And pity mankind that will perish for gold.
The fainting foemen quit their ground,
Their trumpets languish in their sound—
They fly! they fly!
Victoria! Victoria!”
Ah, my dear friend, when your enthusiasm has a little cooled will you kindly direct your attention to the troops now passing under your Roman—no—I mean your British—nose. These are Russians. How stolidly they march, and how alike they are. There is a company of the Guards, and all the men have light hair and blue eyes; there’s a company of the Guards again, and all the men have black hair and dark eyes. Order is Russia’s first law, and, this confest, all are and must be very like the rest. One day a ship, with many officers and men on board, went down in the Neva. The order was passed to the soldiers to save in the first place the officers of the Guard. They therefore anxiously inquired of each officer they got hold of if he belonged to the Guard? The poor fellows could not answer, as their mouths were full of water, so they were allowed to drown. On another occasion, as it was very dusty, the soldiers were ordered to water the field for exercise. While employed in this duty it came on to rain heavily, but they continued the task with the utmost gravity. They had been ordered to do it, and that was enough. During the siege of Warsaw a young grenadier addressed a veteran, and pointing to the entrenchments, said, “Do you think, comrade, we shall take them?” “I do not think we shall,” the other replied; “they are too strong.” “But,” said the young man, “if we are ordered to take them?” “Oh, that will be another thing; if we are ordered to take them of course we shall do so.”
Out of 65,000,000 to 70,000,000 men subject to the Czar, 40,000,000 to 45,000,000 are liable to the conscription. The infantry of the Russian Imperial Guard consists of five grand infantry divisions, each composed of two brigades, and these again subdivided into four regiments. The Grenadier Corps is divided into six brigades or twelve regiments. There are also attached three Carabineer regiments. There are six Infantry Corps, each consisting of three divisions of six brigades, or twelve regiments. One rifle regiment is attached to each division. The Circassian Corps is subdivided precisely like the line infantry, but the regiments are much stronger. The Finland Corps only consists of one division of two brigades, subdivided into twelve battalions, equal to 12,600 men. The Siberian Corps is composed of one division; the Oremberg Corps also comprises one division. The total strength of Russian infantry amounts to about 540,000 fighting men. The total strength of the Russian cavalry is estimated at 80,000 men. Those magnificent fellows that just now rode by, in their white uniforms and black helmets and cuirasses, are the picked men—the Cuirassiers of the Guard. The Russian Artillery is formed of nine foot and two horse divisions—14,000 guns and 44,000 men.
Who are these? These are the Italians, just drawing long breaths of liberty; and these, soldiers of Spain and Portugal; and these, sons of Mohammed—weak descendants of a mighty race, who set the world aflame from Delhi to Grenada!
All the colours of the rainbow, all the tongues of Babeldom, all the varied physiognomies of all the races in all the world—they troop past us: the wild, weird Cossack, with his tremendous lance; the dapper English Volunteer, with his rifle sure as David’s sling; the Zouave, with his cat upon his knapsack; the Prussian officer, very bare in pocket, but proud of the “King’s coat”—here they pass before us; the air resounding with the strains of military music, the rat-a-plan of the French troops, the clash of Turkish cymbals, the ringing sound of the English bugle, the shrill note of the Highland pibroch. Yes—here are our fighting men, ready to⸺well—may Heaven grant that their swords may rest in their scabbards, and that their artillery shall thunder only to usher in—with soldiers’ music—a Millennium of Peace!