his, even if
they had been brayed in a mortar. I remember one fussy little cavalry
adjutant, who never allowed a private to pass him without a salute, or
sit down in his presence. I lost sight of the fellow soon afterward, but
it was with great satisfaction that I saw his name gazetted a week or
two since, 'dismissed the service.'

As for regular instruction in tactics, there was perhaps as much as the
nature of the case admitted, to wit, none at all. Every now and then a
fine system would be organized, and promulgated in general orders.
Sometimes a series of recitations were prescribed that would have
dismayed a teachers' institute. Field officers were to say their lessons
every evening at headquarters, and head classes from their own line in
the forenoon. The company officers in turn were to teach
non-commissioned ideas how to shoot. Playing truant was strictly
forbidden; careless officers who should 'fail to acquire the lesson set
for them' were to be reported, and, I presume, the unlucky man who
missed a question would have seen 'the next' go above him till the
bright boy of each class had worked his way up to the head. These
systems did _not_ prove a failure: they simply never went at all, but
were quietly and unanimously ignored by teacher and teachee. Every man
was left to thumb his Hardee in private, and find out what he lacked by
his daily blunders on drill. These furnished ample subject for private
study, as well as for animated discussion among the other military
topics that occupied our leisure. Emulation and the fear of ridicule
kept even the most indolent at work.

It was amusing to see how rapidly the _esprit de corps_--their own
favorite word, which they took infinite pleasure in repeating on all
occasions--grew upon our newly made warriors. How learned they were upon
all the details of 'the service,' and how particularly jealous of the
honors and importance of their own particular 'arm!' I used to listen
with infinite relish to the discussion in our colonel's quarters, which
happened to be a favorite rendezvous for the field officers of some half
dozen different regiments, during the idle hours of the long winter
evenings. No matter how the conversation commenced, it was sure to come
down to this at last, and cavalry, infantry, and artillery blazed away
at each other in a voluble discussion that was like Midshipman Easy's
triangular duel multiplied by six.

'There's no use talking, colonel, you never