MILITARY AD VENTURES. 37 



their morning's work. There was one 

 dreadful drawback, however, which we 

 for a time lost sight of, and this was the 

 loss of so many dear and valued com- 

 rades with whom we had been associating 

 daily for months, now swept out of our 

 sight without a moment's preparation or 

 warning. It seems strange that soldiers, 

 who are living from day to day with their 

 lives in their hands, should be, as a rule, 

 the most thoughtless and careless re- 

 garding their eternal salvation. 



Some of the wounds were very bad 

 cases, the quoits having inflicted fearful 

 injuries ; one man was nearly cut in two, 

 and, strange to say, he lingered for hours 

 till death happily released him from his 

 dreadful sufferings. I shall not dwell on 

 this subject only to mention one case of a 

 private who I heard was lying dangerously 



