January 15. 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
273 
oi;r meeting together upon this occasion, arise from you 
yourself having risen from a humble station of life to the 
lionourable one j'ou now occupy—of holding a commission 
in Her IMajesty’s service, and of being Adjutant of your 
regiment. (Loud cheers.) I should like it to be known, 
not only as far as this room is concerned, but further still, 
that we first of all knew you as a boy living in this parish, and 
on Fridays attending Chelmsford Market witli your father, 
to dispose of the produce of his soil. (Hear.) We also knew 
you as a lad, who, desiring to know your duty to God and man, 
trudged to Witham for instruction on your leisure days. 
We also knew you as a youth, who, preferring independence, 
made your way to the metropolis, entered a chymical manu¬ 
factory, and afterwards introduced your brother into it; and 
again, when some fourteen years ago you enlisted into Her 
Majesty’s service; and rose, step by step, from the private 
to the regimental sergeant-major; until the 27th Sept., 18-54, 
when you became in rank, what you w'ere previously in con¬ 
duct—a gentleman. (Loud cheers.) Yoix I’eceived Her Ma¬ 
jesty’s commission as cornet, and were made adjutant of 
the 13th Light Dragoons; and last September you were 
promoted to the rank of lieutenant;—let it be known, I say, 
that w'e, of all grades of society—that we, of all pursuits, 
occupations, and employments,—are assembled here to-day 
to congratulate you upon this your meritorious success ; and 
to express our admiration of your conduct as an Englishman 
and a soldier. (Much cheering.) W’'e feel also that you 
have set an example to those who, by the Providence of 
God, are placed among the labouring classes, of what one 
of themselves can effect who prefers labour to idleness ; the 
cultivation of the mind to ignorance; and independence of 
character to servile supineness; and we trust that the youth 
of this neighbourhood will have their minds elevated and 
encouraged by your success. (Loud cheers.) We have 
humbly to thank Almighty God that you have been permitted 
to return to this land ; that though you have been a partaker 
in every cavalry attack in the Crimea, and although you 
W'ere one of those who were engaged in that untoward, but 
yet brilliant charge at Balaklava—(much cheering)—a charge 
in which yoxir horse was shot under you, and you yourself 
hit in more places than one—(hear, hear)—still that you 
have been permitted to return to gladden the eyes of j'our 
aged mother, and to be w’elcomed by your Mends. I should 
feel that I had not completely fulfilled the wish of those 
whose representative I am upon this occasion, if I did not 
add that tins sword and these sovereigns remind one of 
another sword and other riches; and if I did not express a 
hope that you wdll be able to wield that sword so as to be¬ 
come more than conqueror over all your spiritual enemies, 
I and receive by gi-ace those riches which are at God’s right 
hand for evermore, (Applause.) In the name of this 
company, and the subscribers generally, I present j'ou with 
this sword and these purses, w'hich contain 120 sovereigns.” 
(Long continued cheering.) 
Lieutenant Gardner, on rising to reply, was received with 
long-continued cheering, on the subsidence of which he said: 
“ I rise to return thanks for the manner in which these tokens 
of your kind liberality have been presented to me by my 
Lord Rayleigh, and for the enthusiastic reception which you 
have given to me; but I assure you my tongue is unable to 
express the feelings of my heart. (Cheers.) I re-visit my 
native village after an absence of many years, expecting to 
find it inhabited by strangers; but instead of my humble 
name being forgotten, I find myself welcomed and honoured 
in a way which I cannot sufficiently acknowledge. (Cheers.) 
About seventeen years ago I left this parish a poor boy. 
