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THE PRIVATE SOLDIER AND HIS COMRADE 209

Author has seen men try to save their officers, and praying to be allowed to do what the officers considered their special duty. It would indeed be gross ingratitude to such brave men not to record their fine traits of character-if possible in letters of pure gold.

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What will the brave private not do for comrade? If he gets into trouble he tries shelter him. If he has exceeded in his cups he will put him in his cot, prevent him talking or insulting other men, and will protect him as if he were his own brother. This does not exist to the

comrade.

British,

same degree in other nations, it is peculiarly Peculiarly British ; and it is this solid, but invisible chain that

binds our splendid soldiers together in the rush of

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a brother.

battle. A comrade' means 'a brother;' and that is A comrade is the reason our men fight so stubbornly, for they see their brethren fall around them. The Amalgamation has brought the British and the old Company's Indian officers. officers more together, and we are now one body. The splendid achievements of the Indian Army are recorded in the brightest pages of history, and an army with names such as Lawrence, Clive, Outram, Nicholson, Pollock, and Hodson, with thousands of others too numerous to record, may be admitted to be worthy of a place in the noble line

The soldier's iron bedstead is always called in barrack language, his cot.'

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The Backbone of the Army.

What the
'private'
does for us.

of Her Majesty's forces. Doubtless many a British soldier can call to mind the kind acts of numerous Company's officers during the mutiny of 1857?

And when the veteran has done with war and settled down by his humble fireside in England, he will no doubt recount often the kind and considerate acts of a body of gentlemen who shared his hardships and fought side by side with him for months together. Yet let abler pens

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record the deeds of our officers; it is for us to draw attention to the Backbone' of our Army, the glorious 'private soldier,'-the man who has carried our name through the length and breadth of the world; the man who has covered us with glory; the man who keeps our most beloved Queen on her throne, and protects our humble firesides, and all our beloved ones, from the insults of the most powerful foe. And when we say the 'private,' we include most assuredly every brave 'Jack Tar,'-indeed every man who does his duty to maintain the power of our country. Let more learned men write on our commanders—our theme shall be the noble, and-even though often unguarded and reckless,-the brave, 'private soldier.' No better men are to be found in any army, and right strong are we when we have such Mere children troops. They are as a rule mere children; they are not 'wild beasts,'-the rough exterior becomes

in mind.

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British

the diamond when polished. 'The man's the gold for a' that,' and this is simple truth. When Napoleon said, 'Give me British officers and I Napoleon on will conquer the world,' he inadvertently insulted officers. Jehovah; for God made the private too, and gave to him a soul as well as to his more highly educated superior, or officer,-not his superior as a man, but with the further reasoning power that comes from education.

requisite.

Everything is easy when we know it; the boy Instruction can do a difficult problem when he is instructed, and officers must learn to teach their men aright in very simple language, most particularly when they are brought up for any misconduct. A little patience, a little time spent in explanation of the seriousness of the offence, will be amply repaid by the effect it will have on the uneducated or reckless soldier.

Patience and explanation.

Presence of mind.

CHAPTER IX.

Presence of Mind a matter of Experience-Nerves of Novices should be spared Horrid Scenes in War - Calm Courage compared with Impetuous Rashness-We want Prudent as well as Brave Soldiers; but the Leaders should be Thoughtful Men-It takes all sorts to make an Army-The Chivalrous Soldier of the Age-Fate of French after Sedan Compared with Probable Fate of the Defenders of Lucknow had the Place fallen-How Soldiers may lose Confidence in Themselves— Death from Cholera feared more than Death in Action; the Invisible Foe dreaded more than the Visible-The Foot Soldier faces greater Danger than the Cavalry Man-Different kinds of Courage-Example only Required-Advantage of Lectures to Soldiers, recounting former Deeds of our Army.

HAVING drawn attention to the critical moment in battle, we now proceed to remark on what is generally termed 'Presence of Mind.' We are too prone to consider that a soldier only requires drill, and expect that a mere recruit will act as a veteran forthwith. A young soldier ought to be treated as carefully as a child. There is nothing so trying to the boy soldier as to see his comrades dropping about him, and to observe them groan and die in his presence. How few men there are who can witness the most trifling surgical operations for the first time, without feeling that there is something repulsive in the sight! Yet we often expect mere experience. novices, mere boys in age, to witness the most

Trials of nerve.

Novices require

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awful scenes without a shudder. Many a good surgeon has fainted on his first introduction to the dissecting-room, yet the same man has, afterwards, cut up the dead body of a human being as coolly and calmly as a butcher does the carcase of an ox. Thousands of timid recruits have turned out the

bravest of the brave veterans. Admitting then that all men's nerves are not strung alike, it is our duty, for humanity's sake, to make the soldier Management feel these horrors as little as possible. We can

in action.

Firing of much

prevent his mind dwelling too much on such sad spectacles by keeping him fully occupied. The best plan our experience tells us is, to pour a steady fire on the enemy whenever circumstances advantage. are favourable, instead of letting the poor fellows gape and stare at their dead comrades, until they themselves feel that dispiriting sensation that comes on all who see their own side suffering loss, and know they are inflicting no injury in return. But we do not assert that it is prudent to fire at all times. There is a vast difference between covering an advance by a well directed discharge as you proceed, and reserving your volley on certain occasions to stagger an advancing foe. At Talavera, for instance, the French advanced Talavera, under a fire of eighty pieces of cannon, but the advance and

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British did not return a single shot till the assailants came up to within twenty paces. tremendous volley was then delivered from our

How and when to be

used.

French

repulse.

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