em for their judgment on the offender, unfurled the colours, and
caused them to fly towards the east, comforted the poor sinner, and
promised to meet him halfway, and thereby to deliver him by taking him
under the protection of the colours. When the line of pikes was formed
they went to the end of it with their backs towards the sun; but the
transgressor had to bless the soldiers and pray for a speedy death,
then the provost gave him three strokes with his staff on the right
shoulder and pushed him into the lane. Whoever had disgraced himself,
if the colours were waved three times over him, was freed from his
disgrace. The Ensign received every three years, money for a new flag
or dress (from eighty to a hundred gulden), and for that he was to make
a present to the company of two casks of beer or wine.

The office of Cornet of cavalry was less responsible. It was his duty
to rush vigorously upon the enemy, and after the attack to raise his
standard on high, that his people might collect round him. In the
Hungarian war the Cornet passed sometimes into the rank of Lieutenant,
and in some regiments (the Wallenstein army for instance) this custom
was kept up.

The most important man of the company next to the Captain was the
Sergeant; he was the drill-master and spokesman for the soldiers, and
had to mark out with flags the position to be taken up by the troops of
the Imperial batons, or Swedish brigades, to arrange the men, placing
in the front and rear ranks and at the sides, the best armed and most
efficient men, to mingle the halberds and short weapons, to lead and
keep with the arquebussiers; he was the instructor of the company, and
knew the proper and warlike use of his weapons.

As the "mob" who came together from for and near under a banner were
difficult to keep in order, the greater part of them not to be depended
on, and unskilled in the exercise of their weapons, the number of
non-commissioned officers was necessarily very great, frequently indeed
they formed more than a third of the troop. Any one who had military
capacity or could be depended upon, was marked out by the subordinate
commander for higher pay and posts of confidence. Amongst the numerous
functions and manifold designations of the subalterns, some are
particularly characteristic. In the beginning of the war every company
had, according to the old _Landsknecht_ custom, their "leader," who, in
the first instance at least, was chosen by the soldie