“At last, after sixteen hours, we reached ----. At first we thought that there was no accommodation for us, but we found that a camp had been prepared for us. The town was very full of soldiers, but they were all very orderly and quiet. The day after our arrival we received our new uniforms, rifles and other things. The uniforms are very smart, something like the English, I am told. The boots, too, are excellent. The very best leather. It is evidently true that the Tzar has made our army better than ever it was. It is a bad lookout for the _Nemetz_. In these uniforms and boots we shall be able to chase them all the way to Berlin quite comfortably. “Our regiment is complete. To-morrow we start for Warsaw, where our Army Corps is forming. In a few days we shall meet the _Nemetz_. Good-bye.” Among the Cossacks, who are, of course, a less reliable people than the ordinary peasants, the mobilisation was no less smooth. A Government official in the Ural provinces gives a vivid account of the scenes. The Cossacks, it may be noted, supply their own horses, uniforms and equipment. “On July 31st the village awoke to find a red flag waving before the Government building, the sign that a general mobilisation had been ordered. Immediately everything was in a state of uproar. Nobody knew who was the enemy and nobody cared. It was sufficient that there was war. Only the women made wild conjectures as to whom it was against. There was no thought for work. Horses were groomed, uniforms donned, rifles and sabres cleaned with enthusiastic vigour. Soon the Government veterinary surgeon took his stand before the chief building and the work of examining the horses began. Each man in turn brought up his horse and put it through its paces. The test was most strict, and any animal showing the slightest defect was promptly branded as useless. All day the work continued, a crowd of women and children watching the proceedings. At night the red flag was pulled down and a red lamp was hoisted in its place. In the evening there was a great feast. A whole ox was roasted, there was dancing among the younger people, but owing to the new regulations there was practically no vodka. All through the night men came riding into the village from the outlying districts. “On the Sunday when the preparations were almost complete the consecration service was held. The whole village assembled before the little wooden church. It was a stirring sight to see these great warriors in their full battle array kneeling before their Maker and solemnly asking His aid. At the conclusion of the service each man was blessed by the priest and anointed with holy water. Then he led his horse away and received the blessings of his family.