The tale-telling captain.—The heroic and kind-hearted officer.—The standard-bearer.—Flags.—The royal standard.—Flag of the lord high-admiral.—Flag of the admiral of the fleet.—Colours in the army.—Day signals.—Night signals.—Fog-signals.—Cipher flags and substitutes.—Telegraphs.—Alphabet for field signals.—Description of a sailor on shore.

“We want, uncle, to hear you go on in your account of soldiers and sailors. Now for a good long account.”

“Well, boys, I will do my best, and describe them as they are. British soldiers often run, but very seldom run away; and sailors are more apt to strike at than to strike to their enemies. I remember hearing of a captain, whose stories were 139always too long. I am glad that you do not think so of mine.”

“Who was he? please to tell us who he was?”

“Listen, then, and you shall know all that I know of him. During the American war, a Captain S—— used much to annoy his companions in arms by his unreasonable long stories. Day after day he was continually imposing on them the tax of a long story. Being once present at a court-martial on a soldier, who had a good character, and who had committed a very slight offence, his brother officers thought it a good opportunity to try to correct Captain S—— of his failing. While then they were deliberating on the sentence about to be pronounced, a certain major turned to the president and said, ‘Suppose we sentence him to hear two of Captain S——’s long stories?’”

“Very good! very good! Your stories are not like his, for they are not long enough. That captain might be a kind-hearted man, after all.”

“Very likely; a kind-hearted disposition will show itself in every situation in life; and if soldiers and sailors are called on by the stern duties of their profession to deal death among the enemies of their country, yet may they, when the battle is over, exercise as much humanity as other people. There is room for mercy to walk amid the crowded camp, or on the deck of a battle ship, taking care that no life shall be uselessly and wantonly sacrificed, and no prisoner 140used with inhumanity. I have seen a soldier, who would fearlessly have led the forlorn-hope, weep like a child on hearing of the death of his father; and I have known as rough a sailor as ever took in a reef of the mainsail, sob again, on receiving a letter from his mother.”

“Soldiers and sailors have hearts like other people.”

“I hope so. They are not brought up in a school that will allow them to parade their feelings, but it would be wrong to say, on that account, that they do not possess them. As an old soldier myself, I may be apt to advance too much in their favour. Both in Spain and in India have I met with instances without number, of kindly affections on the part of my companions in arms. Again and again have I, in disastrous circumstances, found in them warm-hearted sympathy, and more than once in a retreat have I shared the last morsel of food of a starving brother officer.”

“That was very kind of them indeed.”

“I will give you one instance of true courage, intrepidity, and kind-heartedness, that deserves to be remembered. A town in Spain, defended by 1500 Carlists, was taken by assault, after two days’ resistance. One house only was still defended by twenty-five men, who had shut themselves up there with the family. For this act of desperate courage the lives of the men, according 141to the terrible right, or rather custom, of war, were forfeited; and a party of soldiers stormed the house, to put them all to the sword. Already was the door forced, when the officer of the attacking party hurried to the portal to prevent a useless loss of life. His own soldiers presented their bayonets to his breast, and threatened to destroy him, but he persisted in his heroic intention until all his men but two were prevailed upon to show mercy. These two persevered: they were Basque volunteers, of the Chapels Gory, who never gave nor received quarter, and they demanded to be permitted to kill two of the men at least. More savage than savages, they persisted in their demand, invoking the sacred name of their Creator in aid of the human sacrifice they were about to offer up! Still undaunted, the resolute and humane officer resisted their cruel intentions. Courage overcame ferocity: the Carlist soldiers, and the old men, women, and children in the house, were saved. For this act of true heroism and philanthropy the officer was immediately made a lieutenant-colonel.”

“That was capital! He deserved to be promoted, that he did. It was a noble action!”

“In a letter, written to him by the general under whom he served, are these words:—‘It is not out of mere form that I mention you, but because I was witness, with extreme pleasure, to 142your courageous and generous conduct. An entire family and several Carlist soldiers owe their lives to the resolute protection you afforded them at the imminent peril of your own.’”

