universal use. When prepared, it is like fine hay chopped small; it is put into a cocoa nutshell, mounted as they are seen in England for holding sugar, with a cover to it. Hot water is poured on the herb, like making tea; a small silver pipe is introduced, something like a cigar-tube, and through this the ladies draw the infusion, and have it generally very hot. Whether owing to the heat, or something in the herb itself, it has a bad effect on the teeth; and as it is always imbibed in the middle of the mouth, the front teeth soon lose their colour-no slight blemish in the picture.

Having no subjects of conversation, there is not much of instruction or amusement in it; but certainly they speak out now and then pretty plainly, and I have heard a few phrases from these fair dames that would make any English woman blush to hear repeated. Independent of ideas of delicacy, I have been startled at hearing things bordering on cruelty. An old lady, with whom I was on terms of intimacy, talked to me often of our invasion, which she spoke of in terms not very feminine. She said "she forgave all of us, who were merely the instruments of others, but, old as she was, and a woman, she would have the greatest delight in driving a dagger into the heart of that avaricious merchant, Popham!" Indeed I found that name in exceedingly bad odour among all classes.

For the fulfilment of the capitulation there were certain hostages to be held on either side; and on ours the officers were chosen before leaving Buenos Ayres. One of them, an honest North Briton, declared he would much rather go with his regiment than be left as an oastrich. Another was a fine strapping handsome fellow, but no great critic in the Spanish lingo. When he arrived at the castle, his appearance drew the attention of a groupe of Spaniards; one of them, who was close to him, said to another, "Hombre hermozo é fuertè." "You lie!" he

exclaimed, "I was only five-and-thirty my last birth-day."

When all these preliminaries were adjusted we again got into our floating homes, and were soon at Monte Video, where we found General Gower busy with a new set of rules and regulations: the transports were no longer denominated such, but floating barracks." Round these the orderly-officers were to make their visits, and report, as if on shore. From this new species of drill I escaped, by having leave of absence; and left the river in a pampero (gale from the S.W.) with the first division that sailed.

I have spoken in another paper of the defects of the transport service, and we had here a melancholy example. A large ship (the Alexander) had been made an hospital of, and a great many of the wounded from Buenos Ayres were on board. She was known to be leaky: but it was hoped we should reach England before the winter storms, as we sailed in August. Our voyage, however, was protracted much beyond the expected time, so that we did not cross the equator until the 20th of September. After passing the tropic, the north-east wind increased until it became a gale, and continued to blow for many days with undiminished violence; the leak increasing in this unfortunate ship, she could not carry sail, and soon fell astern; the following morning those on board could see nothing of the fleet, and their case appeared to be all but desperate. The greatest part of those on board were wounded and helpless, so that there was small addition to the power at the pumps,

and the leak went on rapidly increasing. Besides about three hundred wounded men, there were several soldiers' widows and children on board; Mr. Chambers, principal staff-surgeon, and three others, whose names I do not recollect; an agent of transports; and in the cabin the Adjutant of the 87th, his wife, and grown-up daughter; a Mrs. Johnson, widow of an officer killed at Buenos Ayres, with six children, and I think two other widow ladies.

The water soon reached the orlop deck; when the agent, the master, and four hands got off in the jolly-boat, with some bread and water; they did not, however, leave the ship, but remained to give orders as well as they could. The launch was cleared away, but in lowering her overboard, a pole was stove in her side, and before she could be got into the water she was filled by a rush of men: they had only the rations of that day, that had been brought up for general use, and but a small portion of water; in this state, and with only a couple of oars, they cut away from the ship's side. The lower-deck had already been blown up, when the first mate, seeing the critical state of affairs, leaped into one of the quarter-boats to endeavour to save the ladies in the cabin; but just when in the act of clearing her of the davits, the ship gave a heavy lurch, and went down head foremost, drawing this boat into the abyss after her.

The fate of the poor lady, with her six children, was peculiar. Her husband, Lieutenant Johnson, of the 36th, had been gazetted to a company at home, before we left Monte Video, but he thought his honour bound him to accompany the 36th to Buenos Ayres, where he was killed; and the melancholy fate of his wife and children I have just related.

The agent, Mr. Fairweather (a curious name for the occasion), with the master, in the jolly-boat, were picked up some days afterwards by an American; the master died of exhaustion on reaching the deck: the agent and four men survived.

