The times., 1899-12-26
ENGLISH ARMY RECRUITS
Questions That The Applicants Are
obliged to Answer.
busy Times at -. Georges BnrrnclSs
Some Nonths Who Try 90 Deceive
the Military AuthOrities-Interes
ing scenes AT the Examinations
of Those Anxious 10 Enlist.


humdrum occupations Of civil life. and the
recruiting sergeant is up 10 his eyes in
business. The rather dinEy old premises
az the back Of the National Gallery-the
busiest recruiting station in the kingdom
are all alive with candidates for scarlet
coats and fTisky gee-gees. who crowd the
staircases and mob the doorways awaiting
their turn TO dribble one by one as the
stent0rian voice Of a good looking sergeant
major calls out the name OF the future
commander-in- chief 20 he put through the
catechism Of the "attestation paper"
This is always busy time CT year, and
this year. before it Is over. promises 10
beat the record. Last week did beat the
recorder the week-at ST. Georges Bar
racks, and if things run about their usual
course from now till toward the middle OF
December II will have been d very distinct
advance upon last year How much Of il
is due TO the outbreak OF the war it is diff
ficult TO say OF course. recruits enrolling
now have no chance Of getting out into
the thick OF things in South Africa. They
have TO be made soldiers first. But the in
teTest that everybody is feeling in the
army. and the exciting stories that have
these youngsters thoughts and kindled all
the pugnacity within them. and here they
Bre-Over soc Of them. actually enlisted. to
say nothing OF rej6cted candidates at This
one station alone during last month.
Those who get up into the majors room
here are already among the fay0rites Of
fortune, Scores Of hungry looking young
tatterdemalions who have not the remotest
chance Of getting so far as this are geneT-
ally 70 be seen hanging about the big gates
in Orange Street, or wistfully inspecting
The COl0red pictures by which the eIOqUencs
OF those aTchcai i0lers. the recruiting ser
geants is so powerfully backed up and
which are C-splayei il all the magnifCenCe
Of blue and scarlet and gold on the ratings
of the National Gallery.
But the recruiting sergeant is not nova
days the csjCler be was at one time. The
Queens service has become creditahle, and
iuly volunteers are nOw wanted or viii be
accepted The pot Of beer and the Queens
shiIling" have nothing whatever 10 do with
the recruiting Of the army now, and as
ihey come in from the doorway behind the
screen one after the other there is in the
faces OF most OF them-or one fancies there
is-evidence Of some Little nervous anxiety
Jest after all they may not get through this
final ordeal. But the worst OF il is over
unless the recruit himself is conscious OF
e loose screw here or there in his record or
mis- circumstances
Here, for instance is one nervous looking
wight evidently III al ease as be marches
up to the majors table. Il is a thin, keen
foreign looking face, and anything lat
pleasant one
-Oh.'ssys the major, the instant he sets
eyes on him, This is the German gea-Ie-
man again- We have had him up before
The szilOW-fsced youth. with the dark
tr0ubiOUs eyes, had not fully Un1erztO0d
the Queen S military organ izatiou. Ee had
tried il On once al Trafalgar Square and
had got as fsE Is that majors table and
had there been bowled ont as an alien who
coulan' L under any circUEIls tanles, b6coIe a
British soldier. and stTdightBay m had gone
Gown TO the Tower ard tried his luck with
the recruiting sergeant there. nCtwithst1nd-
ing that from there he would Be passed On 20
ST GEORGES Twice be must have g5ua
through the preliminary eEamiLa -iOl for
height and weight and eprsi Ehr- tvs ice be
must have appeared before the doctor n
the simple and cl0se-httiEg garb Of nature,
and have marched and h0pped and bent his
hack and lneit on the floor and stretched
his arms and doubled his fists and u
orcrhauled by the ststhoscope, AMI al had
gone weII. and his papers had been filled
up- Azi then that sIentoEian sergeant
major rad summoned him into the Pee e1ce
of that quiet. but acutely obzCrvant com
Iniszioned officer, who had spotted him be-
fore and had brought his military career 10
su abrupt termination.
~Bont you think IL is like your imper-
rinCnce TO come here again and put US 10
al this troubleg" demanded the major,
severely. sit down over there, sir
And the unhappy looking youth meekly
seated himself at the end OF q f0rm 10
await tiIl the officer should be at leisure
10 decide whether he should be shot or
not
Another ineligible presented himself in
the form Of a palefaced lad who has thus
far passed muster for eighteen, but who
the officer felt confident vas not more than
seventeen.
for you II you make any false statements.
Are YOU willing that ve shall send over TO
Somerset House and find out your exact
ageg"
The Young aspirant for military glory
did net look happy al the suggestion, but
he persisted that he was eighteen, and
cave a sulien assent 20 the proposal But
before the major had done with him he had
10 admit that he vas eighteen next birth
dsy-Eot last
The questions put TO each recruit are nu-
mer0us and are run rapidly through
What IS your name2 Where were you
b0rn2 Are sou q British subject2 What
IS your sge2 What is your trade and call
ing2 Have you resided out Of your fathers
house continuously for three years, il so,
where" are the frst six questions put
and then comes fair warning that q viii
fully false answer 10 seven that follow VIII
entail liability 10 tWo years hard labor.
The questions relate 10 q possible EppTeu-
Ticeship or marriage or previous impTisou-
uent or previous enlistment or rejectmeuL
Perhaps The queerest question Of the whole
eighteen or twenty is. What is your re-
ligiOlr 40 is really very droIl 10 see the
effect Of r1Is sudden poser. which for some
reason OF other is not included iu the Print
"a list OF questions given 70 the recruit
what Is your religion demanded the
major. and the look Of blank perplexity
The hopeless 0bfUscatiou that Immediately
beclUucs the military ardOT that Is already
beginning 10 scinrillate il the face Of the
Young warrior Is really laugh8ble though
perhaps IL Oughtn't 10 be- Not one IN a
dozen can give IL a name One goes through
q process Of mental fumbling for 4 few
seconds ana then declares that be is Eng
lish and another. after simiIa. brain
cucgeling, Gays be Is British.
d" British isn't a lei. gion." rreorts the
Office HL0 perhaps in his time has made
more members q the Church VI England
thau al tae Bench Of Bishops put together
by tEe simple psschiczl process Of sugges-
ton. DO you go to church CT chsptig'
The word church was just what the re-
crHit kad b-sE fumbliug ab0ut FOR and for
the lEe q him he couldn't find ard the
instant the saggE51iCE is made he saaps
81 H.
"Ch4rch--Im Church Of EugIaad." And
down goes au0ther contribution to the
numerical superiority OF l}ae establishment.
yo1ng man who has gone through the
.H..-fs.