than one point, more especially on the extreme right, and in the centre had failed, and unexpectedly the enemy had penetrated our line and inflicted heavy loss. even on the rear of our battalions. To recommence operations at this late hour would have been rash in the extreme, "night was approaching, and the Sepoys were parched with thirst; the baggage was scattered and endangered and water procurable only at the line of villages in the rear and Lord Gough determined to concentrate his troops round the village of Chilian."

The British bivouac that night did not present the appearance of that of a victorious army. Groups of men belonging to different regiments, gunners of batteries whose pieces still remained in the hands of the enemy, dismounted dragoons and panic-stricken campfollowers, huddled together under the scanty camp-fires or crowded into the deserted houses of the little village of Chilian.

There were brave hearts there who looked on the check as but of little moment or, at any rate, who bore themselves as men who feared no evil. Lord Gough was first and foremost among them; moving from campfire to camp-fire, from bivouac to bivouac, he had a few words of cheery encouragement for the men, of hearty thanks for the officers. The 61st Foot and their gallant brigadier came in for a full meed of praise, and even the 14th Light Dragoons were treated as if their conduct had not contributed to the ill-success of the operations. There were many who feared a night attack, but Gough knew full well that the Sikhs, though not worsted, had been so roughly handled that they would have but little stomach for fighting for many a day to come; he therefore made no attempt to restore order amongst his scattered troops beyond directing Sir Joseph Thackwell, commanding the cavalry division, to place strong cavalry outposts before dawn, and to sweep the battlefield with a brigade in the early morning with a view of recovering if possible our lost guns. But the Sikhs had been beforehand with us in removing them, and our only trophies of the fight were twelve small cannon

captured by the infantry brigades of Colin Campbell. Alas, the Sikhs had more telling evidence of their prowess, six British guns, the colonels of the 24th Foot and of the 56th Native Infantry remained in Shere Singh's hands.

Our losses in the engagement were terrible. In the short space of two hours and a half 89 officers and 2,357 non-commissioned officers and men were killed or wounded.

Paralysed by such losses Gough was unable to advance or retire, and he busied himself immediately after the fight in strengthening his position at Chilian by field-works and entrenchments, while at the same time he despatched earnest messages to the GovernorGeneral for all available reinforcements to be pushed up country with the utmost speed.

KILLED.

WOUNDED.

Officers.* Men. Horses. Officers. Men. Horses.

24

1621

18

39

231

10

266

34

203

100

59

44

105

87

UR readers may feel interested in an account of our visit to Dr. De Laval's new boat which is now lying off the Ludvigsberg Iron Works on the southern shore of Lake Mälaren.

The boat is a combination of an ordinary launch and submarine vessel. It consists, in fact, of two boats of which the greater is under water and the lesser above. They are connected by iron girders and by two elongated oval iron funnels or casings, of which the aftermost is consider

Passing through a passage on the starboard side, we reached the compartment before the boiler, a large and comparatively empty space. This is the result of the enlarging of the vessel, which took place last autumn, when she was lengthened 11 feet. In this compartment we saw some tubing and some small auxiliary engines, and also two large cisterns containing the naphtha, which is used for fuel.

From this compartment forward to the bow, outside the vessel, there is a rectangular casing. When the vessel is at rest, this is filled with water; but, on the

On making a voyage of discovery into the lower vessel, we were first confronted by the engine, a double-acting condensing machine on the Woolf system, of about 250 indicated horse power. It is similar to ordinary engines with perpendicular action except that the cranks are above the cylinders. It was made at the Southern Works and is of the best quality. The boiler, which comes from Germany, differs very much from the ordinary steamship boilers; it appears very small for the size of the engine but is said to be perfectly efficient.

the casing expelling the water and completely filling the casing from which it rushes out with great violence in the direction of the stern. This process has been given the name of luftsmörjningen (air-lubricating). Before this compartment there is another forming a beak, and in this are the large injectors, &c., which are used for forcing the air into the casing, and also the machinery which works the horizontal, or balance, rudders.

We then returned to the compartment abaft the boiler, where we found the injector or pulsometer for

supplying the naphtha to the furnaces. Our curiosity was excited by perceiving no appliances for regulating the machinery, but we were informed all this is done from above. The supply of water to the boiler, of naphtha to the furnace, the air injectors, the starting and stopping and the steering-gear, are all worked from the upper deck, in order that no one need be below when the vessel is under weigh. There is no saloon or berth to be found in this remarkable vessel.

We returned to the upper deck by a ladder that is certainly not adapted for ladies. Here we perceived right aft the gear for starting the engine ahead or astern. Abaft the funnel are the means for regulating the injection of the naphtha; as also the safety-valve, which

is of an entirely new description, and promises by its simplicity and excellent efficiency to be very widely adopted in the future. Before the funnel is the steering wheel; further forward is the arrangement for regulating the air injectors; and still further, towards the bow, is another steering apparatus for the balance rudders.

The lower vessel is rather more than 60 feet long by 9 feet wide; the widest part is very far forward, and it tapers away finely towards the stern. The upper vessel is very similar in appearance to an ordinary steam pinnace, and is shorter and narrower than the under

one.

