Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-08-05
SENTRY cor


Al tho r~rioa of my story We we're quart>rsd
At D. q sortrss II considerable dzs In the
auth NJ England
In order that the circumstances Of tho sd
venture am aisut 10 ds~rihs may b
understood must explain, Ut tho rtsk Of be-
ing tedious, that the citadel of ths fortress In
which my regiment lay Is defended by two
circiss of dry bitches. each about ffty fest
wide Tho SIDE walls Of these ditches, tech
nicaily known escarps and countersarp~,
are, ~ was usual In Qualifications Of that
date, riveted with masonry. and are psrrrn-
dicular
The outer circle ditch Is thirty feet deep
tho bottom being paved with nagstones Tho
inner ditch IL forty feet decp, and ia similar
iy paved. 20 I need scarcely say that q fall
from tho edge would Is almost certainly
fatal The regular approach TO the fortress
Ii by vide road Of gradual accent, % con-
trived ~ to 10 raked by Ere from one or
other Of the bastions or outworks throughout
itz courSe IL crosss,s tho bitches over draw
bridges, protected by special works Of great
strength
In time II war thess draw bridges would be
kept raissd and would only be lowered tenn
porariiy urgent occasions. When raised
the fortress would be inaccessible from with
out, unless scaling ladders we're used 20 cross
the bitches In time Of peace, however. the
drawbridges are rarely RAISED. a strong guard,
nevertheless. being invariably posted over
them.
For the convenience Of the officers and GER
tain nf the residents Of the citadel, there was
short cut which might be used This was a
fontpath up the steep side OF the cliff, through
strongly guarded postern gate. The path
I..I In, Pas IN tssrsc
Of tho ditchss, which crossed by light
plank bridges, 10 designed ~ TO be removable
with great ease in fow minutes None but
officers quartersi In the citadel, and few
persons with special permits signed by the
officer commanding the garrison were allowed
10 make Of this short cut, the soldiers and
others who had occasion 70 visit the citadel
being restricted 10 the main approach.
At tho time ~ which | write | hal been
newly promoted h. the rank II captain, and
Xerxcs himself not prouder Of his vast
army than Of my gallant little company.
was lucky as % the promotion, and my zeal
Ind not been damped by long years Of
subaitern life Us to prevent my throwing my
s,lf heart and soul into the work Of superin-
tendence.
| was ambitious to have my company rec
ognized as the sfnartest in the regiment, and
was convinced Of the hopelessness OF success
unless | could inspire my men with the same
pride in the company that had myself. In
order to succeed, felt sure that should en-
deavor to become acquainted with the char
acter and disposition Of every member Of the
company, TO gain their respect by strict at
tantion to duty and TO earn their affection
by constant sympathy, and by aifording such
help In their ainusements or their troubles ~
captain frequently has IL in his power to give
Since my appointment | had tried TO work on
on this system, and though, Of course, | had
occasional disappointments, on the whole
had no reason to complain.
For infantry captain | was tolerably
we'll of, and being very fond Of outdoor
sports. I encouraged cricket and other games
by presents Of hats. balls md other materials
and spent much Il my time in cricket matches
among the men. 1t was not long before
began 10 acquire considerable insight into the
character Of the men and learned to distin-
guish my black sheep, actual and possible
Among the younger men Of the company
was a Ind Of the name Of Adair Cameron l
hal horror Of favoritism the bad effects
Of which hal often seen. but it was impos
sibe not to feel strong interest in this
young fellow Clean and soldierlike in ap-
;@arance. smart at drill, well set up and
steady AS rock, he was q model OF what
young soldier should be- A deadly bowler,
he was one Of the mainstays of our COM
pany's cricksting team, and as matches were
frequent much Of him and nothing to
find fault with.
Though carefully avoided taking undue
notice OF Cameron, the natural instinct
which | think men have to find out their
friends and their enemies made mo aware
that, while liked him, he on hi side. was
warmly attached TO me.
One day batch Of recruits arrived at
headquarters The adjutant, being away on
leave, had got me TO do his duties for him,
and was busy all the afternoon drafting
the new arrivals into companies, and arrang
inx for their rations and bedding.
About half an hour before mess was sit
ting in my room in the citadel barracks,
rather tired, when | heard a knock at the
door, and my color sergeant appeared
Private Cameron wishes to know if he
could speak To you, sir r. said he. saluting
Certainly" l replied Tell him to come
in"
Cameron entered. saluted, and stood silent.
looking ill at ease
well. Cameron, what Is it," inquired
Please, sir, wished TO speak about some
thing private"
We'll what is itr' I asked again
Cameron hesitated, and looked at the color
sergeant who looked straight to his front
knew 1t was not regular for an officer to
confer with private soldiers without non
commissioned officer being present. but knew
Cameron might be trusted thoroughly.
directed the color sergeant to wait in the pas
sage and, closing the door. asked Cameron
TO tell me his story The lad seemed in great
distress. and hesitated a great deal before he
spoke
Its my brother, sir, He's Just come In
with the batch Of recruits"
With some difficulty he told me his tale.
which was to the following effect;
Private Cameron and younger brother
were the only children Of an old widow liv-
ing in tho north Of Scotland The old woman
could do little to support herself, and was
mainly dependent on the latp- Of one son,
and such little help as Private Cameron.
could send her from the savings Of his pay
II seemed that some family quarrel had
taken place between .ths widow and her
youngest sou, and that the inter. in a mo
ment Of pque, had enlisted, but had. when
too late reiented. He had been drafted to
the same regiment as his elder brother, whom
he had acquainted with these facts on his Ar
rival in barracks that day
Private Cameron told me. with deep emo
ton, that nothing could snve his mother
from the workhouse ian idea which seemed
to ill him with shame and horror, unless his
brother could be bought out Of the service
and sent back home
As his brother had not been three months.
enlisted, this could Be affected by a payment
OF ten pounds; but such a SUM was far be-
yond the means of either brother Cameron,
In despair, had come to me for help, hardly
daring. he told me, to hope that could
give IL He said he had been encouraged to
seek my assistance by my constant kindness
70 him
Il would pay you back. sir. I swear il to
you," said the poor lad. earnestly. You
can stop my pay every week. sir I want
can eaaly get all need to smoke, and the
like O. that will pay you back. sir, indeed
will"
Well, to cut my story short, after some re-
Fiction. and not q little misgiving Is to
whether in respect OF discipline was doing
right. l agreed to let him have the money I
could well afford it, liked the man. and had
been touched by bis story not little
"Yod should begin to save up your pay in
the savings bank. Cameron" said l, as be-
thanked me earnestly
l had not the least intention Of repayinR
myself from his hard earned savings, and
quite looked upon the loan as gift, but I
judged it better not to say so expressly, lest
the easy manner Of obtaining the money
might do harm while thought it good op-
portunity OF encouraging frugal hahitS