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_ tone of vexation;
ee . FRANK LEsLIb's NEW YORK JOURNAL,
“More men have been tuined by leiters than by
words!» ,
“T do not understand you, geriéral !*
“T stippose tiot!? answeted the tetera; “but
you soon will!” - .
“T enter the service,” observed his visitor, “ frota
a sincere lové of the profession I have chosen, and
a desire td prove myself worthy of the commission I
have the honot to beat !” :
“ And you will do so, I have no doubt!” replied
General Be Vere; “if they toil let you / he ien-
tally-added. “A regiment,” he continued, speaking
aloud, “is a rough school, especially at tle com:
mencement! Yout temper will be tried iti every
way—your conduct criticlsed—not over-favorably,
pethaps—for you have not the prestige of an atistos
cratic name or family connection! Do your duty
—remember my caution—and you have nothitig to
fear!” :
At the word ‘feat,’ the cheeks of his visitor
usheds
«There—there! I did not mean to impugn your
courage, my dear boy!’? continued the speaker,
with a smile; “old men are ford of preachitig, an
see difficulties where youth dreams only of sticcess!
Good bye! and once more remember, if you should
require the coutisel of a friend, you know where to
find one! In case of emergency, consult the adju-
tant of your regiment—he is an old friend of mine,
and will serve you, for my sake |”
With this, they shook. hands and patted—his
adviser giving him letters of introduction to Colonel
Baratt and Lieutenant Bridgem—the officer: last
named. ‘ :
That same day our hero reached Windsor, where
he found a letter from Miss Mendez, begging his
acceptance of a charger, awaiting his arrival. It
was a magnificent creature—more than one officer
of his regiment had seen it—but had been deterred
from purchasing it by the price. The grateful
woman had paid five hundred guineas for it. Little
_ did she dream of the enmity her gift to her young
favorite would excite.
“So the new man has joined!” observed Lord
Peapod—the nephew of Colonel Barratt—as the
officers were chatting at lunch, in the mess-room;
‘any one know him?” . ,
There was a general silence—all looked at the
commanding officer.
‘He brought a letter of introduction from General
De Vere,” said the Jatter, after a pause; “who,
perceive by the Gazette, stood sponsor for him at
the.levee!? 6 °° at bass
“ Any relative?” ' Oat
A dry negative was the response.
* What is the fellow’s name?” drawled Walter
Trevanian, who happened to be the first lieutenant
of the troop in which Clement was now a cornet.
.“ Foster.” . : .
“A Foster, or The Foster?” |,
“Oh, no relative to the baronet!” replied the
colonel; ‘his father is a lawyer!”
A general expression of dissatisfaction followed
the announcement, . i ve
“Another Philistine!” exclaimed Captain Mar-
shall, who enjoyed the reputation of being the most
accomplished bully in the regiment; ‘we. shall
'
; soon smoke him out !”
‘Philistine or not,” observed Cornet Mortimer—
a young sprig of nobility, who had lately joined—
‘he must be devilish rich : he has bought the bay
charger which Peapod and the major were so anxious
about! . I saw it in the barrack-yard!” a
“«The bay charger!’ repeated his lordship, in a
“why, I offered four hundred
guineas for it!” ota a a,
. And I four hundred and fifty !", added the major.
From: that moment the unconscious : subject . of
the conversation had two decided enemies in the
regiment. ., Dog tte er,
_! We shall see what the fellow is like at dinner!’
said Colonel Barratt, not wishing at that moment to
push the conversation any further—for the adjutant
: had joined them, and he knew that the “ new man”
had brought letters to him from General De Vere,
| as well as to himself. '
“No doubt he feeds with his knife!” whispere
the young nobleman in the ear of Walter Trevanian,
The latter shrugged his shoulders co®temptuously.
“The service is going to the devil,” continued
the speaker, “ when they let such fellows creep into
it! “But money will purchase anything now, froma
are, :
* commission to—a—
” . .
“A bay charger!’ added Trevanian, finishing the
sentence for him.’ °°
““ Curse the charger!" muttered his lordship. .
“ Better smoke the rider!” observed Walter, drily.
