CHAPTER XV

My First Night at Mess—Life at Shorncliffe—The Charltons

It was not until two years after I had passed my examination for the Army, in 1872, that I obtained my commission, when I was gazetted as a sub-lieutenant to the 2nd Battalion of the 10th (Lincolnshire) Regiment. My regiment was at that time serving in India, but, since it was under orders to return home, I was posted to the regimental depôt at Shorncliffe, which was attached temporarily to the 2nd Battalion of the 9th (Norfolk) Regiment.

On my arrival at Shorncliffe, I reported to Lieutenant Richard Southey, the officer temporarily commanding the depôt, the senior officer, Captain Byron, being then on leave. He was a tall, good-looking man, with very pleasant manners, and I felt at once at my ease with him. He showed me the hut which was to serve as my quarters, and offered to do anything for me that he could, even placing his soldier servant at my disposal, until I had time to choose one from the depôt. My hut, which was similar to those occupied by other officers, contained two small rooms leading into one another; while the furniture, which I had had sent down from London, was of the kind usually found in barracks, consisting of a bed which could be easily taken to pieces, a chest of drawers separated into two parts, but which could be put together for use, a green and black Brussels carpet, and curtains to match. I also had an oak bureau, forming a chest of drawers and writing-table, which I had had all the time I was at Eton. The furniture supplied to officers by the War Office consisted merely of a table and two or three ordinary chairs; but, with my own arm-chair, tablecloth, various knick-knacks and a number of pictures which I had had at Eton, I managed to make the rooms look habitable, if nothing else.

At half-past six a bugle sounded for the officers to dress for mess, which was at seven o’clock. I confess that I felt not a little nervous on entering the ante-room in my new uniform, which was scarlet with yellow facings; but Southey was already there and introduced me to most of the officers, who greeted me very cordially.

The president at dinner was a captain named Dunn, who sat at the head of the table; the vice-president was a lieutenant. The president and vice-president hold office for a week, and are then replaced by other officers of the same rank. The conversation at table was very animated, mainly on general topics; indeed, military matters seemed to be more or less tabooed. The string band of the regiment played during dinner, and, I thought, tolerably well, though, as I had just come from Paris, where I was accustomed to hear some of the best military bands, I was perhaps rather difficult to please. After the band had played “God save the Queen,” and Her Majesty’s health had been proposed by the president, all the officers standing to drink it, we left the table, the president and the vice-president being the last to leave. Most of the officers then adjourned to the ante-room, where I got into conversation with a lieutenant named Bethell, who had just joined the 9th (Norfolk) Regiment, and whom I had known as a boy in Somersetshire. Bethell was a very clever fellow, and in his examination for the Army had passed first out of three hundred. He was an excellent rifle-shot and a good all-round sportsman. Some years later he succeeded to the title of Lord Westbury, when he was transferred to the Guards.

In the course of the evening the adjutant, Lieutenant Maltby, came up to me and told me that I must put in an appearance next morning at early drill. Maltby was an exceedingly nice fellow, and a thorough soldier. He was very particular about his dress, and even in mufti was always _tiré à quatre épingles_. The following morning I found him on the parade ground, when he handed me over to a corporal for instruction in the goose step. After I had been practising this engaging exercise for about an hour, the adjutant came up, watch in hand, and told the corporal that that would do for the day, and asked me to accompany him to the mess-room, where we ordered breakfast. With the exception of the orderly officer, who was obliged to attend early parade with the adjutant and who came in shortly afterwards, we had the room to ourselves, as the other officers did not as a rule breakfast until nine o’clock or later.

After breakfast, Maltby took me to the orderly room, to introduce me to the colonel, telling me that I must always address him and the majors as “Sir,” but that this was only customary with other superior officers when on parade. The colonel, Lieut.-Colonel Knox, who came in shortly afterwards, was a tall, well-built man of about sixty, with grey hair and moustache and whiskers almost white, which gave him the appearance of being older than he was. He was very pleasant to me, and said:—

“I am very pleased to have you in my regiment, and am only sorry that you do not belong to it, as you are an Etonian, and I am very fond of Eton boys.”

He then said I must come to his house, when he would present me to his wife and daughter.

At lunch, which was at half-past one, I was introduced to a lieutenant named Lovell, a good-looking fellow about five-and-twenty, with fair hair and moustache, whom I had not seen the previous evening, and with whom I became very friendly. He asked me to come with him for a walk to Folkestone, which was quite near, to which I readily consented. We had a pleasant walk along the cliffs, and I was quite charmed with Folkestone, with its green lawns facing the sea and its fine houses, standing for the most part in the midst of trim, little gardens, gay with summer flowers. During our walk Lovell explained to me many things about the Service, and told me many curious incidents which had happened while the regiment was at Yokohama, where it had been stationed for several years, before being sent to Shorncliffe. He said that the regiment was very sorry to leave Japan, and that it was never likely to have such a charming station again. After a short time in England, it would probably be ordered to India, and that, in that case, he should exchange into a cavalry regiment, which he subsequently did. He was, however, very devoted to his present regiment, and said that the chief was an excellent man, and everything that one could wish for in a colonel, and that it was a rare thing to find all the officers pull so well together as they did. Unfortunately, the colonel would have to retire soon, though Daunt, the senior major, who would probably succeed to the command, would not make a bad chief.

A day or two later, I called at the colonel’s house, where I was introduced to his wife and daughter. The latter was a tall, dark girl, in the early twenties, with very charming manners. The colonel asked me a number of questions about Eton and also about Paris, of which city he was very fond, though he had not been there for some years; and when I left, walked part of the way back to camp with me.

