ing officer for their
march past and volley-firing. When making his remarks, General McMurdock
wanted to know the name of the corps. Captain Leper (a Bradfordian)
replied, "Bradford, sir." Sergeant Chick, in his enthusiasm, and knowing
that they were his own men who were alluded to, shouted, "No, sir; it's
Keighley." This "flagrant misconduct" on the part of a subordinate
incensed Captain Leper--this was seen by the "wicked" impression on the
captain's face--who was not long in telling poor Chick that he had been
dismissed the regiment. This was a hard blow to the drill-sergeant, who
had drilled his men so that they marched as one man; but, to Captain
Leper's credit, let it be said that he subsequently endeavoured to get
Sergeant Chick re-instated. The dismissal, however had gone through the
oracle of the Horse Guards, and to withdraw was impossible. Captain Leper
then found employment for him at Bradford in looking after the
orderly-room, &c., and with his remuneration from this source, and a
small army pension, the ex-drill-sergeant managed to live in comparative
comfort.

A DRILLING INCIDENT

Volunteering at Keighley went on in its own quiet and peaceful way. I
might, perhaps, mention one incident which took place while the Keighley
companies were drilling in the old Showfield one Saturday afternoon.
Lieutenant (or Ensign, I forget which for the moment) Joseph Craven, of
Steeton, was in charge of a squad of us. Now, Mr Craven was somewhat
corpulent--there was no mistake about that, and marching about under a
hot sun was clearly not accomplished without great exertion and copious
perspiration. The members of the squad soon comprehended the position in
which their drill-master was, and they determined to give him "quick
march." When he gave the order "Quick march!" from the front, the "boys"
did march to some tune. Their commander soon found it necessary to step
from the front, and he was left a good distance behind. But he soon
discovered their little "game," and proved himself "quite up to their
trick." By calling out "halt" at intervals, he found himself able to keep
up fairly well with the men. In his next drills he was considerately
allowed by Captain Busfeild Ferrand to go about on horseback. Mr Craven
was known among us as a very genial and sociable officer, and he enjoyed
the respect and esteem of those under him. There were circumstances,
however, which caused his retirement from the Volunteer corps, af