New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-12-15

THE STORY OF AN OLD SOLDIER.

Once upon time, and very FAR from this lanu,
lived three men who loved each other so greatly
that neither man nor woman could come between
them They were in no sense refined, nor TO be
admitted TO the outer doormats OF decent folk,
because they happened to be private soldiers in
Her Majesty's Army; and private soldiers Of that
employ have small time for self-culture. Their
duty is to keep themselves and their accoutre-
ments speckessly clean, to refrain from gettlns
drunk more often than is necessary, TO obey thelr
superiors, and to pray Tor war All these
things my friends accomplished; and OF thelf
own motion threw in some fighting work Tor when
the Army Regulations did not cali. Inelr ld'e
sent them to serve in India, which is not a
golden country, though poets have sung other,
wise. There men die wUh great swl1tneSs, aho
those who live suffer many ana curious thlnss'
/ do not think that my friends concerned them-
selves much with the social and political aspects
Of the East. They attended not unlhportmt
war on the northern frontier, another one on our
western boundary, and third in Upper Burmah.
Then their regiment sat still to recruit, and the
boundess monotony Of cantonment life was their
portion. They were drilled morning and evening
on the same dusty parade-ground. They wan,
dered up and down the same dusty stretch OF
white road, attended the same church and the
same grogshop and slept in the same llme-waShed
barn Of barrack for two long years. l1e ne
was Mulvaney, the father in the craft, who mao
served in various regiments from Bermuda 10 HAT
ifax old in war. Scared, reckless: resource III,
and in his piOus hours an unequalled soldier 10
him turned for help and comfort SIX ana q hall
feet of slow-moving heavy-footed Yorl<Shlreman,
born on the wods bred in the dales, and educated
chiefly among the carriers carts at the back 81
York railway station. His name was Learoyd,
and his chief virtue an Unmlugated patience
which helped him TO win fights. How Ortherls,
O fox-terrier of a CoclIney, ever came TO be one
Of the trio is mystery which even to-day can :
not explain There was always three av of us
Mulvaney used TO say An by the grace av OF
God, so long our service lasts, three av us
they'll always be. IT'S betther So"
They desired no companionShp beyond their
own and evil it was for any man of the regiment
who attempted dispute with them. Physical
argument out of the question as regarded
Mulvaney and the Yorkshireman and assault on
Orthers meant combined attack from these
twain-a business which no five men were anxious
to have on their hands Therefore they -four
shed, sharing their drinks, their tooacco, ana
their money good luck and evil: battle and the
chances of death; life and the chances OF happl-
ness from Calicut in Southern TO Peshawur IN
Northern India. Through no merit of my own 1T
was my good fortune TO be in a measure admitted
10 their friendship-frankly by Mulvaney from
the beginning Sullenly and with reluctance by
Iearoyd and suspiciouslv by OrtherlS, who held
to i that no man NOT IN the Army coG id III ne
O bloomin' sodger--he's bloomin civilian. faint
natural-thatS all"
But that was not all They thawed progress
sivev and in the thawing told me more Of their
lives and adventures than / am likely to find room
for here
Omitting all else this tale begins with the
Lamentable Thirst that was at the beginning of
First Causes Never was such a tbirst-Muvanev
told me so. They kicked against their compul-
sorry virtue, but the attempt was only successful
in the case of Ortheris He whose talents were
MANY went forth into the highways and stole a
dog from civilian" -videicet, some one, he
knew not who, not in the Army. Now that
civilian was but newly connected by marriage
with the colonel of the regiment and Outcry was
made from quarters least anticipated by Orthers.
and in the end he forced. lest a worse thing
should happen. TO dispose at rdiculOusly unre-
munerative rates of promising a small terrier
as ever graced one end of leading string. The
purchase money was barely sufficient for one small
outbreak which led him to the guardroom. lie
escaped, however, with nothing worse than a
severe reprimand and few hours of punishment
drill. Not for nothing had he acquired the repu-
tn of being Set so 6bd Of ms
cleanliness and efficiency the first articles of his
companions creed. A liberty man," he was used
10 say in the speech Of his kind, goes 10 clinll
for a weakness in the knees an is coortmartialed
for pair socks missin' but cane man,
such as is an ornament TO his service-a man whose
buttons are gold, whose coat is wax upon him. an
whose 'coutrements are widOut speck-that man
may, spakn in reason, do fwhat he likes an
dhrink from day TO divil. That's the pride av
bein' dacent.'
We sat together upon day, in the shade OF
a ravine far from the barracks, where a water
course used TO run in rainy weather. Behind us
was the scrub jungle, in which iackals peacocks,
the gray wolves of the Northwestern Provinces.
and occasionally a tiger eStraved from Central
India, were supposed TO dwell. In front lay
the cantonment glazing white under glazing
sun; and - either side the broad road that
led TO Delhi
1t was the scrub that suggested TO my mind
the wisdom of Mulvanev taking a days leave
and going upon shooting tour. The peacock IL
@ holy bird throughout India. and whose Stays
one is in danger Of being mObbcd by the nearest
villagers; but on the last occasion that Mulvaney
had gone forth he had contrived, without in
the least offending local religious suscentibilties
TO return with six beautiful peacock skins which
he sold 10 profit. 1t seemed just possible
But fwbat manner av use is ut TO me goin
out widout a dhrnk? The grounds powdher-
dhry underfoot. an ut gets unto the throat fit
TO kill walled Muvaney, looking at me re-
proschfuly. " An a peacock is not a bird You
can catch the tail av onless We run. Can man
run on WATERMAN underwater, too?'
Ortheris had considered the question in all
its bearings He spoke, chewing his pipe-stem
meditatively the while
"Go forth return I'm glory,
To Clusiums royal 'ome:
An. round these boOmin' temples 'ang
Tho bloomin' shields O. Rome.
You better go. You amt like TO shoot yourself
mot while there's chanst OF hquor. Me an
Learoyd III stay at 'ome an keep shOp-case O.
anythin' turnin up. But you go out With
gas.pipe gun an ketch the little peacockses or
somethin' You kin get one days leave easy
as wlnkln.' TO along an get 1t, an get pea
JockP,' said NIulvaney, turning to Learoyd,
who was half asleep under the shadow of the
bank. He reused slowly.
Sltha, Mulvaney, co. said he.
And Mulyaney went; cursng his allies with
" Take note" said he, when he had won his
holiday, and appeared dressed in his toughest
piece in his hand Il" Take note, lock am Won
Orth'ris, am goin' in the face av my own will
all for to please you. misdoubt anythin' win
como av pcrmscuous huntin' afther peacocIscs
in desolit lam: an know that will lie down
an die wild thirst Me catch peacocllses for
you. We lazy scutts-an be sacrificed by the pea
santhry--Ugb."
He waved huge paw and went away.
AZ twilight, long before the appointed hour
he returned enpty-handed, much bcgrimed with
dirt. -.
~oet of a barrac k-room table whereOn he was
smoking crcss-legged Learoyd fast asleep on a
bench. 49,
ne stirred up the sleeper. " Jock can ye fight?
Will We fght?"