|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 6
It may interest you to know something about the square.
This formation of troops is considered the strongest. It is used
principally to repel cavalry or to resist a larger force. It has been in
use since the sixteenth century.
To form a square the troops are drawn up into a quadrangle, or square,
the soldiers all standing so that they face outward. By this means each
side of the square presents a solid front to the enemy, and it is
wellnigh impossible for an attacking force to break through.
In the sixteenth century the square was composed of a solid body of men;
at the present time it is a hollow formation. The soldiers stand in
ranks four or five deep, the officers, colors, and baggage being in the
centre.
The English are particularly partial to this formation, and it has long
been the boast of the commanders that a British square has never been
broken.
The force of insurgents led by the Haddah Mullah attacked the English
camp soon after nightfall. The soldiers were at once formed into a
square around their baggage, and though, as we have said, the attack was
fiercely made on three sides at once, the famous square stood firm, and
the tribesmen were forced to retire.
Ten batteries of artillery and eight regiments of cavalry have been
ordered out from England to help suppress the insurrection in India.
* * * * *
It is reported from the Soudan that a treaty of peace is about to be
made between the Mahdi and Great Britain.
The terms of the treaty are said to be that the Mahdi will not oppose
the British forces advancing as far as Khartoum, and that they may
station troops to keep possession of the land they have gained, but that
they must not attempt to go a step farther. The Mahdi is to remain King
of Khartoum.
It is not yet known whether the terms of peace will be accepted by
England.
An interesting find was made at Berber. When the British troops entered
the town they found on one of the boats in the river a uniform-case
marked Gordon Pasha.
The English officers to whom it was brought were much moved at the sight
of an article that had once been the property of the unfortunate General
Gordon, who was killed by the Mahdists at Khartoum on January 26, 1885.
* * * * *
There is news of Professor Andr�e.
You remember that he started from Spitzbergen in a balloon, hoping to
sail across the North Pole.
A report from Arctic Russia says that on the night of September 14th the
inhabitants of a little village saw a balloon which was believed to be
that of Andr�e's.
A day or two after this a carrier-pigeon brought a despatch from the
traveller.
The tidings brought by this bird were that Andr�e was making a good
voyage to the eastward, and that all was going well.
There is no doubt that this message is a genuine one from the explorer.
The pigeon bore on its wings the same markings as on those which the
adventurer carried with him. Scientists have, however, expressed their
opinion that Andr�e has failed to reach the Pole. The message of the
bird and the direction in which the balloon was seen to be going have
convinced them that Andr�e has been carried eastward, and not across the
Pole, as he had hoped.
It is thought that by this time the gas in the balloon must have become
exhausted, and that Andr�e and his companions have had to cut loose from
it, and are on the ice somewhere near Spitzbergen, and that they may
perhaps be so fortunate as to drift near enough to civilization to be
picked up and rescued.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|