THE DEVIL’S OWN WALTZ

The sheet music cover for The Devil’s Own Waltz composed by Louis John

Islip and published by Partridge & Cozens of 1 Chancery Lane, London. Artwork was by Thomas W Lee, the song was dedicated to Colonel Montague McMurdo, CB and the officers and gentlemen of the 23rd Middlesex (Inns of Court) Rifle Volunteer Corps.

When King George III reviewed a volunteer corps composed of members of the legal profession, it was possibly his less than enjoyable experience with lawyers that caused him to refer to the troops as, “The Devil’s Own.” After a lull in volunteer activity in Britain, 1859 once again saw civilians putting on uniform as a precaution against invasion and from the four Inns came the 23rd Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps. And here he is, the Devil himself, dress in the grey and scarlet uniform of the 23rd, tail in hand, flames bursting from a hoofed foot, his pipe being lit by lighting from the sky. In the bottom right corner of the image the letter ‘D’ within a circle inscribed ‘Painted not so black as he is’. Behind this, a threepronged fork.