theirs. But do not misunderstand me. On no account would I ever recommend a young officer to join in any act which is either illegal, immoral, or which may inflict pain either on the mind or body of any human being. In such cases (and they will be very rare), you cannot be too firm and unbending-acquiescence becomes a crime. Gambling is a vice, I am happy to say, not so prevalent as it formerly was, amongst officers of the army. In any game of chance or skill, never allow the stake to be more than the smallest current coin. Winning is no proof of superiority, for we find that the greatest winners are generally the greatest" black-legs," and no money is so much regretted as money lost at play. The gambler is never trusted; and even though he may play fairly and honestly, he is always, suspected. He is always kept in a state of feverish excitement; and, if he has a family, what a selfish cruel heart must he possess, to indulge in a vice which may in a moment plunge his wife and children into irretrievable ruin. A gambler can never expect assistance from his friends, for who will ever assist him, who is determined to ruin himself. Few men there are who, with their money, do not also lose their temper; and with their temper, their judgment and reason. Suicide, either by his own hand or by the hand of his friend, generally ends the career of the gambler. More than onehalf of the duels which take place owe their origin

to the card-table, the billiard-room, or the racecourse. This leads me to make a few remarks on duelling. It was the custom, in the early ages, for whole families to wage war with one another, in consequence of some real or assumed injury; and, to such an extent was this wholesale mode of satisfaction carried on, that it became necessary to establish laws by which such sanguinary disputes should be settled by an individual from each family. The introduction of trial by battle we owe to William the Conqueror; and, even since his time, it has more or less been looked upon as the only honourable mode of repairing an affront or injury, although a more ridiculous and criminal one could never well be devised. Notwithstanding the endeavours of the great and good Sully, minister to Henry IV.,—notwithstanding the extraordinary examples of severity made by Cardinal Richelieu during Louis the XIIth's reign,—or the more extraordinary power M. Olier, a minister of religion, had over the minds of several noblemen in the time of Louis XIV., in prevailing upon them to institute a Court of Honour for the suppression of duelling; at the head of which stood the famous and well-known Marquis de Fenelon ;-notwithstanding all this, duelling has always prevailed to a greater extent, and practised with greater cruelties, in France than in England, simply because the English are a more thinking and less excitable people; but certainly

not because they are less brave or less honourable, but they very properly set a high value on human life. From the year 1700 to 1720, duelling was at its greatest height in England; the numerous tragic scenes handed down to us during that period, we find, had almost all of them their commencement either in the gambling-house, the brothel, the tavern, masquerade, or theatre, and the actors generally thoughtless young men or confirmed roues. In 1721, the progress of duelling received a check, from the conviction of a Major Oneby for murder (this was the first that took place). The Major prevented his execution by committing suicide the night before he was to have suffered. In the Spectator, No. 84, you will find a beautiful paper against duelling by Steele, who, contrary to his inclinations and avowed principles, was unfortunately led into a rencontre with a young brother officer, and in attempting to disarm him ran him through the body. Addison also, in the same work, has written a humorous satire on duelling.

The present age, to its honour, does not brand every man as a coward who has sense and wisdom enough to explain when misconceived, or who freely acknowledges his error when wrong. The duellist is now looked upon rather as a bully than a man of courage. In fact, nothing can be more absurd than the practice of duelling.

If you have acted wrong, your taking away or

attempting to take away the life of the injured person cannot, by the subtlest reasoning, prove you otherwise than wrong; if, on the other hand, you are the injured party, are you not adding crime to crime, first, by mocking God in your daily prayers, in asking forgiveness as you forgive others; and secondly, in committing a direct breach of the commandment, which says, "Thou shalt do no murder." Duelling is a subject which has so often been discussed, that nothing new in favour or in opposition can possibly be brought forward. The question now rests entirely with a man's conscience. Until a Court of Honour, sanctioned and upheld by Government, is established, to take cognizance of all offences between gentlemen, for which the law does not provide, I fear the practice will not entirely be abandoned. A bully should be scouted from society;-but, as you may be placed in that delicate and trying situation, the result of which either brands you as a coward, or finds you unhappily fighting against God, I will give you a few hints how to avoid, in some measure, subjecting yourself to this dilemma. In the first place, never enter on an argument with a man whose temper you know to be easily excited. Do not animadvert too freely in company on the faults or foibles of others. Do not hastily take offence. Young men are too apt to imagine an insult offered, when their statements have been corrected, or their opinions slighted;

or where an expression might by some little ingenuity be tortured into an offence, I have seen would-be-valiant heroes endeavour to make it a pretext for a quarrel, that they might have an opportunity of figuring in a duel,-avoid the society of such. Be very guarded in your expressions, where you have to speak of the conduct of others; and, in all your narrations, whether of men or things, speak nothing but what you firmly believe to be the pure and simple verity. A coward may not be a liar, but a liar is invariably a coward.

If you have, through intemperance, passion, or any other cause, been led to insult another, either by word or deed, do not allow any false pride to prevent you from at once acknowledging your error; and as publicly as you have insulted, so publicly make the reparation; humiliating though it may be for the moment, depend upon it you will rise in the estimation of all your brother officers and in your own. I speak from experience; in an unguarded moment, and under a false impression, I once questioned rather warmly the word of a brother officer at the public mess; I was afterwards convinced by a friend that I was wrong; humiliating and painful as I deemed the offering an apology would be, still I thought it proper, and did it as publicly in the mess-room the same evening; and I not only felt the inward satisfaction arising from doing that which was right, but,

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