In the Track of the Troops Part 36

"Come, now, let us have this matter out," said Nicholas, lighting a cigar.

"You are as fond of argument as a Scotsman, Nic," murmured Bella, putting a powerful touch in the foreground of her sketch.

"Suppose, now," continued Nicholas, "that you had the power to influence nations, what would you suggest instead of war?"

"Arbitration," said I, promptly; "I would have the nations of Europe to band together and agree _never_ to fight but _always_ to appeal to reason, in the settlement of disputes. I would have them reduce standing armies to the condition of peace establishments--that is, just enough to garrison our strongholds, and be ready to back up our police in keeping ruffians in order. This small army would form a nucleus round which the young men of the nation would rally in the event of _unavoidable_ war."

"Ha!" exclaimed Nicholas, with a smile of sarcasm, "you would then have us all disarm, beat our swords into reaping-hooks, and melt our bayonets and cannon into pots and pans. A charming idea! Now, suppose there was one of the nations--say Russia or Turkey--that declined to join this peaceful alliance, and, when she saw England in her disarmed condition, took it into her head to pay off old scores, and sent ironclads and thousands of well-trained and well-appointed troops to invade you, what would you do?"

"Defend myself," said I.

"What! with your peace-nucleus, surrounded by your rabble of untrained young men?"

"Nicholas," said my mother, in a mild voice, pausing in her work, "you may be as fond of argument as a Scotsman, but you are not quite as fair.

You have put into Jeff's mouth sentiments which he did not express, and made a.s.sumptions which his words do not warrant. He made no reference to swords, reaping-hooks, bayonets, cannon, pots or pans, and did not recommend that the young men of nations should remain untrained."

"Bravo! mother; thank you," said I, as the dear old creature dropped her mild eyes once more on her work; "you have done me nothing but justice.

There is one point, however, on which I and those who are opposed to me coincide exactly; it is this, that the best way to maintain peace is to make yourself thoroughly capable and ready for war."

"With your peculiar views, that would be rather difficult, I should fancy," said Nicholas, with a puzzled look.

"You fancy so, because you misunderstand my views," said I; "besides, I have not yet fully explained them--but here comes one who will explain them better than I can do myself."

As I spoke a man was seen to approach, with a smart free-and-easy air.

"It is my friend U. Biquitous," said I, rising and hastening to meet him.

"Ah, Jeff, my boy, glad I've found you all together," cried my friend, wringing my hand and raising his hat to the ladies. "Just come over to say good-bye. I'm engaged again on the _Evergreen Isle_--same salary and privileges as before--freer scope, if possible, than ever."

"And where are you going to, Mr Biquitous?" asked my mother.

"To Cyprus, madam,--the land of the--of the--the something or other; not got coached up yet, but you shall have it all _in extenso_ ere long in the _Evergreen_, with sketches of the scenery and natives. I'll order a copy to be sent you."

"Very kind, thank you," said my mother; "you are fond of travelling, I think?"

"Fond of it!" exclaimed my friend; "yes, but that feebly expresses my sentiments,--I _revel_ in travelling, I am mad about it. To roam over the world, by land and sea, gathering information, recording it, collating it, extending it, condensing it, and publis.h.i.+ng it, for the benefit of the readers of the _Evergreen Isle_, is my chief terrestrial joy."

"Why, Mr Biquitous," said Bella, looking up from her drawing, with a slight elevation of the eyebrows, "I thought you were a married man."

"Ah! Mrs Naranovitsch, I understand your reproofs; but _that_, madam, I call a celestial joy. Looking into my wife's blue eyes is what I call star-gazing, and that is a celestial, not a terrestrial, occupation.

Next to making the stars twinkle, I take pleasure in travelling--flying through s.p.a.ce,--

"Cras.h.i.+ng on the railroads, Skimming on the seas, Bounding on the mountain-tops, Battling with the breeze.

Roaming through the forest, Scampering on the plain, Never stopping, always going, Round and round again."

"How very beautiful,--so poetical!" said Bella.

"So suggestively peaceful," murmured Nicholas.

"Your own composition?" asked my mother.

"A mere _morceau_," replied my friend, modestly, "tossed off to fill up a gap in the _Evergreen_."

"You should write poetry," said I.

"Think so? Well, I've had some notion at times, of trying my hand at an ode, or an epic, but, man, I find too many difficulties in the way. As to `feet,' now, I can't manage feet in poetry. If it were inches or yards, one might get along, but feet are neither one thing nor another.

Then, rhyme bothers me. I've often to run over every letter in the alphabet to get hold of a rhyme--click, thick, pick, rick, chick, brick--that sort of thing, you know. Sentiment, too, is very troublesome. Either I put too much or too little sentiment into my verses; sometimes they are all sentiment together; not unfrequently they have none at all; or the sentiment is false, which spoils them, you know. Yes, much though I should like to be a poet, I must content myself with prose. Just fancy, now, my attempting a poem on Cyprus!

