decently shovelled out of sight, only to be referred to in the
freshest of unguarded talk that occasionally swamps a Mess-table
at midnight. Then one hears strange and horrible stories of men
not following their officers, of orders being given by those who
had no right to give them, and of disgrace that, but for the
standing luck of the British Army, might have ended in brilliant
disaster. These are unpleasant stories to listen to, and the
Messes tell them under their breath, sitting by the big wood
fires, and the young officer bows his head and thinks to himself,
please God, his men shall never behave unhandily.

The British soldier is not altogether to be blamed for occasional
lapses; but this verdict he should not know. A moderately
intelligent General will waste six months in mastering the craft
of the particular war that he may be waging; a Colonel may utterly
misunderstand the capacity of his regiment for three months after
it has taken the field, and even a Company Commander may err and
be deceived as to the temper and temperament of his own handful:
wherefore the soldier, and the soldier of to-day more
particularly, should not be blamed for fa1ling back. He should be
shot or hanged afterwards - to encourage the others; but he should
not be vilified in newspapers, for that is want of tact and waste
of space.

He has, let us say, been in the service of the Empress for,
perhaps, four years. He will leave in another two years. He has no
inherited morals, and four years are not sufficient to drive
toughness into his fibre, or to teach him how holy a thing is his
Regiment. He wants to drink, he wants to enjoy himself - in India
he wants to save money - and he does not in the least like getting