sation with the chaplain, and then addressed the choir. Now, men.' The mere sound of his voice was electric. No little band boy now lolled on the choir desk. The third fingers of the hands were on the seams of the trousers and the heads erect. Even the man struggling with the bassoon sat to attention. The sergeant-major proceeded : 'When you 'ear the 'oly man say "Hi b'lieve" not a move-them words is only cautionary; but when 'e starts on "Gord the Father" round yer go on yer 'eels.' Then to the chaplain : Now, sir, you try.' The chaplain was wise enough to note that the sacred words had been uttered and received in perfect good faith and without a semblance of profanity, so he thanked the sergeant-major and 'tried' forthwith. Success was instantaneous. It is quite extraordinary that there should still be so large a number of seemingly intelligent people who refuse, or fail, to see the difference between what sounds profane and what is profane. Intention is the essence of profanity; yet, trite as is the maxim that no offence is given where none is intended, it is daily overlooked. The military world can congratulate itself that it is singularly free from this method of provoking a quarrel. It is not difficult to illustrate. It was a pouring wet December Saturday night in barracks, and a late after-order had been issued altering the hours of Divine Service on the following day. The battalion orderly sergeant at tattoo roll-call was reading the amendments 'to such,' as the proclamations say, as they might concern by the light of a store lantern. His audience stood shivering and demonstrating the frailty of the Government great-coat. 'District after-order' he bellowed. 'Hours of Divine Service to-morrow. Denominations will p'rade as under: Chu'ch of England 10.30, Kautholics 8.15.' The rain beat down relentlessly as he turned over the page of the order book. He observed at a glance that the Presbyterians, Wesleyans, and Primitive Methodists were all to parade at the same hour, so the rest of the information he imparted in précis form. Fancy religions ten o'clock. Right turn. Dismiss.' Amongst a large number of earnest Christians the idea seems to obtain that Thomas Atkins is a peculiarity-a freak of nature; and that extraordinary means must be adopted to prick his conscience or touch his heart. New chaplains sometimes, and civil clergy invariably, preach sermons to him which are intended to possess a direct military application. The prolonged sustention of a simile or parallel, even when one exists, is notoriously a performance requiring the greatest skill. This is the case when the speaker has an intimate and detailed acquaintance with the subject of his illustration; but when his information on this head is inferior to that of every soul whom he is addressing his remarks cannot fail to do more harm than good, for neither resentment nor anger is so destructive of the good effects of pulpit oratory as ridicule. I can recall a case in point. Drunkenness amongst the young soldiers of an Irish battalion, according to a statistical return, showed a slight increase. The usual official methods were adopted. An irresponsible member of Parliament worried the Secretary of State; the Secretary of State worried the War Office; the War Office worried the general; and the general most unjustly censured the regimental discipline. But his position was a difficult one. Action was required of him in order that the invariable question, What steps have been taken?' might be satisfactorily answered in the House. His own experience taught him that military statistics in cases of this sort were absolutely unreliable; that a sudden idea, a chance word, a long march, or a hot day was each sufficient in itself to cause a parcel of foolish, excitable boys to get themselves into trouble. Punishment of the deed and forgetfulness of the fact are the desirable method of procedure in these cases. But the new chaplain was earnestly and honestly anxious to bear his part in checking what he learnt in the papers was the growing sin of drunkenness in those under his spiritual charge. He preached a sermon on the subject of that most dramatic of Old Testament stories, Joseph in the Pit, and proceeded to illustrate. The pit was the canteen; Joseph the young soldier cast therein through no fault of his own; Reuben and his brethren (the preacher was no coward) the colonel and the officers. There the simile broke down; and he concluded with an excellent practical exhortation which could not have failed to have had its influence but for the ground he had lost by reason of his previous fanciful excursion. Thomas Atkins is much as other men are ; and self evident as the proposition appears to be, the action of a large portion of the community seems constantly to demand its assertion if not its demonstration. The idea that he is something quite different is of civil extraction. At any rate, preachers with ripe military experience do not have recourse to this particular form of special sermon. Subalterns possess in the execution of their duty opportunities for studying the subject of catholicism which do not fall to the lot of the ordinary individual. When a party about to attend Divine Service numbers twenty men or upwards, it proceeds thither under the command of an officer. In no profession is the principle of juniores ad labores so well observed as in the army, and consequently this officer is invariably a subaltern; so that after four or five years' commissioned service one ought at least to be able to pass an elementary examination in denominational tenets and procedure. But for being compelled to attend different forms of Divine worship interest in these matters. ordinarily speaking, might not be excited. But attendance compels observation and thought, and one realises the fact (which is often not sufficiently appreciated) that prejudice is own child to ignorance. Sometimes one's experiences are embarrassing. One Sunday morning I escorted a Divine Service party to their place of worship without the band.' On arrival I naturally placed myself in the hands of the chapel officials, and was a little disconcerted at being desired to occupy a front pew of a rather luxurious description. I was in full uniform; and, living in a garrison town, the congregation were perfectly well aware that I was merely there ' on duty' and was 'an unbeliever.' My men were dotted about the gallery in twos and threes; but in the body of the building I had no red coat to keep me company. Things went satisfactorily until the time came for the long extempore prayer which was always a feature in the service of this particular denomination. Then I received my share of attention, and was alluded to as one who had attended the House of God under the mistaken