and 4th Léger, the 15th and 36th (four French regiments which were opposed to the 88th singly), lay thick on the face of the hill, and their numbers gave ample testimony that we deserved the praises bestowed upon us by our General. The 45th also came in for their share of praise, and no battalion ever merited it better than they did;—at one time they were engaged with nearly ten times their own number. It was the fashion with some to think that the 88th were a parcel of wild rattling rascals, ready for a row, but loosely officered. The direct contrary was the fact. Perhaps in the whole British army there was not one regiment so severely drilled. If a man coughed in the ranks, he was punished; if the sling of the firelock, for an instant, left the hollow of the shoulder when it should not, he was punished; and if he moved his knapsack when standing at ease, he was punished—more or less of course, according to the offence. The consequence of this system, exclusively Colonel Wallace’s, was that the men never had the appearance of being fatigued upon a march; and when they halted, you did not see them thrusting their firelocks against their packs to support them. Poor Bob Hardyman of the 45th said the reason the Connaught Rangers carried their packs better than any other regiment was “that they never had anything in them”! and, to speak candidly, we never had more than was necessary, and in truth it was very little that satisfied our fellows. At drill our manœuvres were chiefly confined to line marching, echelon movements, and formation of the square in every possible way; and in all these we excelled. Colonel Wallace was very unlike an old Major who, having once got his battalion _into_ square, totally forgot how to get it _out_ of it. Having tried several ways, each time more effectually clubbing the sections, he thus addressed his officers and soldiers: “Gentlemen! I can clearly discern that there is a _something wanting_, and I strongly recommend you, when you reach your barracks, to peruse Dundas![14]—Men, you may go home,” and he thus dismissed them. ----- Footnote 14: “Dundas” is the famous drill-book of Sir David Dundas, who succeeded the Duke of York as Commander-in-Chief. -----