The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1898-12-19
ENGLISH ARMY LIFE.
HOW TOMMY ATKINS FARES n rnE
MATTER OF FOOD.


The orderly man c~latters in At tho
noor with a steaming can Of tea. from
winch he rapidly fills the basins. thu
MIX And sugar having been already
sooed before the tea left the cookhouse.
no allowance Is made in barracks for
men OF fastidlous tastes. II a man nra.
'ers MIS- tea unsweetened, he nan on
e,se"here; the taste Of the majority il
Alone consulted. The tea having been
served out. the orderly man now pro.
ceeos TO divide the bread into chunks.
n Tor each man, and that
the extra" that morning is butter
Ihis announcement is q welcome me.
and tho butter, being produced in its
wrapper OF blue canteen paper, is speed.
ny divided into equal portions, u for
u member Of the mess.
Should any comrade be 40 unfortunate
as to be languishing in the guardroom.
awaiting disposal by the commanding
otfioer. the orderly man has now to take
DIS allowance to him, the tea being
poured into a tin canteen and the bread
and butter wrapped in paper and slowed
In a haversack.
But 1t may be asked: "Surely we
have been told that soldiers enjoy more
variety than plain bread and butter at
their breakfasts. Have we not heard of
savory kippers, Of porridge-yes. even
OF eggs and bacon?''
True, such are the dishes encouraged
BY generals aud colonies who like to
earn . reputation for looking after the
welfare OF their men. but these fancy
relishes are not much encouraged BY
Tommy Atkins, for the simple reason
that his funds will not allow Of his re-.
ceivtnR more than an infinitesimal DOR.
ton Of the kipper or whatever may be
the favorite breakfast dainty Of his
commanding officer. All that the cor
poral in charge Of the grocery book has
to spend daily is threepence per man in
mess or under - for a company with
the average strength Of 60 men in mess.
When it is realized that with this
money tea. salt, pepper, vegetables for
dinner. -four. II a duff" is to ornament
the dinner table, and all the groceries
which tho soldier needs to exc out the
rations Of bread and meat already de.
scribed have to be provided, it will be
understood that the question Of provid.
ing extras for breakfast aud tea is o
difficult one to solve. and that the cor.
poral naturally prefers something like
butter. which all appreciate, to some
other dainty which may not appeal to
the tastes of his constituency.
The question Of permission to marry
is . burning one in the barrack room.
Only q limited number Of men are al
lowed to marry. the strength of the roll
varying with the establishment OF the
corps. Sergeants are given permission
to marry rs q matter Of course, il there
is a vacancy in the establishment, but
no soldier is allowed to enter the blessed
state unless he has seven years service,
G5 in the savings bank and two good
conduct badges. l have heard it said
the e5 till the necessary permission has
been obtained. but there is no getting
over the other two conditions
The married quarters seem comforta.
BILE enough. What strikes Us most is the
enormous number of babies and quite
young children who warn round the
door Of every quarter, occasional yell'
leading to the hasty arrival Of q flushed
and heated looking matron to restore
order in a summary fashion. The allow
ance Of space does not strike one as par
ticularly liberal. soldiers with small
families being given only n room. will
the minutest possible scullery. the ia
theirs of larger families rejoicing In al
extra room. S~ergeants. as a rule. have
two roome, but otherwise have no pull
over their comrades of lower rank.
The wives Of the private soldiers ado
largely to the scanty pay of their hus
bands by doing washing fox the men O
their husbands company. and twic'
blessed il the woman whose good maj
belongs to a company having few maj
ried soldiers. In this case she will b
able to get more to do than her less tor
innate sisters. Some Of the women VIII
have a reputation al washerwomen carr
plenty of money by washing for the OF
ficers of the regiment. The soldier
wife seems to drift naturally into beinI
q washerwoman.
A little conversation with the ladle
il n liberal education in esprit dc corps
each woman thoroughly identifies her
self with the regiment to which her nus
band belongs, and even in these days o
short service it is not difficult to NM
women whose fathers and grandfather
have soldiered in bygone days under tn
tattered colors now hanging in tho sa
cred precincts Of the officers mess.
The ladies Of the regiment. as Q rule
take great interest in the welfare Q
their humber sisters. frequently visit
ING them in their quarters and g'v'n'
more than their sympathy at n Q
those crises which occur SO frequent
In the married block and generally lea
ultimately to the object OF their solic'
tude applying for extra Accommodate
owing to an unauthorized addition {
tho strength of the battalion. -"socia
Life In the British Army oy " br''
ish Officer. in Harper's Magazine