_Esprit de corps_ is the keystone of the discipline of the British army, and the regimental colours are the living symbol of that _esprit de corps_. It is to their colours that men look as the emblems of their regimental history, and on those colours are--or should be--emblazoned the names of all historic battles in which the regiment has been engaged. A soldier knows--or ought to know--the history of his own regiment, but the moment arrives when his curiosity is piqued, and he wishes to learn something about a corps which has fought side by side with his own. Perchance curiosity may be excited as to the reason why Copenhagen appears on the appointments of the Rifle Brigade, and Arabia on the colours of the York and Lancaster; or how it comes about that Dominica is alone borne by the Cornwalls and Pondicherry by the Dublin Fusiliers. I have made no attempt to deal exhaustively with the subject; that would be beyond my powers and would open up too wide a field. I have therefore touched but lightly on those campaigns, such as the Peninsular and Waterloo, which are familiar to everyone in the least conversant with the history of his country, and have dwelt in more detail with those wars which are less well known. Memories are short. Already the South African War has been effaced by that titanic struggle between Russia and Japan. How, then, can the ordinary man be expected to carry in his mind even the rough outline of the Defence of Chitral, an episode which rivals Arcot in the heroism of its few defenders, or of Mangalore and Corygaum, which were in no way inferior in point of steadfast gallantry. When I read of the efforts made to insure the regular supply of jam during the South African War, my mind turns to Chitral, where the daily ration for six long weeks was one pound of flour a day, rice and meat being issued only on the doctors' orders, the one antiseptic available being carbolic tooth-powder! Or I think of Mangalore, which capitulated after Campbell had cut up his last horse and served out his last ration of flour. Yet I know that the men who defended Mangalore were in no way the superior of those who "muddled through" in South Africa, and that these were in no way inferior to the men who drove the French out of Spain. There were complaints of the stamp of recruits two centuries ago, as there are to-day. "The men you send me," wrote Grey from Martinique, "are not fit to bear arms." "I know not which are worse, officers or men," wrote Moore. "Send me men, not boys," wrote Sir Colin Campbell from India. Yet the boys who were not fit to bear arms captured the West Indies from the French; the worthless officers and men traversed Spain and held Napoleon's veterans in check at Corunna while their leader lay dying; and the boys in Sir Colin's regiments helped to restore peace in India.