FEUDALISM IN ENGLAND.-The introduction of feudalism was one of the principal changes effected in England by the Norman Conquest. The King became the supreme lord of all the land; whence, Coke says, "All the lands and tenements in England in the hands of subjects are holden mediately or immediately of the King; for in the law of England we have not properly allodium." Even the Saxon landholders who were not deprived of their lands were brought under the system of feudal tenure, and were subjected to services and imports to which they were not before liable; but most of the manors were bestowed upon the Normans, who thus held them immediately of the King, and were hence called Tenants in Capite or Tenants in Chief. But though the Saxon thane was thus reduced to the condition of a simple freeholder, or franklin, and though the Norman lord perhaps retained a certain portion of his estates as demesne land, yet the latter had no possessory right in the whole, and the estate therefore was not so profitable to him as might at first sight appear. The tenant in chief was bound to knight service, or the obligation to maintain, forty days in the field, a certain number of cavaliers completely equipped, raised from his under-tenants. Even religious foundations and monasteries were liable to this service, the only exception being the tenure of frankalmoign, or free alms. Every estate of £20 yearly value was considered as a knight's fee, and was bound to furnish a soldier. The tenants in chief appear from Domesday Book to have amounted, in the reign of William the Conqueror, to

about 1,400, including the numerous monastic found ations. The number of mesne lords, or those holding fiefs not directly from the King, was about 8,000.

In

There were peculiarities in the feudal system of Normandy itself which were introduced by William into England. According to the general principle of feuds the oath of the vassal was due only to the lord of whom he immediately held. But William exacted the oath of fealty from all the landowners of England, as well those who held in chief as the under-tenants. doing this he seems to have been guided by the custom of Normandy, where the Duke had immediate jurisdiction over all his subjects. Hence William's power was much greater than that of the feudal Sovereigns of the Continent, and the constitution approximated more to an autocracy. The great fiefs of England did not, like those of France, date their origin from a period when the power of the vassal who received them was almost equal to that of the Sovereigns who bestowed them; but being distributed on the same occasion, and almost at the same time, William took care not to make them so large as to be dangerous to himself; for which reason also the manors assigned to his followers were dispersed in different counties. Hence the nobles in England never attained that pitch of power which they possessed in Germany, France, and Spain; nor do we find them defying the Sovereign's jurisdiction as was very common in those countries by exercising the right of carrying on private wars among themselves.

ROBERT O'BYRNE.

[THE EDITOR will be glad to receive contributions from naval and military officers. The subjects should bear on matters connected with the two Services, and be illustrated if possible by the author. To facilitate their reproduction, drawings ought to be executed with ink as black as possible upon Bristol boards. The Editor will furnish detailed instructions on application.]

[To prevent mistakes, authors are requested to sign their names and addresses at the conclusion of the MSS. which they contribute.]

[The attention of readers is called to the military problem submitted for solution in the present issue; it is the first of a series which will appear monthly. All details will be found on p. 309].

ALL those who feel an interest in Ireland apart from the demagogues who trade upon her misfortunes will look with cheerful sympathy on the Irish Exhibition which is to be held at Olympia, South Kensington, this year under illustrious patronage. As will be seen from the list of the Executive Council the enterprise is entirely non-political: the name of Lord Charles Beresford figures beside that of Mr. Herbert Gladstone, Mr. Justin McCarthy's near the Marquis of Ormonde's. The most impartial and sagacious observers have long been of opinion that the woes of Ireland spring almost exclusively from economical causes: once make her people opulent and thriving, and political discontent will swiftly disappear. To this end the first thing requisite is the reign of law, which is gradually being restored by the present Unionist Government; the next step is to be initiated by the promoters of this Irish Exhibition: the development of Irish resources and the encouragement of Irish industry. No charge is as a rule to be made for space to exhibit, in order that the poorest producer may not be excluded from competition. Olympia with its latest display of wonders will be open to the public on the 4th June and remain so till the end of October. Among the attractions of the Exhibition will be an Irish village with bona fide natives working at their usual industries. Londoners will no doubt support this truly patriotic undertaking with their usual discrimination and generosity.

The spread of the temperance movement through the armies of Europe, including that of Russia, is a noteworthy sign of the times. Captain Stark, in a recent number of the Military Magazine, published at St. Petersburg, gives some interesting details on this subject, though he falls at times into grievous errors.

One of these is the statement that England alone among the nations neglects preventive measures for the repression of drunkenness in the army, and trusts entirely to force and punishment for the purpose. He goes on to say that the Germans pay their soldiers three times. a month, with the restriction that those who are found to have spent more than their daily allowance between whiles are put upon daily pay. But the British soldier is paid four times a month and though not subjected to a childish inspection of purses like his German cousin, is liable to be placed on daily pay for drunkenness. Captain Stark likewise recommends the establishment of tea-houses for the Russians, apparently in ignorance of the fact that the English soldier usually has a coffeeshop at his disposal. It is true that the writer acknowledges insufficient information about our army, a plea in which too many foreign writers might join; but the most superficial inquiry would have shown that nothing is omitted in this country which might lead to the suppression of vice in the army. Again, he attributes the terrible losses of Charles XII. in Russia to the intemperance of the Swedish soldiers, but the resources of the country were so thoroughly demolished in 1709 by Peter the Great's orders, that it seems problematical whether the invaders could have indulged in drink to any fatal extent. in drink to any fatal extent. The intensity of the cold was quite sufficient to account for the fearful mortality which visited them. While on the subject of Sweden, it is interesting to note that the teetotal movement is now spreading widely in the ranks of the army, the example being set by the officers, without whose aid, the writer contends, no real progress can be made in the cause. Example is always better than precept, but especially in the practice of abstinence from alcohol.

