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CRITICAL NOTICES.

LETTERS AND JOURNALS OF FIELD-MARSHAL SIR WILLIAM MAYNARD GOMM, K.C.B., FROM 1799 TO THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO. Edited by Francis Culling Carr-Gomm, Madras Civil Service. London: John Murray.

Field-Marshal Sir William Maynard Gomm, K.C.B., is a name with which a generation now rapidly passing away was familiar in its youth. As Picton's Quartermaster-General at Waterloo, as Governor of the Mauritius, as Commander-in-Chief in India, and as Constable of the Tower, Sir William had for sixty years been prominently before the public; but, strange to say, those sixty years constituted, if not the least important, certainly the most uneventful and unromantic portion of his life.

Sir William, when only ten years old, received an ensigncy in the 9th Foot, and in 1799, at the still early age of fifteen, we find him engaged with the French in the sanguinary battle of Bengen, in Holland

an engagement of thirteen hours' duration, in which his regiment suffered severely, and in which he received his first wound. From this time until the termination of the war in 1815, there was no military operation in Europe of any importance in which a British army was employed in which young Gomm was not engaged, and none out of which he did not emerge with a steadily ascending reputation. We find him engaged at Rolia, at Vimeria, all through Sir John Moore's campaign in the North of Spain, including the battle of Corruna; and with the exception of Talavera, he was actively employed under the Great Duke in all the engagements and sieges which resulted in the expulsion of the French from the Peninsula, and their final defeat at Toulouse. We next find

him employed as Picton's Quartermaster-General at Waterloo, where he did good service, and where he and two of his horses were wounded. This terminated his active career in the field, but not his usefulness to the State. As Governor of the Mauritius, as Commander-in-Chief in India, as Constable of the Tower, and in all the relations of life, whether in his public or private capacity, there were but few more popular men than the late Sir William Gomm. It will still be within the recollection of some that in 1848, when still Governor of the Mauritius, he was nominated to the chief command of the army in India in succession to Lord Gough, but that in consequence of the panic created in England by the battle of Chillian wallah, Sir Charles Napier was suddenly sent out as Lord Gough's successor. Great, however, as was this disappointment to Sir William, he had the magnanimity at once to admit that the Cabinet had acted rightly-that his supersession was demanded by unforseen and emergent state requirements.

Sir William Gomm's life and letters might be accepted as models of what, in all the relations of life, a high-bred, a thoroughly accomplished and kindhearted gentleman ought to be. There is a charm about his letters which insensibly carries the reader along. They exhibit not only an elegance of style, but supply evidence of a modesty and kindliness of disposition which, whatever may be said to the contrary, were distinguishing characteristics of most of the gentlemen who officered the army in the early part of this century.

We congratulate Mr. Carr-Gomm on the result of his labours. He has succeeded in producing a book which should, in our estimation, be found not only in every military mess but in every military club-a book which every military student would do well to read.

MY REASONS FOR LEAVING THE BRITISH ARMY. By Lieut.-General Stannus, C.B. London: Ridgway. A brochure by Lieutenant-General Stannus, C.B., which cannot fail to create quite a sensation in military

circles, has just issued from the press. To say that the book is novel in its treatment of a subject which must interest most of our readers, but especially most military officers, would but faintly express our appreciation of its attractions. In raciness of style, causticity of humour, and hard, well-planted hitting, it is in our estimation not exceeded in force or keenness by the best or worst satire that ever emanated from the pen of either Swift or Sydney Smith. The General, as his readers cannot fail to perceive, possesses literary ability of a superior order, and he wields his powers with all the force and adroitness of an accomplished literary gladiator. For years it was no secret to his friends that he possessed a graceful, a facile, and an amusing pen, but latterly an acute sense of wrong and of cavalier treatment would appear not only to have altered his very nature, but to have saturated his pen with gall. The result is that on the authors or supposed authors of his misfortunes, real or imaginary, he lays it on heavily.

