Colonel Belford revelled in the discipline of the camp. It brought back to his mind the old days in Flanders when he worked so hard to imbue his men with a strict military spirit, and, with the Master-General by his side, he felt renewed vigour and keenness. The Regiment was attracting greater attention every year; augmentations were continuous. The year before the Byfleet camp was formed, six companies had been added: this year there were three more; and in 1757, four additional companies were to be raised. The King had reviewed the Regiment, and the Duke of Cumberland came to Woolwich every year to inspect and encourage. Who can tell whether the new organization of 1757, which divided the Regiment into Battalions and accelerated the stagnant promotion, did not come from the long days of intercourse at Byfleet between Colonel Belford and the Master-General? The opportunities offered by such a meeting must have been priceless to a man who was so fond of his Regiment. Nothing is so infectious as enthusiasm; and we learn from Colonel Belford's orders and letters that he was an enthusiastic gunner. The early History of the Regiment is marked by the presence in its ranks of men eminent in their own way, and perfectly distinct in character, yet whose talents all worked in the same direction, the welfare of their corps. Who could be more unlike than Borgard and his successor, Colonel Belford? And yet a greater difference is found between the scientific Desaguliers, and the diplomatic and statesmanlike Pattison, the model of a liberal-minded, high-spirited soldier. These four men are the milestones along the road of the Regiment's story from 1716 to 1783. They mark the stages of continuous progress; but there the parallel fails. For they were no stationary emblems. Their whole life was engrossed in their Regiment. To one, discipline was dear; to another, military science; to another, gunnery, and the laboratory; and they drew along with them in the pursuits they loved all those whose privilege it was to serve under them. It was in a small and distinct way a representation of what the Regiment in its present gigantic proportions would be, if the suggestions quoted in the commencement of this volume were heartily adopted by all who belong to it. Out of the faded pages and musty volumes which line the walls of the Regimental Record Office, there seems to come a voice from these grand old masters, "Be worthy of us!" To them, their corps was everything; to its advancement every taste or talent they possessed was devoted. With its increased proportions, there has now come an increased variety of tastes, of learning, and of accomplishments; and the lives of our great predecessors in the corps read like a prayer over the intervening years, beseeching us all to work together for the Regiment's good.