A HOME OF TOMMY ATKINS. 65 



yet lightly the soldier sits his horse, body bent forward, lance 

 couched, thundering forward at the top of his charger s speed. 

 Lower down on his horse's neck, a tighter clasp of the legs, 

 nearer and nearer — the exact moment must be rightly chosen 

 — a slight turn of the wrist of the practised bridle-hand — 

 now ! crash ! — and he swings back upright into the saddle, wav- 

 ing the light lance triumphantly above his head with the splin- 

 tered piece of wood transfixed on its iron point. 



A favorite resort of the oiificers of the garrison and their 

 families is the park-like enclosure of the "Club Grounds," with 

 its pleasant groups of shade trees, its green, velvety lawns and 

 winding paths, and the scene here on any sunny summer after- 

 noon is an animated one. A large space is devoted to the 

 game of lawn -tennis, and the swift, graceful movements of the 

 players, among whom are many ladies, are watched with inter- 

 est by little knots of admiring friends ; their cries and laughter, 

 a burst of applause at some more than usually dexterous play, 

 mingle with the music of the band standing under the over- 

 hanging branches of the trees near the cricket -grounds, or in 

 the pagoda -like bandstand. Every one, with the exception of 

 an occasional soldier-servant or the bandsmen, is in plain clothes 

 — for the English officer, unlike those of the Continental armies, 

 wears his uniform only while actually on duty or at mess — and 

 nearly every one is accompanied by his faithful four-footed com- 

 panion, his dog. Dogs are everywhere, and dogs of good race, 

 too, well-trained, and showing their aristocratic breeding: pugs, 

 terriers — Fox, Scotch, and Skye— setters and pointers, and hand- 

 some silken-haired collies. Sitting on the benches, watching the 

 players, or strolling about the grounds, are scores of pretty girls 

 in bright summer toilets, with more than one of whom the 

 young "Subs" in their train are enjoying a harmless flirtation. 



A quiet row late in the afternoon with one or two agreeable 

 5 



