judgment at the time. If we allowed critics, small or great, to trample upon us, this work assuredly would never have been written at all, "Digression is so much in modern use, As when returning to the theme they meant." And, therefore, with good encouragement, we are happy to say, in other quarters, more indeed than we could possibly have anticipated, we proceed, as one of our old favourite authors recommends "To gather up what seems dispersed, And touch the subject we designed at first." CHAPTER III. 1 REVIEW OF THE OLD GUARDS OF GLASGOW, &c. "Yet even in their ashes live their wonted fires." ALTHOUGH We have already made some general observations about the ancient corps of gentlemen Sharpshooters, not improperly denominated the "Old Guards of Glasgow," and did not intend to say anything more about them in this place, in case it might be supposed we were too eager for our own glorification, yet since the preceding numbers of these Reminiscences have made their appearance, with many imperfections, we fear, upon their head, for they have been hurriedly written, and rapidly revised at press, we have been waited upon, and earnestly besaught by some of our old surviving "companions in arms," to give now a short sketch of that remarkable regiment, ere the shades of evening close in upon us for ever. We shall, therefore, here humbly endeavour to do so, without giving offence, we hope, to any one; and certainly from no disrespect whatever to the young and active Volunteers of the present day, for whom, indeed, we entertain the most lively and affectionate esteem. It has been remarked, elsewhere, that at the sound of the Bugle, the old cavalry horse, yoked and jaded in his master's cart, has pricked up his ears and galloped off, as if willing to appear again in the fancied parade. So, almost at the mere mention of the name of the "Old Sharpshooters of Glasgow," our own ears tingle, and our old heart warms: our memory is refreshed anew, and our stinted and stubborn pen, very much used, we admit, sometimes warlike, and sometimes peaceful in its operations, but ever true and faithful to the cause it espouses, it is once more set willingly in motion, in order that we may parade that noble regiment, for so we shall call it, before the mind's eye of our kind and generous readers,. for a few moments longer. Alas! the once strippling private of 1819-20, who thus writes, has seen his old Colonel, and his Major, and his Adjutant, with very many of his once dearest comrades, both in the front and rear rank, all hewed down! And the regiment itself, which numbered upwards of 1000 of the most joyous and gifted, and gallant youths, that ever trod on the Green of Glasgow, are now reduced almost to a mere skeleton-not by the clash of arms, or the din of war, or by bloody feats on the roaring field of battle: but by the quiet, stern, and dread exigencies of that Last Enemy, whose scythe mows down, in courts, in palaces, and halls, the noblest, the best, and the bravest -yea, every one without exception, and without compunction, gentle and semple, young and old, rich and poor-all levelled indiscriminately by his hand! The history of the Glasgow Sharpshooters, never yet. distinctly written, may here be told in a few words. Its origin was this:-From the circumstances already detailed in previous numbers, the Sheriff and Magistrates of the city in the year 1819, appeared to be in a state of abso lute trepidation and alarm for the safety of the city itself, and the property therein contained. In this emergency, SAMUEL HUNTER of the Herald Office, stepped forward to their aid. He was one of the lustiest men in the city, of 18 or 20 stone at least, but his bulk was his least quality. He had been an old active Volunteer Officer in this city during the hottest part of the old French war, in the time of the First Napoleon. But though, barring his weight, he was a gallant soldier, he undoubtedly wielded a braver pen. He was at that period, and for many years, the editor and principal proprietor of the Herald. He also acted as a Magistrate occasionally on the bench. He had much rich and ready humour about him; but he had a stronger fund of common sense, and his writings though of the old Tory school, were always pretty clear, sharp, and explicit. He was, indeed, a man fitted almost for any emergency; and he was beloved in the city by the name of "Samuel"-the only name we have heard him frequently say, he ever cared about. There goes Samuel-"Hoo's a' wi' ye the day, my worthy friend?" were the salutations he received as he entered of a morning the Old Tontine Coffee-Room, at the Cross, then towering in its pride of place. He counselled the Magistrates in the serious emergency which they dreaded, to raise immediately a Regiment of 1000 Glasgow Volunteers, and to call them by the name of "the Glasgow Sharpshooters." His advice was promptly taken. The Magistrates convened the leading men of the city, and at that meeting, ten of the most spirited amongst them, most handsomely and promptly, and we will here say, most dutifully and loyally-let other things be viewed as they may-undertook and pledged themselves to raise each a company of 100 individuals; thus making a corps of 1000 Glasgow youths; or if they were not youths, they were at least in the prime of manhood. At that first meeting it was unanimously agreed that the gentlemen so raising those companies, should be regarded as the Captains thereof, with their et ceteras. Within the short space of forty-eight hours-certainly within a very few days, so excited was the times-upwards of 1000 gentlemen spontaneously came forward, and enrolled themselves as full privates on their favourite Captain's regimental books, although many of those privates were, as civilians, of superior rank and fortune than some of those officers themselves that so came forward. Nor was every Volunteer accepted or received, as a matter of course, in those ranks. He was carefully scrutinized, and behoved to be a youth of education, of sober habits, of unblemished character, able and willing to pay for the cost of the requisite military accoutrements and dress; and to contribute besides, for the equipment and maintenance of two or three military sergeants, to be drafted for drilling, from regiments of the line, besides a splendid military band of many musicians. No pay, no recruiting fee, not a penny allowed for marching purposes-all, everything to be disbursed by the gentlemen themselves out of their own private pockets; and their services too, whatever these might be, and whensoever required, were to be gratuitously and instantaneously given at the word of command. Never, we venture to say, was any Regiment in this city, or anywhere else in this realm, so quickly, handsomely, and harmoniously called into existence; and in a ratio of rapidity commensurate with the enrolment of the corps, did the severe drilling and the anxious training commence and terminate in right earnest. From six o'clock in the morning, till breakfast time at nine-and |