Officers strutting about in peacock fashion, with a sword
dangling at their side, showed no inclination to enforce order, and the
rank and file knew their methods, so that the disorder and haphazardness
of the whole thing was absolutely mutual.
"Whilst I was on the field gazing in anything but admiration on the
scene, I was ordered out by one of the khaki-clad officers in a most
unceremonious manner. Seeing me, he shouted at the top of his thick
voice, 'Ch'u-k'ue, ch'u-k'ue' (an expression meaning 'Go out!'--commonly
used to drive away dogs), and simultaneously waved his sword in the air
as if to say, 'Another step, and I'll have your head.' And, of course,
there being nothing else to do, I 'ch'u-k'ued,' but in a fashion
befitting the dignity of an English traveler.
"The reorganization of the army, with the acceleration of warlike
preparedness, has the advantage that it appeals to the embryonic feeling
of national patriotism, and affords a tangible expression of the desire
to be on terms of equality with the foreigner. That officer never had a
prouder moment in his life than when he ordered a distinguished
foreigner from the drilling ground, of which he was for the time the
lordly comptroller.
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