The fate of the crowded launch was almost as dreadful as that described in Don Juan; and they were soon driven to the alternative of eating the bodies who fell soonest from fatigue. When the boat was picked up, about ten days afterwards, there were only nine alive in her, two of whom were a woman and her infant child, who had suffered less than the rest.

I regretted, among the other losses, that of my friend the Scotch corporal, who gave the quietus to the Spaniards, and furnished me with the boots, But I have still a hope that he was one of the seven survivors, being an active fellow. He was on board as an orderly, and supposing he gained the boat, he was a sort of subject not very easy to kill.

What are called white squalls, are common in the Mediterranean, where I once saw every windmill in the island of Gozo dismasted in an instant: but the pleasure of seeing the effects of one at sea was reserved for this voyage.

We had arrived in the 32° N. lat., the frigate I was on board having in tow a large transport, that had all her possible sail set: it was blowing a gentle breeze on the larboard quarter, and fine weather. When looking out on the larboard beam, directly under the declining sun, and about four or five miles, apparently, distant, the sea appeared all bubbling up like boiling water, and covered with a yellow sort of haze re

The moment the officer on

sembling the smoke from burning straw. watch saw it all hands were called up, the men on deck sent aloft, and the tow cast off. We had not, fortunately, any studding sails set; the men at once saw the emergency of the case, and exerted themselves right manfully in getting in sail. The fore and main-sail were clued up, the topgallant-sails handed, and the yards lowered on deck; but there was only time to lower the three top-sails on the caps before the squall caught us. The helm had been put hard a-port, and therefore the wind took us rather on the quarter, but it made us lay over almost on our beam ends. The mizen-top-sail, although lowered, as I said, flew into ribands; the other top-sails resisted, but the fore-top-sail yard broke like a bit of reed. The instant of this tornado reaching us was very fine. The wonderful rush of wind, accompanied by a single flash of lightning, and a deluge of water, although we had seen no cloud-it might have been sea water, but at that moment we were not curious to taste it. The whole thing was over in less than five minutes, when the day resumed its former serenity. The ship we had in tow having good warning, got nearly before the wind, but all her sails were blown out of the bolt-ropes as if they had been brown paper, making it evident that a suit of worn-out sails are now-and-then of service. All the other ships suffered more or less: had it occurred in the night the affair might have been very serious.

We had afterwards a fine rattling south-wester, that brought us to Spithead, having been thirteen weeks on the blue waters—a spell long enough to satisfy any one, who is not a downright epicure.

Corps that served in South America.-Royal artillery, about 300; a squadron of the 6th dragoon guards; 5 troops, 24 squadrons of the 20th light dragoons; 1 squadron of the 21st do. do. ; 9th regiment of light dragoons; 17th do. do.

Infantry.-5th regiment, 36th do., 38th do., 40th do., 45th do., 47th do., 54th, (a detachment, with an officer of the 2nd, attached to the 38th regiment,) 71st regiment, 87th do., 88th do.; 3 companies rifle corps; detachment East India Company's service, from St. Helena.

Generals Whitelock, Gower, Beresford, Achmuty, Lumley, Robert Craufurd, Colonel Browne-staff.

[The following traits, related by a party in the foregoing expedition, are subjoined, as being of contemporaneous occurrence and interest.ED.]

In the year 1805, the regiment I belonged to (the 71st) formed part of the expedition for the reduction of the Cape of Good Hope: we landed there in January, 1806. The day on which we landed, Captain F., of the 24th regiment, also on the same service, came to me, and desired I would go round with him to visit the different officers of my regiment, with all of whom he was well acquainted, and we were very intimate friends. We went round together, and he bid good-bye to all the officers, probably, though I did not remark it at the time, (that I remember) with more than his usual solemn manner. When we got back to my post-"Now L.-," said he, "my hardest task is to take leave of you." I replied, "We shall beat the Mynheers to-morrow, and then we will have a jolly day in Cape Town." "No," said he,-" I shall die to-morrow.' On the next morning, almost as soon as the action com

menced, I heard he was shot through the neck by a burgher, and killed on the spot.

Shortly after the 71st was ordered to Buenos Ayres, and the ship that I was on board of, a transport, having rolled away her masts, was separated from the fleet. While we were making the best of our way to South America, some of my brother officers were lamenting our situation, and regretting that we should be too late to share in the conquest. I replied," You need be under no apprehensions, you will be time enough,' for I shall lose my leg there." I said this, fully assured in my own mind that it would be so; but, if you ask me from whence that assurance arose, I am unable to answer. Some days afterwards the Surgeon said his instruments had contracted a little rust, and asked me who could best put them in order. To which I replied-as they would first be used upon me, I was the best person to get it done, and gave them to a man of my company to do. The Assistant-Surgeon was a friend of mine, and I prevailed on him to teach me how to apply the tourni-" quet to my leg. I selected one with great care, and by its application (humanly speaking) I saved my life-without it I should have bled to death. We landed next evening at Pointa de Quilmes, under the village of Reduction. My brother officers appointed me prize agent, when I begged another officer might be nominated, as I was assured I should not be able to act.

