The boys
have found that there will be dinner every day; the masters that no one
will have to pitch his tent on a sand-dune, or spread a straw litter in a
bathing-machine. The level of comfort was, of course, not uniform. How
should it be? Probably there is a choice of corners in a workhouse or
casual-ward. Some of our party tasted the painful pleasures of the poor
in the scant accommodation and naked simplicity of cottage lodgings. It
was long after our arrival that we discovered a valued friend still
sitting on the corner of his packing-case, and brewing his coffee on a
washhand-stand. The fire smoked all day; but this vice in the apartment
was neutralised by a broken window. Yet he should be quite happy, he
said, if he could get a glazier _and_ a sweep (like smoke and draught,
one would not do without the other), a bolster, an occasional clean
towel, and a little warm water in the morning.
Those who had brought a family with them into camp were more seriously
troubled with the cares of providing quarters, and pondered regretfully
on the peace and roominess of home.
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