lad," said the colonel. "Sergeant-major, that recruit
will be posted to F Company."

The sergeant of that company advanced. "Now, my lad," said he, "come
on."

I followed him to the room to which I was posted, where he directed an
old soldier to look after me and give me all necessary information. My
instructor's name was Higgins. He was a good-natured man, and had seen
much service, on the strength of which he indulged in the pleasure of
grumbling and finding fault with things in general, rather than with
people in particular. After he had showed me the bed which I was to
consider my own, and other things, the men came about me, and asked me a
number of questions, which I answered frankly; and thus the time passed
till one o'clock, when dinner was ready.

The dinner was a very good one, and all the mess things, plates, basins,
knives, forks, and spoons, struck me as being very nice and clean.
Higgins asked me to sit down; but, as I cast my eye over my rough not
over-clean countrified dress, I felt ashamed of myself among so many
fine-looking red jackets, forgetting that every man present had once
been much in the same state that I then was. All, however, went
pleasantly enough till three o'clock, when the recruits fell in for
drill, as did the regiment. The drill of the regiment lasted only half
an hour, while ours lasted an hour. Our drill-sergeant, Herbert, a
jolly good fellow, called us to the position of attention. After we had
been drilling for some time, he asked, as the other sergeant had done,
if I had before been in the army; and when I told him that I had not, he
ordered me to stand at ease. My comrade kept eyeing me whenever he
could, wondering what was going to happen. I now learned what I have
since found always to be the case, that every scrap of knowledge which a
man can pick up is likely to come into use some day or other. The
drilling I had got on W-- Common for my amusement now did me good
service. It, in the first place, gained me Sergeant Herbert's favour,
and, making me feel superior to the other recruits, gave me
self-respect, which helped me much to keep steady. On being dismissed
drill, I went to my room, where Higgins began to teach me the "bugle
sounds," and another old soldier "the manual drill," and other things;
so that I soon found out that, whatever I might think of myself, I had
plenty yet to learn.

At half-past four we went to tea, each man getting a pint of tea and