Laura Secord, the heroine of 1812 Part 40

Safe on the heart of a soldier, Knotted close to his side, Proudly lie on the quiet breast, Washed in the crimson tide!

For the heart is silent forever, Stirred by no flitting breath, And the Colours he saved are a fitting shroud, And meet for a soldier's death.

What more would they know in England?

The Colours were lost, they said; And all the time they were safe, of course, Though the soldier himself was dead.

The band was stiff, and the heart was cold And feeble the stalwart limb; But he was one of the Twenty-fourth, So the Colours were safe with him.

The following which appeared in the Toronto _World_, Sat.u.r.day, July 16, 1887, will also be found of interest to those whose sympathies have been awakened by the poem:

"NO LONGER THE TWENTY-FOURTH."

_How the Heroes of Isandklwana came to be called South Wales Borderers_.

"In the London _Graphic_ there have appeared lately several good articles headed 'Types of the British Army,' with excellent full-sheet coloured cuts, by eminent artists, of men in marching order or otherwise belonging to the corps on which the article is written. The last one is in the _Graphic_ of April 30, being the fourth to appear, and the picture represents a soldier of the gallant 24th Regiment. Much has been said by old officers and soldiers in the press relative to the abolition of the time-honoured numbers of the old corps, and now this splendid old regiment is no longer the 24th, but since 1881 is called the 'South Wales Borderers.' And not only did the historical old number disappear from the Army List, according to the new system, but they lost their green facings, and now wear the white, which all regiments, English and Welsh, according to the territorial system, have to wear. The Irish wear green, the Scotch yellow, and all Royal regiments wear blue. The Artillery and 60th Rifles have red facings, and the Rifle Brigade black.

Corps on the line now go by territorial t.i.tles. First and second battalions and many old regiments are joined to other old corps which formerly had nothing whatever to do with the county or province from which they now derive their t.i.tle." In connection with this a former captain in the 46th writes to the Montreal _Witness_ as follows:

"It may be interesting to many to know the reason why regiments now bear their new t.i.tles; and, as the writer was intimately acquainted with the 24th before the fearful calamity at Isandhlwana--where they were annihilated in 1879 by the Zulus--and was stationed with them in Brecon, South Wales, he can give the rather curious origin of their present t.i.tle.

"Some time before the Zulu campaign, there were many sweeping changes made in the army, amongst them being the abolition of numbers, and an order was issued that all members of militia, yeomanry and volunteers at home should have their adjutants appointed from officers serving on full pay with the regiments of cavalry or infantry, and that the artillery, militia and volunteers, should have their adjutants from the Royal Artillery or Marine Artillery; the appointment to last for five years, and at the expiration of that time the officer to return to his corps, and another one to succeed him. The writer was at that time adjutant of the 46th Regiment, and the first to be thus appointed to the Royal Brecon Rifles, South Wales--a small corps of only four companies. There was another smaller corps of only two companies in the adjoining county, Radnors.h.i.+re, and, perhaps for economy's sake, it was ordered that both of these corps should be made one regiment. Each wanted to retain its old militia designation, but it was decided by the officers to give them a totally new one, and they were christened the 'South Wales Borderers.'

"Brecon was made a depot centre, and the 24th Regiment were to recruit and have their depots there. Being then without a t.i.tle they took that of the local militia, and are, therefore, now the '1st and 2nd Battalions South Wales Borderers.' But they will always be known as the time-honoured 24th, who lost one colonel, one major, four captains, fourteen lieutenants and seven entire companies, including band, buglers and drummer boys, at Isandhlwana. Lieutenants Melville and Coghill, on that occasion, seeing that all was lost, attempted to save the colours.

Melville was first hit, and Coghill turned back to share his fate. The colours were afterwards found in the bed of the Buffalo River, and when brought home Her Majesty tied a small wreath of immortelles on the staff head at Osborn. They are still in the possession of the regiment, and the wreath presented by Her Majesty is preserved in a handsome hermetically-sealed oak box, mounted in silver."

APPENDIX NO. 7.

[In his "La Litterature au Canada Francais" M. Bender says of M. L.

Pamphile Le May:]

"Le May sings in a clear and tender voice, reminding one of Alfred de Vigny, and approaching the elegance and polish of that poet.... In words of melody he celebrates the beauties of rural life and scenery. He is touching, pleasing and sympathetic. He knows his subject well; he has seen it, he has felt it, he has loved it; indeed he yields too much to inspiration, and does not sufficiently finish his verse, nor does he fully develop his idea so as to reap all its wealth.... His creations evince originality and beauty of form." In his preface to "Essais Poetiques," published 1865, M. Leon P. Le May tells his readers that his friends discouraged him in his wors.h.i.+p of the Muse; they said verse-making did not pay, that it cost a man too much to devote himself to an art so little esteemed. But he sang nevertheless, and Canadian literature in the French language is the richer by much that is sweet, tender, beautiful and inspiring. We ought to thank M. Le May for being wiser than his advisers; and such of us as have not yet considered Canadian Literature worthy of especial regard would do well to hunt up the numerous volumes that lie all but unknown upon booksellers' shelves, and convince themselves that there is a field of intellectual enjoyment open to them of which they may be justly proud to be the heirs.