The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-06
THE GUARDS AT GIBRALTAR.
Tommy AtISins'' Does Not Like TO BE
Stationed at This Fortress.


London Daily Me-
The white villas of Gibraltar were look
ing down with delight at the sight of the
blue Mediterranean waves laughing and
dancing in the sunshine it was January
according to the calendar, but it was June
in the heart of wanderer from the Daily
Mail office
The great grey rock was rejecting the
heat rays down upon the little town, so
that although there was a brisk, fresh
breeze blowing, the air was soft and warm.
Bright-bloSsomed flowers, geraniumS and
helotropes, were blooming in every shell
tered corner. 1t was pleasant to sit in the
sun on the south side of a wall and to read
in the last copy of the Daily Mail to hand
of a pea-soupy fog on the Strand. The
Daily Mail wanderer chuckled as he read,
and then looked ZIP and saw big scarlet
coated Grenadier Guardsman sitting at
table outside little cafe, looking disconso-
lately at nothing. The offer of the paper
reused him from his gloomy reverie -
Crmes" he said That's bit plts OF good 2f.1i
I'll take it up with me to Boner Nlster. IL IL
be worn out before it's torn up.
You're ENJOYING yourselves; YES, pretty wen wei
out here the D@iy M Mad place
this time of year, is it,?
The Grenadier looked up. "LOndon's bet.
'"rhey are having fogs IN London, | see."
the Daily Mail representative went on.
Lucky beggars?" said the Grenadier:
why? What's the matter with Glib?
ooh. nothing. GIBBS all right for any
body like you for day or two, put It's =
rotten hole for soldering in regular. Arc
you going back to London, sir"
Next week."
Grimes. wish had the luck, and then
it would seem like year waiting for next
II should have thought you would be
very comfortable here. The Buena VISTA
barracks am told are very comfortable.
"Oh, Boner's all right. Boner Visters the
best barricks in the world as far as bar
ricks matters But barricks amt every
thing You can't eat barricks, nor drink
barricks, nor walk out with barricks:
They're right enough for barricks, but
they're no good for anything else.
"Of course not. But then 1t struck me
that the food and drinks here were very
coed indeed. These light Spanish wines
are very good and very cheap;
That's cheap, too, to what it is in Sloane
street. But that's no conjure to Tommy:
Whats, good wine and brandy TO TommyA
What Tommy wants is beer.
ssI3ut there's plenty of beer, isn't there?''
What they cali beer. It's warm gener-
ally You know what / mean-drinks warm
and fiat. as If it had been sat on. That
amt the beer that Tommy likes. You can
tell how bad it is, for often drinks the
wine for choice. / can't stomach the beer.
Still 1t must be very healthy up thefs
at the barracks 1t is. one of the finest
views in the world, looking out from ELL
ropa Point there over the straits and across
The scenerys all right when you get
there but what's the use OF scenery
Tommy can't drink scenery. And look at
the heather hole the barracks Is to get to.
over two. mile from the town; an along ing
I
hill It gives you the Jump every time.
And If you want to ride ONE 1t breaks you
for fortnight, There's no penny red AM AM
mersmiths in this country, nor shillin cab
fares. And il you do happen 10 go Tor q
bust what do you get out OF 1t IN a two
street town like this? Look at the PUBS.
you've got 10 mix 1t WITH lemonade before
you can look at Ii.
And there's no amusements fit to go 10.
There's two theaters that's hardly ever got
anything to show, and these little snantles.
with "a stage in the middle, that they do
what they call Spanish dancing on they
might as well be shut up altogether for
any good they are. Spanish dancing, they
call 1t. It's just capering about ike lot
of goats. Lots OF our men can do better
than that themselves"
But you find the people very pohte ana
agreeable don't your
There's no girls. There's only Spanish
girls and Glib girls, and they're so stuck up
they won't look at a Tommy
How do you amuse yourselves, then.
There's drill and guard, and drill and
guard. There's belly full of that, and the
drill ground right away at the other end or
the rock. Have TO march three miles 10
the north front TO drill. You see. We got
che OF them brigadiers as eats drills. And
what more, he goes about sticking up the
Grenadiers against all the rest OF the serv-
ice. There's a fine body o men for yous
there's a drill for YOU, he's always saying.
It's all very nice, of course, that Is, but IL
sets the others backs up, and the conse-
quenee is there amt another regiment on
the Rock as viii pal in with us Then the
people here had heard so much about US
that when they found we wasn't eighteen
feet tall they seemed disappointed and,
coming over, the blooming regimenta chal-
lenge cup got lost in the baggage, and only
officers and noncoms are allowed 10 60 m
side off the Rock and the place Is a blooms
ing prison two miles long; and can You
wonder at US having the 'umpY We're TO
be moved out q i y May ana wherever We,
il II should be London! Oh, Lord, Y i only
ware