Generals. One of
them addressed us afterwards and gave us to understand that, having seen
the flower of the Continental armies at work, he was, even so, hardly
prepared for the extraordinary--and so on; which made James throw out
his lower chest a couple of inches further than usual. Whereupon the
Admiralty airship hurried up and, flying slowly over us, inspected us
from the top. I say nothing of what James must have looked like from the
top; what I say is that not many battalions are inspected by two
Generals and an airship simultaneously. We are grateful to the
authorities.

Just at present our fault is over-keenness. On our first Sunday in camp
our company commander stood us to attention and asked for three
volunteers--for some unnamed forlorn hope. The whole company advanced
two paces. He took the first three in the first platoon and handed them
over to a sergeant. They were marched off on their perilous mission with
nine men from other companies. The dauntless twelve. We that were left
behind composed explanations to our wives, making it quite clear that we
had volunteered, but pointing out that, as only twelve could go, they
had probably chosen the ugliest ones first. Our three heroes rejoined us
during an "easy" an hour later. The forlorn hope, had been to dig a hole
and bury all the unused fragments of last night's supper--the gristly
bits.... And now, when three volunteers are called for, the whole
company remains rooted to attention. It is our keenness again; we are
here to drill; to form fours, to march, to wheel; we want to learn to be
soldiers, not dustmen.

But naturally we differ in our ideas upon the best way to
learn--particularly in regard to night-work. What James says is, "Why be
uncomfortable in camp? If I could do anything for my country between the
hours of 10.30 P.M. and 5.30 A.M., I would do it gladly. But if my
country, speaking through the gentleman who commands my platoon, tells
me to retire to my tent with the fourteen loudest-breathers in
Middlesex, I may at least _try_ to get a little bit of sleep." So he
brings with him two air-cushions, a pillow, three blankets and a pair of
bed-socks, and does his best. On the other hand, John says, "When one is
on active service one has to sleep anywhere. Unless I am preparing for
that moment, what am I here for at all?" So he disdains the use of
straw, selects the hardest brick he can find for his head, and wraps
himself up in a single coat. And I