“That action ought never to be forgotten. He was in as much danger of his life as when fighting with the enemy.”

“Such a man as Lieutenant-colonel M——y is not likely to forsake his colours. Soldiers and sailors attach much importance to their colours. A red-coat will die before he will lose his standard, and you would almost as easily persuade a blue-jacket to run his head into a cannon’s mouth as to haul down his colours in the presence of an enemy.”

“What do you mean by colours? Are they flags?”

“They are: sailors hoist them on the masts of their ships, and soldiers carry them at the head of their different regiments. Red-coats will not lose their colours without a struggle; and, as I hinted before, Jack-tars are forward enough in hoisting them up, but very backward in hauling them down. When Admiral Duncan fought the Dutch, a seaman in the midst of the battle nailed the colours to the mast; and at the battle of Waterloo a standard-bearer clasped the colours so fast in death that a sergeant, trying to no purpose to wrench them from him, on the near approach of an enemy, made a violent effort, and, throwing the dead 143corpse, colours and all over his shoulders, carried them off together. The French seeing this, were charmed with the heroism of the action, and hailed it with shouts of applause.”

CARRYING AWAY THE DEAD BODY OF THE STANDARD BEARER.

“What a sight, to see him carrying off the dead soldier with the colours in his hands!”

“Flags in the British navy are hoisted at the heads of the main, fore, and mizen-masts; they are red, white, or blue. When on the main-mast, they are the mark of an admiral; when on the fore-mast, of a vice-admiral; and when on the mizen-mast, of a rear-admiral. The first flag in Great Britain is the Royal Standard.”

“That must be a very grand flag indeed!”

“It is, boys; and it is only hoisted when royalty comes on board, or on very particular occasions. It displays the arms of the united kingdom.
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“The next flag is the Anchor of Hope. This is usually displayed when the lord-high-admiral, or lords-commissioners of the Admiralty are on board.

“And then comes the union Flag; in which the 145crosses of St. George, St. Andrew, and St. Patrick, are blended. This flag is appropriated to the admiral of the fleet, who is the next officer under the lord-high-admiral.

“After the union Flag comes that of the White Squadron, at the main-mast-head, and then the Blue, at the same mast-head. This is the lowest which characterizes an admiral. Among soldiers the colours are very various; and they generally bear some motto, or some allusion to the battles in which the troops have distinguished themselves. Some have a sphinx, to represent service in Egypt; others, an elephant or a tiger, in allusion to service in India. It is a fine sight to see a squadron of ships with their flags flying!”

“It must be; but there is one thing we cannot make out.”

“What is that, boys?”

“It puzzles us to make out how one ship can act in agreement with another, when they are blowing about, or a long way off.”

“Why, they call out to one another; that is the way they manage the affair.”

“Call out to one another?”

“Yes! ships talk with each other as freely as you do with your companions, though you cannot always hear them speak.”

“Why, how can they talk with one another?”

“By signals; which are of three kinds: day-signals, night-signals, and fog-signals. The day-signals 146are made by hoisting flags, jacks, and pendants, and by firing guns. The night-signals are made by firing guns and rockets, and by showing lights and false fires; and fog-signals are made by firing of guns, at quick or slow intervals.”

“Well, this is very curious; but how can the hoisting a flag give any particular information?”

“It would take too long, boys, to explain to you the system of signals, if I fully understood it myself, which I do not; but I will try to make you comprehend that it is very easy for one ship to talk with another. Now, look at this print of different flags, and substitutes for flags, taken from that talented work, the ‘United Service Journal,’ and suppose that they stand for the same numbers as are placed under them.”

“Ay! now we shall know something about it.”

“Read also what is written under, about the cypher-flag and the substitutes.”
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1 Substitute.     2 Substitute.     3 Substitute.

When the cypher-flag is put above another, it adds 10,000.

When the 1st substitute is put under a flag, it stands for the same number as that flag.

When placed above the flag, it adds 11,000.

When the 2nd ............