get good bread while they have good teeth to chew it—a meagre ensigncy or lieutenancy, far from being a remuneration, is a calamity to the serjeant, who, in superaddition to other and countless unpleasant circumstances of being thus promoted, finds himself, in the first instance, over head and ears in debt to the paymaster, or to the clothier, who may consent to supply him with the means of purchasing his first appointments.-Here it may be observed, that but very few officers of fortune ever attain the rank of Captain without purchase, and whence is the purchase-money to come?

There are situations, without number, admirably calculated to be filled by deserving serjeants; situations in which they would find themselves perfectly at home, and at their ease; having no etiquette to observe, no ceremonies to perform, no parade-appointments to purchase the barrack, the ordnance, and various other departments, connected with the army, present a most ample field for carrying such a plan, a plan uniting every advantage, into immediate execution there, under the ever-green and grateful shade of well-earned laurels, and in the lap of peace, the country would gild with comfort the horizon of their life, and the path to the grave would be sloped for their passage into an eternity of bliss.

But, alas! how frequently do we see such places occupied by individuals, who have no connexion, immediate, or remote, with His Majesty's service; by men, who have been the "pampered menials" of some opulent villain, of some unprincipled voluptuary, or of some Asiatic plunderer, instead of being the comfortable support and retreat of hoary veterans, who fought, bled, and conquered for the land of their birth, and the sovereign, whom they revere!

Now, Mr. Editor, to conclude, I shall adduce two instances, in the same town, of the most glaring impropriety in the distribution of military places.

In a certain fortress, which I have in my eye, and is situated in one of the northern counties of England, there is an establishment for a store-keeper at a barrack-master. It is very natural to suppose, that both these situations are filled by two respectable veteraps, who for years have been employed in thinning the enemy's ranks. It is, however, no such thing, and the sad reverse is the case --for there are two characters in the unsound borough, to which I allude, both of the same profession, both of the class of individuals

whom the facetious Irish call rabbit-catchers; Englishmen, menmidwives; and the French, accoucheurs, or bringers to bed; now, sir, one of these rabbit-catchers performs, and, as you will conclude, "secundem artem", the duties of store-keeper of the garrison, while his colleague accoucheur adds dignity and lustre to the barrack department, by condescending to become a member of it, for the paltry consideration of 1501. per annum, with all the concomitant drudgery of a sinecure! Proh Pudor! J. N.

Sir,

RECRUITING OFFICERS.

THE situation of young Officers employed on the Recruiting Service, is oftentimes very distressing.

An Ensign, perhaps a boy of sixteen, sent to recruit for his regiment, which, for instance, I will suppose to be at Edinburgh Castle: the Officer is ordered to Bristol, Liverpool, or some other distant populous city,--he is to repair thither at his own expense. If he obtains a recruit, and admitting such recruit to be immediately approved by the Inspecting Field Officer of the District, the Ensign must keep the man with him until he has a safe conveyance to send him to the regiment; should the man desert before that opportunity offers, the Officer is not paid any thing, and very likely his travelling expenses are objected to, it being the custom for those disbursements to be defrayed out of the two guineas which the Recruiting Officer receives, if, when the man joins the regiment, he is approved by the Commanding Officer.

All this is fortuitous, but, supposing, as is often now the case, from the Militia giving enormous bounties, an Officer is for a long period on a station recruiting, and cannot obtain a sufficient number of men to reimburse himself in those expenses-the result is, that it will be suspected" his failure of success on the recruiting service is to be attributed to want of zeal or exertion;" and unless he can procure certificates from the Inspecting Field Officer, that he has been very attentive, and that his failure is not owing to the above, to certify which, places the Field Officer in an unpleasant situation, as it is not to be expected that young men can possess that steady and regular conduct of their elders, which would enable them to be continually on the alert, he loses his travelling expenses,

his postage, which may, from some District Paymaster being arbitrary, amount for pay lists, &c. to four or five pounds per annum, &c. &c.

Every circumstance attending the young Recruiting Officer is painful. He is a solitary being,-has no regular mess,--no lodging money allowed him,--and if in the end he escapes absolute ruin, must inevitably run himself into debt. Surely the Elder Officer should be so employed, and instead of selecting such officers for this service as have done regimental duty for twelve months, or considering that, in case of reduction, the youngest officer of each rank, as belonging to the Recruiting Companies, it would be much more beneficial to the service if no officer was sent to recruit who had not at least served four years with his regiment, and his lodging and travelling expenses should unvariably be paid him.

It would be a great assistance to officers employed in the recruiting service, were a + Depôt established in every Recruiting District, such as at Maidstone, where the recruits, when enlisted and attested, should be kept, and the District Adjutant, who is now of little use, might assist in training them, and from thence, when an opportunity offers, the men might be sent to their respective regiments, under the care of certain Staff Serjeants, which is the practice in some places.

With every wish for the prosperity of the Military Panorama, I am, Sir, your's, &c.

AMICUS.

Liverpool, November 5th, 1812.

An instance of the following nature was mentioned very lately to me. A District Paymaster, whose station was nineteen miles from the Recruiting Officer, instead of sending an orderly Serjeant with the pay lists each month, put the young Recruiting Officer to the expense of from four to five shillings postage at those periods. The Officer complained, but the District Paymaster persevered, and refused even to forward them by the Orderly Serjeant who was sent by the Officer on the Staff, for his accompts, and whose station was at the same place as the Recruiting Officer.

A small Barrack.

BURGOS.