THE Journal de la Marine states that the late Ministerial crisis in France has once more postponed the projected improvements in the ports of Cherbourg, Brest, and Toulon, which have been in contemplation ever since 1882. Unless, however, a fresh one occurs in the meantime it is hoped that the plans will, ere many days, be laid before the Council of Ministers by Admiral Krantz. The well-known breakwater at Cherbourg, originally planned by Vauban, forms, since the introduction of ironclads, an insufficient protection for the roadstead, which could be penetrated from outside, and the shipping destroyed by an enterprising enemy. It is, therefore, to be supplemented by the construction of three masonry jetties; one from the western end and

two from the east. Our contemporary adds that since the arsenal can always be bombarded at a distance of 4,000 or 5,000 metres from the breakwater, Cherbourg can never be more than a "port of observation." Brest, where a harbour of refuge is to be constructed, is more suitable for the refitment of ships. Hence the conclusion is drawn that a strong fleet is necessary for its protection, but long months must elapse before the requisite ships will be ready to put to sea.

We learn from the Revue Militaire de l'Etranger that the use of snow shoes is being extensively practised in the Finland battalions of the Russian army. In Sweden and Norway it is said that a man will travel fifty miles a day on snow shoes without uncommon fatigue; while, at a public competition held in the former country 150 miles were covered by the winner in twenty-one hours. Troops availing themselves of this method of locomotion have frequently rendered inestimable services in winter campaigns, especially in the extreme north of Europe.

MILITARY and naval officers returning from abroad with their families, and wishing to stay for a month during the season in town, are often debarred doing so because they must either go to one of the very large hotels, which are expensive, or for many reasons inconvenient, or they must take a furnished house, and hurriedly engage a suite of servants, about whom they know nothing. To meet this daily want, Captain Laing, of the P. and O. Company, some seventeen years ago started the Glendower Family Hotel, composed of four houses in the Harrington Road, and one in Glendower Place, South Kensington. The houses are well furnished, and the sanitary arrangements are excellent. The general plan of living is very similar to what is found at our leading hydropathic establishments, that is to say, there are a large number of public rooms, including reception, billiard, smoking, reading, drawing-room, with grand piano, &c. As there are usually from fifty to sixty visitors, concerts and dances constantly take place, and the table d'hôte meals bring people together. On the other hand, those who prefer to be more exclusive, can have their meals served at separate table in the coffee-room adjoining the salle-à

manger.

Families who wish still stricter privacy can have at a moderate charge suites of rooms, and come in and

out by a private entrance. The position for the pleasure seeker is unsurpassed; the walking distance to the parks, Kensington gardens, Albert Hall, South Kensington, and other museums, does not exceed in any instance eight minutes. The South Kensington Station is one minute's walk, from whence trains run to all parts of London and suburbs every three minutes. For the valetudinarian the position of the Glendower Hotel is regarded as one of the most healthy in London.

THE sustaining and stimulating properties of the Coca plant have long been recognized, and in the form of wine and fluid extract it is constantly prescribed by English physicians. Dr. Nachtigal, of Stuttgart, has prepared a Coca tobacco and Coca cigarettes, in which the tobacco is entirely deprived of nicotine. These two forms, when smoked, will be found to possess all the most valuable and agreeable properties of tobacco, plus the sustaining and enlivening effects of Coca. They will be found to be a preventative against nervous headache, catarrhal symptoms, and especially in asthma, and are highly recommended by medical authorities for these complaints. The Coca cigarettes and Coca tobacco are sold by the French Hygienic Society, 56 Conduit Street, Regent Street, W.

It

THE FOOT-LEVER COPYING PRESS is very simple in action, and thoroughly efficient. It presents many advantages over the old-fashioned copying press. is not liable to get out of order. It is a wonderful saving of time and trouble, and for general office purposes will be found specially useful, having everything ready at hand. There are receptacles for every requirement in copying letters; top shelf for letters to be copied, shelves for damping and oil, spaces for copying books, and drawers for loose sheets, &c., with the water-well and brush at the side; and the pressing is done with the foot in much less time and exertion than is required for the ordinary press. It also serves It also serves as a writing-desk, the top of the table being sloped for that purpose. The Foot-Lever Copying Press (Capel & Gaskill's patent) is attractive in appearance, and the price is moderate. There can be no question that these presses will gradually find their way into every military and naval office, both at home and abroad. and abroad. They can be inspected at Messrs. Ladd & Co.'s offices, 116 Queen Victoria Street, E.C.