Tracks of a Rolling Stone

melt powder' was at

quitous war thanEngland then provoked with China to force upon her the opiumtrade with Indi

n four and a half millionssterling to prove themselves in the wrong. Part of this wentas prize

r wehad taken on board an interpreter named Thom. What our

nvested shore. The officer of my watch, the late SirFrederick Nicholson, together with the interpreter, wereordered to land and communicate with the chief mandarin. Tocarry out this as inoffensively as possible, Nicholson tookthe jolly-boat, manned by four lads only. As it was mywatch, I had charge of the boat. A napkin or towel servedfor a flag of truce. But long before we reached the shore,several mandarins

ng for dear life. Thencame a storm of bullets from matchlocks and jingals and thebigger guns, fortunately just too high to hit us. One bulletonly struck the back-board, but did no harm. What, however,seemed a greate

teharmless, jumped overboard and drowned himself. I have seenmen's courage tried under fire, and in many other ways since;yet I have never known but one case similar to this,

s, get so excited in action that their timidity hasturned to rashness.

extravagant admiration for merecombativeness or physical courage. Honoured and rewarded asone of the noblest of manly attributes, it

want of it, that the most cautious and themost timid by nature will rather f

he fear of shame on onehand, the hope of reward on the other, the merest dastardwill fight like a wild beast, when his blood is up. Theextraordinary merit of his conduct is not so obvious to thepeaceful thinker. I speak not of such heroism as that of theJapanese,

's souls untimely to the 'viewlessshades,' for the sake of their 'doux yeux?' Ah! who knowshow many a mutilation, how many a life, has been the price ofthat requital? Ye gentle creatures who swoon at the sight ofblood, is it not the hero who lets most of it

annot resist a little episode which pleasantly illustratesmora

ry badly with us in the Transvaal, and thetelegrams both at Port Said and at Suez supplemented theprevious ill-news. At the latter place we heard of thecatastrophe at Magersfontein, of poo

worn apparel, he was what one wouldcall a professional soldier. He was a tall, powerfully-built, handsome man, with a weather-beaten determined face,and keen eye. I was so taken with his looks t

ginning with some offensive allusions tothe British army, proposed the health o

r German, and proposed'ungluck - bad luc

ife (another steeragepassenger - an Australian - told me what happened), took hiswatch from his pocket, and slowly said: 'It is just sixminutes to eight. If

lians was in the cabin. Oneand all of them applauded this laconic speech. It wasprobab

uld get out of him was, 'I never allow alady to be insulted in my presence, sir.

rdment, it beingmy morning watch, I was ordered to take the surgeon andassistant surgeon ashore. Ther

dead soldiers, a strayshell had killed a

the high-heeledand embroidered tiny shoes, extended far beyond herpetticoats. It was these feet that interested the men ofscience. They are now, I believe, in a jar of spirits atHaslar hospital. At least, my friend t

the'Blenheim,' the 'Druid,' the 'Calliope,' and several 18-gunbrigs. We took Hong Kong, Chusan, Ningpo, C

dents appear exceptional, if they befallourselves, or those with whom we are intimate. If thesufferer has any special identity, we specula

as,nor, I should say, to pride - unless, perhaps, it were thepride which some men feel in suppressing all emotion byhabitual restraint of manner. Whether his SANGFROID wasconstitutional, or that nobler kind of courage which feelsand mast

rst,we met with a warmer reception. The place was much mor

old captain, naturally keptunder shelter of the bulwarks and hammock nettings. Not soMajor Daniel. He stood in the open gangway watching theeffect of

in reserve, were stationed about half a milefurther off at the bottom of the protecting hill. They werecompletely screened from the fire by some buildings of thesuburbs abutting upon the slope. Those in front werewatching the cannon-balls which had struck the crest and wererolling as it were by mere force of gravitation down thehillside. Some jokes were made about football, when suddenlya smart and popular young officer - Fox, first lieutenant ofone of the brig

eebly, 'but without a pair oflegs

fession. From my soulI pity the man who is or has been such a miserable coward asI was in my infan

when shut up for punishment, in a dark cellar for instance, Im

y nigh. Never shall I forget mymental sufferings at night. In vain may one attempt todescribe what one then goes through; only the victims knowwhat that is. My ghost - the ghost of the Whampo Reach - theghost of those sultry and miasmal nights, had no shape, novaporous form; it was nothing but a presence, a vagueamorphous dread. It may have floated with the swollen andputrid corpses which hourly came bobbing down the stream, buti

said, is the descri

when every sense was strained with wakefulness,when all the power

hat we arepurposely frightened in early childhood to keep us calm andquiet. But I do not believe that nurses' stories wouldexcite dread of the unknown if the unknown were not alreadyknown. The susceptibility to this pa