519
passing many students of much longer standing, and
attaining an eminence which left him few competitors.
In horsemanship, fencing, and dancing, he was con-
sidered, even in the refined city of Paris, to be with-
out a rival.
In 1723 he quitted the academy of Vaudeuil, but
continued to reside in France till 1726. In the same
year in which his lordship left the seminary just
named, an incident occurred strongly illustrative of
his daring and determined character. Amongst the
other sights exhibited during the festivities which
were held in celebration of the accession of the young
French king, was that of drawing one of the fish-
ponds in the gardens of Versailles. The Earl of
Crawford was amongst the crowd assembled to wit-
ness this novelty. In pressing forward to the edge
of the water to obtain a sight of the young monarch,
he was rudely jostled by a French marquis. Irritated
by this incivility, the earl instantly caught up the
Frenchman, who was in full court-dress, in his arms,
and tossed him, robes and feathers and all, into the
middle of the fish-pond. The spectators, highly
delighted with the unexpected exhibition, burst into
immoderate fits of laughter, in which they were
cordially joined by the young king himself, who
eagerly inquired who the person was that had thrown
the marquis into the water. The latter himself did
not think fit to take any notice of the affair either at
the time or at any after period.
In 1726 his lordship returned to Britain, acknow-
ledged by all to be one of the most accomplished
gentlemen of the age. On the 25th of December of
the same year he obtained a captain's commission in
one of the additional troops of the 2d regiment of
Royal Scots Greys. This appointment he held till
1730, when, these troops being disbanded, he again
repaired to the Duchess of Argyle's residence in the
Highlands, and remained there for the next eighteen
months. In January,, 1732, he once more left this
retirement to mingle with the world, being appointed
to the command of a troop of the 7th or Queen's
Own regiment of dragoons. He was also, in the
same month, elected one of the sixteen representa-
tives of the Scottish peerage, in place of the Earl of
Loudon deceased. This honour was again conferred
upon him at the general elections in the years 1734,
1741, and 1747. In the month of June, 1733, his
lordship was appointed gentleman of the bed-chamber
to the Prince of Wales. On the 18th of February,
in the year following, he obtained the captain-lieu-
tenancy of the 1st regiment of foot-guards, and on
the 1st of October, in the same year, a company of
the 3d foot-guards. Notwithstanding these various
appointments, the earl, who entertained from his
youngest years a strong passion for military fame,
finding his life but an inactive one, and the English
service unlikely at the time to present him with any
opportunity of distinguishing himself, sought and
obtained the king's permission to go out as a volunteer
to the Imperial army, the emperor being at that time
engaged in a war with France.
His lordship joined the Imperialists in 1735, at
Bruchsal on the Rhine, where he was received with
every mark of distinction and favour by the celebrated
Prince Eugene of Savoy, then in command of the
troops in that quarter. Finding, however, that there
was no immediate appearance of active service here,
his lordship, accompanied by Viscount Primrose and
Captain Dalrymple, both volunteers like himself,
proceeded to the army under Count Sackendorff. The
first duty imposed on them by this general was to
reconnoitre the enemy, who were posted near Claus-
sen. As they advanced towards the French lines
they were met by a party of the enemy, three times
the number of their own escort, and a skirmish ensued,
in which Count Nassau, who accompanied them,
was killed, and Lord Primrose severely wounded by
a musket-ball close beside the Earl of Crawford.
On the evening of the same day, 17th of October,
1735, the battle of Claussen was fought, affording his
lordship an opportunity of distinguishing himself,
which he did not let pass. He attached himself to
the Prince of Waldeck, who commanded the left
wing of the Imperialists, and attended him throughout
the whole of the battle. The position in which the
earl was placed was the first attacked by the enemy,
and was the most sanguinary part of the field. The
intelligence, bravery, and good conduct of his lord-
ship in this engagement excited the warmest admira-
tion of the prince, and laid the foundation of his
future fame as a soldier.
Preliminaries of peace between the emperor and
France having been soon afterwards signed, the earl
left the Imperial army, made a tour of the Nether-
lands and Holland, and again returned to Britain.
On his arrival he was graciously received by George
II., who honoured him with many warm expressions
of esteem. His lordship remained at home for two
years. At the end of this period he again became
desirous of exchanging the monotony of a peaceful
and idle for an active life, and sought the king's
permission to serve as a volunteer in the Russian
army, under Field-marshal Munich, then engaged
with the Imperialists in a war against the Turks.
Having obtained the royal permission, he embarked
at Gravesend in April, 1738, for Petersburg. On
his arrival there he waited upon the czarina, who
appointed him to the command of a regiment of
horse, with the rank of general in the Russian ser-
vice. His lordship then left Petersburg in the
middle of May to join the army, which he effected
after a dangerous and tedious journey of a month's
duration. Several sanguinary engagements with the
Turks soon followed, and in all the earl eminently
distinguished himself, both by his military skill and
fearless intrepidity. In one of these murderous con-
flicts, which took place on the 26th of July, and in
which the Turks and Tartars were repulsed with great
loss, his lordship, who was at the head of a party of
Cossacks, excited the astonishment and admiration
of even these bold and skilful riders by his dexterity
in horsemanship. Nor were they less delighted
with the gallantry also which he exhibited in this
battle, in the instance of a single combat with
a Tartar, whom, after a desperate encounter, he
sabred and stripped of his arms. The latter he after-
wards brought to England with him as objects of
curiosity.
The season being now far advanced, Marshal
Munich thought it advisable to retire from the scene of
operations, and accordingly retreated to Kiow, whither
he was accompanied by the earl, who remained with
him for three weeks after the cessation of hostilities.
He then left Munich, and joined the Imperialists near
Belgrade. The earl had now acquired a large stock
of military knowledge, and had been especially im-
proved in the art by his experience under Munich,
whom he justly reckoned the first captain of the age.
Six weeks after he joined the Imperial army, it was
marched into winter-quarters. On this occasion he
attached himself to Prince Eugene's regiment, and
proceeded with that corps to Comorra, thirty-three
miles S.E. of Presburg. Here, and at Vienna, to
which he occasionally resorted, he remained till the
middle of April, 1739. During this leisure his lord-
ship employed himself in reducing to method and
system the military knowledge which he had acquired,
by drawing plans and writing observations on the