CHAPTER XXII.
The Sergeant makes a loyal speech and sings a song, both of which are well received by the company.
And when I got to Bournemouth I dreamed again; and a singular thing during this history was, that always in my dream I began where I had left off on the previous night. So I saw that there, in the room at “The Goose,” were Sergeant Goodtale, and Harry, and Joe, and the rest, just as I had left them when I last awoke. But methought there was an air of swagger on the part of the head witness which I had not observed previously. His hat was placed on one side, in imitation of the sergeant’s natty cap, and he seemed already to hold up his head in a highly military manner; and when he stooped down to get a light he tried to stoop in the same graceful and military style as the sergeant himself; and after blowing it out, threw down the spill in the most off-hand manner possible, as though he said, “That’s how we chaps do it in the Hussars!” Everyone noticed the difference in the manner and bearing of the young recruit. There was a certain swagger and boldness of demeanour that only comes after you have enlisted. Nor was this change confined to outward appearance alone. What now were pigs in the mind of Joe? Merely the producers of pork chops for
breakfast. What was Dobbin that slowly dragged the plough compared to the charger that Joe was destined to bestride? And what about Polly Sweetlove and her saucy looks? Perhaps she’d be rather sorry now that she did not receive with more favour his many attentions. Such were the thoughts that passed through the lad’s mind as he gradually awakened to a sense of his new position. One thought, however, strange to say, did not occur to him, and that was as to what his poor old mother would think. Dutiful son as Joe had always been, (though wild in some respects), he had not given her a single thought. But his reflections, no doubt, were transient and confused amid the companions by whom he was surrounded.
“You’ll make a fine soldier,” said the Boardman, as he saw him swagger across to his seat.
“Yes,” said the sergeant, “any man that has got it in him, and is steady, and doesn’t eat too much and drink too much, may get on in the army. It isn’t like it used to be.”
“I believe that,” said Bob Lazyman.
“The only thing,” continued the sergeant, “is, there is really so little to do—there’s not work enough.”
“That ud suit me,” said Bob.
“Ah! but stop,” added the sergeant, “the temptations are great—what with the girls—.”