"Oh, I'm one of those usual exceptions which are always forthcoming to prove a rule." Spunner's weak point was believed to be parsimony. Though he was one of the richest fellows in the regiment, he was what is called "close," and knew how to take care of his money-not frittering it away on betting and frivolities; but nevertheless spending it, on the whole, liberally enough—as when there was a ball or extra big demand on the mess, or band subscriptions, or a treat to the men at circus or theatre. He was popular, though he hailed from Manchester. Like Fitz, he was never known to lose his temper, and could stand any amount of chaff. The two might be taken as fair types of their distinctive classes. One of the oldest private soldiers in the regiment had known Spunner's father when both were street Arabs, and before the latter became an office-boy in the huge establishment which he now owned as senior surviving partner. This fact got to the ears of a corporal, from him to the sergeants' mess, and so travelled to the sergeantmajor, and onward and upward till, by some means or other, it got to be known among Spunner's brother officers, very soon after he joined; but to do them justice, the fact was never insultingly thrown in his teeth-as it would have been if he had been the least bit of a snob. He was not-he was a character" in his way, and was valued accordingly. The advice which he got from his father was sound if commonplace, and he was ever on the watch to profit by it and follow it. He rejoiced now in the prospect of active service as a means to his end. "Get to the top of the tree, my boy," wrote old Spunner; "that's what has to be done nowadays. If you can't shin up an oak or a pine, get up a poplar; the timber is good for nothing, but it grows high, and you must be with the climbers. A giddy fellow, who has no head for dangerous ascents, may laugh at the toll you have to pay in the way of rents in your nether garments, but get up, and when you reach the top, you'll be above the eyesight of those who look out for small blemishes; and your comrades, up there along with you, will have enough to do to hold on, and will not, I promise you, take note of such trifles. He that sticks his brush out at the chimney-top for the crowd to stare at, and shouts to make people look, may not be the best sweep; but he gets the most thought of and talked about, and the biggest reward in the way of success. The advice given to Fitz by his father when he sent him to Sandhurst was equally sound from his standpoint, though necessarily of a very different character. "If you are at all inclined to be proud of your descent, my boy-as I believe you are -from worthy ancestors, remember always that the worth which was theirs, you inherit by no merit of your own. You were born to it, just as we are born into particular creeds; but, all the same, you hold it in trust, and you should never allow yourself to forget that you will probably be an ancestor to others of your race. See, therefore, that you leave after you a repute which your descendants may be proud to inherit.” com And surely this is the only true and admirable pride of family. He who, in the mon acceptation, is self-made, the first of his race, is not in honour called upon by the exigencies of society to dig up the names and reputations (such as they are) of those who have left no record of anything worth delving for; and he may comfort himself with the certainty that, if he is without a family muniment-room, he is also without the skeletons which too often abide in it. "Rather have a care," the paternal Bateman's letter went on, "my dear Fitzmaurice, that while another makes a good beginning to his, you don't make a bad endThe ing to your own pedigree. world is well stocked with snobs. The most repulsive snob of any is he who boasts of his relationship to live lords. I have known several of these lords, whom the adventitious aid of an ancestral handle to their names has not raised above mediocrity and contempt. He who could boast of such kinship, deserves to find no better. But there are lords to whose repute a mere title can add nothing. Do not speak of your relationship to any of these till you have acquitted yourself so that they will hear of the kinship, if not with satisfaction, at least with unconcern." This was a sensible letter, it must be admitted, and one, moreover, which the healthy young animal to whom it was addressed fully appreciated and understood. He knew that his father was a thorough gentleman and a brave soldier, and had also found out that, if he had the least inclination to be a snob, the army was about the last profession in which to pose as such. But we must not linger too long in the company of these pleasant fellows. On the eve of their departure for "the front," they were as merry as schoolboys going home for the vacation, and apparently quite heedless of the old saw which gives to every bullet its billet. The voice of Fitz rang out at midnight as musically as ever; while, responsive to the general call, he sang, "by special request, and possibly for the last time," as Tiptop with grim facetiousness observed, a song which seemed to be an old favourite, beginning:— "I'm a thoroughbred Paddy, With a heart and a halfpenny always to spare, And a family motto of 'Divil may care The owld Irish reading for 'Never despair!"" Play on, big boys, until the time for more serious work arrives, and hearts beat high-or cease to beat upon the battle-field. Amid the ups and downs, the hopes and fears, the joys and sorrows of that strange admixture which goes to make up the sum of this mortal life, it is indeed a wise and allmerciful dispensation of Providence which shuts out the future from our ken, else would the hopes and aspirations of existence be too heavily handicapped for human. endurance. It is given to the novelist only to look into the future, but what the sight discloses he is not at liberty to declare before the appointed time; at all events, the noise becomes so great in this particular barrack-room, that at last we are forced to fly. The country was now in the throes of war, and, as usual, we had entered upon it by underrating the strength and resources of the enemy. Disaster had come upon us unawares, and the nation was in a state of ferment, having been defrauded of its legitimate victim; and a victim, ever since the days of poor Admiral Byng, John Bull yearns for, and demands as a right, after every serious reverse as a necessary peace - offering to his wounded pride and self-esteem. It is, however, only fair to John to admit that he is lavish of honours, where success gives him a fair excuse for bestowing them. In both cases he likes to get hold of the right man, either to reward or punish, as the case may be. He makes mistakes sometimes, but his heart is in the right place nevertheless. Troops were now being collected from all quarters to repair our disaster, and were being gathered together for speedy embarkation. The garrison - port of Westerly-on-Sea was in a state of wild excitement and abnormal bustle, in consequence of the arrival of horse and