Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1884-11-14
In Camp At Aiders'lOt.

Nv friends stationed at the camp
-. y" me with the frank. generous
u>-i,a! tv Of the English officer. and
.";r lind and friendly treatment soon
.tI.ns lie feel thoro ghlv at
IA ~ among them, free to come and 70
- please. and to make my acGuan-
&c with Tommy Atkins 1T MY leisure.
III bran hes oi the service are rep
II >,.ltcd here engineers, artillery,
''lrrSe. foot and Dragons. and all the
varied types of character in the army
are To he met with. from the little drum
mer hoy born III the service to the
a'tencI non-comm SSioned officer of Il
dozen campaigns. Magnificent types
Of the soldier these latter us they pass
through the street, with ringing strides.
SRA imht rs arrows, neat a soap and
water, ppe-clay and brush. can make
them, proud OF their position and OF
their profession. and often exercising
fully as much authority over the
men under them as the best of their
OIL 'crs
\ cantccn where the soldiers can pur-
chase IT moderate rates many of the
little luNurics OF life. libraries. reading,
smoking and rccrcat on rooms are at
tached To The large barracks at Alder
shot. Here theatrical performances,
sometimes of considerable merit. are
frequently given by the men. and the
soldiers can always rely upon the GEN
erous support OF their officers in their
amuSementS. The theater or music
hall of the Royal Artillery Barracks is
evening, and a good 'song and dance
man en- ..oys no mean degree of popular
lily among his comrades.
Iiut it is in the innate love that al
Enolshmen bear for athletic sports that
"Tommy' comes ont in his full glory,
and his officers do not disdain to meet
him on equal ground at cricket, foot
ball. and other outdoor games. DIFF
fcrent branches of the service frequently
meet in friendly ri,a airy, and many a
match is played on the grounds OF the
officers club between teams of various
regiments or corps, selected from
among the officer, and men, irre>pec-
tive OF their military rank. 1t is not an
unusual sigh to see a game among the
officers ''umpired' by some veteran
non commission Il officer. skilled in all
the intr.cacics of the Nationa, game of
cricket.
The most interesting of the purely
martial spo:ts-if can use the word
in reference to what forms part of the
drill Of the cavalry and mounted artil-
lcry- are the exciting contests of sabre
versus sabre, or sabre versus lance, and
the like, when some rival rou@l-riders'
are pittc against one another. One
can easily imagine how the tournaments
o old appeared. to see these active
fellows. mount I'd on their fine horses.
which seem to sympathize with and
enter into the spirit of their riders, a.
clad in stout leather tunics, their heads
protected by strong wire masks, they
charge down on one another cut
NJ. thrustipg, and parrying retreat
ing and pursuing. Hard knocks are
gwen and received with apparent good
humor, though doubt not that long
habits of discipline restrain many an
honest fellow temper when his blood
is up. 1t is rough but manly work. ana
one does not wonder on see N what
training they go through. that the
British horsemen are renowned for
their courage and dexterity. Another
sport in which the nerve and GOODNESS
tat go so far toward making good
cavalier are displayed to great advan-
tagr is tent -pegging. introduced,
believe, into the British army by the
native cavalryman of the Indian service.
The player armed with a light bamboo
lance, puts his ..orse at full gallop over
the course, and strikes with his lance
bead tent peg protruding n few
inches out of the ground. into which
one end has been firmly driven. See
how firmly yet lightly the soldier sits
his horse, body bent forward, lance
couched. laundering forward at the
top of his horses speed. Lower down
upon his chargers neck. n tighter clasp
OF the legs, nearer and acarer-the ex.
act moment must be rightly chosen
a slight turn OF the wrist of the pract. ced
birdie hand-now. Grassland he
swings back upright into the saddle
waving the light lance triumphautly
above his head. with the splinteretl
piece of weed transiixed on its iron
point. -Harper'S Magazine.
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