THE following sketch of the town and fortress of Burgos is the best we have seen, and it proves that the obstacles which they present to the progress of an army are considerable.

BURGOS, which long continued to enjoy splendour and pre-eminence, as the capital of Old Castile, the cradle of the Spanish monarchy, has, for the last two centuries, declined from its prosperity, and is now a gloomy irregular town, containing only about 8 or 9000 inhabitants. It is surrounded by walls, and built on a declivity, forming the right bank of the river Arlanzon, over which are thrown three stone bridges, connecting the town with the pleasant suburb of La Beza.On the brow of the adjacent hill stands an ancient castie, which has been repaired and strengthened with works, by the French and beyond this is another small hill, called St. Michael's, whereon a horn-work had been erected, which was carried by storm on the 19th of September. The castle is a lofty square building of solid masonry, and commands the hill of St. Michael's, which, in return, overlooks the outer defences of the former. Adjoining to the castle is a church, which the French have converted into a fort, and both these are included within three distinct lines of circumvallation, the whole forming a fortress of an oblong figure. All these three lines must be successively carried, before the castle can be taken. After getting possession of St. Michael's hill, our engineers directed their approaches on the right, and erected a battery, which commanded the outer line of the works connecting the fortress with the town. This line was escaladed on the night of the 22d, at two points, by a British and Portuguese detachment; the former of whom advanced so far, that on the failure of the Portuguese attack, it was not without great difficulty withdrawn. The Commander of the fortress is said to be a General who has long acted under Caffarelli, and who has doubtless received positive orders to hold out to the last, the importance of the post being strongly felt by both parties. Until it is reduced, the French army may remain safely at Briviesca, a walled city only six leagues distant, and separated from the plain of Burgos by a lofty mountain-at the next stage beyond which, on the road towards France, is the tremendous pass of Pancorbo, securing the approach to the Ebro.

Correspondence from the Theatre of War in the Peninsula.

"SALAMANCA, 31st August, 1812. "I YESTERDAY went over the field of battle, accompanied by an officer who was present at the action. The position the French took up was strong-ground, rising for a mile in their rear. It appears that three divisions of the army maintained all the fighting, and did the business. The fourth division formed the first line, and marching in line charged and drove the enemy from their first positionfollowed them up-forced them from their second position, and took 18 guns. The sixth division, which should have supported this gallant band, slowly advanced in columns; so that the French perceiving the situation of the fourth division, attacked them with much superior numbers, and they were forced to give way. The enemy retook their guns, and then retired on the right, but were closely followed by

the fourth division. The sixth division marching in ordinary time, under a heavy fire, at length deployed at the bottom of a hill, of easy ascent, and then began to fire regular vollies. In consequence, they suffered very severely, for the French, it is well known, will exchange shots with you as much as you please. If after the first volley a charge had been made by the sixth division in support of the fourth, which vigorously charged the enemy, hill after hill, for upwards of half a mile, by the rapidity of the motion the predicament would have been avoided, which the tardy precise movement entailed on the division. Notwithstanding the gallant ardour of the fourth, which pursued the enemy at all points, their loss was nothing in comparison to the sixth, who were tactically exposed to a destructive fire.

The Heavy and German Cavalry are every where praised. The Germans are very fine troops, and have proved themselves such in every instance. We want very much the Hussar Brigade, under their most able, gallant, active leader, the Earl of Uxbridge. I think it would be a good plan if a Squadron of Dragoons was attached to every Brigade fighting in an open country. Three times the fourth division charged and drove in the French columns, when there was not a horseman near to follow them up. The fierce attack of the German cavalry under Major-General the Baron de Bock, astonished the enemy: it appears they charged a column of French up a hill, routed them, charged another with the same effect, and a third threw down their arms. It was a victory, and might have been cheaply won, had some of our Generals seasonably supported our noble Chief. All speak of the artillery with admiration. The French certainly fire quicker, but the British with most

success.

There certainly never was seen finer ground for a battle: the heights rising gradually one over another, gave the French many advantages; but whether their General, not expecting to fight, had not primed his men with brandy, (which previous to an attack they always do) or they were panic struck at the boldness of the operation, they did not fight with any degree of courage, but fired, ran away, and many seemed glad to be taken prisoners. Their two leaders being disabled, probably put them into confusion; however, let the cause be what it might, they certainly made but a weak opposition.-At this time the ground exhibits a curious spectacle the farmers manuring it for cultivation, although strewed with balfburnt bodies, caps, knapsacks, and shot.-The attack extended to some leagues, which you can trace by dead bodies of men and horses.-The battle was fought within sight of this city, and lasted from three o'clock until ten.

A very high-spirited lad, a Lieutenant in the —— dragoons, furnished me with the following description of his first rencontre in a charge at the French Dragoons. I shall give you his own words.—" My Dear Sir, I was ordered to charge with my half squadron, and placing myself in front of the centre, gave the word of command. I immediately shut my eyes, dashed in among the ill-looking dogs, and cut away as hard as I could. I was heartily glad to find they ran away, and we pursued them with great ardor, which I found agreeable enough; and the next time I will try to look at them."-This gallant lad had only joined the day before, and I am not surprised that he felt in the manner he expresses himself: but there was a proper spirit evinced, opposed as he was singly, being some yards in the front of his men, to a body of French cavalry, whose size and aspect might have appalled a stonter man. His mode of relating the matter of fact does infinite credit to his understand ing, and when we consider this was a very delicate slight lad of seventeen, we cannot. avoid admiring his conduct,