The young men exchanged’ glances of mutual
intelligence, and let the conversation drop;:but
from that miofming it was tacitly understood that
the neWw-comet was to be got rid of. The son of a.
lawyer Was Gonsidéred as a black sheep in the
régiment,
t méss, our hero was formally introduced to hie
brother officers, whé réeturnéd ‘his salutation with
that. polite indifference which wounds more than
positive impertinence. Clement felt rio less sur-
prised than offended at first: he could not compre-
end the tone of the society into which, for the first
time in his life, hé was thrown. A few moments’
reflection, however, reconciled him to it: Uneon
scious of having given ¢ause either of offence ot
voolnéss, he doncluded that it was the etiquette of
the mess-room, end accommodated himself to it
accordingly.
At the end of the first course, one of the mess- |.
waiters ¢ame to him, and whispered in his ear that
Colonel Barratt would do himself the honor of taking
Wine with hint *
Next followed: the major and captains, in the
several degtees of military hierarchy, down to the ||
cornet, whos’. experience in the service was only
three weeks greater than his own. .
The -wine, was champagne—purposely chosen.
Clement saw that at each challenge the officer who
invited him emptied his glass.. After the first three
or four, he hesitated in following the example. ‘
“My dear fellow, what are you about to do?”
whispered Walter Trevanian, who was seated next
to him; “no heel-taps !”
‘I am umused to drink so much wine!” replied
the new-comer.
“Pshaw!”" said the first. speaker; “there is not
a headache in a dozen of it! . It will be thought
personal if you do not empty it!”
The intended victim took the advice so treacher-
ously proffered. How could the unsophisticated
boy Jf seventeen suppose for an instant that the
well-bred, smiling man who addressed him in such
a friendly tone had any: sinister design? . He had
never seen him till that day, and he wore the uni-
form which, in his opinion, was, the seal upon the
character ofa gentleman... Still, by way of precau-
tion, the next time he was challenged to wine he
only half filled his glass. . ha
there was a general glance round the table.
“ Wide awake!” whispered Lord Peapod., .. |
“Shirks the wine!” thought Captain Marshall,
who was the challenger. . L
“What are you dreaming of?” said Lieutenant
Marsh; “ Mr. Foster is. waiting for you !” bes
“Mr. Foster has not filled his glass!’? observed
'| the captain, gravely.
Had our hero been the bashful boy they took him
for, he would have apologised, and instantly have
filled it to the brim. . But he had more discernment
and tact than his brother officers—what a prostitu-
tion of the word brother !—gave him credit fur. »
“Captain Marshall,” he said, “has considered
only his. kind feeling towards me—and not my
capacity for wine-drinking!: I have already ex-
ceeeded my usual quantity !”” ;
“Three glasses of port after dinner!” simpered
one of the youngsters, who was beginning to look
very.red in the face. :
'“ Ladies’ measure !”’, added a second.
| Still the “new man”—as they termed him—
remained unmoved; and Captain Marshall, bowing
stifily, drank off his wine in silence. -
There was a pause:' the attempt to intoxicate
him was evidently a failure. i
“‘That’s a devilish fine horse of yours!" observed
the major.’ J : oe .
“Which? oo 1+, ‘
“The bay charger. Peapod offered four hundred
for it! What was the figure ?” : vor tees
. “I really cannot tell you!’? replied Clement, glad
that the conversation had taken another turn; “the
animal was a gift from a dear and valued friend!”
“In the City?” L, ts
Although our hero did not comprehend the differ-
ence between a friend in the City and one at the
West End, he perfectly understood the tone in
which the question was asked, and replied by a dty
negative. . ' a : :
“Beg pardon,” said the major ; “thought it might
be! Very respectable people, I have heard, live in
the City! I dare say, now,” he continued, * they
bestowed a vast amount of good advice upon. you
when they heard you were gazetted?” :
“No, indeed!” answered the oung man, care-
lessly ; ‘* knowing that I was to associate only with
entlemen, they did not conceive | it necessary !
eneral De Vere was the only person who gave me
the least caution!” oe
At the word caution, several of the officers ‘re-
jgarded each other with a smile; they thought they
and experience in the service might well give toa
269
had hit upon a theme on whieh: “to trot him out.”
