corpses, and it will only be different when we cease to live in an age of inspection, and when a man no longer works simply for his own benefit, but for the whole army. "Only then will tranquillity return to men's minds, and they will no longer seek to obtain by blows and ill-treatment what is far more easily procured by kindness. "That is the first thing. Secondly, this ill-treatment will cease when the superior officers have the courage to look into all complaints, to punish themselves what they see with their own eyes, or to send them to the superior courts for punishment. The only person who has this courage to a certain extent is the very rich officer, to whom it is a matter of no consequence whether he gets his small pay or his smaller pension; or the officer who stands high in the favour of the authorities and can say to himself, 'It will not affect my career if I report the brutalities of my non-commissioned officers for which I am in no way to blame.' "But the officer who trembles and fears for his future will naturally say to himself, 'I am by no means too secure in my position, and if it gets known that my subordinate officers ill-treat the men I may as well get into civilian's attire at once.' And who will blame a poor captain or major if he tries to avoid reporting a complaint, or warns a non-commissioned officer instead of punishing him when he has struck a man?" George had then agreed with his captain, but still he could not quite understand that the authorities would have preferred his not bringing to light this inconceivable brutality. "I can imagine," said the colonel, "what His Majesty will say to me. 'First the affair with Willberg, and now this greater scandal about the non-commissioned officers. Nice things seem to go on in your regiment.'" And then the colonel added: "If this business costs me my post it will be your fault, yours alone, and it was just you I should never have expected to play us such a trick." George saw by this that the colonel, who had so lately interposed on his behalf, expected in return that George would have had more regard for the reputation of the regiment, but in spite of this George was really not conscious of having done anything wrong; and an inner voice told him that he had only acted as every honourable man must have acted. His comrades, just as much as his superiors, blamed him for having reported the matter officially to the authorities. Not that they took the part of the non-commissioned officer; on the contrary, there were universal exclamations of the greatest indignation when George told them how bruised and beaten about the men were, but still, of more importance to them than the well-being of the men was the good reputation of the regiment.