notion of earthly duty.' There was no mistake about that duty, for had I refused to attend this chapel I should have undoubtedly undergone severe pains and penalties without attracting to myself any sympathy. Mr. Fox, had he lived, would not have given a moment's thought to my qualifications for inclusion in his Book of Martyrs. It was very embarrassing, and I naturally attempted the impossible and tried to look unconscious. The following Sunday it again fell to my lot to attend this service. I again received notice, but of a different description. It is an unusual occurrence that the same officer should be taken for the same duty two Sundays running; and the pastor, who had lived twenty years in the large military station in which we were serving, must have been aware of the fact. Not unnaturally he drew erroneous deductions. I was now mentioned as a possible convert, and hopes were entertained of my ultimate inclusion in the fold. When, therefore, I read my regimental orders on the following Saturday night and found through an accident, which could not happen once in a thousand times, that I was again for the same service on the following day, I at once went to the adjutant and received permission to exchange duty. The subaltern who consented to take my place was, I fear, uninterested in the subject of catholicism, and he made some very strong remarks when released from the parade which he had undertaken on my behalf. Evidently his appearance in chapel had disappointed the pastor, and the aspirations made by that individual for his spiritual welfare had displeased him. He refused to be reasoned with, and expressed himself with his own peculiar directness. Well, you ought to have told me. You mayn't mind being jawed about; I do.' Intelligent curiosity-not to give the propensity too high-sounding a title—is not characteristic of every one, and the attendance of church parade with 'strange denominations' is not always popular. This is especially the case where the parade is early, and when the succeeding service is known to be long. Through the flimsy wall of a wooden hut I once overheard a peculiarly adroit evasion of this duty. The stillness of an early Sunday morning was broken by the lowing of a bugle, and a sergeant was rapping on the woodwork and informing my friend next door that the dress' for the Kautholics had just 'gone.' The subaltern groaned. He had not managed to get to bed early on the preceding night. How many are there, sergeant?' 'Ten file and a 'arf, sir.' He would not have dreamt of saying twenty-one, for Government does not allow a man to be spoken of in his individual capacity. The sergeant departed, and the officer commenced to get up. Presently the former returned. One man taken for guard, sir; ten file for Divine Service.' The officer groaned again. It was most exasperating. Then the sergeant volunteered. 'Beg pardon, sir, but there's one on 'em 'as don't look quite the thing, sir.' The subaltern caught at that straw. I don't want any man with me who ought to be with the doctor, sergeant.' 'Very good, sir.' The sergeant retired once more, but came back almost immediately. He again knocked at the door, this time in a decisive and unapologetic manner. "Yes?" 'One man gorn sick, sir; nine file and a 'arf on p'rade.' The officer seemed quite surprised. Not an officer's party, sergeant?' 'No, sir.' 'Oh, will you march them off then, please.' So the sergeant went back to parade and the subaltern to bed. Slight The little comedy had been enacted without either performer betraying the fact that he was conscious of its humour. incidents like these, however, scarcely amount even to spots on the sun of the military religious system, which works excellently well. The only danger to be apprehended is that of external interference. At present there is, to quote the slang of the day, 'a boom in soldiering.' There is no self-respecting Englishman who does not feel himself perfectly at home when either the army or the national game of cricket is under discussion. On other subjects he is willing to be instructed. Those responsible for the military administration of the country suffer from no lack of advice from the civilian. Yet the adage that bids us remember that lookers on see most of the game certainly seems to have been stretched to its furthest limits. True, it is the material rather than the spiritual welfare of Thomas Atkins that occupies the sedulous attention of his friends outside, but doubtless mens sana will receive its share when the corpus has been rendered sanum for its reception. In these days, when the laws of expediency and supply and demand have a more powerful influence on those in authority than mere considerations of equity, it is to the credit of the military ministers of religion that they have not been on strike.' The ' recruit' and the doctor have refused to come in, and the fact has compelled attention to be paid to their grievances. The pastor, whose service conditions are not ideal, has not demanded increase of pay or rank. He merely begs for moral support, and asks that the reform movement shall not check or halt his work. He does not grumble that the soil on which he labours is hard or sterile. His implements are of his own making, and he is not to be blamed if he is unwilling to hand them over for outside inspection and stand idle the while. The usual cant, of course, obtains that the spiritual system in force precludes the army from getting the best men; and the argument, if indeed it amounts to an argument, is used chiefly in the case of the clergy of the Established Church. True, the chaplain's road does not lead to a bishopric, but surely too much importance may be attached to questions of prospect. But there is no object in inventing military grievances. Sufficient exist. An unpopular padre is, happily, the exception in the Service, and that is the best proof that the work is well done. It is obvious that we are on the eve of drastic changes. It is to be hoped that in the general turmoil the Ecclesiastical Department will escape treatment. Public notice when sympathy is not assured is necessarily to the chaplain's detriment. At present he is successfully employed on the trivial round and common task, and is free from the disquieting comments of a Press which must often accept statements as facts. Those who know him best have reason to best appreciate the parable of the grain of mustard seed. Above all, Thomas Atkins, generally speaking, likes him, and that consideration will apparently weigh most heavily with those who are about to institute the new military era. It is for them to assure the British public, if they will, that there are some good institutions in the army after all. PHILIP C. W. TREVOR, Captain. VOL. XLIII-No. 256 3 S |