In the Trenches 181 



war. They were both most friendly critics, and as 

 they knew I was aware of this, the correspondent 

 finally ventured the remark, that he thought our sol- 

 diers fought even better than the Turks, but that on 

 the whole our system of military administration 

 seemed rather worse than that of the Greeks. As a 

 nation we had prided ourselves on our business ability 

 and adroitness in the arts of peace, while outsiders, at 

 any rate, did not credit us with any especial warlike 

 prowess ; and it was curious that when war came we 

 should have broken down precisely on the business 

 and administrative side, while the fighting edge of 

 the troops certainly left little to be desired. 



I was very much touched by the devotion my 

 men showed to me. After they had once become 

 convinced that I would share their hardships, they 

 made it a point that I should not suffer any hard- 

 ships at all; and I really had an extremely easy 

 time. Whether I had any food or not myself made 

 no difference, as there were sure to be certain 

 troopers, and, indeed, certain troop messes, on the 

 lookout for me. If they had any beans they would 

 send me over a cupful, or I would suddenly receive 

 a present of doughnuts from some ex-roundup cook 

 who had succeeded in obtaining a little flour and 

 sugar, and if a man shot a guinea-hen it was all I 

 could do to make him keep half of it for himself. 

 Wright, the color sergeant, and Henry Bardshar, 



