London at the End of the Century:A Book of Gossip
a Beckett, Arthur William
1900
THE BAPTISM OF HARD WORK.
And now we come to the present time. As luck will have it I have had an opportunity of seeing something of volunteering, first in England and next in France. In the days when an officer of the Militia could also hold a commission in I commanded a small corps. I can speak with confidence of the sincere efforts that my gunners made to become worthy of the title of soldiers. Both commanders and commanded took an infinity of pains to learn their duties. Men become Volunteers because they are born soldiers. No man joins the ranks, either commissioned or non-commissioned, unless he really loves the profession of arms. Very often the Service joins in a moment of pique, and frequently regrets his action within a month of its occurrence. He has been crossed in love if he is a clodhopper; he wants to spite his relatives if he is a "gentleman born." In the latter case he begs his father to buy him off when he finds his barrack life rougher than he anticipated. The best thing his father can do is to sternly refuse to assist him for at least a year. After he has had twelve months of or he | |
178 | will be cured of the If his discharge is purchased within the statutory time for a reduction, on the next occasion he will enlist again. If the lad has really something in him, it is not impossible that he may work his way up from the rank and file into the sergeants' mess, and ultimately into the officers' ante-room. If he has not, why, then let the boy have a good A year's work in a regiment will do him a world of good and not an inch of harm. |