What rhymes with Cyprus? Fyprus, gyprus, highprus, kyprus, lyprus, tryprus, and so on to the end. It's all the same; nothing will do. No doubt Hook would have managed it; Theodore could do anything in that way, but _I_ can't."

"Most unfortunate! But for these difficulties you might have been a second Milton. You leave your wife behind, I suppose," said Bella, completing her sketch and shutting the book.

"What!" exclaimed my volatile friend, becoming suddenly grave, "leave Blue-eyes behind me! leave the mitigator of my woes, the doubler of my joys, the light of my life behind me! No, Mrs Naranovitsch, Blue-eyes is necessary to my existence; she inspires my pen and corrects my spelling; she lifts my soul, when required, above the petty cares of life, and enables me to take flights of genius, which, without her, were impossible, and you know that flights of genius are required, occasionally, of the correspondent of a weekly--at least of an Irish weekly. Yes, Blue-eyes goes with me. We shall levant together."

"Are bad puns allowed in the _Evergreen_?" I asked.

"Not unless excessively bad," returned my friend; "they won't tolerate anything lukewarm."

"Well, now, Biquitous," said I, "sit down and give Nicholas, who is hard to convince, your opinion as to the mode in which this and other countries ought to prepare for self-defence."

"In earnest, do you mean?"

"In earnest," said I.

"Well, then," said my friend, "if I were in power I would make every man in Great Britain a trained soldier."

"Humph!" said Nicholas, "that has been tried by other nations without giving satisfaction."

"But," continued U. Biquitous, impressively, "I would do so without taking a single man away from his home, or interfering with his duties as a civilian. I would have all the males of the land trained to arms in boyhood--during school-days--at that period of life when boys are best fitted to receive such instruction, when they would `go in' for military drill, as they now go in for foot-ball, cricket, or gymnastics--at that period when they have a good deal of leisure time, when they would regard the thing more as play than work--when their memories are strong and powerfully retentive, and when the principles and practice of military drill would be as thoroughly implanted in them as the power to swim or skate, so that, once acquired, they'd never quite lose it. I speak from experience, for I learned to skate and swim when a boy, and I feel that nothing--no amount of disuse--can ever rob me of these attainments. Still further, in early manhood I joined the great volunteer movement, and, though I have now been out of the force for many years, I know that I could `fall in' and behave tolerably well at a moment's notice, while a week's drill would brush me up into as good a soldier as I ever was or am likely to be. Remember, I speak only of rank and file, and the power to carry arms and use them intelligently. I would compel boys to undergo this training, but would make it easy, on doctor's certificate, or otherwise, for anxious parents to get off the duty, feeling a.s.sured that the fraction of trained men thus lost to the nation would be quite insignificant. Afterwards, a few days of drill each year would keep men well up to the mark; and even in regard to this brus.h.i.+ng-up drill I would make things very easy, and would readily accept every reasonable excuse for absence, in the firm belief that the willing men would be amply sufficient to maintain our `reserve force.' As to the volunteers, I would encourage them as heretofore, and give them more honour and privileges than they possess at present. Thus would an army be ever ready to spring into being at a day's notice, and be _thoroughly_ capable of defending hearths and homes in a few weeks.

"For our colonies and our authority at home, I would have a very small, _well-paid_, and thoroughly efficient standing army, which would form a perfect model in military matters, and a splendid skeleton on which the muscle and sinew of the land might wind itself if invasion threatened.

For the rest, I would keep my bayonets and artillery in serviceable condition, and my `powder dry.' If all Europe acted thus, she would be not less ready for war than she is now, and would have all her vigorous men turned into producers instead of consumers, to the immense advantage of the States' coffers, to the great comfort of the women and children, to the lessening of crime and poverty, and to the general well-being of the world at large."

"My dear sir," said Nicholas, with a laugh, "you were born before your time."

"It may be so," returned the other, lightly, "nevertheless I will live in the hope of seeing the interests of peace more intelligently advanced than they have been of late; and if the system which I suggest is not found to be the best, I will rejoice to hear of a better, and will do my best to advocate it in the _Evergreen Isle_. But now I must go; Blue-eyes and Cyprus await me. Farewell."

U. Biquitous shook hands heartily, and walked rapidly away down the avenue, where he was eventually hidden from our view by a bush of laurel.

To return from this digression.

It is not difficult in these days to "put a girdle round the world."

Ivanka and I soon reached the village of Venilik.

It was a sad spectacle of ruin and desolation, but we found Dobri Petroff and Marika in the old home, which had been partially rebuilt.

The blacksmith's anvil was ringing as merrily as ever when we approached, and his blows appeared to fall as heavily as in days gone by, but I noticed, when he looked up, that his countenance was lined and very sad, while his raven locks were prematurely tinged with grey.

Shall I describe the meeting of Ivanka with her parents? I think not.

The imagination is more correct and powerful than the pen in such cases.

New life seemed from that moment to be infused into the much-tried pair. Marika had never lost her trust in G.o.d through all her woes, and even in her darkest hours had refused to murmur. She had kissed the rod that smote her, and now she praised Him with a strong and joyful heart.