Excerpt from Papers, Vol. 4: On Subjects Connected With the Duties of the Corps of Royal Engineers The subject of this Memoir is the late Captain Thomas Drummond, and the object with which it is placed here is an endeavour to show that talent and exertion need never despair of reward. Military habits and organization are conducive to the best interests of society, even during a period of the profoundest peace; and the duties of the Corps of Engineers in particular are of a nature which, in this age of general im provement, should always render its members useful to the community and the Govern ment; but for this purpose exertion and study are necessary: the mere punctual performance of routine duties will never purchase distinction. It is eminently in this view the example of Captain Drummond may be useful, that it may afford hope and encouragement, and show that earnest devotion to professional pursuits is our best interest as well as our duty. Captain Drummond was born at Edinburgh, in October, 1797. He was the second of three sons, and his father died while he was yet an infant, after which his mother removed to Musselburgh, a Village in the neighbourhood, where she resided many years, devoting herself entirely to her children. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.