(Hear, hear.) I had the wide world before me, but with¬ 
out any apparent prospect of winning a position in it. I 
entered Her Majesty’s service; rubbed on quietly; and 
passed through every grade up to the rank of sergeant- 
major. (Cheers.) At that time all was peace. A very 
little while after, rniht was ordered to march against might — 
(hear, hear)—and I had the honour of being one in the 
ranks of the former. (Loud cheers.) We marched into the 
enemy’s country, fought him upon his own ground, and I 
had the satisfaction of seeing Might, though backed up by 
all the deadly implements of war, run from Eight on the 
heights of Alma. (Renewed cheering.) We left the Alma 
as soon as we had performed the last sad office of bury¬ 
ing our dead—and a melancholy duty it was to fulfil. From 
thence we marched in (he direction of the notorious Sevas¬ 
topol, thinking of catcliing the Norlhern Rear; but, on 
the route by Mackenzie’s Farm, he turned tail and ran : he 
dared not show his teeth that day. (Cheers.) We next 
marched upon Balaklava, the garrison of wliicli soon sur- j 
rendered^ and left us masters of the whole country south of ' 
Sevastopol. After that we of the cavalry rubbed on pretty 
comfortably, now and then turning out to drive back the 
Cossacks, until the memorable 2.5th of October ; and on that 
day I think you will acknowdedge that Briton’s sons taught 
the Autocrat a lesson. (Hear, hear.) At all events we let 
him know' that it w'as a dangerous experiment to attempt to 
break the British lines. (Hear, hear.) I may be excused 
for saying that the contrast between the cavalry of the two 
services was immense—000 of our heavy Dragoons routed 
0,000 of his chosen troops, and the Light Brigade attacked 
his forces and routed them, though they had thirty or forty 
guns in position. (Loud cheers.) True, our loss was 
great; but I doubt if it was not more than counter balanced 
by the effect it had on the enemy, for they never attempted 
to attack Balaklava again. (“ Hear, hear,” and loud cheers.) 
Our next field w'as Inkermann, and here Britannia, through 
her sons, maintained her reputation, for 8,000 of our 
gallant fellow's stood like a wall (I was an eyewitness of and 
can testify to their valour) against the enemy’s legions 
from half past five in the morning till eight at night, when 
I our gallant allies came up, rushed upon the enemy like 
tigers, and determined the fortune of the da]'. (Cheers.) 
The Czar’s two sons were w'itnesses on that occasion of the 
discomfiture of their ambitious father’s best troops—of what 
he called the flower of his army. (Cheers.) Our loss was 
great there; but nothing at all equal to that of the 
Russians. (Hear, hear.) Certainly there was one very good 
reason—we had not that number to lose—(laughter)—and 
if the whole British force had fallen, it would not have 
reached the total of the Russian loss in that desperate en¬ 
counter. (Hear, hear.) After that winter came on—a 
winter full of events such as I need not enumerate here. 
Doubtless you have all read of them ; and their recollection 
is too painful to me to dwell upon them. (Hear, hear.) 
Since that time the great event of the war has been the 
downfall of Sevastopol—(loud cheers)—and I repeat the 
word “ downfall,” because all that the enemy retains are a 
few forts on the North. Sevastopol proper is ours —(hear, 
hear) —and I doubt if the northern forts w'ill not be ours 
before the spring; and then I hope England may la]' down 
her arms, and rest in peace and quietness for generations to 
come. (Loud cheers.) But should it be otherwise, I 
assure you that the sword you have just entrusted to my 
keeping shall never bring dishonour upon those who have 
so handsomely and kindly conferred it upon me; and God 
grant my life may be spared that I may hand it down to my 
son, and impress upon his mind the circumstances under 
which his father received it. (Cheers.) The contents, too, 
of these purses, I faithfully promise you shall not be 
squandered away, but put to some good account for the 
benefit of my family hereafter. (Hear, bear.) As to the 
purses themselves, I shall put them with the sword; and 
they shall go dow'n together from generation to generation, 
to commemorate the kindness of the ladies of Essex. 
(Loud cheers.) My health will not allow me to say more. 
Again I return you my sincere thanks for the honour you 
have conferred upon me by so magnificent a present. My 
Queen has rewarded me by entrusting me with a commission; 
and I will prove my gratitude by showing that it is in sale 
keeping.” (Much cheering.) 
DISEASES OF APRICOTS. 
Next in order, I will take this most valuable fruit, 
and point to features connected with its insect enemies 
and ailments. 
First, the Red-har Moth, the eggs of which are found 
attached to the principal branches, and may he most 
advantageously hunted out and destroyed about the 
period at which the Apricot buds begin to swell. 1 
may here observe, that from these eggs proceed tliat 
destructive caterpillar which curls the leaves up in 
