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Personal Narrative of Military Travel and Adventure in Turkey and Persia
Personal Narrative of Military Travel and Adventure in Turkey and Persia Author:Robert Macdonald Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. Arrival at Hastings—Smugglers—Return to Dover—The Fair at Canterbury—Recruiting—Goes to Masquerade—Ludicrous Incident—Left in the Lurch—Dover to ... more »Chatham—Made Corporal —Character and Influence of Sergeants in the Army—Goes to Croydon on the Recruiting Service—Accompanies a Friend to Consult a Fortune-teller—Unhappy Result—Route to Jersey— Made Sergeant. Except the magistrates, nobody appeared aware of our coming to Hastings, for the inhabitants were taken by surprise when we made our appearance among them. The peaceable and honest traders in the town were glad enough to see us; but those who were in any way connected with the smuggling trade would, no doubt, have preferred a visit from a certain nameless personage to one from the sharp-shooters, as they called us. The illicit gentry were now aware that smuggling was about to receive its death-blow. After our arrival in Hastings, we rested and refreshed ourselves for about an hour, and then mustered and fell in a little before sunset, for night duty. The bugles sounding the assembly through the streets, attracted the attention of the whole town; the soul-thrilling war notes of these instruments created quite a sensationamong the people. Men, women, and children appeared to be alike interested in the green-coated strangers. The sight of a martial anw in Hastings was entirely a novelty to the inhabitants. I believe there had been no military stationed there since the French revolutionary wars in Bonaparte's time. We fell in and mustered in one of the most public places in the town. A great crowd assembled to see us, and in order to get a thorough good look at us they pushed pretty close up to our ranks, but as soon as our noble captain gave us the word, " With ball cartridge, prime and load," it was highly amu...« less