 

 ness of men,' of every rank, and because ' of such wickedness the land 

 mourneth.' 



" Then fly from the slavery and drudgery of sin : its pleasures are 

 but for a season ; its wages is Death. Look to the Redeemer of men, 

 he can deliver you from your worst oppressors ; and ' if the Son make 

 you free, ye shall be FREE INDEED.' John viii. 36." 



We have no doubt that every profession might furnish a " library" of 

 its own. This is the day of professional recollections, and of libraries. 

 If we have a family library, why not a church library, a law, a medical, 

 an antiquarian, an architectural, and above all, a military and naval ; 

 all those works not being restricted to the mere didastic of the sciences ; 

 but comprehending biographies, anecdotes, curious details of the pro- 

 gress of their respective classes of men and things, &c. " The Military 

 Bijou," by John Shipp, so well known for his original and curious auto- 

 biography, would make an excellent volume in a " soldier's library." 

 Some passages of it are extremely interesting, for those are fragments of 

 the writer's personal experience. And there are sketches of character, and 

 descriptions of things, written with a pleasant quaintness, that reminds 

 us of some of the oddities of Swift. For instance, in the description of 

 an aide-de-camp's duties 



" When carrying orders, let your eye be directed to the very point 

 aimed at. You have nothing to do with the flying shots, if they have 

 nothing to do with you. If you should lose your horse, travel on foot. 

 If you should lose a leg, you must hop on one. If you should lose both, 

 you must try how you can travel on the other extremity. But should 

 you lose your head, you had better stop, for you cannot deliver a verbal 

 message. Should an aide-de-camp have a sealed message, and find his 

 escape from the enemy quite impossible, it is better that he should eat 

 the written command, then that the enemy should digest it. 



" The Blackhole. Lonely as this place is, you may have company, not 

 very select, however, being of the lower grade ; bats, bugs, rats, mice, 

 &c. Then sometimes you have visitors, but some of them certainly not 

 of the most agreeable kind, although frequently of your own making ; 

 the head-ache, the heart-ache, the cramp, gnawing of conscience, the 

 blue devils. There are, with all those evils, benefits the most essential 

 and salutary. It is a fine place for reflection in sound and sober minds. 

 Temperance is taught there ; no excess of liquor, no immoderate use of 

 food, all your meals are on the most studied economy, no superfluities, 

 no second and third courses, no dessert, but one plain, solid, whole- 

 some dish bread ! There is one thing in which there is a superabun- 

 dance, sparkling, pure water. 



" During one of the engagements I was in, with the 87th regiment, 

 the bugler was ordered to sound a retreat. The bugler replied, * I 

 never learnt it, your honour/ ' And why?' said the captain. < Please 

 your honour/ was the answer, ' the boys told me it would be of no 

 use/ 



" An Irish soldier, who was in the Duke of York's retreat from Dun- 

 kirk, being asked how they retreated, replied, ' Sure we did not retreat 

 at all, at all/ f Well,' said the gentleman, ' how did you get to your 

 shipping ?' ' Why, by an eschellon movement, sideways ! ' ' 



Many of the little sketches of weapons, &c. are lively. " Musket. 