Whilst the General does not fail to do justice to the good nature, the kindliness of disposition, and the good intentions of the Duke, or to the courtesy which has uniformly characterized His Royal Highness's personal intercourse with officers and others, he nevertheless deals intelligibly and trenchantly with the latter day administration of at least one department of the Horse Guards, and some of its affiliations. He is especially severe on one who was for some it is feared for too many-years closely associated with the Duke; nor is he singular in the opinion that this official's indolence, his want of feeling, and his discourtesy to senior officers, did an infinity of harm, if not to the personal popularity of His Royal Highness, at least to the fair fame of the Horse Guards. For many years there have been complaints, more or less well founded, of queer doings in Whitehall and Pall Mall, but we had never previously heard such a chorus of complaints as during this official's incumbency. On the subject of the Horse Guards treatment of himself personally, not only on the occasions of his official visits, but in the

conduct of his correspondence, the General deals in language so plain that he who runs may read; and in corroboration of his facts and opinions he produces a consensus of testimony that amazes one. The Press, both at home and in India, would appear to have espoused General Stannus' cause with a singular unanimity—with a unanimity that goes far to countenance the justice of his strictures; and we may add that to our own knowledge the Press very fairly reflects professional opinion in both countries in connection with the treatment he has experienced.

Averse as we are to unparliamentary, we are, nevertheless, fond of intelligible language, and in the exercise of our rights, within the limits we have prescribed for ourselves, we would ask, "Is all that General Stannus asserts true ?" And if the answer is in the affirmative, then we have only to say that he portrays a state of things which ought not to exist -a state of things the serious import of which calls loudly for investigation and amendment. But even assuming that his assertions admit of refutation or explanation, investigation is none the less desirable, inasmuch as proof of the imaginary character of the General's grievances, or the baselessness of his allegations, would remove a weight from the public mind which at the present moment oppresses at least the professional portion of it. In the absence, however, of the investigation which the General has persistently invited, we are bound not only to accept the correctness of his own allegations, but also the correctnesss of the consensus of public opinion by which they are supported.

Our readers, however, but especially our professional ones, cannot do better than judge for themselves. The price of the book is only a shilling. It consists of one hundred and fifty-six closely but legibly printed pages, and whether looked at from a literary or professional point of view, it will be found not only instructive, but amusing. The broad cast and much laughed at way in which decorations are now scattered about is severely dealt with, whilst the serio-tragiccomic style, the droll, but at the same time caustic,

humour and mode of treatment generally are such as must excite even the ladies to laughter. The introduction and most of the letters are especially amusing, and cannot fail to excite the risible faculties. Not withstanding all this, however, to the thoughtful reader the principle involved in the history of General Stannus' treatment is one of serious import, as it in a greater or lesser degree affects every officer in the Army.

OUTLINES OF NAVAL HYGIENE. By J. D. MacDonald, M.D., F.R.S., Inspector General R.N. Smith, Elder & Co., London, 1881.

This is a most valuable work, and may be considered the latest authority on the important subject on which it treats. The health of our sailors is a matter which is of national concern, and Dr. MacDonald's practical suggestions will we are sure be read with interest by all naval medical officers, by those in command of Her Majesty's ships, and by the mercantile marine, to which most of them are applicable.

The author devotes perhaps an undue space to the principles of construction of war ships, with which his subject is only partly connected, but it is ungracious to cavil when the bulk of the work is so good.

SIX MONTHS IN THE RANKS; OR, THE GENTLEMAN PRIVATE. Smith, Elder & Co., London, 1881.

We hardly know whether this anonymous work is meant as a true narrative of facts, or as a fiction founded on fact. In any case it is most instructive and amusing-instructive, as it lets us into the secret of the private soldiers' feelings, grievances, and advantages, set forth in a literary style which is not ordinarily found even among gentlemen privates; amusing, as there is a narrative of love and adventure detailed which, considering it covered only six months in time, is most remarkable, and affords most entertaining reading.