The next morning, when the drums beat to arms, I saw the surgeon, ran to him and said,-" Look out for me, I shall be the first that falls." The third shot the enemy fired from the first gun they opened, struck me on the calf of the leg, and nearly took it off-as I lay on the ground I successfully applied the tourniquet. I had been speaking to Colonel P., as we were advancing, who was just about to order my company to the front as sharpshooters, when the first shot was fired the second took away the musket of the man on my right, (i.e.) the left hand man of the company on my right, passing between his head and mine-the third struck me. I saw it coming all the way from the gun, a Spanish six-pounder, about six or seven hundred yards distant, but I think not so much. So accurately did I see it, that my covering serjeant called out "Stoop." I said "Stand up, it is coming low." I asked myself, when on the ground, why I did not attempt, by stepping right or left, to avoid it; but I could never give any reason. I state these things to show that it was not a transient thought I uttered at random, but that it took root in my mind, and governed my conduct.

The day that I quitted Buenos Ayres (11th August), as I was going out of the fort on crutches, to embark, Captain K., Royal Engineers, overtook me, and said—“ L., you remember telling me you should lose your leg,-now, observe, I have not half-an-hour to live; take my writing desk with you, it contains such and such things: if ever you reach England, you will see my father; tell him so and so, &c. &c." I had to hobble half round the fort to embark, and before I got to the bank of the river, in about, I suppose, twenty minutes, they called to me over the ramparts-" K. is just killed."

U. S. JOURN. No. 97, Dec. 1836.

2 L

ON THE INTERNAL ECONOMY AND SERVICES OF THE WEST INDIA REGIMENTS,

IN August, 1833, an article was published in the United Service, Journal "On the Utility and Economy of the West India Regiments." Since then, the excellent articles of Dr. Ferguson on the health of our troops in the West Indies, and other connected subjects, have thrown an additional light on the use of the West India Regiments, and strengthened the views we offered in the paper alluded to.

Few military men will dispute that we have West India regiments,the Army-List vouches for the authenticity of this fact; but, having admitted thus far, they have granted all the information they possess of these corps. However, the recent augmentation of the 1st West India Regiment to the strength of a second battalion affords tolerably fair grounds for supposing that this branch of the service is found useful in its vocation, and will warrant my attempting to throw a little light on a dark portion of our Army by giving a brief and concise sketch of the materials of the West India regiments, and the nature of the services per-, formed by them.

A depôt company, nominally consisting of 1 Captain, 2 Lieutenants, and 16 non-commissioned officers, is stationed at Sierra Leone to recruit for the West India regiments, and the regulations furnished to the officer in charge of the depôt are as follows:

"1. Young, healthy, and well-formed Africans only are to be enlisted, whose fitness for service is to be certified by a military medical officer.

"2. No man is to be enlisted below the standard of 5 feet 4 inches, or above twenty-five years of age; and the provisions of the Mutiny Act are to be adhered to in the enlistment and attestation of recruits," When a sufficient number of recruits is collected, a transport is taken up by Government, and they are sent to the head-quarters of their respective regiments.

Fancy a draught of 300 or 400 savages, a great number of them of different tribes and nations, who, attracted either by a vagabond disposition, or enticed by a brilliant uniform, have flocked from all quarters of Africa to enlist as King's men, all totally unacquainted with the English language, children of nature, and accustomed to live by plunder and the chase,-fancy such men to be instructed in the complicated exercise of the Army, to be disciplined into obedient and attentive soldiers, to learn the difference of mine and thine,-and a faint idea can be formed of the prejudices to be eradicated, the difficulties conquered, and the patience required, to render such materials efficient in their vocations, worthy of being intrusted with British arms and of wearing a British uniform.

The first measure adopted is to select well-conducted and steady old soldiers as comrades, or what they call godfathers, for the recruits. The former instruct the latter, as far as they are able, in the various ways of civilized life, and impress upon them the necessity of obedience and attention to the new duties required of them. The recruits are then told off into squads, and placed under experienced non-commissioned