Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1899-02-03
ENGLISH ARMY LIFE.
HOW TOMMY ATKINS FARES IN THE
MATTER OF FOOD.

What He Must Attain Before He Can
cur the Privilege OF Marrying.
Hsw the Wives Of the Privates Live
In the Barracks.
The orderly man clatters in at the
door with a steaming can of tea, from
which he rapidly fills the basins, the
nlill and sugar having been already
added before the tea left the cookhouse.
No allowance is made in barracks for
men Ut fastidlous tastes. II a man pre-
fers bis tea unsweetened, he can 70
elsewhere; the taste Of the majority is
alone consulted. The tea having been
served out. the orderly man now pro-
ceeds tn divide the bread into chunks,
n fot each man, and announces that
the extra" that morning is butter.
This announcement is q welcome one,
and tho butter, being produced in its
wrapper Of blue canteen paper, is speed
lily divided into equal portions, one for
each member of the mess.
Should any comrade be go unfortunate
as to be languishing in the guardroom,
awaiting disposal by the commanding
officer. the orderly man has now to take
his allowance to him, the ten 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 and colonies who like to
earn q 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.
ceiving more than an infinitesimal por.
tion 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 81 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, if a "duff" is to ornament
the dinner table, and all the groceries
which the soldier needs to exc III the
rations of bread and meat already de-
scribed have to be provided, it will be
understood chat the question of provid-
ing extras for breakfast and tea is a
difficult n 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
IA q burning one in the barrack room.
Only a 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 az a matter Of course, il there
is q vacancy in the establishment, but
no soldier is allowed to enter the blessed
state unless he has seven years. service,
e5 in the savings bank and two good.
conduct badges I have heard it said
that there is such a thing as borrowing
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 swarm round the
door Of every quarter, occasional yells
leading to the hasty arrival Of a flushed
and heated looking matron to restore
order IN a summary fashion. The allow
ance of space does not strike one as par
I kSr,11orou tibaNo1 cO1leowS sv,;kln c,,,oUl
families being given only one room, with
the m,nutest possible scullery, the fa-
theirs of larger families rejoicing in an
extra room. Sergeants, as a ruie, have
two rooms. but otherwise have no pull
over tnel. comrades of lower rank.
The wives of til. private soldiers add
largely to the scanty by of their hus.
bands by doing washing fer the men Of
their husbands company, and twice
blessed is the woman whose good man
belongs to Il company having few mar
1ied soldiers. In this case she will be
able to get more to do than her lnss for.
tunate sisters. Some of tile women who
have a reputation as washerwomen earn
. plenty of money by washing for rbe of.
ficers Of the regiment. The soldiers
wife seems to drift naturally into being
I a washcrwoman
A little conversation with the ladie.
is a liberal education in esprit de corps
each woman thoroughly identifies her.
self with the regiment to which her hus
band belongs. and v in these days Of
short service it is not difficult to fine
women whose fathers aud grandfather!
have soldiered in bygone days under the
battered colors now hanging in the sa
cred precincts Of the officers mess.
The ladies of the regiment. as a rule
take great interest in the welfare Of
their humber sisters, frequently visit
ing them in their quarters aud giving
more than their sympathy at one Of
. those crises which occur SO frequently
in the married block aud generally leai
: ultimately to the object Of their solici'
y tude applying for extra accommodation
d owing to an unauthorized addition Il
: H. N-s-I