John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
10435 Appendix John Bartlett
| NUMBER: | 10435 |
| AUTHOR: | Appendix |
| QUOTATION: | Gentlemen of the French guard, fire first. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Lord C. Hay at the battle of Fontenoy, 1745. To which the Comte d’Auteroches replied, “Sir, we never fire first; please to fire yourselves.”—Fournier: L’Esprit dans l’histoire. |