Tommy Atkins and His Chums.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 156, 4 July 1896, Page 1 (Supplement)

Tommy Atkins and His Chums.

•Many chums in bho Army, did you Bay?' The sturdy hussar pushed his forage cap further a-tilfc, and laid aside brush and button-atick as he echoed my question in amszoment (says a representative of jg^j 'Chums'). 'Why, mv dear fellow^ fcha army is simply full of them ! Chums I' ha "** repeated. ' Why, nob a man in my squadron bub has his chosen chum ; and it's no half-and-half nonsense, mind you, bub will often last for years, and sometimes till death. I firmly believe there are no such friendships anywhere as among us "Tommies."' Then came a somewhat patbebio story of a handsome young Irish" man whose friend happened to be his rear* rank man. One field day it chanced that his squadron was ordered, in the course of some manoeuvres, to dismount and fire a number of blank volleys ab the enemy, who wero in hot pursuit). The men were commanded to take open order, the rear rank, of course, firing between the men to right} * and left of them in the ironb rank. There was a good deal of excitemenb, as there usually is in the crisis of a good field day, and the men were firing somewhat wildly. The lieutenant in command was watching the movements of the foe through his fieldglasses, when the Irishman passed him, supported to the rear by a comrade, and evidently in great agony. One side of hia face was badly burnt, fcho eyebrow daBtroyed, and the eye cloaed. Ib was the old story : a rear-rank man had stood bo close behind the Irishman thab, on discharging his carbine, the burning powder and wad had been driven into the latter's face. Ib was a gross piece of carelessness on tho part of the rear-ranker, causing the Irishman greab suffering and permanently disfiguring him. H*d the offender beefi dtf-/ tecbed he would have, been severely puni-hed ; bub the injured man, although he knew full well whose carbine had been , discharged elss.'-to./ hia ear; : refused; A to inform the - authorities. 'Sure, it) was an accidenb,' was all he would answer to any inqniries. As a facb, he ' knew thab the cause of. hia Bufferings was his own especial chum. Other stories were somewhat amuting, as of the two ' Tommies' who robbed an orchard not far from the barracks one night. The owner saw them and captured one of the pilferers laden with booty. With the aid of the patrol the soldier was secured and brought up in due course for punishment. No , sooner had the case begun, however, than the 'Tommy' who had escaped came for- \ ward and insisted on taking his place be- \ side his ahum. ' Wotever 'c gets, the Bams forme, please?'was bis plea. There waa ■ a laugh throughout the court at thia modern version of the story of Damon and Pythias ; and in the end the errant chums were leb off with a stoppage of pay. • • lln active service, soldier's friendships are as strong as everS-sbronger, I think. For instance, a friend of mini; wat in the famous Camel Corps during the Egyptian campaign. Inone engagement the troopa were moving in square to take up a better position. My friend noticed an infantryman wounded in the.throat lefbon the ground as the square moved on. Tha Mahdiats were nearly on him wbaa my friend, handing his carbine to ft comrade, sprang off his camel, ran oub.of the square, picked up the wounded man, and ran back with him", gaining tho shelter of tha bayonets just as the nearest of tha snemy had their spears raised to strike. When the colonel called my comrade oat to commend him ab the end of the day's fighting tho brave fellow was actually afraid of being punished for disobeying orders by quitting the square. ' I'm very sorry, air,' he Baid, as he saluted. ' I didn't mean bo do it. but I forgot orders when I caw a chum is trouble.'—'Cbume.'