to the new rifle muskets and carbines with
Minié balls which are good at eight hundred
to one thousand yards. Artillery do not need
carbines carrying beyond three hundred
yards, as their heavy ordnance effectually
keeps the enemy at a respectful distance.

A few hints for the transportation of troops
by rail are drawn from the instructions
issued by the Minister of War in France.
One is to the effect that horses should be
embarked in the train before feeding, and fed
on the journey, which keeps them quieter.
But with regard to the railway, it is found
that when infantry travel by rail the expense
is double that of a march; that of cavalry,
six times; and that of artillery, fifteen times;
for which reasons, as well as on account of
the importance of keeping up the habit of
long marches, the railway is resorted to only
on particular emergencies.

Skill in measuring distances is an
important branch in military education. The
use of instruments, and certain mathematical
rules, must, of course, be learnt; but without
them, distance can be accurately reckoned by
sound. The flash of a gun is seen before the
report is heard; multiply every second of
that interval by three hundred and eighty
yards, every beat of the pulse in health by
three hundred and four yards, and you get
the exact distance of yourself from the gun.
There is "the peak of a cap" method;
which is said to be good for distances
under a hundred yards, on level ground.
Suppose you want to measure the distance
of an inaccessible point, say on the opposite
side of a river, draw your cap over your
eyes, till the peak just meets the point;
then turn smoothly on your heels, keep
your head stiff, and notice when the peak
covers some other point which is accessible.
You can then measure the ground between
yourself and that accessible point, by
pacing. The distance will of course be the
same as that to the inaccessible point. But the
best, or rather the most useful of all calculators,
is the eye itself; which, after repeated trials,
will register distances with great accuracy.
The value of musketry and artillery in action
depends on an officer's judgment in this respect.
His sketch of the field for the use of the general
is executed with the eye, the pocket compass,
and by pacing. An officer on service had
better be without his watch than a compass.
Yet mother-wit is all in all. When
Marlborough was sent on a mission to Charles the
Twelfth, he noticed a pair of compasses lying
on the map, with the legs pointing towards
St. Petersburg, and instantly concluded that
the King's thoughts turned that way, which
was the case. Major-General Arthur
Wellesley coming to a river which his guides
insisted was impassable, was rather puzzled,
his rear being exposed to an overwhelming
force of the enemy's cavalry; but, seeing a
few cottages on its banks, he took what
seemed the desperate resolution of making
for the river, discovered a ford, and won the
battle of Assaye; and all from guessing
that men did not build villages on opposite
sides of a stream without some means of
communication between them.

No soldier should be without useful
hints in the case of wounded or sick men,
when the doctor is not at hand. Fever,
ague, and dysentery, are the diseases
soldiers are most liable to. For ague there
are several common vegetable substitutes, in
the absence of quinine, the king of all: such
as willow bark, orange-leaf water, the root of
the sweet-scented flag, oak bark, gentian,—
to which add catechu and bitters in general
for dysentery or diarrhœa, and holly bark for
ague. The last remedy on the list is a truly
military one—namely, a charge of powder
swallowed in water is a prompt and safe emetic.

Popularly, a regiment is said to consist of
a thousand men; but at present the actual
strength of an infantry regiment is a battalion
of thirteen hundred and thirty-seven men of
all ranks. One-third of this number, or four
companies (each company being composed of
a captain, two subalterns, five sergeants, five
corporals, ninety-five privates), form the depôt
or reserve at home; while the other eight,
amounting to eight hundred and ninety-five
men, are the service companies on duty abroad.
A regiment of cavalry numbers two hundred
and seventy-one horses, or three hundred and
sixty-one horses in the dragoons, and as many
as seven hundred and three in the East Indies.
What is called a division of an army is a
force of from five to ten thousand men, in
command of a general, and made up of two or
three brigades of three or four regiments each
of infantry, two or three gun-batteries of six
pieces each, and a proportion of cavalry. In
reckoning their number, it is customary to
deduct ten per cent sick or disabled; so that
five regiments of say eight hundred each
would represent three thousand six hundred
fighting men actually in the field. A division
in line of battle is posted in two lines, one in
rear of the other, with the cavalry behind,
and a reserve of guns and one or two
regiments behind these, to be kept fresh in
case of need. Some idea of the extent of a
line may be gathered from these numbers: a
regiment of eight hundred stretches two
hundred and fifty yards; a division of three
brigades, seven hundred and thirty-five yards,
allowing for spaces between; and a regiment
of cavalry, four hundred yards. The guns
are posted in front, or at the flanks, at each
end of the line; the right flank and wing
being at your right hand as you face the
enemy, the left flank at your left hand.
Generally, the artillery have the honour to begin
the encounter, supported by the fire of
infantry. When the former have done sufficient
execution, the latter advance with the
bayonet to complete the business; and
when the enemy is disorganised, or in
flight, cavalry follow up the blow and dart off