and not obeying so soon as he desired, or expected, he fired
his apple amongst them, which did not seem to be very
agreeable to their feelings. They knew to what corps he belonged by his uniform; and ours was the first they
came to on entering the garrison. As the poor fellow's
ill luck would have it, the Sergeant-Major was the first
they encountered upon entering. They made bitter complaint against the pretended sentry, and he carried it directly to the Captain, without losing a morsel by the
way. The Captain ordered him to send the man to him as soon as he came home. The Captain's marquee had a shade over and round the entrance. I was upon quarters guard at a tent in the rear of the Captain's, when, just after roll-call, I saw poor Pilgarlick repairing to the Captain's tent; I pretty well knew what would be the
consequence of his visit; I listened, heard some discourse between them, but the distance was so great that I could hear but little distinctly, but I soon heard the ratan in motion again, very plainly. As soon as the action was over, the man came to me at the guard; I asked him what the Captain and he had been at, as they had, to appearance, been very lively. "I will tell you," said he, "the Sergeant-Major had told the Captain that I had deserted, but when he found I had not, he sent for me to come and see him, and you cannot conceive how glad he was to see me, and nothing would do, but I must dance a jig
with him; I told him I had much rather not, as, possibly, it might injure his character to be seen dancing with a private soldier; but it would not signify, a jig we must have at all events, and he got hold of my hand and began to whistle, and I began to dance, and a fine jig I suppose he thought we had.—The plague seize his old carcass, I wish he was twisted up fifteen miles above the seven stars, there to remain till every hair of his head was a meteor, and every limb a comet." I could not help laughing at his buffoonery, though I thought if I had been in his place I should not have turned it off so lightly.
After we had ended our stone blasting, we went to building a new range of barracks, and elegant ones too; they were two stories high with wings at each end, brick chimnies, and a gallery in front the whole length of the building, with large flights of steps to ascend to the gal-