“Tt must have been very edifying !”, observed his
lordship. : .
‘*A military sermon!” added Walter Trevanian.
*Drum-head lecture |”
‘Upon my word, gentlemen, it was a very simple
one!” said Clement; “such ag ‘a man of his rank
youth like myself just entering life! He merely told
me that [ had much tv learn—to endure-——-”
“As a young bear who has not been taught to
dance!” whispered Capt. Marshall to his neighbor.
“ Above all, to bear and forbear!” continued the
speaker; ‘and to be very cautious") - :,
He paused: something told him that ‘it might not
be advisable to relate all that the general had said.
“ Cautious! About what?” demanded Trevanian.
‘In. my, conduct, generally !”. replied Clement
oster,,“in short, gentlemen, you may, imagine
all that a kind friend would say upon such an
occasion |” . '
«It's my deliberate opinion,” drawled Lord Pea-
pod, whose brain was already excited by wine,
*that—hiccup—hem—that De Vere is a prig !”
There was a slight coughing round the table, as
if to drown the word, but the quick ear of the new
cornet caught it. : a
“May I request your lordship,” he said, coloring
to the temples, ** to repeat the word”, i
“That he is—hic—hem—a prig—.a prig, sir—-
write down a prig—engross it, if you like!” ’
Clement rose to leave the mess-room. :
“Sit still!” whispered Walter Trevanian, catch-
ing him by the arm.. «Can't you:see Peapod is
drunk? He is little better than an ‘ass when
sober !”” eg
“I cannot remain,”. replied our hero, firmly,
‘after hearing such an epithet applied to one of my
kindest friends, whose rank, services, and absence,’?
he added, in a very pointed tone, * ought to protect
him from such observations |” ! 3
It was evident that the new-comer was not the
soft-witted fool they. had imagined—tor he had not
only defeated the attempt to intoxicate .him, but
contrived to place one of his insidious tormentors in
a false position. : Fortunately for his lordship, the
colonel came to his rescue : pe
_ «I perceive,’”? Mr. Foster, he said, « that you are
unacquainted with military manners and military
language! An officer who does his duty—is re-
markable as a disciplinarian—is frequently termed
a ‘a prig’ or a ‘martinct’ by the youngstérs!;. We
only laugh at it as a boyish petulence—such things
are never seriously noticed!) 6
Clement ‘instantly resumed. his ; seat, remarking
that, after such an explanation, he must have been
too susceptible, ‘
“T-am sure you. will pardon me,” he‘ added,
«when I tell you that 1 owe a deep debt of gratitude
to General De Vere!” cola : F
“ Certainly!» Very. natural!” exclaimed several
of the youngsters. : on :
« Know better-in time!” added the major.
“Who -could have imagined,” continued the
youth, not perhaps without pr certain degree of
malice, «that 80 much: good feeling existed in the
army? I should have thought, now, that if any
officer had ventured to call you—Colonel Barratt—
a _‘prig,’ you: would -haye felt exceedingly in-
dignant !"’ fe : iv
“Such things are seldom addressed to a com-
manding officer's face!’’ replied the colonel, turn-
ing very red; “and when they are, as seldom Sor-
gotten!” . v
‘Unable to conceal the rage and vexation which
he felt at being obliged to endure what he considered
the insolence of a parvenu, Colonel Barratt rose from
the table, and, drawing his chair towards the fire-
place, called to the mess-man for brandy-and-water
and cigars. : This was the usual signal for the officers
to disperse into groups. .The dinner, with its for-
mal etiquette, was considered over.
’ Our hero, satisfied with the wine he had already
taken, left the room, with the intention of retiring
to his quarters for the night. © > -
In the ante-room he encountered the adjutant,
who shook: him warmly by the hand. Being a
married man, he did not dine with the mess,
««T must congratulate you,’’said the officer, kindly.
«Congratulate me!”’ repeated Clement, with ‘a
look of surprise; ‘may I ask, my dear sir, upon
what event or occasion ?” , .
“On quitting your first mess-dinner sober! It
is an ordeal that few youngsters, pass without coms
mitting themselves—and then heaven help them 1’,
The cornet began to consider that he had had a
narrow estape. | on yids
eee