It was on this occasion that Colonel E. W. D. Bell, of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Welsh, gained the Victoria Cross. This decoration, so coveted and prized, was devised by her whose name it bears in 1856, and was intended to be a reward of valour for all who distinguished themselves, whatever their rank might be. Its value is enhanced by the fact that Victoria confers this Cross with her own hand whenever this is practicable—an honour which cannot fail to be appreciated by the happy recipient. Our readers have a good idea of its form from the initial letter to our first chapter, but a brief description may not be out of place. It is a Maltese cross of bronze, with the royal crest in the centre, beneath which is an escroll bearing the words, “For Valour;” the date of the act of bravery is inscribed on the centre of the reverse, and the name and corps of the recipient are engraved on the bar to which the ribbon is attached. A sprig of laurel is embossed on this bar, which is attached to the cross by the letter V suspended on a red ribbon or a blue one, as he who gains it happens to be a soldier or a sailor. This decoration, however, is not confined to the army and the navy; civilians who have distinguished themselves by their bravery have as good a claim to it as those who belong to the profession of arms, and several of this class nobly earned it during the Indian Mutiny. Every private or non-commissioned officer thus decorated is entitled to a pension of 10_l._ a year; every fresh act of bravery equal to the first procures for him an additional bar and a further pension of 5_l._ There is no danger, therefore, of the wearers of the Victoria Cross being tempted to rest on their laurels; they have an intelligible motive for striving to increase them. Their names are published in the _London Gazette_, along with the record of the deeds of bravery by which they earned the distinction. “A king may make a belted knight, A marquis, duke, and a’ that,” but distinguished bravery alone can make a Victoria Cross man. A marquis or a duke may have attained his rank by means that would not bear too close inspection, but the Victoria Cross invites your inspection; its wearer must always be _sans peur_, if not _sans reproche_. [Illustration: Captain Bell, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, capturing a Russian Gun at the Battle of the Alma.]