‘Yes, but she is.’ ‘What is’t you say?’ ‘Hould your prate.’
‘Arrah, teach your mother to feed ducks.’
‘Silence in the ranks. Keep silence there. Attention, Colooney!’
‘What at, sir?’ asks Tom, taking an amateur glance of the company, who look not over satisfied at his scrutiny.
Bang goes the piece, and a yell follows the explosion, while cries of ‘Well done, Tom,’ ‘Begorra, if a Protestant got that!’ and so on, greet the performance.
‘Stand by, Colooney!’ and the volunteer falls back to make way for another and similar exhibition, occasionally varied by the humour of the blunders of the new candidate.
As to the Treasury orders, as we somewhat ludicrously styled the cheques upon our imaginary bank, the scenes they led to were still more absurd and complicated. We paid liberally, that is to say in promises, for everything, and our generosity saved us a good deal of time, for it was astonishing how little the owners disputed our solvency when the price was left to themselves. But the rations were indeed the most difficult matter of all; it being impossible to convince our allies of the fact that the compact was one of trust, and the ration was not his own to dispose of in any manner that might seem fit.
‘Sure, if I don’t like to ate it--if I haven’t an appetite for it--if I’d rather have a pint of sperits, or a flannel waistcoat, or a pair of stockings, than a piece of mate, what harm is that to any one?’
This process of reasoning was much harder of answer than is usually supposed, and even when replied to, another difficulty arose in its place. Unaccustomed to flesh diet, when they tasted they could not refrain from it, and the whole week’s rations of beef, amounting to eight pounds, were frequently consumed in the first twenty-four hours.
Such instances of gormandising were by no means unfrequent, and, stranger still, in no one case, so far as I knew, followed by any ill consequences.
The leaders were still more difficult to manage than the people. Without military knowledge or experience of any kind, they presumed to dictate the plan of a campaign to old and distinguished officers like Humbert and Serasin, and when overruled by argument or ridicule, invariably fell back upon their superior knowledge of Ireland and her people, a defence for which, of course, we were quite unprepared, and unable to oppose anything. From these and similar causes it may well be believed that our labours were not light, and yet somehow, with all the vexations and difficulties around us, there was a congenial tone of levity, an easy recklessness, and a careless freedom in the Irish character that suited us well There was but one single point whereupon we were not thoroughly together, and this was religion. They were a nation of most zealous Catholics; and as for us, the revolution had not left the vestige of a belief amongst us.