O'Leary commenced a long rigmarole, in which he laid all the blame on my shoulders, and I could see that the officer regarded me with anything but favour. But the coward's self-exculpation was interrupted by Buckley, who stepped forward and gave a plain unvarnished account of what had really occurred, and, without seeking to shirk his share of the blame, completely exonerated me, the other two cadets corroborating his story.

'Go to your room under arrest, O'Leary,' said the officer; 'you're a disgrace to the College! You first grossly insult a stranger, and when he retaliates, try to shift the quarrel on to him. Sandhurst must be going to the dogs very fast when a cadet can so far forget himself as to lie as you have done.'

O'Leary saluted, and without a word walked off with his "tail between his legs," followed by his companions. I was turning away, when the officer stopped me and asked me to walk a little way with him.

'I see that you are a fresh arrival,' he said, ‘and ignorant of the customs of the College. Although I consider your conduct in this matter has been free from blame, I must warn you, for your future guidance, that it is contrary to all Sandhurst traditions for a new-comer to strike an old cadet, especially an under-officer or corporal. I fear that you will have set all the second-term cadets against you, for there is such a very strong feeling with regard to "Johns" resisting their seniors, and the secondterm are particularly touchy on this point. O'Leary is no favourite, but by standing up to him you have sinned.

against the whole of his term. However, I shall so strongly represent the case in your favour, that you need not fear any immediate steps being taken against you by his associates. But be careful in future and keep clear of

O'Leary.'

I felt anything but comfortable after what my new friend told me, for it was far from pleasant to think that I might incur the displeasure of a third of my fellow-students simply for resenting the blackguard insolence of one of their number.

'By the way, what is your name?' inquired the officer, taking out his note-book.

'Warrington, sir.'

'Warrington!' he exclaimed.

George Warrington ?'

6

'Any relation of Colonel

'My father's name was George, and he commanded the 2nd Battalion of the Rifle Brigade.'

"Then I am delighted to meet your father's son,' rejoined he, shaking me heartily by the hand. My name is Wallace, and I am captain of the "B" Company. Your father was a major in the Rifle Brigade when I joined it, and I served many years under his command; he proved a kind friend to me, and I trust to be the same to you. What company are you in?'

'The "A," sir,' I replied, overjoyed at meeting with any one disposed to be friendly.

'Then I will have you transferred to the "B," said the Major (he was captain of a company of cadets, but a brevet-major in the army). And I will speak to Denison,

my "responsible under-officer," about this affair of yours with O'Leary; he will see that your conduct is placed in a proper light. You must dine and sleep at my house to-night. Mrs. Wallace knew your father, and will be pleased to make your acquaintance.'

I thanked the kind-hearted Major, and we walked up to the College.

A servant was ordered to take my portmanteau down to Major Wallace's house in the Military College Terrace. I was introduced to the lieutenant of the 'B' Company, who was officer of the day, and also to 'responsible under-officer' Denison, whom Major Wallace invited to meet me at dinner.

Mrs. Wallace received me with great kindness, and made me feel at home directly. She talked a great deal about my father, whom she remembered very well. Mrs. Wallace was the daughter of a late colonel of the Rifle Brigade, and was born in the regiment. Her father was killed in the Crimea when serving on the staff, some years before her marriage. No lady was more popular than the Major's wife, for she was kindness itself to the cadets, and never lost an opportunity of showing her interest in the 'B' Company. Always ready to sympathize with those in trouble, and taking a real Christian interest in doing good, she would have made an admirable commanding-officer's wife, had her husband ever been. lieutenant-colonel of a regiment; but it had been otherwise ordained, and doubtlessly for good reasons, for Mrs. Wallace's unostentatious charity and genuine piety made

her beloved and respected not only by her friends, but by every one in College, from the governor down to the gatekeepers; and when the Major gave up his appointment and retired on half-pay, the whole neighbourhood bewailed the loss of his wife and himself.

CHAPTER III

SANDHURST, ITS MANNERS AND CUSTOM>,

N 186 the gentlemen-cadets at the Royal Military College were on a very different footing to what they are at the present time, and Sandhurst was organized on quite

another principle.

The entrance examinations took place at Chelsea Hospital; candidates had to be between sixteen and nineteen years of age, exception being made in the cases of young men who had matriculated at one of the universities, who were admitted up to the age of one-andtwenty.

The course lasted three terms, or about eighteen months, but it was possible for a cadet to pass out at the end of his second term.

The cadets were divided into three companies,—the A, B, and C.

Each company was commanded by a captain, with a lieutenant as his subaltern; these officers were appointed from the line.