foot by every train as well as by the Queen's highway. Hired transports relieved each other at the quays, each taking off its full complement. Soldiers were billeted in almost every house. Female hearts, as heretofore and since, were beating loud, I have no doubt; but the beating of drums and the braying of trumpets and the clanging of arms made the ears of the most sensitive civilian deaf to these more subtle sounds; and Tommy Atkins, perforce, did his farewells for the most part in dumb show, poor fellow ! All honour to this same Tommy Atkins, old or young! I say parenthetically. Despised and contemned too often in the piping times of peace, when selfish men think only of the counter and the till, and of the profits resulting from a slavish attention to busi ness, he has his innings at momentous times like these; and I for one don't grudge them. He will have them again by-and-by, if he has only the good luck to get home. I say once more, all honour to him! I myself have had, and always shall have, the scarlet fever. If I hadn't been of the wrong sex to begin with, I should have sought reversionary glory (without the risk) by marrying into the army. The simple reader may ask, "Why, being then confessedly a male, are you not a soldier?" To which I reply, that possibly I am of a delicate constitution; or a too fond mother may have objected; or I may not have had brains for Sandhurststill less for Woolwich; or again, soldiering being a profession not self-supporting, there may have been pecuniary drawbacks. good enough, my dear sir, to make any excuse for me which does not necessitate my showing the white feather! But all these inquisitorial points are personal matters with which the reader has nothing whatever to do; and even if it should be on the cards that I lack the actual amount of courage, I could hardly be expected to make the damaging admission. It is not on the cards. Be I say again that I fervently hope the scarlet fever may long remain an ailment among the fair sex-nay, more, one which may never abate. Where is there a nobler fellow than a well-conditioned soldier ? Familiar with hardship, contumely, and danger; shut out from competency and comfort; ready at a moment's notice to face death, with no other reward, if he should escape it, than a two-and-sixpenny medal on his breast. Put him into the balance and weigh him against the sleek and well-dressed counter- to a grand ball-a farewell one -given by the officers of that gallant corps to the nobility and gentry of the neighbourhood and town. The non-commissioned officers followed the example of their superiors, and gave a ball too; while the privates were allowed to accept hospitality or to entertain their friends. Old Colonel Bob Lister of the "Do-or-Dies" had full confidence in his men; and while relaxing the reins of discipline under such exceptional circumstances, he was quite satisfied that the concession would not be seriously or culpably abused, and that the final muster would be as it always had been-fully up to the mark and creditable to his regiment. He made a speech in the barrack square before "breaking off," which wasn't long, but was very much to the point all the same. The men were to enjoy themselves but not to get drunk, and every soldier was to put in an appearance, and to "fall in " responsive to the bugle - call at the muster. "No skulking or deserting, or anything of that sort, boys," he said. expect the gallant D.D.'s to maintain its character to the last moment here in England; and I expect it to return to England with its ranks perhaps reduced, but with its reputation increased-as heretofore. But, look here! If I find a man drunk to-morrow morning on parade, by the Lord!" "I But it was not so at Westerlyon-Sea. It was not in accord at any time, and still less was it in accord just then, with the public sentiment of the place. At the period of which we write, Tommy was being feasted, honoured, praised, petted, and made much of by everybody, small and great, high and low, without distinction of persons, or classes, or creedsfor there were no Quakers there. The 201st had been for a long time quartered in the town: acquaintances had been made, courtships carried on, and, as a natural consequence, some marriages celebrated to say nothing of bap--and he shook his head and both tisms. And now that links were to be severed and ties broken, there was nothing for it but to kill care and sorrow by jollity and enjoyment. The time was short and the notice sudden, though not unexpected, and Westerly made the most of it. But one night more remained; and this was devoted fists portentously, as he shouted "Break off!" They all knew what his "By the Lord!" meant. He went by the familiar name of Old Blister in the barrack-rooms, because of his severity, which fitted in so aptly with his initial and surname; yet he was respected by the wildest spirits in the ranks ----; Balls generally, public or private, are a success, for the simple reason that the majority of those who go to them are young, and therefore go prepared to take enjoyment out of them. That the farewell ball of the gallant "Do-or-Dies" was no exception, goes without saying. What with the decorations formed of rifles, swords, bayonets, and flags -the regimental band -the gay uniforms brave men and handsome women it was simply a brilliant affair; and was declared by the Westerly Daily News,' in leader type, to have been the most enjoyable gathering of the sort which had taken place within the memory of the reporter for that long-lived print, who had-if the truth must be told - succumbed early in the evening (having prudently prepared his report beforehand) to the combined effects of brandy and heat; and had retired early to a back bench in the musicians' gallery, where, having been, after much coaxing, induced to go to bed thereon without undressing himself, he compromised matters by merely taking off one boot, to indicate that he was not, as one of the band observed, "in full marching order." Fitz and Tiptop had worked very hard at the decorations; and their taste and skill did them, it must be frankly owned, infinite credit. Fitz, whose inherent modesty did not lead by any means, as we know, to self-depreciation, congratulated himself hugely on the result as he looked proudly round him, and took in, with a sweepingly comprehensive grasp of vision, the "gay and festive scene" around him. "I wouldn't have to go through it all again, though," he remarked with a suppressed yawn to Tiptop, "for a good deal. In fact, I'd almost as soon go through a campaign." "Well, I like that," responded Tiptop, languidly letting his eyeglass drop from his eye as he opened it wider with a mild wonder; a fellow that's never been at a good-sized review talking about a campaign! I like that Fitz." "Glad you do! Even that admission is worth something from a worthy whose motto is, or should be, nil admirari; but, now I come to think of it, deuce a much experience of fire-eating you have had to brag about either!" "But I don't brag about itthere's the difference, my boy; I don't talk of what I know nothing about." |