I suppose the government has placed the camp on that
windy heath, and built such wretched huts, for the very purpose of
rendering life as little desirable as may be to the soldiers, so that
they should throw it away the more willingly.
At seven o'clock we dined at the regimental mess, with the officers of
the North Cork. The mess-room is by far the most endurable place to be
found in camp. The hut is large, and the mess-room is capable of
receiving between thirty and forty guests, besides the officers of the
regiment, when a great dinner-party is given. As I saw it, the whole
space was divided into a dining-room and two anterooms by red curtains
drawn across; and the second anteroom seems to be a general rendezvous
for the officers, where they meet at all times, and talk, or look over
the newspapers and the army-register, which constitute the chief of their
reading. The Colonel and Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment received
Bennoch and me with great cordiality, as did all the other officers, and
we sat down to a splendid dinner.
All the officers of the regiment are Irishmen, and all of them, I
believe, men of fortune; and they do what they can towards alleviating
their hardships in camp by eating and drinking of the best that can be
obtained of all good things. The table service and plate were as fine as
those in any nobleman's establishment; the dishes numerous and admirably
got up; and the wines delectable and genuine,--as they had need to be;
for there is a great consumption of them.
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