sleeping in each of his troop rooms, and equipped with this the orderly sergeant-major, accompanied by, the corporal of the guard, visited the rooms and counted the sleeping occupants. It was a favourite device of absentees, before going out, to fold up their bed as in day-time, so that the visiting sergeant-major might perhaps not notice their absence; while others would try to deceive him by leaving a made-up dummy in their beds. "Breaking-out of barracks" was the crime, and twenty-eight days' confinement to barracks was usually the punishment, for this form of absence.
To "break out" of barracks was a simple matter at Aldershot, for although the gates at the end of them were kept locked after watch-setting, and had high walls on either side, an unenclosed public read ran along the front which was accessible to everybody. This was not the case with all barracks, most of them being surrounded by high walls, topped with broken glass. When we were at Brigliton, where the walls were of this kind, an amusing incident occurred in connection with a man who was trying to get back again after successfully breaking out. Not being able to scale the walls, he hit on the idea of returning in an officcr's brougham, which was being brought back to barracks by a friendly coachman after depositing the officer and his wife at their house in the town. Unfartunately the military police sergeant looked inside the brougham before allowing it ta leave the barrack gate, and the offender accordingly found himself in a worse predicament at orderly room next morning than if he had walked into barracks and surrendered.
Of all days of the week Sunday was the most hated—a sad confession to make, but none the less true. After morning stables there was a general rush, often with little or no time for breakfast, to turn out in "full dress" for "divine service"—attendance at which was compulsory. On return to barracks there was another scramble preparatory to the commanding officer's inspection of stables, horses, saddlery, and barrack-rooms. From early morning till half-past one in the afternoon there was more work to be done, more grumbling and swearing, and more fault-finding
