[69] Mahon's History of England, vol. ii. p. 291.
[70] The severity with which men meted out punishment to a comrade varied very greatly. If they really meant to punish him, the strongest man could hardly stand up to receive the whole of his sentence. See the account of a man who drew his sword on a woman and wounded her. Weekly Journal, 4th April 1730.
[71] As to flogging round the fleet, see the first chapters of Marryat's The King's Own.
[72] Secretary's Common Letter Book and Newspapers, passim. The Weekly Journal of 21st July 1739 gives an instance of a deserter who had received five hundred lashes from the 1st Guards, as many from the Coldstreams, and as many from the 3rd Guards, and had been whipped in addition out of three marching regiments.
[73] See an account of a deserter shot by three fellow-deserters. Weekly Journal, 7th May 1720.
[74] There was such a rush to see the first infliction of picketing that several spectators were injured. Daily Post, 9th July 1739. The punishment consisted in hanging up a man by one wrist, with no rest for his bare feet but a pointed stake.
[75] Secretary Treby instructs officers to remit part of a flogging lest the prisoner should be too severely handled, "to prevent the reflections which might be cast upon the Government by malicious people who would be glad of such occasions." The offence was cursing the King, and the sentence was to run the gantlope of the whole regiment sixteen times, the punishment to be divided between two days. Secretary's Common Letter Book, 23rd August 1723.
[76] Postboy, 17th December 1822.
[77] Secretary's Common Letter Book, 10th October 1726.
[78] Daily Post, 13th March 1738. The King instituted "visiting rounds" every two hours in consequence. Ibid., 21st September 1738.