Lord Charles Hay cried to his men: "Men of the King's company, these are the French Guards, and I hope you are going to beat them to-day." There came a cheer, and twenty more yards were covered, as though the soldiers were on parade. It was then that the French came under English fire. The men of the 33rd and those to right and left of them poured in an awful fire on the enemy; "two battalions loading while the third fired."

This effective fire occasioned severe losses amongst the French, so that Saxe was obliged to reinforce the line. One regiment was all but annihilated, and the French line was shattered. The reinforcing troops were also unable to stand such a devastating fire, and the advance of the 33rd and other regiments was rendered possible. The camp, three hundred yards beyond the crest, was reached.

There was every promise of a splendid victory. The French cavalry had come galloping through the forest on the Allies' right to sweep down on their horse, but they were shattered, like others that came on the same errand, and rode back in confusion before Cumberland's terrific fire.

Unhappily all this splendid valour was vain on two accounts. Ingoldsby failed in his endeavour to captur the Redoubt d'Eu, the reason assigned being that he misunderstood his orders. In the centre, again, Waldeck had failed to carry Fontenoy. He had to retire, so that the British infantry were left exposed to a very heavy fire, and had to fall back to the crest. Waldeck wanted to move on Fontenoy again, but the Dutch refused, even when they saw the British advance and regain what they had lost.

The cavalry went on, the cross-fire supporting them, but it was too late. With the Allies' centre broken, and Königseck unable to do anything on the left, there was only one thing for the British troops, namely, to retire to the ground between the village and the point of the wood where the enemy's guns could do them no

further damage. It was retreat, not rout, for every rank moved in splendid order, " as steadily and proudly as they had advanced.

The enemy's cavalry attempted to break them up as they retired, but they were driven back with such slaughter by our horse that Noailles' regiment was practically destroyed.

This disappointing close to the battle, in spite of the heroic efforts of Cumberland's troops, was defeat. It has been said that as "an example of the prowess of British infantry, Fontenoy stands almost without a parallel in its history," and of all the achievements of the 33rd it would be difficult to find anything finer than what they did that day when they charged right into the enemy's camp. Doubtless a contributing factor in the defeat was the scandalous behaviour of the contractors for the horsing of the guns, for Fortescue says that they ran off with the horses early in the day. Then, again, as a writer in the "Gentleman's Magazine," a month after the battle (an expert apparently) speaking of the disappointment, suggests, the defeat was due to the superiority of the French in numbers, the prodigious force of their artillery, and the advantage of the ground, which they had everywhere improved to the utmost.

The loss of the 33rd was heavy, as might be expected, considering how for more than three hours they stood "the continual fire of three terrible batteries," and for a second time advanced against the enemy although these had been reinforced by seven fresh battalions. Several of the best officers and veterans among the men were lost to the regiment that day. Yet one might almost have expected annihilation considering the overwhelming strength of the enemy, and the fearful fire from the batteries. "For eight or nine hours did Britain's infantry, inefficiently aided by the best, and deserted by the worst of its allies, struggle with the whole French army. . . . Victory, abashed by the rude violence of their efforts, had

deserted them, but the helpless, stricken ranks of their opponents showed how fully vengeance had been exacted before they retreated from a field where defeat presented no semblance of dishonour, and where their glory will infinitely overbalance their loss."

NOTES.-The casualties at Fontenoy :

Killed: Lieut.-Colonel Clements, Lieuts. Grame (or Green), J. Colley, Houghton, Ensign Nesbit, and 42 privates.

Wounded: Major Mun (? Muir), Captains Godfrey, Lacy, Eccles, Tighe, Lieuts. Gardiner, Burrough, Itway, and Gore: Ensigns Hayner, Collis, Samson (? Sampson), and Descury, with 4 sergeants and 84 privates.

Missing: 2 sergeants and 28 privates.

Among the dead was Lieut.-Colonel Henry Clements, a soldier whose capacity had marked him out for rapid promotion. It was written of him when his death was known:

Too fond of what the martial harvests yield.
Alas! too forward to the dang'rous field;
As one of old renown in battle tried,

The glory of the dusty plain, you dyed;

The tongues of Dettingen your triumphs tell,
And weeping Tournay points where Clements fell.

Clements' death made room for Major George Muir (or Mun) to step into the Lieut.-Colonelcy of the 33rd. Captain Thomas Lacy, who had fought with such signal courage at Fontenoy, attained his majority.

Extract from a letter from Lord Dillon.

"On consulting Malaguti's History of the Dillon Regiment, I find that the Count de Lowendahl led the Brigade against the right flank of the AngloHanoverians with the Regiments of Normandy and Royal Vairseaux in support.

"Lowendahl in a letter to his wife, written on the evening of the battle says: The battle was lost. Every one was in flight. Le Bon Dieu inspired me to place myself at the head of the Irish Brigade. We took the enemy in flank. Marshal Saxe said the victory was owing to Lowendahl and the Irish.””

Captain Malaguti adds that he thinks the best account of the battle is that in Vol. LXXXI, page 721, of the Revue des Deux Mondes of the 15th June, 1887, by the Duc de Broglie in his work "Marie Therese Imperatrice."

CHAPTER VII

SERVICE IN SCOTLAND AND FLANDERS

THE 33rd, with other English regiments, were recalled 1745to England in consequence of the news which came concerning the movements of the Young Pretender. It was affirmed in the various newspapers that the Pretender's eldest son had put out to sea on July 14th, from Bellisle in an armed ship of 60 guns, together with a frigate of 30 guns, and a great quantity of warlike stores, in order to land in Scotland. It was said that he was led to expect to find 20,000 men and 40 transport ships at his disposal, and later to be joined by 5 French warships from Brest, and 4,500 Spaniards who were embarking at Ferrol.

The startling news awakened the utmost consternation, for it was known that the army for home defence was shamefully inadequate. Orders were issued from the War Office for all officers of His Majesty's forces in England and Scotland to repair immediately to their posts, while notice was given from the Board of Ordnance at the Tower that a reward would be given to any who should discover concealed arms, the money to run at the rate of £25 for every hundred arms so found.

The numbers given of the forces in aid of the prince were grossly exaggerated, but in face of the fact that the Young Chevalier had actually landed in Scotland, and was gathering the clans in the Highlands, there was ground for alarm when it was known how weak the home forces were to cope with the Jacobites who were preparing to invade England.