content_output-083_8 (Q6727)

The culveriner was generally accompanied by an attendant, called a “varlet” or gougal, to carry the rests and keep the fire going—a difficult matter in a shower of rain, unless, as was once the custom, the matches were carried in the hat. History states that great difficulty in retaining the fire was experienced by the English musketeers in the battle of Dunbar (1650), which was fought during a dense fog, and a heavy fall of rain took place the night previous, to which the troops were exposed.