Captain S—— turned the scowl of his dark grey eyes upon him, wherein the disappointment of baffled revenge and rage was distinctly visible: but the subaltern bore the look intended for his annihilation with the utmost indifference—there even seemed to be a smile of contempt playing on his countenance. Captain S—— then proceeded to bring forward evidence to prove Henry’s connection with the crime for which the prisoners were tried—principally for the purpose of proving that he had confessed his guilt; and, according to the president’s opinion, this evidence was perfectly conclusive. The officer already mentioned, seeing that Henry was nearly sinking under the influence of his feelings, said, ‘Don’t be afraid, my man, justice will be done you—I believe you to be innocent—at least I have heard nothing yet to induce me to think otherwise; take time, collect yourself, and if you have any questions to ask the evidence, or any witnesses to call in your defence, to disprove what has been stated, speak out fearlessly.’ Encouraged by the officer’s kind and manly conduct, and with his assistance, Henry cross-questioned the evidence, and brought forward witnesses that not only disproved all that had been stated against him, but fixed a suspicion on the minds of those present, that the president had not only confined him without cause, but had suborned witnesses for the purpose of bringing him to punishment. Captain S—— seeing that his designs were frustrated, sullenly gave up the point, and poor Henry was acquitted: but had it not been for the independent character of the officer above mentioned, he might not have escaped punishment. Courts-martial were at that time much too frequent to expect that justice would be always administered impartially by them; and I am sorry to say it was too often evident that individual pique influenced the decisions. In some regiments, indeed, courts-martial were resorted to merely to give a colour to the proceedings of the officer commanding, whose wishes were oftener consulted than the ends of justice. This was not remedied by what are called company courts-martial, where the individual was tried by his peers; for I remember in one case, where I was president, the point in agitation among the members was not, ‘what punishment was adequate to the crime?’ but ‘what punishment would please the commanding officer?’ and I had some difficulty in convincing them that the former was the point they had to determine. The _surveillance_, established by the commander-in-chief over courts-martial, was a wise measure, and has altered matters very much. Indeed, too much praise cannot be bestowed on His Royal Highness, for the humane and effective policy which has been gradually introduced into the army: the situation of the soldier at present is very different from what it was twenty years ago. From the specimen Henry had got of Captain S——’s disposition, he thought it the wisest plan to get transferred from his company, which he