I would that it were in my power to convey to the reader, who has not
had the fortune to live with troops on service, some just appreciation
of the compensations of war. The healthy, open-air life, the vivid
incidents, the excitement, not only of realisation, but of anticipation,
the generous and cheery friendships, the chances of distinction which
are open to all, invest life with keener interests and rarer pleasures.
The uncertainty and importance of the present, reduce the past and
future to comparative insignificance, and clear the mind of minor
worries. And when all is over, memories remain, which few men do not
hold precious. As to the hardships, these though severe may be endured.
Ascetics and recluses have in their endeavours to look beyond the grave
suffered worse things. Nor will the soldier in the pursuit of fame and
the enjoyment of the pleasures of war, be exposed to greater discomforts
than Diogenes in his tub, or the Trappists in their monastery. Besides
all this, his chances of learning about the next world are infinitely
greater.
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