New Britain herald., 1917-08-15
LESSON NO. 8. > >SOLDIERLY QUALITIES,

NINE SOLDIERLY QUALITIES.
 Honor; 2. Making Good as a Sol-
 dier.)
 The three basic qualities, Loyalty, Obedience and Physical Fitness were treated in the preceding lesson. There is another group of three soldierly qualities that are especially needed during the period of training, march, ing and waiting between combats They are:
 Intelligence.
 Cleanliness,
 Cheerfulness
 Although these qualities are asso- ciated chiefly with camp life, they are, of course, scarcely less helpful in all other phases of military service.
 Intelligence.
 Intelligence does not necessarily mean education, but rather quick ob- servation and willingness to learn. There is plenty of need for intelli- gerce in modern warfare. The Ma tional Army will be forced to absorb within few months a training which would ordinarily extend over a period of two of three years. Those who in tend to fit themselves for promo ton should study thoroughly the manuals and the drill regulations which affect their duties. In time they should learn something about map making and map reading, the construction of field entrenchments, training and care of horses, signalling, the handling of complex pieces of machinery, and many other subjects.
 Any practical knowledge that you
 
 full and helpful to you in the army. Capt Ian Hay Beith, of the English army, points out that in the first Brit ish forces of the present war the previous trade or training of every soldier was sooner or later utilized.
 Cleanliness.
 Cleanliness is important everywhere, but most of all in the army where large bodies of men are brought to- gether. In it's true sense, 1t includes not only keeping your body clean, but also your mind and your &C., tions. Fortunately, it is virtue in which Americans generally rank high. There should be little difficulty in setting a satisfactory standard in the new army. This is a subject more fully treated later in this course.
 Cheerfulness.
 Cheerfulness is always a prominen trait of good soldiers. Here again Americans may be counted upon to make a splendid showing, even in the face of any unexpected hardships or difficulties that may be ahead of us There are numerous episodes in American military history to justify this confidence.
 In January. 1863, the Union army lay in camp at Falmouth, Va. About a month before had occurred the dis astrous and bloody defeat of Fred ericksburg. In the North 1t was the darkest hour of the war. Everywhere outside the army there was depres- sion and fear. On January 21, the commanding general ordered the troops to break camp and move for ward At the same time a cold drizzling rain set in; the ground speedily became like sea of glue; everything upon wheels sunk into the bottomless mud; it took twenty horses to start a single caisson; hundreds of them died in harness; but still the general persisted. But the rain persisted also, and it soon became a simple impossibility to go forward" After two days of effort it was necessary to have the men struggle and founder through the wilderness of mud back to their camp"
 Picture the situation: Recent de- feat with heavy losses; retreat; cheerless mid winter camp; rain; cold; mud; Encouragement at home; a long march under the most trying conditions ending in a return to the same camping ground from which the troops had started. A little grumb- ling might reasonably have been ex- pected. But the men of 1863 were too good soldiers to draw long faces. The historian goes on: 'The march