The Trumpet-Major by Thomas Hardy

When the group entered the presence of the company a lull in the / conversation was caused by the sight of new visitors, and (of course) by / the charm of Anne's appearance; until the old men, who had daughters of / their own, perceiving that she was only a half-formed girl, resumed their / tales and toss-potting with unconcern.

Miller Loveday had fraternized with half the soldiers in the camp since / their arrival, and the effect of this upon his party was striking -- both / chromatically and otherwise. Those among the guests who first attracted / the eye were the sergeants and sergeant-majors of Loveday's regiment, / fine hearty men, who sat facing the candles, entirely resigned to / physical comfort. Then there were other non-commissioned officers, a / German, two Hungarians, and a Swede, from the foreign hussars -- young men / with a look of sadness on their faces, as if they did not much like / serving so far from home. All of them spoke English fairly well. Old / age was represented by Simon Burden the pensioner, and the shady side of / fifty by Corporal Tullidge, his friend and neighbour, who was hard of / hearing, and sat with his hat on over a red cotton handkerchief that was / wound several times round his head. These two veterans were employed as / watchers at the neighbouring beacon, which had lately been erected by the / Lord-Lieutenant for firing whenever the descent on the coast should be / made. They lived in a little hut on the hill, close by the heap of / faggots; but to-night they had found deputies to watch in their stead.

On a lower plane of experience and qualifications came neighbour James / Comfort, of the Volunteers, a soldier by courtesy, but a blacksmith by / rights; also William Tremlett and Anthony Cripplestraw, of the local / forces. The two latter men of war were dressed merely as villagers, and / looked upon the regulars from a humble position in the background. The / remainder of the party was made up of a neighbouring dairyman or two, and / their wives, invited by the miller, as Anne was glad to see, that she and / her mother should not be the only women there.

The elder Loveday apologized in a whisper to Mrs. Garland for the / presence of the inferior villagers. 'But as they are learning to be / brave defenders of their home and country, ma'am, as fast as they can / master the drill, and have worked for me off and on these many years, / I've asked 'em in, and thought you'd excuse it.'

'Certainly, Miller Loveday,' said the widow.

'And the same of old Burden and Tullidge. They have served well and long / in the Foot, and even now have a hard time of it up at the beacon in wet / weather. So after giving them a meal in the kitchen I just asked 'em in / to hear the singing. They faithfully promise that as soon as ever the / gunboats appear in view, and they have fired the beacon, to run down here / first, in case we shouldn't see it. 'Tis worth while to be friendly with / 'em, you see, though their tempers be queer.'

'Quite worth while, miller,' said she.

Anne was rather embarrassed by the presence of the regular military in / such force, and at first confined her words to the dairymen's wives she / was acquainted with, and to the two old soldiers of the parish.

'Why didn't ye speak to me afore, chiel? ' said one of these, Corporal / Tullidge, the elderly man with the hat, while she was talking to old / Simon Burden. 'I met ye in the lane yesterday,' he added reproachfully, / 'but ye didn't notice me at all.'

'I am very sorry for it,' she said; but, being afraid to shout in such a / company, the effect of her remark upon the corporal was as if she had not / spoken at all.

'You was coming along with yer head full of some high notions or other no / doubt,' continued the uncompromising corporal in the same loud voice. / 'Ah, 'tis the young bucks that get all the notice nowadays, and old folks / are quite forgot! I can mind well enough how young Bob Loveday used to / lie in wait for ye.'

Anne blushed deeply, and stopped his too excursive discourse by hastily / saying that she always respected old folks like him. The corporal / thought she inquired why he always kept his hat on, and answered that it / was because his head was injured at Valenciennes, in July, Ninety-three. / 'We were trying to bomb down the tower, and a piece of the shell struck / me. I was no more nor less than a dead man for two days. If it hadn't a / been for that and my smashed arm I should have come home none the worse / for my five-and-twenty years' service.'

'You have got a silver plate let into yer head, haven't ye, corpel? ' said / Anthony Cripplestraw, who had drawn near. 'I have heard that the way / they morticed yer skull was a beautiful piece of workmanship. Perhaps / the young woman would like to see the place? 'Tis a curious sight, / Mis'ess Anne; you don't see such a wownd every day.'

'No, thank you,' said Anne hurriedly, dreading, as did all the young / people of Overcombe, the spectacle of the corporal uncovered. He had / never been seen in public without the hat and the handkerchief since his / return in Ninety-four; and strange stories were told of the ghastliness / of his appearance bare-headed, a little boy who had accidentally beheld / him going to bed in that state having been frightened into fits.

'Well, if the young woman don't want to see yer head, maybe she'd like to / hear yer arm? ' continued Cripplestraw, earnest to please her.

'Hey? ' said the corporal.

'Your arm hurt too? ' cried Anne.

'Knocked to a pummy at the same time as my head,' said Tullidge / dispassionately.

'Rattle yer arm, corpel, and show her,' said Cripplestraw.

'Yes, sure,' said the corporal, raising the limb slowly, as if the glory / of exhibition had lost some of its novelty, though he was willing to / oblige. Twisting it mercilessly about with his right hand he produced a / crunching among the bones at every motion, Cripplestraw seeming to derive / great satisfaction from the ghastly sound.