iers are always fond of
change; and although there were few more pleasant quarters than Cork,
there was a general feeling of animation and excitement at the thought
of service at the other side of the Atlantic. All officers and men on
furlough were at once recalled. The friends of many of the officers
came across from England, to be with them till they sailed upon what
was then considered a long and perilous voyage. Balls and dinners were
given to and by the regiment. Officers overhauled their kits and
belongings, getting what new things were required, bargaining with
brokers for their furniture, and making all preparations for a
prolonged absence from England.

"Ah, Stapleton," Ralph said, as the young ensign came into his
quarters one day in high spirits, "there will be a sad change come
over you before long. You almost wished you might die on your way
round here from London. What will be your feelings when you have to
face the waves of the Atlantic?"

"Don't talk about it, Conway. The very thought makes me feel queer.
However, I expect I shall get on better now than I did last time. What
an ass I was, to be sure, on that voyage!"

"Well, I do think your four months with the regiment have done you a
world of good, Stapleton. You certainly were a stuck-up sort of
personage when you came on board in the Thames. I think it is an awful
mistake for a fellow to be educated at home, instead of being sent to
school; they are sure to have to suffer for it afterward."

"Well, I have suffered for it to some extent," Stapleton said. "The
lessons I got at first were sharp ones; but they certainly did me
good."

"There is no doubt about that," Ralph agreed; "and I think there is a
good deal of credit due to you, Stapleton, for having taken things in
the right way. I wonder where we shall be stationed in America, and
whether we shall have any fighting? Upon the whole we have no very
great reason to be proud of our feats of arms in America; but I hope
we shall do better next time. You see, in the last struggle we knew
nothing of their tactics, and were at a great disadvantage; but after
fighting its way through the Peninsular, I don't think there is any
fear of the regiment not giving a good account of itself, if it is
called upon to do so, out there."

The next day an orderly came into the room just after mess-dinner had
commenced. He whispered to the adjutant, who at once rose.

"Mr. President," he said to the major who wa