I found my life very easy with the 9th Regiment. I had to attend parade from seven till eight, and again from eleven till half-past twelve; but of an afternoon I was generally free to do as I pleased, as it was only occasionally that I had to attend afternoon parade, which, however, was over by four o’clock. After my duties for the day were over and I had changed my clothes, I usually went into Folkestone, returning in time for mess. At first the only people I knew in Folkestone were a retired colonel and his wife, who were friends of my parents; but Lovell introduced me to several of his friends. Among them was a certain Miss Burnett, who was very much in love with a lieutenant of the 9th Regiment, named Seaton, and at no pains to conceal the fact, which occasioned me no little amusement. Unfortunately, Seaton did not reciprocate the attachment with which he had inspired her. More to my taste than this lovelorn damsel was a lively young lady of some fifteen summers, who was known to her intimates as “Vic.” She was a general favourite with the subalterns of the regiment, as she was very fond of horses and dogs, and rather amusing in her conversation, in which she used slang expressions with considerable freedom. Miss “Vic” used to drive a very smart turn-out about Folkestone, and was quite an accomplished whip.

The 9th Regiment used to give “Penny Readings” once a fortnight, at which a good many people from Folkestone and Sandgate were generally present. At the first of these entertainments which I attended Lovell read some of “Artemus Ward,” and in such an amusing manner that everyone was delighted. As I had the reputation of being a good performer on the zither, I was asked to play something on that instrument, which was quite a novelty. It was very well received, and next day I received a note from a lady unknown to me, who, I was told, was the mother of an officer in the “Blues,” inviting me to dinner and asking me to bring my zither with me. I showed the letter to Maltby, who advised me not to accept it, as it would, in his opinion, be making myself too cheap. So I declined, with many thanks.

A subaltern of the 10th Regiment, named Richard Southey, went on leave about this time and left me his black servant. I found the fellow very attentive, but I soon began to miss things. Among them was a pearl stud, for finding which I promised him a shilling. As, however, it was not forthcoming, I offered him half-a-crown, and the next day he produced it, to my great satisfaction. But, as I soon found that this system of offering rewards for “lost” articles was a trifle too expensive, and I could not get rid of him till Southey returned, I was forced to protect myself by putting everything of value under lock and key. Nevertheless, he generally succeeded in discovering some means of relieving me of anything to which he happened to take a fancy.

[Illustration: Miss Augusta Charlton.

[_To face p. 172._]

[Illustration: Miss Ida Charlton.

[_To face p. 173._]

Captain John Byron, a grandson of Lord Byron, who commanded the depôt of my regiment, returned about this time from leave. He was a rather handsome and very distinguished-looking man of forty, but inclined to be very arrogant in his manner towards those whom he did not like. Fortunately, he condescended to take a great fancy to me from the first, and made quite a friend of me, notwithstanding that I was so much younger than he was.

Soon after this, another sub-lieutenant, named Arthur Dillon, joined my regiment, so that I now had a companion at morning drill. Dillon was the son of an Irish baronet, who was also a Count of the Holy Roman Empire, though no one would have imagined that he hailed from the Emerald Isle, as he spoke without the faintest trace of an Irish accent, and was a very nice young fellow indeed.

One day I took Dillon over to Dover to call upon some people named Charlton, whose acquaintance I had made when a boy at Ostend, and who were now living in Victoria Park. Mr. Charlton had formerly served in the Queen’s Bays, though he had sold out of the Service while still a cornet; his wife was a very handsome woman, and they had six children, five girls and a boy, the two elder girls, Augusta and Ida, being remarkably pretty. Mrs. Charlton invited us to stay to supper, an invitation which we readily accepted, the more so that we were both at a susceptible age and the charms of our hostess’s daughters had not been without their effect upon us. During supper Mrs. Charlton told us that a very smart ball was to be given shortly at Dover, to which they were going, and suggested that we should join them and bring two or three other young officers, saying that she could manage to put us all up for the night. Needless to say, we gladly accepted her kind offer, and on the day of the ball went over to Dover, with Bethell and another subaltern of the 9th named Townsend. As the ball was a military one, we all had to appear in uniform, and at the entrance to the ball-room were asked our names and regiments. Townsend gave his own and my name, and when they asked my rank, coolly replied: “Colonel, 10th Regiment.” Next day, in the local newspaper, in the list of those present at the ball, I duly appeared as such.

After the ball, which was a great success, and at which the Misses Charlton, who had recently returned from a visit to the Continent and wore dresses of the very latest Paris fashion, were immensely admired, we drove back to Victoria Park, where we spent what little remained of the night, and after an early breakfast returned to Shorncliffe.

Dillon and I found our life at Shorncliffe very monotonous when winter came on, for Folkestone was almost empty, and had it not been for the kindness of our friends at Dover, at whose house we were always assured of a warm welcome, we should have had a precious dull time of it. The only event of interest was the arrival from India of the 3rd Battalion of the 60th Rifles, all the officers of which were made honorary members of the 9th Regiment’s mess, until their own mess was in order. I made the acquaintance of several of the new-comers, who seemed very nice fellows indeed. One of them, Captain Bingham, told me, _à propos_ of the ball to which I had been at Dover, that once the 1st Rifle Brigade, when stationed there, had been invited to a ball given by the Buffs, but that when the “Green Jackets,” in their turn, gave a ball, they did not condescend to invite any of the officers of the Buffs, nor any of the Dover ladies, all the guests coming down from London, which greatly disgusted everybody at Dover, and created a very bad feeling between the two regiments.

Not long after this, Captain Byron received news that our regiment was shortly expected from India, and would be stationed at Chatham. This, of course, necessitated the immediate removal of the depôt to Chatham, to the great regret of both Dillon and myself, for, on the whole, we had been very happy at Shorncliffe, and feared that we might not enjoy nearly so much liberty as we had had with the 9th Regiment.