CHAPTER III.

Three sources whence the Consecration of the Standard of the Cross may be derived-a Celestial Vision, a Papal Bull, or the Prayer and Blessing by a Protestant Clergyman.—The Subject illustrated from the Devices and Mottoes on the Banners and Regimental Colours of the British Army.-Curious Particulars suggestive of thought.-War, Religion, and Standards.

THERE are three sources whence the banner of the cross has derived that degree of sanctity, or religious consecration, which imparts to it the peculiar character for the special objects of a crusade, or for the vulgar routine of war and official slaughter. The first is from celestial visions, or signs in the air, or on the clouds; the second, from the solemn benediction on the banner by the pontiff or bishop of Rome; and the third, from the prayer and blessing by the Episcopalian clergyman or the Presbyterian minister.

Out of the pages of the Sacred Scriptures a person may be allowed to be very sceptical of any direct supernatural vision from heaven, but on this subject we have said enough in our description of the famous sign of Constantine. It is only during the darkness of the night that men expect, or fear, to see spirits, and under the same state of mind it has happened that supernatural sights have been seen only in ages which are designated as those of darkness.

As this section is designed to be more suggestive of

thought than descriptive of things, we shall, in the first place, refer to the religious ceremony performed on the presentation of a pair of colours to an English, Scottish, or Irish regiment of infantry, which is done in front of the body under arms on the interesting occasion. The minister prays over the standards, or in front of them. The following is an extract from the prayer, asking the blessing:-"Almighty and most Merciful Father! we beseech Thee to forward with thy blessing the presentation to this regiment of the colours or standards which are henceforth to be carried in its ranks: and with all lowliness and humility of spirit we presume to consecrate the same in thy great Name to the cause of peace and happiness, truth and justice, religion and piety." That presentation and consecration of standards on which the sign of the cross was inscribed took place at Portsmouth, on the 8th of June, 1850. The regiment was the 28th, on its return from India. The following is an extract from the prayer by the Reverend Principal Lee, on the presentation of colours at Edinburgh, on the 3rd of May, 1844, to the Cameronian Regiment :thou, Lord God of Hosts, who in times past hast often led on our warriors to triumph, be gracious to this gallant band, composed of the brave survivors of many hardships and jeopardies endured in distant climes, associated now with a more numerous body, who in early youth are emulous of the honours won by their veteran companions; and if they shall ever be summoned to the field of honourable warfare, vouchsafe to spread over them the protecting buckler of thy faithfulness, and prosper their colours in the hour of peril. May these banners, bearing the memorials of arduous service, and martial renown, which we now dedicate to Thee, never be lifted but in the cause of God and

Do

truth, of loyalty and patriotism, and may the omnipotent arm of the Most High sustain and help those who fight under them, inspiring them with strength, and leading them on to victory. May the view of these consecrated standards animate their hearts with heroic resolution." * The account says,

that a lady, the wife of the commander of the forces, handed the colours to the two ensigns, or standard bearers, who received them kneeling! A reflection here occurs. By the law of arms, and by the military oath, officers and soldiers must do and act whatever their superior officers command them to do, at the peril of their lives, and on their reputation; and they dare not ask any question whatever as to the truth, or loyalty, or patriotism, or justice, or religion of the service in which they uplift their banners. This consideration, therefore, ought to weigh well with every honest and honourable man before he gives up his liberty, loads his conscience, and exposes his life in the profession of arms, as a technical and hired soldier.+

The addresses made to regiments by the commanders, generally contain a recapitulation of the past services and actions in which they were engaged, and

1844.

Taken from the "Edinburgh Evening Courant," 4th May,

+ Since writing the text, we have seen the Report of the Fifty-seventh Anniversary of the London Missionary Society, held in Exeter Hall on Thursday, the 15th May, 1851. A reverend missionary, J. J. Freeman, who had returned from the Cape of Good Hope, affirms that Sir Harry Smith, the governor and commander of the forces, on an occasion of addressing the troops, on going against the Caffres, said that "their first duty was to their officers, and their second duty to their God." Soldiers need not believe these words, but they must obey them!-Nonconformist newspaper, of 21st May, 1851.

exhortations to future valour and good conduct. The address which was made by General Sir Charles Napier, on the presentation of standards to the 22nd regiment, in India, is characteristic of that officer, and places in the heroic light the toil and danger of slaying enemies. It also affords glimpses of the operations of troops in battle. "Soldiers! well may I be proud of being your colonel . But I will pass over by

gone glories, and speak of what has happened in our own times. Never can I forget the banks of the Fullailee, and the bloody bed of that river, where 2000 of our men fought 35,000 enemies; where, for three hours, the musket and bayonet encountered the sword and shield in mortal combat; for on that dreadful day no man spared a foe-we were too weak for mercy.

Men of Meeanee, you must remember with exultation, and with pride, what a view burst upon your sight when, under a heavy fire, you reached the bank of the river, and a hurl of shields, and Scindiancapped and turbaned heads, and flashing scimitars, high brandished in the air, spread as a sea before you, and 35,000 valiant warriors of Beloochistan threatening you with destruction! Then the hostile armies closed and clashed together, and desperate combats thickened along the line! The superb 9th cavalry of Bengal, and renowned Scinde horse-the dark chivalry of India— burst as a thunder-storm cloud, charging into the dry bed of the torrent, driving the foe before them! At that moment a terrible cry arose on the right. It was the dreadful British shout of battle. It began with the 22nd regiment, and was re-echoed from right to left, from regiment to regiment, along the line. Lines of levelled bayonets now gleamed, charging through the smoke, and the well-fought field of Meeanee was your own. Ensigns, take these new colours

H

from my hands. I know you will carry them gloriously on the day of battle, and if you fall, still the colours of the 22nd will advance, for brave men will never be wanting in the field to bear them forward to victory with fire and steel; and now, 22nd, take your colours, and let the ancient city of Chester, begirt by its proud old walls, exult in the glories of its own brave regiment."*

The above account is graphic, and written in the Ossianic style, and would serve as a programme for a melo-drama, or afford a subject for an epic poem. But at the same time it suggests many melancholy and humiliating reflections in a thoughtful mind. The truth must be told! It is an animal and gross lust of conquest and dominion that carries the British to the interior of Asia. We perceive by the report of the general-in-chief, that soldiers enlisted in Liverpool or Chester, or in the quiet villages of England and Wales, are transported to the banks of the Indus or to the Punjab, to seize the country and to carry on warfare on the exterminating principle of the ancient Scythians, by giving no quarter and killing the enemies who cry out for mercy. People at home ought to think of these things, and make up their minds on the wars carried on against Sikhs and Caffres. Sir Charles Napier does not state whether the colours he presented to his regiment had been consecrated by prayer by a regimental chaplain; but no Christian minister in the country of military operations, and witnessing the victims of battle, could with consistency consecrate standards in such a cause "to peace, happiness, truth, justice and religion." We know not what ceremony is performed on the presentation of standards to regi

* London Newspapers of January, 1851. Caledonian Mercury, 20th January.