Rumor

a desultory, loose report of what may, or may not be. To spread false Rumors , to circulate things without the foundation of reality. Reports, . are sometimes circulated by means of spies, deserters, . for the purpose of covering some particular design, or intended operation. Rumors of this kind should be cautiously listened to by the commanding officer of the army through which they are spread. It sometimes happens that individuals, through wantonne , or from some other motive, create alarms among their own people, by anticipating some looked for or dreaded event. This offence is not only punishable by the civil law, but, being contrary to good order and discipline, is rigidly so in every army. A singular circumstance of this kind occurred at Col chester, England, in 1797. During the alarm which universally prevailed at that time, especially along the coast of E ex, a serjeant belonging to a militia regiment, unwittingly, for it is not supposed he did it wilfully, said in the hearing of some soldiers, that the French would dine at Ipswich on the Sunday following ! This expre ion soon spread among the inhabitants of the place, and a formal complaint was made to the general of the district. The offender having originally belonged to the line, and bearing the best of characters, was so far considered, as not to be tried by a general court-martial; but, for the sake of example, he was ordered to be escorted to the church nearest to the coast, and on a Sunday to appear in the porch, and there ask pardon of the inhabitants for the alarm he had created. To RUN the gantlope , (that is the gauntlet ) to undergo a punishment which has been allotted for considerable offences in some foreign countries. When a soldier is sentenced to run the gantlope, the regiment is drawn out in two ranks facing each other: each soldier, having a switch in each hand, lashes the criminal as he runs along naked from the waist upwards. While he runs, the drums beat at each end of the ranks. Sometimes he runs 3, 5, or 7 times, according to the nature of the offence. The major is on horseback, and takes care that each soldier strikes the culprit.