The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1889-10-11

thology may be relied on, and scarlet
fever" will doubtless play havoc among
beauty's ranks till the arrival of the
millennium. Tho brilliant uniform
costly, alas. rs many a lengthy blue
document, and many lengthier and
bluer fathers face, can testify-is q
passport to the female heart
A soldiers life can not be considered
an arduous one; morning parade, a
couple OF hours drill through the
week and a tour of duty as Officer of the
Day" comprise the sum of his labors.
In the drill season, however, there are
eternal field days, drills, maneuvers
and inspections, preparatory to that
great annual event, the visit Of the
commander-in-chief. Then the well
coma wintar, bringing leave and
freedom for two or three months,
arrives, and the barracks is left be-
hind, with all its restraints and pleas
ures, its duns and other trivial draw
backs, for home and its civilian joys.
Most youngsters get sick Of home be-
fore their leave is half expired. They
find barracks far more congenial, nor
can it be wondered at, for the first two
years or so. After this the glamor
soon wears off. never to return.
Discipline is very strict in the En-
glish service; your superior officer is
always 'sir" to his face, even off duty,
though the social relations of all ranks
are most cordial. There is no inter-
ference with your private customs,
unless they be discreditable to the
regiment, and friendly word of ad-
vice from senior to junior is fre-
quently given. and usually received in
the same spirit. Though the army is
not an abode of sanctity, as a rule
youngsters don't stray very far from
the paths OF virtue, and parental
anxiety on this head is generally quite
unnecessary. Men don't get intoxi-
Gated nowadays in the disgraceful
way once prevalent in the English
mess rooms.
Perhaps it is not generally knonw
among Americans that English soldiers
regard those OF the United States serv-
ice with a good deal of admiration and
respect, despite differences in organi-
zation. The writer has often heard it
laid down by old and experienced Off
GERS that no troops in the world ever
fought more bravely under equal dis
advantages than the Americans in the
late war. He also entertains very
vivid recollection OF an occasion on
which two United States army men
were the guests Of his old regiment;
certainly if the entente cordiale did
not exist that evening between red and
blue, there is no harmony in Nature!
1t may be doubted, however, if the
relations of the British private soldiers
with their officers are as satisfactory
as in the American service. There is
a lamentable want of sympathy
between them. An English officer
in the vast majority Of cases
knows absolutely nothing ol
his men, and there is also very mar.
row-minded and regretable tendency
to down look upon such men as have by
years of steady determination and work
obtained a place among the commits
stoned ranks. So strong is this feeling
that the writer has known several in
stances OF first-rate men, who, when
urged to 60 in for n commission. have
replied that they were deferred by the
conviction that they would be out OF
place, and merely tolerated through
courtesy. and, therefore, preferred to
remain sergeants or sergeant-majors
to the end of their service. 1t is hard
to perceive any remedy for this unjust
state of affairs in view of the present
state of English society. although the
government is at length tardily fol-
lowing the example of the United
States, in throwing open the higher
ranks of the army to such men as prove
themselves worthy and desirous OF the
reward.
1t is popularity said that the French
soldier carries field marshars baton
in his knapsack, but the facts tend to
show that the American has the best
chance of such recognition of his merit
Certainly. the Englishman has not
There are authentic cases of men leav'
ing the British army in disgust, to re
enlist in that of the United States, and
finally attain to positions for which
their abilities qualified them. Sheer
merit is the standard by which Amer
| lea measures its military servants, ant
q man who "has the sand" has only
himself to blame if he does not come tc
the 'front.' 1t is a pity that England
does not adopt an equally just aat
large-minded system. H. }. Fuller, il
N. Y. Star.
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