The lurid sunset's slanting rays Incarnadine the soldier's deed; His rugged countenance betrays The bulldog breed. Not his to shun the stubborn fight, The combat against heavy odds, Alone, unaided--'tis a sight For men and gods! And now his back is bowed and bent, Now crouching, now erect, he stands, And now the red life blood is sprent From both his hands. He takes his punishment on trust, As one who sees and yet is blind, For every lacerating thrust Comes from behind. The twilight creeps, the sun has gone, But triumph fills the soldier's breast; He's sewn his back brace-buttons on While fully dressed! * * * * * JAMES FEELS BETTER. THE Sergeant-Major was speaking. "Company--'SHUN!" We 'shunned. We stood motionless (all but one of us) waiting for his next words. Then he spoke again. "Blank blanket," he yelled, "what the blank are you doing?" He was looking at me, and my heart was in my mouth. "Blanket," he went on, "if you want to scratch your nose, step out here and scratch it. My blank!" My heart dropped back again. He must be talking to James behind me. I longed to look round and watch the generous waves of colour stealing over James's classic features, to fix with a reproachful eye that Roman proboscis which he had been grooming; but duty, or natural integrity of character, or fear of the Sergeant-Major, or something, held me fast. "Company--dis-MISS!" We turned to the right and I took James affectionately by the arm. "How's the neb?" I said. And then James told me what he thought of the Sergeant-Major. "Pretty good rot," he said, "talking like that to a man in my position. Cursing a married man with a family as if he were a rotten schoolboy. If I met him in ordinary life he'd say 'Sir' to me--probably ask me for a job, and go about in a holy fear that I was going to sack him." "Discipline, James," I said. "Think how good it is for you to be ordered about for a change. And think how jolly it must be for the Sergeant-Major to swear at well-known public men. Don't grudge him his little bit of pleasure. And finally, think how stimulating it is for the rest of us. I assure you, James, there's nothing more bracing to a man than to hear another man being cursed." James muttered to himself. We lit our pipes and sat down among some other members of our platoon. James was silent, but we others talked eagerly about the difference between "Right form" and "On the right form company," and other matters which had suddenly become of great importance. "Let's go and have a little private drill," said one of the keen ones. "It'll only turn into a rag," I said. "But of course we shall have to agree to take it seriously and obey orders. Who'll come?" About ten of us offered ourselves. I looked at James; to my surprise he jumped up quickly. We went off to a corner of the field, and lined up two deep. "And now who'll drill us?" said James.