II THE SOLDIER'S STOCK 15 



" one of the sentries was found dead at his post. 

 I was called up to him, but life was quite gone. 

 Dr. Breslin is a great enemy of soldiers* stocks ; 

 the Colonel, on the other hand, an immense advocate 

 for anything that is old - fashioned ; here was a 

 grand chance for him to annoy the Colonel and cry 

 down the stock ; so though the real cause of death 

 was rupture of the heart. Dr. Breslin persuaded the 

 jury that it was the stock, showed them an illustra- 

 tion, the picture in last week's Punch, which they 

 firmly believed was an actual portrait of one of the 

 soldiers in the Eastern Expedition ; they accordingly 

 returned a verdict to the effect that the deceased 

 died from strangulation by the stock ! " 



At Templemore he remained for nearly three 

 months, till on July 15 he wrote to his father : — 



The happy moment has at length arrived ; to-morrow I bid 

 adieu to Templemore ; the order came this morning for me to 

 join the 63rd Regiment, now at Cork, waiting for embarkation to 

 Turkey. 



However, there were further delays, and it was 

 not till Sunday, July 23, that the Avon, Captain 

 Ellison, a paddle-wheel steamer of 1800 tons, with on 

 board the headquarters and eight service companies 

 of Her Majesty's 63rd Regiment of Foot and two 

 companies of the 46th Regiment, in all about 1220 

 men, sailed from Queenstown for the East. 



The voyage was slow and uneventful ; at Malta 

 they took in tow a brig containing stores and 



