Then when you see the water-cart, You rush up for a drink, You're going to get a "quencher," At least, that's what you think; But it's only there for ornament, And you're threatened with the "clink." _Grumble No. 3._--According to some authorities, the soldier, like the camel, can go for lengthened periods without water. The soldier himself thinks otherwise. By night we had to stand the cold, By day we stood the heat, And we got lots of duty, But not too much to eat; We had two biscuits daily, Some tea(?) and half-cooked meat. _Grumble No. 4._--Some one having said that eating was a habit, it was decided that several experiments should be tried. The first (half-rations) having proved an unqualified success, should be followed by another of a more exhaustive nature. Tommy suggests that this one (no rations for a fortnight) should be tried upon the officers. We're rugged in appearance, Of a tint distinctly brown, We're bearded and we're dirty, As well as broken down: So why the dickens don't they send Our kit-bags from Capetown? _Grumble No. 5._--This is what we would like to know. PLUNGER. CHAPTER XV GENERAL POLE-CAREW IN WAR _A Visit to his Headquarters, and a Feast of "Tommy" Poetry._ At this time--on the very night before this, if recollection serves me right--I went up to the quarters of the Staats Artillerie, and there found General Pole-Carew in his headquarters. It was always like a breath of new life to see him, to hear his vigorous views on the war he believed in conducting against the Boers, and to note how thoroughly he was the master of all the information of value that could be obtained wherever he was. His headquarters--remember he was the dandy of the army as well as one of its shrewdest and bravest men--was a bare-walled building that a monk would have considered cheerless. The dining-room, where his guests were received, was not as attractive as any dining-room in any Tommy's barracks at home. It contained a little table heaped with papers and a large table set with kitchen knives and forks, enamelled iron mugs, and sparklet bottles by way of combined service and ornament. I stayed to dinner of beef and potatoes, bread and butter, and whisky and water, and sat next to Colonel Crabbe, of the Grenadiers, with his arm in a sling from his second wounding in the war. A brave and gallant company was there--of beaux sabreurs and veterans who took life as it came and enjoyed its every phase.