Off. Because, Sir, I am only a Captain of Volunteers.

The Com. But surely the British Army is composed entirely of Volunteers?

Off. That is the national boast, Sir.  But then, you see, I receive no pay.

The Com. Which does not prevent you from working?

Off. On the contrary, Sir, nearly all my leisure is devoted to the study of what I may, perhaps, be permitted to call my supplementary profession.

The Com. What are your duties?

Off. Almost too numerous to enumerate.  Before I received my Commission, I had to undertake to make myself proficient in everything appertaining to the rank to which I was appointed.  This entailed a month’s hard work (five or six hours a day in the barrack-square), at one of the Schools of Instruction.

The Com. Well, let us suppose that you have become duly qualified to command a company—­what next?

Off. Having reached this point, I find myself called upon to work as hard as any Line officer on full pay.  True, I have not (except when the battalion is camping out, or taking part in manoeuvres), to trouble myself with matters connected with the Commissariat, but in every other respect my position is exactly analogous to my brother officers in other branches of the QUEEN’s Service.  I have to attend numerous drills, and perform the duties, at stated intervals, of the Orderly Room.  Besides this, I have to see that every parade is well attended by the men of my company.  This entails, as you may imagine, time and trouble.

The Com. May I take it that it is less difficult to command Volunteers than Regulars?

Off. That is a matter of opinion.  If a Volunteer officer can bring to bear his social position (for instance, should his men be his tenants, or in his employment), he may find the task of command an easy one.  But should the battalion to which he belongs be composed of that large class of persons who consider “one man as good as another, and better,” no little tact is required in keeping up discipline.  Besides this, he starts at a disadvantage.  Every retirement from the regiment means the loss of an earner of the capitation grant; and as the maintenance of a Volunteer corps is an exceedingly expensive matter, a “free and independent private” feels that if he withdraws, or is forced to withdraw, his officers are practically the pecuniary sufferers of the proceeding.

The Com. Am I to understand then that the cost of a battalion falls upon the commissioned rank?

Off. Almost entirely.  The officers have generally to pay a heavy entrance fee, and subscription, and must, if they wish to be popular, contribute largely to prize funds, entertainments, and the cost of “marching out.”  Besides these charges they have to be particularly hospitable or benevolent (either word will do) to the companies to which they specially belong.