object of worship. Shortly afterwards he took part in the forcing of the passages of the Bidassoa against Soult, and in the subsequent operations (being twice wounded in the course of them) which, by dint of skill of movement and hard fighting, thrust the French leader through the Pyrenees. Gleig was with the force that invested Bayonne, while Lord Wellington followed Soult to Orthez and Toulouse, when all further operations ceased with the close of the war.
The 'Subaltern' well deserved its reputation. In its pages the author appears as combining all the ardour and enterprise of the fighting soldier with the grasp of plan and operations that mark the capable officer, and the whole narrative shows a power of representing the picturesque scenes and events through which he passed, such as was at that time certainly very uncommon. It is no wonder, then, that the book brought him immediate fame. It was dedicated to the Duke, by "his obedient servant and follower in a few bloody fields, the Subaltern." No doubt it justly formed a passport to that great man's esteem, and Gleig had constant opportunities, at Strathfieldsaye and elsewhere, of being one of the group around the chief whom he so venerated.
But the peace with France brought no repose to Gleig. His regiment marched from Bayonne to the Garonne, and there embarked for America, and among the best of his writings is the description of that march, which forms the preamble to his narrative of the campaigns of Washington and New Orleans. He was with Ross at Bladensburg and the subsequent entry into Washington, and played his part in the attempt upon Baltimore, where he was again wounded, and the attack upon New Orleans, with which his military career ended.
There being no prospect of further active service, he returned to Oxford, completed his course there, and took orders. He became first, curate of Ash in Kent, then rector of Ivychurch in the same county. There he wrote, in 1829, the 'Chelsea Pensioners,' a series of sketches and tales in three volumes, and in 1830 another, the 'Country Curate.' In 1834 he became Chaplain of Chelsea Hospital. It was probably to the friendship of the great Duke that he owed his most congenial and fitting appointment in 1846 of Chaplain-General to the Forces, which he continued to fill till 1875. This gave him of course frequent opportunities of doing what he enjoyed, and excelled in, beyond any other form of pastoral address – namely, preaching to soldiers. Nothing could be better than his style of addressing them: it was simple, weighty, genial, and not without touches of the whilom campaigner. We heard him once preach in a military riding-school to a congregation of soldiers ranged around in ranks, his pulpit of three drums covered by a flag, his clerk a corporal in uniform; and it seemed as if the choicest audience, in the most imposing of cathedrals, could not have pleased him better. He had an uncommon gift of extempore speaking : when about to preach, he would take a turn or two in the garden, and was then ready. Nothing could be less of the conventional type than his style and matter – picturesque and full of interest, they always commanded attention.
It has always seemed to the present writer that Mr Gleig would have made an excellent bishop. His dignity, his courtesy, his activity and interest in his work, and his power of language, would have graced a
