ABSTRACT
The outward appearance of a barrack, as it has existed in this country for many years, must be familiar to all our readers. A high wall, into which is let a gateway, and possibly, if the station be an important one, a postern also, intervenes between the road or the street and the barrack-square; which, whether it be surrounded on three sides by houses, or contain only a single row fronting the main entrance, is fenced about, and gravelled or laid down in grass; so that it may be fit for the recruits to drill and the regiment to parade. There is nothing repulsive in this; but the reverse: neither will the external appearance of the men’s quarters disgust you; for the house is built of brick, and the roof is slated. But come forward and observe how the interior is laid out. That mass of building on which you are gazing contains three rows of dormitories, and nothing else. There is not a day-room in it; and the kitchens, or cooking-places, besides that they stand a good way apart, are supplied with no conveniences whatever beyond boilers and grates thrust beneath them. The walls, originally white-washed, are very dingy—so are the ceilings. The brick-flooring on the ground story is in ruts; the wooden staircases are by no means in a good state of repair, and the boards are stained with grease. Come up this flight of steps and enter the apartment on the right of the landing-place: it is a sort of saloon, wherein iron bedsteads are arranged in two rows, each row having the heads of the beds to the wall. They are all rolled up at this moment, and the bedding of each is folded; but at night they are let down—and then—while the lateral space between each pair does not exceed a foot and a half,—from foot to foot there may be an interval of perhaps an ell. There are shelves, as you must notice, running longitudinally over the head of each row, whereon the men place their knapsacks and caps; and the firelocks are arranged in racks against the wall, having pouches, bayonets, and belts slung beside them.
