32 SPORTING AND 



in enthusiasm and determination. I was 

 much surprised at the manly pride our 

 recruits displayed when they found they 

 were really in for hard fighting ; they 

 seemed as joyous as boys released from 

 school, and nothing but sounds of exhila- 

 rating fun and laughter were heard all over 

 the camp. Next morning, long before day- 

 light, we silently fell in ; and, when the 

 word " quick march " was given, I felt a 

 tremor run through my frame that was 

 quite unaccountable to me at the time, 

 but I have since learned it was simply a 

 bracing of the nervous system, which I 

 believe most men experience when starting 

 on a perilous and highly exciting under- 

 taking. 



We started silently, without even a bugle 

 sound, and the drums and fifes were like- 

 wise silent, so we must have resembled 



