B. N.
[Noble, vol. ii. p. 375., says that Claypole "in 1645-6 was married to Mary, the second and most favoured daughter of Oliver Cromwell, then of Ely in Cambridgeshire, Esquire.">[
Replies.
ORIGINAL LETTER OF GENERAL JAMES WOLFE.
(Vol. v., pp. 34. 136. 185.)
I beg to renew my acknowledgments to the various gentlemen who have afforded additional information respecting this brave man. So little has been recorded of his personal history, that every item which can be gleaned is valuable. It is certainly strange that no proper memoir of one so distinguished in arms as Wolfe has yet been written. His career, though short, was brilliant and embraces a period of time, as well as events, which would render a sketch of his life, by a competent writer, singularly interesting. Materials do not seem wanting; the detached pieces of information, and references to sources where more may be obtained, which have already appeared in "N. & Q." since I ventured to start the subject in October last, indicate, that with a little industry and research in proper quarters, Wolfe's history can yet be written to advantage. England's young hero has, in this respect, been too much neglected. Surely this national reproach will not be allowed to continue.
In the Gentleman's Magazine for January last, there is a very interesting letter from Wolfe to a young officer on the subject of military studies, supplied from the rich MS. stores of Mr. Robert Cole. I am enabled to contribute the fragment of another letter from Wolfe, also to a very young officer, pointing out how he ought to conduct himself on entering the army. This fragment was discovered within these few weeks, in the same old military chest where the twelve letters in my possession were found, to which I formerly alluded. This fragment, though neither dated, signed, nor addressed, is in Wolfe's handwriting beyond all doubt. I have compared it with his other letters, and not only do I find the resemblance perfect, but the paper on which the fragment is written is identically the same with several of these letters, the water-mark being the very appropriate one for a soldier, "pro patria." This newly discovered portion of Wolfe's letter is written closely on two pages of a sheet of post paper; and from circumstances I am inclined to think the date must have been in the end of 1757, when he was at Blackheath, soon after his return from the descent on Rochefort, in which he held a command. I am unable, however, to point out the name of the young officer for whose advantage the fragmentary epistle was written; but he was evidently one in whose welfare Wolfe took much interest, and intimate in Wolfe's family. The introductory words, "Dear Huty," seem to be an affectionate abbreviation of the young gentleman's surname; but how the fragment came amongst the papers of Wolfe's other friend, Lieut.-Col. Rickson, to whom the whole of the twelve letters in my possession are addressed, I cannot at present say. Here is an exact copy, viz.:
"Dear Huty,
"By a Letter from my Mother I find you are now an officer in Lord Chs. Hay's Regiment, which I heartily give you Joy of, and as I sincerely wish you success in Life, you will give me Leave to give you a few Hints which may be of use to you in it. The Field you are going into is quite new to you, but may be trod very safely, and soon made known to you, if you only get into it by the proper Entrance. I make no doubt but you have entirely laid aside the Boy and all Boyish amusements, and have considered yourself as a young man going into a manly profession, where you must be answerable for your own conduct. Your character in life must be that of a Soldier, and a Gentleman: the first is to be acquired by application and attendance on your duty; the second, by adhering most strictly to the Dictates of Honour, and the Rules of Good Breeding. To be more particular in each of these points; when you join your Regiment, if there are any Officer's Guard mounted, be sure constantly to attend the Parade, observe carefully the manner of the officers taking their Posts, the exercise of their Espontoon, &c.; when the Guard is marched off from the Parade, attend it to the Place of Relief, and observe the manner and form of Relieving, and when you return to your chamber (which should be as soon as you cou'd, lest what you saw slip out of your Memory), consult Bland's Military Discipline on that Head; this will be the readiest method of learning this part of your Duty, which is what you will be the soonest call'd on to perform.
"When off Duty get a Sergt or a Corporal, whom the Adjutant will recommend to you, to teach you the Exercise of the Firelock, which I beg of you to make yourself as much master of as if you were a simple soldier; the exact and nice knowledge of this will readily bring you to understand all other parts of your Duty, make you a proper judge of the performance of the Men, and qualify you for the post of an Adjutant, and in time many other employments of Credit. When you are posted to your Company, take care that the Sergeants or Corporals constantly bring you the orders; treat those officers with kindness, but keep them at a Distance, so will you be beloved and respected by them; read your orders with attention, and if anything in particular concerns yourself, put it down in your Memorandum Book, which I wou'd have you constantly in your Pocket ready for any Remarks; be sure to attend constantly morning and evening the Roll Calling of the Company, watch carefully the Absentees, and enquire into reasons for their being so, and particularly be watchfull they do not endeavour to impose on you sham Excuses, which they are apt to do with young officers, but will be deterr'd from it by a proper severity in detecting them;——"
Here, unfortunately, the remainder of the sheet has been torn off, and the continuation of the excellent precepts it no doubt contained, is irretrievably lost. Enough has luckily been preserved to show what an admirably disciplined soldier mind Wolfe possessed, taken in conjunction with the outline of military reading, pointed out in the letter contributed by Mr. Cole, already alluded to, and written with the same kindly object (the instruction of youthful officers), probably only a few months prior to the date of the mutilated one.