eel anything but quite at home. Before tea
was over we new arrivals were infected with the same spirit
of joviality, and were ready for the first 'rag.'

"I was shown the house and grounds by an old boarder. In
addition to the lounge, writing and smoking-rooms, there was
a dark-room for developing, a fully rigged 'gym,' and
billiard-room; and so, in inclement weather, every amusement
was at hand. In the grounds were tennis courts and croquet
lawns.

"Every week drives were arranged to the beauty-spots and
historical places round about, but I appreciated most the
facilities offered by a temporary membership of the boating
club for the absurdly small sum of 3_s._ 6_d._ per week. For
this one could have a skiff or, if a party, a large boat,
any day for any length of time, bathing costume and fishing
tackle thrown in. I took full advantage of this, and most
mornings and afternoons were spent on the water. We used to
pull over to the obsolete battleships that lay in the
stretch of water between us and the mainland. Here we would
tether up and turn the gangway into a diving platform. Happy
indeed were these days spent with companions who were in
every sense of the word sportsmen and gentlemen."

Sportsmen and gentlemen--a new designation, perhaps, to some who have
judged these Y.M.C.A. members by hearsay only. It's Sydney Baxter's
not mine. And he ought to know well what the words mean after two
years in a line regiment at the front.

One Young Man Joins the Army

CHAPTER II

ONE YOUNG MAN JOINS THE ARMY

Sydney Baxter was most decidedly getting on in business. And then the
war came. I do not want you to have the impression that, at this time,
he was one of those sturdy, strapping young fellows who gladly rushed
into the ranks for the very joy of fighting. There were thousands of
them, I know, a glorious breed, but Sydney Baxter was not of that
build. So that there may be no mistake let me give his own words. They
are frank enough to be convincing.

"When war fell upon Europe I was one of those foolish people
who imagined that the Kaiser and his army would be
completely crushed before Xmas, 1914. For the first two
months I never gave a thought to the possibility of my
becoming a soldier. I couldn't imagine myself with a rifle
and bayonet chasing Huns, or standing the