‘You fellows are not what you were. There’s not half the filthy language or the false bravado there used to be. None of those disgusting photos are around now. And nearly all the boys read in the hut at night. They’re thinking, and that’s all we want them to do.’
‘What’s done it?’
‘Well, the fresh air, the games, the discipline, and the general goodwill. The commandant, of course, is an asset. He’s such a dear old man that they feel they must be decent. And unquestionably Captain Cheerall has been an enormous influence. Just look at all those fellows swotting up military history,’ he said, pointing to the crowd with their noses well down on books.
‘You like army life, then, padre?’
‘Not a bit of it. It has great good in it, and great dangers. All depends on the men you live with. Of course, this is an educated crowd, and they are easy to handle. But I had an awful time in the ranks. And yet I wouldn’t have missed this war for worlds. My eyes are open now. I have seen the good in men, also the bad. And I hope it will help me in the future.’
‘Do you think we’ll be the better for this war—I mean, in the moral sense?’
‘That’s a big question. I think all the educated men will reason more, and I believe they will glorify the home and a good woman. But for the great crowd I’m not sure.’
‘Why?’
‘Well, war loosens things. Women go wrong, and the marriage vows get broken. Men in the ranks are like children. One fool can contaminate a thousand. That’s the danger. Still, if we can educate them, and if the parsons will work, we can keep the Old Land going. And, of course, the Y.M.C.A. is a powerful force. I tell you, John, if we had had no Y.M.C.A. in this war, the army would have been a hotbed of drunkenness and immorality. Kitchener was the man who saw this at the beginning. By Jove, that was a MAN!’